/blurred vision/imbalance/white spots

  My visit to the ER last Wednesday prompted to look on the net and seek answers and info. I found your site by doing a search on Yahoo. I'm glad I did.
  Last Wednesday (Jan 27/99):
  Suddenly out of the blue I had  vision problems
  ... hmm..first it went blurry and within minutes I was little flashes of
  while lights blocking almost half of my vision. I felt suddenly weak (like
  I was about to pass out) and body numb .. and I mean NUMB .. like I
  couldn't even feel my arm. Numb like I had a spinal block  (I remember that feeling from my c/s last september)  I got THAT out of the blue.
   I panicked (obviously)and then had all sorts of anxiety symptoms on top of that-rapid
  heartbeat , sweats , etc..  but I wasn't concerned about those symptoms. I am still worried about what has all happenned though and this si why I seek your help about this.
  When I first got to the ER  no one seemed too  concerned , they were but really
  just thought they would rule out any immediate threat (heart , brain ,
  etc..) my vitals basically. So once the DRs (2 of them) started talking to
  me asking me "Anything unusal this week?" stuff like that ... I told them
  about these headaches I have been having (which is not the reason I went in
  last night) ...
  History about headaches:
  A week before this episode I have been getting headaches (severe)I don;t really get headaches often ,and when I get them it's because  I am stressed/hungry/tired ..etc.. Normally I can always tell why I got a headcahes. These headaches were different.
  I was awoken from a terrible (mon Jan25) worst one in my life) a few
  mornings ago. The headache woke me up. I was unable to move from the pain.
  My husband brought me some advil and cold pack (for behind my neck) and I was able to go back to sleep but still woke up with a milder headache in the morning. It finally went away that day but kept coming back every 5-6 hours or so.
  The ER drs  decided to do  a CAT Scan to rule out bleeds in my brain (they
  had a fancier name for it) It came up normal , but they still wanted to be
  sure so they did a spinal tap t showed nothing as well ,
  which I was releived .. however .. they discharged me on the condition that
  if anything at all happenned I would return and that I would go to teh
  neurologist quickly. They even set up an appointement for which I go tomorow.  
  
  Okay a bit more history :
  I have had  balance problems since April 95 . I always feel like I am walking on a boat . Need to hold on to something to keep steady . Also I have had tinnitus to go along with that. I have seen an ENT who ruled out any inner ear disorder and hearing loss. Another thing to I have had vision disturbances for about two years .. basically I see lilttle white circles (balls and they move in circle occasionally (at least once a day) . Other info  that maybe helpful . I have had two surgeries (one c/s under general , one c/s elected with spinal) , after my first c/s I had a uterus lining infection as well as a kidney infection. Was on IV antibiotics for 5 days maybe more. I have mentionbed this to my general practioner but he always  said "Don;t worry you are fine" .. I don;t feel fine and I am concerned.
  I am only 26 years old with 2 young infants (under 2) and I was hoping you could give me insight , or perhaps let me know what are the right questions to ask the neuro , etc,... I really want to GET BETTER or at least GET answers
  Thanks you for your time .. It is much appreciated.
  Patricia Sangster
patricia,
excellent history, thank you. from your story my leading diagnosis would be CLASSIC MIGRAINE HEADACHE.  in a classic migraine headache, a person ( typically young to middle aged female ) will describe a "terrible" headache associated with one or more of the following;
nausea, lightheadedness, severe pain, numbness of arms and/or legs, visual symptoms-  which may include simply flashing or shimmering lights, up to loss of "half" of your vision, in a vertical fashion. and because of the way our vision is projected from our eyes to our brain
we actually lose half the vision ( either to the right or left  )in EACH eye ( HEMIANOPSIA ). does this sound familiar??? the good news is migraines very rarely cause any permanent damage, and they can often be controlled or prevented with medication.  now i of course cannot completely rule out any other cause of your symptoms, but
in a healthy 26 year old female with a normal CT and spinal tap i would not feel other diagnoses would be likely.  that being
said, at this point, besides seeing a neurologist, i recommend you see an ophthalmologist for a full exam and a visual field to rule any permanent defects or eye abnormalities.
i hope this helped.
key words:  migraine, visual field, hemianopsia
Disclaimer:  This information is offered as medical advice, based on your history and question, and should in no way be construed as a diagnosis, or take the place of a face to face visit with a physician.