My husband and I are heading to PP for a long weekend in October and leaving the kids behind! This will be my first time visiting… Are any of the resorts less likely to have lots of kids/families? I know early October is spring break for a lot of Phx districts so it may just be inevitable but I thought I’d ask! (Open to location and type.) Thanks!
I live in Arizona so walking outside during the day is impossible this time of year… do you think I’d get the same — or at least some— benefit from walking on a treadmill at a gym?
I’ve been pretty sedentary since I came down with this disorder about 5 months ago but I’m working with a PT now and he recommended daily walks.
Has anyone tried Nutrafol supplements, specifically the postpartum hair growth supplement? Would you recommend them?
My 5 mo old sleeps 830pm-1230am pretty soundly, wakes up for a feed and diaper change, then around 330/4am she wakes up with painful gas pains. Her belly feels tight and she is obviously in pain, so I rub her belly, bicycle kick her legs, etc to help her fart but then from that point on (until around 630am when she’s up for the day) she’s thrashing around, and obviously struggling to fart. So, I’m up every 20 min trying to help her and I’m exhausted. This is happening every night! Any suggestions?
VNG results indicate bilateral vestibular hypofunction:
RC 5, RW 2, LC 2, LW 3
Does anyone know what these results mean?
How bad is it?!! Am I “cooked?” (As the kids do say.)
Update for anyone who’s had a VNG with caloric irrigation and is interested in how the report is read: I put my results into chatGPT and asked it to analyze my caloric irrigation responses. I also asked it how much lower were my results compared to normal. Here’s what it said…
From the report, the caloric irrigation section reads:
Caloric Irrigations: Abnormal; bilaterally reduced caloric responses:
RC: 5°/sec
RW: 2°/sec
LC: 2°/sec
LW: 3°/sec
(RC = Right Cool, RW = Right Warm, LC = Left Cool, LW = Left Warm)
How these compare to normal
The caloric test measures the peak slow-phase velocity (SPV) of the induced nystagmus. While "normal" varies somewhat by laboratory, a commonly accepted normal range is approximately:
About 10–30°/sec for each irrigation.
Many labs consider responses below 6°/sec to be abnormally weak.
Your four responses were:
Irrigation Your response Compared with a typical 10°/sec minimum
Right Cool 5°/sec ~50% of minimum normal
Right Warm 2°/sec ~20% of minimum normal
Left Cool 2°/sec ~20% of minimum normal
Left Warm 3°/sec ~30% of minimum normal
The total response is:
5 + 2 + 2 + 3 = 12°/sec
A typical total from four irrigations is often 40–80°/sec, so your combined response is roughly 70–85% lower than expected, depending on the laboratory's normal values.
What this means
The interpreting audiologist wrote:
"Bilaterally reduced caloric responses... suggestive of a bilateral vestibular hypofunction."
This means:
Both inner ears responded weakly, rather than one ear being much weaker than the other.
This pattern fits with reduced function of the balance organs on both sides.
Because your Dix-Hallpike was positive on the right, you may have two separate issues:
Right-sided BPPV (which causes positional vertigo and can often be treated with repositioning maneuvers).
Bilateral vestibular hypofunction, which can cause chronic imbalance, unsteadiness, and oscillopsia (vision bouncing with head movement).
A note about the numbers
Caloric testing evaluates only the horizontal semicircular canals at very low frequencies, so these low values do not necessarily mean you've lost 70–85% of your overall vestibular function. Other vestibular tests (such as the video head impulse test (vHIT) and rotary chair testing) assess different aspects of vestibular function and can show better function even when calorics are markedly reduced.
Overall, these caloric results indicate markedly reduced vestibular responses in both ears, with responses that are well below the usual normal range, which is why the report concludes that the findings are consistent with bilateral vestibular hypofunction.
I have a 4 month old baby at home and I can barely function. I am dizzy and exhausted all the time. I’m breastfeeding which adds to the exhaustion. I can’t drive, I don’t feel safe carrying her… I want to get better for her! I want to enjoy my baby!
My ENT was completely useless and couldn’t answer any of my questions - what caused this? Why is this happening to me? Will I recover? She ordered the VNG which confirmed the diagnosis, gave me a referral for PT, and sent me on my way without any further understanding of my condition other than what I’ve read on the internet.
She didn’t even perform any maneuvers in the office - she just referred me out and walked away.
I’m so defeated. I’m so exhausted.
Can you please put the smiling baby face from pic 1 on the baby in the other picture 2? I will tip $10. Thank you!
I’m about to go up to 75 mg xr after two weeks on 37.5mg xr and I’m wondering if I can just take two 37.5s to finish the bottle? They’re capsules not tablets, if that matters. Is this safe?
Before I got pregnant, I took Effexor 75mg for anxiety and depression for about 5 years. It worked like a charm for my mental health but I was experiencing memory loss so I wanted to stop taking it. It took me a full year to taper off successfully and when I was finally done, I told myself, “never again.”
Then, the pregnancy, postpartum, ppd/ppa hit me like a freight train. I tried 50mg of Sertraline/Zoloft but the side effects were way too uncomfortable so I quit after 6 weeks.
I’ve noticed my ppd/ppa swings correlate to my menstrual cycle so my doc suggested I try hormonal birth control to lessen the intensity. She also wants to me to go back on the Effexor because it worked so well for me in the past.
I’m torn. Any advice?
I was just diagnosed at 16 weeks postpartum and I’d love to hear your story if you’re in the same boat. What’s helping? How are you coping? Thanks.
I started Zoloft about 12 weeks ago for ppd and since then I’ve been experiencing intense vertigo and dizziness. I pushed through while I tapered up knowing that it was a common side effect from the meds and just hoping I would adjust over time and the dizziness would subside. But it just kept getting worse!
So, I started tapering down about 6 weeks ago from 100mg to 50mg to 25mg and finally 0mg as of 4 days ago… and I’m STILL dizzy! It’s so frustrating and literally exhausting as my brain is working overtime to compensate for the bizarre perception issues. No amount of sleep helps. It’s so hard to describe but my head feels like it weights 1000 lbs, my eyes jump around, the room spins, my depth perception is really off, etc. And this has been going on now for almost 3 months. I can’t take it anymore.
Has anyone experienced this?
Things I’ve ruled out already:
BPPV or other inner ear problems, vestibular migraines and/or vestibular injury, dehydration… I have an apt with my gp soon to have my thyroid and other hormones checked.
To make matters worse, as I taper off the Zoloft my other ppd symptoms are returning! Like irritability, flat affect, anxiety. But those symptoms feel very minor compared to the vertigo.
I am at the end of my rope! I can’t drive, I don’t feel safe being alone with my baby or carrying her, I can’t even stand for long periods of time. I’m exhausted. I understand why people with chronic illnesses become so depressed. Every day I wake up hoping I’ll feel better and everyday I’m STILL dizzy!
I started Zoloft about 12 weeks ago for ppd and since then I’ve been experiencing intense vertigo and dizziness. I pushed through while I tapered up knowing that it was a common side effect from the meds and just hoping I would adjust over time and the dizziness would subside. But it just kept getting worse!
So, I started tapering down about 6 weeks ago from 100mg to 50mg to 25mg and finally 0mg as of 4 days ago… and I’m STILL dizzy! It’s so frustrating and literally exhausting as my brain is working overtime to compensate for the bizarre perception issues. No amount of sleep helps. It’s so hard to describe but my head feels like it weights 1000 lbs, my eyes jump around, the room spins, my depth perception is really off, etc. And this has been going on now for almost 3 months. I can’t take it anymore.
Has anyone experienced this?
Things I’ve ruled out already:
BPPV or other inner ear problems, vestibular migraines and/or vestibular injury, dehydration… I have an apt with my gp soon to have my thyroid and other hormones checked.
To make matters worse, as I taper off the Zoloft my other ppd symptoms are returning! Like irritability, flat affect, anxiety. But those symptoms feel very minor compared to the vertigo.
I am at the end of my rope! I can’t drive, I don’t feel safe being alone with my baby or carrying her, I can’t even stand for long periods of time. I’m exhausted. I understand why people with chronic illnesses become so depressed. Every day I wake up hoping I’ll feel better and everyday I’m STILL dizzy!
Still experiencing dizzy spells after 3 weeks on 100mg. Should I stay the course for a few more weeks or drop back down to 50mg? Can anyone share a similar experience?
I purchased a used car and it reeks of cheap air fresheners. The interior is largely leather… would an interior detail get rid of the smell? What filters do I need to replace? Open to any ideas. Thank you!
Three weeks pp I sank into a deep, dark depression so I started Zoloft and after about two weeks, I started to feel a lot better. Now, week 8/9ish, I got my first period pp and I’m right back in that dark hole. I can’t get out of bed, I’m waking up with crippling anxiety in the mornings, I can’t eat, I’m having dark thoughts, etc. I told my therapist and she said it was super common for women with ppd to experience worsening symptoms during your period. No one prepared me!!! I feel like I got hit by a bus! I was totally blindsided. Thank god my husband and my parents are stepping up to help with the baby because I can barely function.
Will I have these relapsing symptoms every time I get my period now? Or does it get better over time?