Vertigo / dizziness and treatments - Stugeron (??)

[muffindays]

Hi there.
Been feeling quite dizzy intermittently several times a day. Called the Dr who did a phone appointment only (Nurse practitioner rather than GP) and diagnosed a middle ear issue over the phone.

She suggested Stugeron medication available over the counter, which having googled sounds quite odd in terms of side effects etc so I am a bit reluctant to try it.

Also she was not very clear when I questioned on if it would cure the issue rather than just cure the symptoms.

Can anyone give me more advice as to what the medication is like, if it might cure the problem and how it works?

Do you think I should be seen by a GP in person for this issue rather than fobbed off by the nurse practitioner over the phone? They didn't even look in my ears or anything as over the phone so I am concerned about treating it with this medication when it's not even confirmed.

It's been ongoing for approx 10 days, so far unmedicated. Seems to be worse when I watch TV especially things that have the moving camera type filming. I have been under some stress lately but not experienced this kind of thing before although I am prone to stress related reactions so not sure if that might be linked at least in part.

Many thanks for any tips, advice, thoughts etc.

Stugeron is good for the nausea that often comes with dizziness issues, but it will certainly only mask the symptoms rather than cure them. If it doesn’t go away on its own, best thing you can do is demand your GP refer you to your local balance clinic. It’s probably something easily fixable, but GPs are notoriously clueless when it comes to inner ear issues.

I had problems for literally years until I was referred to a specialist and got it fixed.

Oh and Stugeron can make you feel very very drowsy..

thanks @gidgetgirl, I was concerned that was the case and I am not really nauseous!! I just feel a bit dizzy and am worried because I read that Stugeron can cause parkinson's which sounds super dodgy even if I only took it in the short term.

Can you recommend anything that might help other than the balance clinic? e.g. OTC meds that might work? Exercises?

I got vertigo out of the blue a few years back. Sturgeron helped with the nausea symptoms but as gidgetgirl says, it doesn't help with the reason.

In my case it fixed itself in about a week or so for the most part although it was a few of weeks before I felt comfortable driving again.

I had one relapse a couple of months later, but I recovered much quicker from that one. I've never had it happen again and no reason I could identify for either case.

I do however suffer with migraines and the research I did said they could be connected.

Honestly the only thing I did was rest! Hope you feel better soon.

I have had dizziness. It is horrible. First thing is to establish the cause. Does it hapoen when you move your head? Or is it when your head is still? Depending on the cause you can have physio , ( if it is something called Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo BPPV). On the other hand migraine can be a cause ( ie migranous vertigo,) which would be treated differently. It is definitely something I would want to speak to a good GP about, so keep hassling them. Re Sturgeron, I take this for motion sickness and it does make you very drowsy. But I have never had Parkinson's symptoms. I believe this would be very rare so file under' do not worry'

Just to clarify I only mentioned 2 of the common causes but you can see from this why it is something that needs a good GP!

@mirrorsignal thank you for kind advice. It seems to be more when I am still which is odd. Like a slight rocking feeling like after being on a boat. Do you think it's more likely the BPPV thing?

Keen to avoid the Stugeron if it makes me drowsy...

OP is it worse when you put your head down on one side versus the other? I was diagnosed with BPPV and go considerably more dizzy on one side then the other. When I have the condition I feel like I'm on a boat a lot of the time and find it hard to watch TV, do anything on the laptop etc etc.

I did the Epley Manoeuvre exercises over a number of days which did the trick on the end (google them).

BPPV is an inner ear issue.

Hope you manage to resolve it soon!

@Wargghhhh thank you for your insight - yes I feel like that on my laptop and with TV etc! Annoying for work. And sometimes when I sit down after walking around. A bit when walking (can feel spaced out) but more noticeable when sitting. It doesn't seem to be worse on one side than the other when sideways, as less noticeable when lying on side but I will try to check. There does seem to be a very slight sensation of pressure a bit like a small small amount of water in one ear maybe more than the other. Would that be the side to try the epley manouver on do you think? So if the ear is my left ear, which way around would I do the manouvre on - slightly confusing! I guess I can try.

Look up Brandt-Daroff exercises on NHS website or Youtube.
They worked for my mum after a couple of weeks.

Rest really makes a difference . Also worth minimizing screentime. Eg if you have to be on a zoom meeting, just turn the screen off or face away from it ( effectively treat it like a telephone call)

Have a look here: my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/11858-benign-paroxysmal-positional-vertigo-bppv

It might not be BPPV though so read through the info first! I don't feel pressure in my ears when I get it..

I have had 3 bouts of labyrinthitis since my 20s. As it's viral the Dr could only treat the symptoms - with Stugeron. It really helped the dizziness/vertigo and didn't make me drowsy.

www.nhs.uk/conditions/labyrinthitis/

I had BPPV in December. It was horrible. I had the Epley manoeuvre done by a physio which worked very well but made me feel worse initially. No reoccurrence so far 🤞🏻
Hope you get to the bottom of it.

Certainly sounds like bppv, if you're brave try the epley manoeuvre on you tube. Get someone to help. It feels very weird, but works if that's the cause, certainly can't hurt.

Essentially, there are tiny crystals in the cochlea that sometimes get misplaced, and this shakes them back round into a better position.

Imagine a bit of gravel in the bottom of an empty snail shell. You'd turn and twist the shell if you wanted the gravel to fall out.

From what I know pressure is not a symptom of BPPV. When I had it, the symptoms were extreme but very short-lived bouts of vertigo when I turned over in bed. That’s a pretty classical presentation.
I also had labyrinthitis, which was more of a generalised wooziness/dizziness. Made me feel like my eyes were on stalks, or like there was a bowling ball in place of my brain.

Also, the consultant I saw years ago was heavily against anyone attempting an Epley manoeuvre at home. If you do it wrong you can send the crystals deeper into the inner ear and make yourself feel much, much worse. It’s easy to diagnose, but difficult to pin down. It can be in either ear (or both!), and in different chambers within the ear. If you do the wrong kind of move for your particular case, you can really mess yourself up.

Hi, I am just recovering from labyrinthitis and it sounds very similar to this. I had lots of dizziness and nausea, a few days unable to get out of bed. I was given Stetemil which I think is a similar medication and it honestly didn’t help. I’m on week 3 and I don’t feel 100% but on the whole a lot better. Hope it improves soon x

@Irosey thank you, how did you get a diagnosis? I'm concerned because mine was over the phone so it might or might not be correct? I've not had any other symptoms other than dizziness which is not all the time but some / most of the time and seems to come and go. No earache or anything. A slight sensation of wax in one ear but so slight, and that is normal for me. So may not be related. Did you have other symptoms other than the dizziness?

I had betahistine for dizziness which fixed the issue. No idea what was wrong or how it fixed though. Just know that I was so dizzy I had to hold on to the walls etc to walk, then I was completely fine as soon as I started taking them. Good luck!

My GP diagnosed over the phone as well. I basically had two random half an hour episodes of dizziness which then turned into about 10 days of it on & off along with feeling very sick. I had no symptoms related to my ears, one had been popping on and off a couple of months prior which I put down to hay fever! Mine came on a day after my first Pfizer vaccine, I was absolutely fine before no cold or anything but could have been coincidence obviously. Do you feel like you’re on a boat? That’s how I felt and not necessarily dizzy as in double vision but more like things were moving around me or the room was spinning?

Also, my Mum had diagnosed labyrinthitis in the past and it was just dizziness no other symptoms!

I take Stugeron for travel sickness

It takes the sickness away, but instead I get very warm and drowsy (to the point I literally fall asleep) and very very thirsty

A GP told me it is a strong anti-histamine that is also used against motion sickness, and for end-of-live to dry people out (but that sounds so weird and alarming I am now doubting my memory)

It’s strong stuff IMO, I can’t drive or work on it

Get a GP appointment and get looked at properly

@lrosey yes I feel quite like I'm on a boat although it comes and goes throughout the day! No other real symptoms.

I hope the GP will see me in person, they are so funny about it at that surgery especially during covid.

The nurse who diagnosed me on the phone said I needed to take Stugeron for two weeks! But the NHS website says 3 days max for antihistamines for vertigo or it can make symptoms worse!! So I am left confused about if she even really understood the drug. Not to mention giving dodgy advice. She also called it "Sturgeon" like the fish which gives me even less faith. :(

Yeah I got very conflicting advice about the tablets, I got different ones as I’m currently breast feeding but I think they’re similar to those. My GP said to take three a day as required but I felt they didn’t help, although I wasn’t actually sick and I felt it so maybe they stopped that! But they didn’t change the dizziness. It’s so frustrating having such conflicting advice when you just want to be better. I would definitely ring again for a second opinion as dizziness can be down to so many things, although my GP said it can take weeks/months to go if it’s labyrinthitis as it’s a viral infection