Picture via wikipedia
My head has been spinning like the Tasmanian Devil in Loony Toons cartoons for the past week. Although I am fine physically, I have to move around very slowly because my sense of balance is affected.
It all started last Sunday morning when I woke up at 5am to drive my parents to the airport for their Taiwan trip. At first, I thought it was due to a lack of sleep and I promptly jumped into my bed once I return home. It didn’t help at all when I woke up again during late noon. In fact, the dizziness got worse and I couldn’t walk straight.
I went to my neighborhood clinic and saw the local GP who gave me some tablets which will supposedly help control the dizziness. The doctor told me it was probably an ear infection which can result in a temporal impediment to my sense of balance. He said it was something quite common and should go away in a day or two, but gave me one day MC for Monday nevertheless.
I did not report for work on Monday and stayed at home to nurse the dizziness which did not get any better.
On Tuesday, I went back to office and went to see our in-house GP during lunch. This other doctor elaborated on the ear infection and suggested that it could have been caused by my frequent swim lately. He advised me to wear ear plugs when I go swimming next time and not to do any exercises for the next few days. Again, he assured me that this dizziness is quite common and should go away in a few days by itself. He prescribed some tablets called “Vertigon” to help with the dizziness.
Today, it’s Tuesday again. More than a week already, and I am still feeling dizzy. In fact, I almost knocked my head into the cupboard yesterday morning. When I woke up, I could not catch my balance as I stepped down from my bed and lost a footing.
Any kind soul out there knows what’s wrong with me? Do you have any remedies to share?
I sincerely welcome any advices as I have a feeling another visit to the GP probably won’t do any good and it will be abruptly brushed off again as something that will heal itself in a few days.
Technorati Tags: alvinology, sick, dizzy, tasmanian devil, loony tunes, taz, spinning, headache, singapore, vertigon, vertigo, giddiness
i got these dizzy spells too about half a year ago. i went to polyclinic, the doc gave me some tablets and he referred me to a specialist at CGH to get my ears checked. Mine not as bad as yours leh, i was okay within a day. u may wanna get a referral to see the specialist?
Hey Yuting, thanks! Seems like another friend of mine also had to visit a specialist for this… and apparently, there’s like no cure except wait for it to heal itself… sigh
go and see a specialist la. ENT, if not, you might have to do some checks like a brain scan. don’t take it lightly ok.
had heard of 2 similiar experiences as yours which happened recently.. dizziness and unbalance is caused by the infection of our ear drum which keeps us in balance… both of this 2 friends had gone to a ENT specialist. One of them caught it after coming back from a shanghai trip caused by a bad viral infection and the other was due to the misused of cotton bud! medication were given in both incident and it took about a month for complete recovery.
hi alvin
came across your blog while searching for more info on vertigon… cos my mom been suffering from dizzy spell since last wk & it didn’t go away… n doc prescribe her vertigon too…
wonder if i shd bring her to ENT for checks or wait for the spell to go away… hws ur dizziness? did it go away by itself?
cheers ^^
Hi mei, it went away after about one week. I went to see a specialist at Tan Tock Seng. He prescribed some medicine for me, and told them that it should if it doesn’t go away in a few weeks, I may have to go for therapy. The doctor mentioned that for elderly people, it might take very long to recover and quite dangerous as they cannot walk straight. Should bring your mom to see a doctor.
Hi alvin
I have this giddiness for years now and I ve seen ENTs, Nurologist but none help. I would like to know what medicine the doctor at T TOCK SENG prescribe to you. I don’t mind to try it. Thanks