The Inner Child Keeps on Growing

 So I had my check-up with an ENT specialist this morning. So what we know from that:

1. It's not actually labyrinthitis - symptoms aren't right
2. The very good news: I don't have to worry about the 'C' or 'T' words - it's not a tumour or cancer.I admit that I had been trying very hard not to think about that possibility!
3. My balance, blood pressure and hearing are all fine.
4. I can stop taking the pills - although they took the edge of the nausea they were masking the symptoms from my own body so it didn't know it needed to fix anything (something like that anyway, not sure I really understood that bit...)
5. I'm okay to drive - although the doctor recommended that I work up to the hour+ drive to work

What we don't know:
1. What it is. All we can say for sure is that it's a virus of some kind.
2. How much longer it will last. It is almost certain to be 'self-limiting': in other words it will go away on its own eventually. How about now? Now would be good...

One thing he did say is that problems like this could come from stress or anxiety. While, as anyone who knows me will be aware, I'm easily stressed, my life right now is much less stressful than it's been for, literally, years. So my question would be: if it is anxiety, why now and not the last three-plus years about worrying about redundancy, etc. I'm not writing off the possibility, but it would be odd.

Next steps
1. The doctor is going to arrange some further, more intensive balance tests - but that's going to take a few weeks to set up
2. Wait for it to go away

Anyway, overall it's good news - there really is nothing serious wrong - but frustrating that there isn't any real diagnosis either.

The curse of the work Christmas Party strikes again.

Last year P. was sick and couldn't go to mine and neither of us ended up going to hers.

The year before I was sick and didn't go to either.

My 'do' is tonight and P. had to go home sick part way through the day, so I'm going by myself. People are going to start thinking that she doesn't exist again...

I also had 28 Days Later moment this afternoon. I deliberately took a late lunch so that I could do a bit of shopping in town. I arrived back in the office to find my floor (200-odd people) completely deserted! 

Of course the actual explanation was quite prosaic: it turns out that there was a fire alarm and I just got in ahead of everyone else being let back into the building. But just for a moment...