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Dizzy and Blur Vision while driving

I am a 43 yo female who recently started having major problems with dizziness while driving.  I recently started driving 2 hours to and from work.  I am having a difficult time explaining the symptoms.  I was driving home from work and began to feel like everything was moving too fast but I was sitting still.  My vision became blurred and I began  to be unable to focus.  I feel like my car is not touching the road and I have no control.  Medical History: Diagnosed w/fibromuscular dysplasia w/renal artery stenosis 7 years ago; gastric surgery 5 years ago;plastic surgery in July (breast reduction and tummy tuck; high blood pressure and I am hypoglecemic. My PCP states he heard something in my neck and has ordered a Caritoid Ultrasound but I am concern that this is not my problem and it is something we are missing. I am having a low grade headache;some low grade burred vision; dizziness when turning over in the bed and some facial pain behind my eyes.  Please tell me if we should be looking at other things.  I have to drive back and forth to work so any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Avatar universal
Hi highrisk. i have the same problem. your not alone. I been driving trucks for 12 years. it all started right after i got my cdl license. started driving trucks....and for some strange reason, i just start getting dizzy. only when im driving on like highways or certain large roads.....or at night, when im very tired and theres lights shiny all in my face from cars passing or street lights. sometimes i use yellow tinted glasses for night driving, it does seem to work alittle. and i drive slow. I know the feeling....it feels like you about to lose control of the vehicle and black out....and you get dizzy alittle. i think we have partial seizures, im not sure. or photosensitive seizures. its when you look at things when your driving you start getting dizzy, and flashing lights or headlights all in your face at night, while driving cause you to get dizzy, its a crazy, but like, i said, it only happens at night to me, specially when im tired. so keep in contact on here, so we can figure this out, im glad to see im not alone, i drive at night to, but dont want to give up my job, i have great benefits, you know. so, i try everything like wearing special glasses that block night glare, drink coffee to keep me up more and make me more alert.....it helps, but doesnt stop it, one thing i find that helps is to drive slower at night. so, i hope this help you. talk to you later.
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Avatar universal
Went to the ENT today and he said he didnt think it is a inner ear problem and he also did a ear pressure test which was fine. So basically another wasted dr visit and more money out the window. He said i need to go see a neurologist. So i guess that will be my next stop. i will keep you updated when i go see the neurologist. oh well
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Avatar universal
Like other people have said here i am glad i found this forum. I am a truck driver who driver only at night and i ahve been driving for about 6 years. Last december i was on my way back and all the sudden i felt a flutter in the top left back corner of my head. Then i got really dizzy and my vision got realy blurry and i got sick to my stomach and extremely hot. lucky i got the rig pulled over quickly. It lasted about 5-10 seconds and so i rolled the windows down (It was cold outside) And i never thought anything more of this really except the back of my head was kinda sore for a while and so i did nothing else about it. About 1-2 months later it happend again and lucky again i pulled into the rest area just ahead and i felt the same way and like i was gonna pass out. i got out and walked around and nothing helped. So finally i went to my doctor and told him and they did blood work and a cat scan of my brain. Nothing! everything was fine so he basically told me it was in my head and put me on some antidepressants so i took them for 2 months and nothing i still get dizzy spells but none have been as bad as the first 2. The problem is that it only seems to happen at night while highway driving where there is no street lights or even worse on a dark 2 lane road,its like i cant focus on anything and things get blurry and i get hot flashes.

Since this hppend the other day and i had to cal my job and tell them that i couldnt drive now they wont let me come back to work with out a dr release. but the problem is how can i get a release if the dr's dont even know. I am going to see a ENT tomorrow and hopefully get some kinda of answers. i also had my eyes checked and i have perfect 20/15 vision. I can be out on my boat fishing standing on the back corner as the waves moves me up and down and nothing no dizzy feeling or nothing i can do anything during the day and nothing happens while running,playing golf. Only when i drive down dark roads or highways at night.Some times while watching tv at home or on the computer i get a little light headed and sometimes feel my heartbeat in my temples. i am so depressed about this and hope to find a cure because driving is my life and how i provide for my wife and kids and pretty much all i can do! By the way i am 33yr old male good health and work out 5 days a week with no prior medical problems. I will check back in and let you know what the ENT says tomorrow!
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Avatar universal
Cervical vertigo. This sounds plausible. Also someone said something about neck and head position during sleep? I could see where this might interrupt blood flow and/or nerve function. I've woken sometimes with neck pain. I have the same over 60 mph problem mentioned here and it's made worse when the road turns right or coming down a mountain with a wide open view. I feel like I'm floating. It's intermittent for me. What seems to work for me is neck exercises, and maybe just exercise in general, no alcohol the night before, and not too much caffeine. The worst thing for me is too much alcohol the night prior and coffee the next morning. I'm curious how a cervical pillow would help. I will also try some sort of exercise (treadmill or bike) just prior to driving to see if lack of blood flow has an impact. I suppose I cannot rule out the possibility of anxiety but I don't really have any except when speaking in front of a group of people. One thing I've noticed that when my adrenaline gets going I don't seem to have the vertigo feeling. I guess I should throw lack of proper blood due to low oxygen intake.
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Avatar universal
Hi folks, I was driving home tonight on a 2.5 hour stretch and suddenly felt a "disequilibrium." I have had similar
symptoms for years but it was intermittent so it is hard to trace. At first I thought it might have been some food I
ate. Then I thought maybe it was the air conditioner. So I pulled over on the next exit and parked for 15 minutes
and tried to breath deeply. As I drove home, it occurred to me that I was experiencing a LOSS OF DEPTH
PERCEPTION (esp. since this "vertigo" occurs mostly at night, but not exclusively). I was able to re-train my
eyes to look at signs in the distance and tracking them as they approach, then focusing on the next sign, and so
on. In this way I was able to continue driving despite the "disequilibrium" I experienced. I hope this may be of
help to someone next time they run into a similar experience!
Best regards.
p.s. keep a window or two open for fresh air when this occurs
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Avatar universal
I really think you and Genefreak are onto something here with the correlations to eye strain!

I too spend most of my day in front of a computer screen.. and it seems like this issue gets worse when after i spend hours in front of a computer and go for a drive.

It has gotten really intense lately because a lot of my work is done on the computer.. I'm really trying to stay away from the computer as much as I can to see if it helps.. but you know it's kinda hard when your work relies on it..

Anyone else that's suffering these symptoms and spend a lot of time in front of a computer, please chime in so we can narrow the possible causes!
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