What sort of tests or procedures are standard for Vertigo diagnosis (BPPV)? Anyone any experience?

Vertigo is something I've had a lot, as did my mother.
I often get it after a virus and I also got it when I had covid.
I was diagnosed with BPPV in February. The GP was 99% certain it was that and it definitely ticked all the boxes. She gave me a sheet of exercises - Brandt Daroff. I had been given them before and found them useless.
What I did was a lot of reading online and there are other much more effective manouvres. I found the Epley manouvre sorted it out in a few days.
I saved a lot of bookmarks, will post some links later

I've certainly been doing a lot of online research and have come across the Epley manouvre - just wondering why no-one from the physio team has yet yet tried it. All they have done so far is observe my mum in the home environment, ask a few questions and provide her with a booklet of exercises. No-one has showed her how to do these exercises.

drbledu23

I've certainly been doing a lot of online research and have come across the Epley manouvre - just wondering why no-one from the physio team has yet yet tried it. All they have done so far is observe my mum in the home environment, ask a few questions and provide her with a booklet of exercises. No-one has showed her how to do these exercises.

The person who visited has probably never heard of it 🤷‍♀️
Sad but true.

Sorry I just re-read your post and realised it's your 91 year old mum.
I won't get on my soapbox about PAs as you clearly have the measure of their ability (or lack of).
I was diagnosed by my GP. I had had it for a couple of weeks by then. It's very unpleasant and a definite fall risk. I found going to the bathroom at night particularly tricky and took a stick to bed with me (I am 66 and normally fit and active). Slow movements is important. If sitting up do it in stages and wait for the spinning to calm down. Move your head very slowly.

It was quite a lengthy examination and she was clearly ruling out all sorts of other causes. It helped because I have had all kinds of dizziness and vertigo before and know the difference.
She did say it mostly goes away on it's own in 3 or 4 weeks.

There was certainly no referral to consultants but then I hadn't had a fall I had developed vertigo after an infection. True BPPV originates in the ears, fluid moves into the wrong place and affects the balance. The manouvres are designed to get it back in the right place.
Google Dix Hallpike test - that's a test you can do to confirm BPPV and determine which ear is affected as it's not obvious.

drbledu23

I've certainly been doing a lot of online research and have come across the Epley manouvre - just wondering why no-one from the physio team has yet yet tried it. All they have done so far is observe my mum in the home environment, ask a few questions and provide her with a booklet of exercises. No-one has showed her how to do these exercises.

They aren't really exercises you should do on your own, someone should be with you, they are normally performed by a physio or doctor but I found it easy enough to do.

This is an NHS source for the Epley

I was diagnosed by my GP with BPPV a few years ago, he tried the Epley manoeuvre, which failed, although he said it would take a few days to work. Not true.

We then went to an ENT Consultant at our local Hospital a few days later (I googled one who was an expert on Vertigo and BPPV). He went through some tests with me to rule out a brain tumour, he then did the Epley manoeuvre on me which worked straight away ( to be sure it’s BPPV and not Vertigo, if you lay down and turn your head to the side with the problem, your eyeballs will go quickly from side to side, it feels horrid!)

Anyway he told MrOops to look on YouTube and see how he did the Epley manoeuvre which we did, ( by the time we got home he had had forgotten exactly how to do it) sadly MrOops has become an expert on doing it, if it doesn’t work the first time then we wait for an hour or two and do it again, it usually works then. But if you read up on what can go wrong if it isn’t done properly it’s quite scary.

Recently though whilst on holiday I experienced an ‘ordinary’ attack of Vertigo which although still has the awful dizziness has different symptoms from BPPV.

RRH - there was certainly no evidence of doing the Dix-Hallpike according to my mum. When I spoke to the PA - at my mum's request - there was no explanation of what she had done or why. Just kept parroting 'I wouldn't be doing my job as a doctor if I didn't blah blah blah - I need a decision soon as I'm coming to the end of my shift and have to lock up!' Think I have got measure of her calibre as has my mum and definitely not a fully-qualified GP or consulting -just kept saying to my mum that she was perfectly qualified. In my mum's area fully qualified GPs don't do home visits!

Anyway I digress and will get off my soapbox.

Thanks all of you for the advice - I will be relating this when I contact the physio unit on Tuesday.

PAs are not doctors. Not as qualified as a nurse practitioner. They do a 2 year training course with a multiple choice test at the end with 100% pass rate. Their training is very superficial. A GP will usually have 12 years medical training.
One of the key problems with PAs is over confidence and they don't know what they don't know.

RedRidingHood

PAs are not doctors. Not as qualified as a nurse practitioner. They do a 2 year training course with a multiple choice test at the end with 100% pass rate. Their training is very superficial. A GP will usually have 12 years medical training.
One of the key problems with PAs is over confidence and they don't know what they don't know.

Well that is certainly my view of them RRH! Wish my mum could get to see her own GP but it's next to impossible to get an in=person appointment and he doesn't do home visits. Then we could get things dealt with properly.

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Reported

Drbldu23 we paid just under £200 for the Consultant which was money well spent.
BPPV has nothing to do with eyesight it’s in the inner ear, little particles become detached from where they are ‘stuck’ they float into another part of the ear and touch the small hairs which triggers the particular type of Vertigo ( if you sit down, you feel as though you are falling backwards and if you turn your head the room tilts and spins).

On the plus side a CT scan would rule out a brain tumour.

After the Epley manoeuvre, it takes me around 6 weeks to recover, I have no spatial awareness and walk into the sides of the doorways rather then through them and have to walk along with one hand on the wall to keep me walking straight I also feel muzzy headed and basically spend a lot of time just sitting, your gait also changes as you try to walk in a straight line, not easy after an episode of BPPV.

Having said that at least I know there will be an end to it, after6 weeks or so with ordinary Vertigo it just goes on and on, the Epley manoeuvre isnt the right treatment for this..

In May of last year at 5am I was dreaming I was being tipped out of bed and sat up and the bedroom was wildly spinning which lasted about 1 minute. I thought I was having a stroke. I felt unbalanced and dizzy all day and didn’t dare have a shower in case I fall over. The next morning the same happened again but with nausea now. I had a shower sitting on a plastic step. Got a GP appointment and had BPPV diagnosed. I was asked if I wanted to have the Epley procedure done but I declined as I didn’t want to throw up. He did it himself to show me and told me to do so at home which I did and it was horrible. It worked but I felt really unwell for a few days. I was then ok for about 6 months but it has since recurred though not as badly as before but with greater frequency. Tried Epley last week but it hasn’t worked that well. Luckily I didn’t experience much dizziness at a wedding on Saturday but I’m feeling dizzy right now. I feel sorry for myself and all fellow sufferers.