Ugh a trip to the ER...anyone every experience vertigo?

[todzwife]

So DH was sitting at the computer Sunday afternoon and said "uh, something's wrong." His eyes were darting back and forth and I told him to lay down and put his feet up. (Meanwhile I am freaking out watching his face turn pale and his eyes spin). So I called our insurance hotline and got permission (after telling the nurse what his symptoms were)to take him to the ER. She said he could have something really wrong and we needed to get him checked ASAP. Now DH is nearly 200 pounds (he lifts weights) and I am NOT a big person, so I asked her if I could call an ambulance. IF he passed out I could NOT drag him to the car. She said yes. I hung up and called 911. They sent an ambulance and took him to the ER. FORTUNATELY it was nothing serious, he has Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) supposedly caused by the cold his is starting to get. But HOLY COW! I was so scared! It is truly unnerving watching your husband being wheeled away on a stretcher. He was totally out of it too. Have any of you have vertigo? Or know someone who has? Any ways of preventing this from happening again? Cuz let me tell ya, that was NOT my idea of a leisurly Sunday afternoon.

[deborah_r]

Oh my, that is awful - glad he is OK though!

No experience, but I'm thinking someone may have mentioned this a while back (maybe try a search).

[Melanie]

Dh had some dizziness due to thyroid problems. It could also be something to do with his ears...good luck.

[barbarhow]

Sounds like he has vertigo caused by pressure in the inner ear. I don't know of any preventative measures but it is usually pretty self limiting and over fairly quickly. Did they give him any medication such as antivert or meclizine? That will usually help. Otherwise he needs to be vertical until it passes. HTH.
Barbara-mom to Jack 3/27/03

[josephmama]

Wow, scary! I've had vertigo a few times but never as bad as your DH. Basically with me it lasts a few days. You can take meclizine or antivert to treat the symptoms but until the cold clears up it won't go away. And the meds made me feel worse than being dizzy so I didn't take them. They just treated symptoms. I don't know how to prevent it, sorry! Hope he feels better soon!

[josephmama]

Wow, scary! I've had vertigo a few times but never as bad as your DH. Basically with me it lasts a few days. You can take meclizine or antivert to treat the symptoms but until the cold clears up it won't go away. And the meds made me feel worse than being dizzy so I didn't take them. They just treated symptoms. I don't know how to prevent it, sorry! Hope he feels better soon!

[Marisa6826]

My mother has Meuniere's disease which is an inner ear imbalance that causes severe vertigo.

She's permanently on medication for it. It's usually under control, but occasionally has "attacks". The EMTs have broken into her house on several occasions to pick her up off the floor and take her to the hospital (she lives alone).

She's lost the majority of her hearing in one of her ears. What hearing is left is usually obscured by ringing.

There's really no way of "preventing" an attack. It's going to happen when it happens. It happened to my Mother while in the pediatrician's office with me last week. She just had to take her medication and ride it out for about a half hour.

Hope Todd is feeling better in short order.

-m

[Marisa6826]

My mother has Meuniere's disease which is an inner ear imbalance that causes severe vertigo.

She's permanently on medication for it. It's usually under control, but occasionally has "attacks". The EMTs have broken into her house on several occasions to pick her up off the floor and take her to the hospital (she lives alone).

She's lost the majority of her hearing in one of her ears. What hearing is left is usually obscured by ringing.

There's really no way of "preventing" an attack. It's going to happen when it happens. It happened to my Mother while in the pediatrician's office with me last week. She just had to take her medication and ride it out for about a half hour.

Hope Todd is feeling better in short order.

-m

[amp]

My Dad gets it! It scares the crap out of everyone involved! He now carries the medicine that helps counteract it so he can take it if he feels it coming on. Scary. He could be driving or something! I try not to think about it!

[amp]

My Dad gets it! It scares the crap out of everyone involved! He now carries the medicine that helps counteract it so he can take it if he feels it coming on. Scary. He could be driving or something! I try not to think about it!

[todzwife]

Thanks everyone. He's doing better. He was totally wiped out yesterday and slept most of the day, but I really think that it was from the Antivert meds that he took. Hopefully when a little decongestant when he starts to feel stuffy we can ward off any future attacks. Blech- I don't want to do that again!

[megsmom]

Hi

Sorry to hear about your husband. I am a physical therapist who specializes in vestibular (inner ear) therapy and treat a lot of patients with BPPV. Basically what is happening is that some calcium crystals have dislodged themselves from one part of the inner ear and are in the semicircular canals. Different motions (looking up or down, getting in and out of bed) cause the crystals to move, triggering a reflexive eye spinning motion and vertigo feeling that lasts usually until the crystals have resettled, about 5-30 seconds. If this is what your husband has, there is a repostioning manuever that a trained therapist or MD can do in about 5 minutes that gets the crystals out of the canals. Antivert is not the best solution since it is not treating the problem but just decreasing the vestibluar input to the brain (and making your husband unnecessarily sleepy!)

Most doctors do not explain this well to their patients so I hope the above is helpful (go to the Vestibular Disorders Association website for good information www.veda.org I think). I have found in my experience that a lot of vestibular disorders are misdiagnosed so if your husband continues to have problems try to have him see an ENT, neurologist or physical therapist that specializes in vestibular problems.

Jen
mom to Meghan 7/13/01
and Brian 11/11/03

[megsmom]

I just went and reread your message. By the way, colds are not a cause for BPPV. An inner ear virus could cause vertigo, however.

Jen

[JLiebCamm]

Jen, I'm a Vestibular PT too. Did you go to the Susan Herdman Course? Where do you work?

[JLiebCamm]

I'm a vestibular PT too and I agree with Jen. I really don't think that it sounds like your DH had BPPV because BPPV is triggered by specific movements of the head or body and lasts for brief but intense intervals. I would bet that he had an acute irritation or infection of the inner ear which is now resolving. I also agree with Jen that he should not take the Antivert unless he's miserably dizzy and it really helps. Antivert only treats the symptom, not the cause, and over time can actually cause dizziness as a side effect. I love Vestibular Therapy; let me know if I can answer any other questions for you.

[todzwife]

Wow- thamks! he's not taking the antivert anymore. What wonderful information! Thanks so much!

[Marisa6826]

Jessica and Jen-

My Mother takes Antivert every day and Valium when the vertigo gets really bad. They want her to take the Valium every night but it just makes her too loopy (OK - loopier than usual) ;) .

My Mom lives in Naples, Florida. Do you know how she can find out if a vestibular PT is in her area?

She has found that chocolate and salt make it worse. Any explanations? Anything else she should avoid?

I think it's so cool that you guys specialize in this stuff.

Please PM me with any information you can offer.

Thanks!!

-m

[JLiebCamm]

Marisa, I sent you a PM.

[megsmom]

I work at Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, VA. I did take a course by Susan Herdman at the APTA convention a few years ago but not THE big certification course yet. It's always in Atlanta and with the kiddos/pregnancies haven't made it yet. It's a goal of mine though. I also took a great course on vestibular and balance disorders by Fay Horak.

Where do you work? Always great to meet another vestibular PT. There's not many of us around.

Jen
mom to Meghan 7/13/01
and Brian 11/11/03

[JLiebCamm]

Jen, I sent you an e-mail.