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Vertigo and My Antihistamine Fog

Maggie

Day 302

I woke this morning with a slight case of vertigo. I took Dramamine and now I am in an antihistamine fog. Most over-the-counter medicines make me really sleepy and today is no exception.

I had my first vertigo attack about 16 months ago. It happened in the middle of the night and it was so violent I thought I was having a stroke. I truly thought it was the end of the road.

I did the exercises and took medication that made me sleep around the clock. Not a fun way to live. No driving. Heck, even riding was a challenge.

Vertigo means trying not to bend over. No quick movements. No looking up or down or side to side. It means making sure you have someone in the next room when you shower. It means counting steps so there is no need to look down. It means maybe I will not be able to attend my class this week.

It means doing the exercises which makes the room spin at top speed. It means feeling worse before you feel better. It may mean nausea so bad you throw up.

It means taking hours to type a blog on your phone so you can have the screen completely and directly in front of your face.

I hope you never experience it. But with all that, there is so much worse I could be dealing with. I have a lot of people in my family dealing with much more far-reaching medical issues.

Now I am going to go nap and hope this passes. On a positive note I have learned to sleep sitting straight up in a chair.

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29 thoughts on “Vertigo and My Antihistamine Fog”

  2. Vertigo is awful! I can only imagine the feeling after I saw my friend, it was awful, as you mentioned nausea, throwing up, a deadly feeling…
    They did her the Epley maneuver twice and until now she can’t sleep on a flat surface
    Get well soon!

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  3. I am hit with this from time to time, the first episode 44 years ago. I can never predict when it will start or when it will stop. My complete sympathy.

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    1. Oh, Elizabeth, I am sorry to hear thus. It is a strange affliction because I am physically ok but my ears tell my body something totally opposite. It is a strange out-of-control feeling.

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  8. I have suffered from positional vertigo for decades. I can’t lay in a supine position, even in bed, so I sleep on my side. I can’t look up at the ceilings or the clouds or the stars without triggering dizziness. I’ve learned to avoid moving my head in certain “triggering” positions, but no matter how hard I try to control it, sometimes it just hits me out of the blue and when it does, it’s debilitating. Vertigo really sucks.

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    1. I am sorry you suffer from vertigo. It can dramatically change our lives. I am always conscious of my sleeping position. It always amazes me when I see how many people suffer from this.

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  12. Oh that’s rotten. Mine is better than it was, but I still have moments when I want the world to stop spinning. One of my daughters has it, too. So debilitating at times. Sorry you had a bad spell. 😦

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  13. I’m so sorry you’ve had to deal with this. Though I get motion sickness very easily, I’ve had little experience with vertigo otherwise. What experience I did have with it really sucked. It’s good to know there are exercises. Sounds like they take courage to get through. I hope you’re feeling better.

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    1. JoAnna, it is easier to deal with now that I know what it is. The first time was shocking and extremely unsettling. The exercises are helpful. There is a mechanized chair available at some physical therapists that spins you around to realign the crystals in the inner ear. If this continues to happen, that may be my next step.

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