Otolaryngology was the name of the special clinic at OHSU but even Dr. Scheulining called it the "dizzy clinic."..Herb, with Bobi's help, navigated us to OHSU for my first appointment...Thankfully Herb was good at reading signs and following arrows through the maze of elevators, hallways and offices...I just kept my eyes straight ahead and followed or held on to his hand...Dr. S was kind, gentle and understanding...He listened to my story from beginning to end, with compassion...He didn't condescendingly pat me on the shoulder and say, "Its just a little dizzy spell," nor did he say, "You look perfectly healthy to me, I don't know what you are complaining about."
When I told him that when I walked, everything around me moved, including the mountains, he started asking questions..."Have you been in a car wreck, had a blow to the head, taken intravenous antibiotics?"...I answered no to all...We spent several hours that day at the clinic, Dr. S ordered another MRI, blood tests for heavy metals, and syphilis, among other things, they all came back negative...He looked into my eyes with magnifying glasses, called in another specialist and said, "Look through these, her eyes are dancing like an Irish Jig, trying to focus." They conferred with other specialist in the dizzy clinic.
We got a diagnosis that day...For some unknown reason, probably a viral infection, I had lost considerable balance function (vestibular) in both ears...I would need to return to the dizzy clinic in a few weeks for more tests...Of course my first question was, "How do I get my balance back?"...The simple answer was, "You don't."..The only consolation was, that similar to recovering from a stroke, my brain, over time, would help do what my vestibular no longer did. But basically I would balance with my eyes and the soles of my feet...I also came home with a prescription for Valium (to relax my body from a year of trying to stay upright) and Prozac to "help my frame of mind?"...Hugs To All...OWAV:)
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