Worst day ever !

[ponytug]

The Epley maneuver is not a universal cure. It helps with a common form of vertigo, but certainly not all forms.

@RSKY I feel for you. Vertigo is tough, and not all forms get better but many do, so I think it is important to nail down the cause. A friend is dealing with a form for which he had previously a diagnosis that didn't match his symptoms, which actually fit an autoimmune type of vertigo. After years of putting up with it, he's now working on something that has the potential to actually make it go away.

If your local clinic isn't helping, I'd go farther afield.

I have to say while aging out of my skills and usefulness isn't something I enjoy, I am thankful to be beating the alternative and not be six feet under... I don't do roofing any more, and I do my gutter cleaning from the ground, and I've had to learn not do certain movements that I could when I was younger. Finding good help is a challenge for me, but I am learning to delegate, and trying to be gracious about it.

Hang in there and vent here!

All the best, Peter

 

[rontaki]

This thread hits home for me, even though my problems are different than yours, I still can't do some of the necessary things around here that I used to. I fully understand about having to ask or hire for help, it's not easy. Just keep on keeping on as best as you can.
If you are not dead yet, it's for a reason. I don't know if you are religious/spiritual. You haven't been called home, so do your best to enjoy what you have, including the suffering.
Nothing lasts forever. Enjoy it all while you can.

And best wishes for a speedy recovery!

 

[RSKY]

I want to apologize for sounding like a little b---ch crying this morning. That is not my usual style. I just had a bad yesterday. Then got up before my wife, fixed some scrambled eggs and stumbled into a door facing and dumped them in the floor. THAT set off my self pity crying party.

I know what the problem is and am being treated for it. It's called Ménière's disease. I had surgery for it in 1992 or 93 and the doctor said the installed shunt would be good for thirty years. I made it 32. The son of that doctor is treating me now. Fourth generation ear surgeon in a clinic that his great grandfather started. Said he was in the operating room watching his dad do surgery at 14. Supposed to be one of the best in the country. Has patients from all over the world. Takes long enough to get an appointment.

Anyway, the first step of the treatment was a needle thru the eardrum and injection of a drug to "permanently numb" the nerves from my right inner ear to the brain. Drug cannot be injected into the inner ear, has to be put in the middle ear and soak thru to the inner part. Went back for a six-week checkup last Monday and told of all the problems I was having and the doc was pleased. Said people that had my problems usually had the best end results. Said it takes a while for the brain to get used to only getting signals from one side. The problems I am having are a sign that things are working as they are supposed to. I go back in six more weeks and will probably have a second injection. Said he uses a smaller dose than most doctors so as to not destroy my hearing. So instead of one big dose I will have at least two but probably three profusions as they are called. I have a page of weird exercises I am supposed to do like rolling your eyes as you walk. And walk 2-miles a day no matter the weather.

The walk is the main thing to speed up the cure. Doctor said when walking NO CANES, NO LEANING ON SHOPPING CARTS, NO PUSHING A STROLLER. He emphasized that over and over. If you want strange looks try walking thru Walmart with vertigo. I know people think I'm drunk or drugged up. Spent most of the afternoon cutting up limbs and old boards and burning them in my burn barrel. Tore down an old small chicken house and burned it. I was extremely careful when approaching the red hot barrel and never fell when close to it. Wife was not happy but I was doing something she had wanted done for nearly two years. So she gritted her teeth and pulled grass out of flower beds while watching me work.

Anyway, I have at least twelve more weeks of this before I will know if the treatments are a cure. BUT, when I told him of the problems I was having and my wife started telling him what I had left out he actually smiled and said that everything was going as expected.

I will survive and I promise no more posts crying like a little b1tch.

Guess the ski trip if off this winter.

RSKY

 

[Alan W.]

My father was hospitalized with vertigo years ago. They finally got him cured. I saw how he suffered.
Getting older aint always pleasant. Thats why Im up at 3 this morn. Sounds like you are making progress and Im glad to hear that.
We all have our moments of self pity but then I see someone worse off than myself and I thank the Lord for what he allows me to do.
Take care.

 

[ruffdog]

I want to apologize for sounding like a little b---ch crying this morning. That is not my usual style. I just had a bad yesterday. Then got up before my wife, fixed some scrambled eggs and stumbled into a door facing and dumped them in the floor. THAT set off my self pity crying party.

I know what the problem is and am being treated for it. It's called Ménière's disease.

I see allergies can make the condition worse as it can add fluid to that part of the ear. Many people are really suffering here with allergies right now. Good luck....vertigo is a real PITA.

Meniere Disease

 

[rontaki]

I want to apologize for sounding like a little b---ch crying this morning. That is not my usual style. I just had a bad yesterday. Then got up before my wife, fixed some scrambled eggs and stumbled into a door facing and dumped them in the floor. THAT set off my self pity crying party.

I know what the problem is and am being treated for it. It's called Ménière's disease. I had surgery for it in 1992 or 93 and the doctor said the installed shunt would be good for thirty years. I made it 32. The son of that doctor is treating me now. Fourth generation ear surgeon in a clinic that his great grandfather started. Said he was in the operating room watching his dad do surgery at 14. Supposed to be one of the best in the country. Has patients from all over the world. Takes long enough to get an appointment.

Anyway, the first step of the treatment was a needle thru the eardrum and injection of a drug to "permanently numb" the nerves from my right inner ear to the brain. Drug cannot be injected into the inner ear, has to be put in the middle ear and soak thru to the inner part. Went back for a six-week checkup last Monday and told of all the problems I was having and the doc was pleased. Said people that had my problems usually had the best end results. Said it takes a while for the brain to get used to only getting signals from one side. The problems I am having are a sign that things are working as they are supposed to. I go back in six more weeks and will probably have a second injection. Said he uses a smaller dose than most doctors so as to not destroy my hearing. So instead of one big dose I will have at least two but probably three profusions as they are called. I have a page of weird exercises I am supposed to do like rolling your eyes as you walk. And walk 2-miles a day no matter the weather.

The walk is the main thing to speed up the cure. Doctor said when walking NO CANES, NO LEANING ON SHOPPING CARTS, NO PUSHING A STROLLER. He emphasized that over and over. If you want strange looks try walking thru Walmart with vertigo. I know people think I'm drunk or drugged up. Spent most of the afternoon cutting up limbs and old boards and burning them in my burn barrel. Tore down an old small chicken house and burned it. I was extremely careful when approaching the red hot barrel and never fell when close to it. Wife was not happy but I was doing something she had wanted done for nearly two years. So she gritted her teeth and pulled grass out of flower beds while watching me work.

Anyway, I have at least twelve more weeks of this before I will know if the treatments are a cure. BUT, when I told him of the problems I was having and my wife started telling him what I had left out he actually smiled and said that everything was going as expected.

I will survive and I promise no more posts crying like a little b1tch.

Guess the ski trip if off this winter.

RSKY

Thank you for sharing! Our shoulder is here for whenever you or others need it.

 

[orezok]

My wife (83) has balance problems but it’s not an inner ear issue. She has both a central tremor since teenage and Peripheral neuropathy. The neuropathy affects the proprioceptors on the bottom of the feet.

Proprioceptors are sensory receptors that give your brain information about your body's position, movement, and force. These specialized nerve endings, located in muscles, tendons, and joints, provide a sense of body position and movement that is crucial for balance.

She has to wear shoes in the house as it helps, walks with a cane and if I’m with her, I’m her second cane.

 

[QRTRHRS]

ponytug mentioned an autoimmune disorder. That's exactly what a friend and neighbor has. It took years to figure it out. I would have to ask him what foods/additives that he avoids but it's a lot. I recall MSG and gluten.

If he eats something that he should not have, he loses all hearing and ends up crawling on the floor as he cannot walk at all.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

My wife suggested a treadmill for walking 2 miles a day. You have something to hold onto.

 

[RSKY]

My wife (83) has balance problems but it’s not an inner ear issue. She has both a central tremor since teenage and Peripheral neuropathy. The neuropathy affects the proprioceptors on the bottom of the feet.

Proprioceptors are sensory receptors that give your brain information about your body's position, movement, and force. These specialized nerve endings, located in muscles, tendons, and joints, provide a sense of body position and movement that is crucial for balance.

She has to wear shoes in the house as it helps, walks with a cane and if I’m with her, I’m her second cane.

Back in the nineties when I was having the same problem the doctor had me stand with my back against the door to the room we were in. Then he had me look him in the face and do the drunk walk towards him. You know heel to toe and so on. I made in fine. Then he put me back against the door and close my eyes and do the drunk walk. I thought I was doing great until he caught me and I realized I was falling. Nearly took him down with me. That convinced me that he was correct in saying I had no sense of balance without my eyes. I had surgery, shunt implanted, the next day.