Quote from Dan_61:

My wife has taken this for Vertigo for a few years now. Sometimes she'll take the maximum dosage for weeks at a time. Her ENT says it's okay to do. Does anyone know if there are any long term side effects?

Hi Dan- Does your wife have MENIERE'S? There are so many kinds of vestibular disorders and treatment varies depending on the cause.

However, MECLIZINE (brand Antivert) is basically an antihistamine similar to Dramamine. It has very few side effects except, like most antihistamines, can cause dry mouth, bluured vision and drowsiness.


When the balance system is damaged, it has little ability to repair itself. The body recovers from the injury by having the part of the brain that controls balance re-calibrate itself to COMPENSATE for the unmatched signals being sent from the damaged and well ears. This compensation process occurs naturally in most people. Some patients require help from vestibular rehabilitation therapy in order to recover from an injury to the balance system.

Did your wife ever have this therapy (called VRT)?



For most patients, the movements made during normal daily activities are enough to achieve chronic (long-term) compensation, usually in two to four weeks after the "injury"( from whatever cause) has occurred. Once the chronic compensation process is complete, the patient is essentially symptom-free. If unsteadiness and/or motion provoked dizziness persist after that time, compensation is NOT complete and the doc may prescribe a program of vestibular rehabilitation therapy (VRT).

VRT is a treatment program administered by a specially-trained physical therapist. It is designed to provide small, controlled, and repeated 'doses' of the movements and activities that provoke dizziness in order to (1) desensitize the balance system to the movements, and (2) enhance the fine-tuning involved in long-term compensation. VRT is most effective when administered by a physical or occupational therapist who has special training and specializes in this unusual form of therapy.


"Compensation" basically means that even though the balance system remains "injured", the brain has simply ADAPTED and the symptoms subside.

But for many people, dizziness will return months or years after compensating. It is critical for the physician to find out what type of dizziness the patient has. If the patient describes another severe attack of spinning with unsteadiness and nausea lasting hours to days, this suggests that a second injury has occurred to the balance system, such as a viral infection or another attack of Ménière's etc.

**If your wife's vertigo disappears for a while only to return again and again, it sounds like she keeps decompensating.**

It really means her brain has 'forgotten' the fine- tuning procedure it developed before.

Events that can provoke decompensation include a bad cold or the flu, minor surgery, long vacations, or anything that stops normal daily activity for a few days. Recovery after decompensation is exactly like the recovery that occurs during the chronic compensation phase. Movements and activities are the stimuli the brain NEEDS to fine-tune the system, and VRT exercises should start again if symptoms recur.

Now here's the part about long-term use of Meclizine...

During the early stages of dizziness, many physicians tell their patients to avoid quick movements and reduce their activities and they will be prescribed one or more anti-dizziness medications such as Antivert (meclizine).
This is FINE during the acute stages of a dizziness problem in order to reduce the dizziness symptoms that persist for hours or days even when the patient is not moving. However, once the acute phase is past, inactivity and medications can interfere with the long-term compensation process.

NOTE- Any medication that makes the brain "sleepy", including all of the anti-dizziness medications, can slow down or stop the process of compensation, so they are often not appropriate for long-term use. Most patients who fail to compensate are found to either be strictly avoiding certain movements, using anti-dizziness medications daily, or both.

At this point, VRT exercises should be started (again) so that your wife can gradually reduce and eventually eliminate these meds.

zuzu xx