on dry land

Lately, as I try to ground myself I find my world spinning around me - literally. For nearly four weeks, I have been plagued by dizzy spells whenever sitting up or lying down, looking up or looking down. If my head stays upright, no problems - if I want to do things like read, cook, hang out the laundry, look at the stars, pull weeds in the garden, I begin swaying as if standing in sand being pulled gently back and forth by ocean waves.

My Ear Nose & Throat Dr. tells me I have Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo. Benign because it doesn't do permanent damage of any sort - Paroxysmal because it attacks suddenly, Positional because it all depends on how my head is situated at any moment and Vertigo because my brain thinks I'm spinning so my eyes try to right myself by doing some spinning of their own. BPPV can be caused by any number of things, mine was most likely caused by fluid on my ears due to allergies. The fluid took about 10 days to remove with a daily dose of loratadine to calm my allergies and mucinex to get the fluid to drain. After that my ENT was able to do a procedure with me similar to the Epley maneuver to reposition the canaliths or 'crystals' in my inner ear.  I liked it because it doesn't involve medication and I imagined her work being similar to trying to get a ball in the winning slot of a pinball machine - James calls it witchcraft and is equally intrigued.

In the days immediately following the maneuver, I had to sleep sitting up and I wasn't able to bend over or turn my head in any extreme direction. I think it worked, however, my brain still expects me to be dizzy. When I turn or look up, I still have the feeling of being in motion even though I'm no longer spinning. Kind of like when you step onto dry land after having been on a boat for a few hours or days - your body may continue to feel as if it is swaying long after the fact.

So, I'm left to wonder, after a month at sea, when will my brain realize that I've reached dry land?