vertigo girl

I am a 27 year old female who has recently relocated to the south from ohio. I have had vertigo for the past 7 months.  I have been to an ENT where I currently live and am looking for another opinion as to the possibe cause of this vertigo.  I have had an MRI, & hearing and balance tests, they were all normal.  Multiple blood work done and it was all normal.  The only thing that was abnormal was my IgG and IgM for herpes, they were slightly elevated. I have never have a lesion anywhere on my body though.  I have had mononucleosis in the past as well as I work in the medical field in a PICU, so I am exposed to everything under the sun working with the pedi population.  I am extremely active with the vertigo. Though, it sometimes does make running a challenge.  Some days are worse than others and I haven't been able to correlate anything.  I have a history of chronic allergies and am only on nasonex for that. I have noticed that I have "wet ears", they make a slug noise when I rub them, and a feeling of fullness in both ears, in the morning I can feel fluid run down the canal but,   according to the MD there is no fluid visible in the ear canals.    The MD thinks that a 3month treatment of acyclovir will cure the vertigo because the herpes must be irritating my vestibular nerve. I am not convinced with his conclusion because the blood test results do not indicate that the herpes is in the active phase or dormant phase and I have never had a lesion in the past or currently, plus I have been working in the medical profession for many years with peds and probably was exposed years ago.  What are some other suggestions or possible causes of vertigo that I could investigate?  

[Nancy T]

Describe your "vertigo"?

Have you seen a neuro-otologist and/or oto-neurologist? They are the real specialists for dizziness. Check out the Web sites of the American Neurotology Society, Vestibular Disorders Assocation, and Dr. Michael Robb in Arizona to find these doctors.

[steph023]

My "vertigo" isn't spinning, I feel like I am on a boat.  I feel like I am rocking back and forth, forwards & backwards and also side to side.  I feel better when I am in motion, it gets worse when I stop.  I don't notice it when I am driving in a car.  When I walk, I have never lost my balance, but feel at times I might.  I don't sway when I stand up with my arms out in front of me, but I feel like I am.  I have days when it's hardly noticeable and then others I feel nauseated.  It's exacerbated when I am tired and stressed.  Any other symptoms I should monitor?  Any other suggestions?

[Nancy T]

Did your dizziness perhaps start after a trip (boat, car, etc.)? The rocking sensation and the fact that it feels better when you're in motion make me wonder whether it could be mal de debarquement--a French term for "debarkation illness," i.e., illness after getting off a boat (although it doesn't have to start that way). Read up on that and see what you think.

I have been on a mailing list for dizzy people (Dizzinews) for many years, and you are not alone in feeling better while in motion--a number of people I know have mentioned this, even some without mal de debarquement. They feel great while riding in a car, rocking in a rocking chair, taking off in a plane--but bad when sitting still.

You could very well have a central (brain) rather than peripheral (ear) problem. Dizziness problems due to migraine (also check out "migraine-associated vertigo") or mal de debarquement usually have all-normal test findings, so regular doctors tend to be stumped.

If your ENT hasn't been able to help you, I suggest trying an oto-neurologist (see Dr. Robb's site mentioned above for a list of these specialists). These are the rare doctors who specialize in dizziness "from the brain side," i.e., they are neurologists with special interest and training in the inner ear and its connections to the brain. Some of the best-known otoneurologists in the country are Dr. Timothy Hain in Chicago, Dr. David Zee at Johns Hopkins, and Dr. Baloh somewhere in California, but there are certainly other good ones.

I think that mal de debarquement can be helped with certain medications. It can also go away on its own.

Best of luck,
Nancy T.

[Tazmanian]

Wow! you describe the feeling I've had for over 1 month and half. Originally, I think I did have a vertigo attack and went to the ENT and afterward felt a little better. Since the vertigo attack I've had the what I describe as unsteady legs like being on a boat. I had some test done such as a 2 CT Scan of head and sinus, blood work EKG but will soon take the hearing and balance test. I've always had ringing in my year since my teenage years but never the fullness associated with Menieries'.

When I'm in a moving vehicle is when I feel best or when I'm walking I feel a little better but at times I feel like I'm going to topple over or trip. I've felt slightly nauseated but

Your right yesterday I felt pretty  much fine and went to work out at the gym, however, this morning I did not feel as good.  I do feel like I have alot of pressure over and beneth my eyes which I think affect my balance.  Currently on Clarinex, Flonaise, and Scope patch and Astelin really nothing seems to help the pressure or the rocking sensation.

The vertigo and rocking sensation did coincide with our move to our new house (stress).  Now I just want life back.

[mikee2]

I have exactly the same thing.  I went to a ENT here in Costa Rica but all she said, after viewing my CAT scan, is that I have a serious sinus infection.  She gave me some antibiotics but I don't think they worked as I still have pressure around my sinus's and am still dizzy, just like you........What now?

[Wear/a/Jimmy]

Dizziness due to central pathologies rareley occur, especially in a young individual. Totally unexpected. Despite the fact you have never suffered a lession has no influence regarding Herpes.

http://www.tchain.com/otoneurology/disorders/unilat/vneurit.html

The fact that your doctor evern bothered with an Igg test is impressive.

[Nancy T]

What does your name mean, anyway? Do you sell T-shirts with pictures of your face? :)

When I said "central" problem, I meant something like migraine, which IS common. Perhaps saying "central" with respect to migraine isn't correct terminology--I'm not sure (not a medical professional).

I don't know statistics, but mal de debarquement isn't terribly rare, I don't think, and I've never heard that it's related to age.

These were just thoughts about possibilities, anyway.

Nancy

[Wear/a/Jimmy]

What does your name mean, anyway? Do you sell T-shirts with pictures of your face? :)

That is a good idea....   I kid you not, I am sure there would be tons of HS kids and college students running around with such a shirt.  Kind of like the tennis shirts that say, "The stiffer the better...."  I think you have something there.

Hmmm   retirement here I come....

mal de debarquement is not necessarily a central or a vestibular/peripheral issue.
http://www.etete.com/mdd/knowledge.html

And I doubt it has anything to do with age. I have gone through that before. Kind of freakish. I was out off shore fishing all for about 78 hrs. Came home whent out for dinner. I felt fine driveing walking etc. But when I sat down at the table....  the room began to spin. Rather disturning.  Fortunatley it whent away after a few hours.  I was around 25 at that time.

When I say central, I am talking about acoustic tumors, schwanomas, MS, Cardio Vascular Accident (CVA) Stroke etc.

[Nancy T]

Regarding your comments about your forum name, hmm, I think I missed something. Some kind of slang a 50-year-old might not know, I'm guessing...

I know a vestibular therapist who had MDD for 3 weeks after returning from a cruise (she's fine now). And my brother felt oddly dizzy for days or weeks after a cross-country car trip that was almost constant driving (alternating shifts with his friend). I wonder if that was a bit of MDD too. We are all migraineurs in our family and most of us have some sensitivity to motion, which is common among migraineurs. (At age 24, I lasted only half a day working in a cannery, watching the belts go by me, before throwing up in the gutter!)

Sorry this has gotten a bit off-topic.

[ptoly]

Hi steph023,
I'm curious to see how you are getting along as I have very similar symptoms and history. However my rocking/swaying sensation clearly comes from my neck/upper body and it is in sync with my heartbeat. Do you have any history of neck injury?

If you have neither of these you might want to look more closely into Migraine Associated Vertigo, which does not need headaches. Because of my neck pain and my rocking with heartbeat I'm looking into vascular compression syndrome.

Good luck!

[lognum]

Try typing "vertical heterophoria syndrome" into a google search. The first site that comes up is from vision specialists of Birmingham MI. They have been doing some amazing things using fractional prism in eye glasses. Check out the site and the symptoms along with the testimonials. See if it describes you. If you had all the regular barrage of tests and found nothing, this may help, as it helped me. ENT specialists and Neurologists are now referring some of their patients, whom they cannot help, to this course of action. It is more common than one can imagine. You must be off all meds before they will treat you, as the meds just mask the symptoms and do not address the cause. You may be just a call away from the steps to getting better. Nothing to lose, but a phone call. I have nothing to do with the site. Just trying to help, as they helped me.