If anyone has read my previous post Advice Please AHHHH New Here I think I have VN. Can anyone tell me they have this and some of your symptoms and how long you have had this?? It has only been 5 1/2 weeks but I have a 3 1/2 year old and a 9 month old baby I need to take care of and I am losing my mind! Here is how some of my symptoms started and what they are:
*Head cold end of February
*Acute Vertigo March 5th collapse at dr's office
*Dr appt (nausea and dizzy) March 6th no help
*Contracted Stomache flu March 7th
*ER for flu and dizziness March 9th (anti-nausea meds prescribed, IV fluids)
*ER for flu and dizziness again March 13th (ran tests,IV fluids,anti-nausea & antidizzy meds prescribed)
*Dr appt March 19th for dizziness (refilled anti-dizzy) no help
*That week contracted a head cold again!
*Dr appt March 26th told her I thought maybe Labrynthitis told me 6 weeks and refilled my anti-dizzy
*Called DR April 2nd and she refilled my anti-dizzy and set up an appt for April 17th with a local ENT
*Contracted another flu that week!!

***Symptoms***
*Nausea
*Vomiting during acute phase
*Dizziness
*Initial acute spinning vertigo
*Fatigue
*Unsteadyness
*Shakiness
*General malaise
*Anxiety
*Dizziness made worse by...
*computer
*Dr offices/small rooms
*crowds
*shops
*grocery store
*Anxiety to drive

Any info would be greatly appreciated!! Do you know a lot of people who actually did heal in the time they say??
I have just read from a post on here that is I have vestibular neurotitis it automatically means my nerve is damaged??How is it different from Labrynthitis which I thought after the intitial 6 weeks if you had labrynthitis only after the six weeks if you still have symptoms you have damage?? So if that is true I wish I did have some hearing changes as that is the only clue that I don't have Labrynthitis!

Dizzy...

I too had much of the symptoms that you have. I have a 6 month old...I know the stress of being a mom and dealing with this head monster.

There is a doctor in Portland Maine who specializes in dizzys. Dr. Maxwell, ent associates 43 Baxter Boulevard. I have been working with his office.

Hello there,

As another poster said it isn't worth getting hung up on the name. Labryinthitis and vestibular neuritis are almost exactly the same thing. There is no difference in recovery time etc.... Sometimes people say lab when they mean the condition with hearing loss and VN when they are referring to it without, but that's the only difference.

Boards like this can tend to scare people who have just got the condition as they tend to be populated by people who have been sick a long time. People who recover fast tend to move on fast - the chances are you will have no use for a board like this in a matter of weeks. The people here are the exceptions to the rule. The majority of people with lab, however bad they feel, get well over a period of weeks to a few months - gradually improving all the time. I know someone off the board who felt as ill as you do and was well within about 3 months. It can take longer but you don't stay at the same intensity of dizziness the whole time - sometimes 2 years is quoted as an average recovery time, but during that time you could feel almost back to normal for months and months of it, just not quite there yet. There are people either on the board or who pop in from time to time who felt as desperate as you currently do but are now popping back in a year on to say how well they are doing.

All of the symptoms you describe will be totally familiar to anyone who has had lab. Yours follows an absolutely classic pattern - a cold virus - (this is what will have attacked the ear) followed by spinning vertigo, - followed by the symptoms you describe. The stomach bug and repeated attacks of flu are probably because you are very anxious and run down. Everyone on this board has dizziness/and or vertigo - people can experience different variations on dizziness/vertigo but it all amounts to the same miserable experience.

There is an information archive at the top of this board. In it there is a link to Dr Roach's otology clinic -there are some brilliant video clips, watch the clip on vestibular compensation - the process by which people get better from labyrinthitis/VN. It doesn't matter if the ear is damaged as the brain learns to communicate with the damaged ear. If the problem persists you can be given exercises to do called Vestibular rehabilitaton therapy which speed up this process. You are very early on so the best thing to do is to keep moving around - unlike some illness it doesn't benefit you to remain in bed - the brain needs stimulation to compensate. Although obviously you also need to make sure you get enough rest.

I understand you are panicked as you are looking after children, but unfortunately there is nothing you can do other then try to carry on. I know there are other mums on the board who will understand what you're going through, it's hard but they manage. Time, keeping the anxiety and frustration under control (panic really drives this illnes) and keeping active will heal you. This is a difficult condition to stomach but what most people realise after the initial despair has lifted is that they are a lot stronger than they think.

I hope this helps,

Thank you all I do tend to panic I just haven't heard a whole lot of positive things about healing. Nor have I been given a proper diagnosis yet. Tired of hearing I don't know what it could be. Missing normal things guess involved in "avoidance behaviours" send hubby to do grocery shopping and have missed taking the kids to a few bday parties. My husband stressed out I am still sick and frankly friends are getting tired of hearing it too. My best friend had to choose another maid of honor (it was me) since she getting married in 6 months and I haven't been able to help her too much. Just interferring with my life and I wish there was a qquick fix. I stopped taking the Meclizine cause I heard it hinders but at least on that I could cope...

Dizzy...

I too had much of the symptoms that you have. I have a 6 month old...I know the stress of being a mom and dealing with this head monster.

There is a doctor in Portland Maine who specializes in dizzys. Dr. Maxwell, ent associates 43 Baxter Boulevard. I have been working with his office.

the ENT i go to see on tuesday is based in portland but he is in bridgton on tuesdays Dr Payton. I have state insurance so it is really only who they'll cover and I hope they cover him lol as i forgot to ask but it is reffered by my GP so it should be *fingers crossed*

Just to add to HBEPs excellent post...

The terms VN and Labs get used interchangably. Without looking, there really isn't any tests to differentiate between the two - they both result a permenant caloric weakness. To some docs if there is also hearing loss present then Labs becomes most likely diagnosis (the implication being that the inflammation of the inner ear has effected both the hearing and balance apparatus), of course labs could effect just balance apparatus, but there is no way of distinguishing that from VN. It's all semantics really, as the recovery process is the same for both. There is some speculation that in the very early stages (the initial few days) some of the symptoms are caused by inflammation, which subsides, especially with labs, but it is speculation.

Some studies have shown that about 60% of people with a vestibular deficit recover fully (compensate on a functional level) within 6 weeks, with the rest taking longer (or needing a VRT program to help them along). People who avoid activity or have problems with anxiety/depression often fall into the second group. It's worth bearing in mind that even after complete compensation the caloric weakness (vestibular deficit) will remain, but the person is essentially symptom free. The key to recovery for lots of people is remaining active, and exposing themselves to environments which make them uncomfortable, while at the same time not over doing things (which is a hard balance to achieve), in order to give the brain enough stimulous for it adapt and habituate movements/environments etc (which is what compensation is).

HBep is right you symptoms sound very typical of a VN/Labs sufferer.. and I'm sure you will notice gradual but definate improvement over the next few weeks/months.

I hope this helps..

I had the exact same symptoms you had when I had labrynthitis/VN....Who knows exactly what it was, but as someone said, the symptoms are interchangable..Doctors called it lab with me...I also had a 2 month old baby at the time to take care of...
After about 3 months I was pretty much better, but the recovery was very slow....It took me awhile to get back my balance totally, and sometimes I would get symptoms off and on for up to a year....
Even today, I still notice some off things that I didn't before I had the lab, and it was almost 23 yrs ago! There are things I can't do now that I could before I had it, but I just deal with it the best I can...
But I never had the intense, long lasting vertigo or any of the other bad symptoms again, as I had when I first got it...That was the worst of it, and I doubt you will experience that intensity of it again...

Nancy

I had the exact same symptoms you had when I had labrynthitis/VN....Who knows exactly what it was, but as someone said, the symptoms are interchangable..Doctors called it lab with me...I also had a 2 month old baby at the time to take care of...
After about 3 months I was pretty much better, but the recovery was very slow....It took me awhile to get back my balance totally, and sometimes I would get symptoms off and on for up to a year....
Even today, I still notice some off things that I didn't before I had the lab, and it was almost 23 yrs ago! There are things I can't do now that I could before I had it, but I just deal with it the best I can...
But I never had the intense, long lasting vertigo or any of the other bad symptoms again, as I had when I first got it...That was the worst of it, and I doubt you will experience that intensity of it again...

Nancy

What are the things you can't do anymore?? What are the symptoms that break out so much later and how long do they last?? I know this is a long term thing just trying to get a handle on what could very well happen to me down the road...