No Trip to Mexico

We got up early this morning to get to the clinic in time to be among the first to be seen. We arrived before 8:00 a.m. and expected to be out in plenty of time to make it to the dance at 10:00 a.m. After all, I was just coming back to get the results of my tests. At 9:30 a.m., I found myself waiting for "balance rehab." We asked if we could come back later and were told to return at noon. So much for our plan to go to Mexico after the dance.

The dance was fun. I danced with Jean again, and Ken read or walked around during the tips. Afterwards we hurried back to the clinic--and sat and waited. When the tech finally called me in, he had me stand on a balance platform with a computer screen showing my position as a small plus sign with a vertical and horizontal axis. If I shifted my balance, the plus sign moved. He told me to try to keep my plus sign inside a square that moved slowly around the center point. This was not too difficult a task--and rather boring. I was told to come back daily for 12 sessions.

My son Chris has a Wii Fit that I tried when we visited this summer, and I'd had an interest in getting one for us. Now I have a perfect excuse to go out and buy a video game--instead of paying $20 per session for 12 sessions, I could spend about $300 and have my own balance trainer that I could continue to use. Sounds like a winner to me. The problem now is that most sellers are out of stock on the Wii balance board.


The good news from my tests was that my blood work showed no problems. On the other hand, the VNG (Video Electronystagmography)  results handed to me included this statement under "Impressions": "There is evidence of significant central vestibular dysfunction. Asymmetric or reduced optokinetic nystagmus in the context of either abnormal pursuits or saccades denotes a central vestibular lesion." That sounds pretty scary, especially when I read the printout from the Internet the PA handed me: "Central nervous system causes of vertigo (central vestibular disorders) include brain stem vascular disease, arteriovenous malformations, acoustic neuromas and tumors of the brain stem and cerebellum, multiple sclerosis, and vertebrobasilar migraine."

After the "balance rehab" I asked to see the PA, Erika Gonzalez, again. She had recommended waiting for a couple of weeks to see if I improved and following up with an MRI if I didn't. I asked her about the diagnostic significance of the VNG, and she said that the sensitivity and specificity of the test were not high and depended partly on the skill of the person administering the test, so I've decided not to panic just yet.

If I don't get completely better, I'll be looking for a neurologist rather than going back to the clinic.