Advice please DH has vertigo

taking medication from GP and waiting about 3 months for it to subside completely - cutting out alcohol and drinking 2litres water a day has brought about a massive improvement

Thanks Clementine.

There is a special manoeuvre that can be done, I think someone mentioned it on one of the earlier posts . If you put it into google with your location they will give you a list of practitioners that do it. It's very successful . Worth knowing should it reoccur. It's a horrible thing and can take a while to recover from .

I think quite a shock is an understatement Suedonim . That all sounds horrendous.
My hairdresser's mother had to have an operation to help hers.
It seems my husband has got off very lightly.

It was quite a shock to the system, Annep1, I must admit! In my case, although the doctors poo-pooed it, I am convinced it was connected to an allergic reaction.

It was the height of the rape oil flowering season and I developed terrible hay fever, never having had hay fever before in my life. My eyes were bloodshot and red and so swollen I could barely see, with - sorry if this is too much information- yellow pus pouring out. I felt as though I had flu and decided to go to bed early. I went into the kitchen and that’s when the giddiness hit - wham!

As I say, the doctors said it couldn’t be caused by that, although they didn’t give me any other reason, but I figured that as all the tubes in our head are connected why couldn’t my ears be affected by hay fever?

I have to say, I’m a bit nervous when the rape season comes round each year now but, fingers crossed, I’ve never had such an extreme reaction again.

Glad to hear your Dh is improving!

No, this was definitely a virus. Just as with the noro-virus, it affected several people at the same time.

I couldn't find that Ladymuck but I did learn that many people suffer from vertigo after a cruise.

No-one has mentioned the virus which is causing these symptoms. A year ago, I suddenly had dizziness, nausea and diarrhoea. A nurse at the health centre told me it sounded like the virus. It also affected passengers on a cruise ship, which was mentioned in the papers.
I'm still getting it but the attacks are getting milder.

What a really awful time you had SueDonim. Who would think vertigo could be so severe?
I didn't know it was such a big problem that we had Balance Clinics.
My husband seems to be on the mend thankfully. Like everyone here we will keep our fingers crossed, but at least I have a lot of useful information in case it happens again.
Thank you.

This is certainly an awful thing to have. Thankfully for most it clears up reasonably quickly but for those who have had it for months it is really debilitating.

There are a few Balance Clinics around the country in large hospitals.

They are experts in all types of vertigo as that’s all they do, and they have specialist diagnostic equipment which ENT departments don’t have.

Yes, it’s difficult, annep1. We’re so conditioned to not ask for a home visit nowadays. In my case, I’d fallen/collapsed on the kitchen floor and my neighbour called an ambulance which led to a hospital visit. I was sent home within hours with medication but three days later was still unable to get up and was vomiting constantly. My Dh called the GP who came and gave me an anti nausea injection. That only worked briefly and 48 hours later I was so ill that my Dh called NHS24, who sent an ambulance. I was admitted to hospital for a couple of nights to be put on a drip and have anti-nausea medication.

Thankfully, that sorted it, but boy, did I feel ill! I’ve not had a major episode since, although I’ve occasionally had very mild bouts.

Your last paragraph is interesting Sue Donim. I wasn't sure about asking the doctor to come.

My sympathy! I had some bouts of labyrinthitis a few years ago and it was vile. I ended up twice going to hospital by ambulance. Medication can relieve symptoms a bit but really it was time that was the greatest healer.

My doctor said it’s one of the most common acute conditions that GP’s are asked to do home visits for because it’s so debilitating.

You are all so thoughtful.
DoraMarr that is so hard for you, having to cope permanently.
Terribull yes it was worrying and frightening as I had never seen this before.
Thanks for all your advice everyone. I feel less anxious now.
I shall get him to look at the link too when he is able Rosecarmel.

...........and clicking on to rosecarmel's link I see you get a detailed explanation of that.

Further to my previous post, my step daughter also suffers from very occasional intense migraine, the ones that are precipitated by an aura. Consultations with her doctor threw up the fact that there are minute crystals in the inner ear and when these get moved out of place they can affect balance and cause the symptoms under discussion.

I have benign positional vertigo, which is different from your husband’s, because I have it all the time. I have learned to manage it. I know there are certain positions I cannot have my head in. I’ve had to give up yoga and switch to Tai- Chi, which I have found enormously helpful. I have also had a couple of attacks of labyrinthitis, which is more severe. The thing to do is to find a position which is most comfortable and which lessens the nausea. I find being propped up on pillows or cushions and slightly reclining is the best for me. He needs to drink plenty- I find good strong tea helps. Calming breathing exercises help too, e.g breathing in slowly for a count of five, holding for five, then breathing out for five. Try listening to music rather than talk radio. This acute vertigo is nothing to worry about- it will pass.

My husband has attacks like the one you've described OP, he has always suffered from motion sickness, a trait passed on to several of the childre, inherited from his father. So occasionally he wakes up in a cold sweat with the room spinning. Doctor's advice take Stuperon, the travel sickness pill bought over the counter, this usually restores normality in a few hours, although there have been occasions when the symptoms have gone on for most of the morning. Again he is someone who requires frequent ear syringing due to build up, infected/blocked ears can affect balance.

Commiserations, I remember being worried too when my husband had a severe attack.

In my experience it takes a while for betahistine to kick in. I've had repeated bouts of vertigo. Looking down often made it worse. I would advise trying to keep the head as still as possible . Experiment with sleeping , I found I couldn't turn to the left and sleep semi sitting up, never flat. It is horrible but does go eventually and I think after time you can learn to control it. I hope it is only a short, one off bout for your husband.

Oh my sympathies, I sat up in bed one morning and it just hit me, I thought I was having a stroke.

It did settle, I got some exercises from the chiropractor, even doing them was horrible, it took quite a time, but it did go eventually.

Once the worst is over I found that walking helped to retrain the brain and it relearns balance. Strange isn't it.

Thanks everyone. I feel a bit better.
He was given betahistine. I'll see how it goes.
I do wish we lived in a bungalow!

I totally sympathise it’s horrendous when it strikes, I’ve had this many times mine was labrinthyitis completely floored me . It does take several days to settle. I had to take anti sickness drug when I had it stemetil, moving head even slowly would set it off, I had complete rest and it disappeared take it easy and I hope it clears very soon for you x

My GP did the Epley manoeuvre on me and also gave me exercises to do. Vertigo is really debilitating.

www.npr.org/2009/04/27/103463398/inner-ear-rock-slides-lead-to-vertigo

I had the Epley Maneuver done for vertigo and it worked- I hadn't heard of such a thing before, but glad I found out about it -