"Drop attacks are not a symptom of Meniere's but could be caused by a TIA"

I would have fallen down three or four times had I not held on to the bathroom sink, door frame twice and desk whilst I was standing on each occasion.

I feel that it was my neck condition every time that caused me to have this sudden violent spin where the ground seems to be coming up to meet me.

I think it is wise to follow Henry's advice as you did have a stiff neck at the time. Sounds like your doctor is a bit of an alarmist.

Frank

 

Any loss of motor control was exceedingly brief. We're talking a few seconds maybe. Like one day I opened the door of my apartment to take my garbage to the chute (which is next door), and the next second (or so it seems) I was on the floor and my garbage was somewhere else.

 

fwiw from the free dictionary

otolithic crisis of Tumarkin
Drop attack A sudden unexplained fall without loss of consciousness or vertigo, attributed to abrupt change in otolithic input, resulting in an erroneous vertical gravity reference which, in turn, generates an inappropriate postural adjustment via the vestibulospinal pathway, resulting in a sudden fall; drop attacks occur in < 2% of Meniere's
disease Pts

 

Thanks for that, June.

The vestibulospinal pathway is one of the descending spinal tracts of the ventromedial pathway. It originates from the vestibular nuclei of the medulla (lower half of the brain stem), which conducts information from the vestibular labyrinth in the inner ear.

This is why I expect that these drop attacks are caused by abnormal pressure on the brain stem, the medulla, just above the first vertebra. If that vertebra is misaligned and it placed pressure on the brain stem, this vestibulospinal pathway, the nerve pathway between the inner ear and brain, gets impinged. Information trying to get through gets corrupted, and a momentary lapse of information enables a drop attack to occur. For this reason, I hope someone will try NUCCA and see if it impacts their drop attacks.

 

Indeed

I am not shooting anything down. But wow, the differences in the described drop attacks from the victims perspective, should at the least point to different types of drop attacks and/or different abnormalities towards the causes..

 

...or different manifestations from the same basic cause but inflicted on different nerve pathways.

 

From http://www.dizziness-and-balance.com/disorders/central/drop.html

OVERVIEW
Drop attacks are sudden spontaneous falls while standing or walking, with complete recovery in seconds or minutes. There is usually no recognized loss of consciousness and the event is remembered. It is a symptom, not a diagnosis, and it can have diverse causes. Sheldon (1960) reported that drop accounts accounted for about 1/4 of 500 consecutive falls in older patients. This estimate seems a bit high to us. Nevertheless, drop attacks are a very serious problem.

CAUSES OF DROP ATTACKS

In most instances (64%), the cause of the drop attack is never definitively established (Meissner et al, 1986). About 12% are due to the heart (a variant of syncope), 8% due to poor circulation to the brain, 8% due to problems with both the heart and brain, 7% due to seizures, 5% due to the inner ear (Menieres disease -- called the otolithic crisis of Tumarkin), and 1%, due to psychological problems. Rarely, drop attacks are exaggerated startle reactions. A small number of drop attacks may be due to SCD (superior canal dehiscence syndrome) (Brandtberg et al, 2005)

 

mine decreased when I had the canal plug for SCD

I still get them but not as often; sometimes I also get sensorary (sp) overload and can lead to a drop most times it just happens without warning - there is no stopping them - there is no time

 

With my drop attacks they happened suddenly without warning no matter what I was doing. I saw myself falling but could do nothing to stop the fall. I talked to my nuero about it he said it is mixed up signals, your brain does not know how to interpet it. I call it my human reboot.

Good luck and keep us informed.

Buffy

 

I find it difficult to believe that a drop attack is caused by a TIA....however, months ago I placed a posting that questioned whether a loss of consciousness or temporary blindness occured during a drop attack. When I had my drop attacks I had no visual recollection of what had happened even though it lasted only about 5 seconds....but a TIA??.....not within my realm of experience.