Traveling with Vertigo

I recommend the best course of action is to consult your healthcare provider for advice & treatment.

I agree with Janis. This isn't the place for health advice.

Apologies. My doctor prescribed me medication that makes me feel worse so I thought maybe others might have traveled with vertigo and could offer tips and support. My mistake.

Speaking as a healthcare provider, from what you have indicated makes it even more crucial to reconnect with your healthcare provider to look at an alternative treatment.

If you indeed are suffering from BPV, see an ENT or an appropriately certified physical therapist, who should be able to conduct what is called an Epley Maneuver to help get the tiny crystals in your inner ear that cause vertigo back where they belong. It's a miracle once it finally works, but it may take a few visits, and they should also do some additional testing to rule out any possibility that it's neurological.

I'm assuming your symptoms at the moment are not acute (otherwise, you probably wouldn't even be able to read this without the page spinning). If they are, I feel for you. I just went through that last fall. The morning it struck, I was utterly incapacitated. At the ER, they gave me a shot to take care of the nausea. Thankfully, that never really returned, but the woozy/dizzy/unsteady effects lasted for months.

It started with acute symptoms that had me in bed for a few days. Over the next few weeks, we tried a few things, including more Epley Maneuvers and a short dose of a steroid in case it was being caused by inflammation. During that time, my symptoms were no longer acute (I was a bit woozy, had to keep my head out of certain positions to avoid triggering the spins) but I could go to work and even travel via plane. I wasn't 100% during those short trips, but I was able to power through. It took a few months until that "hangover" feeling finally went away, and things are now pretty much back to normal.

Luckily for me, the plane travel didn't trigger any acute symptoms. But I wouldn't want to be on an overseas flight or in an unfamiliar foreign country alone if those acute symptoms ever came back. If I were you, I'd consult with a physician (perhaps a different one? I suggest seeing an ENT who has experience treating BPV) to make sure things are at least under control before committing to that trip.

I agree that your own physician is the most important contact. But because BPPV is still a bit of a "soft" science (it was apparent to me that my excellent specialty ENT [I already have an ENT for sinus issues] has learned as much from his patients as he did about BPPV in Medical School !) I will make two observations that you might wish to consider for your own case.

1) That second ENT encouraged me to do the Epley Maneuver on my own, three days in a row, once a day, if I feel that my condition is relapsing. I have watched YouTube videos and made verbal notes on my IPad in case I have to do it on a trip. (I should note that I had told him in my Patient History that I had successfully done the Epley maneuver before coming to him with the usual four-week wait for an appointment. My point is that he USED that report as a strong corroboration for DIAGNOSING BPPV.)

2) The drugs I was prescribed for BPPV are identical to one of the popular OTC seasickness pills. You might think about how effective your prescription was, and whether the side effects are too bad for you to take it once or twice for the plane trip. (Many plane trips are smooth and level. But everyone reacts differently.) Presumably you know from past experience that if you wait until you have nausea, it is TOO LATE to take a prescription motion sickness remedy.

Edit: Referring to a later post, my ENT confirmed that there is an association between dehydration and BPPV. I might add that when I go to exercise class, I no longer do everything the teacher calls for with head position. I'm a big handyman around the house, and I now try not to (just to describe the motion ... ) bend over and work on the underside of a couch or coffee table from below. I turn the work over so I can keep my head upright.

My ENT had me do the Epley several times a day. Make sure to do it correctly. It worked but took about a week. I was in bad shape. You have to do the maneuver fast and you do need to get your head lower than your heart. My husband helped me do it. If he was out, I hung onto the bedpost.
Start now.

If your doc only prescribed Rx and no PT, ask for PT. In addition to the ear crystal manipulation, my PT was dealing with muscles and nerves. A good PT is worth gold. Often, there's more than one thing going on and once you know what it is you can take more charge rather than feel like a victim. You've got two weeks to get those crystals into place and get the rest stretched out. After that, as others have said, you can learn what you are able to do yourself.

I had vertigo a few years ago and it was caused by dehydration. Since then, I make sure that I drink plenty of water.

Since I am 72, my balance is clearly not what it was in the past, that is just age.

I woke up with vertigo May 1, 2012 and struggled for a week before going to the doctor. After diagnosis with BPPV, I was referred to a nurse practitioner in ENT who performed the Epley maneuver and it was successful the first try. The after -care instructions said to avoid lying prone for a week and avoid tilting my head back, among other things. I followed the instructions closely, for a week.

When the dizziness returned months later, I had my husband assist me with the Epley, again successfully. I realized I had triggered the BPPV by lying on my side, and was determined to avoid that. So I have slept “propped up” on my back with wedge pillows ever since. I sleep very comfortably this way, but it means I have to request extra pillows when we travel. At the dentist, I just say the word “vertigo” and the technician knows not to tilt me too far back. At the Sistine Chapel I had to be very careful and not look at the ceiling directly overhead; I sat on the benches and looked at the ceiling across the chapel ( fortunately we booked early entrance and there were fewer than 50 people in the chapel).

Tilting the head back to look up is such a common trigger that BPPV is commonly called “top shelf vertigo”. There are other possible triggers——dehydration, things moving quickly through your visual field, and certain striped patterns are a few that affect me. As would lying flat on my back, or on my side if I ever did that.

OP’s statement that it “seems to be worse in the morning” makes sense to me—-and suggests the need for a visit to a therapist who is experienced in treating BPPV with the Epley maneuver or one of its variations, and then provides good after-care instructions.

Also know that the diagnosis of BPPV is not absolutely conclusive unless the Epley maneuver provides immediate relief. I was diagnosed with BPPV in the ER 8 months ago, as yet vertigo has not completely resolved. Epley was performed in the ER and instructions given to follow up at home. My ENT diagnosed as Vestibular neuropathy (based mostly on the persistent symptoms) four weeks later. I had an MRI and other tests at 6 months, no pathology observed with any of the tests, but definite loss of function of the vestibular nerve (right ear) confirmed.

I am fully functional, just still feel a little "off" in some motions. Have been advised that resolution may take up 18 months - or never to completely resolve. There is a lot unknown about this disease, and there are several other possibilities.

Just returned from skiing 6 days in Colorado, headed to Italy for 2 1/2 weeks in a month. Just do what ya gotta do sometimes.

I feel for all of you who suffer with this. My dad has had this for more than 20 years now so I have some idea of how awful it can be at times (although he is pretty stoic and doesn't let on very much). I know one can't have a proper sense — especially of the nausea — unless one has experienced it. So sorry for everyone who has it!!,

Thanks everyone for your contributions to this topic. As others have said, it is best to seek medical advice from your healthcare provider. We will be locking this thread.