My dizzy theory

In some ways I am thankful for the profound dizziness that has altered my life.  The dizziness is what led me to pursue doctor after doctor for a diagnosis.  It's what led me to Lyme.

But it's also the symptom I can't get rid of. 

I believe I am Lyme free.  Or at least very very close.  I haven't had Lyme symptoms in months.  I had a Bart relapse in September, but we controlled that very quickly.  The only thing left is this damn dizziness (and some breathlessness that started well after treatment). 

A series of unrelated conversations led me to a new theory about the cause of my dizziness.

I have Bell's Palsy.  Bell's Palsy is the paralysis of the seventh cranial nerve, which controls all movement in the face as well as some taste and hearing.  The right side of my face was nearly 100% paralyzed, including my taste buds.  I also had a case of hyperacusis, which basically means that I was unable to regulate the volume of sound.

I have regained much of my facial function back, though it is still very obvious to me that something went terribly wrong.  I hate taking pictures because my right eye is forever slantier than my left.

Sometimes when the nerves regenerate, they screw up.  For example, when I flare my right nostril, it now moves my lower eyelid.  Creepy, I know.  And when I smile, it causes my eye to close slightly.

But back to my being dizzy.  I am starting to wonder if the dizziness isn't a result of nerve regeneration gone wrong.  The seventh cranial nerve is very close to the ear as well as very very close to the vestibular system.

Ignore the orange lines.  I posted the image more to demonstrate how close Cranial Nerve VII is to the ear.

The seventh cranial nerve also happens to sit VERY close to the eighth cranial nerve, which is in charge of the vestibular system. 

That picture is maybe hard to understand, but if you look up in the top right, you see CN VII (cranial nerve 7), and right in front of it sits the vestibular nerve.

My theory is that just as my nerve f*ed up by connecting my nose and my eye, it too also may have regenerated incorrectly near my vestibular system, causing chronic dizziness.

I've been thinking about my inner ear's involvement for six weeks or so.  I realized that when I took Xanax for anxiety I also experienced a decrease in dizziness.  I remember an ER doctor telling me that they sometimes used Valium to treat dizziness, so I started researching what it is about that class of drugs that alleviates that symptom.  Apparently, Valium and Xanax are vestibular suppressants that interfere with the nerve endings in the inner ear.

If the Bell's Palsy somehow damaged the vestibular functioning, it would make sense why the only meds I have responded to have been the vestibular suppressants.

The bad news: antibiotics aren't going to fix this.

I have an appointment in person Friday with the Lyme doc, at which point I'm going to show him my theory and see what he thinks.