Positional Vertigo

[CardsFan]

We learned a lot about this yesterday. DW started having spells 2-3 times a day on Wednesday. By Friday, it was getting worse and she called her primary care doc. Of course, with her luck, doc is out of town for the next week.

She tried to tough it out, and checked with Dr. Google. The symptoms all pointed to BPPV (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo). There were a few suggestions on line about how to treat it, at home. But by the time we tried, she had progressed to the point of nausea, and could not handle the movement required. Off to the ER, 5 hours, several meds for nausea and motion sickness later, the doc performed simple procedure (Epley Maneuver) and she was fine. Of course the Valium helped!

I wish we had search Dr. Google earlier, as we could have given her relief before the symptoms got so bad, but at least it was non-life threatening, and easily treatable.

Apparently this is a fairly common condition. Any one here ever have the problem? Any further issues with it?

On a side note, our ER co-pay is $150, but the hospital will give you a 25% discount if you pay that day, which we did. I will be curious what the other charges might be and how the insurance will cover them.

 

[jjquantz]

I've had a few episodes - usually when getting up in the morning. Turning over in bed and suddenly the room starts spinning. Getting out of bed and lurching to the right like I'm unbalanced. It can be very unnerving. Fortunately (?) the first episodes happened just before my annual physical so I brought it up with the doc. He agreed on the BPPV diagnosis and he pointed me to on-line videos of the Epley maneuver. It's been several months since my last episode but they seem to go away for months and then return in spurts.

As you said, at least they are not life threatening.

 

[Curmudgeon]

I have this, as does my sister.
It was really difficult for me to diagnose this - for years I experienced occasional vertigo, often for hours at a time, and talked with my doctor about ear infections, neural problems, etc. etc. but neither one of us could figure out why. It wasn't bad enough to justify any invasive or expensive testing. One day, I went to lie down, and the moment my head position changed, BAM! - I was hit with vertigo so bad the room was spinning and I couldn't even think about standing up. The realization that it was head position that triggered it gave me the necessary search terms to diagnose the issue. It still affects me, but not very frequently, and not badly enough to require any treatment.

My sister gets it so bad that she gets nauseated and vomits. When it gets this bad, she does the Epley. I believe it's possible to perform the Epley yourself, so this could be an approach for you?

Good luck - nice thing is that this disease isn't something that's going to do you in!

 

[homestead]

I got this several years ago after I bumped my head on a ceiling beam while going up a ladder. I googled it and performed the Epley Maneuver and it fixed my problem. It comes back every couple years and some times goes away on its own or if it gets bad I just do the procedure again and it fixes it again. Good luck on getting this under control. It is very unpleasant when it happens.

 

[Curmudgeon]

BTW, this is something that my doctor had never heard of, so it must not be all that common.

 

[Bamaman]

We learned a lot about this yesterday. DW started having spells 2-3 times a day on Wednesday. By Friday, it was getting worse and she called her primary care doc. Of course, with her luck, doc is out of town for the next week.

She tried to tough it out, and checked with Dr. Google. Off to the ER, 5 hours, several meds for nausea and motion sickness later, the doc performed simple procedure (Epley Maneuver) and she was fine. Of course the Valium helped!

On a side note, our ER co-pay is $150, but the hospital will give you a 25% discount if you pay that day, which we did. I will be curious what the other charges might be and how the insurance will cover them.

Just wait until you get a bill from the Emergency Room Doctor's billing service. While you have good insurance and it was accepted by the hospital, the Emergency Room Doctors are subcontractors and not bound by hospital contracts. They're invariably OUTSIDE THE PLAN on many insurance policies--and that's where they get in your pocket.

My daughter had a terrible migrane and saw the E Room doctor for 3 minutes. BCBS didn't cover his services and the bill was absolutely ridiculous--for no help. I consider them slave labor--taking whatever someone will pay them for their services.

 

[LOL!]

I had this. The day I had this, my spouse was in our doctor's office for her annual physical. He had a sheet on BPPV because it is so common and gave it to her to bring home to me. The sheet pretty much says, go to youtube.com and follow the videos to cure yourself.

One might get it from doing aggressive sit-ups or crunches with lots of head motion, but there are certainly other ways to move those bits around in your ears.

NYTimes had this article about it:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/06/health/symptom-dizziness-cause-often-baffling.html

See also: http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f38/inner-ear-problems-44605.html

Wasn't there a discussion where physicians didn't know about BPPV? I was appalled that folks don't learn about this in med school.

 

[CardsFan]

I have this, as does my sister.
It was really difficult for me to diagnose this - for years I experienced occasional vertigo, often for hours at a time, and talked with my doctor about ear infections, neural problems, etc. etc. but neither one of us could figure out why. It wasn't bad enough to justify any invasive or expensive testing. One day, I went to lie down, and the moment my head position changed, BAM! - I was hit with vertigo so bad the room was spinning and I couldn't even think about standing up. The realization that it was head position that triggered it gave me the necessary search terms to diagnose the issue. It still affects me, but not very frequently, and not badly enough to require any treatment.

My sister gets it so bad that she gets nauseated and vomits. When it gets this bad, she does the Epley. I believe it's possible to perform the Epley yourself, so this could be an approach for you?

Good luck - nice thing is that this disease isn't something that's going to do you in!

Yes the Epley is simple to do at home, and the hospital actually provided written instructions. DW's problem was the nausea was so bad, she could not do it without medication first. So the trip to the ER was needed.

We were tempted to try urgent care first, but I think ER was the right choice.

 

[LOL!]

Also note that BPPV isn't the only reason for vertigo.

 

[CardsFan]

Also note that BPPV isn't the only reason for vertigo.

Understood. DW will follow-up with her doc, but right now it seems the Epley has mitigated the problem.

 

[MRG]

I spent a year with vertigo. Originally diagnosed as BPPV. Nothing helped, till I got to a balance therapist. He treated me for visual vertigo, you don't want this disorder as the treatment is worse than the condition.

 

[MRG]

BTW, this is something that my doctor had never heard of, so it must not be all that common.

Really?

 

[splitwdw]

I've heard of BPPV but never had it. Does it effect some people more than others?

 

[street]

I have had it a few times and it is awful. I'm not sure how or why it happens but I do know one person that had to see a specialist to give him relief.

 

[RAE]

BTW, this is something that my doctor had never heard of, so it must not be all that common.

It's pretty common. If I were you, I would find a new doctor, one who is competent.

 

[easysurfer]

I've had BPPV in the past. Had a couple of docs try the Epley maneuver on me, but didn't cure me. Might be due to me resisting the movements.

For me, bad episodes tend to occur if I don't lay off the sodium intake or if I indulge on something like Italian food with lots of garlic.

My last really, really bad episode was back in 1992. I remember, I walked looking like a drunk fool to the voting station to case my vote for the '92 national election (ah..simpler times).

Cardsfan, I feel for your wife as a bad bout of vertigo is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.

 

[Hyperborea]

Also note that BPPV isn't the only reason for vertigo.

It's definitely worth checking for something else. Vertigo issues were one of the first symptoms that my wife had an acoustic neuroma. That's a brain tumour that grows in the conjunction of the auditory, balance, and trigeminal nerves. If we'd followed up with the vertigo when it first started we might have caught it 6 months earlier. Most people with these start to experience hearing loss first but it's not always the case - like with my wife.

 

[Sunset]

How Interesting.
I have noticed sometimes I get vertigo and there really was no explanation.
I might try this epley maneuver as a precautionary thing, certainly does not seem like it can hurt.

 

[REWahoo]

I've had off and on positional vertigo for more than 20 years. One thing I've learned that helps prevent problems is to always sleep with my head well-elevated. Thin pillows = spinning rooms the next day.

 

[Paracelsus]

I got vertigo after doing a yoga class a few years ago - tilted my head in a position and immediate onset of the vertigo. The Epley maneuver was wonderful in solving this problem for me.

 

[sengsational]

^ Yoga or other exercise where you might be laying down while holding-up your head often can cause crystals to dislodge and float around.

DW started a new exercise routine that included something like that and started to get dizzy spells. I think they called it "weekend mechanic's syndrome" or something. Apparently if you lay under a car and stress your neck while peering around under there, you knock those particles loose.

 

[littleb]

I just read an article about BPPV and it is the most common cause of vertigo, more common in women and usually occurs between age 50-70.

I worked in health insurance claims 25+ years ago and remember a claims person who I became friends with telling me she woke up and could not walk due to vertigo and vomiting. Her husband had to carry her into the drs office and her episode was caused by an inner ear infection tied to an upper respiratory infection. Very common per her dr.

Never had experienced anything like that until a few years later. I woke up and could not stand up without throwing up. The only way I could get from room to room was crawling. I knew it was vertigo based on my friends experience. It was Thanksgiving day and the "on call" dr. wanted me to go to the emergency room. I told him I could not stand up so he called me in a drug that stopped the spinning and help with nausea.

A few weeks later I saw an ENT who ran all kinds of tests to find the cause. I was not sick with a cold or URI so inner ear infection was not the cause. I took the vertigo medication for over 4 months. He never found the cause but said it would come back. He was right.

Over the years I continued to wake up with the room spinning even without opening my eyes. I compare it to a bad hangover only I never remember going to the party.
I take a pill and within hours it is gone. The only time it is a concern is hiking on a mountain so I always take the pills with me. Mine usually begins waking up in the morning so most of the time I am good. The pills I take are for motion sickness.

Overtime the episodes are not as intense and only include vertigo so slight and subtle that sometimes I feel it is my imagination. If it continues throughout the day I will take a pill to feel "normal".

 

[easysurfer]

My experience with positional vertigo is laying down can bring about an onset. Haven't had a horrific case as bad as back in 1992. That time, I had to try and sleep sitting down for about a week before the spinning subsided somewhat as long as I slept on my left side. For me, diet (plenty of water, staying away from too much sodium) has got the vertigo (knock on wood) pretty much in control. Used to be like, laying on my back, and the room would spin for about 30 seconds before finally settling til I tried that again. Yuck.. Makes me feel a bit nausea just remembering.

 

[folivier]

I have also been there. Walked "cock-eyed" for a couple years. Until I discovered the Blair Procedure. There are a limited number of Chiroractors that specialize in this procedure but I have had wonderful success being treated the last few years.
Before being treated I would have days when all I could do was sit in my recliner, couldn't lay down or walk without hitting walls. Also if I would lift my head to look up while walking or even standing still I would fall over. Since being treated I no longer walk tilted, can look up while walking, and even chew gum while walking.
Worth researching if you suffer from vertigo and hopefully have a Blair doc near you.

 

[Susanv]

Vertigo

This is not meant to alarm, just to share experience.

Four yrs. ago, my mother at 80 started having vertigo. She had partial relief with head position "manipulation". She was given a clean bill of health for inner ear issues.

It turns out she also had afib, undiagnosed by her doc (How on earth that happened, we'll never know).

She had a massive stroke 2 months after first experiencing vertigo. Was afib the primary cause of stroke? Most likely. However, sibs and I have always wondered if the vertigo was some kind of preliminary symptom which triggered the stroke. Or the afib triggered the vertigo.

We will never know. She was unable to communicate and was 90 % disabled after the stroke.

I'm just concerned when I read that someone is not aggressively pursuing treatment or simply minimizing the condition.