The Vestibular System

My Otoneurologist, who ordered my sleep study, understands I'm searching for the cause of my chronic Migraines - not just a band-aid. Because I brought in old CT scans of my neck, and mentioned my returning pain he suggested I see a physical therapist (PT). Now I've seen multiple physical therapists and it's always the same routine: I do some lame exercises with smelly latex bands, then I get on the floor on some torture device (rock hard foam tube-like thing) that does nothing but set off my trigger points, then I get onto a bed where I'm strapped to a TENS unit (muscles jumping for 15 minutes or so; it actually makes me giggle but I think it's useless otherwise), then either heat or cold or both.

During my first appointment with my new PT I soon realized she was going to do more than just tackle my neck pain. Like my Neuro, she specializes in inner ear disorders, and it's an understatement to say this woman gets me. But why? I've never been diagnosed with any inner ear disorders. No doctors of yesteryear ever took any of the following symptoms seriously: dizziness, a symptom of vertigo, or if I was feeling 'a little off balance,' or experienced increased head pain when I'm flat on my back, or sensitivity to barometric pressure changes, etc.

After introductions and asking me a few questions, my new PT pulls out this huge poster, displaying the anatomy of the inner ear, focusing her attention on the Vestibular System and how it pertains to balance.

She explained how the brain is greedy when it comes to blood, and when I'm experiencing Migraines blood is being sucked away from the inner ear. When a part of your body goes without blood chronically one has to assume that body part suffers and possibly dies off completely. After almost two decades of chronic Migraine there may be degeneration in my inner ear, which explains the off-feeling I sometimes experience, as well as every other symptom listed above.

It helps me understand why I'm so sensitive to touch, smell, light (bright and flashing), sounds, and taste. It's not like a blind man having heightened senses. I just lack the ability to block things out (for example, a crazy-patterned blouse or an ambulance siren). I don't mean to forget your name - it's just too much information coming at me at once. It's why I can be completely blind-sided by someone's perfume.

The more she described me, the more I made sense, and with that came tears of release and hope (which she absolutely loved; she says that happens a lot during the first few appointments with new patients).

During my second appointment I was given some head and eye exercises. She also taught me how to use pillows to prop my arms up when I sit or sleep - to take stress off of my neck. And I now use a foot stool when I sit in my office chair.

More to come as I learn.