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HELPFUL HINTS!

October 17, 2023 61 Comments

HELLO DEAR READERS!

From my last post on VESTIBULAR ISSUES; I had a few of YOU comment that you have had similar situations or VERTIGO.

THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN BY SHAYLA LOVE.If you search her name or GOOGLE HER this article will pop up,but here I have copied and pasted for YOU to read.

If this is not of INTEREST just scroll down to the 2nd PHOTO and my BLOG will ramble on as per THE NORM!

THIS IS AN ARTICLE FROM The New Yorker MAGAZINE and is lengthy in regards to Vestibular Issues.

A READER OF MY BLOG SENT TO ME after reading my last post.

Which I definitely suffer from.

THANK YOU PAT as YOU SAID,”THIS IS YOU!”

IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO SUFFERS FROM THESE SYMPTOMS PLEASE PRESS FORWARD as this is CHOCK FULL OF INFORMATION AND SYMPTOMS and could be very HELPFUL.

But first a photo of BETTY and I AS we MATCHED on this OCTOBER DAY!

She has been a wonderful dog for me.

THE ARTICLE

One morning last August, while making my bed, my entire visual field shifted sharply to the left, as though I were watching a movie and someone had bumped into the projector. After half a second, my vision snapped back into position. I froze, pillow in hand, and carefully looked around. The furniture in my room was still, apparently innocent of whatever had just happened. But I felt a lingering unease that my surroundings were not bolted down.

I went for a jog along the East River, in Brooklyn. Everything seemed to be in the right place—clouds above me, wooden boardwalk below. Still, the 7 a.m. sunlight seemed brighter than usual, and the water rippled in a disjointed way, like a film reel missing a few frames. My head was heavy on my shoulders. Confusingly, it also felt as though it might float away.

Back in my apartment, I rolled out a yoga mat and stretched. When I tilted my head to touch my foot, the room began to rotate like a carrousel. I’d had dizzy episodes before, but never anything this intense. I lay down, but the spinning only sped up. I curled up and waited—prayed—for it to end. When it didn’t, I reached for my phone and called a friend who lived nearby.

To let my friend in, I had to crawl the length of my apartment. “Something is wrong,” I told her softly.

At the emergency room, I was helped into a wheelchair because I could barely stand. During the next hour, the E.R. staff ruled out anything life-threatening, like a stroke, yet they couldn’t say what was wrong. It was difficult to diagnose the cause of a dizzy spell, the doctors said, because dizziness is a sensation, not a disease. Many different conditions can produce it. One said that I probably had labyrinthitis, or inflammation of the inner ear, and typed it into my chart.

The swirling behind my forehead lasted all day and night. I couldn’t look at computer screens, so after a week and a half I took sick leave from my writing job.

I scheduled appointments with virtually every relevant specialist. An audiologist checked my hearing and an ear, nose, and throat doctor shined a light into my ears. Neurologists inspected the movement of my eyes. A physical therapist who specializes in balance issues asked me to close my eyes and stand on one foot.

Simply visiting all these doctors was dizzying. As I crisscrossed the city, I had to focus on every footstep to keep from toppling over. Through it all, my tests were coming back normal. My hearing and sight were fine; an MRI was clear.

During one appointment, my neurologist’s questions began to veer off the medical path. Did I get car sick as a child? Did I enjoy roller coasters? What about boats? Had I made any big life changes recently? Finally, we seemed to be making progress: I hate roller coasters and have always been prone to car sickness, and my life had, in fact, changed dramatically of late. I had left a long- term relationship and, for the first time in ten years, was living alone, untethered.
I was going on dates, and thinking about leaving my job for good.

My neurologist seemed to be suggesting that dizziness was more than a physical phenomenon. To understand it, I would need to think about what was going on in my head and my life. Based on my answers, as well as my sensitivity to light, he at last gave me a diagnosis: vestibular migraine.

The symptoms of vestibular migraine—the world spinning like a globe, days of painless dizziness—seemed to match. But the diagnosis also frustrated me. Even as a health journalist, I had never heard of vestibular migraine. Its name suggested that an unwieldy neurological condition, migraines, could somehow get tangled up with the vestibular system, which helps shape our sense of balance.

The experience of dizziness has been documented for thousands of years, and it’s one of the most common complaints that bring people to the doctor. Even children can readily identify it: if you are old enough to play Ring Around the Rosie, you know what it feels like. Yet dizziness, like pain, isn’t something that can be seen directly in an X-ray or an MRI; it must be described by the person who feels it, and terms like “vertigo” and “light-headedness” never seem to capture the entire experience, or how profoundly it can unsettle us. Even doctors break down dizzy spells into a staggering number of mythic-sounding categories, many of which are poorly understood: labyrinthitis, mal de débarquement, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, Ménière’s disease, vestibular neuritis, vestibular migraine. I left the neurologist’s office with new words for my symptoms, but they didn’t adequately clear up what was happening inside my body, or why. I had a pamphlet about migraines in my bag, but I felt haunted by all the questions it didn’t answer.

I experienced my first spell of dizziness about ten years ago, when I was a twenty-one-year-old college student living on a farm in France. I went to a doctor in the Pyrenees, and because my vocabulary didn’t include the words “dizzy” or “off-balance,” I waved my hands a lot and repeated the phrase mal à la tête, or headache. I was confined to bed for a week. Two years later, during my senior year of college, a thin film of dizziness perturbed me for almost three months. Even in my native tongue, I could only explain with metaphors. My dizziness made me feel that my skull was a washing machine on a spin cycle, or that the ground was bulging upward under my feet. Sometimes I felt that my body was subject to a different gravitational force than those around me. For more than ten years, my medical tests were inconclusive. My condition was unfindable, invisible.

Many dizzy people struggle to describe their symptoms. “I hear ‘light-headed’ a lot,” Sue Whitney, a professor of physical therapy at the University of Pittsburgh who helps people with vestibular rehabilitation, told me. Her patients often say that they feel like they’re floating—“or, ‘I’m off,’ or ‘my head feels funny.’ ” Soumit Dasgupta, an audiovestibular doctor from the U.K., added “fuzzy-headed” and “brain fog” to the list. A friend, who also received a vestibular-migraine diagnosis, told me that his episodes begin when his eyes start to drift toward the left. Living with dizziness, he said, is like trying to walk on a rocking boat.

Biologically speaking, the vestibular system is located in the inner ear, next to the spiral-shaped cavity known as the cochlea. If the cochlea were a snail’s shell, the vestibular organs—the saccule, the utricle, and three semicircular canals—would make up the snail’s body. Together, they are known as the labyrinth because of their twisting shape. The canals are positioned at roughly right angles to one another, and as fluid moves through them, they can detect if the head is moving up and down, side to side, or left to right. The saccule and utricle detect acceleration and tilting.

Vestibular organs appeared early in evolutionary history—they are key for survival—and most terrestrial animals have them. One medical textbook describes how the vestibular system “plays a subtle, almost occult role” in our sensory experience. Michael Goldberg, a Columbia University neurologist, has said that the vestibular system helps our bodies answer “two questions basic to the human condition: Where am I going? Which way is up?” But there are many ways that the vestibular system can malfunction.

You can trigger a dizzy spell by standing up too fast, skipping lunch, spinning in a circle, or drinking too much alcohol. Dizziness can be linked to one’s ears, brain, heart, or metabolic system. The treatments, likewise, are heterogeneous. In benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, crystals in the inner ear canals become loose; physical repositioning, known as maneuvers, can usually treat it. For conditions of chronic dizziness called persistent postural perceptual dizziness (P.P.P.D.), vestibular rehabilitation and S.S.R.I.s, which normally treat depression and anxiety, seem to work better. Vestibular migraine is treated through the use of migraine-specific supplements or medications—which wouldn’t be advised for someone with the buildup of inner-ear fluid known as Ménière’s disease.

The sensation we call dizziness is a sort of general alarm system for the body— but just as a fire alarm can’t tell you where a fire is burning (or whether someone walked through the emergency exit by mistake), it doesn’t necessarily tell you what’s wrong. Dasgupta argued that diagnosing the causes of dizziness requires a lost clinical art known as anamnesis, or a holistic interview about the patient’s symptoms and their surrounding context. “This is like detective work,” he said. Diego Kaski, who treats vestibular patients as a consulting neurologist at the U.K.’s National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, tries to understand his patient’s symptoms by imagining that they are happening to him. He often relies on gestures: if people have vertigo, which includes the illusion of movement, “they might spin their finger or their hand around,” Kaski told me. Others will hold onto their heads or rock their upper bodies from side to side. Patient accounts tend to be psychological as well as physical. “You lose control of what your body is doing, and that can be quite a fearful experience,” Kaski said. Many dizzy people wonder whether they are dying.

While visiting doctor after doctor, I learned from a Google search about what sounded like a dizziness utopia: the German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders, or D.S.G.Z., in Munich. It was originally funded by the German federal government and, since 2019, has operated as an interdisciplinary center of the University Hospital of Munich.

In February, I travelled to Munich and took a train to the hospital’s expansive medical campus, about half an hour from the city center. To find the D.S.G.Z., I followed an elaborate system of colored lines and numbers that were printed on the ground. They led me through a maze of hallways and stairwells until I arrived at a door, which was adorned with an image of a brain and the labyrinth of the

inner ear. I found Andreas Zwergal, a neurologist and the director of the D.S.G.Z., in his office. He wore a white doctor’s coat and had a thick head of brown hair, which bounced when he got animated.

Zwergal did not set out to become a dizziness doctor, but he has had a personal connection to the condition for much of his life. His father had a dizziness episode in his late fifties and had to retire early from his high-school teaching position. More recently, Zwergal’s wife woke up dizzy one morning; he was the first doctor to examine her. He concluded that she w as experiencing a vestibular migraine, like me.

I pulled out my notebook to show Zwergal a list of the dozen conditions that my dizziness has been attributed to over the years, from labyrinthitis to low blood pressure. He seemed unsurprised. “People do have these long trajectories and patient histories,” he said, leaning back in his chair. With a gentle tone that softened his German lilt, he added, “Hopefully, you’ve survived that psychologically normal, but many patients get depressed or frustrated.”

To explain the differences between diagnoses, Zwergal imitated their manifestations. Some vestibular disorders, like B.P.P.V., affect a person’s balance and walk; he staggered from foot to foot, swinging his arms and tilting to one side. For others, like P.P.P.D. or Ménière’s, the dizziness is constrained to the head, and to one’s perception; he demonstrated by grabbing one temple and swirling his eyes around in their sockets. He did all this without a trace of mocking or humor. Chronic dizziness is more serious than most people can imagine, he said. Half of patients have so much difficulty that they take part-time jobs or stop working altogether. “If people had to rate the severity of impairment of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo against a heart attack, most of them would say that vertigo was the worst feeling of their life,” Zwergal said.

The D.S.G.Z. clinic is a circular loop of examination rooms, each containing different tools to measure aspects of dizziness. “We bring everything together in one place,” Zwergal told me. The majority of patients come from more than two hundred miles away. On a tour, I saw an older woman looking at black and white lines on a screen as they moved horizontally. Another patient gazed at a spinning cylinder that a woman in scrubs was holding. These tests looked at the eyes, in hopes that their movements could be correlated with a particular disorder. Nearby, in the “gait room,” a special carpet measured the precise weight, position, and speed of a person’s steps.

One of the D.S.G.Z.’s aims is to create a taxonomy of every kind of dizziness, which could bring about a new era of diagnosis for patients like me. In recent years, specialists have started using a standardized diagnostic process called TiTrATE, which focusses on “timing, triggers, and targeted bedside eye examinations.” The D.S.G.Z. has asked doctors around the world to send videos of their dizzy patients to the center and has also created an online initiative, dizzynet, where clinicians and researchers can collaborate. One day, doctors will be able to compare a patient’s eye movements, walking patterns, and visual or auditory disturbances with all the others in the database. A center scientist, Virginia Flanagin, is working with colleagues on a method for measuring and analyzing eye movements; others are studying posturography, or how people stand.

In the hallway, Zwergal pointed at a reproduction of “Senecio,” a 1922 painting by Paul Klee. An abstracted face—a little goofy, but also haunting—loomed in front of an orange background. The figure’s red pupils were not in line with each other. This is a common vestibular symptom known as skewed deviation, Zwergal explained. “The eyes are the window to the brain,” he said.

On my second day in Munich, down the hall from the clinic, I visited Doreen Huppert, one of the few researchers who studies the history of dizziness. She had the look of an art gallerist, with shoulder-length blond hair and blue eyeliner. She spread a stack of papers across her desk: descriptions of dizziness she has found in ancient texts from around the world, from Rome to China. In “The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine,” a Chinese text from around 300 B.C., a man named Huang Di asks a doctor about height-induced vertigo. “Everything spins around and I feel dizzy,” Huang Di says. “What kind of Qi causes this?’’

The word vertigo comes from the Latin verb vertere, which means to turn; another word, caligo, described dizziness that came from feelings of exultation or losing one’s grip on reality. Dizziness was understood as an emotional state as well as a physical one: when Vespasian assumed the role of Roman emperor, after Nero’s suicide, he reportedly felt “an earthquake” in his body and was seized by “a curious dizziness.” Claudius Galenus, a doctor who treated Marcus Aurelius, named the labyrinth in the inner ear after the Cretan myth, of the maze with a minotaur at its center.

When I told Huppert that I have vestibular migraines, she shuffled through her papers to find a quotation from Aretaeus of Cappadocia, who described a headache paired with erratic eye movements in second-century Rome. “The face is distorted spasmodically, the eyes remain glassy and rigid like horns or move to and fro forcedly, and the patient is dizzy,” Aretaeus wrote. He noted that patients may be overcome with “taedium vitae,” or a weariness of life. I felt a pang of solidarity with the ancient Romans.

Medical anatomists studied semicircular canals in the sixteenth century by cutting open cadavers and drawing their insides, but doctors didn’t gain a deeper understanding of the vestibular system until the nineteenth century. When a French scientist, Jean Pierre Flourens, removed and destroyed the inner-ear canals of pigeons, he showed that their heads started to move and the birds lost their balance.

There is still much left to discover. Zwergal told me that the center was investigating a biological test for vestibular migraine. Patients with traditional migraines often have elevated levels of a protein called calcitonin-gene-related peptide, or C.G.R.P. Could the same protein serve as a biomarker for vestibular migraine? When Zwergal asked me whether I wanted to try the test, I readily agreed.

At the clinic, I asked Zwergal what he needed from me—blood, urine, saliva? Actually, he explained, the protein was found in one’s eyes. I sat in a hard chair and leaned my head back as a researcher placed a thin plastic pipette up against my tear duct. I thought about how, this past summer, I woke up each morning hoping that the dizziness had faded, and often cried when I discovered that it had not.

“Look up to the sky,” the researcher said, and collected seven microlitres of my tears.

Six years ago, on his family’s land in Indiana, the author John Green cleared a trail straight through the woods near his house. He dug up honeysuckle and ivy, laid down a bed of wood chips, and lined the way with bricks. A week later, his balance failed. “The world began to roll and spin,” he wrote in an essay about the experience. “I was suddenly a very small boat in very high seas.” He was diagnosed with labyrinthitis and needed six weeks to recover.

According to a video that Green made, dizziness pushed him to reëxamine his life. He decided to stop pursuing projects with only money in mind and focus on what he was passionate about. “It’s tempting to make labyrinthitis a metaphor,” Green wrote. “I spent a month drawing a straight line of a trail only to be told that life is never simple paths—only dizzying labyrinths folding in on themselves.”

For a while, I found comfort in a metaphor, too. When my dizziness began, my apartment was decorated with a blue-and-white poster of a square labyrinth, by a graphic designer named Utsav Verma. A caption explained the difference between a labyrinth, which follows a single continuous path, and a maze, which contains many forks and dead ends. In the E.R., when the doctor said “labyrinthitis,” Verma’s print flashed in my mind.

Labyrinths, for me, became a symbol of acceptance. I told myself that even when I felt lost in a dizzy spell, I was slowly moving toward the center of something. Like Green, I reflected on what mattered to me: I quit my job, moved into a new apartment, and tried to create a more balanced work life. I visited labyrinths in New York and built one out of bricks, at a community garden where I volunteer.

Then, in July, I visited a famous twelfth-century labyrinth at the Notre-Dame de Chartres, in France. For nearly an hour, I stood in line with tourists, who seemed less interested in walking the winding path than in stopping to pray. Jostled by the crowd, feeling anything but acceptance, I realized that I had reached the limits of my metaphor. If there was any meaning in my experience, I wasn’t going to find it here. And so I left.

Back in New York, I was walking through a subway station, on my way to meet a friend for breakfast, when I checked my phone and saw that Zwergal had e- mailed me. I opened his message while climbing stairs, two at a time—an activity that, less than a year before, I would not have dared to attempt. My tears, Zwergal wrote, contained unusually high levels of C.G.R.P. I stopped on the stairs, taking in the news, and noticed some tears forming in my eyes.

Once you’ve been dizzy for a while, it can be hard to tell when you’re feeling better. As I got used to going about daily activities, I sometimes asked myself: am I still dizzy, or not? What does a non-dizzy state even feel like? Lately, I have come to think of dizziness itself as an absence, not a presence. It is the opposite

of balance—the foil to knowing where your body is in space. Many things have to be working properly for you to feel balanced; only one needs to malfunction to send your world spinning. This is why I had so much trouble talking about my dizziness. It’s like trying to describe a silence, or a shadow.

The discovery of a protein in my tears is not life-changing, and potential treatments are some ways off. Even so, Zwergal’s e-mail gave me the first piece of physical evidence I had ever had for my dizziness. I started taking supplements that help with migraines. Slowly, I began to feel better.

Recently, I woke up early and wondered whether I was ready to go for a jog. I had been avoiding running since last summer; it was too tightly linked to the day my dizziness set in. I tightened my laces, walked outside, and, with trepidation, broke into a slow run. I looked for any sign that something might be wrong, but the ground stayed steady. I jogged my old route and caught my breath in a waterfront park. I looked out at the river and saw sunlight shimmering on the surface. The water was in motion, and I was still. I turned away from the shore and ran home. 

END OF ARTICLE BY SHAYLA LOVE

CONTESSA NOW SPEAKING…….

I FOUND THIS HELPFUL INFORMATION FOR MY SITUATION AND VALIDATION!

A LOT OF WHAT WAS SAID RESONATED WITH ME!

YES, I DO GET CAR SICK, DONOT LIKE ROLLER COASTERS AND FAST MOVING OBJECTS LIKE CARS ON THE FREEWAY!I WAS ASKED ALL THE QUESTIONS MENTIONED ABOVE IN THE ARTICLE SO I FEEL IAM ON THE RIGHT PATH…………..and YES I USE TO FEEL AS IF ” I WAS DYING!”

BUT THE ANTI-SEIZURE MEDICATION TOOK THAT FEELING AWAY!

THANKS TO MY FOCAL SEIZURES and the meds prescribed by a NEUROLOGIST!

LETS GET BACK TO LIVING SHALL WE?

ANOTHER OCTOBER and another San Francisco FALL ANTIQUE SHOW!

ALWAYS A DELIGHT TO HEAR A LECTURE OR TWO AND EAT A NICE LUNCH WITH A DEAR FRIEND.

WHO SO KINDLY PICKED ME UP AND WE CHATTED THE WHOLE WAY THERE!

SHANNON was a frequent VISITOR to my shop The HEN HOUSE back in the day when I had an antique/vintage store.

SHE SELLS ON LINE as well as being an Interior Decorator.

She now resides close to CARMEL in PACIFIC GROVE.

Do PEEK at her on line shop BELOW!

https://www.vintage-keepers.com/shops/duchess-and-bird/section/153/

LOVED THIS ROOSTER.

He was headed to ROUND TOP ANIQUE SHOW after the San Francisco show.

TAKE A WILD GUESS HOW MUCH HE WAS!

I WILL RESPOND IN THE COMMENTS TO YOU IF YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW!

YEP………..THIS WOULD BE A REAL RENOIR!

A BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO of QUEEN ELIZABETH AT THE SF FALL SHOW FRAMED IN BLACK.

I can not recall the price now but thought it was a good deal at the time, since this will be a COLLECTORS ITEM NOW with her gone.

It would be STUNNING in a black and white HALLWAY or ROOM.

WHO KNOWS THE NAME OF THIS TIARA?

I BELIEVE THIS IS MY FAVORITE of the Crown Jewels ………….I should know the name!

BELOW is a photo of days gone by.

TO THINK WE WERE CHILDREN WHEN THIS WAS TAKEN!

I WONDER IS THIS A GOOD THING OR A BAD THING.

ANY OPINIONS WELCOME I HAVE NO STANCE ON THIS AS I HAVE NOT REALLY THOUGHT ABOUT IT.

I do BELIEVE this was a STAGED PHOTOGRAPH.

I DO KNOW THOSES DRESSES WERE ALL IN BEAUTIFUL PASTEL COLORS!

I do not MOVE in circles where one would wear a DRESS such as this.

EXCEPT MAYBE IN A PHOTO SHOOT WITH MY PIGGY!

I THOUGHT The BRANCHES WORKED WELL……..

I HAVE NOT SEEN A SNAKE BAG IN DECADES HAVE YOU?

ITALIAN CABINET…………….I WOULD HAVE LOVED TO OWN THIS PIECE!

LOOK AT ALL THE DETAIL!

Broken plate, empty wine bottles, napkin tucked into shirt, ice buckets for wine!

THE FLORIST WAS SENT A PHOTO OF THE CACHE POTS FOR INSPIRATION!

HOW DID SHE DO IN YOUR OPINION?

MY OPINION.

NOT BAD AT ALL!

IN FACT, I THINK ITS MAGICAL!

THIS WAS THE DESK OF ONE OF THE ANTIQUE DEALERS.

IF I COULD HAVE ONE ITEM I THINK IT WOULD BE THE DRAWING OF THE HAND OR THE TWO PETITE CACHE POTS ON PEDESTALS!

DO YOU THINK THEY WERE SALT CELLARS OR FOR NUTS?

NO SALT AS THE PAINT INSIDE WOULD HAVE VANISHED!

WHAT WOULD YOU USE THEM FOR TODAY BESIDES LITTLE PRETTIES?

I WANTED HER although in this photo her face is not as BEAUTIFUL as it was in person!

It was her dress folds and tucks and her BOUNTY in her HAND and HAIR that SPOKE TO ME!

GARDEN STATUE with PEDESTAL $10,500.00.

I snapped this photo and sent via TEXT MESSAGE (I AM SO HIGH TEC!)to THE ITALIAN for APPROVAL!!!!(AGAIN this is all in GOOD FUN as to make him apart of my FESTIVE FREE non STRESS DAY!)

DO YOU KNOW WHAT HE ANSWERED?

IT MADE ME LAUGH OUT LOUD!

THIS WAS QUICK THINKING ON HIS PART!

HIS RESPONSE WAS “ONLY IF THEY HAVE TWO!!!”

THAT was his way of saying NO in a VERY POLITE WAY!

Plus, he would have had to TRANSPORT in the next 48 hours!

REMEMBER LADIES AND GENTLEMEN I AM A SALE SHOPPER AND I LIKE TO HAVE FUN WITH MY ITALIAN!It’s GOOD to have this BANTER at our AGE!

There you have a few photos of the show.I always enjoy walking around and visiting with the vendors who come from all over the world.The entrance fee is $20.00 and the LECTURES are a REAL BARGIN at $23.00 for an hour chit chat session with THE BIGGEST NAMES IN THE DESIGN WORLD.I have been attending for at least the last 30 years maybe longer.Do put it on your RADAR.It is now called The San Francisco FALL SHOW.

I wanted to SHARE with YOU that I am eating an APPLE A DAY NOW.

We grew up with that saying “An Apple A Day Keeps the Doctor Away!”

I recently READ about THE HISTORY of an APPLE!

It was discovered in CHINA and now there are many varieties.

The most popular is THE GALA APPLE.

I have given MY ITALIAN an APPLE almost every day in his lunch for the last 37 years!He requires TWO FRUITS for lunch so that ticks one box!

HE IS NEVER SICK!

THIS GOT ME THINKING!

THAT WAS ALL THE PROOF I NEEDED!

I also use CHIA SEEDS in my morning YOGURT.

NO SODIUM AND GOOD FIBER.

I ALWAY DO A GOOD POOP WITHIN 30 MINUTES!

I KNOW, I KNOW BUT THIS IS IMPORTANT STUFF THAT NO ONE TALKS ABOUT!

I have mention ANTHONY’s Collagen Peptide Powder before. I use a heaping spoon full most days also in my yogurt or cereal.It has HELPED MY HAIR GROW.I have always had HARD sturdy nails and they still are but at age 56 LOST HALF MY HEAD OF HAIR, which has never recovered.This has HELPED re-grow my hair.

HELPFUL HINTS:

REMEMBER to put your tongue to the roof of your mouth if you think you will not make it to the restroom!THAT HELPS HOLD IN THE PEE PEE!

ALSO YOU CAN PUT YOUR MIDDLE FINGER AND THUMB TOGETHER to STOP THE FLOW OF PEE from coming out before you hit THE RESTROOM!

I do this with BOTH HANDS.

AGING ISNOT FOR SISSY’s……………as my momma use to say.

I GET IT NOW MOM.

I GET IT!

I went to the dentist today for cleaning and they asked me THREE times “ANYTHING HURTING?”

What is THAT ABOUT?

BETTY IS TWO YEARS OLD and always remains comfortable!

XXX

I HOPE I WAS ABLE TO PUT A SMILE ON YOUR FACE!

THANK YOU FOR READING ME!

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  • Judith
    · Reply

    October 28, 2023 at 2:11 PM

    Closing down the party here, as usual! I like to read your posts when I can take the time to enjoy what you are saying and showing us – it is one of my treats. The article was fascinating; how is it that this problem has been around for centuries, yet, most medical providers don’t even know what it is? Where is the disconnect? I loved the pictures from the antique show, and I, too, would have wanted that garden statue. But not that bad! It will be pretty at someone’s estate. Thank you for including more photos of you in that beautiful coat! That is your find of the year!

  • m in hi
    · Reply

    October 23, 2023 at 9:25 PM

    Contessa, Tamera Beardsley opened her accessories shop late last week . She has a link on her blog.
    Just letting you know in case you hadn’t heard. Very beautiful pieces. Also is your creative artist friend that make sparkling Christmas trees making any this season? I missed out last time and would like to get one this year if she is.

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 24, 2023 at 1:32 PM

      Yes!I know all about Tamera and her shop and happen to own a few pieces!She gifted me a CROWN for my 60 th BIRTHDAY!!
      Christmas trees?!
      I think that would be Cathy Sexton on Instagram you are talking about!
      Check out her Instagram page!
      I think YES IS THE CORRECT ANSWER as she did a show recently and they were in the photos!Let me know if you found her!
      Xxx

    • Cathy Sexton
      · Reply

      October 24, 2023 at 1:54 PM

      Yes!! I have the vintage rhinestone trees. While I make jewelry, I can’t take credit for the vintage rhinestone trees. They are from Czechoslovakia and were made in the 40’s. They are fabulous. My instagram @catiques has a video from the high point market and you can see them. You can message me there or reach out to me directly – 704 906 1446.

  • D. A. Squires
    · Reply

    October 22, 2023 at 3:04 PM

    This was another amazing post… what a journey you have been on… the medical information in the article verified/explained so much of what you have experienced. Other aches and pains I have, but have never had vertigo/dizziness… knocking wood, I am so grateful. Adore the photos of the Fall show… I was reminded of your decor so much… ooh la la artistic, a feast for the eyes! And your tips are always great… I still use the homemade lip balm : ) Love to see your posts in my inbox… so interesting, fun, eclectic topics… ONE OF A KIND, you are!! Hope you rec’d the email I sent w/ wedding video link! Now going through a thousand : ) photos to create old-fashioned albums!! Which I still adore. XOXO

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 23, 2023 at 7:17 AM

      I did get The WeDDING VIDEO!
      I DID ENJOY IT SO MUCH!
      WHAT A BeAUTIFUL BRIDE AND THEY LOOK SO HAPPY!
      YES, OLD-FASHION ALBUMS ARE A MUST!
      I STILL WOULD LIKE A PHOTO OF YOU AS THE TEARS BLURRED MY VISION IN THE VIDEO!
      XOXO

  • Lorna
    · Reply

    October 22, 2023 at 7:23 AM

    You’re always giving us useful advice and I love reading it. I especially loved the photo of you and Betty in your matching outfits.
    It sounds like you had a really great time at the antiques show.
    I can’t believe October is almost over. It’s been a rather hectic month for me but I’ve managed to post regularly on the blog. Thanks for your comment and support.
    Off to read now as I’d like to finish my current book today.

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 23, 2023 at 7:20 AM

      I HOPe you finished your book over the weekend!
      Yes, me and Betty MATCHED and no planning of that at ALL!
      I need to HOP over to your BLOG today and see if I have missed a POST!
      XOXO

  • Diana Amato
    · Reply

    October 20, 2023 at 12:09 PM

    Sorry it took me a couple of days to pop on here! I’m wondering why pinching those two fingers works so well, but it truly does! I can remember as a kid walking/running home from the bus stop and always praying that I made it on time. (Hahaha)I always ran with my fists clenched until I made it home! Who knew?

    I love humor and I find more and more these days that I want to laugh. I think a great sense of humor is as important as being able to cook!

    I was just having a similar conversation with a friend the other day about the value of antiques and how no one is appreciating them for their intrinsic value. I agree with the comment made here that most people today want it from IKEA, not their Grandmother’s house. It is such a loss of history and family culture. I am still in possession of my grandparent’s bedroom set. It is African mahogany and in mint condition. It makes me happy to just see it in my home!

    I hope you are finding lots of useful information about vestibular syndrome and that it helps to pinpoint what can be done for you!

    Un forte abbraccio sempre,
    La Zingara Diana

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 23, 2023 at 7:25 AM

      I continue to do the exercises but am still experiencing BAD MINUTES of BLURRED VISION and headaches!Just happened here on the computer!I can only be here for short times.
      The OLD STUFF will come BACK INTO FAVOR……………….it seems to be a LOOP.HISTORY REPEATS itself as we have seen here on the NEWS!
      I would LOVE IT if the world could just HELP each OTHER………
      I wonder WHY that is SO HARD!
      HOW lUCKY YOU HAVE THE NONNI’s bedroom set!
      XXX

  • Dee Black
    · Reply

    October 19, 2023 at 3:32 PM

    I agree, the Italian cabinet was beautiful. Your coat was perfect for the event in October.
    Vertigo is complicated and article was very informative in defining the variations.
    With everyone and their sister carrying water “jugs” with them everywhere; your tips for making it to the restroom is well needed.
    “Only if they have two” love that!
    Collagen protein powder for hair. Just started that in mornings. So many choices out there. Good to hear what you chose.
    Remember to choose organic apples. Apples are systemic!
    That Italian is never sick because he is a happy man. Happiness abides in the casa.
    Loved the post and always enjoy the pictures; along with health tips for woman, as we age together.

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 23, 2023 at 7:31 AM

      SO LOVELY TO HEAR FROM YOU!
      I think you have been on a trip so we do need to catch up!
      THE ITALIAN is a HAPPY MAN BY NATURE……………and HE MOVES A LOT!
      OKAY ORGANIC it is!
      WE JUST NEED TO SHARE WHAT WOrKS!I HAVE HAD A FEW MESSAGES AND EMAILS THAT MY TIPS ARE WORKING SO THAT MAKES ME VERY HAPPY INDEED!
      CAT in my lap and I need to GO PEE NOW!
      OFF I TROT!
      XOXO

  • Carla
    · Reply

    October 19, 2023 at 1:18 PM

    Hi Elizabeth,
    Thank you for your always fun and informative posts! And I love the photos you take.
    The Queen Elizabeth II’s tiara you like is the King George IV’s Regal Circlet. Ciao!

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 23, 2023 at 7:32 AM

      THANK YOU SO MUCH!
      REGAL CIRCLET………..I can remember that!
      CIAO BELLA AND MILLIE GRAZIE!
      XXX

  • Penelope
    · Reply

    October 19, 2023 at 7:54 AM

    I’m so glad you are feeling better and those anti dribble tips are new to me and will be put to good use! The SF Fall Fair Antiques Fair is a lovely outing for sure but those prices! Did I ever tell you that a painted Italian 18 th century sideboard was sold from my parent’s estate to a Santa Barbara dealer for $5000. Six months later I was shocked to see it front and center at the SF show for $250,000! Buyers, beware!

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 19, 2023 at 8:39 AM

      THAT MEANS THE DEALER DIDNOT WANT TO SELL IT MOST LIKELY!
      HE wanted to hang on to it for awhile as a DISPLAY piece I would imagine or he needed to put his kid through college!
      I bet you spoke to him and told him you grew up with it?Another STORY FOR YOUR BOOK!
      Please start writing these down!
      XXX

  • lisa thomson-author
    · Reply

    October 18, 2023 at 5:44 PM

    What an incredible antique show! I recall your post from last year’s. The floral arrangements were incredible! Oh, thumb and middle finger stop the dribbles? Excellent tip. Betty looks like wonderful company, LA CONTESSA. I’m happy that you have some more info and help with the vestibular situation.
    It’s been grey and rainy here for days on end and so dark. Well, it is officially spooky season so what should I expect?

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 19, 2023 at 8:36 AM

      THAT GREY WEATHER does not help our moods………..
      Thank GOD we can read and YOU PAINT!
      I was THRILLED WITH THAT ARTICLE it just VALIDATED EVERYTHING I HAVE BEEN GOING THROUGH FOR YEARS!
      OFF TO VESTIBULAR THERAPIST TODAY……………and I SENT HER THE ARTICLE!
      SHE LOVED IT TOO!
      XXX

  • Gray
    · Reply

    October 18, 2023 at 5:38 PM

    Never heard of the finger tricks – I will try.
    But I have had labyrinthitis – that was no fun, so I can’t even imagine what you have been through. Sounds terrible.
    You’re looking great though, as is Betty….<3

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 19, 2023 at 8:32 AM

      THANK YOU!
      I TOOK A BLADDER CLASS YEARS AGO AND WE LEARNED THESE TRICKS!
      HAVE HAD two write me already saying the TONQUE TO THE ROOF OF THE MOUTH WORKS!DO BOTH AT THE SAME TIME AND YOU WILL MAKE IT!
      XXX

  • Fran
    · Reply

    October 18, 2023 at 2:46 PM

    “ONLY IF THEY HAVE TWO!” LOL!! OMG!! YOUR SWEET ITALIAN!! HE’S SO FRIGGIN’ FUNNY!! BUT AGAIN, SO ARE YOUUUUU!!!! I CANNOT STOP LAUGHING AT THE THOUGHT YOU HAD AFTER DENTIST ASKED YOU IF YOU HAVE ANY PAIN!! LOL!! YOUR DENTIST MUST BE A KID TO BE ASKING THAT QUESTION! OMG CONTESSA, I NEEDED THIS LAUGH TODAY!! GRAZIE MILLE!! I ALSO APPRECIATE THE VESTIBULAR ARTICLE AND YOU SHARING YOUR EXPERIENCES WITH US!! YOU ARE SUCH A WONDERFUL, STRONG WOMAN!! I AM SO GLAD YOU HAD A BEAUTIFUL DAY WITH YOUR FRIEND!! EVERYTHING LOOKS SPECTACULAR!!
    PS. LOVE THAT SNAKE SKIN BAG!! CAUGHT MY EYE IMMEDIATELY!!
    XX00

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 19, 2023 at 8:27 AM

      I DO THINK IT’s MY AGE!
      YOU ARE TOO YOUNG!I asked THE ITALIAN does the dentist ask if you have pain in your mouth?He said YES!
      Our dentist is just a wee bit younger than YOUR CONTESSA!
      The BAG went so well with her OUTFIT!
      XXX

  • Pipistrello
    · Reply

    October 18, 2023 at 2:10 PM

    Ciao bella,

    You are looking so well! I need to investigate your hair restorer tip as your locks look luscious. I’ve lost easily a quarter or my hair in the last few years and I look distinctly odd when I wear it out as the loss is mostly on one side. Luckily, like you, I had a lot to start with so I shouldn’t moan and since I wear it in a bun most days now it can be disguised. I reckon hair loss trumps wrinkles in the ageing department! Anyway, enuff about me, hahah.

    The floral arrangement in the cache pot is gorgeous! I love everything about it. Your Antiques Fair is a wonder, especially for the entry price. We have mini versions here but it’s only Australian dealers who come and they seem to be getting smaller. Mr P and I went to one only recently and we buzzed around it in 30 minutes. Very disappointing. And apart from the dealers we seemed to be the only visitors dressed properly – au casual was the memo we did not get!!

    So glad you had fun and were in your element. Surrounding oneself in beauty never goes out of style!

    Baci xx

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 19, 2023 at 8:19 AM

      THIS YEAR THE DRESS CODE WAS CASUAL TOO!WE BOTH NOTICED The CHANGE THIS YEAR!MUST HAVE BEEN A MEMO!!
      AH WELL………….WE WILL KEEP WEARING THE OLD FROCKS IN THE CLOSET!AT LEAST THEY GET DUSTED THAT WAY!
      A VISUAL FEAST FOR SURE!
      I DO HOPE WE CAN MEET ONE DAY!
      XXX

  • Brenda N
    · Reply

    October 18, 2023 at 12:04 PM

    Hi Elizabeth! It’s always feels so great to get validation and find out you’re not alone in a complicated health challenge. I hope you will find relief. Information is power.
    I love you and Betty in your matching coats!
    Enjoyed the trip to San Francisco, those cache pot florals are fantastic, I like the addition of purple cabbage in the arrangements. A Renoir! My husband would say the exact same about the beautiful statue. Got to love the dry humor. Yes, we grew up with the apple a day saying, I’m trying to get back to that. Take care!
    Brenda 🙂

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 18, 2023 at 12:12 PM

      OFF TO CUT MY SLICES AND PERHAPS SHARE WITH THAT PIGGY!
      HUSBANDS!
      AT LEAST THEY HAVE A GOOD SENSE OF HUMOR!
      I ADORE CABBAGE!
      MAYBE WE NEED TO PUT SOME IN THE POTS IN THE GARDEN!
      XXX

  • Robin
    · Reply

    October 18, 2023 at 10:56 AM

    Wonderful post, Dear Contessa. So much intense helpful information.
    I truly hope you feel some relief soon.
    So much going on in the world to process. Each day is a gift. Your posts are a highlight for me.
    Much love from Umbria to you and GP.

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 18, 2023 at 12:09 PM

      THANK YOU………..I FEEL WE MUST SHARE!
      TOO MUCH GOING ON IN THE WORLD!I can’t take much MORE!
      I do have more energy but still so so tired all the time.
      BABY STEPS……..how was the VENDEMNIA?
      XXX

  • Martha Foss
    · Reply

    October 18, 2023 at 10:28 AM

    My friend has had a vertigo problem for the past few weeks-I just sent her your blog. Hopefully it will help. The fall show looks marvelous.! I’m deep in the midst of three weeks before the wedding paralysis!! I need to do more planning, but here I am reading blogs!! I hate to miss yours.!

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 18, 2023 at 12:07 PM

      SOMETIMES we NEED A BREAK…………..
      I just lied down at 11 am and fell asleep!BACK AT IT NOW CALLING for my RECLAST INFUSION which my MD should have scheduled.I do not want to lose another inch!
      THE WeDDING WILL BE STUNNING!
      I WILL BE THINKING OF YOU ON NOV.12 th a VERY SPECIAL DAY for ME!
      XXX

  • Bonnie
    · Reply

    October 18, 2023 at 9:38 AM

    How much did the gold chicken cost?

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 18, 2023 at 10:15 AM

      I CANT RECALL NOW!
      IT WAS EITHER 63,000 OR 65,000.00 DOLLARS!
      MAYBE SHANNON WILL REMEMBER…………
      WE DISCUSSED THE BULLET HOLES AND THE FRENCH MAN THAT WAS SELLING IT SAID THEY WERE POPULAR ON TOP OF STEEPLES ON CHURCHES!HE HAD DRIVEN OUT FROM CONNECTICUT FOR THE SHOW THEN WAS HEADED TO TEXAS FOR THAT BIG SHOW!YOU KNOW IT WILL SELL THERE……….XXX

  • LA CONTESSA
    · Reply

    Author
    October 18, 2023 at 8:57 AM

    VIA EMAIL:
    Oh wow… it makes me feel extremely fortunate that my extreme vertigo has been limited to a few days at a time! But a few of those days have been pretty, pretty scary. To have to endure that scary sense of disorientation and nausea for years is daunting. One of my big concerns is that the situation will get worse as I age even more.
    So! A trip to Germany sounds like a good idea!
    Thank you for sending this article!
    Fondly,
    Marci

  • rena.spain
    · Reply

    October 18, 2023 at 8:41 AM

    apart from this interesting article you put a smile on my face indeed. Best saying from your hubby but will not share with mine because the answer would be clear too. Love antique shows and museums and visit them wherever I am. The Italian cabinet is stunning and would be mine too. But they don’t have 2! laugh…..

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 18, 2023 at 10:10 AM

      YOU MADE ME LAUGH!
      NO THEY DID NOT…………….PITY AS WE WOULD CARE FOR THEM AND LOVE THEM!
      I HAVE YET TO MAKE YOUR PUMPKIN AND RICOTTA MEAL BUT I WILL
      XXX

  • 1010ParkPlace
    · Reply

    October 18, 2023 at 8:37 AM

    You look smashing in that caftan! Great find. Would love to have joined you and Shannon at the Antique Show. Round Top and Marburger Farm antique shows are going on this week and next in Texas, but it’s become the place for fashionistas to be seen and post to Instagram. There are few deals or negotiations to be had because dealers look at the upscale way people are dressed and know they can afford their things, and prices are crazy to begin with. I was planning to go but have changed my mind. I’m happy you felt well enough to go!!
    XOXOX,
    Brenda

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 18, 2023 at 10:03 AM

      COAT WOMAN NOT A CAFTAN COAT!
      THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND WORDS…………..YOU have had your OUTING for this month not that you can’t have more than ONE!
      When is the blog post coming out on YOU KNOW WHO?
      XOXO

  • Sue
    · Reply

    October 18, 2023 at 8:32 AM

    Your posts are always SO informative! Hubs had a bit of vertigo over the summer…very disconcerting! I hope that you find resolution soon.

    I believe that the ladies in pastels gowns are from an image for the designer, Charles James…I can’t remember who the photographer was. We saw an exhibit of his gowns at the Met a few years ago. Such a talented designer and I hadn’t know much about him till that exhibit.

    XO

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 18, 2023 at 9:55 AM

      YOU ARE CORRECT! CHARLES JAMES DRESSES!
      THE PHOTO IS BY CECIL BEATON!!!
      XXX

  • Leslie Lord
    · Reply

    October 18, 2023 at 7:49 AM

    That article was very interesting and informative. Oh I would love to attend that antique show! I do like antique and vintage stuff!!! But like you I enjoy hunting for bargains…that’s why I go to the local thrift shops…you never know what you’ll find.
    Your Italian has a great sense of humour :-))
    I have never heard of the finger manoeuvres….
    You are looking well Elizabeth, that coat is getting lots of wear! I think it was a brilliant find. You’ll have to go back to that shop and check their stock regularly and see if they have more gems like that one.

    Take care,
    Leslie

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 18, 2023 at 9:59 AM

      I was there TWO DAYS AGO and they did have another coat that was BEAUTIFUL!THANK GOODNESS it was too small for me!!!!!The last thing I need are COATS!!!!!
      YOU feel like a LADY at this show ALL GROWN UP!It is a breath of fresh air to see the BEAUTIFUL PIECES and ADMIRE THEM.The lunch is special too in the middle of all this FABULOUSNESS!
      I DO FEEL BETTER…………have a bit more energy!
      SLEEPING A LOT however!
      THANK YOU!
      XXX

  • Karen
    · Reply

    October 18, 2023 at 7:22 AM

    I really enjoyed your blog today as I have had silent migraines for years where I have zig zag flashing lines in my vision and i cant see the complete picture. It usually goes away in a 10 -20 min. No pain. Also I have Vertigo. In Aug I had the world spinning like a globe. Vestibular migraine. I was so scared and just went and laid down. I didn’t know the name of what was happening then. Thank you so much for the article, so now I can tell the Dr exactly how I felt.

    I love all your postings and have read them for years. I just don’t post much. Hope you continue to heal one day at a time.

    I love how relaxed Betty is napping. She makes me relaxed just looking at her picture. And of course we all love the Italian and you.

    Thank you again for all the time you put into your blog. It’s worth it to all of us.
    Peace be with you?

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 18, 2023 at 9:50 AM

      I know you didnot mean a ? at the end for some odd reason my computer does not recognize those emoji’s!
      I had VERTIGO twice and I really thought I was dying!Even hard to lie down.
      I need to study the VESTIBULAR MIGRAINE as I told them 8 years ago I was sure what I was experiencing was not a MIGRAINE as I could FUNCTION but I guess they come in all shapes and sizes and I two have had the lines in my eyes but not often and not recently!
      Thrilled to hear you have been with me for YEARS!
      I tend to lose READERS when I talk about my health issues but if I can HELP just one person I feel its worth it!LIfe is not all cakes and champagne and if we can SHARE with others it makes me feel GOOD!
      YOU TAKE CARE.
      XXX

  • Ms. Mary
    · Reply

    October 18, 2023 at 7:14 AM

    The trip to the SF Fall Show sounds like our great visit to the Nashville Antique Show a few years ago. 🙂 I’m so glad you were feeling well enough to go and enjoy a stress-free day! (Did anyone recognize you?)
    The article was very interesting. It’s good to gather information, especially when you can relate to the symptoms so closely. As my Dad would say: “FACTS ARE FRIENDLY”

    Happy Fall! <3

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 18, 2023 at 9:42 AM

      YES, that was a VERY SPECIAL TRIP THANKS TO PENELOPE who I saw there in San Francisco!Every year since I think I can go do it AGAIN but it comes so soon after all the HOLIDAYS and THE ITALIANS BIRTHDAY that I am worn out.
      THAT WAS A BALL…………..
      NO I was not recognized as LA CONTESSA but I was STOPPED for compliments and PHTOS to be taken does THAT COUNT?!!
      THAT COAT I FOUND was perfect for the month of OCTOBER!
      XXX

  • Hilda Smith
    · Reply

    October 18, 2023 at 7:04 AM

    That was a very interesting article. One of my friends suffers from vertigo so I will share the post with her. And I love The Italian’s reply. He has a good sense of humour. It made me laugh. xxx

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 18, 2023 at 9:37 AM

      GREAT HILDA………….always THRILLED TO SHARE INFO as its hard getting answers!HE IS A KEEPER AS MY MOTHER ALWAYS SAID!
      The alarm on my phone just went off as we are having an EARTHQUAKE!
      I felt NOTHING but thats all we need NOW!
      XXX

  • Nita
    · Reply

    October 18, 2023 at 6:38 AM

    This is a good mix of information. I had vertigo once where I had to pull over from driving until it went away. It took an hour to get grounded. I have inner ear issues. I have thought about having the Balloon Sinuplasty. Have you researched this? My ears are always plugged and I get headaches. I thought it would help.
    I like the humor in response of bringing home the statue. He is funny.
    I’m willing to try an apple a day with you.

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 18, 2023 at 9:27 AM

      OKAY APPLE BUDDY YOU ARE ON!
      NO I haven’t heard of the BALLOON SINUPLASTY!
      MY ears have ALWAYS itched and have moisture in them in the AM from sleeping.I have been told that is impossible to have wetness as there is a wall that does not allow liquid to flow into the canal………..so I figure I have a small hole or a few!
      MY MOTHER use to take me to ear doctors all the time!One time I fainted when he did a throat culture!
      XXX

  • Pat
    · Reply

    October 18, 2023 at 6:19 AM

    What a feast for the eyes. I love the photos from the antique show. That lavender wall in the photo of the dealer’s desk…wow! The glass display case of silver reminded me of a yard sale I walked by recently. It was a whole block and the biggest collection of items was the silver. There must have been 50 pieces…all just sitting in a pile on the ground. Worse, no one was buying or even looking at it!

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 18, 2023 at 9:23 AM

      GOOD GRIEF where was this YARD SALE?YOU JUST MADE MY BLOOD PRESSURE SPIKE!
      XXX

  • Daron Baylis-Duffield
    · Reply

    October 18, 2023 at 5:02 AM

    Darling Elizabeth
    Thank you for posting the article on Vertigo and although I don’t suffer found it very interesting from a patient’s point of view.
    Loved your thoughts on the Antique Show and thought that the Italian was incredibly diplomatic in his reply to you.
    I have never heard of the finger excercise with regard to pee pee but you can be sure I ‘m going to experiment with it in the near future even if I have to hold in my bladder for ages. It will work a treat especially when we go on road trips to the City because the little town we inhabit in the Lowveld is so remote from any of the big cities.
    All love
    Daron

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 18, 2023 at 9:22 AM

      SO HAPPY I can be of help to you DARON in understanding your patients ordeals!I have read the article many times now and each time I see something different!Like she has been dealing with this for over TEN YEARS just like me!I need to GOOGLE “SUPPLEMENTS that help migraines!”I see the VESTIBULAR THERAPIST tomorrow so will ASK HER TOO!
      XXX

      • Karen
        · Reply

        October 18, 2023 at 4:18 PM

        Please let me know what your Vestibular therapist has to say. I also have a suggestion for on your way to the bathroom, I say Blue berries Blue berries all the way there. That was a suggestion from a urinary specialist. And I would say it helps. I will try the tong on the roof of my mouth and thumb and middle finger ……..IF I can remember them all on my way. But I think thats the trick getting your mind to not think of hurrying to the BR. It’s tough to get older, but not granted to all. Ive lost two husbands.. Im 84 and have 4 Childern and 10 grandchildren and my first Great Grandchild coming in January, so I have a lot to be thankful for. Every day is a gift. ?

        • Karen
          · Reply

          October 18, 2023 at 4:23 PM

          Of course i meant !!!!!!!

  • liz
    · Reply

    October 18, 2023 at 5:00 AM

    Definitely going to try the finger tips. Some days the most exercise I get is my mad dash running to the bathroom trying to avoid an accident! Wish I could sleep as comfortable as Betty – she certainly has perfected the art of relaxing.

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 18, 2023 at 9:18 AM

      BETTY LEARNED FROM ME!
      AS when I received her as a puppy for Mother’s Day I was napping a whole BUNCH!She is a LOVE and loves her trips to the country with THE ITALIAN and comes home exhausted for DAYS!
      XXX

  • Sandra Sallin
    · Reply

    October 17, 2023 at 5:28 PM

    Your Italian is adorable. I agree you need two of those statues. Hadn’t heard of those finger tricks. Got to try them. Great addition to medical literature.
    I understand that antiques have gone way down in price and value. If it isn’t at ikea nobody wants them.

    Were things selling like hotcakes?
    This was fun.

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 18, 2023 at 9:16 AM

      NO very few SOLD STICKERS that I SAW but we missed the GRAND GALA where a LOT gets SOLD.They have taken away ANTIQUES from the name note SFFALLSHOW so they can add MID-CENTURY MODERN etc.
      AS you know I am only interested in the ancient antique stuff and LOVE to SWOON over the cases with the GOOD JEWELS!
      XXX

  • Shannon
    · Reply

    October 17, 2023 at 4:19 PM

    We had another wonderful day partaking of the SF Fall Show! Thank you for mentioning my little shop. Need to get busy and add more!
    It was unfortunate that Newell Turner didn’t allow Diane Dorrans Saeks, Scott Powell and Suzanne Tucker a chance to say more. I did enjoy his talk on Mexican art, architecture and interiors.
    Did know about the tongue on the roof of your mouth or fingers but will try them!

    • LA CONTESSA
      · Reply

      Author
      October 18, 2023 at 9:12 AM

      YES, he was a chatty one but full of good information.I remember him from VERANDA MAGAZINE DAYS.
      I think you meant to put NOT in your last sentence?
      It’s AMAZING what those tips will do!
      I took a class on the BLADDER years ago and posted here but thought I should mention again as people come and go!
      Let me know if it helps!
      THANK YOU!
      XXX

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