Am I alergic to Indian Creek?

This has only happened now while I have been sleeping out in the desert. It happened the first time last fall at Indian Creek and it happened several times on two consecutive nights last weekend in the Creek.

I wake up in the middle of the night with a serious case of vertigo: sensations that everything is spinning or tilting and I feel nauseous. The symptoms only last for about a minute or two and I generally bolt upright from sleep and get on all fours and hang my head close to the ground as the episode passes.

I've done a little research into possible causes of vertigo and there are some factors that could have contributed to this including combining alcohol with Ibuprofen, as I did last weekend. I just think it's really strange that this has only happened while sleeping out in the desert, and this is not the first time I have taken pain killers and also consumed a few beers in the same night.

So I wanted to see if anyone has ever heard of this (or maybe even experienced it?) before I waste any time and money in going to see a doctor about this. I saw the doctor last fall after it happened the first time and he seemed to think it was no big deal but after last weekend I am not so sure.

Could be an adverse reaction to the Uranium levels?

Just a thought.

I haven't had any kind of vertigo but I have to take Claratin before and during a trip to the Creek because if not my head explodes. Especially after breathing heavily on the cracks. I am not sure if it is just dust of if there is some type of pollen or something.

I have personally tested many combinations of beer and pain killers (especially at the Creek) and have never experienced this sort of thing before. I don't know how much beer we are talking about but I have had this sort of feeling after too much Tequila or Rum.

lbishop wrote:Could be an adverse reaction to the Uranium levels? Just a thought.

Nonsense, he lives in Golden and is exposed to Uranium all the time.
He is used to the Uranium.

It's true, I get my daily dose twice a day driving to and from work in Boulder.

I assure you it was not an overdose on beer as I don't think I had more than 3 or 4 beers the first night and maybe one the second night.

No antibiotics.

Bill Ballace wrote: Nonsense, he lives in Golden and is exposed to Uranium all the time. He is used to the Uranium.

Huh? I work in Golden and live near Blackhawk. Uranium?!? What am I missing?

It's called Rocky Flats

Mike, none of the other symptoms. Now that I think about it though, I was also using OTC medicine for canker sores several times a day.

I did have a bit of loss of appetite in the morning but it went away pretty quickly.

jfox- there is a uranium mine near ralston buttes N. of Golden and there is a little place between Golden and Boulder called Rocky Flats where nuclear weapons were once manufactured. Currently there are elevated levels of Uranium and several other radioactive elements in soils near Rocky Flats.

Thanks. I just googled it. I had no idea!

This uranium thing is interesting. Who knew I moved into a radiation hot zone.

Anyway, to the OP, there are many causes to the symptoms you're describing. The simplest and first one that comes to mind is a bit of dehydration and fatigue caused disorientation. What makes me think this is the fact it occurs in the desert after drinking and after climbing.

Dehydration(as I know from personal experience) can definetly cause vertigo and dehydration. Fatigue from strenuous climbing could also alter your senses. Additionally, alcohol can cause sleep disturbances that create disorientation when you first wake up. So, maybe you were slightly dehydrated and fatigued, and got awoken because of the some sleep interuptions due to alcohol? The combination of the three would seem to make sense.

Anyway, just a thought. I would try slamming a bottle of water before bed and see how you feel when you get up to take a pee.

jfox,
Know you can go get a t-shirt from the Rocky Flats Lounge, "I got nuclear wasted at the Rocky Flats Lounge"

Yeah, I've been dizzy and lightheaded before, but the episodes I expereinced do not fall under those definitions. Basically it felt like the earth was spinning and shaking out of control and everything was completely out of equilibrium.

Do you camp in other areas besides the desert without symptoms? Maybe your sleeping pad (fleece, cookware, whatever) picked up something that disagrees with you?

jfox wrote: Huh? I work in Golden and live near Blackhawk. Uranium?!? What am I missing?

There is also an old uranium mine up in the closed open space near Ralston Buttes.

Obviously more of a history and evaluation would be in order before making a diagnosis, but you describe pretty classic symptoms of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). The "textbook" case is transient intense vertigo that is short-lived and associated with certain head maneuvers. Many patients describe waking from sleep with intense vertigo. My guess is that sleeping in the desert is coincidence.

Kirk,
Usually i have to by the stuff that gives you those symptoms you're experiencing. Just go with it!

Tuesday night session?

Sometimes when climbing in IC i get a bad rash on the tops of my hands. Do you think it is from the rock? Can my friends get this too?

sean connors wrote:Kirk, Usually i have to by the stuff that gives you those symptoms you're experiencing. Just go with it! Tuesday night session?

nice connors. yeah, we should change things up and hit eldo next tuesday.

Kirk Heatwole wrote: nice connors. yeah, we should change things up and hit eldo next tuesday.

Cool. What are you doing tonight?

Mike Morley wrote: Vertigo has a very specific meaning. It is different than lightheadedness or dizziness, although it is often used incorrectly. It would be very unlikely for dehydration to result in vertigo.

Agreed, but there could be other more subblte indications, right?
In my case, I don't get vertigo, but I get a water/salt balance issue and can't retain water (or salt) and even if I drink a gallon, all it means is that I pee quite literally 8 times a night. I've counted more onn occasion.

Anyway, what about electrolite issues? I'm not medical expert, but I wonder...

sean connors wrote: Cool. What are you doing tonight?

I've got a soccer game in Golden.

Tomorrow night I may try to get out or maybe indoors if the weather is bad. These spring storms need to stop immediately; they are seriously affecting my weekday routines.