Dizziness

[SWW0101]

Hi, I am a 35-year-old male. For about 5 days, I have been feeling dizzy, especially when I turn my head to the left or right, or up and down.  It's similar to car sickness, or maybe being on a small boat and the boat is really rocking and swaying.  My vision has been blurry at times as well.  This dizziness causes slight nausea at times.  When I am walking, I have felt like I am involuntarily leaning to the left as I walk.  This scares me.  When I turn my head, it's like in slow-motion almost, even though I know I'm turning my head normally.  In a way, it's kind of like the feeling you have when you have the proverbial "medicine head", only I'm not taking medicine for a cold or anything. I have felt rather weak at times too. Even when I talk to my wife for more than a few minutes, I will get dizzy talking to her.

It feels like at the bottom of my throat, there is a slight feeling of something being there, kind of just above the collar bone, at the midpoint.  And when I swallow, sometimes it's like I'm swallowing something, even though I'm not swallowing anything.

Although not bothering me much today, the lower backside of my head and back of my neck have been very painful.

Although not happening today, over the past 10-14 days, inside of my left ear has felt different.  For instance, if I take my index finger and thumb and pull on my ear lobe, it makes a sound in my left ear that kind of sounds like static on the radio.  That might be hard to understand, but when I pull on my ear, what I would hear is more amplified than normal and just kind of staticky.

Lastly, and this is not happening today either, I have been out of breath for no particular reason.  I would just be watching TV, and I could feel myself getting out of breath. I would have to take deep breaths and tell myself to relax.

I have abused alcohol from the age of 16 to my present age of 35.  Although not drinking as much this past year, starting in mid-December, I  have been on a pretty strong alcohol binge.  I have drunk alcohol twice in the past 9 days.  My plan is to quit the alcohol.  Also, I have drastically reduced the amount of sugar in my diet and this dietary change has been in the past week.  My body fat is at about 35%, so I in the beginning stages of getting that down to my ultimate goal of around 10% body fat.  I feel I'm eating enough calories. I'm drinking 120 oz's of water, lifting weights, and running. I sit in front of a computer screen for about 6-8 hours per day and have done so for 10 years.  I checked my blood pressure 2 weeks ago, and it was 130/92 if I remember correctly.  My temperature has been 96 recently.  Heart rate has been 75-80 recently. I am not coughing or sneezing and I don't feel congested.  The headaches have been pretty bad, but the pain was in the lower back part of my head.

I just wanted to see if anyone here knew what it might be that is bothering me before going to the Dr.  I am kind of worried.

Thanks.

[Kevin Pho, MD]

Difficult to say without examination.

I would consider head imaging to evaluate the dizziness.  The associated nausea, as well as the other head symptoms warrants a rule out for any cranial masses and other abnormalities.  A non-contrast head CT can be considered.

Otherwise, many upper respiratory infections and sinusitis can lead to some of the symptoms you describe.  Appropriate antibiotic therapy can be considered.

Regarding the shortness of breath - this needs to be looked at further.  Starting with a simple chest x-ray and pulmonary function tests can be considered.  More extensive testing with a CT scan can be discussed if the initial results are non-revealing.

These options can be discussed with your personal physician.

Followup with your personal physician is essential.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Kevin, M.D.
kevinmd_

[latin_hick]

Hi, sense last year I been feeling woozy in my head. I get dizzy at times and I can hear little popping sound when I yawn in my head. It comes and goes :O( It just lingers. I don't feel like myself anymore. Does anymore feel this way???

Thanks