:wave: Hey there! Was thinking about ya and thought I'd write. How are you? You have been much longer at 100% than you even had the stuff by now, haven't you? I'm doing great. The only fuzz "blips" I experience now are related to monthly female stuff, and otherwise I'm back to normal. In December it will be 3 years, and it seems it took about a good 2 years to get there. I'm finally hitting a place where it's hard to remember what it felt like in the full brunt of it (I guess kind of like they say about childbirth ;) ).

How are you? Any good trips this summer? More work on the house? We went to Hawaii in June, but that's about it. Been spending a lot of time cycling, which I LOVE. Tomorrow we are riding with Lance Armstrong on a 40-mile ride (one of the perks of living where Nike has its world headquarters). Should be fun! Maybe Germany and Switzerland are in the plans for next year. Any thoughts on those places? I'm sure you must have had an office somewhere in one of those countries!

Talk soon,
Terri

:wave: Hey there! Was thinking about ya and thought I'd write. How are you? You have been much longer at 100% than you even had the stuff by now, haven't you? I'm doing great. The only fuzz "blips" I experience now are related to monthly female stuff, and otherwise I'm back to normal. In December it will be 3 years, and it seems it took about a good 2 years to get there. I'm finally hitting a place where it's hard to remember what it felt like in the full brunt of it (I guess kind of like they say about childbirth ;) ).

How are you? Any good trips this summer? More work on the house? We went to Hawaii in June, but that's about it. Been spending a lot of time cycling, which I LOVE. Tomorrow we are riding with Lance Armstrong on a 40-mile ride (one of the perks of living where Nike has its world headquarters). Should be fun! Maybe Germany and Switzerland are in the plans for next year. Any thoughts on those places? I'm sure you must have had an office somewhere in one of those countries!

Talk soon,
Terri

Hi Terri

..."How are you?"....

Thanks for asking Terri...been thinking about you...suspected...you must be doing well....So far- so good---for me---still at a solid 100%

..."You have been much longer at 100% than you even had the stuff by now, haven't you?".....

Yep---had it for about 12/13/14 months---been at 100%---now for about 24.....

..." I'm doing great"...

That is very good to hear...hard to believe when this junk is going down---that it will ever---go---but---it does---for most.....thank God!!!

...."Any good trips this summer? More work on the house?"...

Nope--on trips---just finished painting the second floor windows---got all done this summer---40 windows, 3 doors, and three garage doors, with all trim....never get a house with...wooden windows...again...look great...but...in this area just don't hold up...


..." spending a lot of time cycling"....

That---has a lot to do---with your staying---at 100%---it is one of the best VRT's---there is....ur on the right track there...

..."Maybe Germany and Switzerland"....

Visited Switzrland...seem ok---but never spent enough time there to really know it....yep had an office in Germany....seemed expensive...but if you like to drive fast...its the place to be...for sure...both worth visiting...gives you a good gage---to measure---where you are now.....still lean---more toward Norway....myself....but I like the "cold" & "Skiing", etc........

Well---hope---we have said good bye---to this junk---wish C/L would catch up---she is trying---I know....I think I can detect...from her posts...that she is moving forwarded....in fact---think she is cycling..along with you....be nice...if we all...could say...bye bye...to this junk...

What did you think of HI??

:cool:

I'm so glad you continue to be well, beacon of hope that you are for so many. Ah, the wood windows, know them well as my house was built in 1910. Been thinking about replacing them at some point, but somehow it would change the charm of the old girl.

My husband would be much interested in Norway too (as would I) because he is of Norwegian descent. One of those big, strapping northerners who likes the chill in the air.

The bike ride yesterday was awesome. Raised $1.3 mil for Armstrong's cancer foundation. We rode in honor of Tom's (my husband) brother who was diagnosed with testicular cancer earlier this year. He's doing well (knock wood), but it's those types of things that always made me think during the bad head monster days that I was better off than many who had more difficult challenges to face. Anyway, the weather here in Portland is awesome in September, so we just had a fantastic ride. Glad to hear biking is good VRT. Didn't really know that, but have always ridden and oddly enough when I was in the thick of it, biking was a saving grace because I wasn't symptomatic at all when riding. Maybe everyone out there should get on a bike!!

Hawaii was fun. We were on the big island about 1/2 hour drive from Kona. We had to go in and see Kona one afternoon because it's the home of the Hawaii Ironman race. My husband has always wanted to get there to do the race (he's done the Ironman in Canada), but alas it wasn't meant to be this trip. We were there for a work function for Tom's company, and they had us at a very posh resort that seemed sort of weird being this lush (manmade) oasis in the middle of the lava fields. We came to lovingly refer to it as "the compound" because it seemed so isolated and just out of place somehow. Not that we didn't enjoy being served drinks poolside mind you, but that's another story . . .

Well, hey, winter will be upon us soon enough. Maybe you can get your skiing fix then. You should pop out to Oregon sometime. We have great (almost year 'round) skiing here on Mt. Hood due to a high glacier. Plus the scenery is fantastic.

CL WILL catch up; I've no doubt of it.

Talk to you soon,
Terri

Terri,

Sorry to chime in on your posts but I wanted to catch you while you were on the boards. I've tried searching through some of your old posts, but couldn't manage to find what I was looking for.

Can you tell me what your symptoms were when it all started and were you ever actually diagnosed with something?

I'm going nuts here and really want my head to feel normal again. I hope you are right that it is like childbirth and we forget about it. To be honest, I'd rather have 100 babies than go through this.

Thanks for the information.
Gloria

Hi Gloria,

I was diagnosed with right-side BPPV. My first episode came during a yoga class in December 2002. Was lying on my back doing a gentle stretch and turned my head to the right and the world started violently spinning. Went home and looked through a couple medical books and pretty much figured out myself that it was BPPV, which was confirmed by my GP and later, ENT. I was only symptomatic (as in the big spins) when I turned my head in that direction, otherwise I pretty much had the garden variety stuff that others here talk about: brain fog, cognitive issues (which was real fun as I was in grad school at the time), and some anxiety. It was these lingering symptoms that were the real hell, not the spinning.

I only had two real episodes of the big spins, and at the 2nd one I had the Epley done and that was that. The Epley didn't bother me at all (I even drove myself home), though I was a bit foggy for maybe a couple hours afterward. That was in July 2003. I've not had any reoccurrence since then, and I've basically been back to my old self for about 6-8 months now. The waiting to crawl out of the lingering effects was torture, but this board helped immensely, and also I just continued to keep moving, as in walking, biking, hiking, etc. (the MOST important part of recovery for me) and living my life as normal. This thing is such a blow to everyone who experiences it, that I've found attitude is about half the battle. If you can chin up, or stiff upper lip it, or whatever your favorite cliche happens to be, then you're half way there.

Hope that helps!
Terri

Thanks Terri. Your information does help. So your dizziness went away before the other symptoms? My dizziness (although I never had true vertigo, spinning, movement, etc. just a strange off feeling) kind of is pretty much gone but I still have some brainfog, stuffy head and ears, tinnitus and some vision problems. I was confused because it seems like with the few others that have recovered, their other symptoms went away before the dizziness, but in your case it was the opposite. Am I reading your reply right?

One more question, did you have any tinnitus? I have it and it really drives me insane.

You are so right about attitude and I really do try. One day I can be upbeat and the next I am drowning in tears. I do try and stay active. I did quit the health club but I do walk about 2 miles every day. I've even tried some of Subs therapy. He mentioned on another post that he walked at night on a dark road to let his brain take over rather than his eyes. I can't walk on dark roads being a female and chicken, but I walk on a paved path at a park with my eyes closed. I just peak every once in a while to make sure I am walking straight and no one is coming.

Anyway, thanks for the information and chatting. Of course any positive information one can find on these boards, helps to keep your chin up.

Gloria

Hi Gloria,

Yes, you read my post right in that the violent spinning (hallmark of BPPV) was very limited compared to the other lasting effects. I have a suspicion that during the 6 months in between my first BPV episode and the second one, the fact that the crystals were still in there may have caused some minor damage, or at the very least a level of irritation that wasn't abated until I had the Epley and got most of them out of there. And it was that irritation that caused the lingering effects like the brain fog, etc. It just took a while for my brain to compensate for that stuff and feel like normal again.

I think it's GREAT you are walking 2 miles a day. That's about how far I was walking when I was in the thick of it. Keep it up. Though some days it doesn't feel like it, in the long run you are creating a cumulative effect that will help you to heal.

Oh, and as far as the tinnitus goes, I didn't really have much of that. I think maybe just a tiny bit, and it was really only noticeable like at night when I would read in bed, because it was so quiet.

Good luck,
Terri