How can you tell if a room is moving?

[Minou]

Okay, so I've been struggling with vertigo and some sinus-headache-induced dizziness and nausea for more than three weeks. I was given medication for the vertigo last Friday.

In any case, for the past three weeks, whenever I go upstairs to the master bedroom and walk into the bathroom or walk-in closet next to it, I feel like the room is rocking. The medication has helped with the vertigo (I don't feel that internal pendulum swinging anymore), but I'm still feeling like there's movement in those two places

The house was built less than a year ago, and there's been a little bit of seasonal movement in the floors in a few places over the winter, though I sure wasn't feeling like the floor was rocking a month ago. There are no cracks anywhere. The house is under warranty.

I know I could use a level to find out if the floors are even, but what can I do to determine objectively whether the room is rocking? My husband doesn't feel it, but after three weeks of me going crazy about the rocking bathroom and closet, he's beginning to tread carefully upstairs.

Anyone have any creative ideas?

[MrsSunshine]

maybe have your blood pressure checked. are you drinking enough water. these can also cause this problem. if your not hydrated and your blood pressure is low it can make you dizzy. you can drink lots of water and check your BP at your local SDM to be sure. see your dr again if your still concerned. could be a few things. inner ear issues.
i have the same thing. eyes are fine. hearing is fine. short of an MRI they can't figure it out. but have told me to drink lots of water and to make sure i reduce salt and stress as much as possible to reduce BP.
good luck.

[hollyquaiscer]

I am so sorry to hear that you have been having such a hard time. May I also suggest that you get your ears checked. A good friend of mine had the same type of issues and turns out she had a really bad ear infection, problem was, she was not in any pain. I hope things clear up for you very soon. As far as the room moving, put a glass measuring cup filled exactly to one of the lines with water in these places and watch it. If the water is on tilt to the line, then you will know there is a problem. Good luck to you.

[ninna]

oh wow. That would get frustrating after awhile. You've gotten some good advice here from others. I don't have anything to add--except that my old trick for making the room stop moving was to sleep with one hand on the wall and one foot on the floor. That was my Oh-my-god-I-drank-too-much-and-the-room-is-spinning survival tactic from my university days.

But ears--definitely worth the check. They are where our sense of balance comes from!

Blood pressure worth a check too. I have very low blood pressure so I experience dizziness and "gonna pass out when I stand up too quick" on a regular basis.

[KrazE]

Hang up a windchime?

[Mia001]

sorry about your health problems, wish you get well soon....

for the mooving rooms......DH suggest to put a glass of water on the floor.....if the water shake in the glass, it means the room is mooving

[Natalka]

Oh, I can relate - and am sorry you are dealing with health issues like this.
When mine began I was 31, and after testing I was diagnosed with Meniere's disease, an inner-ear disorder. Oy, that was 20 years ago! I get bouts of it on and off - sometimes mild, sometimes more severe.

So I, too, would suggest getting a referral to an ENT, and get some testing done.

[glowworm2k]

I'm so sorry to hear that you're going through this. I have had too many ear infections to count over the years - a genetic problem, it turns out - and when I feel like everything is spinning, I try to sit down - or lay down depending on how bad the dizziness and vertigo are) on the floor wherever I am. If you sit still for a few minutes in the spot where you feel the movement, you'll be able to tell if it's *your* movement or the room's movement.

I hope you feel better soon! <3

[garbagepicker]

Advil cold and sinus helps control my vertigo which for me is an inner ear/fluid issue.
Hanging a windchime is a great idea to check movement in those rooms!

[Minou]

Thanks for the ideas!

I was at the doctor's last week. He thinks it's just benign positional vertigo, but he gave me a prescription for a week. I'm going to have to check with a pharmacist to see if I can take Sinutab along with it. The medication was helping the vertigo for a few days, but I'm really off balance today (everything's rocking), so I wonder what role the sinuses are playing.

I tried the measuring cup on the floor of the bathroom this morning. Nothing. I even tried shifting my weight from foot to foot, and that water didn't move. (you can imagine how ridiculous this looked!) I do notice that the floor in there is a little bit off level, so maybe that difference is just causing my shaky inner ear to overreact. To get to the washroom, I have to climb a set of stairs, do a hairpin turn, and climb a few more stairs, so maybe I'm dizzy by the time I get there? I might buy some little windchimes and attach them to the rail above the shower door.

Thanks for your suggestions! It's difficult when you can't trust your senses to tell you if there's a problem. The "shaking" rooms are right above the baby's room, so making sure that the floor isn't rocking above him is kind of important! I've been moving him out of his room whenever I go to take a shower!

[Ami1984]

sorry about your health problems, wish you get well soon....

for the mooving rooms......DH suggest to put a glass of water on the floor.....if the water shake in the glass, it means the room is mooving

Agreed! If only in these rooms there has to be something going on, and a glass of water on the floor will prove it

[keri32]

100% agree with the blood pressure answer. I'd get it checked..you can get it done free at shoppers even. Got mine checked and it was very low, like 95/140 (or whatever that number is) once and 105/140 the second time and norm for me is 120 right on.

The exact same thing happened to me 2-3 months ago. I didn't go to a doctor though, i know i should have and there's not much of an excuse not to. My other symptoms were I started to see lil spots the one night and was actually twitching and the next day i was serious about making an appointment but it went away after that next night ( couldn't find my docs phone number cuz i never really go much) and also weeks before that i always felt dehydrated but water wouldn't seem to be enough.

My sister said that the same thing happened to her though and there wasn't much they can do for it besides tell you to take iron and stuff if it is just low blood pressure. That or she suggested a diabetes thing. She said try orange juice,didn't really work for me. We didn't really have any sugar in the house so I got a bunch of timbits the one night and have seemed fine ever since,lol. Except now I am getting like fluttery feelings in my stomach a couple months later which i am starting to think are spasms ( read it could happen from low iron).Might have to go to the doc afterall.