Benign Positional Vertigo

I have experienced this also and I took Dramine for sea sick and it did help but it also made me sleep.The cause was fluid imbalance in the inner ear.Hope you find what works best for you I know it is a bad feeling.

Have you spoken to your doctor about this or had your blood sugar checked during these episodes?

It could be any number of benign things, but still you should see your physician or at least call them.

Praying for you and your family,

J. S.

I have positional vertigo too. It doesn't act up too much here in Texas, but when I lived in Virginia it was bad. Some days I couldn't drive. Just looking in the cars blind spots would be too much and make me dizzy. I would take the over the counter motion sickness pills and it would help. You can also ask your doctor to prescribe the patches for you. They go behind your ear and last 3 days. When we went on a cruise for our 10th anniversary I used them and they worked great. There was only one night where I felt the boat rocking, but so did everyone else on board. Now whenever I am going somewhere I think it might be an issue, I get a few patches from the doctor. I hope this helps you.

I had something similar. It was called vestibular neuritis. It is an infection of the vestibular nerve of the inner ear. The one that is in the inner ear and responsible for balance and equilibrium. Basically, the inflammation and infection caused me to have dizziness, vertigo, nausea and vomiting due to the dizziness. I had it acutely for 3 weeks. I still have residual dizziness I control with meclizine and it has been 3 months (since March 30, 08). If I turn around in a circle, whip my head around or move my eyes between two point alot or to quickly I have a benign dizziness that usually resolves after a couple of minutes. The doctor said that it can take up to 6 months to resolve completely. AND can expect some dizziness beyond that, as well as recurrences. For a week, I couldn't get out of bed I was so dizzy. I had to lay perfectly still with my eyes covered or be sick. I was off work for 3 weeks. And still have residual dizziness and headaches at times. Couldn't walk straight. I was on the patches, Scopalamine patches. But they are addictive, and found after 6 weeks on the patches the withdrawls were as bad as the worst of the beginning symptoms. The patches are a belladonna alkaloid and not to my liking. But did help in the beginnig. I was also allergic to the adhesive used in the patches. So had very red, itchy polka dots everywhere, behind my ears, down my neck, across my chest. The patches were rotated daily, so I really did look like a bid polka dotted thing. You change them every 3 days, but my skin couldn't tolerate more than one day for a patch in any one place. Whew!!! I AM SO GLAD I AM NOT ON THEM ANYMORE!!!!
The root of the infection was never found. All ear canals and ear drums were clear, as were my sinuses and tonsils. Research has suspected herpes virus as the pathogen of choice. I did have a fever blister on my lip the week before the dizziness started. However, to diagnose the pathogen from the ear, a biopsy must be taken. Well, you can't really take a biopsy of your ear nerve or you will be dizzy or deaf permanently. The infection and inflammation rarely shows up on CT scan I was told.
You may want to check into this. I am still having residual dizziness adn take meclizine with great success. I also avoid situations that make it worse. My doctor said that I could take the Meclizine 25mg up to 4 times daily. Meclizine is an over-the-counter drug and is commonly sold under the name Dramamine, but not the only drug under the name dramamine, so check the ingredients. A big generic bottle can be gotten from the pharmacy and are even chewable. Time may be the only thing that can help. The only thing to do is to treat the dizziness, vertigo, nausea and vomiting. Since the culprit is unknown, and no fever in my case,no antibiotics and antivirals. They are not routinely prescribed. Anti-inflammatories can be helpful, like ibuprofen. Steroids are prescribed only if symptoms don't improve. In the old days vestibular neuritis was called labrynthitis and can also be called vestibularitis.
Anyway, nagging dizziness benign or not is horrible. I wouldn't want to wish my neuritis on my worst enemy.
Just an FYI, what you are calling benign postional vertigo can also be related to a sudden drop in blood pressure. And that is called postural hypotension. It can even make you pass out if the sudden drop is low enough and quick enough. I believe some dizziness is common. Even before I was sick, if I am bending over and whip up straight I will get dizzy and don't know may people that don't. If you are on any blood pressure medication, I would encourage you to tell your doctor about the symptoms and have them check orthostatic Blood pressures in the office to see how low your BP goes during the position changes.
Good luck,
L. (RN for 15 years)

Has a dr diagnosed you with this for sure? I have bouts of vertigo but not b/c of inner ear. They are actually a kind of seizure. Started in my very late 30s. I control them mostly w/natural progesterone and a MSG-free diet.

Definitely see your doctor. Also, a PT with Vestibular training can give you some exercises to do that may help.

Hi Candy, Most of the time, vertigo is an inner ear problem. I would go get checked to make sure that there's nothing wrong with your ears. There are different infections that can also make you have really bad vertigo. Without going to the doctor, the only thing I know of would be using meclizine. Good Luck!

Hi, I would recommend you contact the office of Dr. David Clark, Northlake Chiropractic Wellness Center, at
10233 E. Northwest Hwy, Dallas, TX 75238. Telephone number is ###-###-####. Dr Clark is a Chiropractor-Neurologist and has helped me greatly. He has just finished and passed his test for teating vertigo and other balance disorders.

C. Sanders