The Pelican Voices in my Head.....

[craigster59]

So yesterday (Monday/ Labor Day) I wake up and jump out of bed (I don't "laze around" I literally almost jump out of bed in the morning) and was a bit light headed. Thought I had gotten up too fast and waited for it to go away, but still felt some dizziness.

I did some stuff around the house, not feeling all that great and a buddy wanted to go to the driving range and hit some balls. I said no problem and we headed out but he wanted to stop at a sporting goods store to check out a new driver. I browsed while he checked out the clubs, I still felt funky and leaned back to stretch and looked up at the ceiling. When my eyes came back down level the whole place started spinning and i almost took out a dsiplay of golf balls trying to regain my balance.

He asked if I was alright and of course I replied "Yeah, but maybe I'll skip the range today, just drop me back off at the house." My plan was to lay down, get some rest and maybe post a "Hey Docs What Could This Be?" thread on Pelican.

Well, I was sweating a lot and the dizziness wasn't getting better and I do take blood pressure medicine so I kept getting flashbacks and voices to the threads posted by Targa911s and others with the same response "Get to the ER and get it checked out!"

To make a long post short, after CT scan, chest X ray, blood workup and 12 lead it turns out it was vertigo caused by a virus. My heart rate was 62, BP 127/72 and O2 Sat was 98. The ticker looks good so no problems there.

Anyway, normally I would have just gone home, laid on the sofa and hopefully things would pass. Thankfully, I do have great health insurance (can't imagine what the charge will be for visit) and feel bad for those without insurance, where the financial costs are a large part of the "do I go or not" equation.

Thanks guys and gals, things turned out well and just wanted you to know you make a difference even when we aren't online posting and surfing Pelican!

[sc_rufctr]

Last week I had 48 hours of varying temp, shivering and joint pain... All the flue symptoms but no chesty cough or runny nose.

The pain was bad. The worse I'd felt in years.

[vash]

hope you feel better.!!

virus? where?

[McLovin]

So, normally you would have just manned it up and gone home and let it pass, but the Pelican voices caused you to panic and go to the hospital and spend half the day needlessly racking up $10K worth of tests, and that's a good thing?

















Just kidding, glad you're ok. Vertigo can be a pretty frightening thing the first time. I had it hit me really really hard in the middle of the night once. So much so, I got out of bed and couldn't stand up, it was so dizzying. I thought I was dead for sure. My wife drove me to the hospital, but my docs were smarter than yours and figured it out without any xrays, cat scans, etc.

[craigster59]

Originally Posted by vash

hope you feel better.!!

virus? where?

Doc said probably caused by stress or ??? Tough to pinpoint but still sucks. My balance is usually very good. I can slip on the ice, feet above my waist and do an Elvis hip thrust and a kung fu spin and land on my feet like a cat. But yesterday I was reeling around like a 3 year old that just got off of the Tilt-A-Whirl.

I turned 53 last weekend and with all the young folks dropping lately (M.C. Duncan 54, guitarist from Starship 46 and a good friend a few weeks ago at 48) I didn't want to take any chances since I've been putting off my physical and Dr's appointments since I've been so busy at work. I haven't hit the "get off my lawn" point in old age but I am at the "my health is most important" phase. I need to slow down at work and quit getting so amped up.

[McLovin]

Doc said mine was caused by stress, too.

I've greatly reduced the stress in my life, and the vertigo has never come back.

Your doc probably told you, but over the counter Bonine is great to have around. If you feel vertigo coming on, take a few, it really seems to work.

[scottmandue]

Have you had you blood sugar checked?

I presume from all the other tests they did... but low sugar will make you dizzy BTDT.

[red-beard]

Severe Dehydration can also cause vertigo. My dad seems to have this problem when he works in the yard in Houston too much.

[craigster59]

All my tests and blood came back fine, had also been drinking Gatorade so don't think it was dehydration. I just tend to "internalize" stuff and throw myself into my work, so much so that I "work" in my sleep.

“If the problem can be solved why worry? If the problem cannot be solved worrying will do you no good.”
― Śāntideva, that's my new mantra....

[vash]

crazy how stress can manifest into some real illness..real as in something you can see and touch. i get (gross, TMI?) mouth sores..again, a virus i think.

take it easy buddy.

[azasadny]

I'm glad you got it taken care of and that it wasn't as serious as it could have been!!

[nostatic]

Funny because Saturday I had a "pelican voices" moment though I opted for the (eventual) couch approach. We were riding up in the mountains and coming back down I started to get really bad pains in my back. Was odd - not my typical irritated nerve thing but there was a hint of indigestion at play. Got to the base and got off pondering what to do. Had some fluids and it slowly subsided so I rode home. Only thing I can figure is that the altitude change (6K' down to about 1K') must have played havoc with some gas. I was wondering if I was having an MI though but there were no other symptoms (no left arm pain, no shortness of breath, etc).

Getting old sucks...plus I also suffer from tons of work stress. I work in my sleep (what little I get) as well. That's what's going to kill me...

[onewhippedpuppy]

Vertigo is nothing to mess with. My brother in law had a vertigo episode at 22, it turned out to be a non-cancerous brain tumor that required surgery. You made the right choice.