First of all. I'm a huge hypochondriac/anxiety sufferer
However here's my history:
5 years ago, I had a nasty case of vertigo-doc said it was BPPV and did the epley. I felt fine. It came back again 2 years ago, did epley and felt fine.
2 years ago, I started feeling a 24/7 sort of feeling of light motion inside my head, like a felt light swaying sensation. It gets worse when I'm stressed.
1 year ago, these very brief 5-10 vertigo/room spinning spells would occur, sometimes when waking up, sometimes when sitting on the bed-neck propped on pillows, some times when standing. When these happen, my heart starts pounding and I get super freaked out, after deep breathing, the dizziness goes away. These spells are very spaced out, and I get one maybe every few months...sometimes longer.
I've had tinnitus in my right ear for years, I play loud loud music for a living and am partially deaf in my right ear, since however long I can remember... I think since 13 years old, my right ear has had a ringing/slight hearing loss.
all I can think about is menieres, I google it everyday. It's freaking me out that I might have this.
Also 2 years ago, an ENT looked at me for a few minutes and said the general dizziness/vertigo I had, was from labyrnthitis, but I still have it, years later.
Hi
I don't know if this helps ....but I had bad spells also ... I stopped a medication I was taking and it helped a lot ... also when my red blood cell count is low I am very dizzy all the time....good luck, I hope you find answers!
Because the positional maneuver worked, then you indeed did have BPPV. Sometimes the symptoms come back occassionally. Are your current symptoms the same as back then?
Eleftherios S. Papathanasiou, PhD, FEAN
Clinical Neurophysiologist
Fellow of the European Academy of Neurology
I also have had 2 major episodes of BPPV And while I'm not necessarily a hypochondriac it's such a scary feeling that I also get extremely anxious when it happens. In between episodes I feel 99% better but there's always a little bit of residual dizziness that has never gone away. I actually do think that your panic is making your symptoms much worse and that you're still suffering from some inner ear imbalances. I would stop and try not to worry so much if possible but I don't think it's any worse than that. This is just my opinion and I'm not a doctor.
febian,
I have both BPPV and Menieres. I was diognessed with BPPV about 15 years ago and about 3 years ago I was diagnosed with Menieres.
With Meniere vertigo can happen when I am sitting and not even moving. It's scarey. My neurologist prescribed acetazolomide. It's a drug originally developed for high altitude mountain climbers. It has stopped my vertigo attacks and there are no side effects. I have been taking 50 mg twice a day for the past 2 years. Salt plays a role too. Stop putting salt on your food. I know it doesn't taste as good but your diziness will thank you.
Good Luck
Richard
Do you think I have menieres? I figured the vertigo with menieres is more intense. Since I've always had tinnitus and bad hearing, I'm also not connecting the two.
Hi febianperez,
Have you looked into Tonic Tensor Tympani Syndrome?
There's lots of information on the Web about it.
Best wishes