Vestibular Neuritis
Posted , 4 users are following.
Ok here it goes. I was at work feeling amazing then all of a sudden I get lightheaded( bad dizzies with nausea) I left
work right away to rest at home and have not returned to work. This was 2 weeks ago
Since then I have been to the ER twice and my GP once. GP didn't say much
Except he thought it was allergies. I have a constant lightheaded all day it never goes away. I also have mild headache neck and shoulder pain ear fullness and slight pain in that ear deep.hard to focus my eyes and walking or turning my head is crazy feeling!!!! I thought I was dying!!! My anxiety was causing my breathing episodes. I have not been diagnosed but this is what I believe I have. I have had CT scans of head and neck all clear. Blood work good. I saw an Ent also and he just did the normal look in the ears and said no infection and put my on prednisone for inflammation.Everyone thinks I'm nuts! But I know how I feel and I wake up to this everyday. I know my husband is frustrated with me because I barley do anything anymore no stores or shopping only pay bills that I can online. He has been great though he used all his vacation days at work driving me to the dr or ER. Everything I have read on this disease is horrifying. Some people saying years???? I am not that strong. Anyone out there have any shorter recovery time? Or at least decreased symptoms?
0 likes, 9 replies
Guest melanie61979
Posted
melanie61979 Guest
Posted
I went to the ER because the dizziness was so bad and just doesn't let up.They did a CT of the head and said it's fine. They told me I had BPPV and gave me meclizine. I decided to see a ENT. Upon arrival he informs me he doesn't do dizziness. Because he doesn't have the equipment for that. He did tell me I did not have BPPV because I have my dizzy and weirdness with vocusing all the time it never stops. Also laying down makes mine a little better. Totally opposite of BPPV. Sigh.......
lily65668 melanie61979
Posted
Melanie, Eleftherio is the expert on this one (and I'm hoping he'll come in) but it's my understanding, like Jackie's, that your symptoms don't necessarily rule out BPPV. They clearly rule out BPPV due to crystals in the posterior canal, which is where I believe they get to in about 90% of cases. However, it's my understanding that they can also get into the anterior or lateral canals, in which case the symptoms and the manoeuvre to treat the condition are different.
Whatever, it sounds as if your ENT doctor wasn't up to much. And I don't think BPPV shows up on a CT scan (or an MRI for that matter). It's good the CT scan was done, as it indicates there's no major problem in your brain, but it's useless for diagnosing BPPV or most other kinds of vertigo.
Can you get a referral to a neurotologist or a specialist vertigo or balance clinic? That's where you'd get a firm diagnosis.
melanie61979 lily65668
Posted
Hopefully I can. I am going back to my GP hopefully get a referral. I don't get severe spins but I am constantly light headed. Weird to walk around like I'm walking on uneven ground when it is level. Pain in the back of my head that comes and goes. When I look up from my computer or tv my vision is blurred then will vocus but my eyes have to do this every time I look in a different direction. So exhausting. I didn't realize the inner ear is so complex until this happened to me. Weird I have no hearing loss. New symptom today is that when my phone rings or when someone talks to me my ear drum beats to the sound of the voice while they are talking stops when they stop talking. So I don't answer my phone today.
lily65668 melanie61979
Posted
Melanie, I used to get that beating thing in my ear when talking on the phone. It's very annoying. This was in the days when I got frequent attacks of common migraine (i.e. severe headache spreading to my ear, with nausea and vomiting, but no aura).
The migraine attacks, which started when I was in my 20s, went on till my mid-60s then more or less stopped. In the seven years since retiring at age 66, I think I've only had three, in spite of doing a quite demanding voluntary job, whereas I was getting several attacks per month throughout my official working life. It says something about the stress of paid employment, doesn't it?
eleftherio33095 melanie61979
Posted
Eleftherios S. Papathanasiou, PhD, FEAN
Clinical Neurophysiologist
Fellow of the European Academy of Neurology
melanie61979 eleftherio33095
Posted
I believe he had me follow his finger with my eyes. He wasn't very thorough because he informed me that he did not have the equipment to diagnose dizziness. Turning my head right to left bothers me most. Or up and down. BPPV is ruled out because I don't spin when I lay down. I don't have episodes I feel this way all the time. I'm usually active work,gym,Zumba classes. Now I haven't worked or went to the gym in two weeks. Just going to pick my daughter up from school is an adventure. I feel like I'm in another universe.
Guest melanie61979
Posted
to be honest it still sounds like BP PV to me. That can take a whole lot of forms and sometimes people symptoms can be a bit different. The vertigo from you moving your head back and forth sounds very common to me. I think I try another ENT that should be able to it diagnosed this. It's very simple to get fixed if that's what it is.
nanci28940 melanie61979
Posted
Hello Melanie,
I'm sorry you're feeling so poorly, but first of all, try to relax and not panic over how you're feeling. Some of the things you mentioned remind me of how all this started for me as well. After all is said and done, and many tests which showed nothing, I am convinced that the majority of my issue is related to my neck. You said that you have neck and shoulder pain. I think you should seek help from an Osteopath or a Chiropractor - one that does gentle stretching type of manipulation - not the snapping or cracking type. The SCM muscle at the back of your head can be relaxed with gentle traction, and you may find relief from that. When you remember, try to relax your shoulders. As with all of us on here who have been discussing our issues for quite some time, yours also doesn't sound like a dire situation, but obviously one that is causing you distress and interrupting your life.
?I was also prescribed Valium that I use very sparingly at night, since it acts as a muscle relaxer. That or something similar may be of help to you.
?Wish you the best!