newsflash: still no cure for that mysterious disease that afflicts unsuspecting victims

[Valaree]

Hi Pedro - (& anyone else who cares to hear about my woes!)

To answer your questions, I have experienced the "dizzy" thing for 3-1/2 years but it comes & goes unannounced in cycles ---usually 3-4 x year, severity varies. Very mysterious.....have yet to discover exactly when or why. The onset is ALWAYS upon waking in the a.m.  My docs have not yet determined anything! -- I am scheduled for an evaluatory 'ENG' which will cause dizziness (yuck) but then I guess my ENT doc can (hopefully) determine a cause.  I have put this test off until now (summer) b/c I couldn't afford to miss any work -- plus my 3 daughters were graduating:::> law school, college in Nor Cal, AND high school -- I have needed to be coherent & among the living!  

 

My top 3 remedies include: sleeping with head angled (somewhat helpful but can cause sore neck!), using Anti-vert (kinda helps or is it just a placebo?), & lovely acupressure bracelets (wish they came in pink!)  I am currently going to PT for a neck injury after a fall at a restaurant, and the therapist (holds a PhD) actually rec'd training in vertigo, dizziness, Meiniers......he is anxious to work with me too.  Re: those misplaced stones & cillia --I think the bugger is localized within my right inner ear as I tend to 'list' to one side (like a drunken sailor!) when the attack is occuring.  I wonder if it may be connected to sinuses since I have occasional environmentally induced allergies.  I jear a lot of people talk about pressure.  If it is pressure, what are we all supposed to do?  Walk around with barometers around our necks?  We can't control barometic pressure---can we?  I am a believer that diet can help everything --but I have not altered mine much.  This group has been good as we can share symptoms & search for common denominators ---all pre-mortum I might add!  An autopsy will be too late for me!   

 

Okay, my whining, complaining, moaning & groaning session is over.....Apologies for venting frustration ---but thank you for a forum in which to do that! 

(Valaree curtsies, then exits stage left)

 

Val from So Cal

 

 

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[russ ogden]

thats ok, venting is exactly what forums are for. living with persistant dizziness as we all know is extremely frustrating. good luck with the ENG. you do get dizzy, but it passes fairly quickly. hopefully you have BPPV(positional vertigo) cause they can fix that. hopeing the best for you.

russ

 

[Valaree]

Russ (et al) -- wow -- everytime I "talk" with someone else out there in "googleland" about this topic, something is mentioned that I never even knew existed!  Positive & Negative Vertigo?  What's that? The entire concept is new to me.  Please explain....

 

Val

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[pedro]

I have seen just two ENTs and as about a year ago, my regular GP writes
my mild diuretic prescription. None of my ENTs made any effort to
determine how did my Meniere's set in: was it because of head trauma?
A couple of months before the first symptoms I bumped hard my head on
the ground while skiing. Was it due to my use of walkmans for many
years? Would constant pressurization/depressurization have been a
contributing factor. I used to travel to Latin America and the Far East
for several years. Or it was just age? I was past 40 y/o when the
first vertigo.

The first symptom was tinnitus on my right ear, soon followed by light
hearing loss. After the first vertigo episode, several others followed
spaced by a few days. During the first two years, I would feel
pressure on the affected ear and this made me "blow my nose". This
fullness/pressure would gradually increase until I had vertigo. A
couple of hours later, I would feel just fine until the next time.

During the past few years, I am largely symptom-less, except for
permanent tinnitus and the hearing loss. It is only at the start of
summer and winter that I would be prone to dizziness but event during
these short periods, most of the time I feel fine.

During my bad times I tried several vitamins, gynko biloba, with no
repeatable effects. I also took betahistine (known as betaserc in
other countries). I think that betaserc predictably worked in reducing
the fullness sensation on my right ear - and this avoided vertigo. I
also began jogging regularly and with my almost daily diuretic, my
Menieres is quite tolerable.

Pedro

[russ ogden]

HI val,
   i've never heard of positive and negative vertigo. i mentioned BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo). this type of vertigo is positionally sensitive.  it is pretty treatable. did you get your ENG yet?

russ

On 6/24/06, Valaree <vala...@yahoo.com> wrote:

Russ (et al) -- wow -- everytime I "talk" with someone else out there in "googleland" about this topic, something is mentioned that I never even knew existed!  Positive & Negative Vertigo ?  What's that? The entire concept is new to me.  Please explain....

[Valaree]

Dear Russ,

No. Big procrastinator me has not scheduled the ENG ----yet!  The place that does it near me in So Cal only does it on Tuesdays (((!!!whatz with that???)))  -- not very convenient!  I just started teaching at a new summer school this week & don't think I should be "mia" yet.  Plus, have you noticed that when you are NOT currently afflicted, you tend to foregt about it all ----just like emergency triage, I priortoroze  .....Then this week, I was told that I have freckle that went to melanoma & I have to have THAT lil' bugger removed. So as long as my dizziness is 'at bay' or in "check" I think I'd be stooooopid to bring it on intentionally!  Do you know what I mean?  I definately HAVE TO schedule the ENG soon though ---thanks for geting on me about that. Oh yeah, and right after summer school I have the dreaded jury duty!  See, what did I tell you!!!?  It is always something!!!  

 

Val

 

Ps --so many people mention that they experience tinnitius (sp?) --- I don't --I wonder if absence of that symptom means something ---do you know?  

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[russ ogden]

definately schedual an ENG. i know what your talking about when you say when your feeling better, you tend not to think about it that much(thats kind of like my anxiety disorder).  but when your dizzy again, your going to wonder why you didnt get the test.  absence of tinnitus may mean something, but im not to sure. i've had tinnitus ever since i can remember.  if you dont have it, you may have something like BPPV(which is a good thing considering the many things that could be causing your dizziness).  glad your feeling better.

russ

[Vee]

I was diagnosed 30 yrs ago with Menier's and it just came back 3 months
ago with a bang. I had a drop attack where I almost fainted and vertigo
and panic attack 4 days later. I was very sick after that with dizzy
and off balance and light sensitive. I am better now with Dramamine and
Valium. Still I am not fully ablw to walk or travel alone. It is tough
but each day is a new day for a better life.

Vee