Anyone who suffers from vertigo, can I have your advice please?

[WellWhatsHappening]

Hi,

A few months ago I was having a really tough time in my personal life and mentally wasn't very well. Everything was just falling apart and I wasn't coping very well with things .

At around this time I started to have panic attacks and dizziness. Sometimes it was so bad I felt like I was going to pass out and got myself into an awful state.

Since then things have started to calm down and I haven't had a panic attack in over a month. The dizziness has mostly went but I still don't feel quite right. I don't feel like myself anymore and have had these symptoms:

• feeling like I'm swaying, rocking or very slowly turning around

• my head feels like it's filled with cotton wool, very hazy, "fuzzy" or "foggy"

-lying down makes it feel worse

-feeling nauseous

• Bright lights can trigger it or make it feel worse (especially supermarkets)

-feeling like things aren't "real"

• tiredness when these "attacks happen"

I should say that these symptoms can appear when I'm at home resting or shopping etc, so I don't think they're triggered by stress. Blood test came back satisfactory so it's not caused by any deficiencies.

"Attacks" can last hours, sometimes overnight, then go away for a day or two and come back.

Vertigo was one of the possibilities that came up when I searched so I just wanted to ask if anyone who suffers from it has these symptoms and if it sounds like Vertigo is what it could be? I will go back to the gp obviously but just looking for personal opinions. Thank you

Five vertigo attacks since 2020. Lasts about five to six weeks each time. Finally managed to get prescribed Betahistine on my last go round and finally got a referral put through to ENT and Neurology.
Pretty sure mine is nerve related as I am prescribed pregablin and if I take a higher than normal dose of those, I get a period of 24 to 36 hours where the symptoms back off .
OP do you get sea sick at all? Pretty sure that my Dr would have taken it more seriously if I was vomiting with it but I've never suffered with sea sickness so I don't vomit as part of the symptoms. Or at least that is what my reasoning abilities tell me
Back to the GP for you OP and try and a prescription for Betahistine.
It sounds to me (with the light trigger) that you are suffering vestibular migraines.

I saw the doctor today and she prescribed prochlorperazine. I see a few of you take this too. The blurred vision side effect is really putting me off taking it to be honest. Do you suffer this side effect? Does it last long? I'm funny when it comes to my vision 🙈

I didn’t suffer that side effect at all.

These symptoms sound very like BPPV (Benign Positional Paroxysmal Vertigo). I have had it for years. It comes and goes (the paroxysmal bit) and is brought on by change in position, typically turning over in bed. It can bring on very nasty room spin and nausea. It's caused by dislodged crystals in the ear canal and I was told that middle aged women are particularly prone to it. The cure is to go through a series of different physical positions, the Epley manoeuvre, to get the crystals back to where they should be so they don't upset the balance mechanism. I was taken through this Epley manoeuvre by the consultant the first time I had it but after that you can do yourself, and if done right it works like magic.

@WellWhatsHappening No I've never had blurred vision whilst taking it. Well no more blurred than it already is without my specs

Blurred vision can be a common side effect of prochlorperazine. Doesn’t mean everyone will get it. Sometimes side effects, in general, can have a transitory settling in period whereby they then resolve, sometimes not.

Thanks everyone. I did take a tablet earlier today but it didn't seem to do much? My attack still continued for hours, went away for a few hours and now I can feel it coming back again. Is it something you have to keep taking order for them to work?

I have been prescribed multiple drugs to try and help with it.
The only thing that has any effect is Pregablin all the others have provided a placebo effect at best
In your shoes though I would be giving migraine relief pills a go.

Sounds like Vestibular migraines.

There are so many conditions that cause vertigo so you really need to ask for a referral to get to the cause of it. I had both vestibular migraines and BPPV. It went away and then came back temporarily for a few months after I'd had covid. The vestibular migraines were definitely brought on by stress and anxiety and have gone since I've been on medication.

Im currently going through a period of this.
I heard that cranial osteopathy can help so ive got an appointment with an osteopath next week.
I get sinusitis as well so i think its all linked. Having a cold or swimming in a chlorine pool seem to set me off so I think ive got wonky tubes (not a medical term).

I've had vestibular migraines since I was a teenager (now in my forties). Not that often but I generally wake up with them and have to lie in bed very still on my left side or the room spins. ENT diagnosed VM. I did consider BPPV but they tested and said no. Also I think for BPPV if you keep your head still the feeling subsides. I've also tried the exercises for it and they make me feel ten times worse. I have realised over the last few years that I think the trigger is eating meat which has been cooked and in the fridge for too many days. Other high histamine foods like aged meat and smoked fish may also be a trigger.
I also suffer from dizziness (interesting to see description from a PP who explains difference to vertigo) and motion sickness. The dizziness is a general feeling of wooziness and can last several months. I also get motion sickness type dizziness when using my PC, reading a phone whilst walking, swivelling on my office chair etc. I've noticed that dizziness/ motion sickness seems worse around ovulation and google suggests that oestrogen can do this, possibly as it increases histamine.
Really interested to read about BPPP as I think maybe this is what I have.
@lrosey how did you treat your BPPP. Is vestibular retraining the best thing?
I can no-longer sleep on my right hand side as it leaves me feeling a bit dizzy.

I think taking 1-1.5 g vitamin C a day really helps the dizziness and motion sickness (mine has got worse again since dropping the dose vit C) as it is a natural antihistamine. Don't think antihistamines help that much and sometimes the drowsy ones seem to have a rebound effect if you take too long and make you feel worse.

For the vestibular migraine I thought travel sickness tablets like stugeron helped but the last attack nothing worked until I took some ibuprofen with a can of full sugar coke (I wonder if like in a normal migraine gastric absorption decreases which is what the caffeine helps with). Alternatively low blood sugar may be a trigger?
Hope you feel better soon.

OK I just took another tablet about an hour ago when I felt an attack coming on. The difference I feel now is unbelievable. I still don't feel amazing, but goodness me, the nausea has decreased massively. Feel like I need a good sleep now though!

All I can say is please do not do the Epley manoeuvre unless you are diagnosed with BPPV. It can massively worsen symptoms of dizziness and vertigo if that is not the cause.

Hi so yeah PPPD and it can be secondary to things like BPPV, vestibular migraines etc. The treatment is vestibular rehabilitation along with stress management and therapy for the anxiety (if this is a trigger which for me it is). My consultant said 80% of people will recover well with this, and if not a very low dosage of an SSRI has been proved to alleviate symptoms. Hope this helps, message me if you want any more info on diagnosis etc!

I have replied to you but not directly .. sorry.. not very good at this!

My symptoms closely match PPPD but I have no diagnosis - I keep on getting fobbed off by the GP. How did you get a referral? There are no private GPs in our area so even for private tests I need an NHS GP's referral.

Argh so many of you suffering 😞These symptoms are so debilitating and anxiety inducing. People don't understand unless they've experienced this themselves as from the outside you look OK...
💐to all of you

Following. My mum has just been diagnosed with BPPV after having these symptoms for a few months. He carried out the Epley manoeuvre in the surgery. Said it's effective in around 50% of cases but may need another visit

I had an episode of vertigo years ago with nystagmus vomiting and being unable to stand up. Horrendous. It was a side effect of some medication I was on, so check side effect of medications if you're taking other meds.

I had vertigo some years ago, some of your symptoms were familiar but not all.

"feeling like I'm swaying, rocking or very slowly turning around"
Definitely had this. I would sit at the table with both hands on the table but still feel as if I was slowly falling sideways off the chair, despite being able to see that I was not.

"feeling nauseous"
My very first symptom! Couldn't move my head in any direction without vomitting. Had to sit very still with a bucket on my knees.

"lying down makes it feel worse"
I wouldn't say it made it feel worse but it certainly didn't make it feel better. I would feel as if I was spinning rather than falling.

However, the other symptoms you've listed:

• my head feels like it's filled with cotton wool, very hazy, "fuzzy" or "foggy"


• Bright lights can trigger it or make it feel worse (especially supermarkets)


• feeling like things aren't "real"


• tiredness when these "attacks happen"

These didn't happen with my vertigo. But hey are reminiscent of the couple of migraines I have had.

Thanks! I meant to see the physio after my last vestibular migraine but didn’t get round to it so will try again.
im on amitryptiline for normal migraines but they don’t help the dizziness but they’re not ssri. Weirdly DH is on an snri and they make him feel dizzy!

I am starting to feel a bit better, the vertigo isn't as severe as what it had been the past few weeks. But I've noticed I feel very lethargic and groggy. Like I could go back to sleep right now 😴 is that normal after vertigo?

I think it probably is normal after an ‘attack’ if it is vertigo attacks you’re experiencing!

I’m in the same boat . Had first attack back in March ( although I’ve had lots of lightheaded feelings for a long time )
was told it was most likely anxiety, then started feeling dizzy in shops .
I had covid about a month ago and the week after I was clear had awful dizziness and nausea which wouldn’t shift (doctor said inner ear inflammation and prescribed me tablets which helped )
keeps coming back though along with anxiety and tearfulness . I think I’m now stuck in a cycle .
doctor agreed to test my bloods for hormone levels and I had to fill in an anxiety questionnaire so waiting for the results

Hi, this was exactly how I was. I had dizziness/nausea from my first jab which triggered it. You get into the cycle of feeling anxious which can cause dizziness/nausea which then heightens the symptoms making you even more anxious, it’s truly awful!