Vertigo?
 

I had a weird experience this morning and I'm not sure if I should be freaking out and going to a doctor or if I'm just being paranoid.

I woke up about 4 AM to take a piss and almost fell down a couple times in a dozen or so steps to the toilet. My eyes were darting around a little bit uncontrollably. It was like sections of what I was looking at were turning. "Dizziness" almost describes it, but it was somehow different that past dizziness I've ever experienced from alcohol or amusement park rides.

I felt it again when I woke up at 7, but not as extreme. I stumbled again on my way to the bathroom, but after I sat in a chair for a while watching SportsCenter and I felt better. I still think I feel weird in the back of my head but it might just be the paranoia.

From the little bit I just read about vertigo, it sounds close to what I experienced, but what I read seems more extreme than what I went through.

Anybody have any experience or insight on this?

Re: Vertigo?
 

I live every day with BPV/Meniere's. If it was isolated,
your inner ear may have just gone weird (fluid caught,
early infection, etc.) If it is causing balance problems,
and you have no fever I'd go to the doc.

You mentioned nystagmus (uncontrollable eye movement),
which is an indicator of BPV. I would look on WebMD
for the symptoms of what I mentioned above...of course
that is no sub for a real MD!

GL

-ZEN

Re: Vertigo?
 

this happened to me a month ago. i pretty much stayed in bed all day. def webmd it, it sounds like an inner ear thing.

Re: Vertigo?
 

There are different causes of vertigo that can give you slightly different experiences. Just from the little you described, benign positional vertigo is the most likely beast. (Nausea, but probably no vomiting, lasts seconds at a time, happens when you get up from bed, more often in the morning, nystagmus (the eye movements you're talking about). There is a pretty simple physical exam maneuver your doc can do to confirm this diagnosis. If it is BPV then it's self-limited and almost always goes away by itself over weeks to months. Also, no real treatment for it. Other causes for vertigo include certain infections and tumors.

This is not medical advice, etc. I'd recommend seeing your primary doc just to get it diagnosed for sure. If you keep having problems over the next week or so, definitely go see a doc.

Re: Vertigo?
 

There is medication that can help you with the nausea associated with vertigo if it is in fact BPV (I've had it before) but for the most part it's usually just an inner ear problem that goes away by itself. Can be real annoying though.

T

Re: Vertigo?
 

Going to see the doc this afternoon. No nausea. I did just get a physical a couple weeks ago and he gave me a prescription for an inhaler for exercise-induced asthma. I took a puff of that last night for only the second time, so I wonder if that is related. Xoepenex HFA.

Anyway, thanks for the help all.

Re: Vertigo?
 

My Girlfriend gets Vertigo on occasion, her nausea can last for days. She uses the "Epply Maneuver", which helps the dizziness.
http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec08/ch086/ch086c.html

Her doctor has also prescribed Meclizine for the nausea.

She has objective vertigo in which it feels like the room is spinning around her.
Subjective vertigo is where you feel YOU are spinning inside the room.

Re: Vertigo?
 

Try drinking more water throughout the day. Dehydration can result in vertigo, and you don't even know you're dehydrated. Consuming caffeine exacerbates this condition. Beware of prescribed medicines...

Re: Vertigo?
 

I used to have vertigo. The Dr could find nothing wrong with me. It went away when I removed stress from my life. I had kind of forgotten about it until I started to prepare myself to return to the stressful situation. I decided not to do it and took a different path.

Re: Vertigo?
 

I once had a bout of what I think was vertigo. It was the worst experience of my life by far. So awful. Luckily it hasn't returned since.

Re: Vertigo?
 

I had that sensation one time when I had terrible diahorrea, it was the one time of my life when I really wished I was dead. Sitting on the toilet, your intestines twisting around themselves and you feel like you're gonna fall off the toilet and crash through the tile wall any minute..

Re: Vertigo?
 

This happened to me once, about 10 years ago. I was sponsored to rollerblade, and a bunch of us were learning back flips in the halfpipe. It was my first day landing them, and had only landed maybe 3-5 of them until it happened.

I went up as usual and started the flip. About halfway around, I felt really sick, lost my place in the flip entirely, and I thought I was sideways. So I did what any idiot would do, and stopped spinning. I managed to land directly on my face, breaking my nose and biting my tongue.

I didn’t have the lasting sensation of nausea, but it was a really weird thing. I have been able to flip and spin and always have a very good idea of where I was in the air, but for some reason I really lost it there. After trying semi-successfully to get my face to stop bleeding, I went back and was able to land the flips again, so it seems like it was just a one time thing.

Re: Vertigo?
 

yeah, it's vertigo. I've got it too; the first time it hit me, I was so dizzy that any movement, any at all, would make me puke. This went on for several hours, and it finally went away. Long story short, go to the doc; he'll give ya something called Meclizine (an anti-dizziness drug); it works well...

Re: Vertigo?
 

As for water, about three months ago I started tracking to make sure I drink at least 2 quarts per day.

The doc decided it was probably from the Xopenex. I continued to feel a little weird, but not dizzy or anything like that, for another 12 hours or so but I haven't felt it since. Thanks again for all the help.

Re: Vertigo?
 

every once in a while, when I stand up after sitting or laying down, my vision suddenly start to close in until I can barely see anything and I get very dizzy and can barely stand...this lasts maybe 5-10 seconds at most each time...

maybe this is what happened to you?..I don't know what it is, but it happens to me all the time...probably a couple hundred times over the past 5-8 years of my life or so

I seem fine [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]