So my ENT is insisting that this will help doesn't matter if I have Menieres or Vestibular Migraine. I am not so sure it will and I don't have the money for it. I get floating, dizzy spells, walk into walls, and vertigo. Example today I was walking in the store and started feeling nauseated and I could barely stand up. My friend said she watched the color drain from my face and thought I was going to fall over. So how will vestibular rehab help this?
I did a 6 week ver rehab. It did seem to make me sick doing exercises and I gave up. I wish I didnt ready to go for a 2 nd chance with it.You can look online for them.
I underwent vestibular rehab and found it to be somewhat helpful. If nothing else, it helped me to train my eyes to help compensate for my ears inability to maintain my balance. (Look for something horizontal to get your bearings) Don't give up on the exercises, though.. Best, Kathryn
Karen, I didn't go to VRT when I lost my balance nerve to surgery. I don't think they had it then. But I did see a PT in the hospital. He said 'You have to do what you can't do so you will be able to do it.' I found out that was true. At the point he said that, I could not walk without holding on to another person, I had to carry a pan with me because I was vomiting continuously and I wasn't together enough to even have an opinion on therapy. I looked such a hopeless case that someone reported me to patient advoocacy as not getting proper care. Today I ride a bicycle for many miles. Most people who know me know I am deaf in one ear but do not know I have any balance issues. When I am sick as I am today, I start walking into walls a little but most of the time I do anything I want, stand on chairs to change light bulbs, turn around in the shower with my eyes closed. Most of my rehab was just walking, first up and down the driveway with a walker, then out the country lane with my cane and so on. It was scary at first and very hard and very tiring. But I walked a lot of miles this way and it is ho I got my balance back. My case was easier because at that time, my good ear was completely good and my bad ear was completely gone. Now my good ear suffers from hydrops so accding to my dr my balance in that ear is probably no longer perfect. But so far I still do ok. My advice is WALK, walk in a safe place away from cars and ledges but walk as often and far as you can. Take a cane or walking stick or friend or whatever you need, but walk. Good luck. You may amaze yourself.
Yes, I do what everyone tells me not to. They take it easy I stumble through the kitchen doing dishes. I bend over and do laundry sometimes catching my self on the wall. I refuse to let it rule my life even though I sometimes just want to lay down and give up. Thanks June! I don't have the money for VTR and I have 6 kids. So I continue to fight and it will get better!
Also, be alert to whether any medicines you take make it worse. If so, talk to the dr about abother option. When I was in the hospital after the operation, they gave me morphine. The minute they stopped it, I quit vomiting. Also, note where you feel worse. I had trouble every time I walked into a produce dept of the grocery store. You can't avoid these things altogether but just knowing what your triggers are, gives you some control. Keep going!
I agree with the above posts regarding walking. I know how difficult it is after losing my balance system on my right side. I can assure you it will get better and the more you walk each day the sooner the brain will adjust. I would also recommend yoga for balance and strengthening your core muscles. Yoga will not only make you stronger but should bring you inner peace. If you can not afford to attend a class there are plenty of yoga exercises on YOU TUBE you can follow. Perhaps trying yoga in your own home first will lead you to try a class. Don't give up, stay strong!
Definitely walking. Short walks until you feel comfortable of have someone with you. After awhile you will see a difference in balance.
I agree, walk, walk walk and when you tell yourself "I can't take this shit anymore walk a little but more. And when you say '"I'll never be able to ride a bike again". Jump on a bike. And when you are scared to jump in a pool, take the plunge. Dr.Hain told me on my only visit to him that he did not believe in vestibular rehab unless the balance function is static, meaning not fluctuating anymore, because after every attack it would be like starting from scratch again. He told me the brain is able to adjust and compensate and not loose any gains when there is no longer a faulty signal between eyes, ears, brain. With no signal the brain will eventually figure it all out and compensate over time. My balance sucked before the laby and after the laby I am basically normal as my brain adjusted just as Dr. Hain said it would.
After bad vertigo attacks I'll feel off balance and also get it triggered again in stores, loud places, church music. Walking outside feels good - walking straight, away from noisy roads. Sometimes a cane helps me feel better balanced.
I totally agree w/ June - walk, walk, walk... It truly is what helped me the most. I've also had some wonderful success with trained VRT therapists, as well as with a personal trainer. I can't say that it will help you with your vertigo, but it can help train your brain to work with what it has: your eyes, your proprioception and can speed up muscle response/reaction. This helps me make last minute corrections, preventing at least a few of the bruises that come from bumping into doors, walls and those dang stair rails that jump out at me. I don't fall nearly as often, and sometimes I've even 'caught' myself mid-fall. (LOL - not really gracefully - but I'll take what I can get!) A good VRT therapist is awesome, but if you can't afford it - search online. Even in the old database. There are many descriptions of simple (and progressively harder) exercises you can do.