Physio appointment recap
So if you aren't following along with my tales of dizzy spells and fatigue then skip this post, if you are then continue reading.
My life at the moment is made up of the following: applying for jobs, attending doctors appointments and getting medical tests done before going back to my doctors for the results.
I saw my doctor last Tuesday and my heart results were fine which is great but it meant there is still no reason as to why I am feeling the way I am feeling. I came home and just wanted to cry because I am over feeling this way and I wasn't any closer to figuring out why. My doctor referred me to a specialist physio who in his words was a doctor as he had done so much research and he knows his stuff, pretty much if this physio couldn't work out what was wrong with me then we were in trouble . I rang up the physio office the moment I walked out of my doctors (I was actually sitting in my car in the parking lot) because the sooner I rang meant the sooner I could get an appointment, I was able to get appointment the following Wednesday as they had a cancellation which was great.
I was emailed a small novel of what to do prior to the appointment, where it was and 6 pages to fill out covering everything to what surgeries I had had, to ticking how the dizzy spells were affecting my day to day life and if I had ever fallen over due to a dizzy spell (I fall over randomly whether I am dizzy or not #dyspraxiclife), it was extremely thorough and covered everything. In what to do prior to the appointment I was given instructions not to eat two hours prior or drink one hour prior to the appointment, it was also highly recommended that I have someone drive me home afterwards and take it easy for the rest of the day.
My doctor had also written a referral for me to give to the physio which explained that my doctor was helpless as to what was going on with me and he needed help (it actually said I need your help with Erin in the letter). It also listed what medication I was on, what I have been diagnosed with, the tests I have had so far and my allergies. I should note that a referral wasn't required to see this physio which now I think about it is probably normal for all physios.
Prior to the appointment you better believe that I googled the physio because like with medical tests I like to be prepared and this was a medical assessment. Unfortunately I couldn't find anything on what to expect as it's such a specialised area, but I did read a lot of positive reviews about the physio and I found his LinkedIn profile so I found out that he knew his stuff which gave me peace of mind.
So here's the thing I didn't see on the instructions at first that it was advised that someone drive me home after the appointment, I'm 25 and the physio was 5 minutes away from home and honestly I drive (carefully!) during these dizzy spells so it shouldn't be a big deal to drive myself home. But my mum insisted on driving me home afterwards as mums do. I probably could've managed driving myself home afterwards but it was nice not to worry about it.
We arrived 5 minutes early to the appointment and the physio was running behind so I didn't go in until 2.20pm (the appointment was at 2.00pm), the appointment went for an hour in total. I was asked to go back to when it all started and what triggered the dizzy spells, what tests I had and what medication I was on and how long I had been on it and whether the dosages had increased recently. He was really thorough and reminded me a lot of my doctor with his manner, I didn't really rushed at all. I was then asked to take off my shoes and my glasses and we went to the bed where I sat and he looked at my eyes, he then put these goggles on me that had a camera in them to monitor my eyes and made everything dark. He did a lot of shaking my neck and head and got me to hyperventilate, I then had to lay on the bed and he tilted my neck and dropped my head down lower than my body all while wearing these goggles. I had to say when the dizziness got worse and give it a mark out of ten. It probably lasted for about 15 minutes. He then checked my balance by having me shut my eyes and cross my arms and then march on the spot with my arms outstretched 50 times. After that was all done, we then chatted some more about how I was feeling and anything out of the ordinary that had happened - if I had been hit on the head by anything, fallen over etc.
So don't ask me what the diagnosis is exactly as it was a blur and honestly I am hoping my doctor will help me understand it more when I see him next Wednesday. But it started in my inner ear and is to do with my brain stem not realising that my inner ear is now fine and over correcting and it's a type of migraine and is set off by motion. So it's not an inner ear problem but was initially triggered by it and is considered a type of migraine, at least that's how I see it.
The treatment isn't straightforward (and it may involve medication which my doctor will discuss with me next week) and it does involve a special diet which I showing below. It reminded me of the Low FODMAP diet (which my younger sister is on to a degree) but I'm not allowed to have chocolate or nuts, I'm also meant to only have 3 eggs a week but my breakfast is 1 egg a day and if I can't have eggs for breakfast I am in trouble so I've been given permission to have 1 egg a day as it's minor trigger. My other issue with the diet is the whole no chocolate thing, for those who know me know that I need chocolate to survive. I am allowed to ween myself off it gradually as long as it's dark chocolate so that's what I will be doing for the next however many weeks. He also said that as I am going away for a weekend in two weeks time I could have a break from the diet as it will be hard to stick to.
I've also had to download this app to record the dizzy spells, which is for migraines (it's called Migraine Buddy) but I was able to add dizziness as an option and I select that when I'm experiencing the spells and then the physio will access the data at the next appointment (in 6 weeks time). It was really a blur and I am honestly still processing it all, I am hopeful that after my doctor's appointment next Wednesday things will be clearer. For now I have some kind of answers and that's a big improvement from when I woke up this morning.
My life at the moment is made up of the following: applying for jobs, attending doctors appointments and getting medical tests done before going back to my doctors for the results.
I saw my doctor last Tuesday and my heart results were fine which is great but it meant there is still no reason as to why I am feeling the way I am feeling. I came home and just wanted to cry because I am over feeling this way and I wasn't any closer to figuring out why. My doctor referred me to a specialist physio who in his words was a doctor as he had done so much research and he knows his stuff, pretty much if this physio couldn't work out what was wrong with me then we were in trouble . I rang up the physio office the moment I walked out of my doctors (I was actually sitting in my car in the parking lot) because the sooner I rang meant the sooner I could get an appointment, I was able to get appointment the following Wednesday as they had a cancellation which was great.
I was emailed a small novel of what to do prior to the appointment, where it was and 6 pages to fill out covering everything to what surgeries I had had, to ticking how the dizzy spells were affecting my day to day life and if I had ever fallen over due to a dizzy spell (I fall over randomly whether I am dizzy or not #dyspraxiclife), it was extremely thorough and covered everything. In what to do prior to the appointment I was given instructions not to eat two hours prior or drink one hour prior to the appointment, it was also highly recommended that I have someone drive me home afterwards and take it easy for the rest of the day.
My doctor had also written a referral for me to give to the physio which explained that my doctor was helpless as to what was going on with me and he needed help (it actually said I need your help with Erin in the letter). It also listed what medication I was on, what I have been diagnosed with, the tests I have had so far and my allergies. I should note that a referral wasn't required to see this physio which now I think about it is probably normal for all physios.
Prior to the appointment you better believe that I googled the physio because like with medical tests I like to be prepared and this was a medical assessment. Unfortunately I couldn't find anything on what to expect as it's such a specialised area, but I did read a lot of positive reviews about the physio and I found his LinkedIn profile so I found out that he knew his stuff which gave me peace of mind.
So here's the thing I didn't see on the instructions at first that it was advised that someone drive me home after the appointment, I'm 25 and the physio was 5 minutes away from home and honestly I drive (carefully!) during these dizzy spells so it shouldn't be a big deal to drive myself home. But my mum insisted on driving me home afterwards as mums do. I probably could've managed driving myself home afterwards but it was nice not to worry about it.
We arrived 5 minutes early to the appointment and the physio was running behind so I didn't go in until 2.20pm (the appointment was at 2.00pm), the appointment went for an hour in total. I was asked to go back to when it all started and what triggered the dizzy spells, what tests I had and what medication I was on and how long I had been on it and whether the dosages had increased recently. He was really thorough and reminded me a lot of my doctor with his manner, I didn't really rushed at all. I was then asked to take off my shoes and my glasses and we went to the bed where I sat and he looked at my eyes, he then put these goggles on me that had a camera in them to monitor my eyes and made everything dark. He did a lot of shaking my neck and head and got me to hyperventilate, I then had to lay on the bed and he tilted my neck and dropped my head down lower than my body all while wearing these goggles. I had to say when the dizziness got worse and give it a mark out of ten. It probably lasted for about 15 minutes. He then checked my balance by having me shut my eyes and cross my arms and then march on the spot with my arms outstretched 50 times. After that was all done, we then chatted some more about how I was feeling and anything out of the ordinary that had happened - if I had been hit on the head by anything, fallen over etc.
So don't ask me what the diagnosis is exactly as it was a blur and honestly I am hoping my doctor will help me understand it more when I see him next Wednesday. But it started in my inner ear and is to do with my brain stem not realising that my inner ear is now fine and over correcting and it's a type of migraine and is set off by motion. So it's not an inner ear problem but was initially triggered by it and is considered a type of migraine, at least that's how I see it.
The treatment isn't straightforward (and it may involve medication which my doctor will discuss with me next week) and it does involve a special diet which I showing below. It reminded me of the Low FODMAP diet (which my younger sister is on to a degree) but I'm not allowed to have chocolate or nuts, I'm also meant to only have 3 eggs a week but my breakfast is 1 egg a day and if I can't have eggs for breakfast I am in trouble so I've been given permission to have 1 egg a day as it's minor trigger. My other issue with the diet is the whole no chocolate thing, for those who know me know that I need chocolate to survive. I am allowed to ween myself off it gradually as long as it's dark chocolate so that's what I will be doing for the next however many weeks. He also said that as I am going away for a weekend in two weeks time I could have a break from the diet as it will be hard to stick to.
I've also had to download this app to record the dizzy spells, which is for migraines (it's called Migraine Buddy) but I was able to add dizziness as an option and I select that when I'm experiencing the spells and then the physio will access the data at the next appointment (in 6 weeks time). It was really a blur and I am honestly still processing it all, I am hopeful that after my doctor's appointment next Wednesday things will be clearer. For now I have some kind of answers and that's a big improvement from when I woke up this morning.
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