Benign Positional Vertigo

[lonewolf]

Anyone ever gone through this.
Had it happen to me this morning , other than no pain in the chest I thought I might have been having a hear attack.
Was instantly super dizzy and dripping sweat head to toe and felt really sick to my stomach.
I could barely make it to my bedroom to lay down but when I did it got even worse so had to make that 911 call.
paramedics hook me up and determined my heart signs were ok but one looked at the other and said he is going and off to the hospital I went.

Doctor performed some test and when he got me to lay my head back ,turn my head to one side HOLY.... everything started spinning again, then 15 min of pukin.

Doctor came back later and told me It looked like I have Benign Positional Vertigo, not that serious,no medication nessesary .
something to do with what he called stones in the ear canal that get stuck and one has to try to dislodge them by laying down and turning head side to side slowly ,repeat as long as you can stand it or until symptoms go away.Not that easy I have found.
Back at home now and have been reading on the internet but thought I would post to some of my fellow Porsche owners /doctors.
just curious what I am up against if anything.
Who else has gone through this ? does it come back?
thanks guys
Bruce

[Vern Lyle]

Got something similar many years ago, while leaning over to clean a 911 engine. So dizzy for 3 days I couldn't stand - or lie down. Yeah, imagine. Never treated or diagnosed, but it has recurred several times over the years, never as bad as that first time. Good luck.

[notmytarga]

The inner ear is a wonderfully designed position sensor and accelerometer - until it goes haywire!

The ear works because of tiny cells that have little hairlike feelers that stick out of them. The cells have nerve fibers that communicate directly to the brain.

For hearing these cells sense movement along a tapered drumhead - the taper allows discrimination of frequency.

For acceleration change the hairs feel for movement of fluid in the semicircular canals which are oriented in the three axis - perpendicular to each other. Once body movement is constant (spinning for 30 sec), the flow stops. Then when you do stop flow starts in the opposite direction - your eyes do wierd things (nystagmus) and you may fall over!

For position sense the hair cells feel which way a stone, called an otolith, moves. These stones are small, like a grain of sand size. If your skull is cocked to one side, forwad or back - these tell you that.

You are on the right track for treatment. I'm pleased that the first place you went seemed to know what it was and what to do. It's beyond my knowledge what is done, but there are manuevers that can be used to unstick these stones - sooner the better. Your internet searches will lead you to a local ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor that can help you. Call their office and make sure they do the manuevers.

[lonewolf]

Thanks guys .
this is how it happened to me at 9am.all of you 911 owners can picture this.
I am laying on ground,passenger side of car with feet towards the rear and my head inline with the end bolt that hold on the rocker panel.I was about to undo the three bolts that are under the car and hold the rocker on.I tilted my head back to look at the middle bolt and turned my head slightly toward the center of the car to see it better and WHAM .right away I knew this is different and as seconds went by the spinning got more intense and I don't mean round and round spinning .it is round and round ,up and down,all angles like a gyroscope. I tried to sit up but fell over to the outside and stumbled to my feet.I feel nauseous and I'm sweating everywhere,my legs were evensweating and I was getting tingly .to be honest for the first time in my life it was a little scary. it was hard to get into my house and once I did I just sat of the floor and waited and thought.....

the doctor told me about the method I think is called the eply method and it is the same procedure he tried on me but it kept bringing on the symptoms and nausea so he said he was reluctant to keep trying today so he said they can just work themselves free +I can keep trying what he showed me . the symptoms are suppose to decrease each time you move your head from side to side and then go away once you dislodge the stones.
He explained everything in detail about the tiny sensor hairs and the signals to the brain .All the technical stuff some of us pguys like . Then proving it by making the symptoms happen by putting my head in about the same position it was when I was laying beside the car and looking back.
I have been perfectly healthy my whole life this was a good test for sure.
i have been reading but doesn't seem to be a whole lot of info on reasons for this or prevention. being dehydrated is not good and I was , but so far that's all I can find that for a reason and something I do or not do in my daily routines . I have been aware of the fact that I have not been drinking my normal amount of water for the last week for whatever reason.
I'm hoping that's all it was .

[Heel n Toe]

I had a bout of that hit me about a year or two ago. It hit at work when I had a photography assignment and I barely got through it... it hit near the end of the session. I was holding on to the wall to walk and getting nausea feelings, but not enough to throw up.

I went to my doc and he knew what it was immediately and explained it to me.

To do those Epley method rehabs, you would almost need a doctor's table (because you need to let your head extend below the edge of the table) and someone to help you.

I sorta tried to do them on the floor in our living room, but mostly, I just stayed in bed a day or two... and sat up and stood up reallllllllly slowwwwwwly when I had to get up.

It would make my head swim when I lay down, too.

Doc told me something to pick up at the pharmacy... I think it was something right off the shelf... it helped. If I can think what it was, I'll post it here.

Mine has never been back.

Epley method in a Google search:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&ei=GaSbSdjTCNSyjAf_5rDABQ&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=1&ct=result&cd=1&q=epley+method&spell=1

[lonewolf]

Thanks
sleep thing not happening.
doc told me to hang my head over the edge of the bed and do it that way .
trouble is ,way I see it that even with the docs help there is no guarantee that it will fix it and once you hang your head down it can happen REALLY fast and then you are looking at ,at least a few hours of that lousy feeling.I won't try it again without some gravol handy.
John, something off the shelf sounds good to me !

[mb911]

had it about 2 months ago. thought I was having a heart attack. went to the ER they gave me anti histamine(not sure spelling) and I just felt tired for 10 days with symtoms for 10 days then it wnet away. the drig helped considerably but I still could do nothing active.

[Laneco]

Went through this myself (no doctor treatment - good old internet...). It went on pretty much daily for about 3 months. Made getting up in the morning absolutely horrendous, like severe morning sickness coupled with staggering dizziness.

I got alot of relief from sleeping semi-upright in a recliner. The symptoms immediately decreased and then went away completely.

Every now and then when I am congested, it will crop back up - a mild version of it's old self. I take an over the counter decongestant for it. But basically, it has gone away with no long term effects.

Sure makes you feel rotten though, doesn't it?

angela

[Heel n Toe]

Excerpted from WebMD:

For some people, BPPV goes away by itself in a few weeks. But it can come back again.

BPPV is not a sign of a serious health problem.

What causes BPPV?
Normally, there are little calcium "stones" in the inner ear canals that are moved around by gravity. BPPV can be caused by things like infection or inflammation that stop the stones from moving around like normal. This sends a false message to the brain that affects your balance.

How is it treated?
BPPV usually goes away by itself within a few weeks. Over time, your brain will likely get used to the confusing signals it gets from your inner ear. But you can do some simple exercises that might make the vertigo go away faster.

One kind of exercise for BPPV can move the calcium stones in a way that they don't trigger vertigo. Another kind of exercise can try to train your brain to get used to the confusing vertigo signals.

Medicine can help with severe vertigo that makes you sick to your stomach. But using this kind of medicine can also make BPPV take longer to go away. Only you know whether you feel sick enough that it is worth it to take medicine (and possibly have vertigo longer).

Medications do not cure benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). However, they may be used to control severe symptoms, such as the whirling, spinning sensation of vertigo and the nausea and vomiting that may result.

Medication Choices
Medications to reduce the whirling sensation of vertigo are called vestibular suppressants. They include:

Antihistamines, such as Dramamine (dimenhydrinate), Antivert (meclizine), Benadryl (diphenhydramine).
Scopolamine, also known as Transderm-Scop.
Sedatives, such as Valium (diazepam) or Klonopin (clonazepam).
Antiemetic medications may be used if you have nausea or vomiting along with the vertigo. (promethazine hydrochloride - Phenergan)

What To Think About
Medications that calm the inner ear (vestibular suppressants) may also slow down the brain's ability to adjust to the abnormal balance signals triggered by the particles in the inner ear. They should be taken only for 1 to 2 weeks to control severe symptoms.
http://www.webmd.com/brain/tc/benign-paroxysmal-positional-vertigo-bppv-topic-overview

lonewolf, I think I remember that my doc prescribed some Antivert and Phenergan (for nausea) for me. They helped a lot. I think I also took some Benadryl (off the shelf) from time to time as needed after those prescriptions ran out.

[GO DAWG GO]

Dizziness can be caused by fluids backing up in the ear canal and causing the vestibular apparatus to function incorrectly. That is the tubular device that are XYZ type accelerometers that one of the guys explained earlier. Antihistamines will help clear the fluid buildup from the Eustachian tube. The Antiemetic will reduce the spinning sensation and nausea. Motion sickness (vertigo) is a common issue with white males after 40 years old.

It is a bummer. Go to your neighborhood drug store and ask for an antiemetic. This type of medication is the active ingredient in Dramamine and Bomine.

Good luck!

Bob

[masraum]

Wow, I think I may have had this on Sat. This past weekend I was washing dishes when I got dizzy. I sat down for a bit and eventually threw up. I was thinking that it might have been the weirdest food poisoning ever (within 30-60 minutes of eating and went away 30 min after puking), but reading about this stuff and considering the details, I think I may have had BPPV. One of the things that makes me think it may have been the BPPV is that when I woke up that morning my right ear felt weird, congested or something, and I could hear the blood pumping through it.

Interesting, something to keep in mind if nothing else.

[creaturecat]

Surprised that you were not given exercises, which work in most cases. Here is some relevant info:

http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news/Simple-Exercises-Might-Help-Vertigo-2814-1/

[the]

I've had vertigo before. I've had it while working under cars, like you describe, where you are laying on your back, moving your head at different angles, you hit a certain angle and the very mild dizziness/spinning starts.

I also had a really bad one one night, I suddenly woke up, the room was spinning hard! Tried to stand up, barely could, it was spinning so bad. Nothing would make it stop. That really caught me off guard, my wife drove me to the hospital at 2 am for that one. I had no idea what it was, and figured I was having a stroke or some other brain issue.

For me, it seems like it is somewhat stress related. These happened in years when I had a lot more work stress.

I take an over the counter motion sickness drug called Bonine on the rare occasions that I feel it coming on, and it solves it.

[lonewolf]

Originally Posted by creaturecat

Surprised that you were not given exercises, which work in most cases. Here is some relevant info:

http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news/Simple-Exercises-Might-Help-Vertigo
-2814-1/

other than his first name i don't know the ER doc at all but i will stick up for him.
He did perform the eply excercise but it made me sick but i got the jist of what to do and he suggested I try it leaning my head over the edge of the bed and doing the side to side thing.
picked up some gravol this morning but i feel to lousy to try anything.
other than the typing here I am just sitting up in bed trying to take it easy.
In talking with friends now about some incidents in the past I realize I have had this for over 1 month now . two times in the shower I got dizzy ,once I amost fell out.that was over 1 month ago. yesterdays incident was severe, there were a few seconds when everything was gyrating and the sweat was pouring off me that I thought I am just slipping away and this is it.

some one above mentioned stress. been watching and in the markets for 35 years now and the last two months have been very stressfull.
I always say stress is a funny thing .you think you are handling everything just fine until one day your body tells you that you are not .
I say your brain will tell you first .if you ignore your thoughts then your body will tell you and if you ignore what your body is telling you there could be consequences

[the]

Try Bonine, it's over the counter and may help.

[Zeke]

Hey, Bruce, hope you feel better soon. Man, if that happened to me, I'd be thinking stroke. I suppose that would be worse, so look at it that way.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by milt

Hey, Bruce, hope you feel better soon. Man, if that happened to me, I'd be thinking stroke. I suppose that would be worse, so look at it that way.

I don't get dizzy hardly ever unless I'm spinning in circles or really drunk. I think I've had this happen twice. It scared the bejezus out of me. I had my wife take me to the hospital the first time. This last time I didn't but fortunately it was over in an hour. I sat trying to figure out if I was having a heart attack. Sweating, dizzy, nausea. The only thing that I was missing was the sore arm/chest.

[911Rob]

sorry to hear of your poor health Bruce.

Tony tore down your house and is building another home there now.
didn't know you were a trader?

[Chocaholic]

You need Meclazine. Med for motion sickness...will make you sleep like a baby. It's the active ingredient in Bonine.

It'll go away on it's own. I had it for about 2 weeks last fall.

[look 171]

It happen to me 4 sundays ago. I lost my footing as soon as I got out of bed. I knew something was screwed up so I went back to bed and try to sleep it off and it didn't go away after half an hour. I called my sis. She's a RN and talks me into going to ER. The doc almost sent me away thinking it's my inner ear thowing me off. My sister demanded that I get a CTscan. It came out neg. I can't close me eyes and stand with both feet closed together. I would fall over. So, my sister demand that I get a MRI. The next day, the doc came into the room and told me that I had minor stroke. Holy *****. I jumped out of that hospital bed. I am in perfect health. No high blood pressure, don't smoke or drink. WTF was all I kept saying to myself. I am 41, my wife and my little kids didn't sign up fot this *****. I lost a little control to my left leg. Thankfully now I am back to normal. I still have dizziness most of the day. When I sleep I feel better afterwards. I feel like I have aged 20 years after this crap. I don't feel as sharp as I used to.


I hope you get well soon.

Jeff