I am dizzy, still or again. I’m getting very tired of this; it’s been noticeable, on and off, throughout this whole trip (which eliminates the idea that it has something to do with Taiwan air pollution). One problem is that I seem to have had a whole smorgasbord of different types of vertigo: this doesn’t seem to be the BPPV one because it’s ont strictly tied to tilting my head. It’s not about low blood sugar, because food doesn’t make a difference. There is nothing much wrong with my ear/nose/throat system that I can tell, except that my sinuses are still adjusting to a much drier climate. It’s not anything awful like a brain tumor or aneurism (opinion of the doctor I went to in Taipei) because it doesn’t come with headache or nausea.
Earlier in this trip it felt like it *might* be related to my eyes’ continuing dislike of focusing together – it feels less like that now, but is still possible. It does seem sensitive to motion – I notice it more when walking than when sitting, more at higher speeds in a car. It doesn’t really seem to be impairing my balance at all. It also doesn’t seem to give me any problems with driving, but I only have to drive on sidestreets here, no highways. I’m still avoiding highway driving, especially Taiwan highway driving, but that’s no great problem for my remaining time there. (Being a passenger seems to be OK, but those two episodes of waves of dizziness while driving on the highway in November and January were kind of scary.)
The Taiwanese ENT and opthalmologist, didn’t have any answers, and when I had a carotid artery scan as part of my annual physical it didn’t find any problems (a recommendation from the opthalmologist because the carotid brings blood and oxygen to the retina, so since it was one of the tests available I had it done). I’ve been hearing lately about peopel having viruses causing vertigo, but I have no fever or other symptoms, and this has been hitting me on and off since November. If it’s not better in a few weeks, maybe I’ll go see if Dutch doctors have any more ideas. It’s more of an annoyance than a disability, since it hasn’t actually stopped me from doing anything (even the highway driving was more of a worry than an actual problem) but it is annoying and I’m ready for it to stop already.
ETA: Ted theorizes that under-hydration is a factor in this. He may be right – it seems to be a good guess anytime I’m feeling less than great for no apparent reason – but it isn’t the only factor because I get dizzy even when well hydrated. Just a bit less so. Also, it seems to be more an internal feeling than any external manifestation – not only do I not fall down, but I don’t notice it at all in moments of distraction, including while crawling around on the floor just now lowering my desk. (Desks that can be lowered without help from the Facilities department, using only an Allen wrench that stores in a little hole built into one leg = good design!)
On another topic: one weirdness that can occur when you work at the same place as your spouse, is when you are invited to a dinner pretty much just as “significant other” but someone sends you a meeting notice for it.
Hmm. Meniere’s disease, perhaps? I have that in addition to BPPV; it’s episodic (like BPPV) and can hit you when you least suspect it. It’s evidently a fluid imbalance in the inner ear. My ENT advised me that the way to control it is to avoid salt, caffeine, and alcohol. BAH!