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zeborahAs I mentioned last week, moving too many books gave me balance issues. I figured it'd go away; it didn't; I figured this was because I spent all weekend working on presentations and the next three days being at a typically exhausting conference. I was going to take Thursday morning off until I remembered I'd promised to show some visitors around the library on Thursday morning.
So I arrived at work on Thursday and immediately startled my colleagues by leaking-at-the-eyes while talking about how great conference is. (When tired, I leak. It's frustrating because it makes people think there's been a death in the family or something.) I managed to tough it out until lunch-time, when our visitors had gone and more staff arrived; at which point I popped into my manager's office and startled her by announcing I was going home. In retrospect I think she hadn't been there for the leaking incidents, but I made up for this by leaking while talking to her, so she didn't argue.
Then I slept from 2-5.30, and then I watched Criminal Minds, and then I went to bed at 9:30 and slept until 6. So I can't really say I'm tired anymore. I didn't even feel wobbly, until I walked to the supermarket to get something to eat for breakfast, at which point, joy! the vertigo has returned full force.
This appears to be what Wikipedia describes thus: "Vertigo can also occur after long flights or boat journeys where the mind gets used to turbulence, resulting in a person's feeling as if he or she is moving up and down. This usually subsides after a few days," except that this is now almost exactly a week. Also it's side-to-side, because I wasn't on a boat, I was moving books.
On the plus side, I've got an old trick that helps a bit: find a vertical line somewhere and move my head up and down in line with it while reciting, "Dear Brain, this is up. This is down. See the difference?" My brain then emits a thoughtful, "Huh," and remembers the difference for, oh, several minutes thereafter.
Wikipedia also mentions that antihistamines is one of various treatments, though it doesn't mention which cause of vertigo they actually help with. But I have antihistamines! I got them for my hayfever. I should start taking them again. They mightn't help with the vertigo, but they'll definitely help with the hayfever.
So I arrived at work on Thursday and immediately startled my colleagues by leaking-at-the-eyes while talking about how great conference is. (When tired, I leak. It's frustrating because it makes people think there's been a death in the family or something.) I managed to tough it out until lunch-time, when our visitors had gone and more staff arrived; at which point I popped into my manager's office and startled her by announcing I was going home. In retrospect I think she hadn't been there for the leaking incidents, but I made up for this by leaking while talking to her, so she didn't argue.
Then I slept from 2-5.30, and then I watched Criminal Minds, and then I went to bed at 9:30 and slept until 6. So I can't really say I'm tired anymore. I didn't even feel wobbly, until I walked to the supermarket to get something to eat for breakfast, at which point, joy! the vertigo has returned full force.
This appears to be what Wikipedia describes thus: "Vertigo can also occur after long flights or boat journeys where the mind gets used to turbulence, resulting in a person's feeling as if he or she is moving up and down. This usually subsides after a few days," except that this is now almost exactly a week. Also it's side-to-side, because I wasn't on a boat, I was moving books.
On the plus side, I've got an old trick that helps a bit: find a vertical line somewhere and move my head up and down in line with it while reciting, "Dear Brain, this is up. This is down. See the difference?" My brain then emits a thoughtful, "Huh," and remembers the difference for, oh, several minutes thereafter.
Wikipedia also mentions that antihistamines is one of various treatments, though it doesn't mention which cause of vertigo they actually help with. But I have antihistamines! I got them for my hayfever. I should start taking them again. They mightn't help with the vertigo, but they'll definitely help with the hayfever.
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Date: 2009-10-15 07:15 pm (UTC)Also check to be sure you aren't sick, as it could be a side effect of an infection.
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Date: 2009-10-16 06:42 am (UTC)Thanks. Normally I don't suffer from motion sickness. --Well, that is, normally I don't medicate for motion sickness, though sometimes I'll eat apple or crystallised ginger. But I think my mother's got some motion sickness pills somewhere. (There's also a chemist's shop in Paihea which apparently sells an excellent motion sickness cure if you go in and ask for it by name, but isn't allowed to advertise it if you don't. It's not illegal, just not approved as a medicine; but the fishing boat my father and sister went on advertises it by word of mouth.)
Also check to be sure you aren't sick, as it could be a side effect of an infection.
No other symptoms at all and onset coincided perfectly with the book-moving; which doesn't rule out sheer coincidence but does make me suspicious of it. More importantly, I think it's gone away! See my most recent post which I made in a brief respite of my ISP hating on LiveJournal.
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Date: 2009-10-18 11:25 pm (UTC)Mary Anne in Kentucky
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Date: 2009-10-19 12:17 am (UTC)I think not in my case - I sort of fell off taking them a while before the vertigo started, and restarting them hasn't made it worse. OTOH it hasn't made it better either. OTGH it has made the hayfever better, so that's nice.