1. Community
  2. Ears, nose, throat and mouth
  3. Vertigo and Dizziness

Labyrinthitis: coping?

Posted , 7 users are following.

yobee
yobee

Hello and please Help. 

I am seeking some help/advise from people who went through, or coping with, labyrinthitis. 

My wife is currently in college. A week prior to her labyrinthitis symptoms appearing, she did not sleep much, she studied late, spend an enormous amount of time on her computer reading many many articles for her classes. 

By pulling an all nighter from Saturday to Sunday last week, to finish her paper, she then slept for only 4 hours. Woke up and went back to studying. At around 11pm, while doing her homework, she started feeling extremely dizzy. We thought she was just tired. shw also had two exams on Monday (the next day), so She was extremely stressed too.

Monday came, things got worse. Disorientation. Dizziness. Fatigue. Nausea. Vomiting. First two health practictitioners told us she had vertigo, if things didn’t get better they told us to see a specialist.

 Her balance was off, She could not focus on reading, processing the information was and still is extremely difficult, writing is a challenge too. She needed help to walk around because She was afraid she’d fall. Disorientation and dizziness did not really go away. 

On Wednesday she saw a specialist and the verdict was: labyrinthitis. 

While having this diagnosis, She still had to take two exams even though her health was in a very poor condition. 

Her doctor gave her an excuse from school for 10 days so she can recover. 

She has spend the past three days in bed because of the dizziness and cuz her meds make her drowsy. 

My question is, how can she coupe with it? Can someone recommend anything to help her study? She is asking me to drive her to college (because she obviously cannot drive) since she is terrified of falling behind. She still feels disoriented, even thought she can more or less walk on her own; reading on a computer and writing anything analytical is very difficult for her. We don’t know what to do and if someone went through something similar, please help. 

0 likes, 18 replies

18 Replies

Next
  • yobee
    yobee

    Posted

    Also, one of the things that was going with her symptoms is nystagmus: involuntary rapid eye movement. It looks like it subdued after a week, but it still did not go completely away and we believe that it is one of the things that makes it difficult for her to read, comprehend a material, and write. 
    • janelle57186
      janelle57186 yobee

      Posted

      I also needed a prism on my glasses it sticks onto the surface of the eyeglasses. It helped me immensely with nystagmus! An optometrist will help with this.
    • yobee
      yobee janelle57186

      Posted

      Did you news before or after the hospitalization? 
    • yobee
      yobee

      Posted

      Need* it
  • Lapka
    Lapka yobee

    Posted

    I have experienced similar symptoms, but it was bppv. The Epley maneuver therapy helped me immediately. I would advice to find therapist experienced with this treatment. Good luck!
    • yobee
      yobee Lapka

      Posted

      Thank you for your reply. She was treated with Epley maneuver, however because it was labyrinthitis (inflammation of the inner ear), it did not help.  
  • janelle57186
    janelle57186 yobee

    Posted

    The only thing that helped me was meclizine and drinking a lot of water. Unfortunately I needed to be hospitalized for 3 weeks in a rehab hospital and then intensive outpatient physical  therapy to get through it. 
    • yobee
      yobee janelle57186

      Posted

      Thank you for your reply.

      She was prescribed meclizine, but she did not get much relief from it. Then she was prescribed  Promethazine, it gave her relief from her nausea and vomiting. After nausea subdued, a specialist put her on steroids and diazepam. She’s done with steroids and diazepam makes her too drowsy to function properly, so she decided to go back to promethazine but can’t seem to get reed of the dizziness. Her vision seems to be gotten worse and she feels like she is in a constant state light disorientation and her “brain” (as she deacribed) feels “foggy”. 

      What did you have, if you don’t mind us asking, that you had to be hospitalized?

  • Terry6872737
    Terry6872737 yobee

    Posted

    Labrynthitis usually takes several, 6 to 8, weeks to subside.  Even after that period it can still pose a struggle.  If it is in fact Labs, she should begin to see symptoms diminish through that course of time. The promethezine and meclazine can delay compensation needed for the recovery. (I know it can be hard to function without them, though)

    Did she have anything going on before hand, other than the stress, like a respiratory issue of cold?

    • yobee
      yobee Terry6872737

      Posted

      Not that we noticed anything. She said she felt some sort of cold that was  coming over her, then she got some boost of vitamins c and thought it passed because she did not get sick. Then this Labyrinthitis happened. 

      Wow, 6-8 weeks... is there anything you can recommend or someone to talk to? She’s in college and it’s difficult for her to study and she is struggling with completeling her homework. I’ve noticed that, Critical reading and critical writing are especially challenging for her. Moreover, she still needs to compete some of her exams and as far as I can tell, she’s exootional and cries a lot because of her frustration with this Labyrinthitis problem. I don’t know how to help her. 

    • yobee
      yobee

      Posted

      She is emotional*
    • Terry6872737
      Terry6872737 yobee

      Posted

      The best doctor for the condition is a Neurotologist but, there is little that can be done for Labs. It has to run it’s course and they only treat symptomatically, i.e. nausea, vomiting, vertigo, etc.  has she seen any improvement over the time that she is dealing with it?  As far as school goes, if you are in the US, she may want to speak with the school Provost about her health issue. The condition really makes it hard to focus and think clearly. 
    • biliarydyskines
      biliarydyskines yobee

      Posted

      Just to rule out she doesnt have any indigestion issues like Gallstones, low functioning gallbladder ,gastritis ,IBS,etc  .. does she has any of these problems ?
  • angela11539
    angela11539 yobee

    Posted

    ?Hi there, Your wife's symptoms are very similar to mine 2 years ago but I was diagnosed with Vestibular Neuritis . I was very dizzy, nauseous ,Nystagmus, couldn't focus and had brain fog so had to stop work and obviously driving. I do believe it was stress which set all this off but sadly I never received any medication even after tests. So in the end I made myself go out for a short walk everyday as I believe your brain has to re adjust to the changes. 2 years on and I am 90% " cured" smile I now am back at work, driving again , however I could never drive long distance again as I can no longer concentrate like before. I still have some dizzy moments and still have a little nystagmus but I feel way better than I did! More testing maybe needed but look into what I had it sounds similar. I wish you well. 

    • yobee
      yobee angela11539

      Posted

      I will make sure she takes breaks and will encourage her to take walks. Thank you. Best of wishes for you too. 
Back to top
Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.