Hello, I'm hoping I can get some advice. I've suffered from dizziness for nearly two years. My doctor (who recently retired) told me it was due to anxiety, and that it would go away in time. I do have a panic disorder, but with counselling, my attacks are now few and far between. The dizziness, though, has never gone away.
I've noticed in recent months that I get dizzy from the oddest things--walking in dark areas, sitting near someone in a rocking chair, facing a revolving ceiling fan, watching a parade go from side to side on TV. I also wake up dizzy most mornings, and sometimes dread turning over or sitting up in bed because of how it makes me feel.
My ears have started ringing, and feel "full" with pressure, but my new doctor hasn't found the cause yet. I have had 2-3 incredibly minor vertigo episodes, where the room tilts up and down for only a few seconds and then stops. Sometimes it looks like objects in front of me are moving on their own. I usually feel as though I've just gotten off a fast merry-go-round. The room itself doesn't spin, but my head feels as though I've just gone in circles, most of the time.
It's not so bad I can't function, which makes me wonder if it is really my imagination. I keep telling myself it's stress or lack of sleep causing anxiety, but after researching balance disorders I'm beginning to wonder if that's true. I've been to so many doctors in the past two years--I just wonder if I've got enough symptoms of a real problem to warrant going to a specialist about this. (I'm so grateful for ANY advice offered!)
If you've mostly dealth with your panic attacks (well done for that!), it could well be a balance issue. Look on the VEDA website vestibular.org. some of these things are very treatable with the right help.
Hi Bookworm, please tell your doctor that you would like to be referred to ENT. You get dizzy when you roll over in bed is a classic symptom of vertigo and could be BPPV. If you google BPPV it will give you more information. If you're ears are ringing you could have tinnitus and the fullness in your ear might be causing it also.
Thank you so much--I wasn't expecting replies so quickly! That really puts my mind at ease--just knowing that there could be a real cause for it. I'll be sure to speak to my doctor about it!
Okay I don,t,know which country your are in, but when you go to your GP ask him to,refer you to a Neuro Otologist. forget ENT as most of the will waste your time as myself and a lot,of,others on here have discovered. Neuro otolgists l know lot, lot more than Ents. they have to study 4 years or more than an ENT, and will be more thorough with their testing and diagnosis. If your GP tries to push theENT thing, be firm and say no, you,be had this for too long and done a lot,of,research etc etc and it,is not just anxiety. (Usually the anxiety is caused by the fact that you are suffering from symptoms anyway!)
I'm in the US. I've only had a "get acquainted" visit with my new doctor, so I'm not sure what his recommendations will be, but he seems to be very kind and understanding. I'll keep that information in mind, thank you!
I've got an update, sort of...I know it's been a while, but I am going to get this checked out! It's taken me a while to get an appointment with my new doctor (and even longer to work up the nerve to call, honestly), but I go on Sept. 2, and I'm hoping for some answers!
Hi, Well,done you! Keep strong when you go and see the new guy!! (Is he a GP?). just be upfront, and push on the Neuro Otologist . You can say you have done a LOT,of,research and feel that would be the best route for you! good,luck and remember always, it is your body and you are paying , one way or the other, for these guys to treat you, they are not doing you any favours!! Ha ha!! I have to remind myself that too when I see my GP.
Thank you for the advice! He's what we call a "Family Doctor" here in the US, which I think is just like a GP. My mother goes to him and says he's very friendly and patient. I'm going to bring along a very extension list of my symptoms so I don't forget to tell him anything, and hopefully a visit to a specialist will be next!
Hi,,yes a General Practitioner,,same thing. It,s,a good start if they are friendly and patient, but don,t get disarmed by that which is easy to,do as I,ve been there and found myself not wanting to ask for anything in case I .upset them or was seen as pushy. butmimlearnedmthatndidn,t get me anywhere. I also learned to not only have a list of my a symptoms, but print outs of research I had done, even down to the name of the Hospital, Consultant I wanted to be referred to. it seems (at least here in the UK) that some Drs like this as it saves them,work and doing it themselves! also,i think it makes them realise you are taking your health seriously, and are not going to fobbed off!! I only wish I had known this in my first year!! Let us,know how you get on and good luck!
Another quick update--my doctor's appointment this morning went very well. My new doctor is very nice, and listened to my entire long list of symptoms. He's sending me to an inner ear specialist, so now I just have to wait on that appointment. It could be a month or two before I can get in.
I asked point blank if it was likely that all my symptoms could be just stress/anxiety related, and all in my imagination, but he said my descriptions of the sensations I'm feeling are so detailed that there's likely a real problem. That makes me feel so much better! I'll update again after my next appointment, whenever that happens!
Wow, that,s great to hear. Fingers crossed you get a good consultant . Well done on being assertive, and keep that up,as it is really necessary to be taken seriously and getting to the right diagnosis and treatment. Keep us Updated okay?
thanks for the update, it's good that we can share our experiences of what happens when we see the doctors, between us we might be able to get a diagnosis with some help
Much to my surprise (and relief!) I was able to get an appointment with the ENT yesterday! He told me a lot of my symptoms are very common for someone with inner ear problems, which eases my mind greatly. My hearing is perfect, and there's no fluid or anything else wrong with my ears, so he said it's either all inner ear, or headache-related.
(I do have headaches often that I attribute to lack of sleep and stress, but they're not usually very painful, which is why I never thought they could be causing the problem. He said even minor headaches can put my brain out of whack and cause a dizziness problem, though.)
I go back in one month (the earliest I could get in) for 2 hours of balance tests. That will either confirm the inner ear cause, or rule it out in favor of the headache cause. If it's inner ear, he seems confident that some physical therapy will help a lot of my symptoms.
In the meantime, I've bought a nightlight, and it's helping me sleep better, at least. I don't get so dizzy in my dark bedroom anymore, and I don't have to have an actual lamp on all through the night.
Hi Bookworm, glad to hear you got an appointment. I have 2 problems BPPV and silent migraines. The consultant told me not to get the 2 confused. I have felt much better since adjusting my diet as recommended and commencing on medication which i hope i can stop once i am able. My visual problems and balance problems he said aren't related to BPPV but to silent migraines. I had got used to a dull ache in the base of my skull and thought it related to neck pain, i use to also wake with a dull ache behind my eyes, they have both now gone. I never took much notice of either because they were so minor.
Hopefully, however slowly we will all make some progress. I do now have some tools to work with by not overloading my diet with trigger foods, for me caffeine, cheese and chocolate and also being aware that my visual problems are not related to BPPV, so now have something to work with. I can still have these trigger foods so long as they are in moderation but i do think cheese is something i may need to eliminate completely. Since adjusting my diet i have not had any visual problems as bad as before and feel them fading into the background and my balance is better than it has been for a long time as i have been having these problems for past 2 years almost to the day when all this started when i rolled over in bed one night. Hope you continue with your improvement.
Just a thought...You could have Menier's syndrome. Affects balance etc, problem of inner ear. I've known a couple of people with it, and they were both tall, and thin! I believe it's also connected to circulation..
That's great that you have some ways to make your symptoms better! The ENT said he's definitely leaning toward the headaches as the cause of my problems, but we won't know for sure until the balance tests are over. I think I've just gotten so used to the minor headaches I do have that I never thought to connect them to balance problems.