Tuesday, April 21, 2009

I still fall down a lot...

...but now I know why.

Regular readers will recall that I had a bit of vertigo a few months ago. Well, it's never really gone away and lately it's gotten a lot worse.

The last time I went to the doctor he said it was either a virus or a tumor. That's like a whole Grand Canyon's worth of difference in those two words. But he said the chances of it being a tumor were very small, but told me if it didn't get better to come back.

It didn't get better. This morning I went back. The diagnosis?

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo, or BPPV.

Benign. Isn't that a lovely word?

Begins with a B, one of my favorite letters. Even sounds nice, a Dickensian word if there ever was one.

Not to worry. It's benign.

What BPPV means is that something in my head got unstuck and now they have to twist my coconut around like a Wii stick and that won't happen until May.

So until then, I'll be a little loopier than usual, even sober.

But it's benign. I like that word.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Benign-It's like a Beignet without the sugar.
Ed

Stephen Blackmoore said...

What, nobody ever told you to clean the shit out of your ears?

JD Rhoades said...

Benign is good. And apparently fixable, which is GREAT. good luck, my friend.

Gerard Saylor said...

Thats it. Stephen Blackmoore is a genius.

Hope your Wii procedure goes well.

norby said...

So is it an inner ear vestibular thing or don't you know yet? That would be my guess though-that's typically the area that messes with balance.

Joe Saundercook said...

Once again, your opening graphic is horrifying on many levels.

Regardless, though, great news.

Does drinking make it better or worse? Or does it just make you not care?

David Terrenoire said...

Yes, Stephen is a genius. At what, we're not entirely sure.

Yes, norb, my inner ear is awash in misdirection.

No, Joe, drinking has no effect except that when I fall, I bounce higher.