Sometimes it feels I can't be healthy. The moment I feel healthier I get something else.
The week I finished a half marathon run, which is amazing considering my knee is a mess (torn ACL and other minor issues that still exist), I got struck with an unexplained vertigo.
I was just sitting in front of the PC and started feeling that everything is spinning around (feeling, not seeing). I put my glasses off and wanted to get up to take a migraine pill or at least a headache pill... I just couldn't get up, everything was in a complete mess. I could only look straight at the screen, every time I moved my eyes or head I felt like I was driven somewhere. I texted my housemate through whatsappweb I need an urgent medical help. Usually when someone says something like that we assume a burn or a cut. In my case the guy assumed it was something with my leg. I asked him to slowly turn my chair and look at my pupils... he was shocked I asked to look at my pupils and didn't understand what I meant. We did a quick stroke test and ruled that out. I tried to stand up but couldn't, so he called an ambulance.
Despite throwing up twice on the way to the hospital the trip was amusing because I'm an army medic in reserves I kept commenting on what they say, like high pulse, I said it is because I'm nervious because I don't know what is wrong with me. One of the medics said that I'm her first patient who is taking things with humor despite vividly feeling so bad, she was at her second week of work...
The hospital was awful, I hate hospitals. I was lucky I was in the bed all the time straight from arrival so I didn't need to move, but having to hold a pee for 8 hours is a new record for me. Did a CT, MRI and blood test, everything was perfect but I was feeling sick and the world was literally spinning in all the directions at once. I was put under IV with some Dimenhydrinate.
They 'held' me in captivity for 3 days. Did bunch of tests with no real result, most of the time I was sleeping because there was nothing to do after the visiting hours. The last day was better and I managed to walk around the room.
While in the hospital I always had company, either family or friends or co-workers. If I was not sleeping, I was surrounded by people so the time did pass quick.
I wasn’t eating much, mostly matza bread (Passover, so no normal bread) and some fruits. I did try the vaggie burger thingy they offered but it was disgusting. First thing I asked to eat at home was a salad. Hospital food is so unbalanced and depressing I think people are getting sick just from eating that food.
After all the tests, the conclusion the doctors came to is that the nerve responsible for the balance (the one in the ear) was ‘burned’ and died, and the brain have to find an alternative path for the neurosignals. It makes sense and explains a lot of my recent problems, frequent headaches (I was sure it is stress related and weather related), some sort of vision loss (which I was sure it is just a prescription change), getting tired more quickly, and finally the vertigo. They also say it might be a post covid thing. When the nerve gets infected and dies without noticing and causing such symptoms.
Anyways, they scheduled some more tests in a month. Meanwhile I’m on sort of recovery. Still have episodes of nausea and headaches which I need to track down.
2 days at home, only today, was able to sit and write on the PC.
Living on the third floor in a house makes it harder to function socially because the social floor (living room and main kitchen) is the first floor. I was offered to move to the first floor, but the third floor is the girls floor so it is more convenient (I guess it is the right word to use) to stay there. I do walk down the stairs but with help and supervision because I may injure my leg again if I step wrong and I am still not fully in control of how do I step.
Vision was always my issue (that’s the reason I went for optometry), so not being able to use my progressive glasses makes it a bit harder to function with devices and still having a bad visual acuity with any glasses makes it annoying, so I end up wearing contacts all the day. It is sad and funny because my vision improved to the point of not really needing glasses even for the computer (before the pandemic) and ever since it got gradually worse, still not to the point it was in the university when I needed glasses for everything but still was in denial. Now I feel the same, but for a different reason. I can read without glasses, but having astigmatism make the letters squeezed and misaligned a bit, having nausea with it makes it unbearable over time. So I just prefer wearing contacts.
Spending nearly 20 minutes to get from the third flood to the first to watch a movie with the housemates makes me feel bad for having them help me and taking care of me. Luckily I do recover fast. The doctors say it might take a few months to come back to full activity.
I'm making the thread mostly to track the progress. It makes me feel better than writing a diary....