The story of my summer

Since I finished my final round of medical tests on Wed, I thought it’s probably the time to provide some details on what started this whole medical odyssey.

The last Saturday of July…a grocery store…afternoon…

C is in the meat/poultry section of the store and I’m in the wine section, just browsing and waiting for her. I’m looking around and suddenly, my vision is very, very blurry. I blink a few times, trying to clear it up when I get this weird feeling – just feel weird or strange. Nothing specific, just didn’t feel normal. After about 30 seconds or so, I get extremely hot and extremely nauseous. I started walking towards a back corner and my balance and equilibrium are all messed up. I have this feeling that I’m listing way to my right, so as I’m walking, I’m trying to lean to the left to compensate. I get about half way and can’t stay upright, so I stop and drop down to the floor in a sitting position. By this time C has gotten to the section and saw what was going on and is asking me if I’m alright. I’m totally aware of what is going on, I’m talking to her and asking her to find a bathroom and get me to it - I felt like I was going to throw up any second. I tried to stand up and couldn’t and went down, kinda lying on my side with the sensation of spinning – not the room, but inside my head. There is a men’s room around a corner, so C and a guy who was watching all this got me up and basically pulled me to it. The guy stayed with me while C went to find a manager and then get the car to take me home. The manager arrived with a wheelchair and got me out to our car. By this time, the spinning and balance issues had gone away, but the sweating and nausea were still there. C drove me home and after laying down for a bit, I felt fine. Total time of the event…about 90 minutes. By coincidence, I had an appointment with our family doctor on the following Monday. I told him about the event and the response was that he had no idea what might have caused it and he wasn’t concerned, but if it happened again, to get in to see him ASAP.

4 weeks go by and I don’t have any re occurrences. In the meantime, I take my road trip to the Great Plains (postponing it by a week or so to make sure I didn’t have another event). I’m back for a couple of weeks…..then:

Tues, Aug 25….at home….evening…

C is on a business trip and I’m upstairs on the computer, with a TV on. A news story comes on, I turn to watch it when my vision gets very blurry again. I knew what was getting ready to happen, so I stand up and while I got hot, not nearly as bad as the first time. I got nauseous, but not nearly as bad as the first time. My head was spinning, but not that badly. I was able to stay upright and after a couple of minutes, it’s all over. I didn’t tell C about it until she got home the following afternoon. Since this event seemed very minor, especially compared to the one in July, I wasn’t going to call our doctor. C convinced me otherwise and I went to see him on the following day, Thursday. He checks me out, asks me questions about slurred speech (no), arm pain or weakness (no), headaches before or after (no). He’s thinking stroke, but I don’t have the telltale symptoms. He suggests, for peace of mind, that I go see a neurologist. I make the appointment that afternoon, for the following week…

That night…at home…..night…

C and I are watching TV. Suddenly, I get a ringing in my ears, which starts at a low volume and pitch and steadily increases. No blurry vision, no hot feeling, no nausea, no spinning sensation. When the ringing stops, I can’t hear out of my right ear. I must have had a strange expression, because C asks me what is wrong. I can barely hear her and I’m a bit freaked out. And C is freaked out. So the decision is made to go to the ER. By the time we give the cat food and lock the doors and get medication list together, my hearing is coming back, but it sounds weird (tinny and like I was in a well). By the time we get to the ER, it’s almost normal and by the time the triage nurse sees me, it’s back to normal. ER doc asks me all the stroke questions and after talking with the ENT on call, the decision is made to get an MRI. So now my thoughts are tumors, specifically, a brain tumor of some kind. MRI takes an hour and the results are negative – no tumors, no masses, everything looks normal, except for some sinus inflammation. ER doc asks me if I’ve been having any sinus problems (no), but after talking with the ENT doc, decides to give me some antibiotics and steroids. Also, to follow up with the ENT. I make the appointment with the ENT for the following week, a couple of days before the neurologist. I also start taking the antibiotics/steroids. Then, 2 days later…

Saturday, Aug 29…at home….morning…

I’m doing my daily ritual of going to the 20 or so websites I check out when I blink and my vision gets very blurry. C is downstairs and I call to her to come up where I am. By the time she gets up the stairs, I’m on the ground. Very hot, very nauseous, big time spinning sensation. No arm pain, no slurred speech, no headache, very aware of what is going on. After about 10 minutes, it’s all over. By this time, I’m really concerned since this is the 3^rd event in a week. I’m also concerned about something happening while driving or swimming or walking in the neighborhood. My appointments are set for the following week, so I’m hoping they’ll figure out what the problem is.

So for the whole month of September, I’ve been going to doctors and having test after test done. At the same time, I’m freaked out about driving, so I limit myself on how much and how far. I was going to take a motorcycle riding class, but I’ve nixed that for the time being. I’m freaked out about getting headaches, so when I get one, I’m wondering what the cause might be (not eating, too much wine, or something else), C won’t let me swim without her being out there. I’m freaked out about walking in the neighborhood, on the off chance something happens blocks from the house. Basically, I’m a shut-in. Thankfully, I haven’t had another event since Aug 29^th, even though I think some of the docs were hoping I would. Here are some of the tests I’ve had:

EKG
EEG
Electronystagmography
MRI
MRA
Hearing tests
Caloric stimulation (inner ear with warm/cool air)
Stress test
Carotid arteries tests
Wearing a heart monitor for 48 hours


The bottom line is that all of these test have come back normal. So while we’re not really closer in figuring out what caused the events, it’s all about the process of elimination. Cardio and neuro have been ruled out, so that leaves inner ear issues. I just had those final tests completed and will have the results in a couple of days. I’m pretty sure they will come back negative/normal. So, while that still leaves the question open about what was/is going on, at least I’ve gotten a clean bill of health in regards to heart, arteries, brain, etc. I’ve done quite a bit of research these past couple of months and I have come up with I think was the culprit. I want to hear the results of the latest ENT tests and speak with the ENT doc – once I do that, then I’ll give my diagnosis.