Vertigo?

[Bulldog]

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?

[ZenMusician]

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

[btmagnetw]

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.

[swingdoc]

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.

[MissT74]

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

[Bulldog]

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.

[UbinTook]

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.

[johnnylovescandy]

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...

[RR]

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.

[evank15]

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.