The Dizzies/Vertigo

The Dizzies / The Spins / Vertigo

I'm feeling so *&^%$#ing dizzy today.... goddam I despise that these things just kick in so randomly sometimes.

When it randomly kicks in, sometimes I feel like I have the attention span of a sock!

Catch-22... I never seem to know if these dizzy spells are a side-effect of the meds for my bipolar depression or colitis-inspired anemia, or because of my MS... or simply that I'm getting older!

Managing MS Symptoms: Vertigo

(Source)

MS Vertigo

(Source)

"Vertigo / The Spins / The Dizzies" sort of feels like being very drunk, but without the 'buzz' - my physical body isn't affected, it feels like everything in the room is spinning... doesn't make me nauseous, just tires me right out. It's the sensation of spinning - similar to what you feel on a twirling amusement park ride - even if you’re not moving. Plus it totally stops me from doing anything positively productive... I can't focus on anything long enough, while it's happening. A nap usually nails it on the head... sometimes (Makes me sound so old, doesn't it?!)

I hate it when it kicks in; makes me feel like a real 'little old man', moving about slowly and deliberately, so I don't bloody fall over! Fvck!

Sounds fun, doesn't it? No. No, it doesn't. It's one of the reasons why I have a chair with me, whenever I'm performing on guitar - and why I'll use a walking stick or a walker when it's a bit of a hike - "just in case"...

It's different to the "Brain Fog" that sometimes affects my immediate short-term memory.

(Posted 12 April 2022)

I've been experiencing vertigo a lot these last few weeks. Strangely it's also been affecting me after I first raise up my head after bed/sleep! I literally have to hang on to the bed for a few seconds, as everything very realistically seems to be spinning around me. I have my "Fred" walking stick beside the bed all the time now - just in case. It usually passes with 5-10 seconds tho, thankfully... walking to the toilet etc is OK, but I still take my "Fred", just in case!

(Posted 19 Nov 2021)

I had two totally random brief dizzy spells today, each lasting about 5-ish seconds, about 30 minutes apart; I was not doing anything at the time, nor was I feeling unwell etc. Very bizarre! I spent the rest of the day walking around home with my walking stick - 'just in case'! Nothing else happened, tho. Weird!

➽ Article: MS Vertigo

➽ Article: MS Symptoms: Vertigo and Dizziness

➽ Video: Three exercises to help relieve Vertigo

➽ Video: An easy exercise to help combat Vertigo

Bookmark this page: The "Dizzies"

Also: Vertigo

Peas be with ewe 
Mal

MS and Heat

MS and Heat... not good partners!

Our summer temps here play havoc with my MS... hands, arms, feet and legs are buzzing / jelly-like / rubbery like crazy! Thankfully, it all settles down again after it cools down in the early morning - phew! Wipes me out, tho.

During a daytime jazz band gig I was playing at in March 2017, it slowly became very hot and humid in the room we were performing in. For the first set, my MS hands were fine playing guitar (as can be expected, that is!) As the temperature and humidity started to rise during the second set, my hands became very uncooperative! I had to take some 'private alone time' during the break after the second set, just to regather my wits. My hands felt like rubber or jelly for the third set... I could not play accurately at all (for my standards), tho I soldiered on.

I forgot to take my small fan, as part of my standard gig-bag. But I'm also thinking of adding some instant cooling packs as well - just in case it happens to me like that again, in the future. Maybe a small esky with some frozen ice packs as part of my gig-bag, also? Well, if needs be...

It was a real shock for me, to experience this so profoundly when exposed to a sudden change in both temperature and humidity.

When I got home afterwards, and "cooled down" - all was normal with my hands again! Go figure!

Though the drive home after the gig was 'interesting" (all OK, tho), I felt absolutely fatigued as a result of the whole experience.

I love my little air conditioner, tho... saves me on most of those stinkiest-hot Summer days.

In the summer of January 2018, we had a long spell of temps in the mid-to-high 30c's, that went on for weeks (much longer than normal)!

There was one day when, even tho I was wearing water-soaked clothing and a cotton hat sitting in front of an air conditioner, laying on a wet towel on the floor - I was crying in frustration, as it felt at least 10c+ warmer than it was! Even laying on the floor was exhausting that day. Thank goodness I live on my own... it's not such a fashionably-cool look! [laughs]

"Worsening MS Symptoms in the Heat"

(Source)

As fellow MS Twitter Cindy aptly described the after-effects of heat and MS, we are "Left to Roam the Earth like a Retarded Zombie" afterwards.

In Sept. 2023, I managed to get myself one of these frozen neck rings, in preparation for the coming summer temps. Thanks to Temu.

Staying Cool with MS When It's Hot

• Stay indoors out of direct heat.

• Visit a local public space with air conditioning. ie. library, theatre, club etc.

• Use things to cool yourself down: a cooling vest, neck wraps, wet bandannas, a wet hat, wear a wet (tea) towel around your neck.

• Pour cold water over my head... once my hair starts to dry, I will repeat this process.

• An icy cool drink - keep hydrated.

• Freeze bottles of water and sip on the water as it melts throughout the day.

• Chew on ice cubes.

• Cool in a pool, use a cool bath or shower, or sit under the sprinkler.

• Plug in the fan - airflow is important if you lack air conditioning.

• Use a spray bottle to lightly spray yourself with water

• Wear light loose clothing

• Keep bathing water cooler rather than warmer.

• Hold ice cubes, ice packs, or anything frozen against the inside of the wrists, back of the neck, or top of the head (ie. 'pulse points') to provide quick relief.

• Ice under the arches of your feet.

• Place a cool, damp cloth on your skin where the blood vessels are (inside your wrists, around your neck, back of knees/elbows, etc). I use wet cotton 'tennis-style-wristbands.

• Wrap some half-full hot water bottles in a tea towel and put them in the freezer; use in bed on those stinking hot nights.

• Rather than preparing/eating hot foods, snack on frozen bite-sized pieces of fruit, such as pineapple chunks, banana slices, blueberries, or grapes.

• Mix and match different things, to see what works best for you.

• Know your limits!

8 WAYS TO STAY HYDRATED OTHER THAN DRINKING WATER

a] Celery

b] Smoothies

c] Cucumbers

d] Coconut Water

e] Watermelon

f] Strawberries

g] Lettuce

Here's a brilliant idea from @motorsportpete:

sweat wristbands soaked in water and left in the fridge to help with the hot weather

► Article: The Effects of Temperature on MS (pdf)

► Article: Uhthoff’s Phenomenon: Understanding Overheating

► Article: Best Hacks for Staying Cool with MS

► Article: Top tips for staying cool in the heat

► Article: Heat and MS: An Impaired Ability to Regulate Temperatures

► Article: Tips on How to Manage Your MS in Hot Weather

► Article: The Power of Keeping Cool

► Blog Repost: "This Heat"

► Article: "Beat the Heat"

► Shift MS: Beating the Heat Tips & Twitter

► Article: MS and Heat: What You Need To Know

► Articles: Heat Sensitivity, Tips to Stay Cool and Research

► Article: "Some like it hot, but I do not" by Mary Pettigrew

Bookmark this page: MS and Heat

Also: MS & Heat

Peas be with ewe 
Mal

Spoonersims

Spoonerisms

One of my MS Speech Problems is that I often get words mixed-up... even when thinking to myself! [laffs]

One thing I seem to have always done is "Spoonerise" words in a sentence... getting sounds back-to-front occasionally... it was very funny when it would happen randomly when I used to present radio - I'd make a gag out of it and move on. MS just seems to amplify it somehow... again, it's very random.

➽ For years I've called Milk "Moo Juice" or "Juice of the Moo" (for the pure silliness of it, of course)... a few weeks ago I subconsciously said "Moose of the Jew" - and I almost fell out laughing!

➽ Another one I caught myself saying today, whilst feeding my goldfish: Normally I joke to myself and say, "it's dinner time for the fishies"... this time it came out as "it's Finner time for the Dishies"...

➽ Bust Duster instead of Dust Buster.

➽ Instead of 'Katia and Thoon' (my goldfish), it came out as "Thaitia and Koon". Another goodie (June '26) was "Thootia". 

➽  An oldie: Instead of 'Hot Water Bottle", it came out as "Bot Water Hottle".

➽  A new one today (4 May '24)... Instead of saying "The dizzies have kicked in", it came out as, "The Kizzies have dicked in"... and yes, I laughed out loud at myself.

➽ Instead of "I'll wait until the 'jug boils' ", it came out as "Bug Joiles"!

Silly moi! 😸🤭😺😀😃😄😁😆😂😜

Bookmark this Page

Also: Spoonerisms

Peas be with ewe 
Mal