Monday, November 25 – Spinning Janny
Dizzy, my head is spinning. Or at least it was.
Every few months I get an episode of “benign paroxysmal positional vertigo” (or BPPV for short.) There is no rhyme or reason to it. One morning I’ll wake up, pull myself out of bed, and nearly fall up against the wall.
The most recent morning was last Friday. Gah! It’s fine if you stare straight ahead or turn your head side to side slowly on the same angle, but tip your head down – or heaven forbid – try to go from sitting to standing and vice versa… Well, it’s like having the worst hangover ever, except with a hangover you probably had a few hours of fun the night before.
Friday morning is one of my BodyPump mornings and darned if I was going to miss it. I should have known when I felt queasy putting on my runners that this wasn’t the best of ideas. Still…
I was there early so I was able to gingerly line up all my stuff. And the first two tracks you remain vertical and you stare straight ahead (while lifting weights, of course.) Then came track three where you lie done on a wee platform, then sit up and do stuff and then lie back. The whole room felt like a ride on the “Octopus” at the county fair. Ugh!
Later in the class there was another round of lying down and getting up - with weights, as always. And even the stretches at the end require floor work. I truly thought I might lose my breakfast – and if you know me, you know how much I love my food and am not willing to part with any of it.
The next class was Zumba and – believe it or not – it was just fine. I could keep my head at one level and there was no floor work. Woo hoo! You might ask why I would insist on doing a class if I knew I was going to feel so sick. The simple answer is I’m addicted, and at that point the pain of missing two classes would have exceeded the pain of attending.
Not so today (Monday.) I was a little out of sorts on Saturday; Sunday I didn’t want to get out of bed. I knew I would not be able to do the classes this morning – BodyPump and Yoga (BodyFlow.) Thankfully my chiropractor had an opening for me at 9:30 am.
It may seem a little odd to go to a chiropractor for vertigo but some forms of BPPV respond very well to chiropractic adjustment. Mine is usually of them. Within an hour of treatment I normally feel close to 100%.
But there is also a viral ear infection that leads to BPPV – and that is a very different kettle of fish. When I get that – and it strikes without warning – I can’t move. It’s all I can do to haul myself to the bathroom and curl up on the floor. If I’m lucky I manage to bring a pillow and blanket with me. If not, I have to wait for Laur to notice I’m missing. You can imagine the scene. He comes home, “Jannie!” “Jannie?” And finds me lying on the floor of the bathroom. I tell him “It’s not as bad as it looks.”
Thankfully this only happens once every few years and has only happened at home. Otherwise Laur would truly wonder how I spend my afternoons!
Every few months I get an episode of “benign paroxysmal positional vertigo” (or BPPV for short.) There is no rhyme or reason to it. One morning I’ll wake up, pull myself out of bed, and nearly fall up against the wall.
The most recent morning was last Friday. Gah! It’s fine if you stare straight ahead or turn your head side to side slowly on the same angle, but tip your head down – or heaven forbid – try to go from sitting to standing and vice versa… Well, it’s like having the worst hangover ever, except with a hangover you probably had a few hours of fun the night before.
Friday morning is one of my BodyPump mornings and darned if I was going to miss it. I should have known when I felt queasy putting on my runners that this wasn’t the best of ideas. Still…
I was there early so I was able to gingerly line up all my stuff. And the first two tracks you remain vertical and you stare straight ahead (while lifting weights, of course.) Then came track three where you lie done on a wee platform, then sit up and do stuff and then lie back. The whole room felt like a ride on the “Octopus” at the county fair. Ugh!
Later in the class there was another round of lying down and getting up - with weights, as always. And even the stretches at the end require floor work. I truly thought I might lose my breakfast – and if you know me, you know how much I love my food and am not willing to part with any of it.
The next class was Zumba and – believe it or not – it was just fine. I could keep my head at one level and there was no floor work. Woo hoo! You might ask why I would insist on doing a class if I knew I was going to feel so sick. The simple answer is I’m addicted, and at that point the pain of missing two classes would have exceeded the pain of attending.
Not so today (Monday.) I was a little out of sorts on Saturday; Sunday I didn’t want to get out of bed. I knew I would not be able to do the classes this morning – BodyPump and Yoga (BodyFlow.) Thankfully my chiropractor had an opening for me at 9:30 am.
It may seem a little odd to go to a chiropractor for vertigo but some forms of BPPV respond very well to chiropractic adjustment. Mine is usually of them. Within an hour of treatment I normally feel close to 100%.
But there is also a viral ear infection that leads to BPPV – and that is a very different kettle of fish. When I get that – and it strikes without warning – I can’t move. It’s all I can do to haul myself to the bathroom and curl up on the floor. If I’m lucky I manage to bring a pillow and blanket with me. If not, I have to wait for Laur to notice I’m missing. You can imagine the scene. He comes home, “Jannie!” “Jannie?” And finds me lying on the floor of the bathroom. I tell him “It’s not as bad as it looks.”
Thankfully this only happens once every few years and has only happened at home. Otherwise Laur would truly wonder how I spend my afternoons!