Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo

Brief episodes of severe vertigo caused by sudden head movements.

Microscopic debris located in the posterior semicirrcular canal are thought to be the cause, no effective medications are available as yet.

Treatment involves postural retraining using sequence of predetermined head movements in order to move the microscopic debris from the posterior semicirrcular canal in the inner ear.

This is called the Epley manoeuvre. Another technique used in the treatment of BPPV is the Semont liberating manoeuvre, which involves a series of head and body movements used to move the debris from the posterior semicirrcular canal in the inner ear.

Avoiding provocative positions is important, as BPPV occurs when the patient lies on one earor the other or tips their head backwards to look up.

It eases when BPPV lasts a year, atympanotomy can be performed to divide the nerve to the posterior semicirrcular canal of the affected ear, this can provide relief, however there is potential to cause deafness.

AMH 2010
MERCK MANUAL

Case Study – Virginia

Her Story

Hi there,

My name is Virginia, and I have been diagnosed with MdDS. Going through a particularly bad spell now (for the last 4 months) after suffering it for over 3.5 years.

I hope and pray that all of us feel much better soon. This has been devastating for me and my family. I am 43 years old and have a 7 month old baby who really needs mommy, but I have unfortunately been in really bad shape lately.

Let’s hope 2010 brings us some relief!

Virginia

Case Study – Sophie

This is one Case Study you shouldn’t Miss !

I had my first episode of MdDS when I was 20 years old, after a car trip to our holiday house 1 hour from home (I’d travelled on this same road since I was a child, so puzzled as to why it happened in this instance).  The symptoms were relatively mild and lasted for about a month, but I really didn’t pay much attention to it and thought it was just part of the bad anxiety/panic attacks I had been suffering for the year leading up to it.   I didn’t experience any symptoms again for at least a year after that.  I can’t recall exactly when they returned, as I had a bad episode of the flu in September that year, but can’t specifically remember if the MdDS returned before or after the virus.  (more…)

Case Study – Linda Hardy

How you acquired MdDS ?

In April of ‘05 I took a European river cruise. It involved seven nights sleeping on a bunk which pulled down from a wall.It was also the last room on the ship, so behind the wall was the vibrating engine room. The cruise was smooth. We got off every day and toured the cities along the banks of the Danube. I felt fine. At the end of the cruise,we took a van to Prague,which was about 4 hours away. I sat in the back and we drove through many winding hills. (more…)

Case Study – Marla Cruise

How you acquired MdDS ?

In Feb. 2001 I went on my first ocean cruise to celebrate my 50th birthday. Little did I know that this vacation would result in my becoming disabled and ultimately lead to full time disability.

A few hours after disembarking from the 7 day voyage to the southern Caribbean islands I noticed that I could feel the sensation of the ship. I wasn’t concerned because my twin sister had warned me that this could happen. When I got back home after a 5 hour turbulent flight and a 1.5 hour drive I removed the Scopolamine Patch that I had worn during the cruise and went to bed. The next morning I woke up to feeling like I was still on board a ship at sea only during a hurricane. It felt like my body was being rocked 90 degrees forward and 90 degrees back in a pendular motion. I couldn’t walk straight without hitting the walls in my hallway. The sensation intensified when I went into the bathroom and it felt like I was riding a bucking bronco at a rodeo when I sat on the “throne”. (more…)