I once had an inner ear infection once, which can produce terrible vertigo with nausea until it resolves. I do want to say that the OP’s father has my sympathy. If the OP wants to try to convince him to go to a doctor, I hope she (or he) is successful. It does sound like he has the correct diagnosis already, but he could be wrong. Sometimes inner ear infections don’t produce any symptoms but vertigo and nausea. I had no pain and no fever at the time the nausea and dizziness first presented. I did run a slight fever a couple of days later, but it was only about 100’F. I needed antibiotics.
Please try to get your father to a doctor. Especially since there is a treatment for what he thinks he has.
Yeah, it’s tough. He had me run him right over when he got a lump in his throat and didn’t know what it was (it was uvulitis) but I think when he has a good idea about it, he doesn’t worry and just suffers through it.
You ran over your dad for a lump in the throat? Sheesh, I’d hate to imagine what you’d do for an ingrown toenail!
Yeah, what the others have said about BPPV. I used to get it regularly (sans the nausea thank goodness) but with nystagmus which was freaky as all hell. I found it to be worse laying down, but once upright the symptoms subsided quite a bit, but never went away entirely. What was interesting was that the attacks seemed to coincide with my menstrual cycle (not the case for your dad, obviously) but since menopause I very VERY rarely have an episode now!
I’ve had severe vertigo twice, and feelings of slight dizziness or imbalance increasingly often. Doctors never mentioned the Epley Maneuver but I’ll try it next time. (One doctor prescribed a medication — meclizine? — but I stopped taking it when it seemed to cause headaches; perhaps I should try it again if the imbalance symptom gets worse.)
My vertigo was also worst lying on my back. Closing my eyes (to stop ceiling from spinning) gave some relief.
Not meclizine; it was Betahistine dihydrochloride.
I searched through my old medicine bags before posting, hoping to find the old medication but gave up, as these old half-finished meds are a huge confusing jumble.
I recovered the correct name by Googling … “site:straightdope.com septimus vertigo” !
There are other manuevers that can be used for bppv. The Epley is simply the most common. Also, it is not that difficult to diagnose. See here. You should still see a doctor, but an Otolaryngologist or Otologist will do fine.
I’ve also been diagnosed with BPPV. I do my own home-brew version of Epley manoeuvers, which consists of flopping around on a bed or couch. Yes, sometimes i feel spewy in the middle. But it always works for me. It seems occur if I let myself get a bit dehydrated.
This can cause dizziness, as can many other things. It is worth trying to do an Epley Maneuver at home (or Dix-Hallpike test) to see if it corrects the problem.
Worked for me (self-administered) twice in the past five years or so…both times I woke up that way and was able to find great relief in about 10-15 minutes.
What can I say, he’s getting to be too high-maintenance.