Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo and Betahistine

Dear Ask The Doctor: Dear Doctor: My 80 year old father experiences vertigo when lying in bed. It only happens on one side. If he is laying on his right side, all is okay. If he wants to switch to his left side he feels very dizzy. He went to his family physician and he was given 16mg of betahistine. This was 3 weeks ago. Nothing has improved. Does it normally take this long for the condition BPPV to disappear? He is also type 2 diabetic and has high blood pressure. His 'numbers' semm normal. Thank you very much.

Vertigo is common in the elderly. May I ask if the doctor prescribed betahistine on an as needed basis? Or is your father supposed to take it 2-3x a day? I would suggest he should take it probably 2-3 x a day, or better yet, what the doctor prescribed. Usually, BPPV symptoms are promptly relieved by betahistine. The highest dose of betahistine is 24 mg. I strongly suggest you bring your father back to his family physician so that the dose or frequency may be increased and he can be reassessed. Perhaps other tests or procedures can also be done to rule out serious underlying conditions. Since he is diabetic, has high cholesterol and elderly, there are a number of complications of these conditions that can be associated w/ dizziness (tumors, strokes, etc.). It is always better to be safe than sorry. I do hope this helps. Take care always.