Dear Dr.
On Sept of 1995 I had a bout of severe dizziness when brought to the E.R the
attending told me that it was labrinthitus, and gave me a shot of antivert.
Since then I have been suffering from a constant feeling of imbalance. I have
gone through countless tests M.R.I ect, ect. I even made a trip out to the
Mayo clinic, all the tests came back normal, but yet I have this awful
feeling that plagues my life. No one has yet answered my questions so I
thought that maybe you could shed some light for me.
1) Is there a chance for the severe dizziness I suffered to return, I have
had only one episode?
2) Is there any medication available to control the imbalance sensation?
3) Will this feeling of imbalance ever go away?
Thank you for your time
Reply: ------------------------
I surmise from your post that you have had an extensive otological and neurological evaluation(s). Although outside of your mention of having had an MRI scan, the remaining details of your evaluation are not described, it is unlikely that I would be able to come up with any additional diagnostic studies to consider. As I have previously posted in other discussions concerning the symptom of chronic vertigo, not all situations will fit into nice clean textbook descriptions of a particular syndrome or condition. It is therefore possible, and even probable based upon what you have posted, that a cause for your symptom will not be found. We are therefore in many instances left to make recommendations regarding symptom management only. That is, treatment recommendations to make symptoms less bothersome. In this case, sometimes the best treatment is with the use of mildly sedating medications like antihistamines or sedatives. Additionally, there is a type of physical therapy known as vestibular rehabilitation that can be highly effective in the management of chronic inner ear problems.
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Steve Dankle, MD
Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
Milwaukee, Wis
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