Labyrinthitis

[Starrrz]

So 6th oct i went in for an endo op, week later got hit down by the flu! Went back
to work for a week then the sunday i woke up with loud tinnutis, dizzyness (veritgo) being sick and headaches.
dr said its due to having the flu!
the veritgo eased but im still dizzy, and feeling very sick!
how long will this go on for? Im soooo fed up 😩😩 have a little one to look after is very hard with this.
started antibiotics also incase its an inner ear infection.
any tips or advice i would really appriciate it x

Bump anyone pleasee :(

Oh so mych empathy. Am quite prone to this. Thankfully not for a few years.

Do you have any meds for the dizziness?

If it becomes unbearable there is an injection they can give.

Rest as much as pos

@Skiny thankyou for your reply!!
they gave me some starting with P? But my dr said that apparently they delay recovery:(

it all started since i had the flu :( i thought it eased but it came back worse :( been off sll this week and got this week coming off.
how long did it go on for you?
did you get pressure in your ears with it ?
x

Hiya - myself and DP have had labrynthitis. I really feel for you. It’s awful.

Mine came like a bolt from blue, I was laying on the sofa watching TV before suddenly feeling like I’d drink two bottles of wine. The room was literally spinning. I couldn’t walk up the stairs or the hallway without clinging on to the banister or the wall. I was signed off work for two weeks. I think the GP gave me steroids or anti-sickness tablets but I can’t remember clearly now. What I shouldn’t have done was go back to work as early as I did (I went back after a week.) As the mum of a toddler I know how it is but if you do have help available try to rest as much as possible. The more you rest the quicker it will go.

About two years later I had a virus and it sparked it off again. I’ve been told subsequently that once you’ve had it if you get anything viral it’s more likely to give you a reoccurrence. I had to have a course of ocular rehabilitation with a specialist that time to teach my body to balance itself as I couldn’t bend or reach down without being dizzy. The specialist told me that our sight, balance and hearing are on a triangle so if one is off it will affect the other two. I'm judicious now about having my hearing and eyes tested regularly.

DH had it for six months. His symptoms diminished over time but he says that was the amount of time it took to be fully well. He cut out caffeine and alcohol and that helped a lot.

@ZZSpot thankyou for your reply !
omg that sounds awful you got it again :( how bloody awful!!!
i hope it wont happen every time i get ill!
and your poor husband for 6 months!!! Was you husband home off work the 6 months?

im relaxing as much as i can, if i need to take another week or 2 i will. Its rubbish before x mas getting not much money but the way i feel I physically cant!

i do t actually think ive ever felt this awful? Maybe in early pregnancy but this is sooooo much worse! People who get it alot i feel very sorry for them x x

DD had this a few weeks ago. She felt that the room was constantly spinning, was nauseous and as well as this her eyes were moving on their own due to miscommunications in her ear. took her to a private GP who gave her a sedative which worked wonders. 5 days of antibiotics cured things thankfully!

I had it, like @ZZSpot it came on out of nowhere while watching TV one evening. I was repeatedly sick. I took stugeron, but any travel sickness pill would help, I think. The worst was over in 48 hours. Luckily I didn't have a little one to look after. I hope you feel better soon.

@MaloneMeadow thanks for your reply! What sedative did she have ? Also ive been given 5 days of amoxicillin. Hoping it will help x

@Quinque thankyou for your reply!
how long did it last after thr worst part? X

@Starrrz It was prochlorperazine x

I had this years ago when the DC were toddlers. The gp prescribed Stemetil. My DD had the same when she was at college, and had a couple of weeks off with worst symptoms, same meds. Neither of us has had a recurrence. Don’t know if it’s connected, but both of us have had hearing loss since early childhood. Hope you get better quickly, it really is most unpleasant.

@Starrrz he was off work for a few weeks before it was under control and he was able to work / drive safely but it was six months before he felt properly well. Rest as much as you can. The time of year doesn't help with so many bugs about!

@TiredOldLady Thankyou for your reply!
its hard with little ones isnt it!
I honestly think this is the worst i have felt!
It could be connected to the hearing loss? Did you ask the GP at the time?
how long did it last for you both? X

After an inner ear infection, the balance can be affected for a while. When it takes a long time, it can be called failed vestibular compensation. This is where ear has been damaged + the balance messages aren't the same. The brain should compensate + adjust, but sometimes doesn't.
There are physio exercises which can be very effected a retraining your brain to balance, google Cawthorne-Cooksey exercises. A word of warning, they are progressive, don't try to do them all at once! You progress from lying exercises, progress to sitting, standing + moving. You work up to find the level that challenges you, practise them until they improve + slowly work up.
They make you dizzy but can't do any harm.

@JoyceWentstone thankyou!!! I will give them ago! Tbh ill try anything to make me feel better!
have you ever had labyrinthitis? Did they help you? Xx

I've had it twice, it's horrible and I couldn't even lift my head off the pillow without extreme vertigo and feeling like I was going to fall off a cliff.
Last time I was given prochlorperazine and it worked like magic from the first dose. Without it I would have just had to lie flat for days.

@FictionalCharacter did a cold virus trigger for you?
im glad it helped! My gp said to try not to take it if i can as it can prolong recovery so ive been abit scared to take it. Xx

I had what was diagnosed with labyrinthitis 10 years ago, was given prochlorperazine, suffered severely for about a week then it gradually wore off over a few weeks.

I had a very similar attack this summer, managed to get a doctor’s appointment v quickly ( miracle) - she thoroughly checked me over then got me to lie down on the couch in different ways whilst staring into my eyes and diagnosed BPPV : Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo. Gave me a sheet of exercises to do and said to book in with a particular colleague in a few days if it hadn’t improved when he would perform a particular manoeuvre.

The gentle exercises didn’t seem to do anything but Googled the condition and found a lot of posts by physios on YouTube demonstrating what I assumed to be this special one that the second dr would perform. It’s called the Epley Manoeuvre - I enlisted the help of my husband and it took two goes for it to work. That was it - disappeared entirely, no need to trouble the doctor further.

I now doubt that the diagnosis of 10 years ago actually was labyrinthitis.

I've no idea what triggered it but it was most likely viral.
I've never heard that medication can prolong recovery and it doesn't make sense to me. It got rid of the symptoms for me and that's what mattered. I went from not being able to sit up to being able to walk about normally, very very quickly. I took the meds for however many days the GP said and was OK after that.
I'm not sure your GP is right TBH. I don't know what he means by prolong recovery and I don't get why a drug that acts on the brain to ease vertigo should slow down recovery from a virus.

@FictionalCharacter i thought it was weird also but i saw some tik toks saying the aame thing. May try one in a min and see how i feel, im glad they helped you :)
did you take one a day? X

I had labyrinthitis, vestibular neuritis and BPPV due to Covid infection. Prochlorperazine helped a bit, but I was advised not to take it for long to allow the brain to compensate and recover from the dizziness. I had to have occular vestibular therapy (they also did the Epley Manoeuvre) to be able to function day to day which took around 4 months. Even with that I would get marked symptoms if bending or turning too quick or in moving vehicles for over 9 months. I also got flare ups with any viral infection in that time (and still do mildly sometimes.

3 weeks of lying in bed for me

It was 3 a day, can't remember for how long, and I also had the dissolving tabs (same drug, lower dose) that my GP said I could take on top of that if I needed it because they are quick acting.
I fail to see how having the "illness" for a bit longer but feeling MUCH better while you recover, can be worse.
TikTok must be the worst place on earth to get medical advice so don't rely on it. Even worse than MN!

My husband had it and was two weeks off work but then had to work from home for another seven until he could drive again. He was so unwell very quickly initially but the anti sickness medication helped him and was out of bed pottering after 3 or 4 days. First 2 he couldn't even watch tv. I hope you get well quickly.

@Choconuttolata thankyou for your reply! 9months to fully get better thats a long time isnt it. Im glad the OT helped you!
Their isnt anything like that around me , i could ask the GP for a referral. Did you GP refer you to it?
since i first got covid in 2020 ive never been the same health wise. Ive always been very sporty , never stop on the go! I got POTS and cant do much exercise etc. Xx