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Vertigo

I was diagnosed 1.5 years ago with "Meniere's disease", that is an inner ear malfunction that causes vertigo, along with the related loss of balance and nausea. (Gotta love how "they" toss around that "disease" word.)
My ENT, and even Mayo doesn't fully understand what's going on, but it's thought to have something to do with fluid movement in and out of the inner ear.
As such, the standard treatment is a sodium restricted (2000 mg) diet, and a diuretic, in my case, something called Triamterene/HCTZ, (AKA Dyazide). This seems to be working for me, as I've had no more episodes in the last 1.25 years. An added bonus of the med is that it's also prescribed for blood pressure control, so I'm good in that regard, too.

You might want to speak with your regular doctor about your condition, and maybe he'll refer you to an ENT for further evaluation.

The downside is that you'll think "they" are trying to starve you to death, as once you start reading the nutrition labels, it's astounding how much sodium we put into our foods.

Good luck with it.....Roger
 
Dizzy feeling is TERRIBLE, i had bouts of it maybe 10 years ago. I was lucky to see a doctor who did a fairly simple procedure that made me feel worlds better. The issue was believed to be small crystals that had dislodged in my inner ear and were floating around in there. The procedure was basically having me sit down on the exam table and he would quickly pull me backwards until laying down and rotate my head to one side or the other. He did one side and stared at my eyes and could tell i was dizzy before even asking. He did the other side and it seemed to make whatever was in there "resettle". It's a very simple technique and basically solved it for me.
I forget the name of the technique, but you REALLY should look it up!
Feel better!
 
Thanks for the replies. I've had an inner ear problem for a few years now, and have
medication to take when it occurs. These take about two hours to kick in. This as
said is usually to do with the crystals in an inner ear canal getting in the wrong place.
This can be cured by the Epily Manourvre as Zeemang mentioned.
The vertigo has only happened in the last month or so, and can best be described as
EVIL. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. I have been to see a physio, as my
doctor wasn't much help. I haven't had a recent attack, although I do still sometimes
feel mildly dizzy. The various eye and head movement exercises I have been doing
definitely help, it's all about training the brain. The Sodium issue is interesting. I shall
look it up.

Thanks again
 
I feel for you and what you are going through. Unfortunately... I too have vertigo/dizziness. Some days are worse than others... so, I take it day by day. I have been battling this cronic condition for over two years. I had episodes starting over 20 years ago but they would come and go and I would be fine for long periods of time. The last couple of years the episodes have become more severe and frequent. I have been to MANY doctors with no clear diagnosis. So far they are leaning towards Meniere's. I wish you the best of luck!
 
Yes... get some meclizine I take it everyday... it also called anti-vert.. no side effects... I have meniere's...


Thanks for the advice, you are lucky. It's not easy here to be prescribed a specific drug.
I take tablets which are supposed to alleviate sickness and dizzyness, but my doctor said too many can possibly lead to Parkinson's disease. I don't take them every day, only when I have an attack of (instant sea sickness) or a Vertigo attack.
To be diagnosed with Meniere's I would need to go to London and undergo a lot of tests by a specialist in the field. I know people who have been there and still get Vertigo. The strange thing is, it's only in the last five weeks or so that I've had it at all, now I've had four attacks.
It could even be caused by a viral infection, nobody seems to know for certain. A dozen people could have Vertigo, and each one have a different cause for the attacks. I suspect but can't confirm for sure, that mine are brought on visually, by seeing rapid movement. I have a number of eye and head exercises to do, which may be helping.
 
Thanks for the advice, you are lucky. It's not easy here to be prescribed a specific drug.
I take tablets which are supposed to alleviate sickness and dizzyness, but my doctor said too many can possibly lead to Parkinson's disease. I don't take them every day, only when I have an attack of (instant sea sickness) or a Vertigo attack.
To be diagnosed with Meniere's I would need to go to London and undergo a lot of tests by a specialist in the field. I know people who have been there and still get Vertigo. The strange thing is, it's only in the last five weeks or so that I've had it at all, now I've had four attacks.
It could even be caused by a viral infection, nobody seems to know for certain. A dozen people could have Vertigo, and each one have a different cause for the attacks. I suspect but can't confirm for sure, that mine are brought on visually, by seeing rapid movement. I have a number of eye and head exercises to do, which may be helping.



Let me tell you something Alan...

Everyday of my life I have to watch what I do... I cannot look directly at moving traffic, I cannot look up at too high of an angle, I cannot turn my head fast or sleep laying flat... I recently had to go to the doctors for a test and he wanted me to lay on the table.. as soon as I tried the room spun so I held my head up and shoulders while he did what he did...

I have lived with this my entire life even while beach hunting seeing the waves move while hunting knocks me off balance... my grandfather had it as well... when he had it they thought it was his teeth so back then in the 30's they pulled all his teeth, when that didn't work they tried popping his ear drums again that didn't work... they ruined his job... he was a telephone lineman who ended up with a desk job for 35 years not being able to drive.

My ears ring 24/7 I have hearing loss in the low range in my right ear, I feel a fullness in that right ear.. the bouts of vertigo are controlled with the two pills I take everyday...

That viral infection could have sparked your issue a little antivert is not going to hurt you...
 
Let me tell you something Alan...

Everyday of my life I have to watch what I do... I cannot look directly at moving traffic, I cannot look up at too high of an angle, I cannot turn my head fast or sleep laying flat... I recently had to go to the doctors for a test and he wanted me to lay on the table.. as soon as I tried the room spun so I held my head up and shoulders while he did what he did...

.

Thanks for that, I know exactly how you feel.
I guess it's like any illness you get, you feel as though nobody understands
what you are going through, you feel isolated. I know of course others
have far more serious illnesses, many life threatening, and they have to
learn to cope.
When I get a bad attack I feel like screaming out "Why me ?", it literally
has me in tears. I just want it to go away and leave me alone. Then I
think, for heavens sake, stop feeling sorry for yourself you idiot. It really is
a vicious circle.
The tablets I take are prochlorperazine which I would guess is similar to
what you take. I don't take them every day though, as they can have
some nasty side effects.
 
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Thanks for that, I know exactly how you feel.
I guess it's like any illness you get, you feel as though nobody understands
what you are going through, you feel isolated. I know of course others
have far more serious illnesses, many life threatening, and they have to
learn to cope.
When I get a bad attack I feel like screaming out "Why me ?", it literally
has me in tears. I just want it to go away and leave me alone. Then I
think, for heavens sake, stop feeling sorry for yourself you idiot. It really is
a vicious circle.
The tablets I take are prochlorperazine which I would guess is similar to
what you take. I don't take them every day though, as they can have
some nasty side effects.

I don't know why they are giving you that stuff... its not for vertigo...

This is what I take

https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-4520/meclizine-oral/details
 
I don't know why they are giving you that stuff... its not for vertigo...

This is what I take

https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-4520/meclizine-oral/details


Not specifically, but it's supposed to alleviate sickness and dizzyness.
Which is what your Antivert does. I imagine they are very similar (?)

There is another over the counter tablet I can take, which goes under the
trade name of Stugeron 15... (Cinnarizine).. Not all drugs used in the US
are licensed for use in the UK.
 
I feel for you and what you are going through. Unfortunately... I too have vertigo/dizziness. Some days are worse than others... so, I take it day by day. I have been battling this cronic condition for over two years. I had episodes starting over 20 years ago but they would come and go and I would be fine for long periods of time. The last couple of years the episodes have become more severe and frequent. I have been to MANY doctors with no clear diagnosis. So far they are leaning towards Meniere's. I wish you the best of luck!

It's very difficult to get an accurate analysis of the problem, as you have found out.
You could take 20 people and they will each have a different cause as to their problem.
The dizzyness I get can be brought on by bending or looking down, which
could maybe alleviated by doing the "Epily Maneuver" , the one where you lay down with head down and to one side.
This is to move the crystals in the inner ear canal, to where they don't do any harm.
The vertigo is "I think" a vision issue. (?) in my case. focusing too long on one distance. Close up when on the computer.
Or long distance when driving. One reason to exercise the eyes regularly when doing either.

As I mentioned previously, balance can be a big issue too. I now do head and eye exercises.
These can really help., and I would recommend anyone suffering from dizzyness or Vertigo to do them.
 
I had another attack on Saturday, my 5th in 2 months !

I was at a hockey game taking photographs. I took this one, on my way to the ground. Luckily my camera and lens survived. Two days on, I am still feeling fragile.

https://postimg.cc/8s9QG0CG]
January-25th-58.jpg
 
Wow, hope you're feeling better soon Alan, not meaning to sound funny, but maybe consider wearing some knee and elbow padding, and perhaps there might be some kind of rubber covering for your equipment to help cushion it if dropped, but hopefully you won't have another fall.
 
Sorry to hear you're suffering. I don't know if it was mentioned somewhere above or if it will help but I would try talking with more doctors. Maybe you can find a specialist or even better some old time doc that might know something that can help. Hope you get to feeling better soon.
 
Does anyone on here suffer with Vertigo, if so how do you cope with it ?
A year ago I had a terrible case of vertigo. I crawled to the bathroom and was throwing up it was so bad. I could not stand when it happened. I threw myself on the floor once because I thought I was standing on the wall. I remember holding on to the toilet as I was throwing up telling my wife I feel like a teenage again getting drunk for the first time. I can't move my head to fast from side to side or turn over to fast in bed or it starts to trigger it. I did stop throwing up after a few days but I didn't dare drive for 3 weeks until we got it under control. I do have a prescription for it but I very rarely take any pills for it now. The worse thing for me to do is close my eyes when I feel it starting if I keep them open and concentrate on something the feeling goes away.

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk
 
A year ago I had a terrible case of vertigo. I crawled to the bathroom and was throwing up it was so bad. I could not stand when it happened. I threw myself on the floor once because I thought I was standing on the wall. I remember holding on to the toilet as I was throwing up telling my wife I feel like a teenage again getting drunk for the first time. I can't move my head to fast from side to side or turn over to fast in bed or it starts to trigger it. I did stop throwing up after a few days but I didn't dare drive for 3 weeks until we got it under control. I do have a prescription for it but I very rarely take any pills for it now. The worse thing for me to do is close my eyes when I feel it starting if I keep them open and concentrate on something the feeling goes away.

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

The initial part of the attack is one thing, the after effects are truly something else.
I had planned on seeing my doctor today, but left it too late to get an appointment. I will try again tomorrow. I think what triggered my recent attack, was looking up at the floodlights. It was as usual, totally unexpected, as it's been five weeks since my last attack, and I thought I was getting over it. So many I talk to, have only ever had Vertigo the once, it's getting a bit too regular with me. Trouble is, I don't have too much confidence in my doctor to do anything. I have medication to take, but as nobody can pinpoint what the causes are, there is no permanent cure. I do exercises for balance control, but they don't seem to work for Vertigo. I will see my doctor though.
 
Sorry to hear you're suffering. I don't know if it was mentioned somewhere above or if it will help but I would try talking with more doctors. Maybe you can find a specialist or even better some old time doc that might know something that can help. Hope you get to feeling better soon.

As I mentioned elsewhere, even specialists can't always help. All they can do is confirm what you have. Menieres, Inner Ear problem, Vertigo, BPPV etc.

You never know, it could even be an effect of wearing headphones, metal detecting :mder:

Thanks anyway ... Alan
 
Hi Alan. I just saw my sixth specialist trying to diagnose my vertigo/dizziness episodes. This specialist seems to think it's not menears but I'm having "Vestibular Migraines" . These types of migraines can effect your balance and doesn't necessarily have pain involved. The symptoms are different from person to person. I have extreme sensitivity to loud high pitched noise. I have had a low grade headache for over two and a half years that will spike occasionally. However there is no correlation between the headache and my dizziness. I don't know if you have done any research on vestibular migraines but if you google it there is a lot of information out there. I started taking nortriptyline but I'm not sure how long I will be able to take it. My body doesn't accept a lot of meds. I tend to have severe side effects on a lot of them. I certainly feel for you and my prayers are with you.
 
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