[Erin524]

Anyone know of a vertigo medication that's stronger than Meclizine?

I got hit with the Vertigo From Hell tonight.

I was really tired yesterday. Ended up going to bed and sleeping for 8hrs. Woke up and felt exactly like I did when I went to bed. Tired as heck. Been tired all day, and then around 8 or 9 tonight the vertigo washed over me.

I actually think the vertigo is being triggered by allergies. Dry month, warm for October...lots of pollens still in the air, and we're still doing remodeling...got brand new carpeting for the basement this week and all the dust from taking out the old carpet and putting in the new carpet is doing a number on my sinuses and my inner ear. Left ear is itching like crazy. My nieces were here tonight too, and one is really autistic and kept running around (driving me nuts) and making way too much noise.

I get vertigo very easy when the MS is acting up and I think the MS and my allergies are competing with each other this week for making me feel bad. Throw in the autistic kid driving me nuts with noise...too much activity for me today.

Crackers and carbonated pop felt like it helped more than the two and a half Meclizines I took earlier. If this vertigo lasts more than just tonight (better go away by morning!) I'm calling the neuro for something better. Why does this always happen on a weekend?!

I'm going to bed before the spinning gets really bad again and hope that this goes away soon. I feel icky. I think I hate vertigo more than most of my other MS symptoms. At least the other symptoms dont usually make me want to hurl. I just want an anti-dizzy medication that actually works other than just making me sleep.

[Dejibo]

I do visual exercises to help.

Look at something far away. Stabilize
Look at something close up. Stabilize
Look at something far away. Stabilize
Look at something mid point. Stabilize.

I alter between far away, close up and half way. I sit in a comfy chair with my feet FLAT on the ground. Back straight against the back of the chair (use pillows if you need to) and hold my head straight while my eyes do all the work.

I find MS can trick my brain into thinking the car or floor or room is moving, when I know its my brain that isnt registering clearly. I am trying to retrain it to know its place. Sorta like being sea sick and training your eyes on the horizon.

Feel better.

[kicker]

Adivert? I try what Dejibio says and hd some success. Mezicline never helped me. Never tried Adivert. I also found physical memory of what "normal" felt like to help. Visual sometimes did not work for me, I would walk purposely, hitting my heels down hard. Someone who didn't know why told me I walked like I was gonna kick butt. It helped.

[Erin524]

I'm still dizzy this morning. (crap..hoped it would be gone after I slept a bunch) I'm also really really really sore this morning. Like I did a bunch of exercising yesterday or something. Really hurts my back and my ribs. Hope that's not some horrible spasticity starting up. My spine hurts. I'm a giant ache...hurts!

As long as I'm sitting up, or laying on my side, I'm not that dizzy. Standing up and moving sets it off a bit. Laying on my back really makes the vertigo mad at me. If I look up at something, or look down (like reading a book) that sets it off too.

All I want to do is sleep...and eat...the meclizine makes me hungry, which is weird.

As long as I dont make huge sweeping movements with my head to look around, or look up at something the vertigo is manageable. I think this was triggered by my allergies ticking off my middle ear. Good thing I dont have to go anywhere today. I feel icky. I'm going to go find some tyelenol and some crackers. I'm hungry and sore.

Oh, Kicker...are you talking about Antivert?? Isnt that over-the-counter Meclizine?? I just read that Lorazepam is a good antiemetic (anti-dizzy pill) and I happen to have some (got it for some anxiety awhile back), so I think I'll try that next.

[hollym]

My neuro put me on Klonipin (aka clonazepam) for it. It works quite well for me.

Antivert is the original brand name for meclizine. Meclizine is also available OTC in the same exact strenth in Bonine motion sickness medicine. Meclizine never helped me at all only made me tired.

[Erin524]

The good thing about the Meclizine is that I think I slept thru most of the crappy vertigo stuff. I think I slept about 15 hrs saturday night to sunday morning. Another 6 hrs during the middle of the day yesterday. And then slept from about 4am this morning to 10am this morning. (that last 6hrs of sleep was because of baclofen)

I still want to sleep some more, but my body is so sore right now. I feel like someone was beating me with a broomstick while I was sleeping. I wouldnt be surprised if I had bruises if I looked in a mirror. I just feel really sore.

I think I caught up on my sleep bankruptcy. (I didnt just have a sleep deficit. I was bankrupt on my sleep)

I still feel a teeny bit off balance this morning, but the spinning seems to have quit for now. (knock on wood. Hope there's enough wood in this table to count for that)

I really really really hate vertigo. I think I hate it more than most of my other MS symptoms. Not sure if this vertigo was totally from the MS tho...Might have been partially from allergies and a sensitive middle ear. I still want my neuro to give me something that actually helps the vertigo stop spinning. Meclizine just makes me sleep thru the vertigo. Which isnt that bad, but then I wake up sore and starving to death. Meclizine seems to make me hungry for some reason.