Body in Motion

A month ago to the day,
I came home from my 3 day trip to San Diego.
Pretty much every time I travel,
whether by bus, train or plane,
I usually experience the feeling of motion.
Mainly when trying to go to sleep,
I would have a feeling of when a plane descends,
or the rocking motion of a train, for a day or two.

So, I didn't think anything of it,
until after a week went by,
and I was still experiencing sporadic feelings of motion.
I wasn't dizzy or nauseous,
I just felt like my body was moving...
but it wasn't.
Certain tasks seemed to elevate this movement more than most.
Some days it wasn't very noticeable, and a couple of times,
I felt as if I was literally being pulled by something.
I wasn't in any pain or anything,
I just found it all to be very annoying.

I tried looking online for possibilities of what my problem could be.
Motion sickness and vertigo, kept popping up in my searches,
but I knew they couldn't be the answer,
because I wasn't suffering the other symptoms.
Also, I realized for the past week or so
I've been feeling more tired than usual.
Like I needed to take a nap just to get through my day,
and figured that could be a symptom, as well.

Today I did some more investigating and found what I think
may be my problem: Mal de Debarquement Syndrome

Symptoms most frequently reported include a persistent sensation of motion usually described as rocking, swaying, or bobbing; difficulty maintaining balance; extreme fatigue; and difficulty concentrating (“brain fog”). Other common symptoms include dizziness, headaches and/or migraine headaches, confusion, and anxiety. Many patients also describe ear symptoms such as hyperacusis, tinnitus, “fullness”, pain, or even decreased hearing. Cognitive impairment (“brain fog”) includes an inability to recall words, short term memory loss, and an inability to multi-task.

Interestingly, the condition often abates when the patient is in motion such as in a car, train, plane, or boat. Symptoms are increased by stress, crowds, flickering lights, loud sounds, fast or sudden movements, enclosed areas or busy patterns.

In MdDS, the symptoms persist for more than one month, and possibly many years. This differs from the very common condition of “land sickness” that most people feel for a short time after a motion event such as a boat cruise, airplane ride, or even a treadmill routine.

MdDS happens when the gravity receptors in the inner ear canal fail to return to normal state after adjusting slightly due to a change in gravity. Since the receptors stay adjusted, the patient will feel as if the ground is moving or as described above, a rocking motion even if standing still.

Now, I'm not 100% that this is my problem.

I haven't noticed any problems with my balance, no hearing problems or experienced any cognitive impairment.

But, if this is what I'm suffering from, I'm really hoping that since I'm not experiencing all the symptoms, they will go away sooner rather than later.