The first time I experienced vertigo, I was lying in bed reading and watching television. There was no warning. I didn’t feel bad… except for my usual allergies, and congestion, I felt pretty good. I turned my head to watch something on television, and that’s when it hit me. I didn’t know what was going on, but I thought something was seriously wrong. I felt like I had just played the human equivalent of “spinning top”, and lost. I was extremely dizzy, and couldn’t focus on anything, without making it worst. My eyes were crossing, I broke out in a cold sweat, and my heart rate increased. I was scared, but eventually calmed down, because I didn’t want to go to the hospital, and wait for hours to be seen by a doctor. After I realized I wasn’t going to die, I went to bed, and decided to call my doctor in the morning.
I slept through the night, but I had to turn over very slowly, so the dizziness wouldn’t overwhelm me. When I got up that morning, the dizziness wasn’t as bad as it had been that night. I called my doctor, and thankfully they got me right in. What concerned me most, was driving myself to his office, in the condition I was in. When I got to his office, they took me right to the examining room, and the doctor showed up after only 5 minutes. That’s never happened before, but I was just glad I didn’t have to wait very long.
When I told him what I was experiencing, he said I was suffering from “vertigo”, then proceeded to examine me. My ears were checked, my throat was checked, even my eye movement was checked. I turned and moved my head in different directions, and stood with my eyes closed, so he could check my balance. We talked about my allergies, the frequency of my congestion, and he also checked my blood pressure. He wanted to know if I had ringing in either of my ears, and how long it had been going on. Yes I did, but it was sporadic, and I didn’t associate ringing in my ear, as a symptom of an illness. Apparently I was wrong to assume that. After our conversation, he asked me if I’d ever heard of Méniére’s disease. He was sure this is what I had, but he wanted me to take more test, just to be sure.
I had an MRI, to check for tumors, an Audiometric Examination, that checks for the type of hearing loss, where you can’t distinguish between words like, “bat” and “that”, or “sit” and “fit. I also had to take an Electrocochleography, which checks for increased inner ear fluid pressure. Well, the only test that came back negative was the MRI. My diagnosis was Méniére’s disease. They’re not sure what causes it, but it’s a disorder in the middle ear, that comes from an abnormality in the fluids of the inner ear. I’d never heard of it, until that day. So I made it my business to learn all I could about vertigo and Méniére’s disease, which is also called Idiopathicendolymphatic hydrops.
Méniére’s disease sounds very deadly, but it isn’t. However, after suffering from severe vertigo for 12 hours, some may disagree. By now, you know some of the symptoms of this disease are severe vertigo, tinnitus (ringing or roaring in the ear), and difficulty with hearing. But some people are also nauseous to the point of actually throwing up. There is also a fullness in the affected ear, although about 15% of patients experience this fullness in both ears. The ringing and fullness in the ear, can either precede the vertigo, or be present with the vertigo, or it could be a constant presence in your life. There is also intermittent hearing loss, and loud noises become very uncomfortable.
The only symptom I don’t suffer from, is nausea. I’m thankful I don’t have to contend with that, and vertigo. When these attacks first started, the vertigo was so severe, I couldn’t function. The only thing I could do was take medication, go to bed, and hopefully sleep through it all. Eventually, my doctor and I, discovered that the severity of the vertigo varied, according to my consumption of dairy produce, and products made from wheat and oats…like milk, cheese, bread and oatmeal. Too much of these products cause congestion, which causes a fullness in my ear, which brings on the vertigo, and tinnitus. I don’t always stay away from them, but I do try to limit the amount I eat. Because of this, I carry sinus medication for congestion, and Dramamine for dizziness. My doctor and pharmacist both agreed, Dramamine is fine. It’s made out of the same ingredients as Anti-vert, the motion sickness medicine I was taking.
Now that I know about Méniére’s disease, and that to some degree, I can control the symptoms, by limiting foods I’m allergic to, it makes my life a lot easier. I have three friends who were just diagnosed with the same disease. One was driving a block from his home, when he had his first vertigo attack. The other person was at work. She got so dizzy, she thought she was falling out of her chair. She also thought she was dying. Her husband pushed her to their car, in that chair, and then had to put her in the car. One of her symptoms is nausea and vomiting. Can you believe this lady’s husband is the third person. His vertigo started at home, while he was sitting at the computer. He was out of work for two days. Needless to say, I can relate. Of course, I’ve become their personal consultant, when it comes to, “I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours”.
Vertigo is a symptom for a host of other illnesses besides Méniére’s disease. The most common is Benign Positional Vertigo. These attacks are short, usually coming from the sudden movement of your head, and can reoccur. Labyrinthitis, is caused by either a cold or flu virus, that spreads to the labyrinth, which is the balancing mechanism in the inner ear. Vertigo is also a symptom of arthritis in the neck, migraine headaches, poor circulation to the brain, motion sickness, hyperventilation, whiplash, alcohol and certain drugs. It’s also a symptom of Multiple Sclerosis, and tumors affecting the nerve, that connects the middle ear to the brain.
Avoid eating or drinking anything with caffeine, cut down on salt, and avoid alcohol. Eat properly, and get plenty of rest. These are some recommended life changes for people with Méniére’s disease. Doing this may provide some temporary relief. If the vertigo becomes too severe and disabling, your physician may suggest other types of treatments. These treatments can involve injecting an antibiotic into the middle ear, or having invasive surgery, to remove additional fluid from the middle ear, or cutting the nerve between part of the inner ear and the brain.
