Hi,

Sometimes I’ll go for weeks without any significant dizziness, and then out of nowhere I’ll have a vertigo attack.  Now these attacks, while difficult, are not the full-blown vertigo attacks I used to get.  No, no more upchucking (that, I’m pretty sure, came from the soy allergy) or nystagmus, but my stomach feels just short of nauseous, and it can be difficult for me to walk straight. Driving is possible, but sometimes not a good idea.  I know I shouldn’t complain, because there are many of you out there who are still having upchucking vertigo attacks. How quickly I forget.  A perfect day for me is one without dizziness of any kind. I rate my vertigo/dizziness impairment on a scale of 60% to 100%.

My vertigo scale:

• 100% — No dizziness (very infrequent). I can look up at the sky without getting dizzy
• 90% to 95%   —  Walk and drive with minimal problem. I can look up at the sky without getting too dizzy
• 85% — Walking and driving mildly impaired.  Looking up at the sky makes me more dizzy (“dizzier” is grammatically correct but it looks wrong to me)
• 75% to 80%  — Probably shouldn’t drive. Turning my head quickly is a bad idea. Have to make sure I hold onto stair railings, etc.
• 60% to 70%  — This is going to last a few days. Don’t even think about driving. Try to hide how badly off I am from my spouse
• Below 60%  — Really dizzy, stomach bad; high possibility of upchucking.  Can’t hide how bad I feel.

My vertigo/dizziness attacks sometimes last three to four days, similar to how people describe a migraine attack:

• First Day:  All I want to do is not move, maybe just sleep and hope it gets better.  I can’t look up without feeling worse. Not interested in food because it might come back up. Performing my normal, everyday chores like feeding our horses is extremely difficult, but I do it.
• Second Day:  I’m better, probably around 75% to 80% on my scale, but I’m still all dragged out and mostly want to sleep.
• Third Day:  I’m at the 85% level, almost human again.  I can drive.
• Fourth Day:  I’m at 90% to 95%.  Pretty much fully functional.

What are your vertigo attacks like?  Do they last for days?

Dan

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