Antivert and vertigo

[saveone]

I do not have BPPV.  ENT said it was central not peripheral.  GP rx'd Antivert.. Tonight the feeling of the room being in motion has returned.

My question?  Do any of you take Antivert and have you had success?  Is it effective if you have central related vertigo?

I just took one so I guess I will find out.  I am also wondering about taking my Lyrica and Zanaflex with the Antivert.  I don't want to suppress my CNS, that wouldn't be good.  I guess the GP knew what he was doing.

take care,
terry

[PastorDan]

Norvasc, not Calan, not that it matters.

[PastorDan]

I think meclizine makes you sleepy enough that you can't see the room spinning very well, thus minimizing the sensation that the stomach is stationary while the rest of one's world rotates.

Seriously, it was the first thing they tried for me --- aaarggghhh!!! -- 20 months ago!!!  No effect at all, except sleepiness.  Next thing they tried was Xanax --  maybe the (substitute on-call) doc was thinking of Valium, but got mixed up?  Same effect.  Then scopolamine skin patch; minimal improvement, if any.  Same with Klonopin.

Then I had to stop all of that for six or eight weeks of vestibular rehab therapy -- which just made it worse, for me.

Then I was on Depakote, amitriptyline (I always get confused about where the "y" falls in that word), and eventually nothing alleged to address the balance problem at all -- which is still my worst symptom.  I am using Neurontin (gabapentin) for eye pain that had gotten severe.  I doubt that helps.

The PCP took me off the two b/p drugs (one was lisinopril, the other might've been Calan SR, but that's a maybe memory) & gave me carvedilol (aka Coreg) when my cardiac rhythm got goofy; frankly, I'm not sure that hasn't done me as much good as anything else they've tried.  It most definitely settled the heart down, and I am pretty sure my longtime tremors (hand & head, sometimes upper torso) are significantly improved.

Whatever they do for you, Terry, I will pray that it solves the problem.  It's no fun feeling the earth drop out from beneath your feet, tumble backwards over your head, and rotate clockwise around you, especially when they all try to happen at the same time.

[LoveMyBostons]

All Antivert did was knock me out and give me a SOLID night of sleep.

[Nancy T]

Not sure about central vs. peripheral, but occasionally dizzy people are helped by Antivert (generic: meclizine, sold OTC--as Ren pointed out--as Bonine, also Dramamine Less Drowsy Formula). Most people don't seem to get much help from it, though. (This is my nonscientific conclusion from years of reading a dizziness list.) Antivert did nothing for me.

(But don't minimize the dangers of sneezing... that's exactly how I lost the hearing in my left ear and got a big increase in my dizziness at the same time!! I'm not kidding!!)

If meclizine doesn't work for you, maybe Valium would?

Since meclizine is sold for motion sickness, I would think it would have (or at least be thought to have) SOME effect on the vestibular system (for some people, anyway).

[Quixotic1]

IMNTHO Antivert does squat for vertigo.  It is the knee jek prescription with no evidence that it is effective.  It is merely an antihistamine.

We are just players in a Great Cosmic Pinball Machine.

[saveone]

Ren your comment about your preference made me laugh and thanks stationary wall would be nice.

I thought it would be a bust.  I couldn't understand how an antihistamine could help with central related vertigo.  Maybe it will keep me from sneezing...do you think.

take care, terry

[rendean]

IMHO, Antivert doesn't do squat for central vertigo. Been prescribed several times, always NO  help.

PCP told me the most effective thing for central vertigo is Valium. I already take Klonopin for muscle spasms at night so it wasn't an option for me.

I hope your vertigo clears soon. It's one of the worst symptoms I have EVER had. Told my local neuro last week that I'd rather wet myself in public everyday that experience 21/2 months of vertigo like I did this past summer.

Antivert is sold OTC as Bonine and  generically as meclizine.

Sending wishes for stationary walls,
Ren