Dizzy

Yesterday I had an attack of the dizzies, the worst since moving away from the wet coastal air and the coastal allergens into the dry central air and the inland allergens. And of course the not so fresh air here.

I was told by the doctor years ago that allergies were causing fluid to build up behind my eardrum, causing my ear to feel plugged up and screwing up my equilibrium which in turn causes dizziness and vertigo and nausea. And sometimes extreme vomiting. Kind of like being seasick or carsick. I had some really bad bouts with it down in Ventura, bad enough to where I had to leave work a few times and be driven home, bad enough to where I really couldn't function very well and was in constant fear of having a dizzy spell at a bad time, like driving on the freeway or something.

I managed to control it for the most part with a daily dose of an allergy pill and a seasick pill and just watched for the telltale symptoms of a plugged up ear and a just not right feeling.

When we moved up here, the symptoms seemed to go away for the most part and I no longer had to take the daily allergy and seasick pills, I think whatever was causing it was a coastal thing, and the much dryer air here in the lovely (gag) city of Bakersfield seemed to help a lot.

But then yesterday the air smelled of onions and as the day went on I started to feel weird again and by the afternoon was definitely dizzy and my ear was all plugged up and here we go again. I took an allergy pill which didn't seem to do much and kind of rested on the couch for the evening then went to bed with a fuzzy head. And woke up with one this morning. Another allergy pill and being careful not to move my head down to the right which seems to make the feeling worse, and now I'm starting to feel a little better. I still have the rushing sound in my ear like when you hold a seashell up to your ear and hear the ocean, but not quite so dizzy and fortunately no nausea or vomiting. After Keith gets home we'll go to the store and get some more allergy pills and a fresh box of seasick pills. I told him I was a little afraid to get on the bike and go to the store because when the vertigo hits, its sudden and scary and I don't want to be falling off the bike on the sidewalk somewhere.

I went to the doctor a lot when all this first started about ten years ago, and there really isn't much the doctor can do for you. Other than tell you to take allergy and seasick pills.

It has also caused some hearing loss in my right ear, with me saying 'what?' a lot if Keith is trying to talk to me from another room or if there are other sounds like TV or a radio playing while I'm trying to listen to something.

It's a good excuse to spend the afternoon resting on the couch, though!