Light headed for a month. Help!!

Ears, nose and throat
1

Hi,

I have been feeling unwell for almost a month. I started getting lightheaded spells after coming back from a work trip overseas. At first I thought it was just stress so did nothing. After they got worse I was really terrified as I've never suffered from dizziness or fainted before. I went to the Urgent Care Centre and was diagnosed with Labrynthitis. I was given some prochlorperazine to help with the lightheadedness. This didn't help so 10 days later i went to the GP. They gave me some antibiotics to clear any potential ear infection. This still didn't help. This past weekend I became very ill, sleeping all day and feeling light headed all the time. I went to the hospital and had my blood pressure taken, blood tests, an infection test, an ECG and a chest X-ray. Everything came back normal.

I should also mention that, when I'm having a bad spell, I get flushed and the back of my neck gets very hot. I also have tingling in my legs. My other symptoms are a sore neck and shoulder (might be unrelated) and, more recently, nausea. I generally feel lightheaded and foggy most of the day, but sometimes I feel better in the afternoon/evening. I feel worst in the mornings.

I don't know what to do anymore. It is preventing me from working properly and socialising. I cry almost every day cause I am sick of feeling unwell and not being able to do anything about it. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to go next or what's this might be?

Thanks in advance.

2

I was told that I had vertigo. I had my first episode in August. Hospitalized 3 days. Still ringing in the ear, off balance and pressure on left side of ear and head. Was refer to a ENT!

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My GP told me she sometimes prescribed steroids to people who have been on planes and get dizzy upon return.

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You definitely sound like you have a Vestibular,problem. I had same thing when mine started, normal test results and all the same symptoms etc. The meds the same, made me feel,worse actually so stopped taking. This cannot be solved with a pill i'm sorry to say. If you have an Infection the. Anti b's yes, but anti histamines, and other drugs either didnt help at all or made me worse!  I suggest to start with you educate yourself. Go to a website called Veda.  Vestibular Disorders  association. They also have a FB page. Based in US. Very good, comprehensive info of all the different kinds of vestibular problems, symptoms etc.  If you can, get your GP to refer you to a Neuro Otologist.  Not just a regular Neurologist as they deal with the brain mainly, the other one deals with both vestibular and brain, as the 'messages' your eyes, ears,  vestibular system send to,your brain are what keeps you balanced etc.  But when it's 'off' we feel all over the place, the word 'dizzy' is a very generalised term, and vertigo is actually related,to our symptoms, not an actual,condition (Many people think it has to do with fear of heights, which it isn't at all! Blame Alfred Hitchcock)!

try to use your computer in small sessions, not too long.'  and Your neck will also get bad as it is  affected by all your unconcious movements to,keep,you balanced.  When mine is feeling bad, i do some neck relieving exercises, and I also get a headache sometimes due to,that amd use a cold pack,on my upper neck area just below skull which gives me relief.

Also the reason our eyes feel 'off' is due to fact they are working harder,to,keep us balanced, like,going into manual mode as opposed to automatic and i believe become over sensitive.  Imwear sunglasses even on days it's not that bright. Also i have lamps, no overhead bright lights, if tv has flashing lights in it i look aside.  Some people have a problem looking down or up, which seems to make it worse. This can be something called Nystagmus, but i dont have that, just the symptom.  I could go on as this condition has some many different symptoms. So go to.VeDA first ok?

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ENT consultation is needed here, expecially with someone with an interest in neurotology.

Eleftherios S. Papathanasiou, PhD, FEAN

Clinical Neurophysiologist

Fellow of the European Academy of Neurology

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nice long post by gillian.  I think she means go to this site

 vestibular org

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Yes, you have a vestibular problem. I'm going on 3 months of this, except mine is constant. I finally got in with a neurologist that diagnosed the problem and is referring me to vestibular rehab therapy. I'm hoping to start that next week. Know you're not alone! It really sucks because It's hard to describe to people. My boyfriend almost broke up with me because I didn't want to leave the house and do anything. I had to see an ENT and then got in with neruology. Medication isn't the answer unfortunately. Vestibular rehab is an assortment of exercise that are aimed at training the brain and eyes to work together again to minimize disturbances (lightheadedness, vision feeling off, ect.). My neuro says it's supposed to help. Get in with a good ENT and neurologist, it's such a relief when you do and they actually know what you're going through. 

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Thanks everyone. It's really good to know I'm not alone in this. I will try and get a referral to an ENT.

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Hi Amanda - you need to get referred to a neurologist.  It sounds like vestibular migraine but he would know.  You wont get better without medication.  Unfortunately GPs and ENTs dont know much about this.  We are trying to spread the word because this is very common.  Dont be scared but I know its very debilitating.  We have a good website on facebook for vestibular migraine, check it out.  Seeing a neuro is your first point of call. 

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Hi all,

I just wanted to update you on what has happened since my original post. I saw an ENT who sent me for an MRI but pretty much concluded it couldn't be related to my inner ear. I found him rude and felt he fobbed me off without any sort of sympathizing. After I saw him I found my anxiety getting really bad. I have never experienced anxiety before so this was terrifying. It was so bad that I had to go to the doctor who gave me a prescription for Valium (I haven't taken any yet).

I went for the MRI which came back clear. On the same day I saw the doctor for my anxiety I also went to see a Chiropractor that specializes in Neurology. He was incredibly helpful, explaining that all my symptoms were likely related and that it was a fairly common condition. He said to come back after the MRI results.

I went back today and he did some testing on my eye/brain/ear (vestibular) function using balance techniques and then a computer program that monitors eye movements. We watched the results together and they showed something was obviously wrong - my eyes were jumping all over the place when watching objects move. He explained that this would be happening all day when looking at my computer screen or traffic or pretty much anything that moves. This was all causing my light headedness and nausea (due to the mixed messages my brain is getting) which in turn was causing the other symptoms due to the stress on my body and brain. 

I am getting a new pair of glasses with prisms in them to try and help with correcting my eye alignment. In addition I have started doing vestibular rehabilitation therapy to fix my vestibular issues. The exercieses are very simple - they just involve focusing on a still object while turning my head in each direction.

It has been a big relief to finally get answers to my problems and it probably would never have been diagnosed (and never treated) if I hadn't been to see the chiropractor. I highly recommend anyone suffering with similar symptoms goes to see someone specializing in vestibular issues and disorders.

Thank you for all your advice - especially those of you that said it might be a vestibular issue! I probably would never have suspected this without your comments.

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Amanda, 

So good to hear you got some answers finally. Was it the chiopractor that did the balance and eye movement tests? My neuro just sent me straight to vestibular rehab without really doing any diagnostic tests. Maybe she was just confident that it was a vestibular issue. Is yours a constant feeling or on and off? Mine is constant. Going on 3 months of this but just started PT last week so I'm hoping this will help a lot. I have hope that we will both be able to get back to our "normal" lives and selves again soon. Best wishes. 

Nicole 

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Thanks Nicole,

I feel "off" all the time but sometimes I feel worse, usually in the mornings and the evenings. The chiro said this is because my brain is exhausted in the evenings after a day of getting worked hard by my eyes and it's bad in the mornings because my brain is getting used to the issues again.

It was the chiropractor that did the tests and I found it really good because I could see first hand that there was something wrong. I did a test which mimicked a screen scrolling up and down and my eyes were jerking everywhere instead of following the page up and down properly. He was very knowledgable becuase he has trained extensively in neurology, but I'm pretty sure a neurologist would have similar expertise. He also tested my hearing which was fine so we knew it was not an inner ear infection/labrynthitis.

I am hopeful that the new glasses and the VRT will fix all my problems. I hope yours get fixed too! It would be so good to be back to our normal lives!!

 

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So good to hear someone get some answers. Good luck

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so sorry amanda,i tro get dizzy turns, and yes i get frightened as well,i get the dizzy turns while sitting down, its scary, i know, i keep reminding myself its probaly the side effects of the mirtazipine i take for depression,but nothing really helps, i just wish it would go away.i to feel like crying, maybe i should, it lets tension out, anyway, i hope you get well love, and i hope i do AS WELL.TAKE CARE, ANGELA,XX

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Sometimes I wish I could get a month or even a week it leaves me alone. So tired of it beating me up

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Hi amanda, any updates?
How are you right now?
Curious cause I’ve been experiencing almost the same thing.