bump in the night

It was more in the morning. I smacked my head against a metal beam in the craft RV yesterday. I was looking for the lid for our walkie talkie bin - and found it at the foot of the passenger's seat. So, logically, I went and grabbed for it - not knowing that the bed sitting overtop the front seats was flipped down (the bed was flipped down cause Chris was driving the RV one morning and got smoked in the head by some cases of coke). Anyway - it's hard to describe what this might look like - it's a 31 foot RV. The dark coloured bed was blurred in my vision - and tok! I smacked the metal/hard surface right below all the cushiony things.

Big indent - slowly filled up to a bump. I have a small 'gash' - what looks like a scratch. I did not bruise (thank you God!) and the swelling was not overwhelming. :) Small bump.

When Chris and I sat in the vehicle again - i had to immediately tell him that I have Vertigo. A smack on the head to this extent can surely set my system off.

My vestibular system - I had been getting really severe bouts of Vertigo this one year - so finally, during the summer of SARS, I was in and out of different hospitals seeing different specialists who would then send me to a different specialist and so on. After months of testing - they all had a conclusion that my vertigo was streaming from "Migraines". I don't get migraines - and barely get headaches (but when I do get headaches, generally vertigo is to follow). Instead, my vestibular system goes out of whack and severe dizzy spells hit me. You would think it wasn't too bad - but you can't escape these feelings - You can't sit, stand, curl up in a ball, move around too much - it can't be subdued until it's done. It can last seconds or hours (i've had repetitive stints keep me in one position for hours on end cause movement made me ill). My mind is travelling in one direction, the room feels as though it is spinning in another. Your body tries to stabilize itself - it's nauseating. You want to close your eyes - but it gets worse if you do.

I remember this one test where they pump hot water into one ear at a time then ask you to answer simple questions. The room starts to spin (which is the goal of this test). I was fine when they did it to my right ear, but when they did my left ear - I was so sick. I had to walk home after the test (with great difficulty) and was in bed for the rest of the day/night.

Fun times. So I had to tell Chris that I have this problem right away - in case I randomly passed out.

I love advil - ibuprofen saves my day. I had a bang on headache all night - it was pretty excrutiating. It still kind of is right now.

For more information on Vertigo - visit: http://www.neurologychannel.com/vertigo/