Hello - when I have a vertigo episode, the best remedy for me is to get to a bed as soon as possible and try to fall asleep. For the most part after I wake up, the vertigo has subsided in 2-3 hours. I feel groggy but not dizzy. I have a light doze of Valium - 5mg to help with trying to fall asleep but sometimes it is very difficult as I find it hard to fall asleep even in bed when I feel the spinning sensation even with the Valium. Mecilizine does absolutely nothing for me. What do all of you do to help you fall asleep? Am I missing anything? Thank you
CBD Oil appears to be helping people. Meclizine worked well for me, but made me a bit drowsy. CBD Oil works much better and doesn't make me drowsy. Also, as your general overall inflammation goes down, so should your vertigo. Are you on a low-carb, wheat free diet?
Thank you very much Papa Joe. For now I'm trying to take Valium 5mg twice a day and keeping my fingers crossed. But that is just a bandaid. Surgery or Gent is inevitable. That decision will be made after an MRI. I had one 8 years ago to rule out an acoustic neuroma and another one is on tap. If I do the labyrinth surgery at some point they are going to need an MRI. I guess I would opt for endolymphatic surgery first since it is the least destructive.
Admin Post Since you have a prescription -- if Valium doesn't work, try Xanax (be careful you only use it when you need it because it can become addictive.). That has worked better for some folks over Valium. I tried half a pill of Xanax once and I was amazed how it virtually knocked the vertigo out. However, it's a personal preference of mine not to take these sort of medications so I haven't tried it since. A good brand of valerian root has worked well for me in those situations; I'd take a couple if I felt imbalanced or close to vertigo and it would take edge off. If I had an attack then I'd take four of them and it would reduce the severity of the spins and help me sleep. It also helped allay some of the natural anxiety that arises during those attacks. Ray
My vertigo episodes have been very much like yours. For me 5mg Valium has been effective as a rescue medicine (provided I can take it quickly enough to keep it down). It's best not to take it daily, since it can be addictive and the body can build resistance to it, requiring higher doses and reducing effectiveness for attacks. If you don't take it daily, it works well when taken at the onset of an attack to prevent it from going into full-blown vomiting and relentless spinning. I agree with you about meclizine -- never did anything for me either.
Papa Joe - No I have not let it dissolve under my tongue. Is it more effective if I do? I had not heard that. Thank you.
Yes, your mouth and tongue are rich in blood vessels. If you chew it up and hold it in your mouth, mostly under the tongue, it's absorbed directly into the blood stream (sublingual). It works much quicker that way, and you don't have to worry about keeping it down Additionally, since you mentioned the addictiveness of valium, you might try the meclizine again, but try it under the tongue. Of course, not everybody reacts the same way, but the meclizine might (or might not) be more effective if you take it under your tongue. I found that meclizine works quicker with less drowsiness. Good luck!
I've usually taken it with water (by habit), but will take it under the tongue too. It seems to work effectively both ways. The trick is getting it down before vomiting starts.
Admin Post On a side note, I've found ginger remarkably effective at helping with nausea or even vomiting. There's ginger pills you can take in those situations. Ray
I agree, Ray. The Chinese chewy ginger candies like Gin-Gins work well too, and ginger ale can also help with nausea. I often use them the day after an attack when not spinning but still feeling unsettled.
Thank you all - great advice. And I will definitely change the way I take Valium and will even try Meclizine that way. You are all wonderful.
This discussion reminds me of spinning attacks when I'd have to keep a bitter pill under my tongue or just end up chewing it, and had to lay there for hours with the acidic residue pasted all in my mouth. I'm telling you, Meniere's is good times.
Gravol and/or Benadryl. Ativan if I need to be knocked out. Clonazepam if I still need to drive home, or if it feels like it might pass without having to go unconscious. I recently heard of a study in Emergency Room patients with nausea and vomiting - sniffing rubbing alcohol (I dump a bunch on a cotton ball and hold or balance it under my nose) worked better than ondansetron (zofran). It’s worked really well for me to prevent the vomiting. I haven’t puked or used zofran since (knock on wood!) Mint tea, or suck on mint leaf. Ice pack (I keep “magic bags” in my freezer) on my neck. And a warm cat or electric blanket on my feet. Sometimes I’ll take 1000 mg each of ibuprofen and Tylenol if it feels like there’s any migraine component going on. I press on some acupressure points (ears, thumb, wrist, feet). I meditate and pray with desperation! My favourite meditation book is Jon kabat zinn’s Full Catastrophe Living. (I can’t read during the attack, of course... but I regularly read a page a day of this life saving book!) I keep a rescue pack in my purse, and in beside my bed. I should make one for beside my couch too. It makes a huge difference if I can get still very fast. On my ‘off’ or ‘feeling precarious’ days, It’s desperate enough that I don’t even let my bladder get too full because what if I get a vertigo? I don’t want to waste movement on going to the bathroom. Hope some of this helps!! The Beast sucks!
Also for falling asleep, sometimes I'll add my sleeping pill Imovane (like Ambien) to the mix. But yeah sometimes it takes like 3 mg of Ativan.
Interesting, because Meclizine was the 'only thing' that would get the vertigo under control for me. My Ent didn't approve of it--said if 'overused' it could make things worse--said take the Valium. I did take that and it did nothing but the Meclizine did. Finally had the Endo-shunt and almost 7 years now--no vertigo. As you know from my posts, I still have lightheadedness and it's gotten worse--and I wear bil. hearing aids--hearing is not good but would not hear at all without them. Just hoping the vertigo never returns.
Yanksgirl my hearing is acting up too. I am hoping it is weather related. NE weather is so up and down just like my hearing right now. No vertigo and like you praying it never returns.
Yanksgirl; I am glad I just read about the Meclizine being over-used. I didn't know. I've been taking one 25MG everyday for nearly two months. I wonder why your ENT said overuse could make things worse. I will ask mine when I see him on the 29th.