Recovering from Labrynthitis

Hi Angie,

Not fun, is it?  I had it 20 years ago and it took a few months to subside.  I had a really bad case and spent the first few days hanging over the toilet and the next 6 weks at home.  It was awful.

This time, it started out suddenly, but is not as bad as the first time.  I have been hoing into work, but I find that by the end of a full day, I am completely done in and spinning like crazy.  I think I' going to do a couple of weeks of half days.  I did see physio and have some exercises to do.  Honestly, the best thing that got me through it before was doing lots of walking.  It helps the brain to retrain.  Walking in the evenings was the least uncomfortable.  I also try to get into a mall or grocery store every day - it doesn't feel great, but again, it helps to retrain the brain.

It does go away, Angie.  It's just a bit of a process.  How old are you and do you work?

Take care,

Linda x

I am 62 years old and retired.

I watch my grandchildren full time which us a little challenging sometimes.

Hope you feel better.

Hi Sonic,

Thanks for your encouraging words. Did you go to work during the recovery process?  I've been going, but am thinking of dropping down to half time for a few weeks. After a full day, I'm a total mess. I work at a medical clinic and everyone is understanding, but by 2 or 3, I am dizzy as anything and my whole night is a disaster. How did you cope?

best,

Linda

Linda,

This nightmare started for me 3 weeks into a new job and city. I was on 6 month probation so really had no choice but to go in. I had 7 days off in total spanning 2 months. I just had get on with it and suffer whilst praying that this will pass. 

My my timekeeping was atrocious as I could just not rush in the morning and had to physically throw myself on the train with my heads covering my eyes as the train moving made me real bad.

Its to strange as I was the opposite to you. I was at the worst in the morning and not as bad late afternoon. 

They say you should try and keep doing your things whilst you have this and try and keep active.

A big mistake I made was taking 3 Stemitil tablets a day for around 6-8 weeks without knowing that they hindered the recovery process. Try and avoid medication if possible 

 

Hi Sonic, I wonder why some people have success with the VRT and others don't. I've been doing them for 8 months, and I cannot move on to harder ones because they aren't getting easier. I would fall flat on my face! What did you do, and how ooften. I am going to a balance center for PT starting next week again. Thanks.

Hi Dee and Sonic

I've been doing VRT since September with only 3 exercises 3 times a day. Then in December I had a huge setback after getting a throat and cough virus that sent me right back to the beginning when all this started for me in September 2014.

Since the virus, I'm only doing one of the exercises and I tried to add another one on Sunday and by weds I was so dizzy I couldn't do anything.

Dee there's a site with 2 girls on it who have both had labyrinthitis and one of them says it took a year for her to notice any results.

Also, as I'm sure you know, if you're stressed or tired etc it's harder for your brain to "get it" and compensate.

Everyone is different and the damage to the vestibular system is different. Stick with the exercises. I actually noticed a difference 3 months after doing them so I know they must work. I'm just waiting to see progress again now but it's hard when I can't progress to harder ones.

Hope you get more answers at the balance centre.

Pinky x

Hi Pinky

Would you please tell me what the three excercises Are or where I Can Fine them on line?

Thank You

Hi Angie

I'm actually under a private physio in Manchester and she's tailored the exercises to suit what I need. The first one is holding my thumb out in front of me and whilst focusing on my thumb, I move my head from left to right. Before my setback I got up to 55 seconds then after my setback I could only do 5 seconds. Now I've gradually got back up to 30 seconds. Phew!! I have to do this 3 times a day.

The second one was standing on a cushion and keep eyes open for 1 minute. Then when you were ok with that go onto eyes open and closed. After my setback I had to stop this one for the time being.

The third one was to walk heel to toe 10 steps forward and ten steps backward. I was doing ok with this one but again told to stop this at the moment. So I'm only doing the thumb one for now and trying to introduce another one which is holding 2 cards and moving my eyes and not my head from card to card. When I first tried I thought "how easy". Little did I know it's made me so dizzy. So I've stopped and I'll start it again but only do maybe 5 eye movements and not 20!! Does all that make sense?

I'm sure you can find them online but I've heard the tailored and customised exercises are better for you. Have you started any?

Pinky x

Hi Pinky, Dee, Sonic and Angie,

Regards from Canada.  I hope you are all having a good evening.  It's early afternoon here and I just got back from physio.  I have a slew of exercises I am supposed to do - 3 - 5 x a day.  I am working half days at the moment and it's hard to fit them in.  I have to do a lot of head movement stuff - side to side and up and down.  I also have to do them when I'm walking - that's tough.  I feel better than I did last week, though.  I make a real push to get to the grocery store every day to walk up and down the aisles.  It doesn't feel great, but I know I can sit quietly when I get home.  I know what you mean about a setback, Pinky.  I was doing all right and then I got a heavy duty head cold.  It was not a fun time.  Improving again slowly, though.  Apparently video games are very good for training  your brain - lots of eye movements required.

Anyway,

Best to you all,

Linda

HUGS

Wow !!!! Thank You Pinky

I am going to try these, i have not been given any to do so i need to try something.

Things are pretty calm for me now except when I get stressed. The only really annoying thing is the ringing in my ear and the woozy like i am in a boat.

Thank you so much for sharing,

Feel. Better :-)

Hi Linda

Great to hear you're feeling better than you did last week. You're doing fantastic pushing yourself to get round that grocery store.

Let me know how you get on with the exercises. Gosh, I daren't try the video games - my eye movement exercise really made me feel ill yesterday. Hopefully, build up to that though!!

Enjoy the rest of your afternoon.

Take care

Pinky x

Hi Pinky,

thanks for your kind words. Hope you are having a great sleep!

Look after yourself,

Linda

You're welcome Angie. Hope you get some relief doing them but don't overdo it. I've heard less is more. Also, like I said, the exercises have been tailored to suit me so I don't know what you'll feel like doing them. And yes when you're stressed and really tired the symptoms seem to come back.

Let me know how you get on.

Pinky x

Pinky, Linda, Debie, everyone who has offered suggestions,

I do pretty much the same exercises as you all have discussed. The holding out your thumb and looking at it while you move your head up/down and right/left. Standing with my feet together, (next to a wall), turning your head while walking, and just walking. They say the more active you are, the faster your brain will relearn, even though you feel like just keeping quiet and resting. At the moment I have a really bad cold, which has left my ears plugged, but it doesn't seem to make my balance worse. I am tired because I don't sleep well (due to the cough) but things are still the same. I was afraid of a setback, but so far, so good.

The other thing I do, and this might seem a little dangerous, but I hold onto the wall most of the time, is try and make an obstacle course for myself which forces me to balance on one leg quite a bit, varying the sufaces, sometimes hard, sometimes soft, and trying NOT to touch the walls when I walk. And with my walking stick, I walk in my yard (again varying surfaces) at night. It is fairly well-lit, so it's not totally dark of course. I am forcing myself to rely on the vestibular system instead of my eyes, I suppose.

I find if I overdo, my upper back starts having muscle spasms, but I try to do as much as I can, doing these exercises twice a day for about 10 minutes each time. Today I had to park further away than usual, and when I looked back, I realized I had walked without holding onto anything without much trouble, so maybe after all these months, my exercises are working.

Thank you, best of luck to us, and be careful, but be active.

Thanks for that Dee. I'm going to try the other exercises you've mentioned and I'm going to get myself out walking everyday, even in all this rain we're having!! It's interesting you say you get upper back spasms when you overdo it. When I overdo things I get a funny feeling at the back of my head and neck. It's like pressure or something. Hard to describe really.

And great that you've walked further from your car park too. I keep a VRT diary everyday and I look back to see how I've been progressing without even realising I have.

Take care and I hope you get over your cold very soon.

Pinky x

Thanks. Hope you are improving. Yeah, my cold turned into bronchitis and then pneumonia in one lung! I was on antibiotics for 2 weeks, and just had a follow-up x-ray, which showed the pneumonia is gone, but they think I cracked 2 ribs from coughing. 

Good news is I do not feel any MORE dizzy, but still dizzy. I hadn't walked because it took my breath away, but started again a couple of days ago, and the bouncy-bouncy is still there. No worse, no better. I am still doing the head-turning VRTs but still no improvement. Sick of this.

I really wish someone would at least diagnose me, and know what I could do to improve. Maybe it would just be the VRTs anyway, but I had to stop going to the PT for a while because it was just exhausting me. Probably will start back again next week. Continue to get better.