Hi all

I have not been to the gym (or even to these forums) since before the new year. The reason is I have been almost completely debilitated by vertigo.

Vertigo is the sensation of spinning or falling when standing still or lying down. I have had slight vertigo all my life but it only occurred a few times a year with very mild symptoms. Usually it would be "bed spins" in the morning or dizzyness in the shower when I leaned my head back to wash my hair. It never lasted more than a few minutes but sometimes it was quite stomach churning.

My most recent experience was so bad I couldn't even move, let alone get out of bed, without agonizing nausea. I was fequently vomiting and missed almost 3 weeks of work.

I think I had a flu bug or something that caused this new severe vertigo. Although I am mostly recovered and back at work, I still have difficulty lying down to sleep at night, dizzyness in the morning and trouble turning my head on its side. I cannot yet go back to the gym because lying on my back or turning frequently still causes nausea. I continue to improve so it may be a lingering illness I am recovering from.

I have an appointment next week with an Ear, Nose & Throat specialist.

A friend at work has had severe vertigo all his life. His type of vertigo, BENIGN PAROXYSMAL POSITIONAL VERTIGO, is caused by calcium rocks or debris in the inner ear. These pieces of debris move to the wrong part of the inner ear and collide with tiny follicles in the part of the ear that determines balance. These collisions cause the inner ear to tell the brain that the body is falling or rolling. The sensation is much like that feeling of just coming off a very spinny amusement ride like a tilt-a-whirl but much more severe and without the rapid recovery.

This page offers much information on the condition:

http://www.dizziness-and-balance.com/disorders/bppv/bppv.html

Since this condition severely affects your balance and ability to handle movement and different body positions, it has a strong effect on physical activity and motion. That has a direct influence on one's ability to be physically active and/or lift weights.

I thought it would be a good idea to have a 'vertigo' thread as a discussion forum and reference for this condition. A search of the forums revealed only one thread that touched on anything like this.

Perhaps other members could follow-up with their own experiences and thoughts. Also, there are causes and types of vertigo other than BPPV so feel free to add information if you have suffered other forms of vertigo.

Incidentally, Bono from U2 apparently suffers from this condition which, I guess, inspired their hit song "Vertigo".

Mahlon

This is interesting... a few weeks ago, I was looking up stuff on allergies and found a page made by someone about Ménière's and histamine. The guy was told by some nutritionist/naturopath that he had terrible vertigo because he had very high histamine, and he was then put on a low histamine diet.:confused: At any rate, the guy was feeling better. Unfortunately, I can't find that page right now.

I also saw stuff about how more histamine is supposed to improve vertigo.:rolleyes: Go figure. If that were the case, I would be pleased if you could take some histamine away from me.:D

I went to a doctor years ago and was diagnosed with vertigo. He gave me some ineffective drug that did nothing but give me nausea. :p I didn't have improvement until I started doing something about my sinuses.

My worst experiences have been at night trying to fall asleep.

I think vertigo is really a symptom of enough things that it can be extremely confusing.:(

This is something you're going to need a doctor's opinion on... What you're experiencing can be very serious and shouldn't be taken lightly.... I would suggest going to several doctors and getting several opinions and/or treatment options.

Personally, I know someone who had irritable bowel syndrome and vertigo was one of his symptoms...

It can also be a result of a messed up equilibrium, hence the ear, nose, & throat specialist...

Vertigo is unfortunately the diagnosis for several malodies. I hope you're able to recover quickly and fully from what you're experiencing.

My most recent experience was so bad I couldn't even move, let alone get out of bed, without agonizing nausea. I was fequently vomiting and missed almost 3 weeks of work.

I have an appointment next week with an Ear, Nose & Throat specialist.

Sounds like labyrinthitis is a possibility. The ENT guy is for sure the way to go.

I had my appointment today.

The first part was a hearing test. I was very happy to find out that despite having sung in some rock bands and seeing hundreds of heavy metal concerts, I have above average hearing for all frequencies in both ears. *whew*

The second part was a check of the inner ear and vertigo. I sat in a chair much like a dentist's chair. It lifted me up quite high and tilted back. Leaning back with my head to the right was fine. Leaning back with my head to the left produced mild vertigo but it went away after a few seconds.

The doctor said my recent severe vertigo was most likely caused by a viral infection. She said many people get vertigo from a viral infection and after recovery continue to experience occasional vertigo. This becomes more common as we age.

Since my vertigo continues to get better the doctor thinks it was the effects from a virus and should continue to improve. She gave me some tips to make it less severe.

The best way is to keep the eyes focused on a point. The information the brain receives from the eyes is stronger and overrides the inner ear sensations. Part of the diagnosis is to observe eye movements while leaning back and/or rotating the head. If the eyes do not track properly or lose focus on a point then that often causes the tumbling vertigo sensation as the inner ear data overwhelms the other sensory data received by the brain.

Anyway, it seems I am normal and not suffering some inner ear or balance condition. I learned quite a bit about the inner ear, dizzyness and treatment of vertigo.

I'll take it easy for one more week and next week head back to the gym. As I have not lifted or done any heavy exercise in over a month I'll begin slow and ramp up to speed over the next 4-6 weeks while keeping an eye on my dizzyness and nausea.

Mahlon