Dizziness

Hi, welcome to Connect. We’re community forum backed by Mayo Clinic but members aren’t medical professionals so we can’t diagnose or offer treatments. But we can rely on our experiences to offer suggestions.

Yuck, having dizzy spells is nasty. My mom, my daughter and myself have this happen occasionally and it seems to be seasonal in autumn and apparently familial. Though we’re not allergic to ragweed or pollen. Maybe it’s just the dust in the air. It generally happens when we wake up in the morning after sleeping on our sides. Though my mom was a back sleeper and it bothered her too. For us, it’s caused by post nasal drip seeping into the eustachian tube of the ear. If you can dry it out, that can bring relief.

What works for us is taking an over the counter antihistamine or a decongestant. My daughter who’s 38 and I take Children’s liquid Benadryl and only .5ml does the trick when the vertigo happens. So if you’re able to take that type of medication you could give that a try.

Another common reason for dizziness can be related to the displacement of crystals within the inner ear. There are maneuvers to help alleviate the problem. You’ve seen an ENT and your scans came back clean. So that’s really good news.

Were either the Epley or Semont Maneuvers tried for your Vertigo?

The young lady that did the test did something, but not sure what maneuver it was. I go back on Wednesday to see the results of the VNG test.

I have suffered from vertigo on and off for years but worse was in 2016 when I was diagnosed with vestibular neuritis. Vertigo makes the room go around but vestibular makes everything shake! Both awful. The worst part of vestibular took a couple of months to go but I have been left with a strange feeling when walking. I feel my eyes are strained although sight perfect and this causes me not to walk straight. I can’t say fuzzy is the right word but it’s similar. I don’t fall or trip and always walk fast. No cure except co stunt exercise.

I agree with your comment on the link between dizziness/vertigo and the change of seasons -- and therefore barometric pressure. I'd always noticed that the change affected my sinus, which seemed to fill to overflowing when the weather got colder. I'm awaiting the results of a VNG test I took last Friday, but am betting the results come back negative since I have felt fine since my body (and sinus) have adjusted. I found that sleeping propped up helped. And thank you for the tip about antihistamines. It will be the first thing I reach for if the same thing happens next year.

Hello @ritacous40

I read your post on vertigo and I certainly understand how difficult it can be as I've suffered from it as well for many years.

Has any doctor suggested Vestibular Therapy? It is done by a physical therapist who has had specialized training in vestibular problems. It really helps me.

If you have not had this kind of therapy, you might ask your doctor for a referral.

Yes I had therapy and the exercises helped. Two months ago I returned to the therapist who tested me and declared there was no sign of vestibular problem. Three years ago I was thoroughly tested by a specialist in the subject and he said the vestibular nerve had not been damaged but he could not explain my existing problem.
So it continues and the last week I have felt worse but we have had constant rain leading to my questioning barometric pressure.

I appreciate the additional information, @ritacous40 . This does sound like a confusing and frustrating problem. I suppose you have been seen by both an ENT doctor as well as a neurologist?

We have a mentor on Connect, @rwinney, who has also had some unusual vision problems and I would like to invite her to this discussion as well.

I would encourage you to keep posting and let me know how you are progressing in finding an answer.

I am waiting for an appointment with A neurologist since early July. Initially it was made for the seven week headache I had which was cured but I have kept the appointment open as a maybe he can help with the existing condition. Fingers crossed.

Has anyone who wrote about dizziness then became nauseous and threw up?

I'm a Menierian (person with Meniere's Disease). Until I was able to get on a good program of hormone replacement (low hormone levels are my personal Meniere's trigger), I had bouts of vomiting that usually lasted 12-15 hours, two to three times a week. I've been sick in all sorts of places...seeing things move past can always trigger an episode. I went to a fly fishing trade show in Boston: began to have a vomiting episode on the shuttle bus to go to the show arena to set up but was able to stay on the bus and get back to my hotel before the vomiting started. Was okay for the three days of the show, but, waiting for a flight to Portland early the following morning, I knew I was headed for a multi-hour vomit-fest. Staying in the waiting area at the airport didn't seem good, so I staggered onto the plane, where my husband and I fortunately had a full three seats, enabling me to half lie down with my ever-present kitchen trash bags. When the plan stopped in Chicago, I stayed on while the cleaners worked...no way would I have been able to get off at that point. Fortunately, by the time we landed in Portland, I was able to stumble off. More than half the people on the flight were returning from the show, so the word went around that I was a serious drunk! I've spent hours lying across the longest seat in a jet boat in the wilderness of northern BC, or flying down a wilderness river in SE Alaska. Once, three miles from my truck on a wild little river on the northern Oregon coast, I actually managed to avoid having a full-blown crisis by sitting on a boulder for 20 minutes or more, eyes closed, concentrating on listening the all the bird song around me. Once, I raced out of a confrontational meeting to decide upon a cover for a catalog, in order to spend several hours in the back of my van in the store's parking lot. A client once really wanted to go to a restaurant with overhead fans; I thought I could make it through if I totally ignored them, didn't look at them. However, the framed photos on the walls reflected the fans' movement, so I barely got back to my office before the vomit-fest began--saving having defiled the client's rental car. I lived that way for four years, doing lots of fishing travel, running booths at sport fishing shows, successfully managing a small publishing company. Once I got on a good hormone replacement program, all the vomiting stopped and I was able to begin serious VRT, which I've continued to do every day for nearly 40 years. At 79, I still do data collection on that wild little river, by myself, 20 miles from the nearest place to get cell reception. I also care for a small acreage on the coast and, yes, I get up on a ladder to clean gutters and paint when needed.

I moderated an online Meniere's discussion group for many years and learned that there are many people, often women in their 40s, who have serious problems with not only the dizzies but vomiting for hours. One study has been done in China that proves there's a link between severe Meniere's and low hormone levels (i.e., menopausal women). If hormones are started early on, lost hearing can be regained. The correct ratio of hormones (i.e., doesn't cause cancer) is one part estrogen to 2.5 parts progesterone. I've taken hormones, often in very large doses, for nearly 40 years. I DID have Stage 1 slow-growing breast cancer a few years ago, but don't believe it was caused by the hormones I take. First, I'd been taking hormones for over 20 years before I had cancer, and, second, my mother had both breast and cervical cancer and both are highly hereditary.