I guess its about time for me to do an update on how everything is going with me. Oh geez, where to even start. Well, since the beginning of August I have been doing Vision Therapy every single day. Some moments are really tough because it feels like I can do the exercises 10 days in a row, and for some reason my eyes just don't see what they need to. And that is beyond my control, I can make my eyes turn inward when they needed to, or make my brain stop shutting down my double vision. Being a type A personality it was hard for me when I was in that funk. When I hit a bump like that I just had to keep trying over and over until my eyes finally saw it. Vision Therapy really is one of the most mentally tasking things I have had to do, and I am no where near completion. Usually this therapy is done in office at the Doctor's office, but since I can't travel so easily my Doctor installed it on my home computer. The patients who go into his office who have had brain damage & problems like mine typically go 2 times a week, and take about 75 sessions to repair the damage (About 9 months). So, I really don't know how that will translate with me doing it every day. I would hope obviously quicker, but I don't think as quick as 75 days, because I am already about 50 days into it, and I don't feel anywhere near 50% better. It's slow. My eyes have to re-learn how to do everything. They need to learn to turn inward together, my brain needs to learn to stop shutting one side of my eyes off, and I need to get depth perception back. I have a long road ahead with that, but I'm not giving up. I feel really burnt out on it, and I just wish I could know when this would pay off.. But, patience is a virtue right?
I also started doing Vestibular Therapy as well. I'm starting incredibly slow with that though, because I am really sensitive. Until I had gone to college I have never exercised on any exercise equipment. How ridiculous is that, right? Anyway, when I went off to college I joined gyms and all that jazz, and I noticed that after I got off the elliptical or the treadmill I would feel like I was still bouncing afterwards. I would get off the machine and have to sit down because I was dizzy and felt like I was still moving when I was still. Almost like the ground underneath me was moving. Honestly, I thought this was normal. Maybe it is, do any of you ever have that happen??
Either way, that was a thing lonnnnng ago and after that it was just a slow progression of Vestibular things which I brushed off as normal. I started having really terrible balance, then I noticed if I closed my eyes while standing during church prayer I would start swaying and have to hold on to the pews. All of this was weird because I was a dancer for a large portion of my life, and I could not understand why balance was suddenly an issue. Then, as time went on it got worse and worse. One time I was on a pool raft floating for an afternoon and when I tried to get to bed that same night I felt like I was still floating and bouncing and dizzy.
Eventually it was to where if I was in a chair and someone turned me around or pushed me I would feel the movement of it long after it happened. Flipping my head upside down made me so dizzy I would fall over, turning my head quickly did the same thing. I couldn't ride elevators or escalators without having a dizzy/moving feeling when I got off. Long story short, it was bad!
As I did the Visual Therapy and I kept working on my driving, I realized this vestibular stuff was a huge contributor in issues. When I picked up speed (going just 35mph), it felt like my head was being crushed, and my eyes started to do Nystagmus movement severely. And that's scary when you are driving a car! It's a terrifying feeling of like panic that goes on within my vision & vestibular system when I pick up speed. My eyes are trying to put together the quickly moving environment (and failing), and my inner ears are trying to gauge where I am in the world that's also moving quickly (and failing). It's a recipe for disaster and it makes me so sick and so uncomfortable.
Neurological problems have always been the biggest downfall in my journey. The brain is responsible for so many small details that healthy people take for granted. And the Lyme bacteria itself has created so much damage that I get disheartened so sometimes. Especially when I see the goal and I can't quite get there. But either way I am doing Visual Therapy and Vestibular exercises every single day. And I have to believe that at one point this hard work will overpower the Lyme that is still there pushing back and trying to continue to wreak havoc.
So right now I am working on that, I'm working on my immune system, and between those 2 and the inevitable fatigue it has me wiped out just about every day. I have also been doing something health-wise since this May and I will talk about it this week/next week in a longer post. I always like to wait when I start something new before I discuss it on here so I can give a realistic review of it. I don't want to waste anyones time discussing something that will do squat, and if I do try something amazing for my body & I feel like it works wonders then I definitely want to share. So, with that being said, I am going to finish off this post. I hope everyone has a happy and healthy week!
xoxo,
Christina
I also started doing Vestibular Therapy as well. I'm starting incredibly slow with that though, because I am really sensitive. Until I had gone to college I have never exercised on any exercise equipment. How ridiculous is that, right? Anyway, when I went off to college I joined gyms and all that jazz, and I noticed that after I got off the elliptical or the treadmill I would feel like I was still bouncing afterwards. I would get off the machine and have to sit down because I was dizzy and felt like I was still moving when I was still. Almost like the ground underneath me was moving. Honestly, I thought this was normal. Maybe it is, do any of you ever have that happen??
Either way, that was a thing lonnnnng ago and after that it was just a slow progression of Vestibular things which I brushed off as normal. I started having really terrible balance, then I noticed if I closed my eyes while standing during church prayer I would start swaying and have to hold on to the pews. All of this was weird because I was a dancer for a large portion of my life, and I could not understand why balance was suddenly an issue. Then, as time went on it got worse and worse. One time I was on a pool raft floating for an afternoon and when I tried to get to bed that same night I felt like I was still floating and bouncing and dizzy.
Eventually it was to where if I was in a chair and someone turned me around or pushed me I would feel the movement of it long after it happened. Flipping my head upside down made me so dizzy I would fall over, turning my head quickly did the same thing. I couldn't ride elevators or escalators without having a dizzy/moving feeling when I got off. Long story short, it was bad!
As I did the Visual Therapy and I kept working on my driving, I realized this vestibular stuff was a huge contributor in issues. When I picked up speed (going just 35mph), it felt like my head was being crushed, and my eyes started to do Nystagmus movement severely. And that's scary when you are driving a car! It's a terrifying feeling of like panic that goes on within my vision & vestibular system when I pick up speed. My eyes are trying to put together the quickly moving environment (and failing), and my inner ears are trying to gauge where I am in the world that's also moving quickly (and failing). It's a recipe for disaster and it makes me so sick and so uncomfortable.
Neurological problems have always been the biggest downfall in my journey. The brain is responsible for so many small details that healthy people take for granted. And the Lyme bacteria itself has created so much damage that I get disheartened so sometimes. Especially when I see the goal and I can't quite get there. But either way I am doing Visual Therapy and Vestibular exercises every single day. And I have to believe that at one point this hard work will overpower the Lyme that is still there pushing back and trying to continue to wreak havoc.
So right now I am working on that, I'm working on my immune system, and between those 2 and the inevitable fatigue it has me wiped out just about every day. I have also been doing something health-wise since this May and I will talk about it this week/next week in a longer post. I always like to wait when I start something new before I discuss it on here so I can give a realistic review of it. I don't want to waste anyones time discussing something that will do squat, and if I do try something amazing for my body & I feel like it works wonders then I definitely want to share. So, with that being said, I am going to finish off this post. I hope everyone has a happy and healthy week!
xoxo,
Christina
RSS Feed