Monday, 1 August 2016
Motorists Vestibular Disorientation Syndrome: The good news (and the bad news...)
In case anybody stumbles across this blog who is experiencing severe disorientation when driving, I thought that it might be useful to give an update on my own situation - as my last post was back in 2011!
As you'll see from my previous posts, I experience severe problems when driving, which it was suggested to me was Motorists Vestibular Disorientation Syndrome.
I spent fruitless months and years, searching for some mythical way of dealing with this - some treatment that would resolve this crazy problem, and an explanation of what was happening to me.
The good news is that I eventually found my answer, but the bad news is that my dizziness and disorientation when driving turned out to be just part of a much larger problem.
Along with the disorientation, vertigo and dizziness, I'd also suffered from chronic headaches from around 2007 onwards.
In 2010, things became so bad that I had to stop working, and haven't been able to return to work since.
I then spent 2 or 3 years looking in vain for answers from the health service, but was badly let down - as nobody could really say what was wrong (other than being told that it was a psychological problem...).
To be fair, the tests that I had didn't really show anything significant (although later tests that I paid for did).
The answer, or at any rate the source of the problem, was so bizarre that I didn't believe it for some time.
I'd read a lot of books while I was trying to understand the source of my symptoms, which had progressed beyond chronic headaches, dizziness, vertigo, and the driving problems, to include gastrointestinal problems and chronic pain.
By accident, I saw a book on Amazon called Zapped: Why Your Cell Phone Shouldn't Be Your Alarm Clock and 1,268 Ways to Outsmart the Hazards of Electronic Pollution, by Ann Louise Gittleman.
I bought this book in 2012, as I was intrigued (and as I did used to use my phone as an alarm, with it positioned right by my head when I was sleeping).
I read the book, which was talking about the health dangers of the electromagnetic radiation from electrical devices, and especially the microwave transmissions from wireless devices (cell/mobile phones, Wi-Fi, smart meters, cell towers/mobile masts, DECT cordless phones, wearables etc.
I was fairly sceptical, but buying that book was the moment when the pieces of the jigsaw finally started to fall into place, and I realised that my problems went much further and deeper than "Motorists Vestibular Disorientation Syndrome"; I realised that in fact I was highly sensitised to electromagnetic fields and radiation. In other words, I was "electrosensitive".
Once realisation dawned, and with the benefit of hindsight, so many inexplicable episodes in my past, relating to driving and much else besides, started to make sense.
One of my most important breakthroughs was when I bought a meter to measure this radiation in my house, and was able to see that the areas of the house where I'd always felt worst actually had the highest radiation levels.
This led to further discoveries: that I was affected by a cell tower / mobile mast which was in direct line of sight of my bedroom. That my electricity meter was constantly emitting pulsed microwave radiation throughout my house. That I was being badly affected by my neighbour's DECT cordless phone. That my own DECT phone was emitting astonishing levels of electromagnetic radiation.
As for particular areas that I felt really dizzy in when driving: there were cell towers / mobile masts in the vicinity.
Once you crack a puzzle, it's amazing how easily things fall into place.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, if you do read this, and if you are suffering inexplicable dizziness, vertigo, headaches, problems driving, and many symptoms besides, please at least consider the possibility that you too may be highly sensitised to electromagnetic radiation from electrical (and especially wireless) devices.
Electrosensitivity is hard to diagnose, and most health professionals have never even heard of it (though this is starting to change now, thankfully).
It doesn't help either that the tech and telecoms industry would very much prefer it if people didn't know that wireless technologies are inherently harmful. Who, for example, even knows that the radiation is officially classified as a Group 2B Possible Carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organisation?
I certainly didn't.
Here are a few links, if you would like to look further into this "crazy" suggestion that your symptoms could actually be linked to your favourite wireless devices, as well as other sources of electrical fields and radiation.
Who knows. This could be the answer that you've been searching for.
Good luck,
Dave
Being Electrosensitive (my "new" blog)
https://beingelectrosensitive.blogspot.co.uk/
Zapped: Why Your Cell Phone Shouldn't Be Your Alarm Clock and 1,268 Ways to Outsmart the Hazards of Electronic Pollution, Ann Louise Gittleman
https://www.amazon.com/Zapped-Shouldnt-Outsmart-Electronic-Pollution/dp/0061864285/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1470048864&sr=8-9&keywords=Ann+Louise+Gittleman
Electric Sense (Lloyd Burrell)
http://www.electricsense.com/
International EMF Scientist Appeal
https://www.emfscientist.org/
Environmental Health Trust
http://ehtrust.org/
Electrosensitivity UK (charity)
http://www.es-uk.info/
Powerwatch
http://www.powerwatch.org.uk/
PHIRE (Physicians Health Initiative for Radiation and Environment)
http://phiremedical.org/
UK Electrosensitives (Facebook support group)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/675328022574090/
EMF and EHS Law (Facebook support group)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/761128677314944/
Sunday, 11 September 2011
At last! I find a decent medical practitioner
Hello, and welcome to my third post. The story so far: I've been incapacitated by a long-term mystery condition which seems to have baffled the medical profession, and which has left me in so much relentless pain and in such a state of chronic fatigue that I've been unable to work, or do anything much really.
"To my mind the sternoclydomastoid is the most intriguing muscle in the body. I discovered that in addition to setting off referred pain in the head and face, it apparently transmits proprioceptive nerve impulses that inform the brain of the position of the head and body in surrounding space. When trigger areas and abnormal tension develop in a particular part of the muscle - its clavicular division - the deranged sensory input conflicts with information from the eyes relayed to the balancing centers of the brain. Then, whenever head movement changes the antigravity load on the sternomastoids...the person experiences a lightheaded form of dizziness..."
It goes on:
"During an acute attack of sternomastoid postural dizziness, a person suddenly cannot drive his car. It veers, too. The operator's brain misjudges the amount of force that he applies to the steering wheel, and, try as he may, he cannot keep the automobile moving in a straight line".
Last time, I wrote about my discovery of the Sternoclydomastoid ("SCM") muscle in the neck, and some of the problems that this pesky muscle can cause.
The way it happened was this. I'd been getting absolutely nowhere with getting any sort of diagnosis of my condition, despite seeing a number of specialists in various fields, and having loads of physio treatment on my neck, from a number of different physios.
I'd get some temporary relief from some of the physio treatment, but my symptoms would always return in a day or two.
One day, I was searching on the internet for any condition which looked vaguely similar to mine, and on one of the sites (can't remember which) there was a reference to a book called "Office Hours: Day and Night", by someone called Janet Travell. The name didn't mean anything to me at the time, but it does now.
The reference said that in Janet Travell's book, she describes the SCM muscle, and some of the symptoms that can be associated with trigger points in it (I was aware of trigger points by this time, following all the physio treatment I'd had).
There was a specific mention of disorientation experienced when driving, along with the headaches and dizziness.
I ordered a second-had copy of the book that day, along with a book called "The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook" by Clair Davies.
The section in the autobiography which caught my eye goes like this:
"To my mind the sternoclydomastoid is the most intriguing muscle in the body. I discovered that in addition to setting off referred pain in the head and face, it apparently transmits proprioceptive nerve impulses that inform the brain of the position of the head and body in surrounding space. When trigger areas and abnormal tension develop in a particular part of the muscle - its clavicular division - the deranged sensory input conflicts with information from the eyes relayed to the balancing centers of the brain. Then, whenever head movement changes the antigravity load on the sternomastoids...the person experiences a lightheaded form of dizziness..."
It goes on:
"During an acute attack of sternomastoid postural dizziness, a person suddenly cannot drive his car. It veers, too. The operator's brain misjudges the amount of force that he applies to the steering wheel, and, try as he may, he cannot keep the automobile moving in a straight line".
This all seemed to exactly match my symptoms, and I was convinced that I'd finally managed to diagnose my condition - namely that I had something called "SCM Syndrome".
Co-incidentally, I found out from the other book that I'd ordered at the same time - "The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook" - that Janet Travell was actually the co-author of the definitive book on trigger points and their treatment - "Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual".
Fantastic. I now had a diagnosis, and in "The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook", I had a guide on how to self-treat the trigger points.
Before I attempted this, I saw the musculo-skeletal physio who had been treating me, and asked him to check for trigger points in my SCM muscles. Sure enough, they were there.
That was the good news, and this discovery happened in April - co-incidentally one year after I'd had to stop working due to my condition.
The bad news was that over the next few months, and despite trying all sorts of different treatments on my SCM muscles, my symptoms, although sometimes improved for a while, remained stubbornly persistent. In fact, some of the treatment actually made me much worse.
Anyone who hasn't experienced the full force of these "cervicogenic" headaches and dizziness can have absolutely no idea how debilitating they are, how they sap all your energy, and how low you sink while you're having them.
The worst thing was to try a new treatment for these trigger points, and then end up feeling ten times worse afterwards.
In "The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook", Clair Davies describes how you can self-treat SCM trigger points by massaging them between your fingers and thumb.
I'd advise extreme caution to anyone suffering from SCM trigger points, and attempting this. In my case, this caused acute headaches and dizziness.
Another of the treatments a number of physios had tried was dry-needling these trigger points. Again, these caused serious short-term problems (especially dizziness), and seemed to have no long-term benefit at all. The same thing with SCM stretches - occasionally some short-term relief, but nothing that "stuck".
I stopped seeing the physios as I wasn't getting anywhere, and instead found an excellent local chiropractor. I'd been a bit dubious about being treated by a chiropractor; I'd had one previous session from a different one, and didn't really like that "bone clicking" thing they do.
However, this local chiropractor has turned out to be really excellent, and I'm so glad I stumbled across her internet site. It turned out that she practices from her home, which is about 5 minutes away from me.
This is key advice for anyone with a condition similar to mine; you really need to find a practitioner who you trust, who you feel is really acting on your behalf, and who you feel really has an interest in getting to the bottom of what's going on, and can look at the problem in a holistic, open-minded way.
Easier said than done, finding someone like this, I know.
Well, that's enough for now. Next time, I'll describe her treatment, and whether it was successful or not.
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Looking for Answers (in all the wrong places...)
Hello, and welcome to my second blog posting. Not that anyone's actually discovered my blog yet, but I guess it's early days.
This time, I'll try to describe my symptoms (without being too much of a hypochondriac), and give a bit more of the background behind my eventual self-diagnosis, which happened in April of this year - coincidentally one year after I first had to stop working and go to my GP due to my condition.
To summarise what I said before, I've been unable to work for a year and a half now, due to a debilitating condition which the medical profession seemed completely unable to diagnose, although they were finally able to confirm what it wasn't - i.e. that it wasn't a vestibular (inner ear) problem. This actually contradicted an earlier diagnosis which said it was an inner ear problem...
I'm assuming (and I've subsequently been reassured from my research) that I'm by no means the only person in the universe suffering with my particular combination of symptoms, and so I'm going to try to outine them here - so that it might prompt a cry of recognition from anyone else who's going through the same sort of thing.
Persistent and acute headaches/dizziness/vertigo
I work (or worked) in IT, which involves long periods staring at a PC or laptop monitor. In April 2008, I was working on quite a stressful contract some distance from home. As the contract went on, I started developing severe headaches and dizziness, which seemed to increase the longer the contract went on.
The headaches and dizziness seemed to go together like bread and butter - I don't remember having one without the other.
Things came to a head when I was driving back one Friday on the motorway, and experienced a sudden dizziness and feeling of disorientation so bad that I had to pull over to the slow lane, drive really slowly, and come off at the next exit. I'll say more about these symptoms later.
Before this experience on the motorway, I remember having a really bad headache which seemed to "press down" on the top and back of my head. As I say, the headaches had been gradually getting worse the longer I worked on this contract.
I also remember vertigo as being a real problem during this period; to go for lunch, we'd have to walk out of our building and up a fairly steep slope in the car park to a cafe. I experienced real problems with vertigo walking up and down that slope.
For the remainder of the contract, I was unable to drive on motorways or dual-carriageways due to my ongoing driving-related dizziness, and so had to make my way there (about 100 miles) on small roads. My headaches and dizziness persisted, and got worse.
The other significant thing to say here is that I was using a laptop without a riser (very bad idea, as I now know), and also had a second monitor to the side of the laptop, so much of my time was spent staring at the second screen which was at an angle (i.e. my head was turned). Another very bad idea.
I managed to get to the end of the contract, but was in a really bad way at the finish. I checked myself into a local hospital while I was there to try and find out what was going on, but despite running a number of tests, they basically had no idea. They prescribed some tabltes, which made absolutely no difference.
Over the next couple of years, my symptoms persisted, although they did gradually start easing, and I was able to continue working, and was able to get by driving as long as I stayed off motorways, and minimised my dual-carriageway driving.
However, in 2010, my persistent hedaches, dizziness, vertigo and driving-related problems all started worsening again, until things went "bang" in April, and I had to give up working in the middle of a contract as things were so bad, and haven't worked since.
Strangely (or not), the deterioration in my condition coincided with the fact that, once again, I started using a second PC monitor at work (as they wouldn't provide a switch which would've let me use 2 PCs through one monitor). Hindsight's a wonderful thing, but I now know exactly how dangerous using a PC with your head turned for prolonged periods can be...
The various symptoms can be aggravated by using a PC for any length of time, sitting in certain positions (eg. in chairs with poor back support), and chewing or moving my head slightly (can bring on dizziness).
Driving-related "malaise"
The problems I experience when driving are a major aspect of my condition, and to some extent one of the most debilitating aspects. I've always driven long distances throughout my life - I've frequently worked long distances from home, and once, when I was working in Frankfurt, I drove my car over there towards the end of the contract to bring all my stuff I'd accumulated in Germany back to the UK.
Now, all of a sudden, I couldn't drive on motorways or dual-carriageways, and on occasions even driving on small roads was problematic.
The symptoms I experience are a feeling of dizziness/disorientation, panic, being out of control (as if I don't grip the steering wheel really hard, the car is going to veer towards the oncoming traffic and smash into it), and an "overwhelming" urge to pull over to the left and slow down. In April 2010, I was so bad when trying to drive back from work, that I was literally scaping the kerb on a number of occasions, so strong was this urge to pull over to the left.
Some of the other driving-related situations which could induce what has been called this "malaise" were driving on hills with a sharp drop-off to the right-hand side, driving in deep cuttings, which then give way to a wide-open space, driving up or down steep hills, driving into a sharp right-hand bend, oncoming traffic (or traffic approaching from the rear), driving on elevated sections of road, etc. etc.
Basically, driving became an ordeal, needing planning beforehand to avoid some of the obvious causes of the malaise, and even meant driving in the early hours, when the roads were at their quietest.
Various other strange symptoms
Oh, I've had all sorts of weird and wonderful symptoms, which may (or may not) be relevant to my strange condition. These have included:
Self-Diagnosis
Now that I believe I know what the problem is and looking back over my symptoms (plus having done so much research and investigation - even as just a layman in medical matters), the answer is just so obvious!
At the time though, as you're living through this terrible experience and are trying to get somebody - anybody - to tell you what the problem is and what to do about it, it's just so hard to know what to think; I know I kept bouncing from theory to theory, sometimes believing those in the medical profession who hinted (or just said out loud) it was all down to stress, sometimes believing I did have an inner ear problem (but why the persistent headaches?), and most of the time not knowing what to believe or think.
I had a significant number of medical specialists tell me that there was no point in me trying to over-analyse the cause(s) of my dizziness and headaches, let alone my problems driving; i.e. if the doctors didn't know, what chance would I, as a mere mortal, have of discovering what they couldn't...?
Luckily for me, I've never been that good at being told what not to do.
I've also been described as "obsessive" for keeping detailed notes of the profress of my condition, aggravating factors, diagnoses given, treatment given and so on. Well, pardon me for wanting to know what's wrong with me, and how I can make myself better (you know who you are, who described me thus!!)
If anyone does read this blog who is going through anything similar to what I've been through, and has hit such severe lows due to the incessant pain of the headaches, dizziness and incapacitating symptoms that the idea of just ending it all becomes attractive (as I felt on at least a couple of occasions), please, please, ignore the people who tell you not to over-analyse what you're going through or who say you are obsessive, and carry on trying to find out the answer - assuming that the doctors or other health professionals aren't able to tell you.
Well, this has been a longer post than I was expeting it to be. I'll end by giving some details of what led me towards finally finding out the cause of my condition, which would enable me to finally get some targetted treatment.
On one occasion, I went to my GP to ask to be referred to a spinal specialist, as I knew that even after extensive physio treatment (which included moving a deviated neck vertibrae back to where it was supposed to be), my ongoing symptoms were originating in my neck. I knew this just from the ceaseless aches and pains coming from this region.
She actually referred me to a musculo-skeletal physio, who carried out extensive stretching treatment on my upper back and neck. This, for about the first time, actually seemed to result in an appreciable, if temporary, improvement.
While I was receiving treatment from this physio, I was also doing a fair bit of research on the internet, still trying to explain the combination of headaches, dizziness, vertigo and driving problems from which I was suffering.
The breakthrough came when I started reading about the sternoclydomastoid (SCM) muscle in the neck, and some of the problems which could originate here.
More next time...
This time, I'll try to describe my symptoms (without being too much of a hypochondriac), and give a bit more of the background behind my eventual self-diagnosis, which happened in April of this year - coincidentally one year after I first had to stop working and go to my GP due to my condition.
To summarise what I said before, I've been unable to work for a year and a half now, due to a debilitating condition which the medical profession seemed completely unable to diagnose, although they were finally able to confirm what it wasn't - i.e. that it wasn't a vestibular (inner ear) problem. This actually contradicted an earlier diagnosis which said it was an inner ear problem...
I'm assuming (and I've subsequently been reassured from my research) that I'm by no means the only person in the universe suffering with my particular combination of symptoms, and so I'm going to try to outine them here - so that it might prompt a cry of recognition from anyone else who's going through the same sort of thing.
Persistent and acute headaches/dizziness/vertigo
I work (or worked) in IT, which involves long periods staring at a PC or laptop monitor. In April 2008, I was working on quite a stressful contract some distance from home. As the contract went on, I started developing severe headaches and dizziness, which seemed to increase the longer the contract went on.
The headaches and dizziness seemed to go together like bread and butter - I don't remember having one without the other.
Things came to a head when I was driving back one Friday on the motorway, and experienced a sudden dizziness and feeling of disorientation so bad that I had to pull over to the slow lane, drive really slowly, and come off at the next exit. I'll say more about these symptoms later.
Before this experience on the motorway, I remember having a really bad headache which seemed to "press down" on the top and back of my head. As I say, the headaches had been gradually getting worse the longer I worked on this contract.
I also remember vertigo as being a real problem during this period; to go for lunch, we'd have to walk out of our building and up a fairly steep slope in the car park to a cafe. I experienced real problems with vertigo walking up and down that slope.
For the remainder of the contract, I was unable to drive on motorways or dual-carriageways due to my ongoing driving-related dizziness, and so had to make my way there (about 100 miles) on small roads. My headaches and dizziness persisted, and got worse.
The other significant thing to say here is that I was using a laptop without a riser (very bad idea, as I now know), and also had a second monitor to the side of the laptop, so much of my time was spent staring at the second screen which was at an angle (i.e. my head was turned). Another very bad idea.
I managed to get to the end of the contract, but was in a really bad way at the finish. I checked myself into a local hospital while I was there to try and find out what was going on, but despite running a number of tests, they basically had no idea. They prescribed some tabltes, which made absolutely no difference.
Over the next couple of years, my symptoms persisted, although they did gradually start easing, and I was able to continue working, and was able to get by driving as long as I stayed off motorways, and minimised my dual-carriageway driving.
However, in 2010, my persistent hedaches, dizziness, vertigo and driving-related problems all started worsening again, until things went "bang" in April, and I had to give up working in the middle of a contract as things were so bad, and haven't worked since.
Strangely (or not), the deterioration in my condition coincided with the fact that, once again, I started using a second PC monitor at work (as they wouldn't provide a switch which would've let me use 2 PCs through one monitor). Hindsight's a wonderful thing, but I now know exactly how dangerous using a PC with your head turned for prolonged periods can be...
The various symptoms can be aggravated by using a PC for any length of time, sitting in certain positions (eg. in chairs with poor back support), and chewing or moving my head slightly (can bring on dizziness).
Driving-related "malaise"
The problems I experience when driving are a major aspect of my condition, and to some extent one of the most debilitating aspects. I've always driven long distances throughout my life - I've frequently worked long distances from home, and once, when I was working in Frankfurt, I drove my car over there towards the end of the contract to bring all my stuff I'd accumulated in Germany back to the UK.
Now, all of a sudden, I couldn't drive on motorways or dual-carriageways, and on occasions even driving on small roads was problematic.
The symptoms I experience are a feeling of dizziness/disorientation, panic, being out of control (as if I don't grip the steering wheel really hard, the car is going to veer towards the oncoming traffic and smash into it), and an "overwhelming" urge to pull over to the left and slow down. In April 2010, I was so bad when trying to drive back from work, that I was literally scaping the kerb on a number of occasions, so strong was this urge to pull over to the left.
Some of the other driving-related situations which could induce what has been called this "malaise" were driving on hills with a sharp drop-off to the right-hand side, driving in deep cuttings, which then give way to a wide-open space, driving up or down steep hills, driving into a sharp right-hand bend, oncoming traffic (or traffic approaching from the rear), driving on elevated sections of road, etc. etc.
Basically, driving became an ordeal, needing planning beforehand to avoid some of the obvious causes of the malaise, and even meant driving in the early hours, when the roads were at their quietest.
Various other strange symptoms
Oh, I've had all sorts of weird and wonderful symptoms, which may (or may not) be relevant to my strange condition. These have included:
- Occasional jaw ache - like toothache, but clearly coming from the jaw
- Occasional ringing in the ears, or even hearing "cutting out" for a few moments
- Persistent runny nose
- Lack of energy, feeling lethargic
- Neck pains, and general aches and pains from muscles in my upper back, shoulders etc.
- Problems reading, vision "skipping about" or blurry
Now that I believe I know what the problem is and looking back over my symptoms (plus having done so much research and investigation - even as just a layman in medical matters), the answer is just so obvious!
At the time though, as you're living through this terrible experience and are trying to get somebody - anybody - to tell you what the problem is and what to do about it, it's just so hard to know what to think; I know I kept bouncing from theory to theory, sometimes believing those in the medical profession who hinted (or just said out loud) it was all down to stress, sometimes believing I did have an inner ear problem (but why the persistent headaches?), and most of the time not knowing what to believe or think.
I had a significant number of medical specialists tell me that there was no point in me trying to over-analyse the cause(s) of my dizziness and headaches, let alone my problems driving; i.e. if the doctors didn't know, what chance would I, as a mere mortal, have of discovering what they couldn't...?
Luckily for me, I've never been that good at being told what not to do.
I've also been described as "obsessive" for keeping detailed notes of the profress of my condition, aggravating factors, diagnoses given, treatment given and so on. Well, pardon me for wanting to know what's wrong with me, and how I can make myself better (you know who you are, who described me thus!!)
If anyone does read this blog who is going through anything similar to what I've been through, and has hit such severe lows due to the incessant pain of the headaches, dizziness and incapacitating symptoms that the idea of just ending it all becomes attractive (as I felt on at least a couple of occasions), please, please, ignore the people who tell you not to over-analyse what you're going through or who say you are obsessive, and carry on trying to find out the answer - assuming that the doctors or other health professionals aren't able to tell you.
Well, this has been a longer post than I was expeting it to be. I'll end by giving some details of what led me towards finally finding out the cause of my condition, which would enable me to finally get some targetted treatment.
On one occasion, I went to my GP to ask to be referred to a spinal specialist, as I knew that even after extensive physio treatment (which included moving a deviated neck vertibrae back to where it was supposed to be), my ongoing symptoms were originating in my neck. I knew this just from the ceaseless aches and pains coming from this region.
She actually referred me to a musculo-skeletal physio, who carried out extensive stretching treatment on my upper back and neck. This, for about the first time, actually seemed to result in an appreciable, if temporary, improvement.
While I was receiving treatment from this physio, I was also doing a fair bit of research on the internet, still trying to explain the combination of headaches, dizziness, vertigo and driving problems from which I was suffering.
The breakthrough came when I started reading about the sternoclydomastoid (SCM) muscle in the neck, and some of the problems which could originate here.
More next time...
Thursday, 25 August 2011
Hello and welcome!!
Greetings! This is my blog, dedicated to a strange medical condition which goes by many names, and of which the medical profession, at least those eminent professionals I have spoken to, seems blissfully unaware.
Up until 2008, I'd barely had a day off work sick. Since 2008 though, I've experienced a bizarre set of symptoms, which came on intermittantly (like a car with an occassional fault which the garage can never reproduce), but then which suddenly became persistent and acute, and with severe consequences.
The symptoms can be summed up in just a few words: persistent, unrelenting headaches, dizziness, vertigo, and acute driving problems.
Things became so bad in April 2010 that I had to stop working, and since then I've been spending my time a) trying to find out what exactly is wrong with me, and b) trying to find out how can I get better.
The bad news is that if other people's experience is anything like mine, the NHS in the UK seems to be utterly incapable of diagnosing the cause of symptoms such as these. I've had a wide variety of "diagnoses", some obviously wide of the mark, and have wasted months running around in circles, with scattergun treatment that has made little difference, or which has brought only temporary relief.
The good news is that, as I found out when I gave up on the medical profession in disgust, the answers are actually out there, once you start investigating, reading what's available on the internet and in various books, and analysing your symptoms (after all, you're always going to be closer to your symptoms than your doctor).
Since my symptoms came to a head, I've had the following diagnoses - either explicitly or implicitly stated - from GPs, neurologists, ENT specialists, Physios, Otologists etc:
Cervicogenic Symptoms (due to a neck problem)
Otolithic Vestibulopathy (an inner ear problem)
Positional Vertigo (i.e. BPPV)
Stress
Motorists (Vestibular) Disorientation Syndrome
The results from an MRI scan showed nothing wrong. The results from a first set of balance tests I had carried out indicated a problem with my right inner ear. The results from a second set of more sophisticated balance tests, while showing a weakness in my right inner ear, weren't apparently enough to explain my symptoms.
Well, that's enough for now.
Just to finish off, let me say that I have absolutely no medical training, and so I'm in no way qualified to reach any medical judgements, either about my own symptoms, or about the symptoms of anyone else.
All I am qualified to do is to discuss what I have gone through, treatment and exercises I've tried, and what has seemed to work for me (and what has made me worse).
If anyone other than me stumbles across my blog and is suffering from any of the symptoms I describe, it would be nice to think that by sharing notes, we could help each other out...
Dave
(In my next post, I'll try to outline how I came to diagnose the underlying cause of my symptoms myself, and what that diagnosis is. I'll also talk about the driving-related symptoms I suffer from, as these are in some ways the worst aspect of my condition)
Up until 2008, I'd barely had a day off work sick. Since 2008 though, I've experienced a bizarre set of symptoms, which came on intermittantly (like a car with an occassional fault which the garage can never reproduce), but then which suddenly became persistent and acute, and with severe consequences.
The symptoms can be summed up in just a few words: persistent, unrelenting headaches, dizziness, vertigo, and acute driving problems.
Things became so bad in April 2010 that I had to stop working, and since then I've been spending my time a) trying to find out what exactly is wrong with me, and b) trying to find out how can I get better.
The bad news is that if other people's experience is anything like mine, the NHS in the UK seems to be utterly incapable of diagnosing the cause of symptoms such as these. I've had a wide variety of "diagnoses", some obviously wide of the mark, and have wasted months running around in circles, with scattergun treatment that has made little difference, or which has brought only temporary relief.
The good news is that, as I found out when I gave up on the medical profession in disgust, the answers are actually out there, once you start investigating, reading what's available on the internet and in various books, and analysing your symptoms (after all, you're always going to be closer to your symptoms than your doctor).
Since my symptoms came to a head, I've had the following diagnoses - either explicitly or implicitly stated - from GPs, neurologists, ENT specialists, Physios, Otologists etc:
Cervicogenic Symptoms (due to a neck problem)
Otolithic Vestibulopathy (an inner ear problem)
Positional Vertigo (i.e. BPPV)
Stress
Motorists (Vestibular) Disorientation Syndrome
The results from an MRI scan showed nothing wrong. The results from a first set of balance tests I had carried out indicated a problem with my right inner ear. The results from a second set of more sophisticated balance tests, while showing a weakness in my right inner ear, weren't apparently enough to explain my symptoms.
Well, that's enough for now.
Just to finish off, let me say that I have absolutely no medical training, and so I'm in no way qualified to reach any medical judgements, either about my own symptoms, or about the symptoms of anyone else.
All I am qualified to do is to discuss what I have gone through, treatment and exercises I've tried, and what has seemed to work for me (and what has made me worse).
If anyone other than me stumbles across my blog and is suffering from any of the symptoms I describe, it would be nice to think that by sharing notes, we could help each other out...
Dave
(In my next post, I'll try to outline how I came to diagnose the underlying cause of my symptoms myself, and what that diagnosis is. I'll also talk about the driving-related symptoms I suffer from, as these are in some ways the worst aspect of my condition)
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