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Dizziness/Vertigo (Read 9785 times)
Natalia
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Dizziness/Vertigo
May 14th, 2009, 12:36pm
 
Hi, RLR,
I wanted to ask you about another thing, which, although is not directly related to palputations, is bit of a mystery to me.
It started 8 years ago when I suddenly felt so dizzy after a cold that i couldn't walk and had to be admitted to hospital. After a day or two on some drips I seemed fine but it all came back as soon as i was out of hospital. I used to suddenly go all dizzy and seemed like I had no ballance at all.
I had all possible tests (MRI, neck Xrays, cat scans, blood tests etc) and nothing was found apart from the fact that my neck was "too strainght" as they put it and a bit too mobile, whatever that means. It sort of went away. I had one or two dizzy spells over the years but nothing major. I usually get a bit dizzy when i suddenly stop after running or walking too fast and have felt a bit unsteady for a few minutes after stepping off a tredmill in the past (don't use it really, but have done on a very few occasions).
Last year I had a few dizzy spells (out of the blue the space around me span and I lost ballance and had a hot rush of blood in my head). Next time it happened was the same day and i was sitting on the sofa talking to my friend. My GP put it down to PPV and did an eppley maneuver. By the time he did it I wasn't heaving them that much.

A couple of weeks ago I was standing in a supermarket with a friend and suddenly felt really dizzy, I even started falling to the side almost and had to grab the pram handle to stay upright. It was brief but very scary. I also feel dizzy if i walk past shelves for example and look at every item and then when i reach the end of the row I feel a bit unsrteady. I feel this every single day. I haven't hafd any bad colds lately or any ear infections that I know about. My blood pressure is sometimes a little low, but when it is, I feel light headed rather than dizzy, this "vertigo" is a different feeling altogether.
I have had my eyes tested  less than a month ago and everything looks fine. I wonder what could be causing the vertigo and what I can do to find out.
I do have a lot of tension in my neck and shoulder mussles to the point of causing headaches and them being painful most of the time. I had physio for it last year but it's gone back to it's "brick-like" state.

I'm hoping you could shed some light on what could be causing the dizziness?

Thank you so much.
Natalia
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Kalah
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Re: Dizziness/Vertigo
Reply #1 - May 14th, 2009, 8:20pm
 
It sounds like benign positional vertigo to me, I had a case of it that bad once and it still hasn't gone away entirely... but now it only strikes once in a blue moon when I get up after lying on my left side. Benign positional vertigo is very predictable though and there's a positioning test to see if you have it.... I assume your GP did it before he tried the epley maneuver since you need to know which ear is affected or the epley won't work (might even make it worse!). You might try going to an ear/nose/throat specialist, I believe they're the ones who know best how to handle that sort of thing.

BTW epley doesn't always work either, but it usually does... also after you have an epley maneuver done you're supposed to sleep that night with your head tilted up (I think), did your GP tell you to do that?
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Natalia
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Re: Dizziness/Vertigo
Reply #2 - May 15th, 2009, 1:00am
 
Hi,
Thanks for your reply. Last year, before I went to my GP, i read a lot about PPV and was hoping that's what it was. My GP did do the tests turning the head etc but still wasn't sure. He did the eppley last year in the hope that it'd help, and the spells diminished but didn't go away completely. he did say to sleep elevated that night and I did.
The problem is he wasn't entirely sure what was causing it as it didn't seem as predictable, it can happen even if I'm standing and looking straight, just out of the blue. And makes me feel a bit unsteady in general sometimes.....
I'm not sure if this is connected with the severe dizziness i had 8 years ago. I've decided to ask RLR because my GP unfortunately has no idea. Sad
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Re: Dizziness/Vertigo
Reply #3 - May 15th, 2009, 1:10am
 
Hi there
I've been through this whole dizziness thing - exactly as you describe. I had an mri, saw a neurologist and an ENT specialist and all said nothing wrong - it's anxiety.

Anxiety can cause extreme symptoms, let me assure you. The symptoms can be so bad you'd swear it was something dangerous causing them, but honestly, the things you fear that are causing dizziness are easily spotted by doctors on thorough testing and mri scans.

Anxiety seems to be able to upset our sense of balance and reallly our whole systems, so we can get palpitations, upset tums, nausea, dizziness, other funny feelings which are numerous - in any combination, at any time, and sometimes one thing, sometimes another. The symptoms are not just mental, but very physical too. The earlier we grasp that anxiety causes really horrible physical symptoms, the earlier you can start to get better. It's hard to do, but you have to do it to improve. Gradually you will get better.

bead x
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Natalia
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Re: Dizziness/Vertigo
Reply #4 - May 15th, 2009, 7:01am
 
Hi Bead,
It's reassuring to hear someone else have had them as bad as I did. I just wonder, how come the meds  they gave me 9 years ago (no idea what it was, smth in a drip)  got me from unable to stand or sit up to running around within hours and as soon as they stopped the meds it went back. But I guess it makes sense that anxiety can mask as anything including the dizzy spells. Back then they gave me lots of brain scans as the doctors were really puzzled.
I guess you are right and its anxiety, it also tends to start about the same time each year - march-april time. I just wonder what else might be causing it.
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Re: Dizziness/Vertigo
Reply #5 - May 16th, 2009, 9:20am
 
there are other really simple causes that always get better - eg. BPPV and a viral infection. I think doctors can usually test for these. I'm sure rlr can tell you more about these.

The ENT man I saw told me that whatever the case was, to be as active as possible, to retrain the balance system, he said. Exercise as much as you can, even if you don't feel like it.

I don't think mine was as severe as yours but certainly it was long-term and constant for a long time. I would also liken it to early pregnancy light-headedness, that is all consuming, you certainly couldn't ignore it and get on with your day. Looking at anything like shelves in a bookshop or library, or the supermarket was the worst. The first time mine went on for several months (about 15 years ago), the second time (about the same, but lingering on and appearing every so often randomly and for short periods.)

Hope this helps

I don't have it at the moment and it's great when it's not there. Possibly now I think I have had BPPV that has led to anxiety, then the anxiety becomes the problem and leads to all manner of other physical distress. And I have read somewhere that anxiety makes it harder for your balance system to accomodate and go back to normal. (RLR will probably put me straight on this, if not true! Smiley )

bead

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Re: Dizziness/Vertigo
Reply #6 - May 17th, 2009, 5:39am
 
Okay, first of all there's no such premise as your neck being "too straight," which is a favorite ploy by the chiropractic industry which claims to have the ability to instill the proper curve. The alignment and curvature of your spine is strictly a physiological variation and is entirely normal.

While disorders such as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and labrynthitis are possibilities, they tend to demonstrate a more frequent course. BPPV, however, can present itself in a relapsing/remitting type manner. Disturbance of the vestibular network can and does occur with great frequency in persons with anxiety disorder as well and there is no requirement that symptoms be continuous.

There is nothing of your history to suggest that this is anything serious and I would say it's more likely to be BPPV if you are actually sensing vertigo.

It is important to realize the difference between dizziness and vertigo and I want to articulate it here. Vertigo is the sensation that either the world is spinning around you or alternatively that you are spinning.

Dizziness is NOT a spinning or rotating sensation at all, but merely unsteadiness with a sort of floating sensation that people sometimes describe as their horizon suddenly and briefly tilting to one side or the other.

So you need to be certain about whether you are experiencing dizziness or actual vertigo.

Best regards and Good Health
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Natalia
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Re: Dizziness/Vertigo
Reply #7 - May 17th, 2009, 6:13am
 
Hi RLR,
Thank you for your reply.
If i go by your description, I experience both dizziness and vertigo, not at the same time though.
Yesterday, for example, I was in a shopping centre for a couple of hours with my kids and husband, I felt fine for quite a while,  and then we walked into one of the shops and suddely I felt really unsteady and the horizon was "shifting". I was not quite light headed but this lasted for a few minutes on and off.  I also get moments when my ears get blocked fo no apparent reason, and sometinmes it feels very strange, as i my head is lined inside with cotton wool.
I am hoping it's just anxiety thats causing this, but it's very unpredictable, I sometimes think lack of sleep might be contributing too, but not sure.
And another thing, not sure if it's at all significant, but yesterday I went on a cross-trainer in a sports shop for 2 minutes and when i stepped off it i felt very very unsteady, as if the floor was jelly/ I'm not unfit, I walk long distances and go on a bike and this only happens when i stop and is MUCH worse with stationary equipment (tredmill, cross trainer - one of the reasons why i don't go to the gym, ever).
It doesn't feel the same as low bloodpressure, for example. I always get dizzy and have dark spots in my eyes if I get up quickly, but this is different. I understand that it's very hard to say what it is but I am really hoping you'll help to shed some light on what it could possibly be.
Thank you again for your reply.
natalia
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« Last Edit: May 17th, 2009, 11:41am by Natalia »  

I'm not tense, I'm just very very alert
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Re: Dizziness/Vertigo
Reply #8 - May 18th, 2009, 1:16am
 
Hi there
I can reassure  you that after stepping off a treadmill or a cross trainer it is absolutely normal to feel dizzy for a few moments. I am under the impression that everyone gets this. This kind of dizziness is nothing to do with your heart or how fit you are. when I started at the gym, the trainer actually said not to worry about that before I had even stepped off the machine. (He knew I was a worrier!) So please put that worry out of your mind.

It is something to do with eye - balance - brain connection. Your body and ears sense you are moving, but your eyes see you aren't really travelling forwards, or something like that, and so the little things that fit together don't for a few moments until you settle again.

If you are exercising and you are prone to feeling faint / or even fainting, then you must ensure you take time to cool down gradually. This is separate to the above, not dangerous either, but it will lessen any wooziness you feel if you are that way inclined. Also make sure you take regular sips of your drinks when you are exercising.

bead x
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Kalah
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Re: Dizziness/Vertigo
Reply #9 - May 18th, 2009, 10:57am
 
Natalia wrote on May 15th, 2009, 1:00am:
Hi,
Thanks for your reply. Last year, before I went to my GP, i read a lot about PPV and was hoping that's what it was. My GP did do the tests turning the head etc but still wasn't sure. He did the eppley last year in the hope that it'd help, and the spells diminished but didn't go away completely. he did say to sleep elevated that night and I did.
The problem is he wasn't entirely sure what was causing it as it didn't seem as predictable, it can happen even if I'm standing and looking straight, just out of the blue. And makes me feel a bit unsteady in general sometimes.....
I'm not sure if this is connected with the severe dizziness i had 8 years ago. I've decided to ask RLR because my GP unfortunately has no idea. Sad


Seriously, your GP did an epley without knowing which ear was affected?? Hmm really, maybe you should see an ear/nose/throat guy. o.O When I had BPPV it would sometimes strike out of the blue as well, when just standing normally... as I understand it, you have particles loose in your inner ear canals (the canals are responsible for your balance), and when they float around as you tilt your head or what have you, they brush hairs that trigger the vertigo. Sometimes the particle may get stuck somewhere and you'll be fine, then it will break loose and drift, causing a spell that seems to hit out of nowhere.

If the epley helped, but didn't completely stop the vertigo spells, its possible you had multiple particles and most of them were moved somewhere they couldn't affect you by the maneuver... but you may have had one left over. It's usually not to worry about as they eventually settle or your inner ear gets desensitized to them a bit... I think that's what's happened with mine since I still get a little vertigo sometimes when I roll over from my right side to my left. My original attack was so bad I had to take motion sickness countermeasures.

Also, the BPPV can be cured and go away entirely and still come back... because there's nothing stopping you getting more particles! If I remember correctly they can break off of a small bone in your inner ear, and nobody is sure why they do.

If you still have vertigo attacks bad enough to interfere with your life or put you in indirect danger (by falling down), try finding an ear/nose/throat specialist, they know the most about BPPV and fixing it... but if you're okay, just wait for it to pass... it's another one of those things that is annoying and potentially frightening, but not dangerous.
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Natalia
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Re: Dizziness/Vertigo
Reply #10 - May 19th, 2009, 1:25am
 
Hi Kalah,

Yes, he wasn't completely sure but decided to give it a go. I'm going to another GP this week for smth else, but will have a chat to him about the dizziness too. If I am not imagining things, I think RLR said that dizziness and vertigo are different things. What puzzles me is the unsteady feet and horizon wobbling feeling. Not quite sure what can be causing this. Sad
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Kalah
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Re: Dizziness/Vertigo
Reply #11 - May 19th, 2009, 11:07am
 
Vertigo is usually a spinning or tilting feeling, like the world is spinning or you are... and it messes with your balance. I've had both kinds of BPPV... the kind where the loose particle is in a vertical canal made me feel like the room was spinning so violently that I couldn't stand, and it made me nauseous... and the kind where the particle is in a horizontal canal, which made it feel like the ground was tilting to the left any time I moved my head... that was the worst, it made me seasick too. There's another maneuver for that one called a 'log roll' or somesuch to fix it, while the epley is mainly for the other kind.

Dizziness, at least as I've experienced it, was more of a light headed, floaty feeling. Dizziness can definitely be caused by anxiety, I got it when my palpitations used to cause me anxiety attacks.
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