Labyrinthitis

[Susie]

My mum has labyrinthitis at the moment, and is in quite a state. She's had it since the middle of October, and she keeps having attacks where she's dizzy and vomits uncontrollably. She seems to have seen every medical professional in North Derbyshire and has had various scans/ tests, and they've all agreed this is what it likely is, but I had it years ago and I was never that bad - I felt ok, although I had no balance and could only walk if I had a hedge to hold on to (just had to plan my routes a bit...). Has anyone had it recently? Any stories to share? (She's going to the doctor regularly, I'm not doing an internet diagnosis. This is not like when I had the grenades ;-) ).

Poor mum can't talk on the phone because it brings on one of her attacks, and since one of her favourite things to do is ring me up and bother me for hours it's causing her a lot of problems - someone else has to talk to me and she shouts from the other side of the room. She's not happy ;-).

[spider8]

My hubby had this a few years ago and it was terrible. He was constantly sick, couldn't walk as he fell over. He went into hospital for a week and somehow, not sure how, they managed to get it sorted but he had MRI scans and it took 8 weeks to get to the point where he could walk okay and another 8 weeks before he could drive. Sorry but this is a rotten thing to have and give your Mum my sympathies. My hubby is in hospital again as his broken leg first of all had an infection and now he has a DVT. Just wishing this bad luck will end SOON! Good luck.

[Biscombe]

I think I had it 2 years ago although my Spanish doctor called it vertigo, It was horrible, i couldn't drive, kept falling over, feeling sick, had to take quite a lot of time of work. Good thing is had it for about 3 - 4 weeks and it never came back. Hope your mum gets better soon

[red]

i had it a couple of years ago and it was awful. i couldn't walk, i could only crawl with my eyes shut.

with my eyes shut i could not tell you which way was up. it was all spinning. even as i got better i could not watch tv or have it on in the same room as me, even the flickering of the fire annoyed me

sea sickness tablets - stugeron, were my salvation, until the lurgy passed. but even now, a few years later, i still am more prone to being dizzy than before.

I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy

[Ellendra]

I had the dizziness and nausea for a year and a half, but labyrinthitis was one of the first things that was ruled out. It turned out mine was caused by a spinal misalignment. Maybe a chiropractor could help?

[Milims]

It's a horrid thing to have - I've had it numerous times and found that, as Red said, stugeron was the best thing. If she's had ear trouble several times it may be worth enquiring with the doc about Menieres disease: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9ni% ... 7s_disease. I hope she's well soon

[Susie]

Thank you everyone, I will tell her about your experiences and it will cheer her up. I think she is on the seasickness tablets, but for some reason she keeps trying to wean herself off them and then it gets worse again, I think she would be better off just taking the drugs until it goes. Spider8, that's really bad luck with your husband, I hope he's better soon!

Mum has already had to miss a day trip to London where she would have been able to walk round Harrods or similar and criticise everything, so I know she must be ill!

[matowakan]

I too get this from time to time and it is all I can do to lie in bed on my back and not move anything,otherwise the room and all else just spins round and round.
The only thing that helps me is prochloraperazine. I now have it on prescription. I take one and after a few hours or more I can almost move into a sitting position.Sometimes it takes 2 doses to work.
even so when I m "good" I still now always have balance problems and will regularly stagger against something when out or fall over if I stand up too quickly after bending down. I have fallen over in the polytunnel many times to the amusement of my husband.
Hope your mum feels better soon.

[battybird]

See this is quite an old post, hope your mum is better now, Susie! To anyone who has episodes of "layrinthitis " , just be aware that if it is also accompanied by deafness then an acoustic neuroma needs to be ruled out. My husband has these symptons for a couple of years and then increasing deafness on one side. An MRI scan revealed a tumour (benign) which was surgically removed. The ENT consultant felt that it should have been picked up before, but nobody asked the right questions. The neuroma is normally easily treated and does not usually recur (unfortunately Dave decided to be different but that apparently is exceptional!! ). In fact even if it had been picked up earlier the treatment would have been watch and wait for a while anyway till it was an operable size. Labyrinthitis is horrible and I feel for anyone who gets it regularly.