Vertigo

The Backstory

  1. A few months ago I was diagnosed with vertigo. I had started to feel bad every now and then, with dizziness and nausea at odd times that really bordered on the extreme. In fact, it occurred to me more than once, when it was at its worst, that maybe I should not be driving.

  2. Vertigo is miserable, and many people suffer with it, with no known cause or cure.

    In fact, since I’ve been talking about vertigo, everyone and their cousin has had, or knows someone who has had, an experience with it. I had no clue so many people were suffering with it.

  3. A few weeks ago I had been out running errands, and my amazing and stunning dizziness started up in full force again, and I ended up checking myself into the Emergency Room to see what exactly might be up with the dizziness and nausea, since it was again at its worst.

  4. I spared anyone from this knowledge, of being in the Emergency Room, since I figured everyone would think the worst.

  5. The entire Parish knew I was in the Emergency Room within an hour. And they all thought the worst.

  6. The good doc at the hospital said I had vertigo too. I was relieved to have that restatement of my diagnosis, and felt much better about life in general thereafter

  7. I looked forward to my upcoming vertigo test… All would be well soon.

    Time passed, and all was well with the world.

The Story

  1. Today I finally had my vertigo test, which uses various technologies to … well… test for vertigo.

    goggles

    You put on goggles so the doctor can check your involuntary eye movements while you stare at certain spots, or have hot and cold air variously blown into your ear canals. You do balance tests and hearing tests.

    I look nothing like the model in this photo, a fact which pleases me to no end, being a Priest.

  2. After the tests, my doc and her student assistant told me that my hearing and inner ears were fine. Which is great and wonderful, but… the leading causes of vertigo were now ruled out.

    It was back to the drawing board…

  3. :-[

  4. This afternoon I googled, again, my symptoms — “dizziness and nausea”, only this time I added “headache”.

  5. The results amazed me. One of the leading causes of these symptoms is carbon monoxide poisoning, which often imitates other conditions.

  6. Just yesterday I brought my car in for work. A persistent rattle, alternately diagnosed as various things which had not panned out, had been steadily getting worse, and as things ended up, the exhaust system needed to be replaced.

  7. A leading cause of carbon monoxide poisoning is a faulty exhaust system in your car. in fact the CDC has a page listing unintentional deaths resulting from carbon monoxide poisoning.

  8. La Couronne

  9. One side of my dual exhaust system was totally blocked; and every indication is, that this condition had been around for awhile. I’ve checked everything else regularly, but the exhaust system never occurred to me as mechanics is not a gift of mine.

  10. I’m thinking the math adds up, and that these symptoms will continue to subside drastically.

Lesson Learned

  1. Check your automobile exhaust system every year!

  2. Just do it.

  3. Amen.

The Rev. Kenneth Allen