Saw the Doc

 

Had my second opinion this afternoon on whether or not to have surgery for my Meniere's. I was glad to be going as I had a rough week/weekend. Started Friday at school. My head was buzzing with internal noise so loudly I had to eat lunch in my classroom and avoid the lounge just to get 20 minutes of quiet. It was all I could do to get through the day.  There hasn’t been much improvement in the last 4 days and it makes me exhausted. Sounds silly but trying to be focused, stay balanced, hear people, and think when there is so much noise and pressure inside my head,  is a lot of work. I went to bed at 7:30 Friday night (after falling asleep numerous times) and slept until 7:30. Exhausted.

This doctor didn’t tell me much. I knew pretty much everything he said thanks to my long hours of research and joining a forum about 3 months ago. He did, however, let me know a couple of things.

1. He DID NOT recommend the surgery and wasn’t at all surprised my first doctor had. He said my initial doctor created and perfected the surgery and he recommends it to every patient he sees. Mike and I had already deduced this after our appointment with him but this confirmation was reassuring.

2. He also told me that my hearing wasn’t going to come back. I had wondered if having the surgery would possibly restore some of what I lost. He told me it would not. This was sad, but necessary information.

He did tell me that the vertigo burns itself out eventually. I had never read that anywhere. I know people that have had it for years and years and they are way older than me. So, although this new info sounds nice (I would love to burn out my vertigo) I am not sure how much I buy it. Apparently the fullness, ringing, and lack of hearing will be with me forever, but the vertigo will burn out. Stay tuned for that exciting conclusion.

I left there feeling pretty much the way I felt when I went into the appointment and I have decided a few things. I am not going to pursue the surgery route just yet. I will save that for if and when my vertigo becomes a weekly hindrance.

I am going to start chiropractic care. As much as it scares me, I have read too many good things about Meniere's and chiropractic visits to ignore it. I have also had a few conversations with my friends who are chiropractors (yes, I have two) and they have finally convinced me. I am quite nervous about it and wonder if they will treat drunk people. Might take many cocktails to get me in the door. Any support in this department would be greatly appreciated (you know, things like…”You will never feel so good”, “You will feel like a million bucks”, “It doesn’t hurt at all!” “That deafening crack you hear is no big deal”. Stuff like that).

If going to the chiropractor doesn’t help, I may try acupuncture. This new doctor recommended it. Of course, the recommendation could come from a selfish place as his wife does acupuncture, but I will consider it. Why does this scare me less than the back cracker?

I am DONE trying to figure out what my triggers are and firmly believe I don’t have any. I am tired of eliminating things and avoiding things only to have it not matter. I don’t have triggers, many people with this disease don’t.

So, that’s it! I have this disease. I sometimes get vertigo, spin, and puke. I can’t hear you most of the time. I am often unbalanced.

Not such a big deal.

Peace and GO TWINS!

LB