Anyone suffer from benign positional vertigo?

[atgcpaul]

The doctor said I have benign positional vertigo. All other vitals were fine.
Infrequently, like yesterday morning, I wake up, get out of bed feeling fine,
and then the whole room starts to spin. I have to hold onto the walls/doors
to stop from falling. Usually a couple hours extra sleep will fix it. I don't
have an earache but she gave me an anti-histamine to dry up any inflamation
I might have in my ear. I'm feeling OK today with just a hint of "I've been
riding a roller coaster" feeling.

Ginger candy helps with the nausea. Just wondering if you guys have any other
remedies.

Thanks,
Paul


Edit: Oh yeah, legal remedies that don't require me to inhale anyhing.

[charliex]

While high blood pressure is bad, low BP can cause the stand-up-fall-down problem you describe. I had a severe bout with low BP some years ago and still have minor issues. Worst time is getting up in the morning. I sit up and wait a few minutes for the blood to circulate to my head then I can stand. Also my sense of balance is not conducive to climbing around on high, steep objects like roofs. Even ladders are somewhat of a challenge. I'm too old to but if I could run up a long stairway I would probably have a problem. Doc. tells me that at my age it's better than high BP.

[Black wallnut]

Paul, I know exatly what you are dealing with as I've had it too off and on for at least the last ten years. I keep a supply of motion sickness otc meds with me and have since the last bad episode. It seems to help/ relieve minor symptoms but it's best to check with your Doc to see if this might work for you.

[LCHIEN]

is this like for a while or for just a few moments after you get up?
Sleeping and Peeing can lower BP so you can feel faint when you get up and or go to the loo. Might be worse if you take BP meds.

Should pass quickly though.

[radhak]

If you have seen the movie, you might already know that chasing a long-lost assumed-dead girlfriend up a steep spiral staircase cures you of all sorts of Vertigo...

Sorry, I don't want to make light of your situation, but couldn't resist that !

I never thought of mentioning it to my doc, but I have seen this myself, but much infrequently. I've always thought it was due to lack of sleep, or an undue gap between meals.

[dbhost]

Wish I did, low BP tends to give me a case of the spinning dizzies when I first get up. Been like that since I was a teenager... I guess I just learned to deal with it over the years, because I actually had to think about it. That is why I stand up so slow...

[jdon]

My father in law suffers from benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). It typically is triggered when he turns his head suddenly- rolling over in bed, looking up quickly, etc. He's been treated by physical therapists experienced with vertigo evaluation and treatment, with good results.

Treatment (Google "Epley maneuver") seems to help reposition the crystals in the semicircular canals in the ears- the crystals get out of normal location, and trigger the vertigo. The physical therapist showed me how to do the Epley procedure- it's not hard to learn, so when vertigo pops up occasionally, I can treat my FIL at his home myself.

A lot of internet sources- one at random: http://www.dizziness-and-balance.com...bppv/bppv.html.

It might be worth a try at home for starters, but before going too far, I'd recommend a referral to a therapist for evaluation- they can tell which ear is involved, treatment- both in office and at home, and ways to avoid vertigo attacks. Good luck- it can be debilitating, OTOH, good treatment can be very effective.

[MilDoc]

Jdon is correct. The Epley Maneuver works well IF done correctly. I've used it myself on teens with BPV. Here's the instructions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epley_maneuver

And here's a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqokxZRbJfw

Believe it or not, many docs have no idea how to do this.

[cabinetman]

Believe it or not, many docs have no idea how to do this.

That doesn't surprise me at all, with all the "specialization". I had surgery on both hands and a shoulder by an Orthopedist that only works on the shoulder to the fingers.
.

[MilDoc]

That doesn't surprise me at all, with all the "specialization". I had surgery on both hands and a shoulder by an Orthopedist that only works on the shoulder to the fingers.
.

OMG! You mean you didn't go to a hand (left or right) surgeon and a shoulder (left or right side) surgeon????

SHAME!