Varian Rapidarc Vertigo

I always just kept my eyes closed and did a little meditation routine on the table. They do make custom molds for some body parts, like the head so it doesn't move, but I don't think they have general strap restrains.

Have you talked to your tech or RO about it? Likely they've dealt with it before and have an idea or two.

Andrew

There was a TV monitor in the room that showed my innards that were being treated. Because my fiducial alignment was recalibrated before each half arc, it was interesting to watch. Perhaps not as riveting as Mr. Robot, but since it was all about me, I was fascinated. I asked them to turn the monitor to face me (they have a duplicate monitor in the control room). Perhaps having something to focus on may help.

Paxton said...
Graytech - How long are the individual treatments?

Less than 10 minutes and most of that is the initial CT. The actual dose is less than 90 seconds with two full passes of the massive machine, so it makes a full circle in less than a minute. There you are out at the end of the table seemingly hovering in mid-air with nothing to hang onto and this thing if flying by your face.

Gear said...
We have a car cleaning place here where you pull in the car and the machine moves by you on both sides.... I swear I am the one moving.

It is that exact feeling. When it starts up, and as it's coming around it's so big it's all I can see and I feel like I'm falling off the table. I really think if I had a strap around my chest, something to hang onto that is solid I could close my eyes and go to my happy place. (Lounger in Mexico with Bloody Mary in hand)

Andrew said...
Have you talked to your tech or RO about it? Likely they've dealt with it before and have an idea or two.

I see my RO on Monday and will ask. I found dizziness can be an SE of Lupron...


Thanks for the feedback all of you - Jon

I had the same SRT; 36 sessions over the past summer. I can't say I had the same vertigo concerns. I did count the seconds it took for each revolution of the big head because I had a lot of trouble getting & maintaining a full bladder & I was bursting to get to the washroom.

Dizziness, vertigo, is also a symptom of dehydration. If you're successfully keeping your bladder full, you shouldn't be dehydrated, but it's another thing to consider.

Vanderbilt had a simple restraint system. They placed a foam block between my feet, and placed a fabric strap around them held by velcro. That surprisingly kept my legs or hips from moving at all.

They gave me a plastic ring to hold with both hands resting on my chest, laying on my back. I sometimes closed my eyes, sometimes I tried to see the collimator leaves moving in the x-ray aperture. I'm an engineer, and find such things endlessly interesting.

If it's motion induced vertigo, closing your eyes should help a lot.

The only time I felt something like that was after a treatment when I sat up. I always felt a little "funny", maybe slightly dizzy, after each session. My RO said that happens because while we can't directly feel x-rays, our body does indirectly sense the tissue damage happening. That's the "off" sensation we feel.

The whole experience for me was painless, completely unnerving, strange and alien environment, and technically a bit worrisome as I understood the power of this prodigious x-ray machine pointed pretty much at my naughty bits. No big deal in hindsight, but at the time it greatly occupied my mind.

Sounds like you had a good result CopperGuy, let's hope the downward trend continues. Be glad you didn't have to do the Lupron.

I have been filling my bladder for the SRT to max capacity so at this point it's probably not dehydration but point well taken, something to watch for going forward.

My kids reminded me that we did just get back from a cruise a couple of weeks ago and while I don't get seasick I do get some vertigo on land for a few days afterwards. They thought what I was describing was a continuation of the land based vertigo.

Here is a link describing it -
traveltips.usatoday.com/vertigo-after-cruise-ship-vacation-15384.html

From the article -
"...and sufferers feel a rocking sensation as if they are still on the boat. Common symptoms include a motion or bobbing sensation that tends to disappear when moving and reappear when staying still."

Hmmm, like when you are laying perfectly still on the treatment table.


Maybe it's a combo of the Lupron and left over cruise effects. Definitely don't like it.

You can ask your RO (or whoever) to prescribe meclizine (AntiVert) to mitigate your vertigo. You can also try the Eply Maneuver, it didn't work for me but it might for you.

I had my first and only serious vertigo attack a few years ago, I was throwing up, couldn't walk or even stand, room spinning around, etc. Trip to the ER, brain scan was normal and the diagnosis was vertigo. I was incapacitated for over two weeks but some folks live with it for years.