Drunk feeling all the time

[WSUcougar23]

I woke up one morning and found myself intensely dizzy with vertigo and vomiting and as time progressed I noticed mental fog as well. Once I articulated that I felt drunk all the time, I began to search online for answers that two urgent cares and one ER hadn't given me. I was overwhelmed with the possible causes and terrified to read that some people were simply learning to live feeling this way. Finally I saw a doctor who nearly instantaneously knew what was afflicting me- benignl paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). Please all your doctor if this could be it, many people experience this yet it is rarely diagnosed correctly. I felt such relief finally having a diagnosis and knowing that it can be cured I wanted to share with others who might be impacted by BPPV.

[Barnclown]

Well done cougar: it is a relief to have diagnosis! This is great news! I've followed posts here on this subject closely for several years. Quite a few of us here on forum have benefitted from knowing that either the the positional or the less positional forms of paroxysmal vertigo can be benign.

And, yes, it is as important to feel we & our drs understand the nature and causes of our vertigo symptoms, because this makes it easier to figure out how to treat & manage these symptoms. Perhaps my story can be useful to you or to someone reading this thread:

I'd experienced flares of vertigo+nausea+confusion etc for decades ever since childhood....all relatively brief & temporary. Then in my early 30s, I got hit by a particularly scary, persistent & debilitating flare of vertigo etc which led to my GP referring me to ENT....where I went to a series of clinic appts and was given a battery of extensive tests which led to my diagnosis of benign positional paroxysmal vertigo. And the ENT consultant showed great insight by stating that the spondylosis & arthritis in my cervical spine was part of the 'mix' of causes involved in giving me my version of rather less positional paroxysmal vertigo. But he didn't spot my infant onset lupus was involved in my version of vertigo etc . And meanwhile the prescription motion sickness meds the drs had me on daily turned out to be compounding my vertigo symptoms. So I had to wean myself of them v slowly.

That was in the mid 1980s. since then, my version of paroxysmal vertigo has continued to flare, always at the same time as my recurring persistent neurological & cerebral symptoms. Of course this was v unpleasant and inconvenient, to say the least. Over the decades before the NHS recognised my lupus, the main way i managed all these symptoms and reduced their flares was via plenty of rest rest rest & keeping calm calm calm, but I'm sure all the other conscientious lifestyle management I was doing helped too (the pacing activity, meditation, gentle exercise, anti inflammation diet & supplements etc). What didn't help was the prescription NSAIDS & opioid analgesics consultants prescribed for my spine problems (these didn't help my spine stuff much either)

eventually, nearly 4 years ago in my late 50s, the nhs finally recognised my lupus and we discovered it was infant onset. Since then, treatment on daily hydroxy+amitrip+myco, has been making my predisposition to vertigo & neuro cerebral symptoms even more manageable (as well as my spine problems)....and we've discovered that when a flare of vertigo & NC symptoms occurrs despite those daily lupus meds, a low dose 10mg 4 week pred taper can put a stop to such flares.

So, my feeling is: hooray! It's wonderful to know I can more or less manage my predisposition to paroxysmal vertigo + neurological & cerebral flares via lifestyle management & systemic treatment for lupus. Long may this continue.

Congrats & good luck cougar