Surgery Setbacks & Gains

I had oral surgery about 10 days ago to remove an abscessed tooth and a large area of infection below it. After the surgery, I was much worse in regards to my vestibular symptoms. I had a lot of fatigue and the vertigo returned for a few days. However, I am feeling much better now than I was last week. In fact, I think my vestibular symptoms have improved since I had the tooth removed. It was a rear molar, and the infection was quite large and close to my left ear canal. I am wondering if that was playing a role in my vestibular symptoms. My energy levels have improved since I had the tooth removed. I am sure the infection below the tooth was making me feel more tired than normal.

Fluorescent lights and computer screens are still a struggle for me. I am not sure if that part is going to leave or not.

I haven't gone back to vestibular rehab due to the cost, since my insurance only covers a percentage of it. I might try another appointment if the budget allows in the next few weeks.

Dental Issues Causing Problems?

With this vestibular issue, I have made it a resolution to take better care of myself. I am about 50 lbs overweight, and I have started light exercising with a goal of losing the weight over the next 2 years realistically. I have also had an extreme fear of dentists, and as a result I have not seen a dentist in 8 years. I had already determined to make an appointment in the next couple of weeks, but this morning decided it for me. I woke up with eye-watering pain in one of my teeth. I found a dentist that my insurance covered that was open and thankfully took me. After x-rays, I was told I have a really bad abscessed rear molar. I was given a referral to an oral surgeon to have immediate surgery as soon as they can fit me in next week. I was given steroids, pain medication and antibiotics because my dentist told me "you are one sick puppy!" I am definitely dreading the surgery part of it next week. I am sure it will be extremely unpleasant since it hurts. Depending on the cost of sedation, I might request to be put out entirely. But it must be done. I also have some cavities which I will start taking care of a few weeks after the surgery. Thankfully, we have dental insurance through my husband's employer. It will cover my extraction next week, as well as about one or two cavities. On December 1, insurance resets so I will be able to get the next cavity or two taken care of under insurance.

I am wondering if the severe abscessed tooth in the rear left molar could be interfering with my vestibular system?

Here are some articles on dental issues and vertigo/dizziness:

http://www.penndios.com/toothache-accompanied-dizziness/

http://www.anxieties.com/45/panic-step1e#.WALVS_krLIU

The prospect of a "cure" or a physical reason for my illness is enticing.

I did fine at the funeral on Thursday. I slept for 14 hours that evening. I have been exhausted, which I attributed to the Labrynthitis, but it could definitely also be due to the severe tooth infection. I will not be able to appropriately evaluate my vestibular symptoms until after my oral surgery, which I am praying will be sooner rather than later. I call the office of the surgeon first thing on Monday morning.

Good Days and Bad Days, Vestibular Rehab

I worked a shift on Wednesday morning. It went better than I expected. I was still dizzy and off-balance, but it wasn't too bad. This past week has been a struggle. I have not had too many good days. I was getting used to having them more and more. But as with any vestibular illness, it seems like there is progress and regression. The neck pain has been quite bad this past week.

I have occupied myself with working on my novel. I had written about half of the book, and it wasn't flowing really well. I thought on my plot and my characters and made some lists of character attributes, and worked out an alternative beginning for my story. I wrote about 10 pages of the rewrite in Word today, and it really turned out much better than I thought it would. My main character are much better and the book is easier to read. My goal is to have the whole story written down within the next 6 months. I intend to spend the next year rewriting and editing it. Then I will get up the courage to print off the manuscript and see if it gets published. If not, I will self-publish.

Thursday is going to be a big test for me and my endurance. It sounds selfish because we have a funeral to attend. Since we are in the procession, we must be up very early and across the city by 8:45am. The procession leaves at 9am and goes until about 10am, when we all arrive at the church for the funeral service. Once the funeral service is over around noon, we will be in the procession to the cemetery. I also will be putting on makeup and dressing nicely. I am trying to rest myself up so that I can do it on Thursday. I am a little nervous about how I'll feel.

Friday was my first Vestibular Rehab appointment. I am not extremely optimistic about it. It is very expensive ($40 per visit with insurance). They gave me some gaze stability exercises. It did not seem like it was going to help me overmuch. I will probably go a few more times as finances allow. I honestly think just walking and doing normal activities is the best thing. But I have not waited this long (nearly 8 weeks) for nothing.

Feeling a bit down on myself and am thinking about seeing a psychiatrist for an anti-depressant.

Thoughts in a Vestibular Patient

I figured I'd document as much as I can about having a vestibular disorder, including the mental side of things. My hope is that someone looking for answers may stumble upon this blog and see that they are not alone in this weird illness.

Thoughts that are going/have gone through my head:

• Is this permanent? Even though I've been diagnosed with a temporary illness, Labrynthitis, it's still a waiting game to see when (and if) it goes away. My visit with the ENT basically told me it could go away sooner, it could be later, it could be several months, it could be longer than that. I had a dramatic improvement in symptoms last week, but had a pretty big relapse a couple of days ago, which is ongoing. I am due to start back at work tomorrow as a trial run, although I am not feeling especially optimistic.
• What will life be like if I am chronically dizzy and off-balance? I suppose the best answer is: how it's been the past few weeks. Modified activities and a focus on wellness, I would presume.
• What will my husband think of me if I can't work in the long-term? He has been good-natured and supportive of my not being able to work. He says he likes seeing me more. Economically, though, I will have to find some sort of employment. I am working on a book to give that shot. 
• How will this impact my daughter? This has been better for her, actually, as I have been home to help her more with schoolwork. I have also taken over her Girl Scout troop. I figure I can muster up the stamina to volunteer 2 or 3 times a month in this capacity. In the end, she is glad I am not working. So this has positively affected my daughter.
• How will I contribute to my family if I can't work at a traditional job? I will have to find some other means of making money. As I mentioned above, I have always wanted to write a book and have been working on a historical fiction novel, which is about halfway completed. I have decided that substitute teaching is a feasible way to go right now if I can't resume my old job of working with horses. I could work on days that were good for me, and I could work full or part-time. That is growing more appealing day by day. I could turn down jobs if I am not feeling well. I will also be on the lookout for a job where I can work from home, even though I have no idea how to go about that.

These have been the primary thoughts in my head. I will update later this week with how work goes tomorrow. 

Variations in Recovery Stages

The cane is back today, although the past week I felt much better. It's been an interesting week or so in terms of my recovery. I experienced massive improvement in my symptoms and was feeling well enough to agree to return to work, starting one day a week just to be on the cautious side. I was able to go grocery shopping without any major issues again, and I was able to do quite a lot of activities that I had been avoiding. My father-in-law had emergency kidney stone surgery, and I was able to be at the hospital for a good majority of the day without any major problems. 

The weather has been dry, sunny, and very nice. But about 2 days ago, storms blew in and it has been overcast and damp. This coincided with a huge resurgence in my symptoms. The tinnitus and really bad neck pain has returned, as well as the vertigo and balance challenges. I nearly fell over tonight while putting dishes into the dishwasher. I am regretting that I agreed to return to work at all, because I feel that the progress over the past week has been washed away completely. I have stayed home all day today because of the worsening symptoms. I am hoping that my symptoms improve as the weather does, although living in a Midwestern state, weather is highly volatile. I am very thankful for the energy I had last week. I was able to get a lot of grocery shopping done, take the dogs to the vet, and other things I have not been able to do since being diagnosed with Labrynthitis. I am hoping I continue to progress and that this is a temporary setback with my Vestibular symptoms.

Things I have noticed affect my vestibular symptoms:

-weather (!!!)

- tiredness

- evening

I definitely see a correlation in my symptoms' severity when it is overcast/raining/storming/damp. My symptoms also get much worse when I am tired, and they tend to get worse at night. 

I still have until December until I have reached the end of the average time for recovery from Labrynthitis. 

I am continuing my online classes, planning for a career where I am not riding horses. I am still not 100% it is a good idea for me to return to work on Wednesday. My husband has strongly advised against me returning to that job. It was just that I was feeling SO much better and chafing at being home with nothing to do aside from normal housework, school, and kids. 

My new career path at this point looks to be post-secondary education. I have always thought about being a teacher. After interviewing teachers for a class assignment, I decided I probably did not have the tolerance to be a primary teacher for small kids. If this vestibular disorder keeps up, I may not have the energy for secondary, either. So, going for my Master's degree with a focus in technology could allow me to teach at the community college part-time as an adjunct or substitute instructor. I could potentially even look for a teaching position at an online university, like what I am attending now.

I hope if you are reading this and you are going through the same thing in regards to a vestibular disorder, you are feeling maybe less alone than before you found this blog.