ok, dec 22nd of last year I got hit with a head cold/sinus cold/etc who knows.. but I got up in the middle of the night and all of a sudden the hallway was spinning and tilting.. I got really scared, and ran back to the bed as quick as I could, tripping a little.. I laid down and felt like I was SLIDING off the bed continuously..I had to keep my eyes open, keep still, and stare at the glow of the alarm clock (or else it was too dark).. I had lost my sense of balance.. my eyesight went a little shoddy over the next few weeks, had to get glasses for the first time in my life, I guess at the strain of losing part of the balance system... In total I saw about 6 or 7 different doctors in the first 2 months.. the first 6 months were hell.. I was just depressed all the time.. would I ever be normal again? I had lots of diagnoses.. ETD, bpv...back and forth... was given meclizine to numb the inner ear... tons of allergey medicines, antibiotics.. etc.. all really depressing me.. I was 23 years old, almost falling in the shower, holding onto all hand railings.. feeling frail in general.. sad.. depressed.. mad, angry.. well...

Finally I took matters into my own hands. Fine, I had this. but damned if it was going to beat me...I accepted it, and I fought back on my own terms. I threw out the Meclizine.. I was on 2 a day as needed I think.. what for the rest of my life? no thanks.. so I...
Got..
Healthy food,
Healthy excerise, - Jogging, lifting weights, etc ( I couldnt do any of this for more then 5 seconds or I would start getting dizzy/spiny at first.. bring on episodes when I felt fine.. but the more I did it and delt with the episodes, the more I could do next time.. until now I can do anything I want almost and not feel anything)
Healthy positive thoughts, - now im not all new age and stuff.. power of healing/etc.. but this right here.. not dwelling on it, being depressed, scared.. helped a ton.. and so did getting my NEW girlfriend..
Just a healthy life...

I'm about 99.999999% now.. I barely notice it.. like maybe a small episode in an awkard situation once a week for 5 seconds.., and anything that messes with my eyes can cause small problems.. I was in a barnes and noble with my girlfriend and saw a magic eye book (find the hidden shapes) and it trigged a little tilting... I avoid any kind of optical illusion now.. I have some fullness pressure and popping and snapping in my ears a lot still, but i've accepted it..

I have my balance back.. I did get sick twice this year with colds/flu type thing, and they did set me back a little each time.. but im approaching my 1 year (dec 22) since this happened to me.. and I feel normal :)

HANG IN THERE.. you will be normal again.. I promise !!!!! To this day I dont know what I had.. so many doctors, so many different opinions.. but if it helps you I most likely had an Inner Ear Infection at first, that left very mild damage, and also had to deal with ETD.

This place helped me cope.. I'd never heard of this kind of thing before, didnt know this could happen to someone.. I was scared. Hang in there.. there is hope.

I just felt I owed this place something. So i've come back, to tell the tale of the begining of my new life. I failed out of college, lost my girlfriend of 3 years, and had to move back in with my parents from my apartment due to all of this. Well im enrolled for this spring now, living in a house with a roommate, and I have a girlfriend of about 4-5 months now, who I care deeply for.. and I'm happier then I was before this happened to me.. I have a respect for things that I didnt quite have before.. I know this sounds cliched, but I really am more satisfied with life now that I know how quickly your body can go out of whack, and no matter how bad things get, or how bad things seem.. There is light at the end, and that light can be brighter then any light you experienced previously.

I'm Male, 24.. and have been healthy all my life until that happend to me (was 23 at the time).. I had 2 semsters of college left, a girlfriend who I was thinking of asking to marry me (she ended up not being able to handle for better or WORSE apparently), and I was out on my own doing well.. But all in all, im glad I went through it to be honest. I'm VERY happy with who I am right now. Happiness cannot be measured without Sadness. I see that now.


Again, Don't give up.. hang in there.. you will be where I am again. This board helped me cope so much, just to KNOW this was real, I wasn't crazy, there was others. Thanks.

- Steven

Wow thanks steven - that story really helped me. I'm also just 25 - 22 almost 23 when I got this.

Sounds like you had labyrinthitis - like I have (2 years) - I too am in the midst of depression/stress/dizziness same as ever and thinking will this ever ever go? I feel truly lost but I know you were too once there and have come out of this a better person.

Amazing about your girlf of 3 years but I can see how this can happen - I have really learned who has been good to me and who has not. I can see that this sort of thing can make or break a relationship. It's better that you find out now that she was not the best support to you - everything happens for a reason I think and it wa sfate telling you she wasnt right. I am glad you have found someone else you are happy with.

I think what you did - was in effect - VRT - going to gym etc - this is what specialists recommend as well as CBT (like counselling) which in effect you did with your happy thoughts etc.

Good on you. Another survivor of Labyrinthitis. Hooray. It can be a b****** of an illness - but it only makes its victims stronger.

Enjoy life Steven and thanks for posting.

xxx

Yes, In all honesty. It took me months to be able to Excerise even a little bit, on a daily basis.. I pushed through.. it made me feel worse.. but eventually it didnt.. and now I excerise daily. and feel great. I made the connection on the VRT as well.. I forced my body to compensate quicker then it would have if I had just sat around depressed. times when I wanted to throw up after excerising for just 5 minutes and getting all spinny, when I was even at a point where I was feeling like 70% normal without pushing it.. but I fought on. and I pushed it.. and it was hard, I hope im not making it sound easy or something, it is a b$#@$ of an illness. 6 months of pushing my limits every single day, sometimes 2-3 times a day. But I made it. Glad to help. Any questions or anything ask, i'll be watching this thread closely. And thanks, I am very happy with my new girlfriend..

- Steven

I printed the VRT exercices in the past but never really did them (a few here and there-and did try the Brandt-Daroff and MEP's - that sometimes seem to help with my imbalance problems, but not the dizziness) but for the past few years I've kept very active- although not easy (taking care of 3 kids, renovating house - cleaning house - gardening, shopping, working part-time as a teacher's aid), all things that make me look down, look up, turn head side to side etc.) and I don't hold myself back (I mean when moving head and all things that make me feel dizzier). Like I said often, I have better periods than others but basically my condition has never improved. Do you consider everything I do VRT? If I would be suffering from labs or VN, wouldn't I have had some compensation by now?

Nt neccesarily Mica - my neuroto said to me everyone is different and I too was v active at the start of this with minimal compensation - when I look back tho - I am compensating - just sloooowwwly!

I dont think everyday stuff is enough for some - hence why I think proper tailored VRT is important.

xxx

Steven,

Magnificently well said! Even though we all have physical symptoms, a mind-over-matter approach can definitely help. A positive attitude can make all the difference with this as with all situations in life. Sure it's difficult at times, but sometimes you just have to buck up and get on with it.


Mica,

I agree with CL that everyday activities might not completely work for everyone, we all respond so individually to this junk. Maybe more tailored VRT is needed. However, I most certainly think getting on with your everyday life is far far better than doing nothing because it may produce or aggravates your symptoms. So what!! You can't be afraid to live just because you've been sidelined a bit with this stuff. Life does indeed go on. My ENT told me from the start to continue doing the exercising and daily activities that I'd always done because it was an important part of the compensation process. It is. No doubts about it no matter what anyone says. Some may need additional help with a specific VRT program, but just keep doing what you're doing. You're already a long way ahead of the game if you do.

Cheers :wave:
T

Hi, Read your story with interest and have to say thatshow I got better too. Albeit it wasnt specific exercises, just doing stuff more and more and pushing further and further through feeling really bad. Like you it took me about 6 months too. I really think that its luck so to speak that for us that worked. For many CL, Mica this approach does nothing, as you both realise. Its just so annoying that recovery could not be more text book for us all so as we could say with authority look do this and do that and you will get better. Awwwww thats what makes this B********* so hard to deal with, no magic bullet. But you two chin up I am sure in time it WILL get better, all specialists have said that to me despite it seeming soooo painfully slow. Thoughts to you all. Ilia xx

Hey thanks for the post there Steven. I too know how insanely difficult this whole thing is. I am a 17 year old male who has been dealing with this for about 6-7 months now. It has almost cost me my girlfriend of almost a year and has put a great tension onto alot of my other relationships. This truely has been the lowest point of my life. It has caused me alot of anxiety, panic attacks, and just a bit of depression. I prevously had no idea life could get quite this crappy.

But I very much identify with almost being happy that you have had this. Most of the time i wish that this whole thing had never happened but I see day to day that it really has taught me infinitely. You really start to appreciate the small things in life after dealing with this.

Truly if you can beat an inner ear disorder there is hope in this world.

Thanks,

Walty

Hi Stephen, Thanks so much for your post. It is very inspiring. This vestibular monster is the best teacher of patience I have ever had. So slow, but possible. Seems we all respond to different things that help us but the pain, frustration that goes along with it is similar. I was telling me friend that I had an image of a brick wall with a small hole, and that hole was a comfort zone, the comfort zone of my conscious, I could be depressed, anxious, but I had a comfortable secure view of the world and my place in it and ability to move about ext ext.. But then it was like someone threw a bomb and the whole in the wall became to big for my consciousness to handle, I was having thoughts and experiences I did not know possible. My range of experience grew bigger then I could handle or at least that's how it feels but I think the wall is slowly repairing itself, the whole getting smaller.

What a lot of WillPower :bouncing: on this board
Jade :angel:

"What a lot of WillPower :bouncing: on this board"

I totally agree with you Jade :)

Hi Stephen, Thanks so much for your post. It is very inspiring. This vestibular monster is the best teacher of patience I have ever had. So slow, but possible. Seems we all respond to different things that help us but the pain, frustration that goes along with it is similar. I was telling me friend that I had an image of a brick wall with a small hole, and that hole was a comfort zone, the comfort zone of my conscious, I could be depressed, anxious, but I had a comfortable secure view of the world and my place in it and ability to move about ext ext.. But then it was like someone threw a bomb and the whole in the wall became to big for my consciousness to handle, I was having thoughts and experiences I did not know possible. My range of experience grew bigger then I could handle or at least that's how it feels but I think the wall is slowly repairing itself, the whole getting smaller.

What a lot of WillPower :bouncing: on this board
Jade :angel:


Jade,

Love the line "My range of experience grew bigger." Even though for all of us we'd probably rather not have had this experience if given a choice, we have nonetheless and I love the idea of keeping it in a perspective that has to do with encompassing the entire range of human experiences. Hey, at least this stuff lets us know we're alive, right?! What doesn't kill us makes us stronger.

T