Does exercise make your vertigo/dizziness/disequilibrium worse? For 2+ months now, I didn’t have enough energy to walk a block, but 2 or 3 days in the past week, I’ve been able to walk a couple of blocks. I find that within a few minutes though, my disequilibrium increases quite a bit, and I feel like someone is pushing me hard to one side (usual symptoms). It takes a long amount of rest, an hour or more, for this to gradually reduce.
Anyone else experience the same?
Hi Makeitgoaway,
I haven’t met many others on here with the constant disequilibrium i suffer from. I generally feel more unbalanced when stood still, so for me exercise actually makes me feel better.
What are your symptoms?
Richy, do you feel the disequilibrium even after you have been in one position for a period of time? For example, does it settle-down once you’ve been lying down or sitting back in a reclining chair stabilizing your head for a period of time?
It took me about 5 or 6 months after my inital attack to be able to go out and walk in front of the house, because the fatigue and disequalibrium. YES the walking did make the disequalibrium worse. Over the past month or so i am now able to walk around the block or up to 3 streets (1 way). I do get get tired and when I stop walking I does get off balanced and feel like I am falling. Interesting though, I take my dog, Milo (a 12 pound silky terrier), with me and when we stop and I start losing my balance, Milo acts as my anchor as he plants himself and gives me sturdy object to counter act my falling. The disequalibrium does better as you build up your endurance and strength. I have gone from walking just in front of house (less than 80 feet) to walking around the block. I still lose my equalibrium at times, but not as bad. This 1 time I walked around the block with Milo and my wife, and we stopped I actually turned around in circles a couple time until my wife was able to catch me and allow me to get balanced.
— Begin quote from “KennedyLane”
Richy, do you feel the disequilibrium even after you have been in one position for a period of time? For example, does it settle-down once you’ve been lying down or sitting back in a reclining chair stabilizing your head for a period of time?
— End quote
Hey Kennedy,
Yes it calms down when I am sat down or lying down for a while. It also calms down if I am in motion ie. in a car, bus, train, plane etc… you are similar right?
— Begin quote from “RichyF”
— Begin quote from “KennedyLane”
Richy, do you feel the disequilibrium even after you have been in one position for a period of time? For example, does it settle-down once you’ve been lying down or sitting back in a reclining chair stabilizing your head for a period of time?
— End quote
Hey Kennedy,
Yes it calms down when I am sat down or lying down for a while. It also calms down if I am in motion ie. in a car, bus, train, plane etc… you are similar right?
— End quote
Yes, Richy, that describes me as well. I wouldn’t say that it calms down in motion; it’s more that any motion (car, walking, plane) masks my inner sensation of motion. But, once I’m done walking or get out of the car, I feel like I’m still moving for quite a while. My theory is that something damaged my vestibular system so I it takes my inner ear and/or brain longer to achieve equilibrium. It’s like a glass of water that you set down on a table… the water in the glass keeps sloshing for a bit before it becomes still. That’s me.
Thanks, everybody!
RichyF: my symptoms are vertigo/dizziness/disequilibrium. I have it when still too, but 15mins of walking (even done slowly) seem to make it worse. I feel like I have a bowling ball for a head at the end. I can actually feel it getting worse 5mins in and 10mins in.
RochesterJeff: Milo seems like an excellent companion! 
I also get tired and feel like I’m falling when I stop walking.
KennedyLane (and RichyF), you described one of my symptoms to the T: motion in a car seems to mask my inner moving around. And I struggle for a while when the car stops and I have to get out. The one exception to this is if it’s a rough driver or if there’s constant braking an acceleration (on a stretch of lights, for example). In that case, my motion sickness tends to kick up. I’m pretty fine when I drive (until I stop and get out, of course).
I know the feeling–but—BUT–take it from someone who slugged it for a year and a half thinking that being still made me feel better so why exercise–it makes it sooooooo much worse to sit still and get out of shape. If you can manage it at all, try to at least walk for 10-15 minutes a day to keep from becoming deconditioned. Getting really out of shape will make you feel so much worse ALL OVER, and then you get into a depression and EVERYTHING gets worse on top of the MAV–to the point where you end up in hell.
I didn’t know I HAD MAV–thought I had a brain tumor, or something worse. And once I found out what I did have going on, and that eating right, medicine, and exercise together would help me get better–I had gotten so out of shape that exercising made me feel WORSE STILL. That (I swear) set me back an extra year in recovery because for every positive step forward–I felt like trying to increase my exercise sent me 10-15 steps backward. And that was solely because I had let myself get so far out of shape through my fear of not feeling well in the beginning!!!
Don’t overdo it, and don’t try to do cardio every day or anything–but if you can tolerate it at all–at least try to walk, a relaxing enjoyable walk, as often as possible to keep yourself from falling down that slippery slope.
Take care
— Begin quote from “dolfnlvr”
I know the feeling–but—BUT–take it from someone who slugged it for a year and a half thinking that being still made me feel better so why exercise–it makes it sooooooo much worse to sit still and get out of shape. If you can manage it at all, try to at least walk for 10-15 minutes a day to keep from becoming deconditioned. Getting really out of shape will make you feel so much worse ALL OVER, and then you get into a depression and EVERYTHING gets worse on top of the MAV–to the point where you end up in hell.
I didn’t know I HAD MAV–thought I had a brain tumor, or something worse. And once I found out what I did have going on, and that eating right, medicine, and exercise together would help me get better–I had gotten so out of shape that exercising made me feel WORSE STILL. That (I swear) set me back an extra year in recovery because for every positive step forward–I felt like trying to increase my exercise sent me 10-15 steps backward. And that was solely because I had let myself get so far out of shape through my fear of not feeling well in the beginning!!!
Don’t overdo it, and don’t try to do cardio every day or anything–but if you can tolerate it at all–at least try to walk, a relaxing enjoyable walk, as often as possible to keep yourself from falling down that slippery slope.
Take care
— End quote
I completely agree. For many months, I lied on a sofa all day trying to keep my head still, getting more depressed as the weeks passed. Although I never chunked-up, I believe my cardiovascular system became so weak that my heart rate would increase greatly just climbing the stairs. It was the WORST thing I could have done.
If I had that first year to do over, I would have accepted what was happening to me earlier and fought through the dizziness to carry on as normal a life as possible. My inactivity set me back in my brain’s ability to compensate for any vestibular issues.
I had gone from someone who visited the gym four times a week to someone who did nothing but lie on the couch crying. I no longer exercise at the gym, but I now walk around my neighborhood for 30 minutes twice a day. Getting out into the fresh air and sunshine is therapeutic in and of itself.
One little trick that has helped me: when I’m done with my walks, I don’t sit or lie down immediately. If I just came in and sat down right after walking 30 minutes, my mind would still be rocking and bobbing violently. Instead, I walk around my house slowly doing house-keeping things (dishes, putting away toys) allowing my body to have a step-down stage from all the movement to stillness. It really seems to help.
Thanks dolfnlvr, KennedyLane. I keep wondering whether the trouble of the increased disequilibrium is worth the exercise, but going by your experiences is enough motivation for me to get out for a small walk every day no matter how bad things are. KennedyLane, the cooling down period seems like a good idea, I’ll try it out.
— Begin quote from “makeitgoaway”
Thanks, everybody!
RichyF: my symptoms are vertigo/dizziness/disequilibrium. I have it when still too, but 15mins of walking (even done slowly) seem to make it worse. I feel like I have a bowling ball for a head at the end. I can actually feel it getting worse 5mins in and 10mins in.
RochesterJeff: Milo seems like an excellent companion! I also get tired and feel like I’m falling when I stop walking.
KennedyLane (and RichyF), you described one of my symptoms to the T: motion in a car seems to mask my inner moving around. And I struggle for a while when the car stops and I have to get out. The one exception to this is if it’s a rough driver or if there’s constant braking an acceleration (on a stretch of lights, for example). In that case, my motion sickness tends to kick up. I’m pretty fine when I drive (until I stop and get out, of course).
— End quote
I am much the same Makeitgoaway… i feel the rocking vertigo CONSTANTLY. Exercise makes it alot worse, i feel like the floor bubbles and moves after i over exert myself… walking has got easier with time, but is still hard sometimes… the only thing i can say is to keep going and keep practising. Our brain will learn eventually but we have our patience tested with this problem!xx
I am different from Richy though in that movement makes me feel worse if it is repetitive… so squats… the floor starts feeling like its buckling beneath me with every squat and the room LOOKS visually as though it’s moving up and down with me!
Exercise makes mw worse too however around 20 minutes after strenuous exercise i feel BETTER than before the exercise if that makes sense but it soon fades back to normal junk.
Donald,
Those things are all true about the LONG-TERM benefits of exercise.
For some people here, however, the short-term downside of exercise in triggering a feeling of disequilibrium is enough to dissuade them from seeking the long-term benefits that come with exercise. In addition, it is important to define “exercise” in this context. I think most people on the board try to do something, even if it is a short walk or several of them, except when they are feeling really badly. However, some are simply not in a position to do anything really strenuous.
Key is that you have to listen to your body or pay the price.
Andy
— Begin quote from “KennedyLane”
— Begin quote from “RichyF”
— Begin quote from “KennedyLane”
Richy, do you feel the disequilibrium even after you have been in one position for a period of time? For example, does it settle-down once you’ve been lying down or sitting back in a reclining chair stabilizing your head for a period of time?
— End quote
— End quote
Hey Kennedy,
Yes it calms down when I am sat down or lying down for a while. It also calms down if I am in motion ie. in a car, bus, train, plane etc… you are similar right?
Yes, Richy, that describes me as well. I wouldn’t say that it calms down in motion; it’s more that any motion (car, walking, plane) masks my inner sensation of motion. But, once I’m done walking or get out of the car, I feel like I’m still moving for quite a while. My theory is that something damaged my vestibular system so I it takes my inner ear and/or brain longer to achieve equilibrium. It’s like a glass of water that you set down on a table… the water in the glass keeps sloshing for a bit before it becomes still. That’s me.
— End quote
yes i totally agree with the glass of water theory, i try to walk about abit more than round the house but the more I move the more the disequilibrium kicks in, then I get hot and light headed as well so have to stop, in fact getting in a car and driving helps, I guess because although you are not actually moving but your surroundings are so it masks the feeling you have inside your head. Also on the rare days I can actually do a bit of exercise (not longer than 5 or 10 minutes) I am fine all the time I am moving but its when I stop it hits hard, so I have to sit and it calms down (like the glass of water) can also happen if I have been in a car for too long when you get out the car you still feel like your moving so cant stand still or fall forward, also especially when you come off an escalator.
Perhaps we should all just exercise for a little longer than we do each time and maybe it will help train that part of your brain to get used to it.
Some consultant said to me once, people with VM do too much on their good days and not enough on there bad days, think what he meant is that you need to push the brain to think differently by not stopping your activity when you start to feel bad…easier said than done…bet he has never suffered with it…