Hi ladies,

Well I went to my reg. Dr. on Fri. I have only seen this dr. 2x since we have changed ins. I wasn't really thrilled with him the first time, but thought it is just me...you know how you start to think through this time. I told my husband I wasn't overly excited about him the last time I went. My husband went with me this time in part because i haven't been able to drive becuase of dizzy/derealization feelings. I have been having this sudden feeling of vertigo where my body feels like it is being pulled down and something funny happen to my eyes...they don't blur but they pull as if I crossed them. This last like 2 sec. and I feel spacey afterwards. Well Fri I just had had enough and off to the DR. again I went. He threw me some med's and said he thought I had BPPV( which is what a nuerologists told me 1 1/2 yr's ago after an MRI/MRa for this and gave home exercises) This DR. told me the exercises don't work and med's are the only way. After coming home and looking on-line we find from all ENT's that meds are not going to cure it and exercises to move the "ear rocks" back where they belong is the only way. My husband was digusted with the dr. he said he never saw a dr. push med's lie that and be so against other alt.

So here I go to an ENT...another dip into to our ever decreasing savings fund. I don't really know if I have BPPV or mienere's disease all I know is this is more than hormones. It all started when i woke up about 2 yr's ago so dizzy I couldn't walk, just like that. I got out of bed and just tipped over. Had to crawl while my husband called the nurse and I went to the ER where I was diagnosed with labrynthitis( not sure if that is what it was either because the antibiotics didn't help it just went away on it's own) it let up to comeback 2 mo. later and I had an MRI. For the past yr 1 1/2 yr's it has come and gone untill the past few mo. where it is just here some days are bad and others are mild. The sudden feeling of falling is very disturbing, and was told by the ent's that if I do have "ear rocks" just the slightest shift in them will throw me off that quick. My appt. is next mon. say prayer if you pray because I so need answers and help with this. I have completely become dependent on my husband because I can't drive and it is not a fun place to be. Thanks Mikki

Mikki,

Did you try the exercises and for long enough? From what I recall, I think there may be more than one technique; maybe you could try a different technique. Doesn’t everyone have ear rocks? We only have the problem when the rocks shift out of place.

As far as the doctor telling you that the exercises do not work—I do not think that is true, they worked for me. I did not have an official diagnosis but I had the BPPV signs and symptoms and I was dizzy for about a week. I cannot remember exactly how long I continued the exercises but I think I did them for at least a month because I was so afraid of becoming dizzy again. It may take a few weeks of exercises but they are inexpensive and you can do it at home. If you have not tried them it would be worth proving the doctor wrong. It may be that you will have to do the exercises every day to keep the rocks in place. The exercises can make you dizzy wile you are doing them but if it helps for later when you go out it would be worth it for me.

I hope you feel better.

Kathy

Hi Sunflower....

We all do have ear crystals (rocks)...they are in the little canals in the inner ear and they send messages to the brain about our head position and etc. The vestibular exercises the doc gave you may work...try them for a while but do them gently as you can mess up your neck doing them too aggressively. some of the exercises have you lay back over a pillow so the crystals kinda float and are positioned back where they belong. Others make you sling your head back and forth...all kinds of different things.

It's just my opinion that from what you say, this is hormonal. I've had off balance dizzy stuff for 15 months now...pretty much all the time...better some days than others. I get a sense of going down fast on an elevator, being pulled down from the inside of my chest/ab area, my eyes feel like they get pulled on too.

I think it's muscular pulling as a result of hormones outta whack. I just found out I have moderate adrenal fatigue, slight high tsh thyroid and two low estrogens. There are inner ear receptors that estrogen attachs to...you'll read about that here from others. There are also tiny little muscles that hold the inner ear workings in place...well, if our muscles are affected by these hormones then these would be too....as well as your eyes....they move by muscles. There are also tiny muscles that when stressed, can close off the eustachian tube causing fluid to build up, stuffiness, hearing loss (temporary). Our muscles do alot of strange things when they don't have what they need.

I was given meclizine for my dizziness...didn't help probably because it's hormonal. Mecclinzine is an antihistimine. I know I'm not spelling that right. Have you had your hormones tested....female hormones, thyroid, adrenals? If not...do a saliva test and see if you're low somewhere.

There are women on this site who have had the dizzy off balance for a long time and then it went away...so don't be afraid.

Let us know how it goes....thinking of you!
MarieR

Oh, I wanted to add there I do believe there is such a thing as "ear rocks", but I think they are calcium deposits in the inner ear that form, usually in the elderly. Don't know much more about them than that...from what you said, your doc was referring to your "ear crystals". And we all have those.

MarieR

thanks...yeah forgot to elaborate they said that these crystals can break off off something called the uticura and become free and go into the post. semi canal.

I tried the exercises again today and stopped because they were making me so dizzy and I am alone so I didn't want to go tumbling somewhere.

My FSH is 17.5 and estridial is 32. porgest. 1.4 and test. 18

I am peri and have heard the ears have estrogen receptors
. If it is because of low estrogen than how can I ever hope to get rid of it if my estrogen will remain low well after meno. ?

They said there are tests they can run to make sure that is what it is, I guess if it is not I will just have to adjust...hard to do. Mikki

Mikki I truly hope you are feeling better.I will pray for you.GOD bless.

Have you tried estradiol to see if it helps you? 32 seems really low, I think I would be feeling non-functional at 32. My estradiol was in the 70s and I was having a really hard time with low estrogen symptoms.

Kathy

Okay...so you know that probably this is hormonal. I believe that our bodies are set to produce estrogen as well as all the other hormones for all of our life. I think the adrenals kick in more during peri/meno to make estrogen as the ovaries make less. We also make hormones in other areas of our body. We are supposedly equipped to move thru menopause with all the hormones that we need, however, due to stress, diet and our environment and things we are exposed to...our balance gets messed up. Someone had posted about how using plastic to cook in and eat out of caused a change in our level of estrogen because the chemical in the plastic made our body think we had enough of the hormone. Might have been a post by Duch. That all being said...are you doing any bioidentical replacement? There is the option of phytoestrogens to help your body make estrogens. Have your adrenals and thyroid checked as these will mess up female hormone output too.

The exercises made me dizzy too...but they do work for people if it's just that their crystals have moved out of whack. Go easy with it. I do know how upsetting it is to be off balance and feel like your'e being pulled to the floor....as well as a myriad of other strange and upsetting sensations. One of my friends, she's 49, used to have to walk with either a cane or a walker as she felt she was being pulled to the floor all the time...off balance. She had her hormones tested...was low with estrogen...got a patch and 80% of her pain was gone and she had her hubby pack the cane and walker away as she no longer needed it. She's loving it, her mood is better...she said she had no idea of how horrible she was feeling until she started feeling so well.

If it would make you feel better to do the tests, then do them...that way you won't have to worry about anything like that. I know how all of this disrupts your life. I can drive but I am very fearful about going into stores and being on my feet any length of time. I've never fallen, but it's too darn stressful walking around and being upset by the way it feels. Mine is slowly getting better as I heal my adrenals..I started soy and other phytoestrogens....we'll see how that goes. This is not a fun ride at all....you're not alone in it.
MarieR