Friday, October 17, 2008

at least I know I have a brain in there...

[I've been twittering about this but didn't want to write a post about it. Much like Miss Summers at Suburban Bliss:: Birth Control Via The Written Word, I am a whiner when it comes to being sick. I also know that a lot of people DON'T want to hear it, so I haven't talked about it.]

But my life as of late has been consumed with doctor's appointments. What started out as a sinus infection turned into an ear infection and that turned into raging, continuous inflammation in my ears/nose/throat/eustachian tubes. So for the past four months, I've had vertigo - every time I turn, sit, stand, bend over, lean down, lean back. Dizzy spinning, fullness in my hears and sinuses, my vision gets criss-crossy and it's difficult to focus - physically and mentally. I mentioned this to my doctor, and she has sent me for a CT scan, to an allergist, and an ENT. I've had allergy testing, an MRI, bicaloric testing, tracking tests, etc., etc., etc. All this to find out that I have a brain in my head that is (apparently) working fine. They haven't found any central nervous system problems that could be causing balance issues. My ENT doesn't see an ear infection or too much inflamation. (He's not living with my mucous membranes though - I FEEL them as inflammed and have pain in one ear.) The ENT suggests I have my deviated septum fixed to aid in drainage to help with the the recurrent sinus congestion, thereby fixing/preventing the dizziness. He seems to think (now) that the sinuse issues are causing the dizziness (before it was a different issue, but apparently he can change his mind/diagnosis).

I'd like a second opinion, but I'm sick and tired of going to doctors right now. I also don't think getting the inside of my nose straightened out is going to fix this completely either. The allergist switched up my meds, which has been helping the inflammation. At least now the dizziness is not as intense. So I will be sniffing flonase and astelin for the next few months and praying a lot. And trying to figure out how I can do yoga and not pass out from the dizziness/nausea if I move too fast.

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