labrynthitis (vertigo) and pregnancy

[Anonymous]

I'm 20 weeks pregnant and this weekend I came down with a viral infection in my inner ear (also known as labrythitis). The good news is that the infection is self-limiting and should clear up on its own in a few days; the bad news is that I have been experiencing horrible vertigo as a result of the fluid build up in my inner ear. My ob/gyn prescribed 25 mg of hydroxizine (an antihistamine) to treat the vertigo but I'm a little nervous about taking the medication. Anyone else out there that has had this experience? If so, did you choose to medicate? If not, how long did the vertigo last? Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

My heart goes out to you. I had vertigo with my second pregnancy. It was terrible. My doctor prescribed Meclizine HCL (generic for Antivert). The side effect was that it made me really sleepy, so while the vertigo was gone, all I could do was sleep. The good news is the baby came out fine. Like you, they think my vertigo was due to an inner ear infection. It did come back a couple of times during the pregnancy, but never as bad as the first time. My doctor says it might be tied to the extra fluids and water retention of pregnancy -- so I tried to be very good about getting lots of exercise and cutting back on the sodium. By the way, my doc told me that Meclizine is the same ingredient as they use in Dramine Less Drowsy formula -- so you can take that also.