It’s been a year…

With the trepidation of breaking my luck I’m going to say it…. It’s been over a year now since I had an significant form of vertigo attack. Given 2 years ago I was struggling with attacks of some sort that were debilitating pretty much every day that’s I feel frankly remarkable. Actually this is the longest run with no serious attack in many many years as for a long time, at least since 2009, I was having at least one notable attack roughly every 6 months.

How has this transformation happened? Well it wasn’t overnight and it is still not complete. I still have occasional momentary flashes where it feels like the world is starting to spin but then it instantly steadies. 6 months ago I was getting 1 or 2 of them a day now I get about 1 a week. Also I have days where I feel “wobbly”. I avoid driving and will take it easy on those days. Again the frequency of them is falling.

The reasons I feel are many. First settling into retirement, still takes time to accept that you no longer have work dictate much of your life. Secondly a particular drug regime has taken about a year to settle on fixed dosages etc it’s now acceptable with some of the side effects reduced others I’m having to accept but it’s certainly tolerable. I’ve ended on a suite of 4 drugs with some unusual dosages that cause my pharmacy some occasional hassles getting the right tablets. Finally my firm belief is the set of daily exercises I start my day with given to me 2 years ago by a terrific neuro-physiotherapist. A man who listened, encouraged and made you feel you would succeed. Over time, and he said it would take a long time, they have helped retrained my brain to cope with my buggered up balance system. Also they help me determine early a bad day from a good day and the severity of bad as well.

My advice to anyone with a balance disorder is to push for a neuro-physiotherapy referral and work with them on tailoring a package for you. I believe if you stick with it it will potentially be the biggest help to your condition.