My vertigo, and how I manage it

Hello,

New here, and I wanted to recount my story somewhere, and also be able to list what has helped me cope. So that maybe someone else can benefit from my trial and errors. 

This all started a couple years ago for me. Randomly maybe once every couple months or so I would get this violent feeling of falling through the floor. Or being pulled to the floor. I would feel dizzy for a minute and then fine. 

It was a little concerning but I was on Paxil at the time, and figured it was maybe just a side effect to that medication or something. 

fast forward to March of last year. I got up off the couch from watching a movie. And felt like I had the drunken spins! Balance was off, and everything was moving. I sat back down and laid still for about 45 minutes and the feeling went away. I was completely fine. So ignored it.

Then a month later, my whole life changed. I was awoken from a dead sleep. Due to the feeling of spinning, rocking, swaying. It was nearly unbearable. I felt like my whole house had been cast out to sea in a storm. I would turn my head, and feel like my head would just keep rolling forever. 

I went into the bathroom, not sure what to do. And began to throw up. luckily not much was in my stomach as this was the early hours of the morning. I sat in my room, on a chair for a little while. Hoping it would pass. 

No matter what I did the world spun, I decided to go lay in the bath. After throwing up again, just from the feeling of walking from my room the bathroom. I finally laid down in the hot water. and just stared at a fixed spot on the wall. 

After what felt like forever, I finally felt I could get up and move to the living room without throwing up. And laid on the couch for a few hours, unable to close my eyes and sleep as that felt worse! Later that day, I ended up going to the ER. They did some blood tests and whatnot, said I have BPPV and should just go away.

Here I am a year later. To keep this from being a novel, I will say, to sum it up that it did not just go away. And has not gone away. I have not had another night like the one in April last year. But I have never felt the same. Some days are better than others. My usual symptoms are…A feeling of floating, or sinking. Walls will move and sway. I will feel like I am moving too fast. Or like the world is swaying and spinning. Almost every day, I feel this to some extent.  I saw many doctors. Had MRI done and chiropractic. I tried many medications. 

So the point of this post....What actually helped me? 

Meclizine.- To start. You can get it over the counter. It helped with nausea. But not a whole lot with the dizziness. I tried the prescription anti nausea pills. But they give me headaches if taken too much. 

Sea sickness bands.- Huge help. And  I love that it is not a pill! Uses pressure points in your write to control dizziness and nausea. 

Peppermint essential oil- This is the biggest thing that helps the actual dizziness its self. I rub it behind my ears, and down my neck. 

Zoloft- I have social anxiety. The idea of being hit with vertigo at work or in a store or wherever. And throwing up uncontrollable was unbearable. I almost could not function. And in turn this anxiety made me even more dizzy. My life has improved about 80% since going on an SSRI. Talk to your doctor about this, might be worth it!

Eating better- Low Salt, no carbonated drinks. No caffeine. And overall avoiding foods that make me feel unwell. 

exercise when able- The more active I am, the better I feel overall. I go for brisk walks personally. Getting the blood moving can help clear my head. 

I was officially diagnosed yesterday. With Endolymphatic High drops. I pray it does not turn into full Meniere’s. But it feels good to have an answer. I hope this article helps someone out there. These things are the only thing that got me by. 

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