i'm new here. about 8 years ago i had an epidsode of what the doctor decided was labrythintitis....woke up spinning one morning and then felt dizzy and "off" for a few months (with lingering symptoms for years)
on august 30th of this year i was at my acupuncturist's office and when i was there i just felt so off balance (she hadn't done the treatment yet) and i started feeling so sick. then i went home and fought that off (i have a TERRIBLE phobia of vomiting) and then i was so dizzy (not vertigo) that i basically couldn't leave my apartment for 3 weeks. thank god for my husband.
anyway, i talked to my psychiatrist, an on call ENT and another doctor on call while i was at home. i got my antivert and no one said to really go in to the doctor.
they decided it was because i'd had a root canal done earlier that month and it had to be redone so i had it done twice and it was on the side of my head with my bad TMJ and the chair leaning back and possibly it stirred up some bacteria and caused an infection or just stirred up my ear crystals.

now it's a month later and i'm driving and walking around and doing just about everything that i normally do.

BUT i still get little flares of dizzy. and i feel off balance a lot, but not all the time.
is this normal? i know it is i guess since i've been through this before, but it just seems so far away.

do i need to go to the doctor?

also, i haven't been lying on the "bad" side of my head for a month, can this cause positional vertigo?

i didn't really have actual vertigo this time except once for about two mintues when i stood up when i shouldnt and another time when i was hyperventilating. i have panic attacks and anxiety.

someone please tell me what i should do and that i'm not crazy and alone!!! i feel so scared and don't know what to do.

i'm scared that if i go to the doctor they'll just do what they did last time. look at me and tell me to just deal with it since it will just go on its own. and i just can't do any of those terrible tests i've read about.

Hi Ruby,

I don't know much about labyrinthitis.

It seems common that people who have these issues in general suffer from some lingering symptoms for weeks, months and even years after the acute attack, so you're definitely not alone there.

Don't be scared to go to the doctor. It's a good idea to get checked out even if they won't be sure for a while what's wrong with you. They can give you exercises to improve those lingering symptoms as well. Should speed up the recovery. If you can, have them make you an appt with a specialist.

Hang in there!

Sounds like BPPV. Its fixable with an Epley manuver or MEPS that you can find in the "stickey" up above.

Cathy

is it BPPV though if there isn't a particular position that set it off? or the fact that being in a position never made me go into pure vertigo?

i really only had spinning vertigo when i stood up and tried to walk to fast and when i hyperventilated.

wouldn't i get vertigo in a particular position every time i was in that position?

i'm terrified of the epley maneuver from what i've read. even one of the docs on the phone told me he hoped i didn't have to do it because it was terrible. i do NOT think i could do that even if i did have BPPV.

Yes you are right.

Cathy

which part is "yes you are right" referring to?

thanks!

Hi Rubylizard - I'm curious what you've heard about the epley procedure. I had it done and it was no big deal. Maybe it was done incorrectly. It didn't help. I can't imagine what a doctor could say about it that would make it sound bad. I had my ears checked and the "crystals" were in place, but a doctor I was seeing said it wouldn't hurt to do it anyway.

I'm new here, about to post my first post, but read this and wanted to comment.

Barb

Yea, doesn't sound like BPPV if it's not positional at all. There should be no need to do the Epley. They might do the Hallpike test to see if you have BPPV symptoms but there's really no reason to be afraid of it since you don't get vertigo from lying on a specific side. Even if you did, it's not pleasant to say the least, but at least it's over quickly and that beats suffering from this for weeks or more.

The doctor had no business telling you that, IMO. That's so wrong.

I think you should look up Barre Lieou syndrome. I was diagnosed with it in may and ive been Off balance fore 4 years. No one knew what was wrong with me and ive had plenty of people tell me its in my hea dor cause by migraines or some other stupid thing, only because they had no idea what else to tell me. BarreLieou syndrome is curable and it sounds like u may have it. The treatment is Prolotherapy injections, which suck but you will get 100% better. I hope this helps<3

migraine is a very common cause of dizziness and dizziness related to migraine affects up to 2% of the population. why do you think it is a stupid diagnosis? migraine treatment typically relieves many or all symptoms.

on the other hand...

Abstract

Background: Eponym lists in major sources can give an aura of legitimacy to discredited diagnoses, as exemplified by the case of Barré–Lieou syndrome, a ‘rare’ vestibular disorder.

Methods: A literature review for information on the posterior cervical syndrome of Barré–Lieou.

Results: Barré–Lieou syndrome includes very common symptoms – tinnitus, dizziness, and head or neck pain – attributed to ischaemia caused by cervical sympathetic nerve compression. Its original description brings together many unrelated disorders, and its causative mechanism has been discredited. However, it appears credulously in a number of eponym lists, and references to the syndrome are steadily increasing on the internet in general and on alternative medicine and legal profession websites in particular.

Conclusion: By inclusion in eponym lists, without a disclaimer, a syndrome can be given legitimacy before the general public. A syndrome, such as Barré–Lieou syndrome, that is useless to the medical profession can unfortunately prove to be very useful for litigants and disability claimants.