Acupressure wrist bands for relief of vertigo?

Has anyone tried acupressure wrist bands with success, or not? I know this sounds goofy, but I have a friend who swears these work for vertigo! He wears them when he feels an attack coming on and he has tried them on a cruise ship when he started to feel seasick. I bought a set and tried them a few nights ago when I was feeling the early warning signs. I was afraid if I went to sleep I would wake up with vertigo. I put them on at 10 p.m. and stayed up till midnight. Felt a little better, so I kept them on and went to sleep. A few hours later, I woke up and took them off, feeling OK, and I was fine in the a.m.! Now, I don't know whether they worked or not, but something warded off that attack. I also just started taking the JOH regimen about 2 weeks ago, so maybe that's kicking in.

I'm feeling a bit "off" right now, and my tinnitus is getting louder, a bad sign, so I just put them on and decided to check in with my new friends in the "Living Room".

I bought the wrist bands on Amazon, "PsiBands" $12.99. They claim "Drug free...for the relief of nausea...most commonly caused by morning sickness, motion sickness, anesthesia, or chemotherapy". My friend bought some similar from REI at $16.99. Worth 100x more if they really work for vertigo!

 

Bonnie, I'm glad to hear someone else uses these with some success, at least with the dizzy spells. And I'm glad to have the advice not to wear them to bed. Lately, I can go a week or so feeling not too bad, then a big vertigo attack, then days of dizzy before I feel better again. I'm a few hours into this odd feeling like I have an attack coming on. I was trying to wait it out before taking a meclizine because those don't always help and I wanted to see if these bands really work, but I did take one pill about an hour and a half ago and I still feel like I'm on the edge, hoping I don't fall off! Usually, the attack comes on more quickly, so maybe they do help some. I will definitely look for the homeopathic pellets. I hope to find something that will work for me to stop these awful episodes which seem to be coming on more regularly now. Thank you for your comments.

 

John of Ohio, thanks for your comments. And thank you for sharing the treatment regimen you devised. I am so happy to have found something I can do to be proactive in fighting off the progression of this disease. I am so grateful to you and this support group.

Yesterday I finally took another Meclizine, chewable, per Saera's earlier suggestion, and by midnight I was able to fall asleep without the usual vomiting sequence, so maybe the wrist bands helped because sometimes even the pills don't help. It's hard to know. I also did the eye exercises I found on-line. I did 3 sets of them periodically throughout the evening as I was basically immobile in a chair with my eyes wanting to spin in my head. This time, I think the eye exercises may have helped, too. Another wasted afternoon/evening but today I feel better, and I don't seem to have the usual lousy feeling I get after a major attack.

I am, thankfully, retired. My heart goes out to all you younger people with jobs, kids, and busy lives who deal with this. And thanks again, John, for your continued interest and support of this group.

 

Bonnie, I found the book on Amazon and read some in the preview. Fortunately, I don't get migraine headaches, but the book mentions they sometimes happen in your 60's/70's...something else to worry about! It is interesting that so many of the symptoms of migraines overlap with the symptoms of vertigo, and that the triggers are similar, including stress.

I already gave up caffeine and alcohol about a year ago (said goodbye to my favorite red wines and that was sad!). And I really watch the salt in processed foods and I don't use any in cooking except a scant amount in a baked thing when it's called for in a recipe. My husband missed it at first, but he can finally get beyond the craving. He was eating pretzels the other day and actually said, "too much salt"! I still eat gluten, but mostly whole wheat, and probably eat too much cheese and an occasional chocolate, but if any of that is a trigger, it's not immediate, so it's hard to know.

I will take your advice and look for those homeopathic pellets you recommend. It's hard to know what combinations and how much of anything to take, but I continue to experiment. I had 2 major attacks in May that started before I even opened my eyes in the morning! And it was too late--I couldn't keep anything down. Other than those times, I've taken Meclizine, Odansentron for nausea, Lorazapram because someone on this forum talked about it and I happened to have an old expired Rx. I'm glad I kept the old Rx because I think it helped. Also tried ginger tea. And then I tried those wrist bands. I have no idea which of those things are the most helpful. I do know when I start to feel odd, I can kiss the rest of the day goodbye. There's no way to power through it, except I do think those eye exercises help when I can't seem to focus on anything, and when the spin is worse if I close my eyes.

You probably mentioned somewhere, but how long have you been on the JOH regimen? And do you take all the supplements? Some people here have said they feel worse for awhile, then better. You? Thanks again for taking time to respond.

 

Bonnie, thank you again. Your posts are definitely helpful, and not just for me, I'm sure! I was getting ready to buy the olive leaf extract, until I read your caution note! And I was waiting only 20 minutes to eat after taking the lysine in the a.m. before breakfast and afternoon before dinner. I didn't know to wait longer. You have given me much more to discuss with my ENT doc the next time I see him. Maybe I am experiencing some form of VM. My MM symptoms got so much worse about 6 months ago and the doc changed the diuretic Rx. It seems to have reduced the tinnitus, but not the fullness and sensitivity which are worse. Then the bad vertigo episodes started 3 months ago after a visit to a friend who doesn't cook, so we were eating in restaurants for 3 days, and then the vertigo started a day later. I thought the problem was salt, but maybe it's something else because I really watch the sodium when I cook. Maybe it is the start of VM. Ugh. Your experience is frightening. The link you posted works just fine and I'll refer to that again, and I will get that book!

You have certainly consulted and worked with an assortment of professionals, and yet it seems like the headache diet is the thing you find to be most helpful. That's interesting. I wish I had some words of wisdom to offer you. I'm sure you are stressed just thinking about your readiness to start the school year. And stress in itself is a trigger. I have started to keep a log of my vertigo episodes and anything to note about them. I'm doing this for discussion with my doc, but a log like this might ease your stress, especially if you start to see a pattern of longer stretches of time between any setbacks. Hopefully, that is what is happening for you and you will have confidence in the next few weeks that you will be able to start anew with your work life.

I am grateful for your support and I will watch for your future posts on this forum. Your time and discussion of your experience is most definitely appreciated. All the best...

 

MelRen, have you started on the JOH regimen? I started a few weeks ago, adding one element each week as John of Ohio recommended, except I doubled up when I got to the vitamins. I haven't added the last MSM yet. I had one major vertigo episode after just a week on the Lysine, but it was less severe than others, and one very mild episode a few days after that. Since then, all the general dizziness has disappeared! I have no way of knowing if the improvement is because of the JOH or just the normal ups and downs of this disease, but I can say that I was generally miserable with vertigo for 3 months and now I feel so much better. I still have the fullness in my head and the sensitivity to certain sounds and being in a crowd is a hearing challenge, but I actually think my hearing in my bad ear has improved a bit.

All this started for me 2 years ago with all the hearing issues and one major vertigo but the doc diagnosed me with just cochlear hydrops and put me on a diuretic. I was uncomfortable for the next year and a half, and sorely missed the salt, caffeine and alcohol, but I had no idea it could get so much worse! Then in January this year, the fullness and sensitivity got to an all-time high, and my hearing diminished. The doc prescribed Sudafed for a time, then an antibiotic, then changed the diuretic I'm still on. The roaring tinnitus had diminished after the doc changed the diuretic, which he said was a good sign, but I was having a lot of dizziness which he said was just my body getting used to the new diuretic. Then the vertigo episodes started and that was the beginning of a whole new game! That's when I found this support group.

I'm trying to be patient, as John of Ohio has cautioned, in waiting for more improvement, but just having almost 3 weeks of no vertigo, and little to no dizziness, has made a huge difference in how I feel. I just hope it continues. I say the JOH regimen is worth a try. Why the docs don't talk abut this is a mystery to me. Welcome to the group, MelRen. Let us know how you're doing.

Diane