Feeling depressed and anxious with labyrinthitis

[Maduri100]

I have had labyrinthitis for 5 weeks now and I am feeling very depressed and anxious. The severe vertigo and dizziness had subsided, and I was starting to feel normal last week and really believed that it was on t's way out. But since yesterday, I have felt awful again. No vertigo, but a horrible headache and dizziness and that whole detachment from reality.

I feel like my life has been ruined, I just want to back to feeling normal. The doctor said it could last for months???

Going to try acupuncture later, has anybody had experience of this working?

:-(

So sorry you feel like this. I had it badly nearly two years ago and it took at least 6 weeks to feel halfway decent and be able to drive. Even then I had to be careful not to move too quickly. It did eventually disappear though. I also felt really depressed and anxious and hated being on sick leave. I felt like a fraud because I was absolutely fine (as long as I didn't move that is!).

Could your headache and dizziness be something else entirely and you are coming down with a cold?

Hope you feel better soon

I do sympathise with you. I had this a couple of years ago and made the mistake of googling how long it might last.

I remember starting to feel better after about a month and then just getting a little bit better each day until one day it was just gone (maybe 6 weeks in total).

Have you tried just trying to do a little bit each day. I was told that if you can bear it to try and stand up so that your brain can start to heal itself. I don't know if this is true but I forced myself to walk around the house after about 3 weeks and even though it was really tiring I think it did help.

I can recognise the feeling of thinking you're never going to get better, I hope you start to improve soon, it's a horrible condition

Hi, thanks for your replies. xx

I am getting out and about every day. I have to really as I walk my son to and from school. Some days it's fine and I can cope with the weird 'lens', but I feel like I can't venture out too far on my own with my kids. The headache has disappeared and I am starting to think that was aggravated with too much dairy.

The acupuncture was definitely helpful and something that I will continue. It's just so debilitating. I felt I was getting back on track after PND, and then have been hit by this. Dawn French said she had it for 3 weeks, and I've been clinging onto that time frame! I was beginning to get a cold on Monday, but I've managed to ward that off which I think aggravated the inflammation. I get anxious that I will be like this for a long time.

I had this years ago. It did take a long time to go but it will eventually. Having set backs is normal and it will be/ little things, such as a cold or a long journey that will do it. Hang in there. You'll be fine

I get this every few years though not for about six now thankfully. It is totally rubbish but does go, I got referred for physiotherapy which was really helpful, exercises like looking at a point on a wall and then turning your head from side to side whilst keeping your eyes on the point. It retrains the brain to make that link between eyes and ears which gets unsettled by the infection (or something like that) and was very effective.

Hi, I posted here previously. It has now been nearly 3 months since I had labyrinthitis or this vestibular problem. It actually went away after 6 weeks, but I wasn't 100%. I really felt that it was on it's way out. Then 3 weeks later, myself and my kids came down with a heavy cold which bought the dizziness symptoms back. The doctor said that this happens with upper respiratory viruses, and has basically fobbed me off. I'm coping with it well, and function normally but I'm so exhausted. Sometimes I get really down and go onto Google. I'm worried this is me for life now. Is it normal to not feel 100% steady 3 months after??

Many thanks

Hi there OP I had a similar experience 14 years ago and will pm you.

Sorry op I can't figure out how to pm on my phone!

For me, the lightbulb moment was talking to someone who recommended cooksey cawthorne OT exercises to rehabilitate. At that point I stopped waiting to just get better. I forced myself back to work with ME type symptoms, tinnitus and dizziness. I work in the public sector and had to have an occupational health assessment and phased return after 3 months off work. (I too had previously got better and then relapsed ). However, within 3 weeks of pushing through that pain barrier I was back at work full time and able to drive. I won't lie, it was a very scary time but I did get better relatively quickly. The only lasting thing is very slight tinnitus and increased sensitivity to loud noise, so I'm ultra cautious at a concert, for example.
Tbh, if I had not forced myself to fight it, it could've gone on longer and led to worse depression and anxiety.
Very best of luck, op.

I had problems with dizzy spells for ages after having layrinthitis. I felt down and depressed with it too so can totally sympathise

I then moved area and my new GP was amazing - she did this procedure which involved moving the ear crystals (was very when this was suggested!) But it worked and I've genuinely had no problems with dizziness since. Might be worth asking at your surgery?

Agree with posters above who did some rehabilitation exercises and feel they made a difference.
I saw a physio privately who was very helpful, giving me exercises and checking I was doing them regularly and improving.It took some time, I was left with tinnitis, but a cranial osteopath helped with that.
Its an exhausting condition and depression is a common side effect apparently.
GPs may offer stemetil but this can delay recovery.

Hope you feel better soon.

Thanks for your responses :) I'm going to go back to my GP again and demand that I get referred to a VRT physiotherapist. They keep throwing medication at me, but I'm reluctant to take anything as I'm breastfeeding my daughter. This week has been so much better, you're right, RoastedParsnip, about getting on with it.

I'm just glad to hear that there is an end to it! The exhaustion is difficult to deal with, and the dodgy perception. I really crave the times when my head used to be clear, instead of foggy. But, I'm feeling a lot better this week. It's just such a shock because it is so long lasting.

Thanks again!

Thanks Munsnit, I've heard of this procedure, think it's called the Epley manovere?? I'll talk to my doctor about it :)

The Epley manoeuvre is for benign positional dizziness. It is a series of head movements that reposition the loose crystals inside your ear canals. Look it up on youtube - you can do it yourself but you need to know which ear is causing the problem. The Cooksey Cawthorne exercises retrain your brain to sort of ignore the unbalancing problems.

I had labrynthitis more than once .... it wasn't labrynthitis it was Meniere's disease. You might like to ask for a referral to a balance clinic or an ENT specialist.

Good luck!