OT - BPPV

[Hawthorne]

This is way OT! You helped me so much with lactose intolerance I thought I'd run this one up the flag!

Last Saturday at about 3:30 am I woke for a bathroom trip and was so dizzy I could hardly get back to bed! My husband called 911 and the EMT gave me gravol by IV and transported me to the hospital by ambulance - my first experience at that and I'm almost 75!

Waited for 6+ hours before a doctor saw me. While waiting the room spun and I was throwing up. Doctor finally got to me. My blood pressure was monitored regularly slightly elevated - temperature taken often and an ECG done. All fine.

She did a neurological exam and said you have BPPV - good news - not life threatening - bad news - can recur!

She did the Epley?? treatment - about 3 minutes. All cleared up! I had more gravol and got a saline IV. Then I could eat some soda crackers and drink some apple juice. I was sent home with a prescription for 9 benzodiazipam.

She told me to take it easy for about a week and do the Epley (sp) procedure a couple of times a day. I have been doing that and am a little dizzy sometimes but clears up during the procedure.

So anyone else have this? It's scary and I wonder about going for a walk on my own even. I have never been dizzy in my life and I can count the number of times I have thrown up! Don't like either at all!!!

BPPV - benign proximytal (sp) positional vertigo - apparently can develop in older people or in a younger person after a head injury.

[Pugsy]

Welcome to the dizzy club.
I am a member also. Sounds like you had what I call the "severe" attack. I have had those but they don't happen every time.
Mostly it is just a minor annoying dizziness. Sudden movement or bend over and raise up..dizziness.

It's pretty miserable when it is bad. I have had it where I roll over in bed and throw up immediately usually making a big mess when I do because I have no control.

The bad news...yes it a happen again and most likely will but the good news is that it isn't something that happens all the time and the severe attacks are usually rare.

[Hawthorne]

Pugsy - nice to know I have company in this and very good company at that!

I am a back sleeper (arthritis makes that a better (pain free) position and I don't move at all during the night) and have BPPV in the left ear. I have been sleeping slightly on my right side with a big pillow behind my back to keep me from rolling on my back. It SEEMS to be working okay. I still don't move during the night but have some arthritis pain.

So far - so good though. Thanks Pugsy.

Anyone else?

[chunkyfrog]

I had a couple episodes. The first time, I thought it was a stroke, and I went to the ER.
They sent me home with a drug that was completely useless.
The second time, I was at work--it only affected me while standing or walking; but not sitting--
That time it came and went for a day or so, and the Epley maneuver helped a lot.
No recurrences for several years.

[Hawthorne]

Thanks Chunkyfrog. Every bit of information is helpful and appreciated!

[echo]

I had this too!!!!! I also thought I was having a stroke. I woke up real dizzy one morning. It felt like being very drunk, without actually being drunk. When I kept still, it was ok, but the room would start to spin when I moved my head. I could feel the eye-jerking happening and that was weird! I called the dr and she wasn't too worried (she knew exactly what it was) so when my partner came he took me to the dr's office.

She did some tests to check for the eye-jerking, which confirms it's BPPV and not something else. She gave me some exercises to do at home but I didn't learn about the Epley procedure until later & my doc didn't know about it. I had the vertigo on & off for about a week. I later learned from my sister-in-law about a doc in my area that does know it so next time i'll go to him! Seems that the Epley procedure is rather successful, and works instantly! I'm annoyed I had to miss work for a whole week because my doc didn't know about it (and I didn't know how to find a doc that could do the EP).

I'm 36. It's only happened once.

When I told people about, i heard soooooo many stories about others with it too. My mom alone knew like 10 people who had had it. I guess it's not so uncommon. It is scary at first though!!

[echo]

And for me the funniest part was actually trying to WALK - it was literally like I was drunk stumbling around in my own house, swaying side-to-side when walking. I was terribly amused at myself! Going down the stairs was particularly challenging.

[Hawthorne]

Thank you echo! Yes, they ruled out stroke or heart attack for me before I was transported to ER, although they did an ECG there as well.

I'm sorry you did not know about the Epley procedure! It does work right away and is easy to do. Of course, I am glad the ER doctor taught me the procedure first. BPPV is usually only on one side - mine is the left.

I am sensing a pattern here, like so many other conditions - women get it more than men??? I may be wrong but I know RA affects 3 times as many women as men. I'm wondering if this is the same kind of thing.

This forum is great and not just for sleep apnea!!!! I am gradually getting to the point that I know I can live normally with this. It has only been 5 days and I have been apprehensive about so many things. I have been reading up on it on the net but personal experience helps more..

I use a rollator (wheeled walker with a seat) when I am out of the house because of my RA so walking should be okay and I can sit down anytime if I feel dizzy!!!

[nanwilson]

Me too and I am 71, it started 11 years ago. I had a viral infection in my brain which left me with no hearing in my right ear and this damn dizziness. The rx they game me does no good nor does the epley, when I have a good attack. I am always dizzy to some extent but can function, when I get a big attack I am utterly useless for several weeks and nothing but "doing nothing" helps. I can get from my bed to my chair by using the walls as a guide and to hold me up otherwise I would just fall over. I'm the drunk old lady that lives down the road... and I don't drink . My friends know when I'm going to fall over and someone comes to my rescue but otherwise I have learned how to function and not move to quickly or look down at the floor... pain in the ass to get around but you gotta do what you gotta do

[chunkyfrog]

My symptoms were completely gone when I was seated--I was even able to drive (but I didn't go very far)
I learned the Epley maneuver from a video on the internet.

[Pugsy]

My husband also has BPPV but has never experienced the severe side of it with all the vomiting but a friend of his, another truck driver and male, had it happen on the severe side while out on the road and my husband ended up taking him to the hospital to make sure it wasn't something more serious.

[Hawthorne]

Thank you nanwilson. I'm sorry yours is that bad but as you said, you gotta do what you gotta! Us oldies know about that!

[chunkyfrog]

I found this awhile back; it seems to mimic the structures in the ear that are responsible, to be a coaching device.
http://www.summitmedicalusa.com/product ... x-what.php
Note: . . "The Epley maneuver is only for posterior canal BPPV."

[echo]

Thanks chunkyfrog, I also remember that the crystal can get stuck in 1 of 3 canals.

Also of interest is that one needs to know in which ear it is. In my case, by the time I got to the dr's office, she couldn't determine which ear it was from (the direction of the eye jerking is supposed to determine that, but she couldn't see it). She also didn't have specialized equipment to detect it - I guess some docs have a sort of device that can detect even subtle eye jerks (large magnifying glass?? I don't remember).

[echo]

Any of you watch(ed) Arrested Development? It's like poor Lucille 2