February 1, 2011
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Weekend Run Down
On Friday, I went to the doctor to get checked out for an ear issue that has come and gone over the past couple months. I’ve been having episodes where my ears feel just full, I lose a little bit of hearing and I’ll get dizzy like my center of balance is off. It’s a little disconcerting, especially the dizziness (it’s always fun when you can’t walk straight, oh yeah). The odd thing is that my symptoms would come and go. The doctor diagnosed me with something called Meniere’s Disease and put me on what is essentially Dramamine, which is supposed to relax my ear tubes so they don’t close, I guess. Anyhow, we’ll see how it goes. I’ll be happy if it just makes the dizziness go away! So far, so good.
Friday night, we went to see No Strings Attached. It was cute and pretty funny. I also got a new waterproof gymbag. I was using just a plain old backpack that didn’t keep my clothes and shoes very dry as I was trudging through the weather.
Saturday, we got up late and went for lunch at Buca di Beppo (Italian chain food that beats the pants off Olive Garden). Then we went to the Phillips Collection, a small museum with a really broad variety of art including some Impressionism (my favorite). I had never been there before but if you all ever make it to DC, we should definitely go. It’s amazing to me that one guy was able to collect so many masterful works. We ended our afternoon with tea and my favorite salty oat cookies at Teaism, a local tea house.
Sunday, we had breakfast with our landlords, two of the sweetest people in the world. They had us up to thank the Architect for shoveling this week. We were upstairs for about 3 hours. Afterward, we came back downstairs and I did a little housework while the Architect did a little garage work (gotta love the division of labor). I went to go change the laundry and noticed that the towels I had in the washer were absolutely soaking still to the point where I could just wring them out. I go to restart the washer on the spin cycle and it won’t work. So now we have to have a repairman come in to see if they can fix it. We think that the motor may have just died. Bummer!
Comments (12)
I’m glad your dizziness was diagnosed and treated. Teaism sounds awesome and I’m hunting it down to drool over now.
I have heard of Meniere’s Disease before….hope you get some relief from the dizziness soon. Salty oat cookies?!? YUM.
I hope you don’t have Menier’s. Did you try taking some decongestants first, like Claritin D, or Zyrtec D? Sometimes we don’t realize how much a problem sinusitis can cause. We don’t even recognize that we have sinus infection, but even a tiny bit can drain back into the ear canals, and cause the on and off dizziness and sometimes almost a sharp ache lasting only a second or two. I hope that’s what you have. If it’s Meniere’s then you will have to stop salt totally Meg. I would try the decongestants first. You can get them otc through the pharmacist. Plain Claritin or Zyrtec won’t help. You have to have the ‘D’, for decongestion.
Yes, the next time I come to DC, I want to hit some of the museums. I had never heard of this Italian place. I don’t think we have it in the MidWest.
Hope you feel good soon.
@BoureeMusique - It’s a wonderful place. They also have lunch type stuff but I’ve never had any.
@turningreen - The cookies are way awesome and not overly sweet.
@ZSA_MD - I’ve tried decongestants because I do have sinus issues and the decongestants don’t seem to do anything really for the ear issue. Yeah, even though I fit the symptoms of Meniere’s, my theory is that it has more to do with a case of TMJ, which I am almost sure I have but have never had diagnosed, mostly because it gets tricky with insurance and determining whether or not it’s a pre-existing condition. I had read that TMJ can effect the muscles right below your ears and also (and unfortunately) that it can be very difficult for doctors to make the connection between TMJ and ear issues. I told the doctors my theory and one even listened to my jaw for the tell tale TMJ cracking, which I most definitely have. I’m not sure why they didn’t look at TMJ as being a cause more closely.
Sounds like a great weekend. I hope the dramamine helps your ear problem!
I’ve been wanting to see No Strings Attached since before it came out. (I wonder why…) I’m so glad to hear that it’s good.
I LOVE Buca! I think it’s worth the trip just for the walls (and bathrooms), though the food is amazing too.
Sounds like a lovely weekend, other than the washer of course. Is it yours or the landlord’s?
@WakeUpLaughing - So far, so good!
@MarksBeneathTheSkin - I love chick flicks, even the really dumb ones, so I may be biased, but this one even had the husband laughing so I feel pretty confident in my assessment
@endlesssummer128 - It’s in our apartment but the landlords own it. Lucky for us!
Sorry to hear about the inner ear thing. That can be a pain to deal with, I’m sure. Hopefully it is something manageable.
As for the rest of your weekend, it sounds like a pleasant one!
I hope you feel better. It may take some time before you get an effective diagnosis and treatment. I have had continual sinus issues since moving to California and nothing seems to abate the issue consistently over time. About that division of labor….maybe move the washer into the garage! What till you have kids. Said division gets resolved real fast!! The kids love Buca’s. Try the Pope room for a big group. –BTB
@christao408 - This week has been pretty good. Hopefully this means that the medicine is working!
@buildthebridge - Yeah, there could be so much going on with my ear that the first diagnosis may not be the last.
Dramamine always puts me to sleep…does that stuff?