What a struggle to get up early in the morning after only three hours of sleep! Now if that was three hours of uninterrupted sleep maybe I would have a chance at fighting this debilitating fatigue.

I had to be in the city this morning for a 9:30 AM appointment with the ENT guy. This meant that I had to leave home at 8:15 AM. To make the drive bearable I turned on the Oldies Station and cranked the volume up. This certainly is one of the benefits of traveling alone.

I only waited 10 minutes before I was ushered into the ENT guy’s consultation room. He was very punctual which was much appreciated. The magazines in these doctor offices all are the same. I have often wondered who is in charge of supplying the reading material for these waiting rooms. Can’t be an intellectual giant.

The ENT guy did another hearing test. He informed me that he trusted his own lab. I am not quite sure what he meant by that but I agreed. Who am I to have an opinion on hearing labs?

I should mention that before he did the hearing test, the ENT guy asked me if I had ever had a CT Scan or MRI of my brain. I told him yes I had.

After the hearing test the ENT guy and I sat down for the consultation. He told me that I had significant hearing loss. He then asked me again if I was sure I had had a CT Scan or MRI of Brain. I told him I had had both a CT Scan and a MRI. He then said “Well then it cannot be a tumor since you have had the CT Scan and MRI and they did not indicate a tumor.”

The ENT guy then proceeded to tell me that I must have Meniere’s disease since no tumor had showed up on the CT Scan or MRI. He told me that I had a problem with pressure on the 8th Cranial Nerve. He also told me that symptoms caused by pressure on the 8th Cranial Nerve include tinnitus, hearing loss, dizziness, vertigo and nausea.

The ENT guy then asked me if I was taking any medications for Meniere’s disease. I told him that No Name had prescribed a drug called Serc, which tore my stomach apart. I was suppose to take Serc everyday but could not due to the horrendous stomach problems it caused. The ENT guy agreed that Serc could have this particular side effect and gave me a prescription for Bonamine. This is a drug I am to take when I experience the actual symptoms. Tried it and found it completely useless.

The ENT guy told me that there was nothing that could be done about the buzzing in my ears. Those damm bugs apparently have carte blanche to party day and night!

The appointment was over and I headed for home. Tonight my darling 7-year-old grandson is coming for his usual Friday night sleepover. Papa and grandson will go golfing first thing tomorrow morning. I cherish these Friday night sleepovers. No matter how miserable I feel, that little person has a way of making me forget my troubles.