A Place Called Vertigo

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There seems to be a vertigo epidemic in my practice as of late.  I’ve had three people in the past month walk through our doors, looking for some relief from their symptoms of vertigo; far and above the four to five cases I typically treat annually.

Vertigo is defined as:

“the sensation of spinning while stationary.”

A specific type of dizziness, vertigo can be unrelenting and difficult to live with, as its sufferers will attest.  But it’s actually quite a common condition, and up to 10% of the population will experience vertigo at some point in their lives.

Can I help?

In short, YES.

A simple procedure, called the Epley maneuver, is very effective for vertigo when an inner ear component is involved.  You see, our inner ear contains the semi-circular canal, which is a key element in our system of balance.  Tiny calcium carbonate crystals are present within our semicircular canal, and their location allows our body to figure out our head position in space.  If the crystals, called otoconia, are disturbed and get into the wrong spot, our equilibrium gets thrown off, and the end result can be vertigo.

 

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The Epley maneuver is painless, takes less than five minutes, and is very effective.  And while I don’t have a double-blind controlled research trial to present to you, I would estimate my success rate with this maneuver to be well upwards of 90%.

Oh, the things you learn on a Tuesday…..

September: we can do it.

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Guys, I’m not going to lie.  My world has been rocked these past few weeks.  The September transition is always a huge one for our family, and this year it has been even more amplified, as 3/4 of my family members (one husband, two children) headed back to school.  For me, that’s meant a huge increase in my work hours and a big shift in the everyday life I’ve known for the past several years.  And all of this whirlwind of change has happened very suddenly, after the adventures of Summer.  Whew.  I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed and mentally drained, emotionally fragile and physically exhausted.

I know this will pass.  I know it’s the transition that is the hardest part.  But when you’re in the eye of the storm, it’s hard to see through it to the blue skies on the other end.  We’ll get there.

Why am I telling you this?  Well, truth be told I really debated whether or not I should share this stuff online.  Part of me craves privacy, part of me wants to keep up a stoic facade, but the bigger part of me wanted to let you know that I go through this stuff too. This struggle in particular, I want to be public, because I know so many of you are going through this with me.  Change is hard, and when you couple change with parenthood stress it can seem unmanageable.

I’m looking inward and focusing on me, and that’s what I’ll continue to do until this chaos passes.  I’m still running, I’m still going to the gym, I’m still focused on my nutrition and my sleep.  I have learned that I need all of these things to function at my best.  And in periods of stress, I need them more than ever, albeit I’m getting them in irregular proportions.

Take care of yourselves so that you can continue to give all that you can.  Times of stress are not times to skip taking care of you, they are times to prioritize taking care of you.

If you’re going through this transition at your house too, hang in there.  We can do it.

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NEW CLINIC HOURS

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The week that I’ve been dreading for months has come and gone, and both of my children are now in school full-time, officially closing the a-child-at-home chapter of my life.

My son was born in January 2009, when I was only a few years into my chiropractic career.  My clinic was a brand new baby too, and it soon became apparent that I could not manage being a full-time mom and a full-time business woman effectively.  I chose to sell my clinic and build my practice as a part-time associate rather than a full-time chiropractor, and that’s what I’ve done for the last seven and a half years.  My husband and I have managed to juggle our work hours so that one of us is always at home, thus eliminating the need for daycare, and I’ve gradually increased my clinic hours as my children have gotten older.  The flexibility of my job has been an unexpected quality-of-life bonus for me, and not something that was on my radar as a 20-something embarking upon my chiropractic degree.

Here I am on the other side of that transition away from work.  Taking a conscious step back from my practice in 2009 seemed like a huge undertaking at the time.  The feminist in me felt guilty about taking my foot off the gas of my growing career and the mother in me felt guilty for feeling that way.  But long hours at the clinic were soon traded for long hours of newborns, diapers, and strollers, and my primary hat shifted from clinic to kids.  It’s been that way for a long time, and my “normal” is daytime with my kid(s) and afternoon/evenings with my patients.  That’s about to change.

Effective yesterday, I’ve increased my clinic hours by nearly 50%.  This is the largest change in my professional life to date, second only to the sale of my clinic in 2010.  My daytime availability is skyrocketing, and my afternoon/evening availabity will shift only slightly.  For my current patients, I hope that this opens up more opportunity for you to get an appointment with me at your convenience, and for my new patients, I look forward to having much more time to meet you and help you.

0K0A4007-ExposureIf you’re reading this, you’ve been a part of my professional journey thus far, and I hope that you continue to do so.  I appreciate your support, and I will see you soon.

NEW CLINIC HOURS:

Monday: 11:00am-7:00pm

Tuesday: 9:00am-2:00pm

Wednesday: 9:00am-5:00pm

Friday: 9:00am-6:30pm

Saturday: 9:45am-1:00pm

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