Vertigo

[rbgilster]

I have been suffering with vertigo for about 7 years now...I am a mom of two young children in my early 40's and it has been completely life-changing for me. I never know when it is going to come on, and so it affects every aspect of what I do. When I plan anything: a vacation, a concert, a birthday party for my children - I never know if I'll have to cancel because I'll be too dizzy.

I have recurrent bouts of vertigo, some years are better than others and I went almost one year without it, but now I experience them about every other month and they last for several days usually. Once the acute spinning is gone I still feel funky for days, sometimes weeks afterwards. I often lean and feel off balance. My head feels heavy and I feel spaced out and weird. I have a physical therapist in my town who used to do the Epley maneuver on me, but I rarely go to her anymore because I have basically learned to do it to myself. She also taught me the Brandts maneuver, which is my primary tool for helping to treat the vertigo I am actually suffering today and I do the Brandt's maneuver several times a day - it is the nicest weekend of the summer where I live and I'm stuck in my house and it really sucks!

It is hard to live life with Vertigo - I can't hold a job, there is no way I could ever do a "normal" job because I'd always be calling in sick. I also have to be aware of everything that I do - I worry that anything might bring on the vertigo. If my children jump on me and jar my head, when I'm at the park and people are playing frisbee or football, etc. I am worried that I might get hit in the head. When I snow ski or go on a boat I'm afraid that it is going to bring it on. When I sleep I only put my head to the right because it seems that the majority of the vertigo over the past few years has come from my left ear, which is the ear I always treat now. When I wake up the first thought I have is whether I will sit up and start spinning and I haven't slept on my left side in over two years!

Another thing that bothers me is watching things on television that spin...does that bother any of you? It drives me crazy how often cameras spin around a room or around people...I also can't do anything like IMAX and usually when I'm at a movie theater I have to close my eyes during the previews because they have too much fast movement. Video games are out!

Vertigo can definitely affect friendships, cus' let's face it, no one wants to hear about how dizzy I feel all the time, or how sleep-deprived I am from it, so I try not to talk about it too much and I hide it pretty well from the outside world. Most of the parents at my childrens' school don't even know I suffer from vertigo, only my good friends and family know. It is a very "hidden" affliction and unless someone has experienced it they have no idea how horrible it actually is because you appear normal. People don't notice the casual holding on to things or my hand lightly touching the walls when I'm walking down a hallway to keep myself balanced. I often press my feet into the ground to try to keep from falling over.

It is very frustrating because I've seen so many doctors - ENT's and every kind of neurologist out there -I think five in all. I've had CAT scans and MRIs and have been through every kind of natural therapy: cranio sacral, osteopathy, naturopathy, homeopathy, acupuncture chiropractic, etc. I've been through the inner ear testing and that didn't really result in anything. I have spent a fortune and nothing helps other than the maneuvers that I do, and sometimes they don't help much. I have tried mecclazine and all that does is make me feel strange and sleepy.

I have other health issues as well, including migraines and have been diagnosed with "vestibular migraines". Rather than suffering from severe head pain, I get the auras and mild head pain but I feel super dizzy. I also have what many people have mentioned: chronic upper back and neck pain. I believe there is some connection between my neck issues and my dizziness, but of course all all of the allopathic doctors that I see disagree - even my chiropractor is doubtful, but I notice that when my neck is really hurting that it often precedes vertigo bouts. I do believe that I have inner ear crystal issues, but there might also be a neck component.

Of course it doesn't help that when I get the bouts of vertigo I have to prop up on four or five pillows and sleep sitting up. That is hard to do because I wake up constantly - when my head tilts to the left or right or I slump lower in my sleep then the vertigo wakes me up. This just excaserbates my neck issues because I get horrible (no) sleep for many nights in a row. That is lots of fun!!

I don't know what to offer to anyone other than if you are not familiar with the Brandt's maneuver, become familiar with it. Learn how to do the Epley on your own as well. I have basically come to accept that I will be suffering from this for the rest of my life but I try to still live my life as though I don't have it. I still plan vacations and do fun things with my kids...I just can't do everything with them that I want to so I try to have other people fill the void. I go to the fair with friends so they can go on the rides with my kids - if we go to the waterslides I can't slide with them, but I wait at the bottom with a smile on my face, appreciative that I can still see them enjoying themselves. I miss doing things like swimming laps (I can't put my face down or to the left anymore) and I would love to surf again, but that is something I won't ever be able to do.

Most people have medical issues they have to deal with, some of us have to deal with several, but I know that my life could be worse and I truly wonder how people in countries with sub-standard medical care survive vertigo. I try to remember that I am not the only person dealing with this and while I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, I take some comfort that I am not alone.

Best of luck to all of you fellow Vertigo survivors!

[mishy08]

Hi..
Im also a mum of twin boys and i have been suffering exactly the same as you for the past 9 years..
I have it everyday and also cant go out to the cinema or watch telly where the camera is moving as it also makes me feel even worse...i only started driving again the past few years cuz for 5 years after i got it i couldnt even sit in a car to go to the doctors..i was on so much medication for nausea as well and i couldnt do anything but lay on the lounge..i was practically bed ridden for 5 years.My husband had to do the shopping cause i couldnt enter a shop with the lights and people moving and shelves of food as i couldnt even stand up as my balance would go..I had seen over 20 doctors and had mri scans,cat scans and tests looking for MS but nothing ever showed and they also diagnosed me with "vestibular migraine" what i always said to them ,how can i have a migraine for 9 years every single minute of the day..they couldnt answer me and my doctors gave up on me cause they couldnt do anything more to help me..
My husband left me cause he couldnt cope with having me ill all the time and met someone else and moved to the other side of the world leaving me to bring up my twin sons alone with this horrible illness.
Some days i wish i was dead cause i dont have a normal life like everyone else..i also cant plan trips or outings cause i never know how bad im going to feel on that day..i lost all my friends cause i cant go out with them or visit...its horrible ..
I got my vertigo 2 days after my twin sons were born so i missed out on motherhood...lucky i had my mum coming over from morning to night to care for me and the twins...unfortunatly she has alzhiemers now and cant help me so i go alone with it..
Also the new laws in australia makes single mothers go to work when their child turns 8..and when mine turned 8 they sent me looking for work or i dont get my welfare...my doctors even wrote a medical certificate stating i was not fit to work and they still make me look for work..
I cant work in a shop cause i cant stand bright lights,noise and movement so all i could take was a job cleaning houses and i will tell you its hard getting through the day..i cry after im finished..
I do it cause i have to...its unfair..
I wish i had a cure for it but i dont think it will happen...I just learn to take each day as it comes and try to fight it..i have no choice..
I still have thoughts everyday of wishing i got cancer or something so i didnt have to live this life..
My boys understand my illness and they hold my hand when we are out so i dont fall over,and i get my shopping delivered cause i cant go into a supermarket..
I must say i dont think im as bad as i was for the first 5 years but i still have it,i think ive just got used to it..
Doctors are hopeless..i was reading your story thinking to myself ,this sounds exactly like me...so ive printed your story to show my dad.
I wish you all the best and just enjoy the days that your feeling good..But my life is exactly as yours and we both can beat this..keep in contact ..
I just cant beleive ive found someone with chronic vertigo like i have..i felt alone ..
cheers,
Michelle

[vadiraj]

I m also feeling very bad about this decease. Because i feel that i have been affected with severe vertigo. i m feeling weak and sometimes if i do heavy work i feel like i m tired. i don't know what to do with this decease. it is like a hell for me. i have also consulted doctors and done many tests. can u tell me is there any methods to control this decease.