Does anyone get vertigo?

Question

I've been suffering with vertigo for about a year now. The attacks last about 30 minutes and I get them in bursts - ie I might not get them for a couple of weeks then have them daily.
I've seen a consultant and had a brain scan etc which was normal. There is partial hearing loss in one ear, but this is not believed to be related and the diagnosis was a "virus". This was made about 10 months ago and it has got no better.
I've had my eyes checked by the optician and there is nothing untoward with them.
I've been back to my GP (who has now advised me to stop driving), and asked whether it's my ears that are causing it or migraines. She said it could be either and gave me some drugs to prevent migraines.
I'm just getting nowhere with it and it's driving me insane. The doctor seems very casual about it on the basis that there is nothing wrong with my brain, but it's a horrible condition and I don't understand why it started all of a sudden.
Help!

Answer 1

Hi Rachel, I fully understand where you are coming from. I returned from holiday in december with vertigo and I,m still suffering. My GP gave me nothing at first but after a week of feeling like I was onboard a ship in rough weather she prescribed some medication called prochorperazine these did nothing at all and I,m now taking a drug called betahistine I,ve got a little relief so fingers crossed these are going to help. Is there another doctor at your surgery you could see for a second opinion? I don,t understand why it all started with me either I,m putting it down to the cabin pressure whilst flying but who am I to say thats the reason. I hope I,ve helped a little bit, remember there are others who suffer this and hopefully you,ll get some more answers which will help you. Good luck and take care Alison x

Answer 2

I have had vertigo permanently since 1981.
I was a submariner and also have tinnitus 24/7, no breaks at all.
The vertigo only makes me light headed if sitting/standing still but is there all the time and if I change plain eg lying down to sitting my brain feels like it is spinning inside of my head causing massive nausea. I have had to learn to live with it and you can be lucky it is not with you 24 hrs a day.
I also went through the checks you mention and they also said it was not related to the hearing problem (I was surprised at this as I have always worked in a noisy environment that causes these problems) The specialist that I saw told me that behind the ear drum there is a little pot with pieces of chalky grit in it. with me, on the left side the bits have come out of the pot and roll around in the inner ear. This explanation is pretty basic but was told to me years ago and it is now in my own words. He tried the Eply manoeuvre that he said works 60% of the time but did not with me.Please see this site http://www.questdiagnostics.com/kbase/topic/detail/other/hw205519/detail.htm
This involves lying down and twisting your head while you move to an upward position. This way he is trying to put the pieces back where they belong and should stop the vertigo.
To those that were headphones,this is what you are asking for.
By the way I was given the Brandt-Daroff exersises to do but I got violently ill each time I did it. I have learned to compensate over the years as I am a lot better than before even though it is always there.

Answer 3

I caught a virus when I was in my early thirties which triggered chronic vertigo. I had a truly horrendous time with acute labyrinthitus for a year, followed by bouts of vertigo on a fairly regular basis, which would last from a few minutes to days at a time. My diagnosis was also a "virus" and my attacks are nearly always preceded by a very specific type of headache (although not a migraine) so it sounds as though we have had very similar experiences. In fact, the headache appears to be a signal that a vertigo attack is about to occur, as opposed to the cause - I wonder if it is the same for you? In any case, I really feel for you, because vertigo is a miserable thing for someone to have. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Very few people understand how frustrating, uncomfortable and sometimes frightening it can be.

I tried a number of medications and most didn't work or did work but just because they made me so spaced out I didn't care! I did find that ginger helped a lot to control the nausea without the need for powerful drugs. My ENT consultant also told me that I should avoid using the prescription anti-nausea and anti-dizziness drugs unless I absolutely had to because they suppress the brain's ability to try and readjust itself (known as compensation) and in most cases of viral related vertigo, the brain can be taught to recompensate itself out of vertigo attacks. Another thing that you might find useful is that I noticed that my vertigo attacks always got worse around my period. It transpired that, because I suffer from fluid retention prior to my period, the change in pressure around the ears was aggrevating my tendancy to vertigo attacks. If you notice a similar pattern, then you might want to look at ways of avoiding bloating etc, by e.g. cutting back on caffeine on the run-up to your period.

What finally saved me was a very useful set of exercises which help the body accelerate the compensation process. They have a very high success rate and my vertigo has pretty much cleared up as a result. My last attack was in October and only lasted half a day; the attack previous to that was the previous July (ie July 05), so I have had a dramatic improvement in my symptoms. The one recommended to me by my ENT consultant was the Brandt-Daroff exercise for vertigo. I would strongly recommend it although beware that it is actually quite hard to force yourself to do it at the start. The secret is to build the number of repetitions up slowly and listen to your body and to continue to do them even when you feel fine. Just make them part of a regular exercise routine. I built up to 20 reps each side, and I have had an excellent recovery . A good website for a description of how to do the Brandt-Daroff exercises is below (click on the camera icon in the description to get a diagram of how to do the exercise).

Good luck - I hope you get better soon

Answer 4

Yeah- the wife. I know exactly what you mean.
Many women suffer it too- all her cousins do. I would suggest a full series of blood tests to ascertain whether it is viral or something more serious.

Otherwise- my wife has been diagnosed as slightly anaemic- you may be anaemic- most women are. You can get iron supplement pills to help that.
If it is muscular- try taking something like Nuralgen or Voltarin or anything with a muscle relaxant (pill form) which won't make you drowsy.
The relaxant will relieve the migraine symptoms, and perhaps you'll feel a bit better.

Answer 5

I just wanted to emphatise. I get vertigo too, but I know its caused by my ears. i had loads of problems in the past, but my vertigo is like being sea sick on solid ground, so I have fallen over in the street a number of times. I get it really bad during or after a cold. Its caused by excess mucus in the inner ear. I try to take decongestants when its really bad, I have to wait another few months to see the specialist, it got really bad again after i got a MP3 player, so I had to stop using that too. ,

Answer 6

Not fun! And unless you've had it, you couldn't possibly understand how weird and scary it is! I have had it a few times, but thankfully it's only about once a year or so.

I find I get it when I'm stressed and it comes from my neck/ shoulders rather than my ears. I think a nerve gets pinched and triggers this reaction. I can't get out of bed or even sit up at all and have to take ibuprofen or anti-inflammatories all day and can usually get out of bed by evening but am left feeling very weak and shaky for a few days.

The first time it happened, my husband was away and I had two little ones to take care of! I managed to fall out of bed and crawl down the stairs to lie on the couch without throwing up so I could be with them, and thankfully this time it passed off quicker than other times, but it was awful!

I had never had anything like it before, but my Mum has it several times a year and hers is more from neck/ shoulder symptoms too. She has tablets to take, but they leave her feeling worse than anything.

Since I started getting these attacks, I find my balance is not good anymore. Even going on a swing at the playpark sends my head funny and makes me sick! It certainly makes me act my age a bit more!

Hope you find a solution to yours. If you suffer from migraines, it could be a tension-related cause. All the best.

Answer 7

the causes of vertigo are hard to define. ear problems or taking certain drugs are sometimes causes. obviously your condition is discomforting to you and is affecting your quality of life. i cant believe your doctor is being so casual about it!! i would strongly recommend you ask to be referred to see a 'neurologist' at your local hospital. not only can a consultant give you a proper fully informed diagnosis, but there are treatments that can help with the dizziness etc. please look at the website below. you will find all the info yo need, and they will help you find a 'neurologist' close to you. don't leave this condition. best wishes!!

Answer 8

Have a course of Relexology or Acupuncture.
Hope it helps. It should do...