Terrified by husband's dizziness/sickness attack. BPPV?

[Coppernob]

My husband was taken suddenly very ill with extreme dizziness and violent sickness which went on for about 3 or 4 hours a few days ago. NHS 111 went through all the 'red light' symptoms with me but then rang our GP, who rang us back after a couple of hours. By then he was able to speak to her, and she came to the conclusion it must be BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo). Now I've had that, diagnosed and, although scary and unpleasant, and I suffered for several years intermittently, but it never made me sick like that, and I'm not convinced that's what it was. I'm terrified that it will happen again and I've got myself in a state about it. Anyone out there who has suffered and can offer any crumbs of comfort? He recovered after a few hours in bed and seems okay now.

[glassgirlw]

I’ve had attacks of BPPV that resolve in about 10 minutes and then I’ve had attacks that are absolutely debilitating and make me sick. I’ll go for months or years without an attack and then boom, out of nowhere comes another one. They’re miserable!! I keep Meclizine on hand now just in case, as it works wonders in helping me if an attack gets bad enough.

[ankietyjoe]

My husband was taken suddenly very ill with extreme dizziness and violent sickness which went on for about 3 or 4 hours a few days ago. NHS 111 went through all the 'red light' symptoms with me but then rang our GP, who rang us back after a couple of hours. By then he was able to speak to her, and she came to the conclusion it must be BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo). Now I've had that, diagnosed and, although scary and unpleasant, and I suffered for several years intermittently, but it never made me sick like that, and I'm not convinced that's what it was. I'm terrified that it will happen again and I've got myself in a state about it. Anyone out there who has suffered and can offer any crumbs of comfort? He recovered after a few hours in bed and seems okay now.

You need to remind yourself that you're not medically trained, and the ones that made the diagnosis are.

And, not everybody experiences the same symptoms from the same condition.

Terrified is a strong word to use for something relatively benign. Stop second guessing the obvious.

[Coppernob]

Thank you for your replies folks. I'm afraid it's difficult to feel totally confident of a diagnosis made via a telephone call with no examination of the patient. It was a very frightening few hours, my husband is 77, of course I'm scared. And the major difference in symptoms from my own experience of the suggested condition and therefore how it will play out is significant.

[lilysmith123]

I'm sorry that must be worrying for you both. Try to remember that conditions don't always present exactly the same, so he may have it show differently than to you. If he keeps feeling this way, I don't think there is any harm in expressing your fear about a telephone appointment diagnosis.

[glassgirlw]

Absolutely agree with lilysmith123. If this is out of the norm for your husband and it persists, I would absolutely be seeking an examination in person. Especially with his age. I don’t know how things are operating over your way right now with GP’s and Covid, surely they’re doing some in person appts now?

[Coppernob]

Hi, yes they are doing some physical appointments, or at least they were back in December because I managed to get one, but only because of a breast problem that was a 'red flag' sympton - thankfully okay in the end. But they really are trying to keep people out of the surgery. They are also an area vaccination centre now, and when we went for ours the whole building was devoted to this, so I don't know what's happening! He's thankfully been okay since, so I'm just hoping for the best. I hope we can get some medication though.

[ankietyjoe]

Thank you for your replies folks. I'm afraid it's difficult to feel totally confident of a diagnosis made via a telephone call with no examination of the patient. It was a very frightening few hours, my husband is 77, of course I'm scared. And the major difference in symptoms from my own experience of the suggested condition and therefore how it will play out is significant.

Him being 77 does add to the potential concern, but not second guessing the Doctors is still the way to go. It's unlikely a face to face appointment would have come to a different conclusion as all they can do is ask him questions anyway.

In terms of differing symptoms, I used to suffer with really bad migraines. I used to get them every Saturday morning (first day off work) for months/years on end. Out of the hundreds I had, they made me vomit violently twice. The HA brain would have concluded that THOSE migraines were obviously something sinister, despite the fact that migraines can sometimes make you sick.

Just because YOU didn't throw up, doesn't mean to say he won't. Just like some people throw up in planes, and others don't.

[Allochka]

I feel for you! The most terrible HA is when you worry about loved ones.
I agree that if that continues, husband should be examined in person. There is a very simple positional test to check if this is BPPV. They position the person to elicit the attack and check the direction of resulting nystagmus. This test can say with great accuracy if this is BPPV.
I also have it, and my first attack was terrible. I couldn’t stand, was vomiting (had to crawl to bathroom), was shaking and covered in sweat. So yes, BPPV can be really horrible sometimes. I had never had an attack like that since, only milder ones

[FamilyPicnic]

Hi - I suffered from extreme vertigo attacks several years and know how terrible these attacks can be. When you say he had "extreme dizziness" what does that mean? Did he have vertigo, such that things were spinning around and he was unable to walk or even move? or was he feeling unbalanced but could still walk?

I had many, many medical appointments and tests when I was at my worst and learned a few things. Unless there is something obviously wrong, doctors usually give the diagnosis of BPPV or a virus. BPPV generally lasts seconds to a small number of minutes, it doesn't last hours.

Another thing I learned is that while vertigo is severely incapacitating and frightening it is rarely the result of something serious. I was a member of several vertigo forums at the time and I don't think there was anyone who had a serious condition. Trying to find the true cause of vertigo is extremely difficult. There are tests that rule things out (such as tumor or stroke) but there are no tests to definitively prove the actual cause once the more serious conditions are ruled out. There are some clues though, such as Meniere's comes with hearing loss. One rule that some doctors go by is that if it lasts minutes it's BPPV, if it lasts hours it's Meniere's or migraine and it it lasts days it's a virus.

I do think it would be a good idea to get things checked out. Perhaps he can have a ct scan or MRI. This will rule the most serious causes out and then he can work on treating the problem. I don't like to suggest people take valium but that or another benzo is excellent at treating vertigo, not because one is anxious but because valium hits the vestibular system and calms it down. It takes a while to get there though, maybe an hour before some relief is felt, works faster if it's taken under the tongue.

I understand the worry you have but please know that vertigo is very rarely serious, well unless you are one in the middle of an attack, but the actual cause is usually from something relatively benign.

[Allochka]

After seeing FamilyPicnic’s post I ‘d like to add that my first attach lasted hours. Well, I was not vomiting for hours non-stop, but felt pretty badly for the whole day, couldn’t put head in certain position, was very weak. Vomited several times (sorry, TMI). And my condition is defintely BPPV. Checked and diagnosed by neuro, started almost 10 years ago. Had clean MRI since due to unrelated reason...
So nasty feeling can last for hours