PCS and Vertigo?
 

Sorry if this has already been addrressed before but my memory just is no help even though I do read all the post here.
My ENT says a fissure burst in my ear and thus the vertigo but I have had virtigo from the start of the PCS...only it was mostly real bad at the beginning after the wreck (march 8).

About 2 months ago I woke up after hearing a very loud sound, in my head, and immediately the whirling room and the vomitting started...went to the ER and then later the primary sent me to my ENT. It got better for some weeks and Now last week I woke up with a bad case of dizziness and it has remained. I still think it is related to the PCS.
Am going to call my ENT back to report the extreme dizzy back again, and he did say he could send me to a PT for my problems. Seems that we have a good one here in our town.
Just wonder how many of you have had the same experience with sudden onset virtigo and vomitting. I don't get sick anymore just extremely dizzy to the point of having to use my rollater when going off due to so much balance problems. Gaye

Just researched past posts and found my answer. So no need to have posted...sorry.

Hi Froglady,
You may have a little of both PCS and vertigo, resulting from middle ear issues, I had the spinning of the room, vomiting and dizziness years ago from a virus affecting my middle ear, so i know what that is like. It is something that you wake up with and it has that spinning, like a clock feeling. It could be that, which is something that they used to just wait till it clears up or treat with antihistamines. It would be nice to know that it is not your PCS again.
Nancy

Hi, there. Do you have any problem with shutting your eyes and getting dizzy. I find that in the middle of the night since hitting my head the last time (about 4 weeks ago) that I become dizzy just lying in bed with my eyes shut - it is awful - I am hoping that it will go away! At the moment I am a bit of a tired zombie. Lynlee

Froglady

I hope the PT has been able to help you a lot. Mine has been very
helpful at times. Right now I have other issues that have put my
PT in a situation were its not as good for the vertigo and balance
issues.

But they sure are much better.


Lucy

I would suggest that you get ahold of the doctor your working with
and ask if you could go to a balance Physical therapist specialist.
This would help a lot with your issues in the dark. Its something
that is needed when its bad. I'm doing this also. I have lots of
problems in darkness.

This has been helping me a lot, they are reteaching me things now.

Donna

Hi Lynlee, oh yes...I have nights when I have to get back out of bed and wait a while to go back to sleep. All kinds of funky lights go on under my eye lids or maybe the spinning will try to start back up. I can't lay down on one pillow anymore due to it causing the vertigo to come back. I get dizzy if I turn over on my side...weird stuff. Also can lean over and whoops here comes the dizzy! I hate to go in stores due to feeling like the whole store is moving and the people make me even more dizzy cause they keep moving around...can't stand patterns either. I do have a catarach in my left eye that was to have been removed this last Friday but Doc says cancel due to vertigo making me feel so bad. He has also said seeing things so fuzzy out of my eye doesn't help the dizziness at all! He got that right..it just compounds it.

Donna, I never did call the ENT, keep thinking the dizziness will go away yet it is now going on 2 weeks and it hasn't. I am so mixed up and frustrated right now I don't know what to do. Lost it yesterday and my son and his wife caught me sobbing my soul out and my daughter came down too. Can't get my emotions under control either. I can not figure out what to do or where to go. I think I am going to have to go to the neurophycologist (spelling?) to get this all put back in place. Not afraid of losing my mind other than the fact that I can't get it to work right and I am just at witts end. Don't know what to do and I think my stressing and I don't know what word to use(another word I can't remember). Darn, see I can't even explain myself like I want to. UGH. Anyway I really need someone ...not family...to help me at this point. The day I blacked out and had a wreck was the day my whole life changed and it has never been the same. Now I don't know if I am dizzy from the wreck, or have vertigo on top of the dizzy, I already had. Does that make sense?

Words come out of my mouth all wrong. I think one thought and something totally different come out of my mouth. gets me so upset. I am just as liable to call the fridge a trash can or some other stupid word..am reading things that I think say one thing, and it is totally something else. Still find that some days it will take me 3 or 4 times to figure out that I wanted something from the kitchen and I might be standing in the bathroom, wondering what it was I wanted in there. Been in my house for 15 years and forget which cabinet the glasses and plates are in. Not all the time but enough that it is beginning to get me down. Part of me wants to give up and the other part of me wants to live my life to the fullest...that is if I could figure out just how to do that.

Oh my, sorry too much information ...got lost in my pity party and got off the subject. :o

I really wish I could lay down and take a extended nap and wake back up and be normal again. You know, like Rip Van Winkle.

Nancy I wanted to reply to you earlier and got wrapped up in my goofy world and forgot to. I was doing a bit better for a while and then out of the blue the pcs started back, and now I am a wreck. After testing my Neuro said my EEG showed some mild damadge to my brain. Maybe something haappened to my ear at the same time? I know one thing I am sure not going to do anymore, is take the Xanax (spell?) the ENT told me to take for the bad dizzy days. I don't take it daily. Still I think it might be messing with my emotions...then again I might just be so confussed at this time in my life that I don't know anything anymore. I do know that a 2mg valium they RX in the ER, the night I went there after the vertigo attack to get the vomitting stopped, works well enough on bad days to stop the dizziness, thus the nausea stops. Of course I am careful about taking it too. I wait until I can't stand it anymore before I take it and the other Xanax I absolutely will not take every night. Been worried that my pain manegement doc would not want me to be taking this stuff. Don't want to get messed up with him and lose my Lyrica.
Geeese use to be I could manage all this stuff fine and know what to do and now-------OK, so I need a Zoo Keeper. UGH

Thanks Yall, Gaye

http://www.askapatient.com/viewratin...23&name=LYRICA

Hi Gaye, you might want to check the above website and read about some of the side effects of the Lyrica. Hope this helps.

Gaye

You need to get to the doctor. I really understand all that you said.

It sounds just like me at many times in the last year. And I had to
go look for a neurologist that specializes in balance and vertigo to
even start to get answers.

Then when things were going so good. I started having problems,
and had to start all over in many ways. Now I'm starting to use
my balance therapy all over. And I even was told yesterday,
that I need to consider going and buying a walking stick for the
really bad days.

I happen to agree with her, but I'm scared as to what my husband
will say when I do that. Because she then turned around in the
next breath and told me many insurance companies don't pay for them.

Its easier to just go into a store and get one. Or a cane. And the cane,
I personally didn't do as well with.

I'm debating going to get one.

Donna

Sissy, thanks for the site. Have really been wondering if the Lyrica is causing the swelling in my legs, which is getting worse daily. I need to contact my PM doc.

Donna I think you are right about finding the right doc to help. My Primary did say she would send me for PT to help with balance and dizzness if needed. I am changing my ENT that I went to for the vertigo. I feel like he is totally correct about the fissure bursting in my ear and causing the fast onset of vomitting. Still though, my ear is bothering me and if I turn over on my right side it is a sure bet that nausea will arrive very quickly. . Daughter told me to go to an ENT I had used before, and of course had forgot his name.
I think my best bet is to go for the evaluation and go from there. I sure am having trouble with dealing with all this. Emotions are hanging in there...wonder how long without help?
What I can't understand is why we get better for a while and then it hits with a vengeance!
Thanks, Gaye

Just a burble
 

Hi Gaye, Sissy, Nancy and Donna - kind of like a girls meeting!

Gaye for this dizziness and vertigo to be so bad you would really want to find out if it is an inner ear problem. I can understand why you would want to sit down and cry - I certainly have been known to do it - it is the sheer frustration! Just like you - I keep thinking that if I could sleep for maybe 5 years would I wake up normal??

For my 51st birthday back in March I made the decision that I wanted to dance. So after dinner we went to Boogey Wonderland - a night club. It plays music from the 70s - I used to love to dance. So anyway in we went - revolving flashing lights - flashing lights on the floor and loud music - well - you can just imagine my reaction - I didn't know which way was up - shutting my eyes didn't keep the lights out either - needless to say I won't be going back in a rush! I did have a dance with my eyes shut - but had to be held up - people probably thought I was drunk - too bad for them!!

As to why does it come back - I think that as soon as we are that extra tiny bit over tired, stressed etc it gets that narrow opening and leaps back in. I find that I walk a very fine line/path and it doesn't take much at all to upset that balance. Like if I work a few minutes over my 3 hours, or am kept awake when I need to sleep, have to do some extra little thing - rush to buy a birthday present - just about anything that I haven't been able to plan and I am done for. So much for any impromptu anything! If you are not careful it is like it feasts upon itself - like if you panic about finding that you have left the gas hob on all day (I am good at that) or forgot to lock the house up again it gets to be like a vicious cycle and your fragile self confidence etc takes a battering.

Can you remind me what happened to you Gaye as I can't remember if I have read about it or not.

Donna I am going to see if there is any physio therapy available in New Zealand for balance. It could save more falls and bumps to my head.

Sissy you suggested something the other day and I have forgotten what it was. - do you mind reminding me?

It amazes me how people can explain things so well on this site. I was the great English language expert who can explain things so well in my job in the legal world but tyrying to explain where my head is at is another story. Maybe it is part of the new me who now has the learning disability - don't know!

Good night - 10 p.m. over here.

Lynlee

I agree how great it is how we can help each other. And I wanted to let everyone know that the reason I don't usually respond to you in name.

Is because by the time I figure out the name I forget it. Its something
I've always done. I remember a few and at times quote a name. But
mainly it was when Nancy and I were the only one's talking.

So don't be offended. I listen to all, and enjoy everyone.

I know that for me, to hear my newest therapist say that I need to think about getting either a walking stick or a cane Monday for my balance bad
days was one of the worst things I've heard. But its something I have
in my plan for hopefully next week. I'm afraid to tell my husband so I just
plan to go buy one and give it to myself for my christmas present to myself.

Hopefully he will allow me to do that. Its not something he personally understands. I have been getting, you are just a klutz, and all the other
bad words. And with all my doctors appointments trying to figure out
all the other health issues I am having he just is not understanding.

So I try to just deal on my own.

So this has been a godsend for me to have a place to talk.

Donna

Donna, I just have to respond to your post, although my brain is a little fuzzy from my new physical therapy, but I will tell you all about that another time. Anyway, I think your husband should be ashamed of himself for giving you a hard time and not being more understanding and helpful. Anybody can get sick or have an accident and it only takes a few seconds to change one's life. His time will come when he needs you! So please take care of yourself and hopefully you will get better. Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanks Sissy

And I think he knows that. HE just has never really understood why it happens to me. I have come to realize that I have these problems and
probably always will. So I've learned to live with it.

I am very pleased with how I'm doing with the most parts of my therapy and life.

Donna

Lucy I want to respond to your reply, will have to wait hopefully tomorrow. My back is killing me from being on my feet all day. :eek: Gaye

Gaye
 

HI Gaye, no rush I am going away for the weekend.

Lynlee

Donna,
You have always been so wonderful and supportive to this community! I hope you have continued success! I always come on to see how everyone is doing and have little time to respond back and then end up staying too long reading and posting. It is because I admire you all so much! You are all doing a great job and I hope you have A great weekend! I'm going to NYC, a very overstimulating place to be but quite pretty this time of year. Stay well. positive and focused. Do not let anyone or anything(PCS) derail your right to a good quality of life.
Nancy

Lynlee, the vertigo is my ear and it was from a fissure bursting in it the ENT said, yet I was already dizzy from the PCS already, so what a mess. I do better if I just don't lean over, turn over on my rt side in bed or turn my head around too fast. You're right about getting tired and having all the symptoms come right back. Getting stressed puts me in a tail spin something awful.
I blacked out an had a wreck March 8 and have never been the same since. My concussion was from my neck and head shaking backing and forth and the rest is history. The next day when I got out of bed I felt like I had gotten alhzimmers(spell?) over night.
You're night of dancing must have been very disapointing for you and I know how embarassing. I get very dizzy in stores just trying to shop...would hate to think of being in a room of flashing lights. Yikes! :eek:

Thanks Nancy

I sure try not to let anyone bring me down

Donna

Everyone else should do the same.

Donna

Hi everyone,
People to share my problems with at last!I have the same symptoms as everyone else and i am trying to finish my degree and in the last year of university. It all started when I had a terrible car crash in 2006 doing 90mph. This has resulted in tbi, terrible memory loss, vertigo, dizziness and the worst headaches anyone could imagine. Its so bad I have to go to accident and emergency and get morphine. When im doing my essays i have to wear a tight scarf round my head to alleviate the pressure in my head. Has anyone else experienced this? It sounds quite funny but it does help a bit. I am going to the neuro surgeon on thursday as my head aches have got worse and im getting really worried now as all the people dont really understand what it is like to have tbi and the problems that go with it. I am qualifying as a chartered surveyor soon, but I wont be able to do the job as I cant remember anything, and I just wondered how everyone else copes with jobs or if they have them?Thanks so much.