Vestibular treatment (? complications)

[claire1]

Hi

My question is that have anyone here experience an increase of dizziness and vertigo w/nauseau after having a session with the vestibular lab?  I started last Friday and passed out in the office from increased vertigo.  Inbarressment was the least concern. My major concern is why is this happening when the excersizes are supposed to be helping? I stopped the Meklazine which was recommended be the V. therapist and every day I'm almost tempted to restart them, as they help, but I'm not.  Thanks in advance for any and all replys.
Claire

[sabuck]

Claire,

Are you undergoing physical therapy treatment for the vestibular deficit? If so, my first few sessions just about made me hurl. aka toss my cookies. -bucko

[cindyj]

Hi Claire,

Oh yes, I had some vestibular therapy done a couple of months ago - as soon as the therapist finished and sat me up, I threw up in her office - she said no one had ever been sick after the treatment in her 10 years...I continued to be VERY, VERY sick for the next 12 hours or so and it was several days til I was back to my "pre-treatment" tolerable vertigo.  They told me I might need to come back for another session, but I never did.  My vertigo actually did completely go away for a few weeks, but it's back again.  I don't plan to try any more therapy for now.  I am going to wait til I decide how to treat my AN.  I have heard and read, however, that the therapy definitely works for many, many people if you are willing to stick with it.

I took Meclazine years ago when my vertigo first started, but my ENT said I really need to get off of it - I tried some excercises at that time also, but never kept up w/ them.  My vertigo eventually became tolerable (brain retrained, perhaps??) and I've just lived w/ it until recently when my AN was discovered and one of the specialists I saw tried the vestibular therapy.

Good luck and hope you feel better soon - let me know how things go.  By the way, have you had your AN treated?

Cindy

[claire1]

Hi

Hi Sabuck, I am in vestibular therapy now but not sure I can handle it if I'm only going to pass out and be sick again and again.  I'm willing to try and see what happens.


Hi Cindy,I am 2 1/2 weeks post op from the Gamma Knife Radiatiostatic surgery for my AN in left ear. The right ear AN isn't large enough yet so I'm wait and watch for that. I also have a cerebellum old/new bleed that no-one appears to be concerned with at this time, so I'm not, and an arachnoid cyst 2.5 cm as well.  I think that with all trhe extra stuff going on in my brain, it might be difficult for the brain to retrain easily, but would be more appealing to me if I stop passing out and/or barfing.
I'm not sure why they wanted the Meklazine stopped but I posted on the cyberknife page in "Ask the Doctors" page and am waiting for a reply to that and if it wwould make a difference if I was on short term steroids?
I'm in vestibular lab now & will continue until I can't take it anymore.

Sorry to hear that you are plagued with the dreaded vertigo as well. I hope it works out with your AN treatment.
Claire

[sabuck]

Claire,

Don't give up. You have to challenge yourself to improve. It is sort of like learning to walk all over again. Your brain and your body is being thrown new signals and that is why we feel the nausea. Take something before going to therapy for sure. It will help you work through the session. Also my therapist cut back on how much she threw at me in a given session. She learned to take me right up to the point of "almost" feeling sick. I really did not look froward to those sessions but looking back, I am so glad that she pushed me for results. You really CAN improve. Our brains are pretty amazing. The double edged sword of it is the nasuea of relearning.
Hang in there! It gets better! 

[claire1]

Hi Sabuck

Thanks for the encouragement. At least I know I'm not alone through this retraining and that there have been people before me.  At first I thought the therapist was in training herself with all the excersizes.
Claire

[HeadCase2]

Hi Clare,
  Sorry to hear about your Vestibular Retraining experience.  It may be possible to over do it when you're trying to retrain the balance system.  I asked my Physical Therapist (Physical Therorist?), who is well versed with Vestibular Retraining and working with AN patients, if it was possible to over do it as far as "pushing" the vestibular system to help the brain learn to deal with its new vestibular input from just one vestibular nerve.  And he agreed that it is possible to over do it.  For me, when I pushed it too far during that period, I would feel off balance for a day to two.  I learned how far I could push it with out that affect.  You have to push it some, to give the brain the new input that it needs to learn to deal with.  But you can't push it like an athelete in training trying to push well beyond their physical limits.  Know that vestibular retaining can help speed things along, and things get better with more time.  Maybe not as fast as you'd like, but it does get better.
Regards,
  Rob

[satman]

stick with it claire,it will work and being your getting dizzy etc,means it's working.
i came real close to blowing chunks all over my physical terrorists.
it's amazing how something so simple can make a huge impact,hang in there "it's working".

[Omaschwannoma]

Hi

...and an arachnoid cyst 2.5 cm as well.  I think that with all trhe extra stuff going on in my brain, it might be difficult for the brain to retrain easily, but would be more appealing to me if I stop passing out and/or barfing.

Claire,  I too have arachnoid cyst, don't know the size, but after reading about them I know they can cause hearing loss, vertigo, nausea.  You might want to call your doctor and inquire about this.