Exercising with BPPV

MissB46

I suffer from BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo) I get dizzy when my head is in certain positions and during exercise when going from exercising on mats to standing position and vice versa, and I struggle with things like Windmills etc

I consider myself as being quite fit, however there have been occasions when this really affects my workout as sometimes when getting up from exercises on the mat and vice versa I tend to feel very dizzy and I need a bit of time for this to pass.

I have been to see the doctor and all they give me is tablets (betahistine dihydrochloride) serc16 which do bugger all....and everytime I see the doctor all he precribes is more tablets....I am otherwise very healthy, no issues with blood pressure etc, but this really bugs me at times.

Are there any people that have had similar symptoms and how do you cope?

Dfracassa

I also have BPPV, and I find that my workouts aren't all that affected by it. It sounds like yours is much more frequent than mine, though. Mine pops up every few months, with seemingly no warning, and puts me out for a day or so. The last time it happened I finally went to an ENT, who diagnosed it and told me about these exercises to help get everything back into place. Other than those, I don't take/do anything special to fix it.

Anyway, to answer your question, I DO sometimes feel the dizziness when I'm doing floor work, especially when I need to turn from one side to another. Surprisingly, crunches/sit-ups/anything like that don't bother me. The thing that activates the dizzy (as I call it) is lying on my side, then turning over, as if to do leg raises or side crunches. If you need to take a few seconds -- or moments -- to collect your brain and allow things to stop swimming, then DO IT. Even if it cuts your workout that day in half, just pick it up where you left off as soon as you think you can. No one is timing you, this isn't a race, and isn't it worth it to feel better, more comfortable, when you're doing something that makes you feel good, anyway? Just give your head the time it needs, and then get back to work.