having a vertigo attack out in public

Welcome Restorative55,

I have had many attacks at work. Even had coworkers give me rides home. After awhile work would let me crawl under my desk and let me sleep it off. I now mainly work from home via VPN so now I can just lay down and not worry about it. the most embarrassing one happened at a Macaroni Grill. I had to fall to the ground because of the spinning. There was 6 waiters and the manager hovering over me. They wanted to call an ambulance and it took me awhile to explain it wasn’t life threatening. Once the valium kicked in enough for me to leave my wife drove us home. Two waiters had to carry me to the car.

 

I have had many attacks while singing with classes of preschool aged children. Some attacks I would plod on through until the end. When the children left I would collapse and be stuck in my chair for a long time and then stumble like a bad drunk to a different place.

One time I had a really bad attack and could not sit in a chair. I explained to the other teachers I had to stop and get to a closet and I stayed in there for three hours.

I had a really bad attack once when i got into my car. I remembered my ENT saying, "Next time you have an attack come in here so I can see you."
WTFracking? Is he nuts? He wants me to drive my car. I feel like I am going to PUKE any minute. I can't turn my head left or right or up or down. He wants me to come to his office....................so I drove to his office. I get to the Hospital, where his office is and I can't walk. I stumble, hlding on to every car in the parking lot, trying to make my way to the door. I stumble into the door and there is an angel wearing pink stripes with a wheel chair. I asked her if she is giving rides? She said YES! Thank You. She gave me a ride to my Dr.'s office. He was going to lunch, on his way out the door.

I sat with my head in my hands for about 45 minutes. Feeling like I am going to toss my cookies any second. He cuts his lunch a little short and they take me in to have a hearing test. WTFracking? A hearing test!? How is this going to make me feel better? After the hearing test he says, " Yep, you've lost some hearing in your lower frequencies." I said that's it? That's all you've got? I thought you were going to help me. He says, "Just stay on the diuretic and watch the salt! I wanted to give him the finger and rip him a new #**hole. He made me drive there. I was thinking if he saw me during an attack he would be able to cure me. I never went back.

My GP is much more helpful!!!

Every attack has left me drained no matter how severe the attack was.

Some on here have a card they carry with them explaining they have Meneires and they are not a drunk or on any bad drugs. ( Funny- I just mis-spelled Meniers and I clicked on it to find the correct spelling and it suggesed TIREDSOMENESS!!) How about drunkeness?

 

I had many in public the worst ones were the ones where you are barfing and shitting in your pants at the same time.

There was a time for about 2 years my wife and I agreed I could not take the kids by myself out anywhere. I had to be accompanied by her, a family member or our assistant Stephanie.

 

I have had two attacks in public. One was at my daughter's indoor soccer game. That one was the worst and the first public attack. I had to call my husband to pick me up, and my poor daughter and her friend had to get a ride home with a teammate's parent. She's 14 and I was mostly worried about embarrassing her! ??? My husband was watching the Wisconsin basketball team beat some other college in the March Madness tournament and he wasn't happy to hear from me. The other one was at a beach in Florida, and as soon as I felt it coming on I walked back to the cottage, which was challenging.

I sort of have a plan depending on where I am. Mainly, it's the "call my husband" plan. If I'm with my daughters and he is not available to come and get us, which would be unlikely, we wait it out until I can drive. If I'm at work, I can tell my students to go back to class and I'll collapse on my couch. If I'm at a mall (which I have to go to often, because...teenage daughters). I guess I'll just sit down and close my eyes until I can walk. If I'm driving, I usually drive in a lane where I know I can pull over easily. If I'm at a bar, I'll just keep drinking until I can see straight.

I hate this condition and what it does to people with all my heart. I am determined to kick it's a@@. And I pray for a cure for everyone everyday.

 

Hi Restorative55,

I used to be a hairstylist and having an attack at the salon was the worst for me. Leaving a client in the middle of a haircut or color was NOT good plus the restroom was right next to the reception area so everyone could hear me in there “hugging the toilet.” Finally decided I couldn’t do it anymore and started working from home running my own cleaning company.

I like to be prepared for any eventuality so I always carry sickness bags with me (one in my purse, one in my car) and Valium and Meclizine in a pill box. I have a blanket and pillow in my car in case I fall ill while I’m out and need to lie down for a bit. Always, ALWAYS have my cell phone with me in case I need to call someone to come get me. I have an emergency card that states I have Meniere’s Disease and has contact information on the back of it that I carry with me as well.

I’ve had vertigo attacks just about everywhere you could imagine. It’s not all bad though. I got sick in my neighbor’s rose bushes one time when I was taking a walk and started to spin and I swear her flowers never looked prettier than they did that year. In hindsight I really should have charged her a fee for fertilizing her roses for her.

All my best to you!
Lulu

 

I too have have severe attacks at work, I'm a cashier. So right smack dab in the middle of public, slam I go from just fine one second to drunk checking the next. I call the manager to come help me, I've been escorted to the break room and practicly carried to the car and even driven home. This is where i visit the porcelin god and then my beloved bed....the celing fan bothers me quite a bit. Some valium and a cold rag, with a prayer for unconciousness. The meclazine only worked for about a year, sometimes it even made me sicker. The valium seems to help quite a bit. My employer say's " Tammy buzzed checking is drunk checking, we want you to go home." I feel blessed to have such a compassionate employer, they have told me many times not to worry about my job, they aren't gonna fire me. My longest attack has lasted 17 days. I have decided I don't feel safe to drive anymore, so only on super "good" days , but still I worry. Today is my 10th day with my most recent attack, I feel I'm on the upside, most days just riding in the car can bring on an attack.

 

Initially it was so hard for me when I had an attack at work. I am not one who likes to ask for help or even share when I am not feeling well. But after a couple of times of having the sudden start of the attack and having to have people drive me home (one drives me in my car, another follows to bring the driver back to work) I realized that the world doesn't end with asking people to help - my coworkers didn't respect me any less. It was and is so horrible though if I can't make it home without puking. UGH.

While I take the Ativan now and it does shorten the attack and makes me very tired..I am absolutely not able to go to sleep when the room is moving. Closing my eyes makes it SO much worse (if that is even possible).

I remember being driven home once and just as we got to my house i thought I was going to puke, I wasn't thinking and got out of the car quickly and just as quickly stood up. My poor body couldn't figure out where I was, I was stumbling right/left/crazy...I was able to grab a shrub which I used to stop myself. The next day when I went back to work my coworkers that saw it were like "Wow, we didn't realize how dizzy you get!". LOL I believe that them seeing that was actually a key piece that finally got them to understand.

I still do not like having to let people help me, but I don't worry about it as much and it does not bother me greatly. I have a medical issue and I don't judge others by a medical problem so why should I let it bother me.

OH forgot, I have hands free dialing in my car so there has been at least once that I made it walking to my car and then got in and dialed a friend to come get me.

 

Learning to ask for help is hard for many people.
These stories show that many people are compassionate and understanding in these situations. It is good to hear.

One thing I've noticed is people posting that they don't want to go to sleep or close their eyes because the vertigo seems worse.
One tip-I always have a black dishcloth near my bed and have even gotten a black sleep mask. Even if I can't close my eyes this helped me to focus but on nothing but black until I could close my eyes.

I hope this helps someone.

 

This is a tough question. Knowing that you could have a vertigo attack makes one very anxious. Stress and anxiety make vertigo attacks more likely. Vicious circle. My husband's attacks have been occurring every 2-3 days since March 9th. He knows one could happen when the fullness in his ears has increased and the roaring/rushing noise is present. Gurgling sounds mean one is very likely, very soon. He knows one is definitely coming on when it appears that things have moved. Just to be sure, if he is seated he stands up. If his balance is bad upon standing, he is having a vertigo attack. Time is of the essence when an attack strikes. You have to lie down, move as little as possible and get your medication into your system. For David, if he has to walk or ride in a car, forget it. He will be vomiting. Consequently, he only goes in public the day after an attack or maybe 2 days after. But his attacks have been on a regular schedule and the fullness in his ear does not come on suddenly, it builds. That said, living this way sucks. He would have a laby tomorrow if he could. I want to keep trying diet, supplements and antivirals. But then, I'm not the one barfing...

 

Hi everyone, I am new here. I started having symptoms in July 2012, with my first bad attack in December 2012. Since then, I average about one attack every six weeks. Some are really bad, some are simply disabling. But I have always been able to get to a safe place to ride it out for 6-8 hours. That changed last Tuesday. I was in a conference with my colleagues when it hit. It was bad with a quick onset. I stumbled out of the meeting to my office and laid down on the floor. There was no way I could to get to a car to have someone drive me home because I was too nauseas. My co-workers did not know what to do, and would not leave me on the floor so they called an ambulance. I don't blame them, I really never contemplated what to do in this situation.

I came here to gather some information and this post, along with other posts have been insightful, comforting, and contain lots of practical information. I'll see an ENT in two weeks. Until then, I am gathering the items for JoH's suggested course of action and want to start that ASAP. In the meantime, I started taking the 'pine bark' stuff (I don't remember the actual name) 150 mg a day. I'll post in that thread if there is any progress.

Since coming here I have learned to formulate a strategy for an attack in public, and what medications to have handy. I have also learned about treatment options such as JoH's course, and anti-virals. I feel much better prepared to discuss this with my doctor in two weeks.

I am very grateful for this resource, to the individual who started this site, and all the contributors. I'll share my story as it progresses. I hope I can be an asset here.

Howard

 

Hi Howard, I'm pretty new here too and find this site to be the best source of information I've found. Everyone has been extremely helpful and encouraging.

Sharon406

 

Howard, definitely make sure that your co-workers/family know how to "help" you (even though there is not that much they can do). For me I have a prescription for Ativan 1mg that I place under my tongue when an attack hits. That has shorted my attacks to under 2 hrs vs 6 hrs plus. And since the med gets absorbed quickly I do not have to worry about when I start to puke.

 

I've had about 5 extremely bad vertigo attacks. The first one was at home and I awoke to the spinning. The next two I was at restaurants--it was clear (now, but not then) that as I was driving down a major interstate that i began to have a mild case of vertigo--my vision went suddenly weird (the nystagmus), but i didn't know what was happening. A few days later I was just leaving a restaurant and started spinning--got to my friend's house, felt nauseous but didn't throw up. About three days later I was in a different restaurant with friends and suddenly started a severe spinning episode--I staggered out to the car, my friend drove me to her house and just as the car stopped I started puking---alot. I got to her front porch with help and threw up there. I got to her bathroom and stayed for about 2 hours----it was horrible. I've had one severe episode at work, but the nature of my job was such that I was independent, had my own office and basically a private bathroom. If an episode of vertigo was not severe I simply laid on my office floor and waited till it stopped. Like others, I have learned to be prepared for a possible public episode---I carry barf bags in my purse, I carry meclizine and zofran--- I have a blanket, pillow and large basin for vomiting in my carr. I recently purchased a Jitterbug phone for seniors which has raised numbers and if you want a 5* access button (so you can just punch that button and are connected to 'help'). I can't focus my eyes in a severe episode and I only had a touch screen phone, so basically useless with those episodes. I so wanted to do a road trip this spring, but I wondered what to do if I had a really bad spell----since my digestive system goes nuts (meaning I have to move my bowels urgently--fortunately only once--I think this is due to the sickly adrenaline rush). I ordered a portable camp toilet to take in the car (just a joint compound bucket with a toilet seat). When I drive around town, I figure out the best roads to travel---those with a middle turning lane or a wide shoulder. When I actually do go out to eat or meet with friends I make sure I know where the bathroom is. I tell friends of my condition, tell the person who cuts my hair, the dentist, etc to let them know what 'might' happen. Sorry this is so long, but clearly we need to tell each other what we can.

 

Restorative 55---you're so right. What you describe is very familiar to me--pooping and vomiting at the same time is just gross and uncomfortable to say the least. It all sucks tremendously and changes our lives. After coping for the last 2 years with these unpredictable episodes I realized that 3/4 of the coping is psychological/emotional---when I have good days, which thankfully is most of the time, I really try to remember the freedom, joy, and awesomeness of good health. When the episodes happen I try to say, 'this too shall pass" and just endure it all. Good luck!