Vertigo??

[pocahontas]

MODS...I will apologize in advance if there is a thread about this but I searched and only found vague references at best. Three questions: Does anyone have this disorder? Is it hereditary? And can it be "fixed"?

Background: I can remember my mother having dizzy spells in her late 40s (I am estimating here since I was born 2 months after her 39th birthday and I was old enough to remember it...so I was somewhere between age 7 and 9). So she went to the doctor about it and was told she had "vertigo". She did some reading about it (as there was no internet back then) and found out that it's an inner ear imbalance or something (I was too young to really get all the technical stuff of it.) Either way I can remember that they didn't give her anything to take for it and after a year or two it went away on its own.

Fast forward, I am a full 10 years or more younger than she was when she got it and about 2 months ago I experienced the craziest dizziness while lying in bed of all things. It was crazy...if I rolled on my back with my eyes closed I might as well have been on a ferris wheel. :eek: The first night it happened I thought it was because I hadn't had anything to eat for several hours before going to bed which is not my normal practice...typically I eat something and hour or two before going to sleep. The next night when it happened again, I woke up DH and asked him if he felt the room spinning to which he promptly replied..."Nope, you're probably just pregnant." :rolleyes: (Such a man...) After those 2 episodes it happened a third time, but in the morning as I was waking up...I got out of the bed and had to steady myself. Then when I got to the bathroom and bent over to pick something up I had to hold on to the sink for dear life before the whole room went flying! I say all that to say, that day I made an appointment with my PCP and called my mother to ask her more about when she had vertigo (of course, she's now all worried. :o ) Well, it never happened again after that day and the next week when I was supposed to have my Drs. appt my car went on the fritz and I couldn't go. Fast forward again to now...this morning it happened again and I am just wondering for those of you who suffer from this is this something that runs in families? (besides my mother I don't know anyone else who has complained of this) Is there medication for it? I really haven't done any research but I am going to reschedule my PCP appt (which I should have done originally) for a formal diagnosis. Thanks in advance to those who can shed some light.

[c'est la vie]

I really don’t know if this can be hereditary, but my husband has been having vertigo for the last 4-5weeks. He went to see a doctor about it, and was told it was an inner ear imbalance, like you said. The doc also associated this with his sinuses issues, and prescribed him a non drowsy Dramamine. Two other people at his office have been suffering from this “dizziness” as well. He’s been feeling a lot better lately.

[Sophia]

I've had dizziness/room spinning when I've had ear infections (inner ear imbalances) and when I've been anemic. It's always gone away when I've received antibiotics (for the ear infections) or gone on iron therapy (for the anemia). Frankly, it was always much, much worse when I was anemic.

[ejs]

I experience vertigo due to my Meniere's Disease, an inner ear disorder. Nobody in my family has experienced it, so I don't know if it's hereditary. What I was told to do for my vertigo was to take a mild tranquilizer and sleep it off.

Along with my ENT, I did see a neurologist. She agreed with the ENT's diagnosis.

[jay&erinn]

I'm an audiologist and work with balance disorders. It's hard to "diagnose" over the internet. An ENT that sees a decent amount of dizzy patients or a neurotologist (specializes in only the ear) is a good place to start.
There are many, many causes of dizziness. One of the most common is called BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo). It is usually characterized by brief, sometimes severe, bouts of true spinning (not usually lightheadedness). It usually occurs when someone rolls over in bed to a certain side, looks up for something or bends over. The spinning usually lasts for a few seconds to a minute and then passes. It's easily identified in an office exam and can usually be treated right away. 85% of people get better with that one treatment, althought it can re-occur.
Other common causes of dizziness- meniere's dizziness usually involves episodes of hearing loss, fullness in the ear and a roaring in the ear. They typically occur together and can last an hour to a day or so. Some people have episode on top of episode- others have one attack and not another for years and years. The hearing can return to normal, but will usually get worse and worse with each attack. The dizziness is usually a spinning and very severe.
Dizziness can also be caused by migraine headaches. It can be a part of the headache, occur after the headache leaves or there be no headache at all, just the imbalance. It's usually more of a lightheadedness, but can still be very dibilitating.
Overall dizziness does not tend to be hereditary. However, headaches most certainly are and that type of dizziness could be then.
There are sooooo many other causes of dizziness- you should call your PCP and see if he knows someone in the area that can evaluate you- even if you're not dizzy at the moment. We often see patient's after the fact and still can figure out what most likely is going on.
Good luck and let me know if you have more questions.

[pocahontas]

Wow...great info! I actually made a PCP appt (but why are they booked until MAY?! :mad: ) because I know I'll need a referral from my PCP if I intend to see a specialist. So I may as well start there. Had some dizziness this morning but NOTHING like yesterday and honestly, it sounds just the BPPV Erinn described. Now you mentioned 85% people get better with treatment...what does the treatment involve?

[jay&erinn]

The test and the treatment are really easy. I've had very few people refuse to go through it and even less who don't tolerate it well.
To test for it a Dix-Hallpike is done. This involves sitting on an exam table, turing your head to one side (looking to the left or right) and laying down. Your head hangs down a little below the edge of the table but the person who is testing you helps support your head. You lay there for 10-30 seconds and then sit up if there's no dizziness. You turn your head the other way and lay down again to test the other side.
To treat: The treatment starts out the exact same way. Usually I'll keep a person in that position for 30 seconds after their dizziness goes away. Then they keep their head back but turn it to look the opposite way (if start out looking right to lay down, will turn head to the left). They stay their at least 30 seconds and then roll onto their side (in this case the left side) and turn their head so they are looking at the floor. Then they sit up. We ask people not to provoke their dizziness until the next morning (no looking way up or way down) and to sleep in a recliner or on some pillows for one night. Then it's back to normal activity. The entire treatment takes about 2 minutes. It's not bad at all.

[pocahontas]

WHOA! :eek: That's sounds amazingly easy...I can't believe that's all. No drugs or anything! Great! :D

[jay&erinn]

Just wondering how you're feeling?

[MLA]

I have bouts of BPPV, too. It scared the bejeesus out of me when it first happened. I haven't been able to find a doctor who does the maneuver that jay&erinn talked about (I believe it's called the Epley-Semont maneuver or something), but I did find a doctor who gave me a series of exercises (much like what jay&erinn describes) to do on my own. It takes about a week, but if I do them religiously (this means three times a day), it does go away.

[mrs_pell]

Just another tidbit about BPPV and the Hall-Pikes and Epley maneuvers that were described...there are some physical therapists that are specialists in vestibular issues and do the test/treatment. If you can't find a doctor that can do it, ask for a referral to a PT and then call around to see if you can't find a vestibular-trained PT. And, although the maneuver only takes a few minutes, I've found that some patients have a really tough time making it through it because it does provoke the symptoms, sometimes severely. BUT, if they can make it through those 2 minutes (at most) they're much much better (if in fact it is BPPV and not something else).

Here is a link (http://www.tchain.com/otoneurology/disorders/bppv/bppv.html) with LOTS of really good info on BPPV and its diagnosis/treatment.

Also, a question for you. Did anything atypical happen to you before all this started happening? Anything that would cause you to bump your head on something? Car accident (even minor)? Sometimes even something really minor can cause those little crystals in your ears to become dislodged. But, lots of times it just happens w/out anything "causing" it.

[pocahontas]

Just wondering how you're feeling?Thanks, Erin, for checkin' on me. I actually told my accupuncturist about it to see what she thought. She found it all rather curious since these 2 episodes happened within 4-5 days of my cycle starting. So I am trying to see if there is a correlation and just playing the watch and see game this cycle, but I do have an appt. with my PCP for late May (earliest I could get in.)

Thanks MLA and MRSPELL also for your info.