Poor balance after gentamicin injection
Posted , 7 users are following.
I had an injection in mid April of this year. I am having a very difficult time balancing while walking. It's really bad. My head feels very heavy with bouncing eye movement. I also had a difficult time with balance after the sac decompression last year. I have recently started vestibular therapy again with no real improvement yet. I'm beginning to increase the exercises at home when I can. Not sure how long it takes to see some type of improvement.Is this normal? How long before seeing some stability?
1 like, 12 replies
tanney Guest
Posted
So glad to read that you are going through vestibular therapy. I hope it is three times/week. The exercises need to be done every day between sessions. You will start noticing balance improvements after 3d week as long as you do the "homework" exercises. Balance difficulty after gentamicin injections is very common. Your balance nerve has been deadened in your bad ear. The balance nerve in your good ear will eventually compensate for the loss and your balance will return. The vestibular therapy you are going through will help that process along and will shorten the time until the good ear "kicks in". I'm glad to hear that you had the injection. The vast majority of patients who undergo the injections will have eliminated their MD vertigo completely. Be patient and hang in there....you will recover soon and will be so grateful for having the procedure. Good luck!
Guest tanney
Posted
Thank you so much for the encouragement. It helps to hear them during this time. Yes, I attend vestibular therapy 3 times per. I am now firmly structuring daily at-home exercises.
Guest tanney
Posted
I am continuing with the vestibular therapy both at a facility and at home. I'm seeing some improvement, however inconsistent still. One day I doing well with exercises and the next my balance is really off. One of the the contributing factors is barometric pressure. I live in the north east US where the weather has been storms with rain very often. Do you experience this? The only thing that seems to help is a small dose of diazapam. Migraine medicines nor otc pain relievers don't help. I do not get headaches but just pressure in the head.
tanney Guest
Posted
thanks for the update, Rubye. Everything you are going through is normal post-gentamicin injections. So glad to hear that you are experiencing some improvements. It's a slow process but you appear to be doing everything right. Barametric pressure changes do worsen balance function in many folks with MD. The diazapam should help with balance and ear fullness. If not, you may want to ask your ENT to switch you to 0.5mg Ativan which works better for many folks with vestibular problems.
Regarding meds for MD....are you on Betahistine? If not, please request that your ENT prescribe it for you. Betahistine will minimize vertigo, dizziness, ear fullness and some tinnitus in most patients once the maintenance dosage is reached....usually 16mg 3x/day....but some folks....me included, need more. Since you are in the USA you will need to take the prescription to a compounding pharmacy and you will have to pay out of pocket because it is not covered by insurance here. If you need more info on this I can private message you if you like. Good luck, Rubye!
Guest tanney
Posted
Thank you so much for your advice. I will look into Ativan .5 mg. I was prescribed betahistine shortly after my sac decompression. It caused by balance to worsen. I was on 8 mg three times per day. I obtained it from Canada pretty easily. Maybe the compound formula is different from theirs. Or it may work differently after balance becomes more stabilized at some point. Well, I have not adjusted well to most medications that cause dizziness. Hoping for greater stability in that department in the future.
chipp Guest
Posted
I had the same symptoms
Guest chipp
Posted
Thank you. Did your symptoms improve ? If so, how long did it take with or without vestibular therapy? Quite a challenge for me right now but continuing the exercises.
kenneth25448 Guest
Posted
hi just reading your status i started suffering october 2016 and have went trew the mill with mineries took over my life i got 2 gentimicine injections this time ladt year and was really bad after them i no exactally what your dealing with its horrible thought i was going to be left like that but it took me a long long time to get right with balance vestibular exercises and physio i couldnt walk from kitchen sink to hall door very bad i was its a year later now and for once im starting to feel normal not fully the bounce in my vision seems to be passing horrible feeling when walking i have good days and bad days but keep doing the exercises every day im gone deaf inn right ear frim injections but have some sort off a life back wer i can do things i still get a bit off vertigo every once in a while but can deal with it no wer as bad as i used to my ent told me the brain not getting any signals anymore from tight side thats why you feel so off and bounce inn vision so buy doing the exercises every day the good side takes over i hope this helps you god bless you and best off look took me a long long time to recover ill never be 100 percent again but learning how to desl with this a year over injections feel much better as i said you need plenty off time
Guest kenneth25448
Posted
Thank you for you for your enlightening experience. Happy that you are also bearing it. It has certainly been more difficult than I expected. I an going continue with the exercises and pray for greater relief in the future. I guess I keep expecting clear changes to occur but maybe they won't be so obvious. Thanks again.
mowmow Guest
Posted
Hi, I just had injection 10 days ago and i cannt hardly walk! I have,had the injections before but not with this medicine! I am so off balance and dizzy! I cannt do anything! How long will it last?
Guest mowmow
Posted
I don't really know. I could not stand up or balance myself at all for the first month. I was then sent to vestibular therapy for about 8 weeks at 3x per week. I am now walking without assistance but still unbalanced and unsteady. I find balancing with one ear very difficult. I am returning to therapy again after one month off. I hope that all will align such my dragging vision and better balance. I have not had any vertigo attacks since though. I am hoping that they last. I have only had one low dose injection to date. .
BEST TO YOU.....
anthony22722 Guest
Edited
I appreciate all of the input to shed light on balance loss after the gentamicin injection. I am 3 weeks past the injection and can walk a straight line and drive. I'm going for balance therapy sessions and doing home exercises. I found it very difficult to find any info on the balance aspect after the injection. Thanks to all the contributors on this topic for being a great help as I get through this. I believe the trade off to rid myself of Meniere's was worth balance issues I'm now facing. Good health to all.