Hello,In the past 10 months I have experienced 3 episodes of vertigo. The last one was 5 days ago and it was the worst. My doc has me on betahistine to control any dizzy spells. He thinks I may have a viral infection. I am terribly ill. I have headaches, shakes, nausea, am weak and just a general sense of feeling sick. Is this normal and how long should it last? I am terrified by the dizziness as I have 2 kids and can t live with this forever.
Hello, I went through your question And understand your concern. I think you are experiencing benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. This situation, unlike viral infections of the vestibular nerve, tends to last shorter and have recurrences. That's why your GP prescribed betahystine. You can have a neurologist perform you the Ella maneuver, which should resolve the dizziness. If it does not help, and given the not usual frequency (3 EP in 10 months) I would recommend an MRI, which would exclude other causes(including viral infection of the vestibular nerve) rather than make the diagnosis of BPPV. Betahystine has several adverse effects like all Chat Doctor.  But some reports have shown beneficial effect on BBVP. So it is not entirely safe, but if you have for sure BBVP I would recommend to continue this therapy. Wishing you good health, please feel free for further questions.