constant vertigo for a year

[Sa2010]

hi lookimg for some info please
i have had vertigo for over a year now it started last jan after a ear infection and it's never really gone away!i tried medication and then was told to stop as it can prolong healing
i have young children and struggle daily!i was sent to a blance clinic who did tests on my ears and said my ears looked fine no fluid notjing,but why am i still dizzy daily!i have pain in my left ear constantly and neck and i always feel like i'm fallong towards my left!always on a boat feeling and it scares me so much!
my last resort now is VRT i started some excerises today and wow it made me even dizzier that i had to lay on the couch all day!
please tell me some success stories from the excerises or does this feeling ever go away??
it's getting me so down 😪

Which medication were you on?

@Seaoftroubles i was given betahistine at the very start but i didn't take it long enough and they told me to stop taking it

Hi Sa2010, vertigo is so miserable to live with, l really feel for you. When l first had it ( many years ago) l was prescribed Prochlorperazine tablets and these did help with the dizziness and feelings of nausea. They are still my go to meds now if l feel unsteady or have that 'head swoop' sensation.

hi yes that's exactly what i have it's like il sit here and i'm falling towards one side!!really whoosh head can never stand straight
are those stemitil??it's a awful condition and so hard when you have a young family to look after

Yes, the other name for them is Stemetil, have you tried them? I was also prescribed Betahistine but they did nothing for me.

However my brother, who was eventually diagnosed with Meniere's disease takes Betahistine for that.

i haven't tried them no,but i think i will ask my gp,i think as it's been so long iv jusy been fobbed of!i always get pain around my ear and eustachian tube so i feel it's something to do with that just sick of it

Keep with the VRT, OP. It does work but takes ages. My physio told me about 4 months to start making an impact. Mine was also making me dizzy and he told me to reduce the amount of time I did it. Obviously try to speak to your physio.

l would definitely have a word with your G. P.
I found the prochlorperazine tablets very helpful and have also used it to manage subsequent periods of vertigo.Trying to cope with young children when you've got it is so tough, l had a 3 year old when l first experienced it and can vividly remember how limiting it was.

@dizzydizzydizzy i'm only on day 3 and honestly i'm lying here so dizzy i hate this illness so much i don't no how i got through this past year like this a house move and 3 children!but it's effecting my mental health now so bad!i am going to stick with VRT as i feel i have no other option and it won't harm,did anyone get the ear fullness with it?mine all comes from my left ear my symtoms are 24/7 of balance feelimg and ear fullness

Op, talk to your GP about the mental health stuff. In my experience, they can really help with this.

As discussed, try to reduce the length of tie you do each VRT session. I was doing it for 1 minute 3 times a day and I was very dizzy at the end of each session. Physio told me to cut back to 30sec three times a day - much better. Have you got an email address for your physio? If so, drop them a line.

Good luck! It's tough, so grab whatever support you can - GP, physio, friends, family, whatever. You will get through this.

thank you @dizzydizzydizzy
yes i did txt my physio and she told me the same cut back on them,i just hope kn the long run they do help i want to enjoy life ahain with my kids!yes iv been refered gor some cbt but tbh it's the dizziness that's causing me these anxieties
also waiting on another mri havnt had one for a few years and this year being the worst they agreed on one but only neck down?!i wasn't happy as i wnated my head and ears checked too!but all vng tests came back normal so they didn't feel ears needed lookimg at i would have liked the reassurance but they said no :(

Stick with it OP. Things will improve but it will take time.

If the CBT is not helping enough or
It's a long time before you can start, you might need medication for the anxiety. It will bridge the gap. You can get this from your GP.

thank you spoke to my gp today!!she's told me to wait for mri i'm booked in for april but she said i won't really get answers and sticking to the VRT is the only thing that will help but have to be patient :(. @dizzydizzydizzy did you get a pressure on on side of the ear like u can't put ur head straught because it makes you feel so off balance!doesn't help my neck and shoulder

Hi again OP

Glad you spoke to your GP. I speak to mine about once a month and sometimes even more often. I have found mine really understanding and helpful, even though she has absolutely no knowledge of my condition.

I only have a slight ear pressure thing but I did often used to feel like I was leaning over to the left even though In reality I was standing up straight as normal and so I used to lean to the right to compensate. I also often used to feel like my bed was sloping, so my feet felt higher than my head. Obviously my bed is flat, like any other bed. I used to try to compensate by putting extra pillows at my head. In the end I realised it was better to try my best to ignore these sensations and not compensate, which was very uncomfortable at first.

Have you tried stretches to help with your shoulders and neck? Shoulder rolls and backward swimming come to mind (I expect you will find them on YouTube).

Good luck OP.

@dizzydizzydizzy yes that's exactly how i feel!!gosh i could cry some days honestly it's so hard!like iv just sat down for the first time today and soon as i sit i feel the sensation even more like my brain is rocking inside!yes i'm having ohysio on my neck and i have started doing stretches,i'm on day 4 VRT and i am finding it hard but telling myself when i feel bad that's it's therapy and it's going to make me better!also went for a long walk today felt offish but i did it so all helps i supose thank you for replying i really do hope this settles it's the everyday that i cnt cope with but i feel i'm on the right track now x

Hope you feel better soon, OP. Reach out as much as possible to everyone and anyone who can help - it makes the journey easier.

hi @dizzydizzydizzy hope you are well!!
just thought i'd jump on i'm still suffering with vertiog on a wiating list to see a ENT again but iv been seen by my gp and a private physio who tried the epley on me twice but it made things worse so hoping it settles!last one was done last week monday and i'm still dizzy,,
iv been told to carry on taking betahistine i tried stemitil but i felt really droswey on them🤦‍♀️i'm still doing VRT don't think there is much else i can do it's so hard!
i also have sinus inflammation going on from hayfever and my eustachian tube is crackling like crazy!
anyway thiught. would update

Thanks for the update. Keep up with VRT.

Are you finding betahistine is helping? I found that neither betahistine or stematil made any difference.

Have you had a neck scan? I had all the symptoms such as constant feeling of falling to the left, vertigo, nausea, felt worse when sitting in certain positions, it was absolute hell for years. Last year I had a bone spur removed from a cervical vertebrae that was pressing into the spinal canal. Guess what? Massive improvement.

@scottgirl yes had a mri done few weeks ago and results last week showed everything was normal it's sooo fustrating iv had this for 14montjs now all started with a ear infection last feb :( i'm sat here swaying towards my left i hate it so much it's so hard being a mum!

@dizzydizzydizzy yes i am going to keep up with it as i think that's my only option now
nope i don't find betahistine does anything for me
i'm getting sinus headaches also now so i don't no if that's playing a part but my gosh it's hard!i get a few hours of it being manageable then bam it hits

Sounds similar to me, they've diagnosed me now with Vestibular Migraine. Absolutely vile illness, I'm being such a rubbish Mum because of it. Last October mine started. Left ear infections, ears often feel full
Head feels full. Eyes feel weird like something is wrong behind them. The room doesn't spin but I always feel like I just got off a spinny ride

OP, you poor thing, it's absolutely awful having an inner ear problem. It makes it hard to even think, because all of your brainpower seems to be going into keeping you upright!

I had a different one to you (BPPV), so this may not be relevant, but I eventually found that taking ginger tablets helped a lot. There were no side effects and I was definitely less dizzy. This was after trying Stemetil, having the Epley manoeuvre, trying all sorts of travel sickness meds, and even pressure bands for the wrists (did nothing for me at all).

It definitely has got better over time. I still sometimes get the sensation of my head 'catching up' when I turn to look at something, but it's very rare now. Recovery was slow, but it did happen.

I don't know how to do those mumnet flowers, but hugs to you OP.

It could be TMJ or a jaw related issue linked with anxiety. This is what was causing mine and I went through months of thinking it was an ear infection!