I am on 16mg three times a day but I'm having more episodes of vertigo BPPV ..my quality of life is dreadful with these dizzy spells nausea

Does GPS not understand the struggle we have to get through the day ? I'm sometimes on my hands and knees to function with daily activities

A phone got any further helpful advice ...am pretty desperate GP not helpful at all

[Happyrosie]

Hello Indianajoans. You don’t actually say what you’re taking for the vertigo? I’m not sure what you are asking for?

I do agree with you, when you’ve got vertigo everything is so, so hard. Normal life disappears.

Have you been given medication? Exercises to do that will help? Or is your enquiry more about tinnitus (this is the tinnitus forum within Health Unlocked).

Do post again and tell us how we can help.

[Hidden in reply to Happyrosie]

Sorry .. I’m on Betahistaine or Serc-8 the medication is called .. I’ve asked for a Consultation to review meds etc so hopefully after consultant rings me tomorrow I actually get a face to face appointment ( only seen once 8 month ago ...then left !!!

[Happyrosie in reply to Hidden]

There are other meds for vertigo if the beta. doesn’t suit. You should be given exercises to train your brain to ignore what your ears are telling you and do what your eyes say. All these exercises are easily available online. I’m unsure what you would like from this forum, though?

[Hidden in reply to Happyrosie]

I understood that I would get support from this “Forum” and I felt I could cope better knowing other people have these awful symptoms !! I apologise if this was an incorrect assumption I’ll stop asking questions!!!

[Happyrosie in reply to Hidden]

You WILL get and have got support here! I just didn’t understand what your issues were as this is the forum for tinnitus. I didn’t know whether you were referring to tinnitus or to vertigo. If it’s both - sympathies!

You didn’t say earlier that you’d had the exercises - didn’t you find them helpful? Like the one where you sit and move your eyes left and right for a minute and so on? I found these very helpful…. Eply not so much. The first couple of Eplys I had were good, the last one made me vomit in the docs surgery.

I take Prochlorperazine when I need to, otherwise I’m dont look upwards (no sky gazing for me, and if I turn in bed it’s got to be done very slowly)

I hope what the others have said has been helpful.

Please do continue to ask.

[Hidden]

I have done the exercises unrelentlessly also had many Epley Manouvers techniques ...my quality of life is dreadful even though I try to work through the vertigo

[rabbits65 in reply to Hidden]

I am sorry your having such a tough time and I agree with you that doctors are absolutely useless at helping us with tinnitus and vertigo . You might be able to find a private counsellor .

[Yogachamp in reply to rabbits65]

Hi I have been prescribed Propranolol to try calm me as I am waiting for a cancer diagnosis just wondered if anyone else tried this as I’m under stress the ringing has got louder so I need to get my stress levels down. I was doing quite well with meditation & reading Joey Reminyi podcasts but think I’m losing it again . Does anyone have any tips to stay calm please .

[doglover1973 in reply to Yogachamp]

Hi YC. Sorry to hear you're waiting for a cancer diagnosis. Understandably stressful. Deep breathing and relaxation exercises are both useful. I do them regularly. You could try CBT or counselling too. It's always good to talk.

[Yogachamp in reply to doglover1973]

Thank youFor your speedy response , I will continue on them in that case I’m only on 10mg & seem to be calming me down , It must be awful for you with vertigo as well . How do you get the CBT counselling for you have to go private for that ?

[doglover1973 in reply to Yogachamp]

Hi. I don't have vertigo. Only tinnitus. I have gone privately as I'm still waiting for any help from the NHS. It's very reasonable - 25 minutes @£22.50 I've booked 6 sessions. Three in and they've helped me to relax more and deal with stress much better.

[Hidden in reply to doglover1973]

Thank you DL am so pleased they are working for you ...thinking positive is a good start

[Hidden in reply to Yogachamp]

Thank you YC I am unpredictable with both vertigo and tinnitus episodes ( more on than off) I am reluctant to book anything privately for couple of reasons a) I may have to cancel quickly if I cannot attend the venue as you still have to pay and b) I may then be taking someone else's slot -that they could have had and are suffering like me

[rabbits65 in reply to Yogachamp]

Plenty of long walks , listening to bird song and the rustling of trees etc. If your near the sea I find the waves coming into the shore very peaceful and calming.

[SimToTheWorld in reply to Yogachamp]

Yogachamp, careful with propranolol, it's a known ototoxic drug and might make tinnitus worst. I hope you are feeling better.

[Yogachamp in reply to SimToTheWorld]

Thanks Oh no that’s all I need they gave me them to help with anxiety & palpitations the stress was causing . What can I take instead to calm me down do you know. I have tried calms & rescue.

[SimToTheWorld in reply to Yogachamp]

I'm not sure. I tried amitriptyline, but it's also a known ototoxic drug. I stopped it and felt much better emotionally and felt I could cope better without it. But people are not the same. I was prescribed propranolol but never took it. It seems to me that doctors first port of call is to prescribe drugs. Personally, I have found out that for me interaction with people is a much better antidepressant ( unless they are abusive, of course). But not everybody has a supportive bubble around them. There is a website called hearinglosshelp that might have some ideas for substitutes for propranolol which are less ototoxic. It found it helpful. But as with any website, you have to sieve the information. I hope you get your appointment soon and are able to calm down without meds. 💕

[Yogachamp in reply to SimToTheWorld]

Thank you & yes I agree I think any of these meds just make you feel slow & lethargic & that’s not me. I’m under a lot of stress waiting cancer diagnosis results . I am lucky have loads of support emotionally & without that I would go under. Just ordered book Rock Steady too

& will see if that helps. Thank you for your kindness much appreciated .

[Hidden in reply to rabbits65]

Thank you rabbits65

[NLS8]

Hello Indianajoans,

I'm really sorry to hear of your situation. Firstly, an alternative to Serc is Arlevert tablets (Cinnarizine 20mg, Dimenhydrinate 40mg) three times daily. These tablets concentrate on eliminating/reducing the vertigo symptoms. But beware. I went onto these at my own request and suffered horrible side effect - double vision and nightmares among them - so only took them for 10 days and am now back on Serc 16 three times daily. Secondly, you say that you try to continue with daily activities while having a vertigo attack. For me that would be totally impossible as the vertigo is so severe that I have no co-ordination whatever and must lie down until the attack passes - normally between 3 and 8 hours. Sometimes though I feel dizzy with no vertigo and I think it is important to ensure you differentiate between the two. I would suggest that for vertigo you do lie down in the dark until it passes if only for your own safety. One thing I have tried is to concentrate on a ceiling light fitting (unlit) and keep my focus on the side of your vision from which the room seem to be moving, i.e. if the room seems to mover right to left concentrate on the right side of the light fitting. It's difficult but seems to reduce the duration of the attack somewhat. I hope maybe something here will help you perhaps.

[Hidden in reply to NLS8]

Thank you NLS8...I agree on a bad day doing anything is a no no... I mean I feel quite not with it in between attacks but I have coping mechanisms which may mean crawling on the floor to get from A to B I do this because I've had so many injuries falling ..my hip my arm my shoulders all have had and still ongoing injuries ..but throughout this pandemic no help has been available from anywhere ...

[TinnitusUKPat Partner]

Further to some comments earlier in the thread, although we have plenty to say about tinnitus, not all of us experience vertigo in line with it, so whilst we empathize with you, we may not be able to offer lived experience of the condition.

I think if it is advice on vertigo specifically, the lovely people at the Meniere's Society would be able to give you informed advice - menieres.org.uk/

[Hidden in reply to TinnitusUKPat]

This site was recommended but that's two negative comments and I've only been on this site a day !!!!!!!

[Hidden in reply to TinnitusUKPat]

Ill take myself off I can do without feeling unwanted too

[TinnitusUKPat Partner]

I'm sorry that you feel that you are receiving a negative response - that does not come across to me from any of the replies in this comment thread. I think most people are attempting to politely support you the best way that they can without having direct experience of your symptoms.

If you feel that this community is negative and not for you, I'm sorry to read that. There are many, many hostile spaces on the internet but this really isn't one of them.

[doglover1973 in reply to TinnitusUKPat]

This is a lovely forum. I hope Indianajoans will come back. If you're out there IJ .. Please come back. We miss you already! 🙂