As I have written in the past rest or lack of it can certainly bring on a meniere’s attack. Not in every case but lack of rest also translates into stress which really ups the chances of spinning and throwing up. The holidays should be a great time to relax and not to worry about other things that are going on unfortunately that isn’t always the case. For some reason thanksgiving and Christmas seem to be stressful when it really shouldn’t be.
One thing that I am careful about especially at thanksgiving is going into crowded stores. While the deals are great, the packed stores and the long aisles at times plays tricks on me causing me to be a little light headed and possible heading for an attack. Luckily my wife does the Christmas shopping for our son so I don’t venture out on the dreaded Black Friday.
I hope everyone had a good thanksgiving and they didn’t overdo it on the salt. We just had turkey and few side items like mashed potatoes and cornbread. And probably the best part was that we stayed at home which meant no long drives for me (one less thing to trigger an attack!).
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6 comments:
Hi David~
Sadly had to miss Turkey day w/the Family due to vertigo.
I'll be there next year :)
Yes..shopping aisles, overhead lights, noise & movement can be a real toughy for us.
I feel spaced out the second I get in the door.
Mostly I try the quik-in-quik-out method of shopping, and I make sure I have a cart to hang onto. Even so, I can't really see well..and all the sound around me feels like it's attacking me.
I try to act as normal as possible & fake my way through and get the heck out! Now & again I kind of run into things with my cart..& I can seldom understand half of what the cashier says..but that's ok.
Speaking of shopping~ I happened to watch the Black Friday debacle that took place in Walmart...and what popped into my head was 'I hope there's no one with Menieres stuck in there!'
Can U imagine? Total nightmare. Crazy shoppers.
I'm hoping that this will be a stress & spin free December for everyone.
"JOY" often evades those of us with MD...I'm asking Santa for a big dose of it for Xmas!
Lauri
Lauri, your description of the shopping nightmare that is Meniere's Disease is perfect.
My husband and I go grocery shopping together, but I insist on a few ground rules: We go to smaller, less crowded stores to cut down on noise and visual stimuli. And I have to "drive" the shopping cart, so I have something to hold on to.
But I so recognize the phenomena of having trouble directing the cart and not being able to hear the cashier properly... it's an exercise in humiliation and anxiety.
I won't go into a shopping mall at this time of year, let alone the Black Friday sales. Thank goodness for online shopping and boutique stores.
Regarding the rest of the holiday experience, I've had to cut way down on the stressful elements. That means I don't get to host my family for the holidays any more. I can't handle the house cleaning, the cooking and decorating, and so on. It's very depressing.
Peggy~
No...I won't attempt the big stores unless I really have no choice. I almost got close & personal with the floor at ToysRus last year. Online is the way to go.
I'm just hoping to make it to our Xmas gathering this year...and then surviving the noise and merriment if I do! (I may wear earplugs again)
I love my Family, however they are a loud & crazy bunch.
Interesting note~ My Brother who lives in Hawaii was able to join us for Xmas last year. He hadn't been home for a few years. He knew that I had this 'weird' Menieres disease, but didn't know much about it.
He told me he thought my personality had changed, and I was much quieter.
Hmm....guess relentless Menieres does that to you.
If he could only experience what was going on in my ears head and eyes..he would probably have said:"nice to see you're still sane."
Ahh...the Holidays. :)
Hi---great blog! I was recently diagnosed with a mild form of Menieres---doctor calls it "syndrome" instead of "disease" as I only have vertigo---so far.
For Thanksgiving, I made my own stuffing. Yes, there is Na in bread, but I added no salt to the toasted bread...just sage, no-sodium stock, butter and olive oil, chopped chestnuts, and a few oysters (you could skip these!) That, and some minced onion and mushroom. Baked it in a skillet. It came out quite well!
Also, I made mashed potatoes from scratch---the sodium level in the mix is out of sight.
Happy holidays to you! --Jon in New Jersey
Hi Jon,
That stuffing sounds great!
thanks for commenting and let us know how you are doing.
David
Jon~
You definitely have the right idea.
Store bought/processed foods often contain a lot of salt.
Scratch cooking is much safer for people with MD. I add onion for flavor to most dishes now.
I wrote down your stuffing recipe & will try it.
Thanks!
Lauri
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