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SUDDEN onset of CONSTANT migraines, vertigo, anxiety..

About four months ago my boyfriend blacked out at his work. He became very dizzy with a headache and his vision started to close in. Once seeing the ER they ran a blood test in which everything came out normal with the exception of a slightly elevated creatine level but doctors said it was nothing to be concerned about because he excercised everyday. They also ran an EKG which came out normal as well. His blood pressure is normal (recently it was 110/70) the day of the black out was slightly higher. He went home that night still hurting and feeling on the verge of passing out and these symptoms have yet to cease. He is ALWAYS in pain, sometimes it is better than others but none the less it is constant.
Anyways, we've seen an ear nose and throat doctor who ran vertigo and balance tests which all came out normal stating that there was no inner ear problem. We then saw an opthamalogist who checked the vessels in his eyes and ran all the precautionary tests that I know of which came out normal. Next, we saw a nuerologist, who after hearing the story of his symptoms, guessed he may have vertiginous migraines. He checked his neck and shoulders (which seemed a bit stiff but not of much concern) but basically did all the small and neccessary checks on his reflexes, which was all normal. He prescribed him topomax (topiromate?) 25mg at night the first two weeks and then 50 mg a night from then on. This has seemed to help his headaches a bit but the vertigo continues to get worse. He also prescribed Relpax for when the pain was unbearable.

So at this point the overview of his symptoms is headaches, extreme vertigo, occasional nausea, and all of this is constant. The vertigo and headaches seems to be increasingly worse when he goes into large public buildings (for instance he cannot eat in restaurants anymore because of the increase in pain when hes there) for this reason he speculated it may be anxiety causing everything so his primary doctor prescribed him paxil to go along with the topomax but this made him moody and wasnt helping so close to 2 1/2 weeks later i had him wean himself off of them.
Recently the last doctor we have seen is a second primary doctor who agreed with the nuerologist that it may be vertiginous migraines but he did not know the cause either. He prescirbed an increased dosage of the topomax (25mg in the morning and keeping with the 50mg at night) he also prescribed a low dose of zanex in case it is anxiety, he prescribed moxalt for when the pain is very bad (instead of the relpax) and he prescribed a low dose antiinflammatory for the vessels in his brain when the pain was really bad. He is just starting these new prescriptions tomorrow.

Another strange symptom is he has never had a nose bleed untill all this happened and now he gets one about every 2 or 3 weeks. Also, he gets very little sleep and has a problem falling asleep till around 4 in the morning.

Im very interested and concerned about learning what CAUSED all this so suddenly and why it cant be diagnosed, PLEASE HELP! THANKYOU!
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Avatar universal
To foolthrottle: i hope your wife gets better.
and to dont_tick_me_off: do i need to actually REQUEST that he be tested for lyme disease? or is it found in a common bloodtest? and can westernblot or ELISA be done by a primary doctor or do i need him to see a specialist? and how ironic you mention the circular rash. i had one years ago that looked like ringworm too but the doctor just gave me some cream for it and it hasnt been back since.
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1554969 tn?1294373606
  My wife used to get migraines about once a month or less but over the last year she has been getting them about once a week, and for a week now she has had vertigo, and nausea (with vomiting). The dizziness can last for hours at a time, she laid in bed for the first two days. I took her to he ER once and her primary care as well. They keep telling her it will go away on its own any time now. She hasnt gotten any better. They did a cat scan on her and said she was ok, gave her a bunch of meds and that was that. Just sharing..
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Avatar universal
They havent done an MRA yet, only the MRI. but yea im somewhat familiar with the difference. the doctor said since they used the dye testing in the mri that it was thorough enough and any problems with the vessels would have showed up but im not so sure how true that is. and ill have to hope it isnt lime disease since they didnt find it in the bloodwork, ill do some research, thankyou.
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Has he had an MRA or a CTA done?  MRA is NOT an MRI and CTA is NOT a CT.
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special tests (blood work) are used ELISA and Westernblot
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Avatar universal
no. Lyme disease is diagnosed through blood tests (unreliable testing) and any good dr. will diagnose through symptoms.

I was bitten by a tick and didn’t even know it in 2002. My symptoms started showing up predominately in 2008. I had a rash in 2002 that was a large circular rash (looked similar to ringworm, but not as crusty and flaky as ringworm) didn’t think anything of it at the time.. used topical cream that I had at home. It reoccurred a second time… used cream again and it never came back.

Some of my symptoms could still be from Lyme, but my Kyhposis can also cause a lot of my symptoms. I’m curious to see what the Chiro can treat and fix.. and whatever else is not fixed, I guess I have to live with

Lyme Disease is extremely complex and difficult to treat/cure after leaving the initial infection. Awareness of this disease is crucial, because it’s been shoved under the carpet and ignored. It’s a huge epidemic. Be careful in reading up on lyme. It’s can become overwhelming and addicting. As much as it is very interesting (both the disease and the politics that coincide with it) it can take over your every thought.

If you have an questions about Lyme, let me know.. I’ve become a specialist in literature on the disease! lol.
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is LYME disease only diagnosed through a spinal tap? or would it have been found in his blood work? and thankyou for the advice and options!
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Avatar universal
Good point from Dont_tick_me_off about LYME which is also a terrible disease I heard and can give lots of Neurological problems.  I had a spinal tap done for LYME and all other diseases and came back negative.  

LYME seems like something don't show up in any tests many times.  How frustrating is that?  Sometimes I think I have LYME disease but my Post Concussion symptoms and LYME almost have the same symptoms.  What a mess?
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Avatar universal
My chiro is very reputable. Make sure like SamPCS said... they know about upper cervical adjustments.

My Chiro took X-rays and Ultrasounds along with other tests. This was all of no charge.
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I also suffered from anxiety in big environments. TERRIBLE FEELING.. i dont wish any of my problems on anyone. I was also giving anxiety pills as well Venaflaxine.

Just sharing my problems, you just never know. I cant believe that this is what is most likely causing my problems. The body is a strange thing.
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Avatar universal
I also suffer from Neurological symptoms... dizziness, eye problems (visual snow, light sensitivity), headaches/migranes, muscle twitches, brain fog (unable to feel focused), dreamlike state feeling, etc.

Treated for lyme disease. Did cure a few things. But while been treated for lyme, my doctor took an MRI of my head and spine. He did find that i had loss the curve in my neck. Thinking nothing of it, because my doctor didnt seem concerned about the neck straightening, i left it and decided to do my my original GP expressed "sometimes neurological symptoms cant be explained and you must live with them" I reluctantly expected the diagnosis.

It wasnt until my husband (who has two buldged discs) went to a Chiropractor (very reputable) and mentioned to the dr about how this mri from a year ago demonstrated my curve loss... My husband said that i suffered from some strange problems. The Chiro started to list my symptoms off and he was "bang" on.

I've been seeing this dr. for 1 month and believe it or not, the one symptom that seems to be fading away is my fatigue (the one symptom i cant bare to live with) i am feeling a lot better and energetic. I will wait and see about the others.

P.S a normal neck curve should be sitting at 42*... i not only lossed all curve (0*) but i am minus 9*
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Avatar universal
You welcome.  Get an MRI of the cervical spine.  When you go to Chiropractor it will be better if you can find upper cervical chiropractor.  for some people it helped a lot.  When it comes to dizziness it is tough to find out the cause.  There is some thing called cervical vertigo too.  I am seeking out all the options and no cure yet.
http://www.upcspine.com/
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Avatar universal
He did work out very often (everyday for about three hours) does anyone believe this may be a pinched nerve and that why no one can find it?
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Our next step will most likely to have an ecephalogram done and start to see a chiropractor.
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Thankyou i appreciate your advice, especially about the xanex. and no he has never had any injuries or trauma to the head, hardly ever gets sick. He has perfect health aside from this excruciating pain.
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Avatar universal
I have all the symptoms your boyfriend has and mine because of a head injury 1 year and 7 months ago and some how I am still living and it is hell.  I have extreme dizziness when I go to mall, restaurants etc.,  Headaches, fatigue and nausea some times.   I don't think you mentioned any head injury now or prior.

Been to many specialists, therapies etc., and no use.  Xanax (or any benzo) helped in the beginning but not much anymore.  Be careful with Xanax since body gets used to get quickly and needs more and more dosage.  

You can try some alternative therapies like Acupuncture, Neurofeedback and also some Physical Therapy.  All these are only a try.  I am going to start Vestibular Therapy again and let you know if it helps.
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Avatar universal
They did a complete MRI with the dye. All came back normal.
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Avatar universal
Did they do a CT scan or MRI? If not, ask the doctors to do so. Good luck and keep us updated.
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