Anyone suffer from vertigo?

[Lori in AZ]

Ok...I have some vertigo due to a surgery 4 months ago and I got it at least four times so far. I may be a slow healer or I may be stuck with this for the rest of my life?

I booked this cruise back in Oct and I am crusing next month for 12 days. I am concerned about experiencing vertigo on the cruise trip.

 

What did you do if you ever got on while crusing and what is the best ways to deal with it?

 

Thanks!

[Cathy p]

It is funny I have it all the time and I need to take a Meclazine every morinng that my doctor prescribes. However, I have never had it on the cruise. Maybe it is the sea air but I would talk to your doctor about it.

[Cotton]

I have attacks of vertigo quite often. If you're on a higher deck or while walking around the outer decks of the ship, just don't get too close to the railing and look down! Not a good idea.

 

I think by taking Bonine (same as mechlazine) every night before going to sleep, it has helped me tremendously. I've had only one attack while in a port, but I was foolishly climbing a tower.:rolleyes:

[mr green]

My wife had it a few years ago. She now uses higher pillows, and always has medication on hand, but so far she has had no problems. john

[queenbead]

and my doc also gave me meclizine, but I only take it as needed.

I only needed it once on my last cruise.

[luv2cworld2000]

I also suffer from vertigo. My vertigo is aggrivated more by flights than by cruises. I was prescribed meclizine (aka dramaimine, bonine) 25 mg every 6 hours as needed. Check with the doctor for the dosing that is right for you. Every time I fly, I usually have to take it every 6 hours for an entire day before I can walk without feeling light headed and dizzy. I use the less drowsy formula and have never had a problem staying awake, standing up straight without falling over without it, well that's another story.

Good luck and enjoy your trip.

[photonut4]

Wow I can't believe how many of us suffer from this. I unexplainably just woke up with this one day last October, and experience this daily. I was also wondering how my upcoming cruise would affect it. I recently went to an amusement park, and for this FIRST time in my life experience a nauseous feeling after a ride. All the doctors I went to said, "oh well too bad and did you know that this will affect approximately 40% of adults?" Not one doctor suggested any medication would help me. They did give me a list of various neck exercises to do, which haven't helped.

[abitaturbodog]

I suffer from from Vertigo a couple of times a year...once for 9 days following a cruise. After running lots of tests, my doctors told me there was nothing physically wrong with me and that the Vertigo was "all in my head." And they were right!

 

For me, a couple of days of worry, stress, anxiety and fear causes me to feel dizzy and makes my head "rock." Before I knew what caused it I was convinced that I had cancer, a brain tumor, MS, stroke, etc, which made me worry and fear even more!

 

Although I haven't been able to eliminate it completely, I can now recognize the onset and minimize the symptoms by using relaxation techniques and taking a low dose of Xanax. Now it only lasts about a day before going away.

 

Learning that my type of Vertigo is "self-inflicted" has helped me to work toward controling it.

 

I know that there are many people who suffer from more serious forms of Vertigo that can't be treated, but I wonder how many others have my type of vertigo and just don't know it...

[alabama gal]

Thanks to each of you that has responded about this. It really makes me feel better. I also had to have ear surgery recently to keep me from losing my hearing in one of my ears, and I have been concerned about the vertigo. The Doctor also told me it would get better. I have been planning my cruise for over a year to celebrate my 50th Birthday and I was afraid the meclezine might not work. So thank each one of you at least I know it's worth a try.

[2ladies]

I have Menieres Disease and occasional bad attacks of vertigo.

 

Meclizine helps. When I feel an 'attack' may be coming, I do deep breathing exercises and find these help. Doesn't seem to be connected with anxiety etc. but when there are thunderstorms etc. my head feels like it will blow up and I sometimes feel seasick (on land) and strange.

 

I also take a diuretic twice a week and a Vitamin B50 daily. I am certainly much better than I was. Hopefully, this will continue!!!

 

Good luck

[Lori in AZ]

I had a surgery on my head/ear for a cochlear implant back in late Dec. I now can hear so much. I am so happy with it but I have had vertigo attack 4 times since then. It was a most awful room spinning falling all over the place sick to my tummy/head kind of thing. It wasn't just something that goes away after awhile...this lasted me 3-4 days.

 

Upon researching, it appears either I am just slow healer and that after 6 months, I should never have it again or I am stuck for the rest of my life. I am really worried but trying not to stress myself over or I'll end up with it again.

 

Also, from researching, I find tips on how to control or prevent vertigo from a nutrition book. I'll post the tips after I type it out. Hopefully, it will help someone else.

[trish1c]

You may want to take the elevators more than the open riser stairs. Between the motion of the ship & the patterns on the carpet on the stairs, I got a little dizzy sometimes. Hold those hand rails.

[Chele60]

I have Menieres Disease and I can get varying degrees of vertigo, from a feeling of unbalance to outright falling down and needing medical attention. Depending on what type of vertigo you suffer from, Meclizine can be totally worthless, as it only works after it has built up in your system. (And doctors insist on giving this as a first line of defense, unfortunately) The specialist who eventually helped me also showed me that valium knocks vertigo out immediately, and that is what I use. Haven't had a spell in years (and hopefully won't have one for many more to come, if ever!), but I always carry a few tablets with me, just in case. Not a large enough dose to cause me to pass out, just enough to take away the dizzyness.

 

My mother just recently started having bouts of veritgo, and her doctor also prescribed meclizine. It didn't work for her, either. When I pushed the doctor for a prescription for a very low dose of valium to take when needed, the vertigo stops.

[photonut4]

Just of out curiosity has anyone had their driver's license taken away because of vertigo? Thankfully mine is usually hits when I am laying down, so driving hasn't been an issue for me. It does wake me up every night though, and I haven't slept all night in months because of it. This should be interesting when I'm on my cruise. I have to hold onto something when it wakes me up now, can't imagine what it will be like on a moving ship to boot.

[mayfly511]

my husband had problems with this. during the workup they did an MRI and found he has a tumor in his ear called an acoutic neuroma. It is usually benign and he also took antivert. He also went to PT where they showed him exercises to do. The tumor presses on the balance nerve and that is what causes the vertigo. We went on a cruise in February and he didn't have any problems. Good luck!

[Happy ks]

This is interesting, so many different reasons for the same affliction. My husband had vertigo several years ago, so bad that he wore the (motion sickness) wristbands day and night.

 

He was finally diagnosed with severe acid reflux and now that it is treated with meds, he has no more bouts with vertigo. It was not anywhere close to what we would have thought was causing it. The good part is, he gets into the doctor for annual exams now!

[thecoop]

My wife has vertigo and has to do some exercises for it daily. It is related to the little hairs in the inner ear and there are tiny little balls that sit on the hairs and give us balance? At least that is how she explained it to me. About once a year, it gets so bad that she cannot stand up straight and has to be taken to her specialist who puts her in some weird chair and spins it around to get things straight in her ear again, then she has to stay with head up for 24 hours so she loses one night of sleep. Thank fully it only seems to happen once a year and never has happened on a cruise. We always get the lowest deck and in the middle of the ship. Least amount of motion, but she is able to do everything on the ship that I do. She has some medication to take when it gets bad.

[Nliedel]

I have it as part of a larger medical issue. I find Bonine helps some, as long as I don't look down the side of the ship. I got it on the rock wall bad last fall. Other than that planes are worse than the ship.

[Chele60]

My wife has vertigo and has to do some exercises for it daily. It is related to the little hairs in the inner ear and there are tiny little balls that sit on the hairs and give us balance? At least that is how she explained it to me. About once a year, it gets so bad that she cannot stand up straight and has to be taken to her specialist who puts her in some weird chair and spins it around to get things straight in her ear again, then she has to stay with head up for 24 hours so she loses one night of sleep. Thank fully it only seems to happen once a year and never has happened on a cruise. We always get the lowest deck and in the middle of the ship. Least amount of motion, but she is able to do everything on the ship that I do. She has some medication to take when it gets bad.

 

It sounds as if your wife suffers from positional vertigo? I had this once and it was awful! I could only stay in certain positions or I would get dizzy. The doctor fixed it by contorting me in very odd positions and then I had to sleep sitting up that night. Thankfully, I only had that type of vertigo once! I can feel for your wife, having to go through that each year. She sounds like a fighter, though.