any experience of vestibular rehabilitation?

New diagnosis and before diagnosis
1

Hi all. This is my first time on here. I’m in my 50s and in limbo land (had my first MRI last week). I started experiencing tingling in both legs and one arm 2 years ago. More recently had tingling, buzzing all over, nonexistent water running down my legs and “insects” crawling all over my shoulders, as well as fatigue, tremor and weakness in my hands and one leg. However, my first possible symptom was vision problems nearly 25 years ago (double vision, nystagmus, oscillopsia) and over the past 20 years I have since had numerous episodes of dizziness, fatigue, tremor etc. Most of my dizziness has been visually induced - walking in busy places, down corridors, travelling by car, using the computer etc. Anyway, although I don’t yet have the results of the MRI, my neuro has referred me to a dizziness physiotherapist to try to reduce the severity. I can normally drive short distances without any problem, provided I am not too tired and have no symptoms when I start the journey. However, I have read that the physiotherapy can initially make things worse. Has anyone experienced this? Should I ask my husband to drive me to and from the clinic (less than 10 minutes away)?

Thanks for any advice, and thank you for all the other posts on here which I have been reading for a couple of months. The forum has been a great help already.

2

Hi Welly Woman

I would advise you to get a lift to and from your first appointment as you could feel a little more ‘off’ than usual.

Time scales and results differ for each individual and are impossible to predict, but, statistically, VRT does help most people to some extent. However, as you are already aware, you may feel worse before starting to feel better. This is normal, and something your physio should explain and support you through.

My biggest piece of advice, however, would be to make sure the physio is specifically trained in VRT. This is extremely important.

Good luck. Let us know how you get on.

PD xx

3

Hi PD.

Thanks for your reply and apologies if you have seen (more than one?) response from me already. I am still in limbo land on the forum, but also having problems with my tablet and super slow broadband, so don’t know if my posts are stuck in a moderator’s queue, lost in the system somewhere, or never made it off my device!

Anyway, my appointment isn’t until Monday but I have been a bit wobbly ever since my MRI, so I shall definitely take your advice. Apparently the local hospital has a specialist audio-vestibular clinic, so I assume the physio will be appropriately trained…

Sounds like you have been down thesame route. Hope it helped!

Thanks again

WW

Xx