Vertigo

[adawn]

I uploaded the old-school handout my PCP gave me back in 2017.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zAD...ew?usp=sharing

Ignore the note she wrote about taking B12 at the bottom; she's just always reminding me to take my B12. And the "med" she is referring to to take before doing the exercises if needed due to nausea is meclizine.

[donellda]

Thank you for all of the information everyone! A couple of people mentioned sinuses and I do experience severe sinus headaches during changes of weather especially when the weather gets hot and humid which is exactly what we are having in southwest Ontario right now. There has been little relief. I noticed last night that the vertigo was less severe when I did my epley so maybe I will get some relief soon.

adawn, I found that same maneuver on Health.com and tried it a couple of times. Thank you for the handout

[Cleda]

I have to be super careful.

Up down movements too quickly (standing and then floor to core) and a lot of yoga positioning (Darn!) will cause it for me. Turning my head to quickly, car rides, (I suffer from motion sickness which will bring it on).

Last bout came on so quickly at work I had to be sent home. Spent the day in bed. I use (and carry) motion sickness pills with me. I've had bouts that last months (horrible!). Like an above poster, I slept sitting up. Still have to position my head pretty high when I sleep. (Several pillows, almost sitting upright).

Epley Maneuver made me so sick, I will never try it again. I am, however, able to do the half somersault and that seems to help.

I HATE vertigo. I felt like an old person the first time I got it! I try to be super, super careful not to bring on an attack. It always seems to be just on the cusp with me.

Good luck!
Cleda

[Joni O]

How ironic. I have it right now. Finally realized it this morning. I should have seen it coming. Head/nose sporadically feeling plugged, a headache now and then. I only get headaches when a sinus issue is imminent and I usually get vertigo when I have a sinus issue. A little off balance now and then. Should have started my zinc days ago.

[kat999]

This thread has been really enlightening about triggers and comorbidities. Like many of you, I have horrible sinus problems and take Claritin and Flonase. And I'm also prone to motion sickness (I can't watch certain "shaky cam" movies, I can't read in the car, I can't really do amusement park rides too much anymore, etc.).

For the person upthread who said that their latest Epley felt less bad, I would definitely say that means it's working and is about to resolve itself, based on my experience.

The person who mentioned having Meniere's and noticing relief from watching their sodium, that is apparently also a big trigger, regardless of the source of the vertigo, and I have seen relief in several things (blood pressure and vertigo) from dramatically reducing my sodium. I almost always cook using either low-sodium salt or Mrs. Dash now. And while I really only cook about three meals a week from scratch, just that one swap alone has been extremely noticeably helpful.

[killoffsonny]

I have been suffering from vertigo off and on for two years. I've been to three ENTs and an Allergist. The Epley works.....sort of. Two of the ENTs said sinus has nothing to do with it and one said it "could". But I am pretty sure the two are connected for me. The bad thing is my balance is always off even when the spinning goes away. I should see the ENT again push for vestibular therapy...its more involved than just the Epley. But I'm tired of going to doctors. They don't know what to do and just push me off to somebody else. I have not really had any bad spinning for a couple of months so I just push through with yoga and pilates. I just have to be careful when my head changes position. I feel like I'm swaying back and forth or leaning from one side to the other.

The first bad vertigo attack I had was two years ago and it woke me up from a deep sleep. I had no warning or indication it was coming. Just BAM!! At 1:00am.

[Rivercat]

Originally Posted by killoffsonny

I have been suffering from vertigo off and on for two years. I've been to three ENTs and an Allergist. The Epley works.....sort of. Two of the ENTs said sinus has nothing to do with it and one said it "could". But I am pretty sure the two are connected for me. The bad thing is my balance is always off even when the spinning goes away. I should see the ENT again push for vestibular therapy...its more involved than just the Epley. But I'm tired of going to doctors. They don't know what to do and just push me off to somebody else. I have not really had any bad spinning for a couple of months so I just push through with yoga and pilates. I just have to be careful when my head changes position. I feel like I'm swaying back and forth or leaning from one side to the other.

The first bad vertigo attack I had was two years ago and it woke me up from a deep sleep. I had no warning or indication it was coming. Just BAM!! At 1:00am.

Despite not being diagnosed with Meniere's til '96 I am certain that I've had inner ear problems from a young age. I was never able to master riding a bike or roller skating, and tended to fall off horses easily. Since I never actually had "dizzy spells" as they were called in the 70's, everyone put it down to lack of coordination and klutziness. In early '96 I got an ear infection after getting home hair dye in my ear--I woke up in the middle of the night with horrible vertigo and vomiting that I assumed was caused by food poisoning. After the infection cleared up I still had tinnitus and that "full feeling" that my GP said was probably congestion. A few weeks later I had another vertigo attack that sent me to the ER and that's when they diagnosed Meniere's. The GP sent me to an ENT who did a lot of tests and an MRI. I think I was lucky in that the ENT was very willing to listen and admitted there was still a lot they didn't know about vertigo. He was the one that suggested I keep a journal, and that really helped in identifying my triggers early on.

P.S. Sonny's still not dead and still annoying as heck

[killoffsonny]

Rivercat...........from talking to other people who have it they still don't know a lot about it in 2021.

I've always wondered what the difference is between meniere's and just bppv. What makes a doctor diagnose someone with meniere's I guess is my question.

[killoffsonny]

Rivercat...just saw your last sentence. Yes I'm still not liking Sonny much at all and now the borg and carly are getting married? ugh

[Rivercat]

Originally Posted by killoffsonny

Rivercat...........from talking to other people who have it they still don't know a lot about it in 2021.

I've always wondered what the difference is between meniere's and just bppv. What makes a doctor diagnose someone with meniere's I guess is my question.

BPPV is caused by movement of crystals within the ear canal that have become dislodged for some reason. It's usually not chronic and the only symptom is vertigo when your head is in certain positions or when you make certain movements. Meniere's is a chronic condition that is caused by too much fluid in the ear and there's also usually some degree of hearing loss, tinnitus and a "full" feeling. It can also progress over time and eventually occur in the other ear as well, though thank god that hasn't happened so far in my case.

Neither situation is fun, and people who have never had vertigo generally don't understand how debilitating, frustrating and scary it can be.