vertigo...

[BarbaraRose]

I am thinking that I have vertigo. Been having spells recently where the room is spinning/moving or when I turn my head I lose my balance and feel off-kilter. Got it in the car one day while turning left at an intersection and had to pull over after I turned, to get my bearings. Then woke up with the room spinning the other morning and it lasted for about half the day. (no, not a hangover but similar )

I think I have read that some of you gals on here have had that. What are your thoughts and experiences with it?

I am planning to get an appointment next week if possible to get it checked out (my new insurance starts on November 1st).

[avalen]

ohhhh, I remember having that before I moved out of my fifthwheel. It was awful and I missed a couple days of work, saw my doctor and
they didn't give me anything for it. He said sometimes it goes away just as quickly as it came on and sometimes it lingers for awhile. A friend
at work had it linger on for about a month. Hopefully and will send up prayers that your vertigo goes away quickly. Think of the times when
you get little "floaters" in your eye and you think you see dust specks floating past your field of vision....well this is similiar thing only in the
fluid in the inner ear, the little floaters in the inner ear bump into the sides and stuff of the inner ear giving you that vertigo. Thats how the
doc explained it to me.

[retiredhappy]

Yep, inner ear possibly an infection. Mine was debilitating completely for about a month. Literally threw up if I so much as turned my head in bed. Worse thing I've ever had. Get thee to a doctor and don't let them give you antibotics - won't cure it. After effects may be permanent altho you adjust so you don't notice it unless you close your eyes while standing and try not to topple over.

[Acadianmom]

My DH has had bouts of that. His doctor told him to take Bonine. That's the over the counter medicine for motion sickness. I don't remember if it helped him or not.

Martha

[JudyJB]

You need to get it checked out to make sure it isn't something more serious, but it is probably just what they call "benign positional vertigo." I have had it off and on for over 15 years. When it strikes, it makes me hold onto walls as I walk around. Luckily it has never bothered me driving.

I am careful how I bend over or turn my head because that sometimes sets it off.

There are some repositioning exercises your doctor can do or you can do with the help of a friend. Try this site or do an internet search. http://vestibular.org/understanding-vestibular-disorders/treatment/canalith-repositioning-procedure-bppv There are several Youtube videos on this, but it does take another person to pull you up and lay you down while you keep your head in specific positions.

[BarbaraRose]

I have had some issues while cutting hair which isn't a good time to have it. I have to keep moving around the chair which makes it worse. I feel like I am just gonna tip right over! Luckily, that has only happened once or twice. Haven't felt nauseous tho, which is good!

[JudyJB]

I have found moving slowly and turning my whole body instead of just my head helps. Vertigo is one reason I often use the handicap toilet--like having a grab bar handy after almost falling over a couple of times.

[MsJane]

BarbaraRose,

As you already know vertigo is not much fun. I ended up with vertigo shortly after a head & neck injury from an auto accident last November. Once the spinning would start I would turn my head to the direction the spinning was coming from. In my case the spinning started on the left side so I turned my head to the left. This doesn't stop the action completely but it can help. Avoiding sharp movements like tilt the head way back to look up at the top shelf or down to see something low to the ground can help too.

Hope it goes away for you soon.

[Dawn309]

Chuck had vertigo off and on for several years. It was always an inner ear problem. The doctor did prescribe a medication for the dizziness. I think it was called Meclizine or something like that. He was taken off it over a year before he passed because he was no longer suffering from the vertigo. Hope it goes away soon for you.

[Gentleladybear]

True Vertigo is more than fluid in the inner ear. That can be cleared with antihistamines. Vertigo is when you have crystal form on the hairs in the inner ear. They have a manuver that can be done to correct this problem. Some doctors will do the manuver, some send you to a therapist to have it done. But the procedure certainly will clear up the dizziness. There is no drugs, just this procedure of how they tilt your head and drop you back on a bed. They say the crystal usually form after you haved had a cold or a severe sinus infection. Once the procedure is done, the crystals dissolve.

Good luck, this is no fun.

[Bethers]

I gave Nan a motion sickness herbal formula that we use on the boat. Turns out it also supposedly helps with Vertigo. You might want to try it - all natural, which I like - called http://www.motioneaze.com/ Now, they don't claim anything about Vertigo on their website, just is something I've been told or read in other people's reviews. But I highly recommend it for anyone who might get any kind of motion sickness - or for your pets who do - it really does work for that.

They were purchasing it at a health food store, but I see Amazon has it now.

[BarbaraRose]

Thank you all for the advice! I haven't had any symptoms for several days now so maybe it is gone for awhile. But will keep your suggestions in mind and will talk to my doctor about it also. I like the all natural products too. Hopefully, mine won't get worse like I have read about what others have experienced. I just hadn't heard much about it before and was a little scared when I started getting "dizzy" and "off kilter" like that. I knew it felt different than being lightheaded which I used to get from low blood pressure.

[Redetotry]

I don't know whether it helps with dizziness from vertigo but we learned in yoga class how to stand up without getting dizzy after doing certain positions where we bend over. The important thing is to pull your shoulders back, put your hands on your hips, lift your head and then slowly raise on up.

[Gentleladybear]

I found the name of the procedures I spoke of. They are called Sermont and Epley procedures. Very simple to do, but oh how they work. The doctor or a physical therapist can do the procedures.

Good luck on getting better.