When the World Spins and You’re Just Trying to Stand Still

A few years ago I started having these horrible episodes of vertigo hit me out of no where. It was like being super intoxicated and stuck to the walls of a washing machine going on the spin cycle. I would hit walls, stumble and vomit from the inability to make it stop. When it would eventually stop my head would hurt for days.

I went to my doctor and a specialist who both initially thought it was ear infections and gave me a variety of pills and ear drops. Nothing seemed to give me relief and the vertigo kept coming.

I will never forget this one ear drop I was prescribed would hurt so badly when my husband would put it in my ear I would cry and scream from the pain. Vertigo was better than having those drops put in my ear. It was awful.

An Ear, Nose and Throat specialist diagnosed me with Meniere’s Disease.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/menieres-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20374910 

He said my diagnosis was the cause of having very small ear canals that easily become infected when I get a sinus infection and trigger the Meniere’s Disease symptoms, including vertigo, since my ears do not drain as quickly as they normally should. It also didn’t help that I never had my tonsils removed as a child and suffered throughout childhood with colds, sore throats and ear infections that were often untreated. All of this has equated to some nerve damage in my sinus cavities and ears that I am now paying for as an adult. Unfortunately after a certain age you cannot have your tonsils removed which alone would help significantly in my situation. My options at this point are management and avoidance of the triggers so I can prevent it as much as possible.

Symptom Management

Since vertigo is debilitating and painful I have become adept at managing it and can begin to recognize when vertigo is going to hit me.

For me, my heart starts to race a little, I feel really hot, like feverish, all of a sudden, my head starts to beat and then very quickly after these sensations I’m spinning like the ground has gone out from under me. Try having that happen when you’re grocery shopping or driving in your car. It’s not a bunch of fun on top of being at least slightly dangerous.

Smells and odors, especially certain perfumes, soaps, cleaners, foods and etc. can trigger vertigo for me. I have a very hard time going by stores and aisles in a store that sell things with strong odors. Those plug-ins you can use in your home, air fresheners, sprays and the like with strong overpowering smells send me right over the edge with spinning so I try to avoid them as much as possible.

As part of my routine for managing the symptoms I take a daily dosage of Lipo-Flavinoid Plus.  I take at least 1 of these supplements per day year round. When I start to feel a sinus infection, ear infection or anything similar I double up the dosage.

Lipo-flavinoid is a vitamin that improves circulation in the ears and helps remove deposits that can cause the symptoms of vertigo and ear infections. I have found this extremely helpful in managing my symptoms.