Imagine you are on a boat, and the waves are gently rocking you back and forth.
Imagine you are walking on a trampoline.
That’s pretty much how I felt for 4 weeks of my life, on dry land. Last month I flew home to visit family and say good-bye to my grandfather who has since passed on. I can remember the EXACT moment I lost my sense of balance, although I didn’t know what was happening at the time. I was on the plane, I closed my eyes and I felt like I was spinning, like the plane was turning slowly to the left and then slowly to the right. I didn’t think to much of it at the time. It was sort of amusing, I’m not prone to motion sickness.
I can also remember sitting in a restaurant, with my brother and father and I said, why do I feel like I’m still moving? As I moved back and forth, they joked, “because you’re moving”.
I felt a little “off” all weekend, attributing it to fatigue and stress. After a few days, I flew home. As soon as I was home and still, I REALLY felt it. The room was constantly rocking back and forth and walking felt like walking on a trampoline. It was bizarre. I hoped it would subside in a few days, but it didn’t. I was having difficulty concentrating, I was extremely fatigued and my back and neck hurt something fierce. I also experienced some strange hypersenstivity to high pitched sounds and felt a heaviness in my head. The first few nights I dreamed of being stuck in high waves and being on boats. That’s how strong the rocking was! This lasted for just about 4 weeks until the symptoms finally subsided the other day, although the rocking is still there to a very tiny degree.
What I was experiencing was something called Mal de Debarquement Syndrome. This syndrome seems to be caused most commonly by cruises and airplane rides but there are reports of car rides, elevator rides, and spontaneous onset. It is very rare, and there is no cure. Some people suffer for years and years, some people see it on and off again after travel, while others see it disappear in days to weeks.
It was a few of the most miserable weeks of my life. I felt disabled. Going into the grocery store and the thrift store had become a nightmare as the symptoms seemed to get worse. Walking into a friends house with a cool tile pattern set me off until I walked back outside. I couldn’t really focus my eyes on anything in particular and I felt like I was slowly turning into a little old lady. I cannot imagine having this for years or even for my entire life.
Mal de Debarquement Syndrome also has the odd characteristic that motion, like driving in a car or riding a bike makes the symptoms subside until the motion stops. Needless to say I spent a lot of time in the car.
Why am I writing this? So that you know when I decline to get on a plane, it’s simply because I never want to experience this again. I’ve always been vocal about my dislike of airplanes. I mean really, how many people really enjoy sitting in a metal tube thousands of feet in the air for hours at a time? But now I REALLY hate airplanes.
I’m also holding out hope that nothing triggers this again, and am VERY thankful that this subsided like it did.
To those of you who might be reading this that also have Mal de Barquement Syndrome this is all I did:
- I never took prescriptions drugs.
- 30 drops of Valerien/Passionflower glycerite compound in warm water to help me sleep.
- Sleepytime tea for relaxation.
- Green Pastures high vitamin butter oil/fermented cod liver oil mixture for general health and well being
- Long walks (miles) and even longer bike rides at least every other day
So. That’s what was going on with me and now I *think* I’m cured! That is bliss!