Dizziness for 5 months after lack of sleep from need to urinate multiple times at night.

Ears, nose and throat
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For five months I haven't slept for consecutive hours because of waking up with a need to urinate. 5 months ago checked for Urine and diabetes plus b 12 levels. Since then I have had  hours of dizziness and nausea in the mornings and I lie down, drink fluid in case I'm dehydrated. I stopped all herbals and vitamins as I had been taking large doses of Vitamin D.

Have had a cervical osteophyte for years and lower spinal stenosis from slipped discs which have caused nerve damage. Have seen a neurosurgeon for the disc issue in lower back.

Yesterday hours after chair yoga I sat at the computer and suddenly felt I could be having a TIA as it felt like spots in my brain were sparking and I began to black out, but put my head down and didn't faint in my seat.

I went to the ER and was attatched to an EKG, blood drawn for all sorts of tests, had a Brain Scan and had scans on my carotid arteries. Both were normal and clear. I am 81 and had gone to the ER since my brother had a massive stroke on having a 4 part heart operation and his carotid artery cleared. A speck broke loose during the operation, yet he recovered completly in spite of loss of speach and movement. Eventually  i after a full and vigorous healthy decade, dieing of a massive stroke.

I have high blood pressure, take Losartin. No thyroid function (thyroidectomy) so take Armour dessicated thyroid. Have cateracts which don't bother me and Glaucoma for which I take Lumigen. Do get scintilatting auras with dark peripheral visual fields. None lately.

Will schedule a followup with my cardiologist.

Thought lack of sleep, and my neck issues might be part of my problem.

Had gotten 4 hours of unbroken sleep the night before the episode I feared was a TIA.

The physician came to no conclusion  and I have been cautioned that it could be a heart issue and probably would need a halter monitor .

I have been deaf in my right ear all my life, and partially deaf in my left; Have had Meniere's in the distant past, which cleared up, and don't know if this problem of dizziness could be vestibular.

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Also will see if I can get a testing for sleep apnea and I have been told for decades that I do snore.

I didn't have a TIA and feel somewhat reassured by the Clean Brain Scan and clear carotid artery tests.

 

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Also will see if I can get a testing for sleep apnea and I have been told for decades that I do snore.

I didn't have a TIA and feel somewhat reassured by the Clean Brain Scan and clear carotid artery tests.

 

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Anne, I wonder when you stopped taking those large doses of vitamin D you're talking about, and just how large they were.

Reason for asking is that some of what you're describing fits with vitamin D toxicity. Increased urination, nausea, vomiting and weakness are among the symptoms of overdose.

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I had thought the large doses I did take of Vit D 3 could be my issue, and stopped.

They should have cleared out of my system.

The dizziness was absent this morning. Am sleeping a bit more. Too much urine at night still an issue and broken sleep.

Am scheduled for a workup by my primary next week. His office called and could see me by tomorrow but I had other things I scheduled.

I am not nervous now that I had the cat scan and carotid checked.

The ER had called my primary and set it up. The hospital I use is first rate as well as their emergency staff. I feel I am on the right path healthwise.

Will keep a food and suppliment diary, plus mild activity until I've leveled off and feel totally myself.

Thanks for the post. I really was being careless because our Northwest weather (Rain and Drear for the winter) does get you down with seasonal affective disorder. Normally dreary, great summers. I come from the East Coast, so after three winters here I didn't want to get depressed which is normal here abouts.

Can;t get careless even with supplements.

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Sounds like it might have been the vit D if it's getting better now. I'm sure your doctor will add vit D levels to your bloodwork. Mine always does. I live in northwestern Europe, which probably has an even worse climate than where you are. My vitamin D levels are usually just on or a little below minimum levels, which my doctor says is unusually good for someone my age (73) in these latitudes, where almost everyone is below the minimum!

The night-time urination can be a real nuisance, can't it? I've got used to having to get up at least twice per night for some years now. It's not due to a urinary infection or "nervous bladder" either. It's a real diuresis - large volumes of very pale, dilute urine. According to my doctor it can be a sign of heart disease, but this isn't the case for me. My renal function is fine too. I gather that this is just something that happens to a lot of women in old age.

You're right about not being careless with supplements. Just because a little is good, doesn't mean more is better! But the good news is it's practically impossible to OD on vitamin D if you're getting it naturally from food sources - oily fish, full-fat dairy, eggs etc. Plus getting out in the sun on the rare occasions we see it in this neck of the woods - and that goes for the summer too!

Hope you soon make a full recovery.

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Definatly responding to keeping away from D3 for a time. Will take fish oil and get out in the sun now that it shines more often. Only take minimal doses once the drear wet weather appears. Maybe go to Guatamala for the winter.

Seeing an internist next week. I had asked a nurse practioner at a local university clinic to take my D levels in January but she refused, thinking I was taking enough. Misconunication. I thought I would be too high, she thought I was concerned that it was too low. I think the D level tests are a bit expensive. I'm not too into nurse practioners though they try to be thorough. When I called my cardioligist the nurse hadn't wanted to give me an appointment as she felt my cardiac concerns were simply more of what brought me in a number of years ago. The cardiologist is retiring and I'll need to find a new specialist, so it probably doesn't make sense to see him when there won't be time for a workup.

Am going the fish oil, egg, full diary diet,plus  out walking in the sun routine for the remainder of the year and avoiding that particular supplement.

Very concious of a very strong heartbeat and pulses when I lie down. It feels like it is pounding. Feel it in my lips, my fingers especially on my left side. As I'm 81, though I look and act 60 physically. Even in the hospital staff always comment how good I look for my age, since I look vibrant and very alert.. I've always been told I'm ageless, though that isn't what I see myself. Still, it does buck me up to at least look  healthy. Even at the YMCA they assume I am a decade or more  younger. I'm shocked how unhealthy a lot of younger people look.

A little shock healthwise is a good thing to get you moving on the road of wellness.

I'm just beginning to be more interested in being less sedentary and more vigorous. Taking it easy and slowly until I find out what is what physically on the inside. Looking healthy on the outside is all well and good, but that can be all illusion.

Have to laugh since one of my internet names is Lilly.

My family comes from eastern Slovakia, so I missed the second world war, the Russian occupation and so on. Probably a dash of French from the Napoleonic wars. Slavic stock. Possibly that some health issues come out of genetic lines.

I think my neck issues might also need investigation, but the wooziness in the morning has gone in the last two days.

Family tends to be long lived, in good condition looking younger, with wits intact, till the grim reaper strikes us down out of the blue. 

If my parents hadn't immigrated I would probably be living in Prague, or Switzerland instead of the north west of the USA.

I'm glad I stumbled on this site, as it is a great buck up and one doesn't feel so alone, since so many in our lives die off.

Ruminating on ones own isn't helpful. Comparing notes with others can be a great asset.

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A man here (at least 3 years) who had a major stroke and could barely communicate, but who did ambulate, arm dragging, drooling when attempting to talk, has just been wheeled out by the firemen.

Another cautionary sign. 

This is supposed to be a complex for active seniors, but increasingly a dumping ground for people at the end stages of old age. Some come for a month and end up either in assisted living or caput.

I came after a hurricane on the east coast decimated my life and I came not knowing anything about the complex, and have only stayed because moving is so traumatic.

Still, I am learning more and more how important it is to be vigilant and pro active about your well being and issues that arise with aging.

Talking to him was impossible but we were friendly and greeted each other each day.

A caution for me. Take care, take care and be pro active about warning signs.

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Will keep multiple diaries in attempting to solve this problem. The doctors aren't mind readers so accurate descriptions are needed. The nurse practioner thinking I was concerned about too little D-3, rather than my concern about toxicity from too much is a good example of miscommunication.

I could be having cardiac issues, neck issues, ear issues all at once, but fixing the blame on one and ignoring the rest would be a mistake.

I yearn to feel normal, not to feel my heart all night long, not to wake up almost hourly to piddle, not to feel unbalanced or nauseated.  The dizziness and nausea are not as bad, but I did trip and fall walking in the dark twice last nite. No injury at all, but I'll buy a French chamberpot for females (like a large sauce boat) instead of walking in the dark a half dozen times a nite. They used these at the French Court before the revolution,.Quite elegent objects

Basic needs of all humanity. I deeply appreciate modern plumbing and electricity, but sometimes more primitive, back to the past objects are more practical in some situations.. Getting up for basic needs may be part of the insomnia issue.

As you age it usually is multiple issues rather than a single issue.

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Hi Anne,

I sent you a private message via this site. It will come into your inbox (or your junk mail) just like a normal post from the site. And don't worry, private messages from this site don't expose the email address of either party.

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Another problem is eyesight and glasses. Glaucoma and cateracts.

Ordered various herbals. One mixture for anxiety, another as a sleep aid. Also Cetyl pure which is a wonder for joints. I prefer herbal mixtures to prescription drugs. Much less in side effects and often very worthwhile and effective.

We are all jigsaw puzzles with issues that aren't simply one thing, but a unique blend of any number of problems culminating and manifesting in various outcomes.

What works for one may help a bit but usually our solution needs to be tailored to fit our peculiar combination of factors...

One size doesn't fit all in medicine.

feeling better day by day.

Am mulling over what to bring up at the doctors office next week. What seems important to me, may not seem so to the physician. I think they are given 22 min. per patient, and that includes the preliminary blood pressure and questioning by a nurses aid.

Medicine has changed due to insurance guidelines and the government rules.

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Just checked on side effects to Losartin and see insomnia, dizziness and some of my symptoms can be some of my problem.

Took Diovan for years, then switched to Losartin by my new cardiologist 3 years ago. As effective and a great deal less expensive, though Diovan has gotten cheaper in the last years since now it can be copied as a generic drug.

As I was taking it for three years I hadn't thought I would develope other side effects. Have been experimenting with various times to take it. Lately was taking it in the evening, or when awakening at 4 a.m...That could be part of my problem.

Thank god we don't experience other peoples pain, and even forget our own if it goes away. We can empathize, feel sympathy but it isn't transferable except with crowd hysteria when whole groups suddenly feel ill for no reason except hysteria.

One woman here went through months of hospital stays and problems from opiode addiction because she cannot tolerate even the slightest pain. Evidently hypersensitive . Opiod addiction is a big issue here in the states.

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As you must notice I'm very concerned and am determined to find a solution to my issues.

From another forum here I see Dr Marcus Drake a urologist in Bristol has done a study on Nocturia, and finds that reducing salt intake, plus less fluid does reduce Nocturia slightly.

He also finds Sleep Apnea contributes to nocturia. I was going to see if the physican might refer me to a sleep clinic for testing.

While I won't try everything and anything, any adjustment I make to my diet and regimum will be tried if it is logical in my mind.

In the past I've found that even woo woo things have cured me. I was waved over by a group of people for a gouty finger and it was instantly cured. A thing called Sensi, and damned if I can find it on the internet. I stumbled across this group waving their hands around at a town fair, and tried it, then went to their club meeting and their group finished the waving and walking around my body for a half hour and I was cured of the intense pain in my middle finger. (It is enlarged at the joint and feels stiff a bit in the morning on occasion if I overeat some purine rich foodstuff) It was in New Jersey, Basking Ridge.

While I live in the Northwest were alternative treatments are very in, I have found no one who knows what that therapy is.

Has anyone who reads this know anything about Sensi?

The closest here is Jin Shin Jystsu which also works for me. This is why I'm even considering Christian Science as a possibility if regular medicine doesn't help me.

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Reading Oliver Sacks anthology, only on his being a patient, (his accident on being frightened out of mind hurtling down a slope after a bull appeared during his walk in the hills of Norway and the nitemare getting back and being treated like most other patients, with the brilliant, the good and the bad in his experience.

He quotes a fair number of brilliant men on illness in general, the whys of it all." The outcome of these struggles cannot be pre-determined or pre judged. The rules are fixed but the strategy is not and one can learn to outplay one's antagonist., Sickness . In default of health we manage by care, and control, and cunninng, and skill, and luck.

Dealing with an aging body means we have to do all that and more. We have to have a doctors help, but much of what is wrong can be in the dark forces of the id and our subconscious. The doctor can only do what his training and experience tell him is the right course of testing and treatmen and actiont.

It is up to us as patients to really try to understand what and why it is happening and do what WE can to dig ourselves out of our prediciment.

These forums are helpful.

Already I am going to lower salt intake. Yesterday it was eggs, fruit and green salads. Some protein but mainly vegetarian. Try this for a few months.

Did not take Losartin last night, but still woozy in the morning, but I'll see how it goes in a weeks time.

Even with the wooziness I am trying to declutter, as I have been negligent in housekeeping for 5 months, even while exercising minimally and walking.

I allowed the  problem and condition to control my life.

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Spent the entire day decluttering as I am a pack rat for books and clothes. I ignored  housekeeping for 5 months because of my extreme fatigue, bad back ( very bad)  problem foot and the dizziness and nausea.

Taking Losartan and have changed the schedule to taking it mid afternoon at lunch since the dizziness and  nausea was more a morning issue.

I am going to be very very sore tomorrow.

That will teach me to stop putting things off instead of tackling issues each and every day.

I'll see if the taking Losartan mid day cures the dizziness.

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Had a brain scan and carotid arteries checked. O.K.

Will be seeing a new primary in a few weeks and will keep a symptom diary, food diary, activity diary etc.

I did stop having dizziness and nausea but it returned this morning, and I am beginning to think it could be a Postural orthostatic  condition.

I have been taking a lot of B-12 and using the bike at the y, these things are recommended for POTS, but I was doing them instinctively not because I had checked up on POTS,

I do massage my feet and ankles with vicks morning and night and sleep with feet flat against a pillow because I get foot cramping if I let my feet flop down pointed.

I also feel and hear my heart pounding at night.

I did cut the Losartin in half taking one mid day and one before bed. I didn't have dizziness and nausea for weeks.

Also wonder if acid stomach could factor in.