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So Frustrating

Posted , 4 users are following.

pamela54975
pamela54975

3 weeks ago I was leisurely making lunch and was hit by dizziness. 5 hours later I find myself in the emergency room vomiting uncontrollably, world spinning around me! After CT and MRI scans and blood work I was admitted to the hospital. Over the course of 3 days I was given PT to try to over ear crystals back into their proper place. With no success I was sent home and told to follow up w ok th a vestibular therapist. 6 tries at therapy still with no success I was told to contact an ENT physician. Almost 3 weeks into this disabling ordeal he feels that I have laybrinthitis which I have suspected all along. I have never in my life felt anything so debilitating. One day I can feel pretty good, able to go for a walk or out to lunch (still dizzy and swaying) then the next I feel the swimming in the head feeling, totally off balance and exhausted! I was told the worst of it usually takes 3 weeks to be gone but could take several weeks to months to feel normal again. I have had vestibular rehab therapy once and was told to continue with it as this will help my brain adjust to the fog and unsteadiness. I am so frustrated over this whole thing. Will I ever be normal again??? And why do you feel decent one day and horrible the next? Also, does anyone feel like weather has any effect on it? Yesterday was sunnyand clear and I felt pretty good. Today, rain and dreary and feel horrid!

Thanks for any input!

0 likes, 13 replies

13 Replies

  • Guest
    Guest pamela54975

    Posted

    Hi Pamela,

    I know exactly how you feel. The 1st episode I had BPPV started exactly the same way. It was Christmas Day I spent the death star came home and taken a nap woke up hit the floor and was so dizzy I had to be rushed to the emergency Room. I stay there for a couple days while they did all kind of test and they thought it was probably my heart. They just charge me without a diagnosis and I went 6 weeks feeling dizzy and nauseous every gate. I finally saw and ENT and he diagnosed me with the BPPV and did the epley maneuver. After that I was fine for 3 years-and then I had another Epperson. I've actually managed to start controlling this at home and have only had 2 episodes my entire life. I do believe you will feel better at some point. Have you had any of the maneuvers done yet?

    • pamela54975
      pamela54975 Guest

      Posted

      I have 6 times but nothing helped. That is why they now think it is laybrinthitis and not the crystals. However crystals could still be the problem if they are stuck. It's just figuring out how to get them to move. But mine was a gradual onset throughout the day not your typical BPPV sudden onset like most people have.

    • Guest
      Guest pamela54975

      Posted

      What I found works even better than the epley and I do it at home is called the half somersault maneuver and you can go online and look at the video. Make sure you follow the instructions exactly and time your movements. I sometimes have to do it 4 or 5 times half hour between to make it work for me it takes about 3 days before I finally feel better.
    • pamela54975
      pamela54975 Guest

      Posted

      It is my understanding that the half somersault and the Epley maneuvers are for dislodged crystals. It will do nothing for someone with laybrinthitis.
  • melanie61979
    melanie61979 pamela54975

    Posted

    Have you checked into VESTIBULAR NEURITIS? It has all the same symptoms of labs except there is no hearing loss with VN. I believe this is what I have just waiting on a diagnosis. I am 6 weeks in. No hearing loss but dizzy weird head feeling every time I turn it . Been off work 6 weeks now. Never even heard of all this stuff until it happened to me. . It hits like a train.
    • pamela54975
      pamela54975 melanie61979

      Posted

      My ENT made it sound like VN and Lab are pretty much the same. So who knows what it is! Just wish it would go away! That funny feeling in the head is the strangest. Almost like there is a wave of water going through your brain.

      I was hoping to work a half day Tuesday but if I feel anything like I do today I don't think I'll make it.

      People don't understand that you feel horrid because you like perfectly fine.

    • melanie61979
      melanie61979 pamela54975

      Posted

      Yes they are pretty much the same just one has hearing loss and one doesn't. Sometimes I think I would rather have a little hearing loss than the brain fog dizzies all day. Yes I know what you mean all of my co-workers think I am fine and should be coming back to work but if they could just walk an hour in my shoes they would think different. I will say after 6 weeks I am maybe 30 percent better. I have heard it can take several months to get back to normal self. I am also so tired all the time everything drains me. Just doing simple tasks has me in a head spin and nausea. Hope you get well soon! Best of luck!

    • pamela54975
      pamela54975 melanie61979

      Posted

      I had a hearing test on Friday at the ENT. He said I hear 100% outbox my right ear and 88% out of my left which is the effected ear. However, it could be from age progression too (I am 57). So do I have hearing loss from it? Who knows, another unable to answer question!
  • eleftherio33095
    eleftherio33095 pamela54975

    Posted

    Have you noticed any improvement at all since the beginning of these episodes?  Do your symptoms come and go, or are they continuous?

    Eleftherios S. Papathanasiou, PhD, FEAN

    Clinical Neurophysiologist

    Fellow of the European Academy of Neurology

    • pamela54975
      pamela54975 eleftherio33095

      Posted

      Compared to the onset and the first week I am much much better. The dizziness is constant just that some days are better than others. I feel absolutely normal if IIA laying in bed. Once I stand up I slowly start feeling dizzy again. I'm going to attempt a half day at work tomorrow which could be tricky as I am a surgical nurse. I feel like I just need to stay active and fight through the dizziness.

    • eleftherio33095
      eleftherio33095 pamela54975

      Posted

      So far , it does sound like you will get much better eventually, as it appears that you had an episode of vestibular neuritis.  The vestibular rehabilitation should help as you are doing it now.

      Eleftherios S. Papathanasiou, PhD, FEAN

      Clinical Neurophysiologist

      Fellow of the European Academy of Neurology

    • pamela54975
      pamela54975 eleftherio33095

      Posted

      Thank you! I guess we all just want a quick fix. But it seems like all we need is patience.
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