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Ideas for self help with BPPV

Posted , 12 users are following.

Jac27
Jac27

Hello,

Have just come back from dioctor who has signed me off for a month because of my continuing vertigo which he says is BPPV. (have has symptoms since November). Being signed off for such a lenght of time has, I have to say, taken the wind out of my sails a bit.  When I aked if there was anything I could do to help with the symptoms he said to continue the exercises I was given following Epley treatment and continue taking the medication (Stemitol). Otherwise nothing but wait it out. I've had a CT scan and have been referred for physio and to an audilogist but I was just wondering if anyone out there has found ways that seemed to alliviate their symptoms or are happy to share their ways of coping. I find I'm able to do very litte at the moment without feeling dizzy and cannot walk at a normal pace or operate at a normal level for everyday activities. Sometimes I get dizzy even just sitting.

Thanks in advance smile

0 likes, 91 replies

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  • gillian76726
    gillian76726 Jac27

    Posted

    there arent a lot of things that alleviate symptoms apart from resting and keeping still.  hOwever you do need to do some vestibular exercises that you will be given eventually. pErsonally when its bad for me, like my head feels pressured imise a cold gel,pack around my neck,and lower skull, area which seems to,lessen things a bit.
    • kathie37110
      kathie37110 gillian76726

      Posted

      I get that same pressure and I do my up and down, left and right exercises.  People that say they are dizzy have no idea how intense vertigo can be.  I am seeing my chiro tomorrow and will let you know if she has any insight.  I have spent the last three years (and a ton of money) on every doctor, specialist and test anybody could think of.  Three months with my chiro and she has done more for me than all the rest put together.
    • gillian76726
      gillian76726 kathie37110

      Posted

      Yes Let us know how,iy goes at the chiro.  Like,you I have tried all,sorts and nothing has  worked. ,I havent  tried a chiro,or,osteo as its so expensive and i just cant qualify the money atm in something that may be another expensive dead end. 
    • kathie37110
      kathie37110 gillian76726

      Posted

      I went to the chiro out of desperation.  I fell quite a bit over the last 3 years and I figured it nothing else she could help get my bones back into place.  She is an old hippy kind of doctor - very much a believer in healing from within.
    • kathie37110
      kathie37110 gillian76726

      Posted

      She has a big sign in her office that says "If meds would make a well person sick why do you think they will make a sick person well?"  My meds just about killed me (Methotrexate and Lyrica) - once I weaned off of them I started my search to never get back on any meds if I could avoid them.
    • gillian76726
      gillian76726 kathie37110

      Posted

      Ys me too. My gasto wanted me to take methotrexate, i said  NO! I also refused to take Mercaptopurine. Horrible,side effcts, so why would i want to feel,worse!!  I Wont  take Lanzaprazole , basically a proton pump inhibitor! (A med that doctors prescribe for people with hiatus hernia that,imhave either. And I refuse the yearly flu shot! Never have  had flu and rarely a cold either.  The flu shot had disastrous effects on my mother.  
    • kathie37110
      kathie37110 gillian76726

      Posted

      I am sure meds work for some but when I was on Methotrexate and Lyrica I was so weak I was considering a wheelchair.  Everybody's system is different but it was a no go for me!
    • gillian76726
      gillian76726 kathie37110

      Posted

      Yes i,m the same. My stsytem seems to be ultra sensitive to a lot of drigs now, 
    • Jac27
      Jac27 gillian76726

      Posted

      Do you get a pain in the back oof head, like someone'sbeen banging it against a wall? I get those severabltimes a day imes which is why I think they did the scan. No one has explained what it is that causes that though.
    • kathie37110
      kathie37110 Jac27

      Posted

      I do, especiall at the base of my skull.  Like pressure has built up.
    • gillian76726
      gillian76726 kathie37110

      Posted

      Yes. Get that too and the only thing that helps this is a cold pack (the blue gel,ones) wtapped in a scarf around my neck and base of skull, then a pillow behind to,help keep,it there! Helps to,brng it down 
    • Kikili
      Kikili gillian76726

      Posted

      I found a recipe online for making your own cold pack.  Mix equal parts water and isopropryl rubbing alcohol in a ziplock freezer bag.  I put that bag in two other bags to make sure it never leaks. I use the wintergreen scented alcohol, so my ice packs smell minty.  I use the gallon size freezer ziploc bags, so my ice packs are really big. I usually do one cup of each, but if you like it slushier, use more alcohol.
    • kathie37110
      kathie37110

      Posted

      Update on the chiro visit yesterday.  She said that my neck was out of alignment - kind of like my head and neck were a teacup and a saucer and my head (the teacup) was not sitting properly on top of my neck (the saucer).  Once she adjusted that I started feeling better within the hour.  Because of my numerous vertigo related falls over the past three years, my hip and spine were terribly out of whack.  This is what she has been working on the past three months with really good results.  This chiro is not a bone-cracker, more of a bone and muscle manipulator.  It has been pretty amazing really.  I go back in a month.  Oh, also, once she made that adjustment to my neck that fullness and headache in the back of my head went away.
    • gillian76726
      gillian76726 kathie37110

      Posted

      Thanks for the update Kathie. may trmand find a good one ,myself when i can afford it.  
    • gillian76726
      gillian76726 Kikili

      Posted

      Imdont think you can get that here in UK.,I've had my blue gel,pack,for years and they're not that costly to buy on line
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