ANA Discussion Forum
Post-Treatment => Post-Treatment => Topic started by: cin605 on February 16, 2009, 02:43:48 pm
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This one is right out strange.I bought a vibrating heating pad today,when i put my head on it my eyesights will move w/ the pattern of the vibration everything will be wavey & the room will move back n forth.Can anyone explain this to me??is it bad for me to keep my head on it??
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I could be way off, but if you have weakened neck muscles (which are used to keep your head still when in movement), then what you describe could happen. I don't think there's any harm in using a vibrating heating pad on your head, but I would consult with your doctor to be sure as he knows more specifics about your case..
AN's.. the gift that keeps on giving. ;)
Regards,
Brian
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Cin:
Unfortunately, I can't explain it to you and I'm not certain whether or not this is bad for you but I can agree that it's definitely weird. I concur with Brian ('Pooter') to call your doctor and ask, but don't be surprised if he doesn't have an explanation , either. He may just instruct you use a heating pad without vibration, which would be my first instinct.
Jim
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Thanks Guys.My neck muscles are weak..i just didn't realise to what extent.I am doing exercise everyday but am not seeing to much
improvement.My head feels like a ton of brick that i have to keep steady everytime i get into an up right position.
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Don't panic just yet - it could be normal; it is vibrating your head including your eyes!
Get someone else to try the pad.
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Yup...did that.nothing wierd w/ them.
Doc. says do not use it.i went & exchanged it for one that you put in the microwave.Also got a new icy hot stick..no more grease head!
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cin605,
This may be related to the "balance issues" that you mention in your profile. My guess is that it's related to Nystagmus. The vestibular system performs anti-vibration compensation for your vision. It's not uncommon for AN patients who have lost one vestibular nerve to have some affects on visual tracking with sudden movement.
Regards,
Rob
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i think you are correct also Rob.
I have noticed my vision is way off as far as tracking movement.combine that w. my weak neck muscles I'm doomed!
I will be interested to see what my vestub.rehab expert thinks.I seeeeee her next Tuesday, ;D
Cin
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My "tracking" was off after surgery.. I remember distinctly trying to focus on the moving objects while riding in the car and having a VERY hard time. Over the last 9 months is gotten MUCH better in that regard. So, just because it's "doomed" now doesn't mean it will always be that way. Patience, patience, patience.. It can't be stressed enough.
Heating pads, ice, exercises for the neck and vestibular system, and most of all time.. All of that should help.
Regards,
Brian
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Cin605:
Here's an article that Sue in VancouverUSA, found. It explains in greater detail what Rob is saying. It's very interesting. Check it out.
http://www.hearinglosshelp.com/articles/balancesystem.htm
Syl
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Wow!thank you Sue.I saved that article & will bring it w/ me to my next Primary care visit.I think my doc just doesn't get it.He says the other day" no offense but this is how you are walking...its like your neck is stiff all the time.." i just looked at him like "NO KIDDING!!!!!!" ???Do you think i would walk like that if i had a choice not to?????????????????
That article explained to me what he obviously could not.
Thanks Again.Cin
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I practice a visual exercise where I stare at a 6" letter "B" on a wall about 5 feet away and move my head side to side. The goal is to try tp keep my eyes fixed on the letter as my head moves . When I move my head left to right, I have no trouble at all. When I move my head left to right there is a split second delay between the time my head moves and when my eyes adjust. I start out slow (which I can handle) and try to speed it up (which always screws me up). I think this might be a good exercise for everyone to do to address this issue. You can also do it up and down. It only takes a couple of minutes per day. Dr. Smouha alerted me to this issue when I was describing my dizziness and wonky headedness. He said it would probably go away in a few weeks. Well it has been 2 months since then and I don't think it has improved much, but I'm still hopeful and will bring it up when I see him next week. I'll report what he had to say.
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Part of my 4 hours of testing at the Tampa Bay Hearing and Balance Center involved following moving lights left to right, right to left, then up/down, down/up. Of course, I'm not yet a postie, so while it gave me little trouble, we'll see how it goes post-surgery :).
Ernie
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O.K??....i just tried this & when i go right to left no prob....left to right the object actualy looks like its sliding on the wall.
Thanks Cindy=I will add this to dailey routine of torture tactics! ;D
I have recently started taking promethazine my nausea is at its peek.
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i also believe what you're feeling is what they call nystagmus.if i drive over rough roads it shakes my head and causes problems.it affects your vision.
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i also believe what you're feeling is what they call nystagmus.if i drive over rough roads it shakes my head and causes problems.it affects your vision.
Same here!
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yeh....i hate going any where in a vehicle...too many frost heaves her in N.H.......need to relocate to flat land.
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C'mon down to Houston! We're flatter than a pancake down here.. Downside is that when someone spits out their car window, it usually floods. Oh, and the whole hurricane thing.. But, we'd love to have ya! 4.5 million and going strong!
Regards,
Brian
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Oh, thank you, thank you to Sue/Syl for posting the link to "Protect Your Balance Systemâ€â€Or Else . . ." I have been going for vestibular therapy every two weeks for six months now (with an extensive home regimen inbetween) so I have been told much of what was in this article, but this described so much of what I have been experiencing. Now I do not feel like a complete hypochondriac and chronic complainer ..... to say nothing of looking like a drunk! ::) ..... and now my husband can see that I am listening to him!
I, too, have been doing the side to side (and up and down) vision stabilization exercises .... still cannot do them as rapidly as the therapist would like to see me do without losing focus. I also have been walking up and down the hallway to our bedrooms (where it is safe in case I lose it) ..... 10 times turning my head from side to side and 10 times putting my head up and down. I feel like that has given me more confidence.
Clarice
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I actually lived for 4 months in Austin when i was 19.I had much fun but hey whats not fun when your 19! ;D
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Austin don't count because they're at the edge of the hill country. Houston is where it's at in terms of flat land. :) I have family in Austin, so I know it well.
Regards,
Brian
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Pooter~
Picture the Panhandle - FLAT, FLAT, FLAT and NO trees!! Maybe that is why I don't have any trouble with all this...WAIT, I lived in Austin when I had surgery... ;D
K
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Right now i live at the bottom of Great Hill if that say anything!
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You do not! I'm probably looking at you right now! I can see White Face and Paugus, etc. from my kitchen window! Are you really near Wonalancet? We should get together! I drove my brother and sister-in-law who were visiting from AUSTIN for my mother's 90th birthday yesterday over to Quechee, VT to see the Glassworks and survived the frost heaves but just barely. Hope you're enjoying the beautiful warm sunny day today!
Nancy in Holderness
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I am in newmarket,N.H.
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Oh, well, I know an instrument maker whose wife had AN surgery some time ago and who now lives in Newmarket, but otherwise, I've only been in nearby Dover and Portsmouth of late. Lovely part of the state.
Nancy
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Maybe we can meet for lunch some time this spring or summer?What your friends wife do?Maybe i know her?what kind of surgery did she have?how is she??
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Hmmm . . . Let's see if I can remember. I haven't met her. I go to Irish music sessions in Concord where I see her husband. I do know that she had no hearing loss, oddly, so it wouldn't have been translab. She had her surgery at Brigham and Women's with Dr. Black. I believe she was in education but perhaps retired. I'll check the next time I see Bob. He makes beautiful instruments under the brand name Trilium.
I've been following your recovery and feel frustrated by your symptoms. I truly hope that time and physical therapy will give you back your full function. I know I will be dealing with some level of outcome less than perfect and will be frustrated with my own journey to my new normal. I am extremely active on land and water and have trouble sitting still, so this is going to be a difficult road.
Nancy
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Thank You.
I have 80% of my hearing i did not lose alot i can not hear your fingers rubbing everything is just really muffled the tinnitus
is really loud though.i have trouble distinguishing where sound is coming from.
Its such abeautiful day i sat in my back yard for while i really would love to go for a walk but my head feels like iits 200lbs.
I just took my contacts back out becouse i was getting the blurred vision thing & that makes my contacts even dryer.
I will look on the internet for the muscle instrument thing my son is 14 he loves stuff like that.he is 1/2 mic mac indian & very into his heritage.
I hope your recovery is short & smooth.
i do not regret choosing surgery.I had a 2cm in my vestubular/cerrabellar pontine angle.
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I just looked they are in Nottigham that is about 20 min, from me maybe i will check it out when i am back up for car rides.
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Oh, yes, I believe they moved from a large Victorian in Newmarket to Nottingham. I had it backwards. I'm glad you were able to save your hearing. I almost got hit by a truck in Scotland when I couldn't hear it trying to deliver milk to the internet cafe on the brick paved alley where I was walking. I thought it was pedestrian. Poor guy had to honk at me!
I just came in for some cushions to sit on my front porch to read. It's almost too hot out there today (60, but it must be 80 in the sun). I love it!
Hang in there. You sound a little better today, more hope in your "voice". I have a friend who teaches drums and flute/whistle, too. So much fun and a good outlet.
Nancy
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yes it is very nice in the sun.I took my sons bearde dragon out for a bit of basking.she loved it first time out since fall.He got her 2 years ago she thinks i am her God & slave.
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(http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s261/mestizoguy/081207120226.jpg) The brat.
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next time you come this way maybe we can have tea or lunch.
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Oh, I love the dragon! Yes, let's do that. Will you get down to the brunch? That's my goal. Unless my surgery date is changed again, I'll be ten days post-op.
Nancy
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I don't know about the brunch i can not drive long distances.Maybe i can get my sis to go.is it too late to sign up?
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Never too late. Go to the spring brunch thread. I'm signed up, but that's pretty optimistic thinking, so there may be two empty seats.
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anyone ever heard of a product for vertigo called the (dizzy-fix)? i found it on a web site and wanted to know if anyone has tried it? reg
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This one is right out strange.I bought a vibrating heating pad today,when i put my head on it my eyesights will move w/ the pattern of the vibration everything will be wavey & the room will move back n forth.Can anyone explain this to me??is it bad for me to keep my head on it??
O.K. ???this happened again over the weekend this time hair dresser was playing w/ my hair trying to fluff it when she moved her hands shaking my
head to fluff it the whole room shakes w/ every move of my head??
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This is the way I understand it in layman's terms.
There is a reflex that keeps your eyes focused whenever your body moves (even the slightest move). That goes double when it's your head. It's part of the balance system. When you have AN surgery, the removal of one of the balance nerves disrupts that system. So instead of your eyes adjusting quickly and automatically when you move, it happens in a delayed fashion (a split second). I experience it whenever I move my head quickly to the left, but I'm fine when I move my head quickly to the right. When I'm walking quickly outside and lots of things are in motion around me, I sometimes feel slightly disoriented. I can see clearly, but something is "OFF" in the field of vision and I think it's related to this eye adjustment process. It's hard for me to tell how much of the disorientation is the fact that I'm still slightly dizzy when I walk around and how much is related to this other issue, but it's probably a little of both. You are almost certainly experiencing something along these lines when you have your head shaken. I'm not sure if this ever gets better. The first time I visited my surgeon he said it would, but the second time he was much less encouraging. I do some visual exercises to try to improve it (look earlier in this thread), but to be honest, it's the one area of my recovery where I have seen little or no improvement to date. It's not a terrible disadvantage though. I just feel that at times my visual perception is off.
Perhaps others that are further into their recovery can tell us if they experienced the same thing and whether it gets better.
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I have been ordered by my neaurologist to not move my head or neck & wear a cervical coller for next 2 weeks when i see him again.
The coller is driving me crazy.I am having pain from my head n neck down to left shoulder blade. ???
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The pain sounds like something is going on besides your visual issues. I'm surprised you have to wait 2 weeks for an appointment. On the other hand, if he thought it was something serious he probaly would have brought you in right away.
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mri results say there is a reversal of the normal cervical lordosis which may be positional or secondary to muscle spasm ???
spoke w/ him again today he put me on a muscle relaxer & now wants me to wear brace for a month.So all these head tremors were actually muscle spasms in my neck.
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That is such a relief! A diagnosis and treatment plan.
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yes.. i am very glad i decided to see him.Now if i can just get through wearing this neck brace.
Thanks for all your support.
Cin
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Oh my gosh.....you guys talking about N.H.....makes me want to be there. I have been to Quechee several times....Woodstock (luv it)....Green's Farm....eating roasted corn....Shaker village etc. Portsmouth....lobster on the river place....LOVE New England.....going to Conn. July 2.....can't wait for July 4th in Norwalk/Westport.....went last year and had a great time.....Happy to be going again.
Love your "homeland"
Judy
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Let's keep the thread on track. Vacation reminiscences are fine - we love folks that appreciate our part of the country (New England) - but these rightly belong in the 'AN Community' forum. Thanks for your cooperation. :)
Jim
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Sorry Jim.........I have never known what AN Community was for.....I'll keep it on track from now on. A bit of diversion did help change my outlook though. Happy thoughts are good.
Again sorry........
Judy