Mrs. Ram's Jams

Tag: meniere’s disease

• A Plea From a High-Risk Friend–Please Stay at Home

  Posted at 10:20 am by Mrs. Ram Jam, on March 21, 2020

  

  Please stay at home.

  Your friends with underlying conditions, the immunosuppressed, and the elderly thank you for your efforts. 

  I am an immunosuppressed 37-year-old mother with underlying conditions–high-risk alert right here. Please stay home. I can’t help that my body attacks itself. It’s been this way since high school. Please help me out by staying home. 

  I know it’s not any fun, and you’re concerned about free will, your rights being limited, and a litany of other complaints—all of which might make you angry. But please set emotions aside for the time being and focus on facts and logic.

  As an English teacher, I teach my students to get their information from reliable, unbiased resources and to ground their arguments in facts, data, and logical reasoning. I also teach them to get information from experts. And while emotion is a powerful argumentative tool, it is, in fact, weak on its own. Even though emotions are real and important, they can mess up judgment. 

  Ignoring the CDC, WHO, Dr. Fauci, and governmental recommendations are illogical choices because they are the experts providing facts. 

  And here’s a fact, one that I’ve already stated. I am one of those people they consider high risk. Why?  

  I have three autoimmune diseases. THREE! 

  One:  Meniere’s disease. 

  Two:  Ulcerative colitis 

  Three: an undiagnosed disease my rheumatologist monitors me for

  Number two concerns me particularly because I was hospitalized for it in February. My colon hates me. This flare, unfortunately, coincides with a pandemic. Lucky me. 

  Because my colon is broken, I am on two immune-suppressing drugs. TWO! Prednisone, which I’m on for two more weeks, and tacrolimus–an organ transplant rejection medicine. Prednisone, an anti-inflammatory, is bad news according to the CDC. I get to take these drugs during a pandemic. Lucky me. 

  Also, those malaria drugs that doctors are testing as possible treatment for coronavirus–guess what? I’m allergic. Last year, I was prescribed hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) for autoimmune disease number three and broke out in hives six weeks into treatment. So again, lucky me. (I want to reiterate the term “possible treatment.”)

  Please stay at home because it shows empathy–which is ONE thing that we need more of in this world and another thing that I try to teach my students. This pandemic isn’t about you–it’s about all of us. 

  ---

   

  ONE final thought:

  Please stop sharing coronavirus information via memes and unverified Facebook posts. Consider the information’s source. I am readily reading my doctor friends’ Facebook posts and trust their expertise, but if I were to share that information to you, then you share it to Facebook Karen, then Facebook Karen shares it to Facebook Chad, then how does Facebook Chad know an actual doctor wrote that post? In this scenario, the information is accurate, but lots of posts shared this way are fake or spreading wrong information–with no way to verify the author’s authenticity. Before hitting the share button, confirm the post’s reliability. Try to share information from trusted sources instead of second hand. 
  Posted in meniere's disease, ulcerative colitis, Uncategorized, writing | 3 Comments | Tagged blogging, blogs, coronavirus, covid-19, highrisk, ibd, immunosuppressed, invisible illness, meniere's disease, pleasestayathome, politics, ulcerative colitis, washyourhands, writing

• September is Pain Awareness Month

  Posted at 11:24 am by Mrs. Ram Jam, on September 22, 2018

  

  It’s that time of year again.

  Back to school supplies have been replaced with Halloween decorations in Target’s seasonal aisles. Basic girls in their twenties, pretending they’re professional photographers, are staging pumpkin spice lattes on tables, snapping pictures of their overpriced coffees, swiping right until landing on the perfect filter, and then posting their faux artwork on their Instastories. Football fans are gorging themselves on a smorgasbord of touchdowns, tailgates, and tallboys, an all-American weekend buffet.

  But it’s also the time of year for Mrs.Ram’s Jam to write a pain awareness post because September is Pain Awareness Month.

  Because while the shelf stocker at Target was swapping out the display of Ticonderoga #2 pencils for skeleton wreaths, he was suffering from a migraine.

  Because even though sorority girl Sally’s posts seem overbearing, she was crippled with a fibromyalgia flare all week and is celebrating its end with an expensive coffee and Instagram.

  Because while the biggest Saint’s fan in New Orleans hollers “Who Dat”  in the Superdome on Sunday at noon, he’s masking the pain of the pinched nerve in his lower back that’s causing him to consider going on disability.

  Because one in three Americans suffer from pain.

  Because pain sufferers suck it up and trudge on when they can and deserve to be heard.

  Because pain sufferers deserve to be heard when it gets to be too much. 

  And because, as always, pain only remains invisible if isn’t discussed.

  ---

  For more information about Pain Awareness Month, visit the American Chronic Pain Association’s website.

  For more information about pain, visit the American Academy of Pain Medicine’s website.

  Here are links to other posts about pain and chronic illness by Mrs. Ram’s Jams:

  Chronic Pain Awareness

  A Poem: Invisible Illness Idioms

  My New Normal: Meniere’s Disease

  Is That My Invisible Illness, Am I Dying, or Is It Something Less Drastic Than Death but Still Needs To Be Treated?

  Chronic Illness: Playing Phone Tag with Doctors’ Offices

  Fibromyalgia Flare Friday

   

  ---

   

  Posted in chronic pain, fibromyalgia, Uncategorized | 2 Comments | Tagged blogging, chronic illness, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, ibs, meniere's disease, pain awareness month, raynauds

• Is That My Invisible Illness, Am I Dying, or Is It Something Less Drastic Than Death but Still Needs To Be Treated?

  Posted at 6:35 pm by Mrs. Ram Jam, on August 3, 2018

  

  It’s three days before the new school year starts, and I have E. coli. For real. The bad E. coli–where antibiotics are necessary.

  Want to know what floors me? I was oblivious to the severity of the matter until Wednesday evening when my doctor’s office called and informed me.

  You’re probably thinking to yourself, Mrs. Ram Jam, how in the French toast were you unaware when you experienced the classic symptoms: nausea, abdominal pain, fatigue, diarrhea, and malaise? Are you also one of those women who didn’t know she was pregnant until she sneezed and a baby came out?

  To answer the latter question–no. But to answer the former–these symptoms are a mere fraction of my normal. I just thought my IBS was flaring with the fire of a thousand suns.

  I’m going to be honest; 85 percent of the time, I’m in a shit ton of pain. It could be fibromyalgia, IBS, Raynaud’s, or Meniere’s Disease induced. I’m not looking for sympathy or to complain. It’s my truth, and as always, invisible illness remains invisible if its sufferers remain silent.

  Because I’m in pain most days, it’s pretty damn tricky to determine if new or increased intensity pain is due to chronic illness or if it has a different cause.

  Overwhelming fatigue? Is that my fibro flaring because of a midsummer cold front storming across Louisiana or a vitamin B12 deficiency, anemia, or strep throat? OR DO I HAVE THE PLAGUE???

  Radiating tender point hip pain? Is that fibro induced too or a vitamin D deficiency and a case of weak hips that needs three months of physical therapy? OR ARE MY BUTT CHEEKS GOING TO FALL OFF WHILE I SLUMBER???

  Bowel habit shifts and abdominal pain? Is my IBS pitching a hissy fit because it’s impossible to control while traveling or could it be small intestine bacterial overgrowth or E. coli? OR DO I NEED AN EMERGENCY COLOSTOMY???

  Most of the time my pain is due to chronic disease, but occasionally it’s something else. For example within the past six years, I’ve dealt with all of the diseases, physical therapy, and deficiencies listed above (excusing the all capped crazy thoughts of course). I initially chalked all these maladies up to my chronic illnesses.

  I’m lucky this bout of E. coli coincided with a regularly scheduled trip to the gastroenterologist; otherwise, it could have gotten awful before I convinced myself I needed a doctor.

  So how do I tell the difference?

  I can’t. When the pain gets different, unbearable, or alarming for too long, I schedule an appointment, describe my symptoms to my doctor, and try to convince myself I haven’t contracted botulism in the interim.

  And that’s part of what’s terrifying for invisible illness sufferers. We live in a habitual game show entitled: Is That My Invisible Illness, Am I Dying, or Is It Something Less Drastic Than Death but Still Needs To Be Treated?

  Unfortunately, I didn’t win a new car this episode, just E. coli. Which might be the worst thanks-for-playing parting gift ever. Who’s producing this game show anyway? You’re the suckiest. I hope the network drops you midseason and you get E. coli too.

  (P.S. How the hell did I get E. coli? *shudders violently* Okay, universe, you can keep that secret for eternity.)

   

  Posted in chronic pain, fibromyalgia, meniere's disease, Uncategorized, writing | 3 Comments | Tagged blogging, blogs, chronic illness, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, ibs, invisible illness, meniere's disease, writing

• Chronic Illness: Playing Phone Tag with Doctors’ Offices

  Posted at 5:32 pm by Mrs. Ram Jam, on June 8, 2018

  

  Because of chronic illnesses (fibromyalgia, Meniere’s disease, Raynaud’s, and IBS), I frequently contact my general practitioner, rheumatologist, ENT, and gastroenterologist.  Unfortunately, talking to someone alive the first go-round never happens.

  My doctors work for large hospital systems. For patients, no direct lines to a specific doctor’s office exist. I call the main hospital phone, listen to an automated message, press a bunch of numbers, get transferred to the doctor’s nurse’s line, and leave a message.  

  I completely sympathize. Medical professionals are overloaded just like teachers and can’t be constantly available therefore they use technology to filter and take messages.

  Also, I’m not calling to get free medical advice over the phone. I see my gastroenterologist every six weeks and my rheumatologist and ENT every six months. I schedule these appointments weeks or months in advance because it takes weeks or months to actually get an appointment. When my health suddenly shifts and I need specialist care, I call to make an appointment and often none are available. That’s when I resort to phone tag with doctors’ nurses because my doctors have expressly stated I can call and they will help via phone.    

  During the school year, it’s even harder to get in contact with doctors because I’m at work and in class before doctors’ offices open, I can’t call while I’m teaching, and my first break isn’t until 12:45 p.m. Then it normally takes an hour or two (or 24) for a return call.  (Again, I don’t expect an instantaneous return call. It’s like students expecting me to grade 100 five paragraph essays magically as soon as they get handed in. Not happening.)

  And if I miss the return call, then it’s necessary to repeat the aforementioned process because 98 percent of the time my call is returned when:

  • I’m using the bathroom, and my phone is on the kitchen counter, halfway across the house;
  • I’m driving through a school zone (No I don’t have bluetooth in my car, and yes it is still legal in Louisiana to be on a handheld device while driving–but not in school zones.);
  • I’m in class, and answering phones while teaching is severely frowned upon. #TeacherProblems;  
  • It’s my off period, and I could answer my phone, but I don’t get service in my classroom so by the time I sprint to an area with service, I’ve missed the call.  
  • I’m speaking with a different doctor’s nurse, and it’s rude to say, “Can you hold on for a sec?”;
  • Little Thing, watching Youtube Kids, has my phone and hangs up purposely instead of answering;
  • I’ve accidentally left my phone in the car for two minutes;  
  • I’ve forgotten to switch my phone off silent after the workday ends or after I wake up;

  OR

  • It’s 3:58 on a Friday afternoon, any bullet from above (except number three) conspires against me, and the doctor’s office closes at four–so I’m shit out of luck until Monday and the whole vicious cycle repeats.     

  I hate playing phone tag with the doctor’s office. The whole process is a colossal fiasco.  

  It’s 2018 people. I challenge the world to figure out a better way for doctors’ offices to communicate with patients.  A three or four phone call interaction per individual instance is comically ineffective.

  (I’ve even tried direct messaging doctors’ offices through apps like MyChart, but I’ve never gotten a written message back. The nurse calls in response to the emailed message. Go figure.)

  Surely the doctors’ nurses find themselves frustrated, too. Returning patient phone calls can’t be their only professional responsibility.

  How much time and money are wasted per salaried professional because of calling the same patient repeatedly over the same issue?

  Maybe it’s minimal, but the notion nags me–just like the fact that they’re never available when I am.    

  Posted in chronic pain, fibromyalgia, meniere's disease, Uncategorized, writing | 2 Comments | Tagged blogging, calling the doctor, chronic illness, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, meniere's disease, teacher problems, teaching, writing

• A Poem: Invisible Illness Idioms

  Posted at 10:57 pm by Mrs. Ram Jam, on December 8, 2017

  

  Because sometimes you need to vent when you have invisible pain.  Because sometimes haters are going to hate.  And because it remains invisible if you don’t talk about it.

  ---

  I’m a pain in the ass, full of shit, lend me your ear, and put a sock on it
  because of fibromyalgia, IBS, Meniere’s, and Raynaud’s chronic disease fits.

  I’m a pain in the ass,
  a daily debacle that will never pass.
  No matter how much I tweedle and wheedle,
  I smell something fishy and am on pins and needles.
  I carry the weight of the world on my shoulders
  and my body betrays me as it twitches and smolders.
  I’m a taste of my own medicine,
  but I can’t take any because it glues my innards together and turns my muscles to gelatin.
  I’m a pain in the ass
  that will never pass.

  And full of shit
  that’s hard to pass,
  leaving me feeling like a twit.
  I’ve got a gut feeling that sends me reeling.
  I can’t have my cake and eat it too
  without a flare up coming out of the blue.
  I don’t have a cast iron stomach.
  Most culinary delights leave my digestive track flummoxed.
  I feel like I’m eighty-six,
  and I’ve had to eighty-six Cajun concoctions in cast iron pots because of my tummy.
  Gone are all the foods that are satisfying and yummy,

  including salt,
  but that’s my inner ear’s fault.
  Go ahead, lend me your ear.
  I’ve got loads to tell you about my diseases that you don’t want to hear.
  Don’t get bent out of shape
  because I am bent out of shape.
  I’ll take your ears and attach them to my own with tape,
  so I can hear what you have to say dear.
  I’d love you to lend me your ear.  
  But I’m just a dizzy dame
  who is going slowly lame.

  I’d bend over backwards
  to be able to bend over forwards.

  And I’ll put a sock on it
  as well as gloves
  to get my hands and feet to stop it,
  my loves,
  from looking like they’re from a cadaver.

  But people still can’t figure out what is the matter.

  They say I’m full of shit and a pain in the ass
  and to stop being so crass.
  They don’t want to lend me their ears 
  because of their own piddling fears.
  They’d rather I’d put a sock on it.  
  It’s been listed first on my “how do I make my diseases easier for you” docket
  for years because you’d rather I’d wear your rose colored glasses.
  But now I’ll wear my rose colored glasses for fashion and call you a fascist.

  Because you think I’m a pain in the ass and full of shit.
  Because you won’t lend me your ear.
  And because I’m tired
  of putting a sock on it.

  Posted in chronic pain, fibromyalgia, meniere's disease, poetry, Uncategorized | 2 Comments | Tagged chronic pain, dizzy, fibromyalgia, ibs, idioms, invisible illness, meniere's disease, poems, poetry, raynauds

• Reading Goal Achieved: 100 Books Read

  Posted at 11:02 pm by Mrs. Ram Jam, on November 2, 2017

  

  When I set a goal for myself to read 100 books this year, I didn’t know if I would succeed. But ta da! With two months to spare, I reached my goal on Sunday. Can I get a whoop whoop?

  How did I read 100 books before the end of October? I’m a bit mystified myself as to how I achieved this milestone, but the following list helped me achieve my goal (some might sound familiar from this previous post– Thirty Seven More to Go).

  1. For the most part, I don’t watch TV–except for Sunday morning NBC programming. I adore Willie Geist and Chuck Todd.
  2. My phone stays on silent. I have never been a phone talker. I was even slow to come around to the idea of texting during its advent and subsequent rise to ubiquity. And while I do peruse Facebook, Pinterest, and WordPress daily, I don’t spend hours on social media.  
  3. Although it took some coaxing, Little Thing is fairly independent, and I encourage her autonomy.  Yes, I stop and have dance parties, play games, craft, or bake with her. However, I refuse to stimulate her constantly.  
  4. I read when I can. When Little Thing has tumbling on Tuesdays, I read during her 45 minute class. I read while I’m waiting in primary school carpool, walking in circles around my kitchen, and waiting at the doctor’s office.  
  5. Fibromyalgia and Meniere’s disease has kicked my booty this year. Because of both diseases, my activity level has plummeted in comparison to previous years. If I can’t handle keeping myself upright anymore, I’m flat on my back with a book in my hand to dull the pain.
  6. I made a commitment by putting it in writing; therefore, I made it a point to carve out time.

  In hindsight, I probably could have read more if I hadn’t decided to start this blog. But this blog’s been fun and provided me with a place to vent, reflect, and grow.  

  Thank you to my friends who suggested books the past couple of months. I adored the books recommended to me, and because of them, October ended on a sweet note.  

  Now excuse me while I go bask in my goal achievement glory, resonating in imagined rainbows, sparkles, and cheers erupting firework style in the confines of my overactive imagination . . . and celebrate with another book and Thursday night wine.  

  Here’s my full list of 100 books. 

  (Once again, please forgive my formatting issue in May like in this previous post–Books Read: First Half of 2017; I cannot figure out how to fix it.)  

  January

  1. The Glass Magician (Book 2)–Charlie N. Holmberg
  2. Beautiful Ruins–Jess Walter
  3. The Probable Future–Alice Hoffman
  4. Here on Earth–Alice Hoffman
  5. Beautiful People (accidental reread)–Wendy Holden
  6. What She Knew–Gilly Macmillan
  7. The Girls–Emma Cline
  8. Commonwealth--Ann Patchett

  February

  9.  Mr. Mercedes (Bill Hodges Trilogy Book One)–Stephen King
  10.  Atonement–Ian McEwan
  11.  The Red Garden–Alice Hoffman
  12.  Finders Keepers (Bill Hodges Trilogy Book Two)–Stephen King
  13.  The Couple Next Door–Shari Lapena
  14.  A Man Called Ove–Fredrik Backman
  15.  Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me–Mindy Kaling
  16.  The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper–Phaedra Patrick

  March

  17.  End of Watch (Bill Hodges Trilogy Book Three)–Stephen King
  18.  It Ends with Us–Colleen Hoover
  19.  The Vacationers— Emma Straub
  20.  Dark Matter-Blake Crouch
  21.  The Road–Cormac McCarthy
  22.  The Woman in Cabin 10–Ruth Ware
  23.  Why Not Me–Mindy Kaling
  24.  Yes Please–Amy Poehler
  25.  Red Queen–Victoria Aveyard
  26.  Today Will Be Different–Maria Semple
  27.  Pretty Girls–Karin Slaughter

  April

  28.  Heartburn–Nora Ephron
  29.  Glass Sword–Victoria Aveyard
  30.  We Need to Talk about Kevin–Lionel Shriver (accidental reread)
  31.  Big Magic–Elizabeth Gilbert
  32.  Modern Lovers–Emma Straub
  33. King’s Cage–Victoria Aveyard
  34.  The Underground Railroad--Colson Whitehead
  35.  The Sellout–Paul Beatty
  36. On Writing–Stephen King
  37.  Eligible–Curtis Sittenfield

  May

  38  Shotgun Lovesongs–Nickolas Butler

  39. The Color Purple–Alice Walker
  40.  Before the Fall–Noah Howley
  41.  You–Caroline Kepnes
  42. The Magicians–Lev Grossman
  43.  Nine Women, One Dress–Jane L. Rosen
  44.  The Forgetting Time–Sharon Guskin
  45.  Talking as Fast as I Can–Lauren Graham
  46.  Caraval–Stephanie Garber
  47.  The Expats–Chris Pavone
  48. Rich and Pretty–Rumaan Alam
  49.  Saving Grace–Jane Green
  50.  See Jane Run–Joy Fielding
  51.  The Sympathizer–Viet Thanh Nguyen

  June

  52.  Here’s to Us–Elin Hilderbrand
  53. Perfect–Rachel Joyce
  54.  Bittersweet–Miranda Beverly-Whitemore
  55.  Snobs–Julian Fellowes
  56.  The Fifth Petal–Brunonia Barry
  57.  Someday, Someday, Maybe–Lauren Graham
  58.  The Girl You Left Behind–Jojo Moyes
  59. The Lace Reader–Brunonia Barry
  60. The Avenue of Mysteries–John Irving
  61.  Vampires in the Lemon Grove–Karen Russell
  62.  One Plus One–Jojo Moyes
  63.  This Is How It Always Is–Laurie Frankel

  July

  64.  It Was Me All Along–Andie Mitchell
  65. Between the World and Me–Ta-Nehisi Coates
  66.  Annihilation–Jeff Vandermeer
  67.  In the Dark, Dark, Wood–Ruth Ware
  68.  Beartown–Fredrik Backman
  69.  Neverwhere–Neil Gaiman
  70.  The Uncommon Reader–Alan Bennett
  71.  I am Malala–Malala Yousafzai
  72. Bone Gap–Laura Ruby
  73. Crazy Rich Asians–Kevin Kwan
  74. The Shadow of the Wind--Carlos Ruiz Zafron

  August

  75.  Nutshell–Ian McEwan
  76. The Wonder–Emma Donoghue
  77.  The Solitary House–Lynn Shepherd
  78.  American Gods–Neil Gaiman
  79. A Conjuring of Light–V.E. Schwab
  80.  Are You Sleeping–Kathleen Barber
  81. It Happens All the Time–Amy Hatvany
  82. Bossypants–Tina Fey
  83. Pretty Little Liars–Sara Shepard
  84. The Wednesday Wars–Gary D. Schmidt
  85.  Flawless–Sara Shepard

  September

  86. Life After Life–Kate Atkinson
  87.  Perfect–Sara Shepard
  88.  Unbelievable–Sara Shepard
  89.  Rich People Problems–Kevin Kwan
  90. Into the Water–Paula Hawkins
  91. The Muse–Jessie Burton
  92. The Girls in the Garden–Lisa Jewell

  October:

  93. Every Fifteen Minutes–Lisa Scottoline
  94. The Devil in the White City–Erik Larson
  95. The Keeper of Lost Things–Ruth Hogan
  96. Every Last Lie–Mary Kubica
  97. Saints for All Occasions–J. Courtney Sullivan
  98.  The Keepers of the House–Shirley Ann Grau
  99. All Over but the Shoutin’—Rick Bragg
  100. The Lonely Hearts Hotel—Heather O’Neill
  Posted in books, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, reading, Uncategorized, writing | 5 Comments | Tagged 100 books, books, fibromyalgia, meniere's disease, reading, reading goals, writing

• My New Normal: Meniere’s Disease

  Posted at 6:47 pm by Mrs. Ram Jam, on October 14, 2017

  

  Even though Chronic Pain Awareness Month is over, this week I officially received a new chronic disease diagnosis:  Meniere’s disease. I’m aware-ing ya’ll again of another chronic disease and of my new normal. Hopefully, this post will prove cathartic in nature.

  The Mayo Clinic defines Meniere’s disease as “a disorder of the inner ear that causes episodes in which you feel as if you’re spinning (vertigo), and you have fluctuating hearing loss with a progressive, ultimately permanent loss of hearing, ringing in the ear (tinnitus), and sometimes a feeling of fullness or pressure in your ear. In most cases, Meniere’s disease affects only one ear.”

  My ENT introduced this disease to me a year and a half ago.

  Before taking Little Thing to Disney World last year during Mardi Gras break, my ears started hurting. I felt pressure, sliding, popping, stabbing, and ringing. My right side was worse, and my hearing sounded muffled. The pain was present upon waking and worsened while riding in a car, becoming quasi unbearable while in the driver’s seat. The doctor treated me with steroids and told me to call her if my symptoms relapsed.

  My symptoms vanished but returned a month later. I went back for a hearing test, discovering I had lost a low level pitch in my right ear. That’s when my ENT brought up Meniere’s. It’s uncommon, but fibromyalgia sufferers can get it. At that point, it wasn’t a diagnosis. I hadn’t experienced any vertigo, so she presented it as atypical Meniere’s disease. Again, she treated me with steroids and suggested a low sodium diet to help manage symptoms.  

  This April, my symptoms flared again but with a twist.  

  On the Friday of spring break (Little Thing was at Granny’s), I hopped on the interstate. About ten minutes into my drive, dizziness set in–not full blown vertigo but imbalance and lightheadedness. I began shaking and sweating. Nauseous and spinning, I exited the interstate and parked at a grocery store for twenty minutes until my world stopped rotating. Getting on the interstate again wasn’t an option, so I drove a little further on once I felt better. It was too soon. I stopped again.  

  I called my husband. Terrified, he left work, picked me up, and drove me to the emergency room. They couldn’t tell me what was wrong.

  In a matter of days, my ears rebelled, and I developed a sinus infection. When I felt safe enough to get back on the road, my dizziness wasn’t nearly as bad, but something felt off. Then, Meniere’s came to my mind.  

  I went back to the ENT. I got better but avoided interstate driving, the apparent previous attack trigger.

  Over the summer, I performed a four hour test that tested my eyes, ears, and balance. Once more, she told me she couldn’t say that it was Meniere’s, but she couldn’t write it off.      

  Through an MRI, she also discovered that I had a deviated septum and inflamed sinus cavities, so I had a septoplasty and sinus surgery to help alleviate symptoms.

  I was feeling glorious ala Macklemore featuring Skylar Grey style up until a few weeks ago when we drove to Illinois for a quick weekend. We were in the car for four days and at the mercy of sodium saturated fast food and roadside restaurants.  

  To give my husband a break from driving on day two, I gave up shotgun and tried to chauffeur as we entered Missouri. Bad idea–the hilly ups and downs combined with the speed and salt intake triggered a mild attack.  

  On the way back to Louisiana, my ears revolted.   

  I found myself in my ENT’s office this week still in pain and lightheaded.

  She informed me we had to get my Meniere’s under control–no more this might be what you have, but a definitive yes.  

  So what’s my new normal?  It’s a low sodium diet and water pills.  It’s no driving on the interstate or for extended periods of time until it gets under control.

  When I’m in a flare like I am now, thirty minutes of city driving pushes it, the ear pain radiates incessantly, and my hearing undulates.  

  My anxiety level has escalated, but I’m dealing with it. An aspect of my independence gets snatched away during a flare.  I am rendered more unreliable to keep prior commitments.  Once easy rides, getting to work, navigating primary school carpool, and driving home are now chores.

  My description of Meniere’s barely breeches basic understanding.  In no way have I described its full aspects.  And like my previous post about pain (Chronic Pain Awareness), I’m not writing to complain; I’m writing to inform.

  And of course to cope.  

  Thanks for reading.

  Works Cited:

  https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/menieres-disease/basics/definition/con-20028251

  Posted in chronic pain, fibromyalgia, Uncategorized, writing | 2 Comments | Tagged chronic pain, chronic pain awareness month, dizzy, driving with pain, ear pain, meniere's disease, pain awareness, vertigo, writing

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