(no subject)
I have emailed and/or spoken to a lot of close friends today, but I have not mentioned the fact that I woke up this morning and the room was spinning as if I was drunk. I know for a fact that I wasn't drunk, so that narrowed things down a bit. It was spinning slowly, but spinning nonetheless - the line where the wall meets the ceiling kept tilting back towards a correct orientation and then resetting itself to incorrect just before it got there. I lay there staring at the ceiling for a while and eventually it stopped. Then when I stood up, I felt mildly off-balance. Then I got better. Then I sat down, same process. All day, it was like that, although I had a soccer game tonight and didn't notice it once while I was moving around.
This has actually been happening in little 10-second bursts for a couple of months,* especially at work - I think my physical environment and activities at work make it easier to notice. There are lines of text, and I'm in the same position for a long time. It's barely perceptible, but it's weird. I just feel ever so slightly unhooked from my body and from gravity. I think I could pass the neurological test for balance, which in my experience is the same test you get when you're pulled over for drunk driving, the heel-to-toe line test. I noticed today that it seemed to happen when I changed the orientation of my head - bending over to pick up my socks, lying down on my side, holding the phone between my ear and my shoulder.
I have to go in for my 3-month post-drug-study visit this month anyway, and they're going to give me an MRI. If I wake up tomorrow and the room is still spinning, I will go in tomorrow. It kind of freaks me out that I can always get a same-day MRI when the rest of the world waits forever, but whatever. In general, the fact that I get pretty excellent care freaks me out.
* For once, I was not being negligent by not calling the doctor about this! I asked at my last visit and the doctor said not to worry but to call if it changes. I am following instructions! In a related story, I made an appointment to go to the dentist in March. I don't want to say how long it has been since I have gone to the dentist, but I will say that Clinton was president. Self-care: not my strength.
This has actually been happening in little 10-second bursts for a couple of months,* especially at work - I think my physical environment and activities at work make it easier to notice. There are lines of text, and I'm in the same position for a long time. It's barely perceptible, but it's weird. I just feel ever so slightly unhooked from my body and from gravity. I think I could pass the neurological test for balance, which in my experience is the same test you get when you're pulled over for drunk driving, the heel-to-toe line test. I noticed today that it seemed to happen when I changed the orientation of my head - bending over to pick up my socks, lying down on my side, holding the phone between my ear and my shoulder.
I have to go in for my 3-month post-drug-study visit this month anyway, and they're going to give me an MRI. If I wake up tomorrow and the room is still spinning, I will go in tomorrow. It kind of freaks me out that I can always get a same-day MRI when the rest of the world waits forever, but whatever. In general, the fact that I get pretty excellent care freaks me out.
* For once, I was not being negligent by not calling the doctor about this! I asked at my last visit and the doctor said not to worry but to call if it changes. I am following instructions! In a related story, I made an appointment to go to the dentist in March. I don't want to say how long it has been since I have gone to the dentist, but I will say that Clinton was president. Self-care: not my strength.