Hi everyone,
First off, just want to send love to everyone out there suffering, and who have contributed to this site. āThe struggle is realā has become a bit of a throwaway term, but with head trauma/dizziness, itās about as real as it gets.
Iāll start off by saying that vertigo/dizziness is very much hereditary in my family. Both my grandparents on my mumās side suffer (they are both in their 90ās now) and my mum sadly had her first attack 2 years ago, and spent 18 months fighting it, and although not completely out of the woods, she is at least living somewhat normally now.
As for my story, itās hard to believe, but I have had concussion 6 times, 4 of those led to overnight hospital stays. On the last incident, which happened at the age of 24 (Iām now 45) I had just arrived in Australia on a years visa (Iām from the UK), I was jet lagged, got heavily drunk, and the next thing I woke up in hospital having my head stitched up. And that was the day my life changed forever.
The following day after coming out of hospital, in a completely unknown place to me at that time, highly concussed, on my own, slurred speech, and was just waved away by the hospital staff. I somehow remembered where I was staying, and made it back there, in a dream like state. The next morning, I woke up, rolled onto my back, and the feeling hit me like a steam train. Saying that the room was spinning doesnāt do it justice. At that point, I had absolutely no idea what it was, I didnāt know it was something my grandparents dealt with, them being old school, they never complained, certainly not to me anyway. The panic and anxiety it brought on where otherworldly.
Being so far away from home, heavily concussed, confused, scared, I just rode out the days, not laying on my back, or looking up, layed up in a hostel. It took me about 6 weeks to get to a relatively ānormalā state, I managed to get a job, and started to enjoy myself. Although underneath I never felt quite right, and was secretly dealing with intense anxiety as a backdrop from what had happened. But the dizziness passed somewhat.
10 months later, whilst working on a farm, I whacked my head again. Yes, genuinely. Not enough to give me an obvious concussion, but the next day, I woke up, and bang - the room shuddering, my head thumping but without pain. In a complete panic, I rushed to the hospital, had a scan, and what would become the usual story - nothing shows up (some might be questioning if there was actually a brain to be found).
From then on, for the next 10 years, it was a constant on/off battle with vertigo symptoms. Usually an onset of BPPV, for no apparent reason, followed by general dizzy sensations, 5 to 6 weeks of taking things really easy, then getting on with a relatively normal life, whilst trying to understand potential triggers. But 2 or 3 times a year, it would reappear. Regular trips to ENT/Neurology specialists and scans over the years proved fruitless. I have intermittently taken Prochloperizine over the years, which seemed to help when needed.
For the last 10 or so years, I have managed it, and for all intents and purposes, have done everything that I have wanted to, within reason. I can never sleep on my back, and I have had spells here and there, feelings of unsteadyness, light headed, seeing stars after an intense workout. Heavy weights are a no go. But all manageable.
However, 4 weeks ago, I went to the dentist. Laying vertical, head tilted back, heavy drilling (I still canāt believe I let those things happen) and it was like a shotgun went off in my head. The drilling set off that horrendous feeling I hadnāt felt for a decade, that steam train hitting me again. I had 2 holes in my teeth at that point, so had to somehow compose myself, and the poor dentist, who looked as shocked as me by the situation, had to finish off the fillings with me sitting up, and a lower intensity drill.
Since then, Iāve been living in the dizziness nightmare. After the first week, I managed to get back into work for a bit (whilst taking Prochloperzine 3 times a day) and was hoping I was riding it out, so to speak. I stopped the tablets. But I woke up on Sunday and had a massive relapse, and the panic and anxiety has led me to search high and low on the internet, and I came across this website. After reading extensively, I seem to be a prime candidate for Perilymph Fistula, which I of course am hoping itās not, but it seems pretty conclusive.
I am seeing a Neurologist tomorrow (pre booked a couple of weeks ago) and thanks to this site, I have booked in to see Prof Saeed on Friday. Expecting the worst, hoping for the best.
Something I would ask, is how does everyone sleep? A lifelong problem I have had is I am a terrible sleeper, and just canāt manage the elevated pillows sleeping upright. No chance, I tried again last night, and had about 3 hours sleep, I can only sleep on my belly but that is making the dizziness worse. Answers on a postcardā¦
Anyway, apologies for the stupidly long opening gambit, but in a world where the understanding of this condition is so poor, opening up to people that understand is somewhat cathartic.
Lastly, a huge thank you to James, whoās dedication to this and trying to help others is an inspiration. Maybe one person reads my waffle above, and can relate to my experience, and know there is at least one other person in the world stupid enough to smash there head so many times.
All the very best to everyone.
Billy
- but now I take better care of my teeth than ever before simply to avoid the possibility of long intense sessions in the dental chair. Unfortunately, as I got older I started to suffer from dry mouth and thatās a killer for teeth. So dental problems still arise. I ask how long a session is likely to be and request that we do it in stages if too long, I request a pillow for under my neck and a ābiteboxā to bite down on so I donāt have to hold my jaw open for an hour or more, I always tell the dentist about my vertigo problem, I say that being positioned so that my head is lower than my body (!!) which dentists seem to do these days makes me VERY anxious about triggering a vertigo attack.