Hello all,

I am about at my wits end here with vertigo. It all started a year and a half ago after my son was born. I developed a double ear infection that caused my ears to throb in pain. It was some of the worse pain ever because it was constant. I was in and out of my doctors office for six weeks during maternity leave trying to fix my ear infection/pain which developed into vertigo. After two rounds of antibiotics, two steroids, meclizine and a scopolamine patch I went back to work after six weeks of maternity leave (my body was definitely not ready). I was able to work on meclizine and was constantly tired. My doctor ran blood tests, did a CT and sent me to a neurologist. The neurologist did an MRI and everything came back clear. He dismissed me and said that I needdd an ENT, that my vertigo was all peripheral and not central. The ENT performed a balance study and it did detect a problem with my inner ears. I was finally diagnosed (after about 10 weeks of misery) was vestibular neuritis, a condition that leaves the nerves in the inner ears going to the brain inflamed and causes balance problems, vertigo and nausea. I also had a feeling of disorientation and trouble concentrating. I started anxiety medicine around the same time and was finally able to somewhat live a normal life!
Flash forward to now
I developed another double ear infection a week and a half ago. I was forced to leave work because not long after the pulsating pain came from both ears I all of the sudden couldn’t walk and the vertigo hit me like a pile of bricks. I am now on FMLA and short term disability ( I am only 24 ) and am becoming very depressed. I went to my ENT who put me on antibiotics, steroids and meclizine again. My vertigo got so bad last week I went to the ER and was prescribed Valium (it is the only thing that works but leaves me exhausted and I am only taking 2mg which is half a dose) I am seeing another neurologist soon and a neuro-ENT doc (I am blessed with great insurance and a great primary care doctor)
I cannot walk straight, my ears feel full even though the infection is gone, I am tired, and cannot walk in big stores. The visual and auditory stimuli are too much for my brain and it causes the floor to feel like it’s moving.
This vertigo has taken over my life and it’s besting me. I just want to go back to work ( I love my coworkers ) and with everything going on in the world right now it will be hard to not get a full paycheck.
Does anyone have any advice? Any one been through something like this?
Rant over