Tuesday, March 5, 2013

My Least Favorite Traveling Buddy

In 1997 I took the overnight train from Rome to Paris - rocking back and forth the entire night - and I had my first serious bout with vertigo. When standing still I would suddenly feel like I was standing at the precipice of a cliff. Often while walking I would bump into others because although I felt as though I was walking in a straight line, I was actually walking diagonally. This was annoying (and scary when I almost fell through the plate glass shower door), but it didn't prevent me from enjoying Rome.

Almost 10 years later I traveled back to Italy to spend a week celebrating my mother's 60th birthday with my family. This time the vertigo started with a feeling of mild motion sickness, but really knocked me out with major nausea after I returned home. I recall feeling sick for an entire week - not fun.

Before I left for India last month I prepared for flu, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, typhoid, Hepatitis A, malaria, nausea, anxiety and Delhi Belly. It's easy to see why I thought I was prepared for everything. It wasn't until the morning of my departure that AZ & I recalled my extreme nausea from vertigo after the 2005 Italy trip. I couldn't believe that I'd forgotten about that, but there was still time to pack decongestant for the flights.

While in India I never experienced any dizziness and I only felt nauseated on the afternoon of my arrival. I did catch the nasty head cold that was consuming the entire nation. I tried to eliminate all of my congestion before it came time to return to the States, but it was an especially bad cold.

It appears that the nasty vertigo is back. I haven't experienced dizziness or strange equilibrium issues, but less than 48 hours after my return I started feeling incredibly nauseated. Once it set in it really hasn't stopped. I made a doctor appointment for today due to my cold, but now I can't imagine riding all the way out to Santa Monica and back (a 30 minute ride, if that).

People say "cancer changes everything" and while I wish that wasn't my experience, so far it has. Surgery and chemotherapy completely changed my feelings about nausea. Every time I experience it I'm reminded of the last few chemo treatments and the isolation that nausea causes. Then that reminds me of the hell of treatment and I once again find myself wondering how this happened in the first place. It's a question I wish I would forget because I will never have an answer. Besides, this doesn't help alleviate the nausea.

I hope this goes away soon...

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