Benefits of Meditation

As meditation continues to be an important part of my recovery, I decided to devote another post to it. Instead of the usual post, however, I thought I'd use an infographic to convey my ideas concisely. I hope you find it of some benefit. If you like it, please share it or feel free to pin the graphic on Pinterest.

Beating the Fatigue Part One - Exercise

As I mentioned previously, after experiencing some success in reducing the dizziness through vestibular rehabilitation, I still found myself unable to live a normal life due to extreme fatigue. No one prepared me for this and I couldn't figure it out. The doctors at the Mayo Clinic and my physical therapist all said that it was because my brain was having to work extra hard to fight the dizziness and to deal with all the external stimuli.

© 2012 Hisakazu Watanabe, Flickr | CC-BY-SA | via Wylio

---

Explanatory note: in PPPD, you have to retrain your brain to balance correctly. For whatever reason, the balance system becomes compromised and the brain begins to use the eyes to balance rather than the inner ears. This does not work well, because everything moves, so the eyes and brain are constantly trying to keep up. You have to retrain your brain through vestibular therapy to go back to balancing with the inner ears. And because the brain is working hard, it becomes extra sensitive to stimuli.

---

I found it hard to believe that brain fatigue was causing all this physical fatigue. But I'm here to tell you, it can! I had started a regimen of walking early on in my fight against PPPD just because I thought it might help me get in better shape and make me feel better. It did, and it actually helped my balance as a side benefit.  But a couple of months ago, I finally decided to accept the brain fatigue theory and started thinking of my brain as damaged. When I researched recovering from brain trauma, two things came up over and over - exercise and meditation. I decided to focus on those two things and I have had excellent results.

I worked my way up to walking 30 minutes a day. Sometimes I walk outside, sometimes in the mall and sometimes just inside my apartment. I am now working on increasing my speed. Now, here is my inexpert, non-medical, understanding of how it helps. We know that exercise is good for the brain and helps it regenerate itself. That's why they say exercise is the best way to prevent dementia. I know that exercise strengthens your heart. I figure that as my heart gets stronger, it helps improve blood flow to my body and my brain. That helps feed oxygen to my cells, helping me to heal. And as my brain gets stronger and more healthy, I figure it can work more efficiently, helping diminish the fatigue. And it is working. I can finally see progress!

The other exercise I do is Tai Chi. I do the 24 form I am learning from a DVD. Tai Chi is known to improve balance and increase energy. And I love it because it's calming and beautiful. It is also improving my flexibility and stamina.

In my next post, the other part of the magic formula - meditation.

Beating the migraines - What worked for me

So first I want to say that migraines can play an important role in PPPD. The migraine brain is more susceptible to developing PPPD in the first place. Migraines also interfere with the brain's vestibular functions making balance more difficult, and additionally, the migraine brain is more sensitive to stimuli, which is a huge factor in PPPD.

For me, the PPPD exacerbated the migraines and vice versa, and both caused an unusual amount of fatigue. They all sort of played off one another to really mess up my life.

© 2009 keith ellwood, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio

I, like many of you took a triptan medication (Relpax) for migraine relief. They work great if you only have occasional migraines. But more than that and you can be in real trouble, because they cause rebound migraines. In my case, I ended up taking a Relpax pretty much every day, which meant daily migraines, fatigue and a lot of misery. So I knew I had to stop the cycle.

There are infusion centers available that hook you up to an IV for 8 hours a day for 5 days to help you  break the cycle, but that didn't sound good to me. After doing some research, I decided to quit cold turkey. I knew I would have a bad withdrawal migraine, and the research told me I could expect it to last 4 days. I asked my doctor for a prescription for anti-nausea suppositories in case I started throwing up and couldn't stop. But that didn't end up being a problem.

My withdrawal headache lasted 3 days and the first night was by far the worst. So I knew I could make it. When it was over, I knew I never wanted to take tripans again. I just didn't want to get back on that train. And I haven't. I now get about one migraine a week, and I don't take anything. They only last 1 day each, unlike the 3 to 5 days they used to last in the pre-Imitrex days. I know each time that the pain will go away, and I can make it. And I am so much happier being medication free.

Kicking the Relpax (and also my migraine preventive, Topomax) made a huge difference in the way I feel. I am much less tired and I feel so much better. I heartily recommend it if you are anything like me.

Next time, how exercise has helped my PPPD.

The Experts

© 2006 Alan Levine, Flickr | PD-CC0 | via Wylio

As I mentioned in my previous post, my first breakthrough in figuring out what was wrong with me was finding this article:  New Clues about Chronic Dizziness. The article seemed to be describing my life. The doctor who led the study mentioned, Dr. Jeffrey Staab, was said to be at the Balance Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Further research helped me discover that Dr. Staab and his colleague, Dr. Neil Shepard, were now at the Mayo Clinic and were the leaders in the field of chronic dizziness research. I learned that the condition mentioned in the article - Chronic Subjective Dizziness - had been changed to PPPD (Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness.) I later found that Drs. Staab and Shepard had been on the committee that named the condition for the World Health Organization and that PPPD is now on the draft of the next version of the International Classification of Diseases. 

The more I researched about PPPD, the more I knew that was what was wrong with me and I set out to find out more. I also called the Mayo Clinic and filled out the paperwork to get the appointment process started.

Here are some of the articles, podcasts and videos that I found that were helpful to me:

• Podcast about PPPD with Dr. Neil Shepard and Janene Holmberg, Physical Therapist who works with PPPD patients.
• Podcast about Visual Vertigo with Dr. Jeffrey Staab and Marisa Pavlou from King's College in London, the other leading institute on PPPD.
• YouTube Channel of Vestibular Disorders Association - Lots of good videos here.
• Mayo Clinic YouTube Channel - Helped me prepare.
• Patient Education Resources from Vestibular Disorders Association - Lots of good info here.

Getting a Diagnosis

I was diagnosed with PPPD last April at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Although it took me a full year (agonizing wait!!) to get an appointment, getting the diagnosis was worth it. My recommendation is to do as much research as you can on your own. If you suspect you have PPPD, find a doctor who is familiar with it and preferably has some training and experience with it. If you can't find help (which I couldn't) get on the list at Mayo Rochester. The team of doctors there are  the premier researchers in the world on PPPD, and helped identify and name the condition. They're the best there is.

More on Mayo to come.

Getting Started

It's been almost two years since I had to stop working due to my PPPD and I am just now able to start blogging about it. Although I wanted all along to document this journey and share what I have learned, it's just been too difficult. Reading and writing are two of the things that make me dizziest and most tired, so even now I can only share little bits at a time. But today, I've started. Very happy for that milestone!!