Labrynithitis--dizziness from inner ear inflammation

My doctor thinks that I have this, as I've been suffering from chronic dizziness and my bloodwork is all normal. I was wondering if anyone else has had this and has had any luck with medication or therapy to combat the dizziness. I was prescribed a medication for the dizziness, but taking it as directed has only resulted in taking the edge off of the problem. It's difficult to do much of anything, because I'm getting constant headaches and nausea from the dizziness. I get dizzy from even the slightest bit of movement or even reading.

I've just been getting totally frustrated by all of this, and am hoping anybody can provide some suggestions, or at least commiserate. I was supposed to spend my summer studying for the MCAT (medical school admissions exam) and I can't even do 10 pages of light reading without needing an hour break. I'm just miserable. :frown:

Thanks to anyone who bothered to read my moan.

Reply 1

herecomestrouble

14

aww

hope you feel better soon - my mum gets this and i can sort of understand how horrible it is... makesyou feel dreadful.

sending lots of hugs and sympathy your way hun!

hope you feel better soooon xxxxxxxx

Reply 2

Acaila

17

My mum suffers from this so I can sympathise. It doesn't happen to her all the time though so hopefully it'll go away :hugs:

Reply 3

RetiredAccount89

18

well it usually lasts for about 2-3weeks i'm afraid, then gradually settles over the following 2 weeks.
aside from the meds already given, theres not alot that can be done...

Reply 4

notsoperfect

1

my mum had this. it cleared up within a few weeks of taking the medicene :smile:

Reply 5

psychic_satori

OP

1

Thanks for the support, everyone! I think it might be starting to clear up (I had the dizziness for about a week before I saw my physician). This is the first morning that I haven't felt dizzy and nauseous since this all began. Hopefully I will continue to improve in the coming days. :smile:

Reply 6

glaucon

8

My brother gets this, his doctor gave him some medication that helped, but I don't know what it's called.

Hope you feel better, I know it must be really horrible, he always gets *seasick*

hugs

Reply 7

McGJunior88

My dad got viral labyrinthitis when we were in Florida. 2 days into our 2 week holiday and he has this ... attack-like 'thing'. Basically we all thought (including my mum, who's a nurse) that he was having a heart attack or something - he was cold and clammy, couldn't sit straight, kept vomiting. This had an onset time of about 2 minutes from being completely normal to looking like death.

Fortunately he was OK, despite me having to wheel him about for the rest of the holiday (he's not the smallest of blokes).

Was yours like this, or more gradual? Hope it clears up okay :wink:

Reply 8

psychic_satori

OP

1

It was slightly more gradual than your dad's case, but the actual dizziness came on rather suddenly. I had been having a slight bit of dizziness when I would go to bed at night, but I'm slightly anemic, and I figured I just hadn't been getting enough iron. I felt really drained, and spent a lot of time lying around, which I attributed to poor sleep for those couple of days. Then, while I was reading on the couch, I felt really dizzy all of a sudden and my heart started racing and I had chills. I felt very intense anxiety and had this unnatural sense of doom. It was rather disturbing.

I don't know which kind of labyrinthitis that I had. My doctor said that it was probably either viral or could have resulted from a calcium deposit forming. He gave me medication and also suggested that I lie with my head hanging off of a bed and turn my head slowly from side to side a few times. Apparently, people can sometimes develop calcium deposits that can rest on one of the tubes of the labyrinth, the force of gravity when you're upside down can knock them off. Then, it just has to take time to settle down in the fluid of your ear, afterward. I tried this, and felt REALLY dizzy immediately afterwards (I was walking as if I were on choppy seas), but then things started to improve rapidly. So, at this rate, it could have been either form.

Labrynithitis--dizziness from inner ear inflammation

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