Anyone ever had a sudden onset of vertigo?

I can relate to most all of your stories, but, the one that really scared me and caused me to seek help is the one that happened very similar to the one Nancy described, I was in bed, woke up and the room, the bed, everything was spinning and this went on for hours not just a few minutes here and there, it was terrifying, when it finally subsided enough for me to get up and get dressed is when I called for a car service to get me to the emergency room.

Some of those other experiences some of you described you might want to get checked out by a neurologist, also having a seizure disorder, something like looking at certain things that make you feel disoriented can be related to that, I can't watch movies in 3d or I'll have a seizure at some point in the day. Staring into those blinking lights and staring at various types of movements can induce a seizure as well. Just a little FYI on the matter. I'm complaining, as I've said, I live with these things daily and mostly do just wait for the sensations to pass, but when the sensation is such that you can't get it under control something more is needed. Sometimes I can just be sitting back relaxing in a chair watching tv and it will hit. Not interested in people feeling bad for me, I don't, I'm just stating how it is in my situation its been like this for more than a decade and I've gone through lots of testing, been hooked up to all kinds of machines, been rushed to the emergency room a few times as well and hooked up to all kinds of machines to control whatever was happening that I couldn't by just waiting it out.

For those of you that are finding yourselves fainting and other such things happening to you more than once, I do hope your are getting checked to rule out heart related, blood disorders, neuro and other possible serious conditions can be nothing or something more serious, don't be flippant with these things happening to you please.
 

I've been struggling with vertigo since July of this year and it's still not gone - started with dizziness, severe vomiting, room spinning, couldn't stand up - went to Emerg and they tested with CT scan, etc. and said it was benign positional vertigo or virus infection and would eventually go away. My GP says to just wait. But it is not easy to function - have to walk with a cane when going outdoors - a drag - will have to get it rechecked. I've watched Epley manoever and other vertigo exercises and tried them but not working - it is very slowly getting better, worse when I'm tired. My cardiologist said she might send me to a specialist.
 

jujube said:
My mom gets vertigo frequently. When it's severe, she goes to a therapy facility and get an Epley Maneuver done. It's some sort of positioning exercise that gets something repositioned in your inner ear. I don't understand how it works, but it does wonders for her.
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That worked for me too when I suddenly got vertigo 2 years ago.
 
Never had vertigo... I've felt a tad lightheaded at times.. usually when I was hungry.. Vertigo is usually an inner ear problem.. Labrynthitis or perhaps Meniere's.. However, there is a form that's called Benign positional or postural vertigo. No one knows for sure what causes it. The medication usually prescribed to treat it is called Meclizine.. also sold under the brand name of Antivert.
 
Updating this thread.

Tuesday (4 days ago) another vertigo episode. Same thing. First head move in the morning and the bed starts spinning. I rolled onto my right side when it happened. So I tried the right side Epley maneuver 3 times on the three following nights. Not much happened the first 2 nights, but the 3rd (Friday) each of the 4 positions started the room spinning again worse than on the first day. Ended up in a cold sweat, gagging and dizzy afterward. I was disappointed.

Saturday night I tried it again and NOTHING! None of the 4 positions made me dizzy at all. Knock on wood, it may be gone this time. I also read it takes a little while for your brain to get used to *not* having those crystals stuck in the wrong place, LOL. Anyway here's the link I used. I *didn't* do the 48 hours upright afterward, just a couple of hours. (These same guys have a later video that says that the 48 hours is not so critical.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK2Zj_TrBhE&list=TLTr-ifUlClJM

I'm getting more convinced that sleeping on your back aggravates this condition. The first attack was a couple of months after I started trying to sleep on my back instead of my stomach. After the vertigo, I started sleeping on my side. GP doctor said that had nothing to do with it. So about 2 months ago I returned to sleeping on my back. This is just my own observation though. May be a coincidence.

I am by no means a wimp, but this stuff is bad news! I can truly sympathize and wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
 
Nancy, not long ago I had a episode of vertigo that was pretty bad, come to find out it was the allergy meds that I was taking....Zertec-D....my doctor said that it was the 'D' part that was causing it.....

Hope you get better soon.
 
That's interesting, Jackie. I have pollen allergy in the spring and thought about trying Zirtex.
I'll stay away from it. Allergy not that bad anyway, just a nuisance.
 
Don't know if it was exactly vertigo, but back when I was working I would occasionally have weird spells where things sort of ran together visually and it was very disorienting -- the room would seem like it was sort of collapsing inward on itself. Turns out it was caused by severe eyestrain and my eye muscles not working together as they should. Doc said it was a form of eyestrain from hours of sitting almost motionless at my computer screen (I did legal research and did, indeed, spend hours at a time trying to decipher little bitty print). I started being sure to take regular breaks as I could and going outside to look at things in the distance, and it went almost completely away. When I retired, it went away completely.
 
I've been looking for an online simulation of the visual effects, and this homemade video is the only thing I could find. I'm surprised. It's not very good.

simulation

First, the room doesn't spin 360 degrees like that, it just spins as far as your peripheral vision extends. Like if you're looking at the ceiling, the ceiling will spin.

Second, it's not fast enough.


Wanted to add one thing. It occurred to me that someone might think it was too much of a coincidence to be true, that I start this thread on vertigo, and then magically have an episode 3 weeks later. The reason I started it was I suspected another episode was coming on, but wasn't sure since it has only happened twice in my life. It was a heavy feeling in the head, slight light-headed lying flat and queasy getting up. If I had said I was expecting another episode and it *didn't* happen, you all would think I was a hypochondriac.

Folks on this forum are so nice, I don't want to ever give the impression I'm making things up.:)
 
Carolyn, most of the past few months and up to first week of Dec, I was having episodes nearly everyday and I too suspect part of it was related to my BP, but mine was elevated. The doc gave me a script for the BP of which I had a really bad reaction to, but, I'm now just taking it every third day and so far so good and the vertigo hasn't been so bad, except for this week, I have had a couple of spells, not sure why, maybe I was a little dehydrated or something. Who knows, just have to live with it, have been for over a decade, some days, some weeks, some months better than others.

Nancy, try not to worry about what others will think and just relay it as it has happened to you in your words, my own doctors in the past practically dismissed me, to a degree saying some symptoms were just age related, until they hooked me up to eegs and mri's and the like for various things I had complained about and then had no choice but to agree there were significant abnormalities going on in my brain nervous system, so had to treat me accordingly. There will always be those that scoff, not much you can do about it, but I think most here are behind you and support you, at least I hope so.

Most of my life in general reads like a huge fiction saga, what can I tell you, it is what it is as I'm sure that is how things are for many people who find themselves in similar situations where they feel people are looking in incredulously.

You have my deepest empathy for what you are going through.
 
April, what I meant to get across is that probably even *I* wouldn't believe my own posts if I had read them a
year ago, LOL. So I wouldn't blame anyone if they didn't either.;) I'm not very good at explaining things.
 
NancyNGA said:
April, what I meant to get across is that probably even *I* wouldn't believe my own posts if I had read them a
year ago, LOL. So I wouldn't blame anyone if they didn't either.;) I'm not very good at explaining things.
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LOL! Yeah, I know that feeling as well, because I sometimes say the same thing once I've finished writing something. Don't worry, I think we think more like than you hope to believe. :playful:
 
I have had three TIA's (mini strokes) they were pretty much as you describe though not exactly. Neurologists can tell if that's what you had. It leaves a brain sign of some kind.
 
Vestibular migraine. Migraine is more than a headache disorder. Just as some people experience a visual "aura" with their migraines, others can get vertigo episodes and have other types of dizziness due to migraine even when they're not having a severe headache. Such vertigo episodes can last hours to days and may be associated with headache as well as light and noise sensitivity.
I get vertigo symptoms before and after my migraines. Not a real good feeling. Nausea and ringing in the ear accompany this. Actually I have ringing in the ear most days. ENT doc says I have some particle hearing loss in one ear, but he didn't relate that to migraine or vertigo. The ringing goes from light to very strong ringing, Usually indication the migraines just got triggered by something. My hubs gets the ringing as well, his doc told him it's allergy.
 
Here is another possibility Dr Joel Wallach had this disease renamed after him - Wallach's vertigo.
His theory is that calcium deficiency causes overgrowth of the bone matrix leading to pressure on a nerve coming through the skull.

He suggests 2000mg calcium with 1000mg magnesium daily in divided doses.
 
i ve had full blown menieres since i wa 65--the room spinning and vomiting for up to 6 hours-you cant stand up your legs give out -then you get so hot its allmost unbearible--then you are freezing--the dr put me on valium it helped control it some but i went totally deaf in one ear i am 84 now so it has tappered off some i hope it doesnt come back -i had to go off valium because of the b p meds
 
Ameriscot said:
I've got orthostatic hypotension which has gotten much worse. I get up the least bit too quickly and I'm ready to pass out within about 10 seconds. I'll walk from living room into kitchen and have to hold on the counter, or just sit on the floor. It's like my legs turn to jelly and there is absolutely no blood in my head. Dr. just said it's better than high blood pressure.
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Did he prescribe elastic stockings? Have you tried them?
 
flowerchild said:
Vestibular migraine. Migraine is more than a headache disorder. Just as some people experience a visual "aura" with their migraines, others can get vertigo episodes and have other types of dizziness due to migraine even when they're not having a severe headache. Such vertigo episodes can last hours to days and may be associated with headache as well as light and noise sensitivity.
I get vertigo symptoms before and after my migraines. Not a real good feeling. Nausea and ringing in the ear accompany this. Actually I have ringing in the ear most days. ENT doc says I have some particle hearing loss in one ear, but he didn't relate that to migraine or vertigo. The ringing goes from light to very strong ringing, Usually indication the migraines just got triggered by something. My hubs gets the ringing as well, his doc told him it's allergy.
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I have had the ringing for over 30 years now. I had vertigo as a young man. No cause and no cure.

I don't have the migraines anymore and I don't have the vertigo. It has been traded for hearing loss.

At one point I couldn't even drive a car. When I stopped I felt like I was still moving. Weird stuff.
 
NancyNGA said:
What did you do for it?

Did it ever go away completely? Did it ever come back?

About a year ago it hit me one morning all of a sudden. Tried to get up out of bed and it was like someone slammed you back down.
Every time I lifted my head the room would start spinning violently. Took a couple of weeks to gradually go away. Not a fun time at all.

My balance still doesn't seem as sharp, even months later.
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I have it mostly under control these days, but for years I had episodes and even landed in the ER a couple of times. It came from an untreated ear infection- was told it caused calcium deposits in inner ear canal.
Was given prescriptions for Meclizine and Antivert, but afterward I bought Dramamine from the grocery store- essentially same product, but cost less. The products helped a little, but not much.
 
NancyNGA said:
..........Doctor tried to tell me it was a
sinus infection. I argued but he insisted and prescribed antibiotics. Geesh! Obviously he had never had vertigo.
This was nothing like a sinus infection.
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Pay attention to your Doctor! It could well be a sinus infection. The sinus cavity is connected to the inner ear via a canal. In my case, I often have a sinus infection that sometimes lead to an inner ear infection and vertigo ensues.
 
I get light headed on occasion and it lasts only for a couple of seconds. Usually if I change my head position quickly.
 

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