I am taking much of the article with a grain of salt…Here are 3 quotes from the article I have a responses to
Quote #1
"
Our hypothesis is that the reason you have this problem as a vestibular patient is that your brain stem is affected. The brain stem is a stalk connected to the spinal cord. There are nuclei located in the brain stem that attach to your balance system; they are also highly important for keeping your cortex, your thinking areas, alert and aroused and attentive. "
My comment to this is to note that
some AN tumor patients had their brainstem pushed into an “s� shape (myself included) but please note that
AN tumors does NOT grow into the brainstem. For example my brainstem,
post surgery, is now straight . For me the former “s� shaped brain stem was most likely the cause sleep disturbances and I really think my short term memory issues were more sleep deprivation related than vestibular related. Post surgery there is a noted improvement in my sleep pattern and my memory, focus and attention span have improved tenfold… How much was due to balance or simply to sleep deprivation? 6 months post surgery I now think the latter. Now I am sleeping better… I am functioning better… Another improvement we have noticed is in my handwriting, since the tumor was removed, this has improved tenfold… This was not due to the vestibular issues as much as it was from pressure applied to the brain by the tumor. Remember folks- the AN tumor does NOT grow into the brain… but it does apply pressure by pushing up against it.
Quote #2
"
Question: Do you have any help for family members?
Answer: A vestibular dysfunction affects the whole family because it affects the patient's total life. Family members need help and understanding almost as much as the patient him- or herself. In the clinic, we include family members' perspectives because they can sometimes give clues to behavior that patients aren't aware of. We also do counseling with family members . "
I am sorry but I really feel that this author is trying to drum up business for
his clinic.
As with all articles on the internet- “
question the source�. I feel there are a many sweeping generalizations in this author's comments that should be questioned.
This one really gets me
Quote #3
"
Finally, people with vestibular disorders experience a decreased ability to grasp the large whole concept. The ability to see the big picture or the forest for the trees is very elusive for someone with vestibular disorders. "
I personally cannot relate to this comment and do NOT agree.
I recommend the book “
Seven Blind Mice� by Ed Young that is written for children (but most likely directed at adults)
http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Blind-Mice-Caldecott-Honor/dp/0399222618(I am not promoting Amazon here- just giving you a link where you can look at the covers of a book ...and sample pages inside)
The author of the article,
COGNITIVE ASPECTS OF VESTIBULAR DISORDERS, you posted only has partial understanding and is making
sweeping generalizations about
all vestibular patients. I “had� an acoustic neuroma tumor
not Meniere's disease. One cannot lump all us patents together. I see this author as one of the blind mice telling their
own perspective- however I do
not see the author as the white mouse at the end of the story putting an accurate picture together.
Below I am going to quote Ed’Young's book (Seven Blind Mice)
“The Mouse Moral:
Knowing in part makes a fine tale but wisdom comes from seeing the whole� Most likely this author is only seeing the patients that have these issues and is
not taking into account the patients that had success and improvements- post AN treatment.
It is a hypothesis with
no back up data provided to make his point. It is an article of "opinion" not a
valid research paper.
Keep moving forward,
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