Hi all,

Last July I had a bout of BPPV (https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-...s/syc-20370055)

Essentially serious vertigo everytime I turned my head to the right. Doctor treated with some manupulation, my osteopath also and I got some excercise to do. Was cleared fully in about 2 months (which for me was a long time).

Woke up this morning with it again, this time when I turn my head on the left side.

Doctor says this "just happens" and just be patient.

But it's really impairing and I wonder if there is anything else I could try? Has anyone gone though this and has suggestions?

Thank you!
K

I struggled with it for about 3 months last year too. I was doing epley maneuver 2-3 times a day, always after waking up and before going to sleep, and some other similar exercises that I found on youtube. And I also bought a posture correction corset (Rücken Geradehalter) and wore it daily (still do it). Don't know what exactly helped, maybe all of it, but my condition gradually improved and I am all good for now.

I suffer with this and it can be very uncomfortable, confusing and disconcerting. When it happens to me it can last for days or even weeks with varying intensity. There isn't much that can be done about it apart from the manipulation to dislodge the cause.

I can't say this helped, but now that i think of it there might be a correlation: over the years it has been happening less frequently and the only thing I can think of is that I have been doing a lot of physical training specifically around balance and proprioception. I move a lot. I do a lot of Pilates and Gyrokinesis which has me moving in all directions and rotating etc.

Good luck, i know it's very uncomfortable.

__________________
The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few

My sister has suffered for years, to the point of vomiting. Meniere's was ruled out, and the docs told her that the only thing to do was to get the crystals back where they belong, by faithfully using all those exercises of which you are probably aware already. She can go for months between attacks now. Best of luck..you have my sympathy--it is painful to even witness, let alone suffer from. I think Traubert is on to something. Hers also improved with regular balance exercise.

Have you had your ears checked out? I had balance and dizziness issues after sufferering 2 retracted eardrums on an Edinburgh to Basel flight about 5 years ago. Every time I stood up I felt as if I was leaning to the left and I was holding on the the wall as I was worried about falling over.
I saw an ENT specialist who gave me a balloon to use, they give them to kids for glue ear and you have to attach it to a nozzle and use your nostrils to blow it up to the size of an orange twice a day. It really helped, but i now have mild tinnitus in my right ear that gets louder if I drink alcohol.

Thank you all. It drives me mad that seems "nothing" can be done and "nothing" causes is except "it happens". My osteo said to me it happens to all at least once in life... Seems like a made up statistic but does seem to happen.

My GP checked my ears during first bout, now booked another appointment for tomorrow so let's see what he says. I may insist we do something more this time.

I have also vomited during the first attack in July and almost again today - just I know what it was and stayed super still so avoided it by a smidge. After the first attack it gets better. First time it freaked me out as I had no clue what was happening and thought I was having a stroke. Its a horrible thing.

One silver lining is I cannot for the life of me eat any food, so I can do a nice post Christmas cleanse #findthefuninallthatlifegivesyou

K

We missed nice Christmas and New Year food, I went down with a virus on the 23rd Dec, OH on Boxing Day. Worst part was my sister was here for a week so it wasn't the Christmas I intended OH is still not very well as he got rid of one thing then picked up something else. Some of his colleagues are off sick now.

kri, be very careful you stay hydrated, and keep a diet diary. When you have anorexia you risk getting low on carbohydrate, fatty acids, and fibre. It's useful to write down what you should eat that day and check it off as you go. I know forcing yourself to eat is hard, but you don't want to make it worse by being malnourished. There are several studies by the NIH on diet and BPPV, but most are focused on elderly patients.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4593901/

There are some causes, like calcium deposits that end up in the canals of the inner ear. The tiny hairs in these canals tell us where we are in space and how we're moving by the direction of the fluid inner ear that moves them. If calcium deposits fall onto these tiny hairs it can wreak havoc with your balance etc.

There are other causes. If it is calcium deposits, there's no getting into the canals to remove the rocks.

I was convinced I had something crawling around in one of my ears, the ENT specialist told me it was trapped air brushing against the hair in my inner ear. It was horrible, made me feel sick.

Thank you - no worries I am well nourished, about 10kg too well infact. Its just the nausea is preventing me from eating right now. I am drinking hot teas.

I've had BPPV several times, so I empathize - the feeling is horrid.

Did your doctor give you something against the nausea?

IIRC there are several meds that can help with the nausea, speak to your doctor about which one might be appropriate for you. Stopping the vomiting is key for me. I've also been given an anti-motion sickness drug, something similar to Dramamine, which helped stop the room from spinning.

While the room is spinning, I find that lying on my side with a cold compress helps. No medical reason why it should, just an anecdote.

Doing the Epley manoever, or whatever exercises your doctor recommends, is helpful. With BPPV moving those crystals is key to stopping the attack, and apparently the exercises are the best way to do so. I found it helpful to do the manoever at least once at the Praxis so that the doctor can tell if I am doing it correctly or not.

If the vomiting is continuous, as other posters mention be careful of dehydration. During bad attacks where the vomiting is constant, I've had to go in for an infusion due to dehydration. If you think you are at that point, do the 'tenting' skin test, then speak to your doctor if you are showig dehydration and unable to drink or keep water down for a prolonged time.

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An amusing-in-hindsight BPPV note:

During an attack I needed the anti nausea meds so called the GP. Mine was not available so I saw a doctor I had never met before. This doctor, not knowing me, my history, or my imperfect German, decided that it was a stroke. He frogmarched me to the hospital, where apparently once the 'S' word is uttered you have to stay and go through the whole stroke protocol, several days.

Turns out, it was my German that prompted his diagnosis. My German gets worse under stress, and during our discussion I made the typical English speaker mistake of incorrect word order several times. The doctor didn't realize I was not a mother tongue German speaker, so took my mistakes as Aphasia.

Oh well, it was a nice quiet 'vacation' in the hospital. At least I got the 'good stuff' against nausea and the BPPV attack passed far more quickly than usual.

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BPPV sucks, I hope you attacks pass quickly. But do make sure you are getting appropriate nausea and/or motion sickness meds. If you get BPPV attacks frequently ask your doctor if it is OK to keep meds on hand so you don't have to venture out while dizzy/ vomiting in order to get them.

These are the crystals I referred to before. The exercises are designed to slowly re-settle the calcium crystals into their proper place. It also helps to be very deliberate and slow in orienting your head and eyes to minimise vertigo.

Edit: what meloncollie said.

Thanks Meloncollie and I am sorry you suffer from this, it is really horrible. Thankfully I only vomited once so all good. Now just the nausea. Unfortunately cannot take any anti nausea med as they interfere with another med I absolutely need - so need to suck it up.

I will be good with the exercise - they make me feel awful so its hard to actually do them but I know they are key.

I will report back if doc tomorrow says anything else.