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Laura
USA
655 Posts |
 Posted - 04/13/2005 : 16:01:41
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Hi all,
I'm curious to know if anyone on here who suffers dizziness as one of their TMS equivalents has tried the positioning treatments to fix the problem. I've been getting the loss of balance feeling a lot lately and then yesterday, I spoke with my husband's aunt about it. She was telling me that she also had taken a trip somewhere where she went whale watching and was in choppy water in a small boat. When she got home (not actually on the trip like when mine started) she started getting dizzy during a yoga class. She went to a doctor who does that therapy where they put you in all sorts of positions that actually bring on the dizziness. This is apparently to cure you if you have benign positional vertigo (they feel it is caused by these little crystals in your ear getting loose and needing to be put back into place). I explained to her that I can bring my dizziness on just by thinking about it. She still felt I should give it a try but I'm really scared that would make things worse. At the same time, if it really is a structural thing (which I've doubted all along) then they could possibly fix it. It got me thinking all over again about the trip that brought the dizziness on (where my head snapped back on the jet skis) and then I started doubting my TMS diagnosis. Help!!! Now I'm confused. Do you think it's possible it could be "loose crystals" if I can bring it on just by thinking about it? I told her I get it a lot when I bend over and she said "There you go, that's changing positions."
Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!
Laura
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MikeC
USA
43 Posts |
Posted - 04/14/2005 : 08:31:55
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Laura,
My wife's friend was diagnosed with vertigo on three different occassions in her life. The first two times it went away on its own. The third time she had do go to physical therapy to go do exercises for that crystal issue that you mentioned. She told my wife that it fixed the problem and she hasn't had an issue since.
I hope that helps!
Mike C |
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Carol
91 Posts |
Posted - 04/14/2005 : 10:40:26
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I am pretty well convinced after all the reading I did that benign positional vertigo does exist. The neurologist I saw did succeed in bringing on symptoms with a particular motion, but I could never duplicate it on my own. Eventually I became convinced that the diagnosis in my case was wrong, and proceeded to beat it by ignoring it.
I have never heard or read of anyone being harmed by the BPV therapy, and I would definately have had it done if any position consistently brought on symptoms. Since that wasn't the case for me I just thought it would be a waste of time and money. Just be aware that, since you are afraid of therapy making symptoms worse,it may be a self fullfilling prophecy!
Carol |
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Laura
USA
655 Posts |
Posted - 04/14/2005 : 18:11:35
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Dear Carol and Mike,
Thank you both for your responses and input. Since I have been doing my TMS work, the dizziness has diminished to a degree. In fact, there are days I hardly notice it. I am convinced it is TMS. I think what confuses me is that I DO get dizzy when I bend over (like to put clothes in the dryer) but am not sure if this is because of BPV or because I have trained my brain to become dizzy when I bend. How does one know for sure? I do not know. But my brain is very suggestible and who knows what it's capable of!
The first two ENT docs I saw suggested BPV but never really knew for sure what was causing my dizziness. I have done plenty of research on the "Epley maneuver" (repositioning exercises) and it scared the heck out of me. I never tried it. My husband's aunt (a psychotherapist who is very interested in TMS) said that it did the trick for her and her symptoms sounded very similar to mine (happening just after a trip which involved a boat). I think in my case that perhaps the initial jolt on the jet skis (where my neck flipped back and my jaw smacked together) COULD very well have knocked something in the delicate inner ear out of place. Who knows. Anything is possible. But the fact that I can bring the sensation on by my thoughts has me fully convinced that no matter what, it's TMS. I just have far too many TMS equivalents for it not to be TMS.
I think that just as Dr. Sarno says it is okay to take medications to reduce pain but you can still do the TMS work, it is okay to contemplate the repositioning exercises and continue to journal, continue to think about what emotions you are repressing, and continue to read Dr. Sarno's books. Yes, you must "repudiate the physical" to completely accept the diagnosis, but there is always that slim little chance that there REALLY is something physical going on (i.e. the crystals being dislodged) and you can think psychological till hell freezes over and they aren't going to go back until they're put back!!
Anyway, thanks again for your input. I'm not running off to have this done any time soon. I have a feeling once my daughter's bat mitzvah is done (June 11th) that I will be feeling much calmer and less anxious. That alone could take the dizziness away!
Laura
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Carol
91 Posts |
Posted - 04/15/2005 : 08:30:35
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The dizziness that occurs when you change position quickly, such as bending down and then getting up too fast, is another situation enirely and is related to changes in blood pressure. I can't remember what it is called, but it was the diagnosis given erroneously to Celtics star Reggie Lewis, who died from heart failure after he kept playing basketball after being told that he had this benign condition.
I have experienced it all my life if I get up from bed too fast, or am bending down to do something and straighten up too fast. It is a very different sensation from the vertigo and balance problems that I had as a result of TMS. I will nearly pass out when this happens.
Carol |
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Dizziness treatment - placebo or cure
