Hi UU,
Hope you are feeling better! Agree with others that there could be different causes, so please go to doctor.

Case in point: I woke up one time many years ago with the room spinning. Friend took me to doctor. I had an inner ear infection and it was cleared up with antibiotic.

Several years ago I began having dizziness whenever I stood back up after bending down, along with some other symptoms. It turned out my thyroid was barely functioning. About two weeks after starting on Synthroid the dizziness went away and never returned.

Well, almost never. Sometimes I read your funny posts and laugh so hard it makes me dizzy. :wave:

I have the same 'cept mine is brought on by turning my head to the left. It came on about 5-1/2 years ago when going through some testing to determine reason for loss of hearing. Since then I have just learned to live with it.

I try not to make any quick turn of my head to the left and also am careful when bending over. Most days it doesn't bother me too much as I go about my daily activities. I seem to have more trouble at night when lying in bed. If I decide to turn to my left I just close my eyes and "hold on" til it subsides which is usually pretty quickly.

I am fortunate in that I rarely experience the nausea aspect of it.

Antivert 12.5mg and 25mg tablets (generic name Meclizine) is available by prescription only. Meclizine is also available over-the-counter as Dramamine (less drowsy formulation) and Bonine and is used to treat motion sickness. The reason the exact same drug is available both as a prescription and as an over-the-counter drug is because the prescription drug is used to treat vertigo, a condition whose cause should be evaluated by a physician, while the over-the-counter version is used to treat motion sickness, a condition we can treat ourselves. Vertigo can be caused by many, many different things. I urge you to only treat your vertigo with the over-the-counter medication ONLY until you can get in to see a doctor.

Pturner, I'm feeling better after trying some of the exercises recommended here! Thanks for the nice comments. :wave:

Okey dokey! The Dramamine (Meclazine) and the exercises the folks here shared with me really do seem to be helping. HoneyBoy will be home next week, so if I'm not all better by then I'll go see a doctor. Thanks for the information! :wave:

Do see an MD. I started with an ENT and ended up with a neurologist who diagnosed a vestibular migraine. Ultimately it was relieved by acupuncture and massage because it was probably more due to musculo-skeletal issues. - pressing on nerves and from aging :) but you need to start with your doctor to rule out serious stuff. Take heart, it took me 8 months to resolve. But I eventually am functional without medication and have improved range of motion.

Judy,

Glad to hear that you're feeling better after trying some of the exercises. So, you don't need to see a doctor. If it was a brain tumor, as others may have suspected, it wouldn't be getting better with exercises.

Here's a tip that may be helpful. I have had positional vertigo that is now pretty well under control; I used the exercises. However, if I let myself get dehydrated, I can wake up dizzy in the morning. If I drink lots of water when I first feel it coming on, I can get it under control. Before I knew about drinking water, I would continue to be dizzy all day.

As people get older they lose their sense of thirst, so a high percentage of seniors are dehydrated. This may play a role in bringing on positional vertigo and would explain why so many older people have this condition.

You should go see an ENT specialist. It might be Meniere's. I've been living with it since the 1990's. It comes and goes with how severe the Vertigo is. I take Meclizine when I have a very bad episode. There is testing to tell you if it is Meniere's. There really is not a whole lot they can do for it but the Meclizine makes me sleep and when I wake up most times it is gone. Good Luck and please do get yourself checked out.

Thanks for the tip. This is a good idea. When I lived at high altitude and low humidity I tried to remember to drink water, even though I wasn't thirsty. I admit I've slacked off drinking water now that I'm at sea level and high humidity. I think I'll go have a nice refreshing glass of water right now! :thumbup:

I agree with Casita 37, please see your doctor as soon as possible. This could be absolutely anything from an inner ear infection to something more serious. Don't misunderstand, I'm not saying or implying it's serious, but you really need to have a doctor take a look to rule out anything nasty. Please.