Constant 'dizziness' - worse while driving

[Zelda28]

I had an episode of Vertigo back in September and my life hasn't been the same since.  Constant 'dizziness', inability to focus when not thinking about specific things (like work) and overall anxiety plague my days.  In October I had another vertigo event while driving and now I'm petrified to drive - although I'm making myself do it.  I've had extensive hearing and balance tests - passed.  I've seen an ENT and my inner ear and sinus appear normal.  My next move is Vestibular Rehabiliation and a visit to a Neurologist.  Any advice on how to cope with these daily symptoms?  I feel like my world is getting smaller because I'm afraid to drive anywhere!

[JennyJ776]

Please read my comment. You have a hope. I almost gave up. But I think I found the cure! It is a true story.

I am 40 years old now.I used to love driving. My weird dizziness started on November 2013 when I was in a passenger seat while my friend was driving. It was very sudden but very obviously the dizziness were there.  
I used to drive fearlessly for 23 years but all of a sudden I became disabled. Even when I drive 30-40 miles per hour, it was struggling for me and made me so dizzy and I had abnormal visual feeling like a tunnel vision. Driving became a nightmare since then. I stopped driving highway for over one year and six month.

I went to ENT(Ear, Nose and Throat), eye doctor, brain MRI, blood work, acupuncture, Korean traditional medicine, chiropractor and neurologist.
Everything was normal. No doctors couldn't figure out.
On Thursday(June 4th, 2015), I went to a different ENT doctor in a big hospital in the downtown hoping for an answer my ear is the problem but got out with disappointment. Nothing was wrong the doctor said. I am a single mother. It was so devastating to experience this crazy symptom not knowing the cause or clue. On the same day, I researched internet out of desperation and found interesting comment above. That was new. I went to a book store and bought the book "Trigger point therapy workbook" by Clair Davies. I watched several youtube video of STERNOCLEIDOMASTOID (SCM) trigger point massage.

I had nothing to lose and was going to try anything to be better. I tried the SCM massage(Please search google where to find SCM in you neck) right away several times a day very diligently for four days. Since the next day, I felt more than 50% better and today I accidentally went into high way and drove for 4 miles without stopping. I couldn't even imagine to drive on highway before because even for local road with 40 miles per hour was struggling for me for long time. Today I can excitedly say my dizziness for one year and six months were gone more than 90%. I felt normal for the first time.

I was so excited and so was my son. I really hope many of you can be cured like me. It was so simple and so easy to fix it. Current medical system was far beyond to find a cure or cause easily which is sad. However, thanks to some brilliant doctors like Travell & Simons and therapist like Davies, the author and her father, and someone like a normal person who took time to write a comment for other people, I think a lot of people will be relieved from this confusing dizziness.
I am so happy. I feel like I am reborn again. Try this massage today and if you got cured, please write a comment and spread the words for others!!!

[ggreg]

Vertigo is one of those things that sometimes has no obvious origin, but fortunately will sometimes disappear within months.  But while you have it, you should try taking Meclazine, it's an over-the-counter motion sickness pill that can give relief, just look for anything for travelers that has that ingredient in it, take it evenings... it will have a tendency to make you drowsy.  Also, sometimes taking a good vitamin and mineral supplement with meals will help, maybe twice a week.  You could have someone check your eyes, too, and I would definitely visit another ENT for a second opinion.  Occasionally if your neck is bothering you along with vertigo, various nerves that come out of that region might cause this, so if all else fails, they can scan your neck and ears areas, to see if something is amiss.

Also, next doc you see or at the local county mental health clinic (tho you're not crazy), they can give you a temporary as-needed anti-anxiety medication, like basic tranquilizers, Valium or Klonopin are examples, to settle down your feelings of fear when you get these attacks of vertigo.  If you take it, keep in mind it slows your reaction time, so give yourself room to stop the car.  Many vertigo people are prescribed that, because it can be a fearsome thing when a lot of motion hits you at once, it'll keep you from totally freaking out.  And breathe very deeply when you get anxious in the car, it'll settle down anxiety becuz it lowers the heartrate.  Breathe in real deep and blow it out, breathe normal a couple times, breathe in deeply again, do this ten times, but you won't get to ten.

There was an astronaut, he got vertigo, I think it was in the movie "The Right Stuff," and it showed how he actually fell out on the ground with the world spinning above him, he was taken off the list of guys to go to the moon.  He was made part of the launch team instead, until an operation became available for certain specific causes of vertigo, and once he had it, he was fine, and did get to fly in the Shuttle program.  So, it's possible such an operation would work for you if this thing doesn't heal up.

One more thing, I had an ear problem one time, it really hurt, and the ENT I saw used a saline medication solution to clean out my ears, I had a lot of earwax and an infection going on in there, which I was given antibiotics and ear drops.  So, maybe your next ENT will be able to do something along those lines.  But since the first ENT didn't see anything like a bunch of earwax in there and since you did not report your ear hurts, I don't imagine you have an infection.  But I mention it becuz anything I might offer might help.  Vertigo can be a real problem for people, it's a hard thing to deal with, and as I said, sometimes even rather good docs cannot pinpoint the problem.  Oh, and try chewing some gum now and then for a couple weeks, might help open up the eustachean tubes and give relief.