After a particularly brutal attack of Meniere’s disease I usually feel as though I could sleep for days. My body is so worn out and weak I just can’t do anything. But for some reason the sleep just doesn’t come that easy.
For the record I have always had problems sleeping due to sleep apnea but the meniere’s has made it even worse. Even on the days when I don’t have any attacks and I don’t feel like I am about to have an attack the chances of getting any sleep or rest are poor. I don’t think I can blame it all on sleep apnea either. There has to be something going on with the meniere’s that interrupts my rest.
One thing that I can point to is how I feel before I go to bed which is a little light headed. Often when I lay down I’ll stare at the ceiling and feel a little vertigo coming on. If I close my eyes it sometimes makes it worse, so I just lay there trying to stay relaxed till I fall asleep which could take quite a while. Of course when the morning comes I am exhausted, which for me at least can be a trigger for an attack.
The medications that I take for meniere’s are somewhat helpful because most of them are sedatives, like Antivert. But I have found that with Antivert I don’t get as tired as I used to when I started to take it.
Is your sleep affected by meniere’s? Feel free to comment and please subscribe to my RSS Feed.
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Sunday, February 7, 2010
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17 comments:
Hi. Boy am I glad I found your blog. I've been diagnosed with recurrent viral neuritis and know exactly how you feel about sleep and the other symptoms involved with inner ear disorders. This disease is a total mystery. Good to know that I am not alone. Wishing you a better tomorrow!
Thanks for the comment Cindy! I hope you continue to follow the blog!
David
During the day it helps to lie down, when I'm having an attack. On the other hand, I quite often have attacks during the night when I'm sleeping. I don't understand why that is.
A doctor told me once that for most people it is better to keep your eyes open and the lights on when you are having an attack at night. The attacks should be shorter when you focus on one point and try to get your eyes straight during the nystagmus. But I find that that can be very tiring.
As Cindy sais, this disease is a total mystery.
If I have an attack I usually keep my eyes open and focused on one point. that seems to help.
thanks for the comment
David
How much noise do your ears make? I often have difficulty with sleep due to the noise in my head. I'm bi-lateral and never stop having a sensation of moving even though its not always severe spinning.
Luckily, I only occasionally have bouts of tinnitus.
having a moving sensation all the time must be awfully rough! Have you had any treatments to help with that? Let us know and stay in touch
David
Even after my attacks subsided I had some trouble getting a good night's sleep. I often felt that if I got my head in the wrong position or hunched up my shoulders I would start to feel funny and that would wake me up. I'd turn over and go back to sleep until I unconsciously shifted position again...
A few weeks ago I tried sleeping with an extra pillow. I've always been a one-pillow man, and found two uncomfortable. Now, however, it feels pretty good and I've been getting good nights' sleeps. I sleep on my side so I think it keeps my head more aligned with my body, and I can tuck the top pillow under my neck to give support and stop me hunching.
It might be worth a try, especially if you feel you are sensitive to the position of your head, neck and shoulders.
Hi Jeff,
Because of my sleep apnea I have been using a wedge pillow which seems to help
David
I am the same way. Even before i was diagnosed i never slept well always waking up during the night and not falling asleep easily. After being diagnosed i noticed the same thing when trying to sleep, feeling a little light headed or as if things are moving. I started distracting myself by watching the TV, but then that keeps me up too.
I also tried watching the TV at times but it never really helped.
thanks for the comment
David
There was an exercise my physical therapist for vestibular rehab had me do for "gaze stabilization," which was supposed to help with the nystagmus. You focus on something close to you for a count of 10, then on something in the middle distance for a count of 10, and then on something farther away for a count of 10. Do this exercise five times in a row. It used to help me when I got dizzy during sessions with him.
I've found that if I get dizzy or experience vertigo in bed, the only thing that helps is to get up, take a valium, and sit up for awhile until the worst of it passes.
I'm not sure TV would be helpful because there's a lot of movement your eyes would try to follow, and if you have nystagmus, it might take longer for it to subside. When I used to have attacks I found I couldn't watch TV at all... I just had to sit quietly and look at something that was perfectly immobile until it passed.
But to the main point of this thread, I don't have much trouble sleeping. Then again, I'm on a steady diet of valium these days to get the nystagmus under control.
thanks for the comment
David
two years ago i was diagnosed with what is probably meniere's disease. my ent wanted me to go for a brain scan but due to poor kidneys i couldn't have the test because of the dye. anyway, i have the constant ringing in both ears. at least the ringing keeps changing, from a ring to wind to the ocean to a whooshing sound. on rare occasions i feel dizzy, but nothing that lays me out, thank goodness. anyway, yesterday i went for a dental checkup and the dentist has decided that i now have sleep apnea. does anyone know if there is a connection? and does anyone kne if there's a connection between all these ailments and nasal allergy?
Hi,
the best way to determine if you have sleep apnea is to have your general doctor set you up with an overnight sleep study. After that you will definitely know if you have sleep apnea or not.
As for the ringing in the ear that sounds like tinnitus. You might want to check with your doctor about that also.
good luck and stay in touch
David
It is good to read other sufferers situation. I went deaf in my left ear in sumer of 1999, in July of 2007 I woke up after back surgery and noticed my right ear had become deaf. My ENT told me I have meniere;s disease though I do not have any boughts with vertigo. When trying to go to sleep I can feel my eyes twiching and will have a load brain swoosh. This makes gtting to sleep very difficult.Any Ideas.Tim
Hi Tim,
It seems like even in sleep you can't escape from meniere's. I know that I have had problems a few times trying to go to bed as well.
thanks for commenting and stay in touch
David
Tim, ask your ENT about trying vestibular rehabilitation therapy to train your eyes to hold still and focus... what you are feeling in the night is nystagmus, an uncontrolled movement in your eyes, and that in turn causes dizziness/vertigo. I've had a lot of trouble with that.
My nystagmus has become chronic, albeit at a fairly low level. But because it's ongoing, I am also chronically dizzy. The latest thing we are trying is prism lenses in my glasses.
Oddly, I didn't need glasses for distance vision until after I had the surgery to sever my left vestibular nerve last year.
I've had the prism lenses for about two months, and I've adjusted to wearing them. Not sure yet if they are helping with the nystagmus, and I haven't noticed any difference yet in my levels of dizziness. I might go back for some more vestibular rehab myself.
I hope you find a solution soon.
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