Labyrinthitis

[LouP19]

I've been diagnosed with Labyrinthitis. This started 11 days ago - I woke up early in the morning and felt dreadful for about 5 hours - couldn't move without being sick. This calmed down, and now I suffer from bad vertigo throughout the day (basically feel like I'm on a rocky boat trip all the time). I can function just about normally during the morning, but as the day wears on this feeling worsens.

I only managed one day in work last week as I felt so awful. Went to the dr again yesterday who has prescribed me some more medication (Prochlorperazine) and said '10 days is not a long time for Labyrinthitis, even though it seems like a long time to you' and then gave me another sick note. :( Neither this, nor the previous medication (Stugeron) have worked and I'm loathe to take more pills when they don't seem to be doing anything.

Anyone else had this and if so how long for? Did you have time off work? Thanks in advance.

Hi - I sympathise, Labyrinthitis is horrible I had Labyrinthitis off and on for a few years following a virus BUT one doctor did a procedure on me which involved moving my head around to dislodge crystals in my inner ear which was 5 years ago now and it has never come back! I might just have been lucky but it's worth a shot.

Hope you feel better soon.

I had this a few years ago and I had antibiotics and some anti sickness drugs. I'm afraid I don't recall the names.

I have a feeling it was stress related as it got much better after I literally switched off and took a week off work. I did have a rather dramatic diagnosis though which came about after I fainted at the top of the escalator in Bank station.

i was on betahistine, stamatil didnt work for me as well.

much much sympathy, it is horrid. Just sleep as much as you can.

I had it for quite a long time. I was off work for a couple of months and was still affected for about 18 months. It usually is better well within 6 weeks though.

Thanks for your answers. The Dr said that most people should be over the 'worse' of it after 3 weeks, so I'm praying that within the next few days I feel I can function a little more.

Ugh, I have had it too, it really is horrible mine also came on very suddenly at work, I couldn't stand up and I was carted off in an ambulance
It took me about 3 weeks to feel better although it has never fully gone away and I am still sensitive to changes in direction etc, so can't go on rollercoasters or anything like that. I had both the drugs you have but neither really worked for me either.

I've had it too. Horrible. I was just told to take travel sickness pills. It did pass after a week or so.
Hope you feel better soon.

Would agree that it is stress related too. Try to rest.

Agree with whispers that can't cope with fairground rides or things anymore. Never the same again. Sometimes I start feeling bad just watching kids on the swing.

I have had this twice in the last ten years and its horrendous. It followed a sinus infection both times and lasted about 6 weeks but took ages after that before I felt normal - about 3 months. I tried stemetil and betahistine but nothing helped, it just gradually faded. What seemed to help, oddly enough, was keeping moderately active so lots of gentle walks. I believe this helps the brain get used to the dodgy signals from the affected ear. Also, plenty of water. Hope you start to feel better soon as its awful.

forgot to add - I was off work for 3 weeks each time and did struggle on my return as I still felt dreadul but it very gradually got better.

I'm recovering from a terrible bout of it.....I suddenly felt so giddy one day. like walking on a moving train. My head was spinning, my legs felt odd lengths, even flexing my ankles whilst sitting on the sofa would set it off. Was on stemitil (prochlorperazine) which helped........it lasted for 2 months, disappeared for 3 weeks, and then came back again. Only lasted a week this time at its worst, but still feel giddy when I'm tired or have a headache.

I was referred to an ENT who diagnosed labyrinthitis along with BPPV and did a procedure to move crystals in my ear too.

Its truly awful...I'm self employed and had to keep working through it....would literally be falling into my sewing machine as I worked because of the sense of false movement.

I'm now 4 months into it and mainly recovered, as I mentioned earlier it still presents itself when I have a headache or I'm really tired.

Hope you recover soon as its bloody awful!

I had this more than 10 years ago and still remember it vividly as I had never felt so dreadful! The worst of it does pass after a few weeks but it lingers on for months - I found going shopping, or being anywhere where you moved your head a lot made me feel queasy.

I had labrynthitis just after I had dd. It was horrible, really scary, and as I was breastfeeding I couldn't have any treatment. For me I was normal most of the time, and then I would suddenly feel just awful, so dizzy I couldn't stand, repeatedly sick and just wiped out for hours. The combination with a baby who insisted on being carried and rocked all the time was really really not good. After a month or so I stopped breastfeeding and got some drugs (probably stematil) which I took at the beginning of the attack which made it much more tolerable, and pretty soon after that it went away. I've never been good with fairground rides and get motion sick very easily at the best of times.

Thank you everyone for your comments. I'm now at the 3 weeks stage and am returning to work this week for a couple of days to ease myself back into it. It is slowly getting better, thankfully, but I've been told to take it easy for another 3 weeks to allow my body to continue to readjust. I'm desperate to get back into exercising, but have been told just 'gentle walks' for the next few weeks. Crikey. :(

I had it. I took 3 weeks off work , but it lasted for about six months.

I took a medicine called motilium 30 which really helped the symptoms.

I got it after a sinus infection, lasted about 2 weeks full on but hung around in the back ground for months.
Tried histamine, Stugeron and head exercise movements I found on the web.
Do not try taking the kids swimming for a good few months, the feeling of panic that hit me in the pool when I realised I had no way of steadying myself was horrific!

I had it recently, came on (after a few warning signs, like dizziness getting out of bed the day before) while swimming on my back - I literally could not get my balance, I was lurching around like a drunk person, bouncing off the wallks, feeling my way in a dazed panic - had to be brought home by ambulance with a suspected stroke, but they diagnosed it correctly pretty quickly.

Was ill with it for nearly two weeks, had to use a stick to get to the loo to stabliise myself a bit, horrible nausea, couldn't do much but lie in bed with the room swimming around me.

I took Buccastem (paramedic left some) and Stugeron, they helped perhaps a little bit while it was at its worst.

There are a couple of topics on MN with support for sufferers if you do a search. I found them comforting at the time. Mine has cleared up more or less completely and I'm swimming again (after a month) so I'm hoping it was the viral type and won't return.

Poor you, OP. It's a most distressing thing. Really hope you feel better soon, and anyone else suffering with it

My 13 year old daughter has just been diagnosed with labyrinthitis. The doctor could not give her any medication for the ear problem and she is missing school for the third time this year. The last time this happened was in early Feb and before that November when she had 8 days off each time. Just wondered if anyone else had kids with this problem and what helped, if anything? She is normally really active playing football and lots of other sports and is finding the lack of balance and sick feeling very frustrating.

I see this is an old thread but Google Brandt-Daroff exercises and look at a YouTube video, you can do them at home and they may be helpful.