It depends if you have the type of drop attack that comes with a bit of warning. As MDIC mentions: http://www.menieresinfo.com/glossary.html For me, I had about 1 to 2 minutes warning before I was slammed down with a drop attack. If you have a bit of warning before yours, and you love riding your bike, maybe ride on neighborhood sidewalks with grass next to you.
I don't agree with MDIC. That description sounds like a vertigo attack not a drop attack my opinion. And really a one to two minute notice to jump off your bike? And then what? You need to have a discussion with Dr. Steven Rauch at Mass Eye and Ear you might understand better how life threatening drop attacks are. Please note I don't want to appear to be argumentive just want to stress to be cautious if you experience drop attacks. Peace!
No offense taken. We're all just trying to get our heads around the different aspects of this strange condition. I do think there's a bit of definitional overlap in the term "drop attack". 9 out of 10 of my vertigo attacks have taken a while to build up to the actual spinning. But, I did have an attack that only gave me 2 minutes of warning, then threw me to the Earth with immediate spinning to follow. To me that is a type of a drop attack that MDIC mentions. They are careful to say it is uncommon...but that it CAN be considered a drop attack. Anyway, I think it's important...if possible...to not take away the little bit of fun people have left in their lives. Life is hard and sad with MM. Maybe the person above can continue her bike riding, but find a safer place to do it. I'm sort of a prepper, so to answer your question about what she would do after she went to ground. I'd say keep a pillow in your backpack and just lay on the grass till it ends.
Pupper, interesting that your drop attacks continue with spinning. My experienc with my first attack was being thrown to the grown the attack was over. No spinning and other than a torn rotator cuff I was fine. Same with the 3 attacks after I was ok. I think we agree drop attacks are not to be taken lightly.
Pepper There is no such thing as what type of drop attack! A drop attack is nothing you can prepare for it is when you are suddenly thrown violently the ground without warning. It is very dangerous and can kill you. It is the reason many responsible Oto's will go directly to destructive surgery like a laby and take your license away. Many people that et them have had concussions, broken bones (arms, hips, backs, legs ect.) From them. Sudden onset vertigo is a sprained ankle and drop attacks are full leg amputations as an analygy. Drop attacks are dandgerous and can kill yout and come without warning. If you had a drop attack you would know it. Totally different than spinning vertigo. Drop attacks are a whole different ballgame. Not everyone gets them but if you do it can be life or death if they are not addressed. Have a great day!!
I note that MDIC state that “However, as with all things Meniere's, there is room for disagreement.” Clearly they are not wrong there. To me a drop attack with warning seems to be an oxymoron. With the benefit of a warning you would surely position yourself so as not to drop to the floor as if struck by a sledgehammer?
I think the definition of drop attack should allow for subtle differences in the types of drops. "Straight to the ground" or "Hit with a sledge hammer", are common descriptions. But should those phrases really be the dividing line between a drop attack and a non-drop attack? For instance, depending on strength and age, a person will react differently to falling...or to the famous "sledge hammer blow." How exactly we fall shouldn't dominate our definition of a drop attack. An old lady gets hit by a sledge hammer and she's going straight down. A young man gets hit, and he may have a few seconds to brace for the fall. In a Meniere's sense, both probably had a drop attack, but the young man isn't allowed to call his a drop attack, merely because he had the strength to guide the fall somewhat. From the renowned Dr. Hain: (Emphasis mine) So by Hain's and a few others conception of a Meniere's drop attack, you can guide your fall, (obviously to a very small extent). But that small extent can mean the difference between falling on the sidewalk, or falling on the grass. Or hitting your head on the fireplace, or turning to fall on the couch. Which is all to say that I think the expression "drop attack" can be used to mean both a sudden collapse (as with Tumarkin), and a fast, resisted, fall. I've had a drop attack (of the resisted kind), and believe me, I don't take them lightly. Anyway, upon reflection, if someone has consistent drop attacks I guess they shouldn't be riding a bicycle. I've been considered in real life to be unsafe and reckless so I really shouldn't be giving out safety advice here. But if you only have them once a year or so Kelly go ahead and ride.
I smell. . . postmodernism. I think you've missed the point. Yellow isn't suggesting the phrases "straight to the ground" or "hit with a sledge hammer" dictate what is & isn't a drop attack. Nor is Yellow suggesting that the action of dropping to the left or right, the action of falling backwards or forwards, or collapsing straight down or not dictates what is or isn't a drop attack. Yellow is, & correct me if I'm wrong, Yellow, concerning a linguistic & behavioural paradox. A contradiction, the oxymora found when a) predicting what is, by its premise, unable to be predicted, & b) the inclination to remain standing despite warnings of inevitable collapse. You're interpreting Dr. Timothy Hain incorrectly. Emphasis should be placed on "free fall". In free fall one falls in a direction they cannot control. Efforts can be made, of course, however these efforts, when regarding a drop attack, are not only hopeless, but the subsequent mechanism of the fall, drop, or collapse in the very first place. The aggressive & dangerous nature of Tumarkin's otolithic crisis is due to the corresponding attempt to right oneself when the brain—due to faulty signals from the inner ear—thinks the three-dimensional space it is embedded in suddenly & severely revolves, rotates or shifts, though momentarily & with no warning, in one direction or another when in fact the three-dimensional it hasn't. Hence during a drop attack the reason one may aggressively fall downward & to their left, for instance, is due to their brain inaccurately interpreting its surrounding environment as having violently & suddenly rotated, along the longitudinal axis, 90 - 180 degrees to the right. This is what Dr. Hain means by "the person involved actually ends up participating in the fall". The fall is the resistance. The fall itself is an instinctual & "desperate" attempt to "right themselves".
Not sure what that is. I was just ribbing Scott for saying something similar to me a few weeks back. The rest of your post gave me a headache.
If you are having actual drop attacks then I'd stop worrying about sport activities and go the destructive route and wipe out your bad ear ASAP. If just standard Menieres then biking should be fine, the Menieres UK forum is huge on biking as a safe form of exercise. I bike 2-5 miles on Saturdays and Sundays and only have had a case of the dizzies once in a period of 3 months when I got off the bike. If I I ever end up in a full on vertigo attack I am sure someone else on the trail would help me get home, or my wife can pick me up nearby. Anything is better than being glued to the couch Next year I hope to play pickup touch rugby or join a softball team if my health stays in decent form.