New diagnosis : Benign Positional Vertigo
Well, it turns out that the doctor now thinks I have Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (great article by Jeffrey P. Harris, M.D., Ph.D..) During my appointment yesterday, I had something called an Epley Maneuver which is explained in an extremely simple to understand fashion Dr. Harris’s page. Apparently, this is one of the most common vestibular afflictions.
There are these little rock-like things in your ear called "ottoconia." When these break loose, they bounce around in your ear and send mixed signals to your brain which cause the vertigo. The Epley is designed to make the rocks (carbonate crystals) in your head fall into a portion of the ear where they won’t mess with your balance.
We’ll see how it works out. I can tell you that yesterday was a pretty rough day — very nauseous, tired and crampy all day.
They say that the results from the Epley Maneuver are sometimes not felt for up to 3 days later. But I can also tell you that 75% of people that have BPPV are cured after just one Epley Maneuver, at least according to the stats.
Either way, I’ve felt a little better today (Tuesday) but still had occasional bouts of feeling disoriented. I’ve got a return appointment with the physical therapist (the one who did the Epley) on Friday and another appointment with my GP on Friday, to address the anxiety I’ve been feeling with the dizziness/disorientation.
