It was just a normal day at the office. I was starting my day and ready to handle customer calls when suddenly my surroundings suddenly started to move and I felt nauseated and I felt like vomiting. I knew it was something else since I have hypertension and the sensation of the dizziness is far from having high blood pressure. It went off after about a minute or two so I just told myself that it was just a random attack maybe because I was in the night shift and I may lack sleep. But come to think of it, I had a good 7 1/2 hours of sleep before I went to work. I shrugged it off and I continued working. I did feel slightly dizzy on the way to the office but I just ignored it. But then, after about 30 seconds, there it went again. Everything was moving around and I wanted to just drop on the floor. I immediately put my things down and went straight to the office clinic and complained about having very frequent vertigo attacks.
I was treated at the clinic and was given medicine for the dizziness but I forgot what it is. The attacks happened continuously and I was already uneasy on the clinic bed. After a few minutes after taking Serc, I felt a bit better and the attacks occurred in 5 to 10 minute intervals. I rested for more than 4 hours in the clinic and was sent home. The company doctor recommended that I see a specialist so as to know what the reason is for the dizziness. He made sure I was doing fine before sending me back to the office floor and my immediate supervisor advised me to take the rest of the day off so I could rest and go to the doctor later that day.
The next day, the dizziness still continued on and the attacks happened in 20 minute intervals or so. I went to our family doctor and I was referred to an ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat) specialist. To relieve me of my dizziness, he prescribed Serc (generic name is betahistine dihydrochloride) to be taken when I feel dizzy. So I went ahead and had myself checked by the specialist. The doctor told me that in my case, the cause of my vertigo could either be my balance (ears), or an inflammation on one of the nerves in my brain (he told me that that particular condition is known as Vestibular Neuronitis). But then, I was told that I should take Serc continuously for 10 days and observe if my condition improves. If not, it could really be a much worse condition (most probably brain-related) but if I improve with 3 doses of 16mg Serc tablet daily (taken with or without symptom), it’s perfectly fine.
I was off work as I can’t walk far and I had to be bed ridden because sudden movements can cause the dizziness. In the first 3 to 4 days of medication, there was just slight improvement and the attacks still occur frequently but with longer intervals. After a week though, it went great and I only had 5 to 10 attacks in a day. But just to rule out anything serious, I underwent some procedures (audio and speech tests) to see whether it has something to do with my hearing. The initial results show that my hearing is fine. Right now, I’m doing better and just had 2 attacks today. So if you feel anything odd especially when you feel dizzy suddenly, do not hesitate and have yourself checked to see what the exact reason is so you could be treated early and the condition won’t worsen. Take care.
