recurrent vertigo attacks

It's tough to diagnose what the root of the vertigo is. It's a symptom not a disease. There's alot of testing that would need to be done to eliminate other causes. Unless they hit the cause on the first test, it can be a long process. Took them years to figure out what was causing mine. Same as you they did the usual tests to eliminate the easy stuff(stroke,tumors,narrow blood vessels in my brain etc). When a simple cat scan or MRI doesn't show anything they write it off as bppv. I was treated for 10 years as if this was the cause. My symptoms kept coming back and getting worse til in August 2016 they came back and never left. Vertigo several times a day and dizzy 24/7. After more duplicate testing and vestibular rehab which did nothing I finally got referred to a neuro-otologist. These guys specialize in this area. He reviewed my testing(cat scans,MRI,vng tests, blood work etc) , repeated audiograms, and said without a doubt I have menieres disease. It can mimic bppv symptoms but lasts alot longer with more frequent episodes. Hearing loss in low and some high frequencies is associated with this disease but because it usually hits adults after 45 years old, that hearing loss is usually ignored as a part of "getting older". When I questioned him about the bppv diagnosis he said bppv doesn't last for months. They can be short episodes that even without treatment or therapy will resolve on there own in a short period of time. The therapy will help with bppv. Menieres is a fluid build up in the inner ear which keeps crystals moving. If the fluid was to leave, the therapy would work. If the fluid stays, it keeps the crystals in constant motion. The therapy can't work. A reg doc or ENT is not trained to deal with this type of problem. Why they usually jump to the bppv diagnosis. There's alot of inner ear issues that can cause your symptoms. (Silent migraines,menieres,labrynthitis etc etc). The tough part is getting to the right doctor to do the right testing to eliminate what it's not. Menieres has no specific test that tells them you have it. They must eliminate all the other diseases. In this elimination process they either find out your cause, or eliminate all other causes and treat it as menieres. The simple self help things they started me on was a no salt,no caffeine(which includes chocolate), diet with diuretics to get rid of some fluid. When that doesn't work they get more aggressive with treatments. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Hi michele-vestibular PT is very helpful but it’s a long process and can help you regain balance problem, issues with your eyes , neck and shoulder issues. I have been in PT since June and it has helped me so I do recommend you rethinking this because it does take time to see results. I recommend you see a vestibular specialist not just an ENT or a regular neurologist.  If you read others stories most say the same that their knowledge is limited. BPPV doesn’t last long.  I was initially diagnosed with this and everyone I knew that had BPPV would say to me why do I still have problems ?  My cat scans and MRI were normal.  But what I learned is vertigo is a symptom of something else going on.  I saw a regular neurologist useless she put me on steroids in the hospital-I had been hospitalized 2x first diagnosed with BPPV then vestibular neuritis.  Kept being told that I would get better couple weeks, then a couple months then I might be permanently disabled.  It was reading other people’s stories here that a light bulb went off that I may have vestibular migraines.  The steroids didn’t do much other than gain 20 pounds.  My PCP knew nothing other than BPPV.  Several people on this site recommended a nueroontologist.  I remember being in and out of consciousness in hospital and drs asking if I had a headache, yes.  Researching vestibular migraines I realized I had every single symptom.  I also realized that I had headaches frequently and was always searching for Tylenol and Motrin at work. I started tracking my symptoms.  The nausea the spinning, the foggy brain, confusion, my hand had gone numb. Some days I would start the day and my symptoms wouldn’t be too bad but by half the day I had a headache or just started to get dizzy with foggy brain.  I asked my ENT to try to treat me for vestibular migraines she did and prescribed me norotriptiline very low dose.  It helped almost immediately. She said that this was going out of her expertise and referred me to a new specialist otolaryngologist.  Thank god she did.  He validated every symptom I had and we now have a plan.  He was not surprised about anything I said was happening.  He said that it all points to vestibular migraines. He is going to do some test next month to rule out a dead nerve in my inner ear, he doesn’t think it is but wants to be sure.  Had I not read about this vestibular migraines here, I think I would still be very sick.  None of the specialists I saw before the otolaryngologist suggested this was a cause.  I had to bring it up.  Everyone kept asking if I hit my head.  Or just said vestibular neuritis.  I was checked for meneirs and labrynthitis. Ask about vestibular migraines look up the symptoms.  You actually don’t even need to feel the headache so it’s difficult to diagnose.  I asked for the treatment, shot in the dark, and it has changed my life for the better.  Look for an otolaryngologist and dizzy clinic in your area. But the PT is very important, you need to retrain your ear and brain to work together again and that takes time.  When I started pt I couldn’t follow simple instructions from the therapist.  Now I have improved we are working on closing my eyes with balancing. Regular ENTs and neurologist don’t understand this. They automatically say BPPV or vestibular neuritis. Track your symptoms daily, this was so helpful for me in explaining what was happening.  It’s so scary to think that you will be this way forever when doctors say they don’t know your tests are normal.  These tests really just rule out tumors brain bleeds strokes, spots on brain ect.