Vertigo

I wish this were a blog post about the classic Hitchcock movie with the cool poster.

I woke up yesterday with the room spinning. I thought, "Hm, that's weird. Maybe I'm still groggy." I got out of bed and proceeded to quickly fall back down on it. "What the heck is happening?"

Oh, vertigo.

The best way to describe it is like having "the spins" after drinking too much. Only without the drinking part.

Unfortunately, the web has a ton to say about the possible causes of vertigo, including Meniere disease (hearing loss), acoustic neuroma (tumor and hearing loss), cerebellar hemorrhage (brain bleeding), Multiple Sclerosis, etc.

But there are also the less serious inner-ear-infection-induced vertigo, migraine-induced vertigo, and Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV). Although not verified by a doctor, I'm pretty sure I have the last variety.

So news to me, there are tiny calcium carbonate crystals (otoconia) that hang out in the inner ear and usually dissolve naturally. But when just one of these crystals decides to take a field trip into the semi-circular canals, it pushes on tiny hairs lining the canal. The hairs act as sensors, giving the brain information about balance. Vertigo happens when the rolling crystal stimulates the hairs.

Treatment?

This:

Apparently this particle repositioning technique (which I tried yesterday) gets rid of the vertigo on the first try about 85% of the time. I am in remaining 15% because I still have it today -- although not as bad. I guess the little crystal has a little further to travel, so I'll try it again tonight. If BPPV isn't the culprit, well...... then it's back to the drawing board.

Meantime, If you'd like to join me in the vertigo experience for a second, just stare at this painting entitled "Blaze" by one of my favorite artists, Bridget Riley. (You can thank me later.)

I did it! (Mostly.)

I didn't eat McDonald's for an entire year. (That was one of my 2010 resolutions.)

I also.... 

• Wrote a short story. No, you may not read it. Well, maybe if you ask nicely. 
  
• Created two non-snowflake glass pieces. The goal was three... but maybe I can count the poppies project that I STARTED in 2010 (and hope to finish this week).
  
• Created two pencil drawings. Goal was two. Woo-hoo! Ironically, both were of doggies. And, I started a third drawing in Dec., which I also hope to finish in the short-term. (Non-dog.)
  
• Created one charcoal drawing. Goal was two. Boo. It is a birthday gift for someone so I won't post a pic until the recipient has received it. I used a lot of charcoal though, so maybe it can count as two? Ok fine.
  
• And, I had a goal of writing three songs. I didn't write any. Triple boo! However, I did write my own harp parts for two songs in Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming. Does that count??

All-in-all, I'm pretty satisfied with my progress toward my 2010 resolutions. How did you do?