Boat Like Its Your Last Time

Went to The Loop for lunch Christmas Eve with the whole family, before taking the annual photo by a family remembrance tree and then mass.

We had just finished when I started to get really dizzy and nauseous. Couldn't stay upright, ended up collapsed across a seat, lost all sense of balance, strength in my arms and legs and couldn't talk properly, throwing up. Ambulance called, hooked up and taken into ER. Spent the afternoon doing blood tests, CAT scans, EKG, neck sonogram, etc. etc.

Every time I moved lost my balance and got nauseous.They kept me in overnight.

They couldn't find anything seriously wrong, no heart issues, food poisoning, blockages. In fact everything came back healthy. They have pumped me full of nausea and vertigo meds and I got home Christmas Day around noon. They think it is an ear issue. Still cannot move or look anywhere other than straight ahead or I lose balance and get really dizzy. So off to the ENT as soon as I can get in this week.

It may be BBPV - which of course I had to look up. If so, I hope it is resolvable.

It was pretty scary for a while. The missus and I were talking about it when the kids were out of the room. she said the worst part was when they took me down for a CAT scan to make sure it was not an aneurysm. After they wheeled me out of the room the doctor told my wife "if it is an aneurysm things are going to move very quickly as we do not have a neurosurgeon on right now, so we will have to rush him to Baptist or Mayo. That got her wound up until they had finished the scan and it was negative.

Now we need to confirm and resolve the ear/vertigo issue as this could really cramp my upcoming retirement travel and boating plans. Luckily we bought a little three wheeler walker for my dad when he was last here so I can get from room to room with some support.

And three days from retirement too. As I keep saying when people ask me what my retirement plans are and I tell them, I always end off with "God and health wiling."

Happy New Year everyone.

Sorry to heat about your undiagnosed health issue.

Saw a bumper sticker 35 years ago while running a group diving trip in Florida. Doubt I'll ever forget it. "Old age is not for sissies".

Ted

O C Diver said:

Sorry to heat about your undiagnosed health issue.

Saw a bumper sticker 35 years ago while running a group diving trip in Florida. Doubt I'll ever forget it. "Old age is not for sissies".

Ted

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That is something my 84 year old mother in law says regularly!
This is a couple who still uses their Willard 40 by the way and their 8' Dyer dinghy that they row, and I mean only row, everywhere! They have each had their share of medical emergencies and survived.

I hope that this is quickly behind you Menzies and that you are out boating again soon too.
Bruce

Sending you good wishes and hope that your issue is resolved quickly and you can get back to enjoying your retirement.

Ken

This surely was very scary for you and those you love.

I am glad all the major tests came back good. If it is vertigo, it takes a while to go away, but may return. There are just some things that cannot be explained or even diagnosed. Maybe a sudden temporary drop in blood pressure. See that Doc this week!

Wishing you well and good health in the new year.

Yikes! Wishing you all the best and a speedy recovery.

Bet you guys didn't know what Otolaryngology is and that it is the oldest medical specialty in the US?

Good luck Menzies!

Sorry to hear and hope you recover soon.
I've had vertigo and it can be somewhat life changing. I've also found great relief by being treating by a Chiropractor specializing in the Blair Technique. It's worth looking into if you have any more episodes.
Blair Chiropractic Society - Home

Hope you feel better soon. The vertigo, inner issues will often improve over time.

Hope everything turns out well.

Something I read years ago helped me decide when to quit.

"the one thing never written on a tombstone is: I wish I worked another day"

"Bet you guys didn't know what Otolaryngology is and that it is the oldest medical specialty in the US?"

I can't pronounce it much less know what it is. if I have a choice, I prefer one syllable health issues; cold, flu, runs etc. But we usually don't get a choice.
Best of luck, vertigo can come and go, my dad experiences that, drove him off the golf course.

We are not promised tomorrow...


all the best to you for improved health

Here's hoping you bounce back fast! Today only happens once...

Gave up flying because of vertigo. Little scary when you're 500' above ground. Makes seasickness look like a mild cold. It passed. I now get bounced all over the place on a rough trip and no problems. First aid kit is packed with meclazine just in case.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery... that's why today is called a [the] "Present"!


Best luck in your recovery - which I believe will happen for you.


Prayers sent in your direction.


Art

Thanks for letting us in on your trauma.
You have a great outlook so I have no doubt we will soon hear from you with the news that your condition was only temporary. Nevertheless, I am also sure your boating will be "like it might be your last time" from now on.

menzies said:

And three days from retirement too. As I keep saying when people ask me what my retirement plans are and I tell them, I always end off with "God and health wiling.".

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Man plans while God laughs...

I'm not though. We are praying a positive diagnosis from your dr, a speedy recovery for you and a peaceful spirit for your wife and children during this chapter of your life.

Be well Menzies

Hey Menzies, vertigo grounded me too for a time, the solution is simple, the oto-guy or a physio will throw you around on a couch to reposition the leeetle tiny crystals (that are floating in your inner ear) back into the position they are supposed to be in. Works a charm for most of us sufferers. You will find that while boating you will always need to wear your pfd and make sure you have a good handhold but life is not over! Lots of other groovy things to drop a rock in your pond like gout, arthritis, blood pressure, bad joints etc. Vertigo is frightening but controllable and you have many years of bobbing in front of you yet!

As one of my old bosses used to say, "keep your tits up,"

Not a fun way to spend the holiday! Here's hoping this is a short and temporary speed bump on life's highway for you and you have a long, healthy retirement.

I enthusiastically concur with the title of your post. I might even go one step further and suggest the trite phrase "Live each day as if it's your last." This had real meaning to me a few years ago when I was diagnosed with advanced Stage 4 cancer and was looking at a very short future. One's perspective changes dramatically when you are told you won't be here in a matter of weeks. Priorities get turned upside down and as one thinks less and less of a future, the present becomes more and more real. Not a bad thing, since we know we are all going to be gone one of these days, but pretty scary to be forced into that situation.

I got lucky and was one of a few that responded to an investigational drug combination. All of my tumors were gone within a few months, so we were back on the boat and headed off to the Bahamas. The attached picture was our first anchorage in the Exumas, and we took the rainbow over our boat as a good omen. Three years later and I'm still NED (No Evidence of Disease in cancer survivor lingo) but the lessons learned remain...

Good luck with the recovery from this and the diagnosis of what caused it. Unknowns can be scary so I hope they find the cause very soon.

Hi menzies!
Last year, during my parents visit in Canada my mum got something similar. Suddenly she felt very tired, was not able to stand up, got strong nausea, was barely able to say a word etc the symptoms your are describing. At first sight we were thinking about an cva so called emergencies and got her to the hospital. After many test it reveals it was an ear issue. Looks like some "cristals" are able to move inside ear and when they are ending in the wrong place the symptoms are much like cva. The doctor took her and did some head and neck movement and 1h later everything was back in place. Very scary but at the end was not so bad. But this kind of events remind you how much life is fragile and transient.
Wish you the best and good recovery!

Years ago I had a really bad bout of vertigo. They said it could return regularly or not... i never had another bad episode, but for a few years if I flew 3 flights in one day, I would get somewhat dizzy, but that too has gone away. Good luck, it would be horrible to not be able to boat, it would only take all the fun out of life.

If the sophisticated tests were negative you most likely have a problem in your semicircular canals. This is not all that rare and is often transient. Something is irritating the sensors. Hopefully you will be back at the helm in a couple of weeks. Look up the Epley maneuver for acute vertigo some information available on the internet. By turning a patients head through various positions things can be reset in the semicircular canals of certain people with vertigo.

The initial diagnosis is BPV (Benign Positional Vertigo).

I think this is the first Christmas since I was about 13 that I haven't had a drink over the holiday! And no, I don't feel any better for it!

So sorry to hear. I hope you have a speedy recovery. Often when things come on suddenly, they can go away suddenly as well. Let's hope that is the case here!

Mike

The working word here is "benign." You'll get better and soon enough you will feel like taking a beaker to wet your whistle. Again.

I think this is the first Christmas since I was about 13 that I haven't had a drink over the holiday! And no, I don't feel any better for it!

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That must be it...AAD...Acute Alcohol Deficiency!

Good Luck with quick recovery.
Vertigo can go as rapidly as it arrived...hoping for that.

eyschulman said:

If the sophisticated tests were negative you most likely have a problem in your semicircular canals. This is not all that rare and is often transient. Something is irritating the sensors. Hopefully you will be back at the helm in a couple of weeks. Look up the Epley maneuver for acute vertigo some information available on the internet. By turning a patients head through various positions things can be reset in the semicircular canals of certain people with vertigo.

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menzies said:

The initial diagnosis is BPV (Benign Positional Vertigo).

I think this is the first Christmas since I was about 13 that I haven't had a drink over the holiday! And no, I don't feel any better for it!

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Just from Menzies description it was virtually certain that was going to be the diagnosis - all those expensive (to the insurance co) tests, scans, etc were a derivation of the way your medical system works, (and why it is so expensive, sadly). I diagnose a case like that about once a month in GP, and unless it fails to settle quite quickly, don't do any investigations with such a classic history.
You'll be fine Menzies. Maybe consider the following...

EySchulman, not to confuse the others too much, but hopefully enlighten, and medic to medic, I'm not all that impressed by the Epley manoeuvre, or as convinced as most by the theory of causation, either. I'm not so sure that the grains of calcium that have fallen off the otoliths getting in the wrong place is the cause. They must be moving around all the time with movement. I'm more inclined to think it is the actual coming away of another chunk of calcium, causing a temporary reaction via nystagmus (eye flicking), caused by the sudden weight change in the otolith. In these cases misinterpreted by the brain as movement, rather than just a change in position with respect to gravity. As the person is not moving, the net effect is the world revolving round them. That fits better with my observation that advising the patient to move freely, rather than limit movement or move slowly, leads to faster recovery, as it allows for normal motion signals to drown out the aberrant signals from the affected semicircular canal, and allows the brain to adjust more quickly to the new weight in that otolith.
What's your take on that..?

otolith One of the many tiny calcareous particles found in the utricle and sacculus (semicircular canals) of the inner ear. These move under gravitational and accelerative forces causing stimulation of hair cells and the production of nerve impulses that provide the brain with information about the position and movement of the head.