Vertigo is a veritably vile, but fairly common, symptom of
multiple sclerosis. It’s sort of like being seasick on shore. It’s something
akin to the feeling one experiences after riding a swirling, topsy-turvy carnival
ride.
Vertigo is nasty.
It makes the MSer reel and stagger and hold onto anything
within reach.
Yesterday, I grabbed the shower rail. Boy, was I glad it was
there, especially standing in soapy, slippery shower bubbles.
Earlier, I tried riding a favorite horse. (Horseback riding is supposed to be helpful for rebuilding balance and conditioning for some people with conditions like MS.)
We plodded one lap around the equestrian arena and stopped in the center. I fairly swayed in the saddle, unintentionally cuing the well-trained mount to zigzag under my shifting weight.
We plodded one lap around the equestrian arena and stopped in the center. I fairly swayed in the saddle, unintentionally cuing the well-trained mount to zigzag under my shifting weight.
Standing on the ground next to this sweet equine, I began
taking a quick mental inventory. (Honestly, I wished I’d had the presence of
mind to do that before climbing aboard.) I ran a quick tally in my head,
recounting recent excitement and exasperation, wonders and worries.
Concerns for family members and friends, overloaded
schedules, ongoing health challenges, issues with finances, less-than-pleasant
messages received from certain individuals, stressful interactions,
insufficient sleep, sudden life changes, and an ever-growing to-do list offered
a start.
Z-z-z-z-zing! The
stress-o-meter rated off the charts.
High-energy and high-emotion topics (both positive and
negative) can combine to take life to a stress overload level, leaving an MSer
wide open for symptomatic exacerbations.
This CafePress cap cracks me up. "Vertigo - It's the reel thing." You bet it is.
Round and round and round we go. Maybe tomorrow it'll stop.
Image/s:
Public domain clip-art
and
Vertigo cap – product photo – fair use
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