My mother had 29 radiation sessions last month to her cheek, she had minor salivary gland cancer and surgery in January, is experiencing terribly debilating vertigo (her oncologist said it is not from treatments...sure!) Should she do her last (30th) radiation session next week or forego it? The radiation will probably worsen the Vertigo. She can't get off the bed. And, is there a medication that can help, like SERC? "Meclizine" is no longer available in Canada. Also, can the vertigo be permanent damage? Thanks.

Hi since no one has answered I did a little research - first off vertigo - I do get it ocassionally - but its usually when I move too fast - so I chalk I up to hypotension, rather than rads damage- but with rads aimed at your cheek, or neck, it's definitely possible since there's generally a certain - amount of spray hat hits other areas. (inner ear?!!) that said I found a few postings similar to yours an meds didn't help but apparently There's such a thing as the brandt-daroff exercise for vertigo - and apparently others have had the same issue. As for the last rads -- I'd do it vertigo or no.god luck! Sendin healing vibe you moms way.

Hi Cindy,
I am sorry to hear that your mother is experiencing vertigo. I have had episodes of vertigo since the end of my radiation in July of 2009. Not to the point of being debilitating, but not very pleasant. I reached out to my Family MD and she suggested the Epley Maneuver to manage my bouts of vertigo. It might be helpful for you and your mother to speak with her MD about what is going on with her. FYI, my RO didn't really have much to offer by way of explanation or suggestions either but I find the Eply Maneuver works quite well for me when I am having episodic vertigo.
It is really important to get through the full course of radiation for your mother to have the best chance she can at survival. Hang in there, Cindy. Best of Luck and let us know how it goes! Take Care.

Agreed. Do the last rads and then look into the Epley Maneuver. I had that done when I was having vertigo issues and it really helped.
Keep in touch,
Kathy

Welcome to OCF, Cindy. Sorry but I do not have info about vertigo. Your mother should finish her treatments. In my opinion if you have to choose what is more important to cure, it is more important to get rid of the cancer than to suffer from vertigo.

PS... I deleted 2 of your other posts as they were exact duplicates of this post. Its only necessary to make one post per topic. This forum is not like others where it can take 2 weeks to get a response.

Best wishes with your mother's recovery.

I have read about this and someone on the forum talked about the sense of falling when descending stairs. The solution was not to look at his feet. Was it one of the Davids???

Ive heard mention of getting dizzy too. Cant remember who it was and not sure if vertigo was ever mentioned. I get dizzy easily too ever since getting cancer treatments.

Vertigo can feel like dizzy, or it can feel like whirling or spinning. I am usually lying down when it hits and it may sound funny to say, but it can sort of feel like you are falling too. To sleep, I had to lay inclined, which can cause a bit of a sore neck. At first, I thought it might be a withdrawal from pain meds. It kept happening, though, which lead me to seek medical advice. I am three years out from radiation and in my case, the vertigo has gotten less often.

Likewise I started having vertigo after RT. My ENT diagnosed it, and explained what was going on, but wouldn't definitively say it was due to the RT.

Whenever it acts up I have to start doing the Epley Maneuvers. If the maneuvers don't re-orient the crystals in my right inner ear then I have to go to the clinic and they have a "motion chair" they strap me in with "sci-fi helmet" device hooked up to a computerized console and the audiologist will jossle me around in the chair until the problem is resolved.

I was told this can be a recurring problem for years and I seem to have it every four month or so, although it seems to be occuring less fequently.

What is it with doctors that they won't admit to the treatment as the culprit or at least a possible suspect? Is it because they are frightened they will somehow be blamed, or maybe it is simply that they don't want to fill out the paperwork they are required to complete when an adverse event is reported to them?

All of this sounds familiar to me, but I'm not the David who spoke of the stairs. Even before cancer I'd suffered occasionally from BPPV (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo), for which my neurologist prescribed, yes, the Epley Maneuver.

Here's a video to explain it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa6t-Bpg494

I found it worked beautifully for me. So yes - definitely finish off the radiation, that's key. Then try these exercises and see if they help. If not you might consider speaking with a neurologist if your other docs aren't addressing the question adequately.

Good luck - keep us posted.