To ask you about labyrinthitis?

[helpmepleasee]

Hi! I'm so sorry this is not really an AIBU.

I have been having periods of labyrinthitis for a long time now - around a year, a few weeks at a time.

I've just got rid of it and it has returned. I've taken all the tablets the GP has given me to no avail. Can anyone give me any tips at all?

Also, how long does this usually last? It's absolutely horrific and I haven't been able to leave my bed for weeks now.

I get vertigo but it’s not labyrinthitis. I’ve had it on and off for nearly 7 years and it comes in bouts.
Luckily I haven’t had a bad bout of it since July but had over 6 months of it on and off. The GP mentioned Meniers as I have ear issues - tinnitus/deafness and they co-exist.

Loads of sympathy to you though, it is the most horrific feeling.

The Epley is for BEnign positional vertigo and not any other type. It moves the crystals. There are other exercises you can do to lessen the vertigo symptoms.

I'm having an attack of Menieres today. I knew it was coming on as I suddenly started dreaming I was dizzy and falling over. Weird but it's a good pre-warning! Starting to ease off a bit now but I'm very woolly headed and tired.

 for @iklboo @JustDanceAddict and @cricketmum84, I really don't understand how such a small thing can make you feel so so bad.

I'm so worried that there's something worse wrong with me which I know sounds silly because I've been told it is this, but I just feel so scared and unwell. I hate it.

Not silly at all. The first time I went to see the GP with it I sobbed at her because I had convinced myself it was a brain tumour!

It IS just your ears. Silly silly ears making us all dizzy and whooshy xx

People who have had the Epley manoeuvre treatment for BPPV, did you find your balance was randomly affected too?

I've been getting short bouts of dizziness when I look up/ lie down/ turn suddenly for about 2 months. So Dr Google diagnosed myself, as I've not bothered to go to the gp yet.

I've also fallen over heavily at least 3 times in that period, and although I'm a clumsy fucker I'm not usually that bad. it's like I couldn't regain my balance like I normally would if I tripped a little.

A friend had this and was off her feet for weeks. A while after (a few months perhaps? Can't quite remember) she was diagnosed with MS. Apparently they can all be interconnected, as a PP said earlier about damage. Her's was damage after an operation. It is rare, and lots of things can mimic MS.

Hope you feel better soon, OP.

@cricketmum84 thank you for that, that makes me feel a lot less crazy.
I just wish I didn't have to just get on with it so quickly. I don't know how to face it at all.

I had labyrinthitis and bpv. Both very disabling. Op i would ask to see an entire consultant.

Ent not entire!

Absolutely ENT! I was able to see one fast with work health insurance, he did hearing tests and an MRI, and then sent me off for physio.

Honestly, the first consultation was crazy, I couldn't cope with those long hospital corridors, the nurse had almost to carry me to his room, and I nearly pitched headlong into the poor man's desk.

Christ it was dreadful.

I'm signing up as a fellow labyrinthitis, tinnitus and BPPV person. I had a perforated eardrum in my late teens and that ear has been a nightmare ever since. The slightest head cold and I'm falling off the loo mid flow because my balance has gone to pot. The tinnitus keeps me awake at night, I can genuinely hear that Russian song when I'm trying to sleep.

"Kalinka, kalinka, kalinka maya,
V sadu yagoda malinka, malinka maya"

It's crazy that what it basically a spirit level in your ears can effect you so much isn't it? It's because (I think) that your brain is working so hard to maintain everything else going on it can't cope properly with the glitch or get your other side to compensate like it would with other dual body parts.

It's getting massively conflicting signals from your ears, eyes and body that it just goes 'nope' and has a tantrum.

@Galvantula Yes after the main dizziness stopped, I still get dizzy if I put my head in certain positions, this is 5 years after the last bout. I can't tilt my head right back or bend over and look to the side. It is only momentarily though. You get used to it and just don't do the positions that bring it on.

Has anyone had any experience with Betahistine????

I take betahistine. It works for me but it doesn't work straight away. It can take a couple of weeks before you start to see any difference x

I had labyrinthitis three years ago, and it's left me with vestibular neuritis/neuronitis (not sure which). I "see" things moving out of the corner of my eye (weirdest was a row of shop dummies kicking their legs up like a can can as I walked past the shop window!), and when I walk, everything around me bobs up and down, as basically my brain isn't processing the signals it's getting properly.

On top of that I have fibromyalgia (which is basically the same thing of the brain not processing signals properly), and the pain medication has helped the balance stuff a bit. But, it's just been a case of getting used to it, and not freaking out when for eg a table tips over and then rights itself. But, I've handed my driving licence back, as I wouldn't be safe to drive, and am in the process of getting a disabled bus pass, which is a whole other saga in itself, but I'm pushing the issue as I'm entitled to one as the DVLA have rescinded my licence.

It's all much worse when I'm tired or stressed, and I do have to be very careful on particular sets of stairs. The specialist physio I saw recommended watching Go Pro videos on Youtube from BMX bikers, particularly ones where they're riding down hilly Italian villages. Dr Dizzy (from memory) has a collection of "lets make you feel really sick on order to make you better" videos on YouTube. Other exercises are to hold a pencil out in front of you, keep your eyes focused on it, and move your head from side to side for as long as you can bear it, then do it for 30 seconds more.