To the twirlers, spinners and off balanced

[sllowe]

Who's world twirls and spins?

I woke up this a.m. to my clock going around in a what looked like circles.  I thought I was still sleeping.  Since sleep and I have had such a bad relationship lately, I figured I'd just better reclose my eyes while the gettin' was good.

Only to get up an hour later and discover that it's just not time that's 1/2 clo cked -  it's me!  I'm all out of sorts.  Bent over to play with the dog and there went the whirling, oh my.  

Who else is grabbing on tight while things move about? Can lack of sleep do this?

Who's got the magic wand - pass that baby around!

((hugs)))
shell

[sllowe]

Thank you all so very much.  

It's still here, but not so much whirling now, it's just as if I get tilted on and off throughout the day.  It's accompanied by jerky eyes and brain.  

Not so sure if my eyes can't keep up with my brain, or vice versa.  When movement is added, just makes it worse.  

Thanks again,
shell

[jensequitur]

I had severe vertigo for about six months.  For about two months, it was constant - mild in the morning, worst in the afternoon.  I guess it was because of that huge lesion in my right cerebellum!  It's gradually gone away, but comes back for a visit every now and then, like today.

I've also had a really weird thing happen - one night, I'm painting in my studio, and all of a sudden, I can't see.  A big gray blur is across my right eye.  I blink to clear it, but it doesn't go away.  Then the room starts spinning!  It's actually my eyes, swiveling around in their sockets, but it looks like the room is going around and around.  I freaked out, and got DH to lead me to the couch, where I laid down.  I think the doctor decided it was some sort of nystagmus.

[PastorDan]

I was put on meclizine for the first instance of vertigo in July, though it mostly made me sleepy.  In October, we tried it again, with the same effect, so they switched me to Xanax (yeah, I can still see the surprise in the pharmacist's face), and it did the same thing, only worse.  Then came scopolamine patches, with minimal effect there, either, but possibly a shade better than those other two.  Then I was directed to drop all those things for several weeks of vestibular rehab therapy, which didn't help at all, and seemed to make me worse at times.  Next was Depakote, then clonazepam, then amitriptyline, then gabapentin added to the amitriptyline, then Imitrex, now I'm told to drop the amitriptyline, and to use the Imitrex not more than twice in a day and not more than two days a week.  Hello?  My attacks are multiple times a day, every day!

My vertigo is central, as well, but no big blobs of lesions in the cerebellar pontine angles, etc., means they don't believe it can be MS -- but only God knows what it is, yet we'll call it migraine and see what happens.

[saveone]

That is vertigo you are describing.  I been known to set straight up from a sound sleep because the feeling of whirling came on, like the worst drunk you ever had, no that I had one...at least one I am going to admit too. :)

I saw an ENT.  It has been determined my vertigo is not peripheral but central, meaning it is not positional but related to the central nervous system.  Just one more notch on my belt.

There are some drugs that help with it.  I haven't used any yet.  But Dramamine for motion sickness that you buy at the pharmacy is one of those.

The vertigo and dizziness was one of the things that lead to my first MRI last August.  The whole time my GP was insisting I get one I was insisting I didn't need one.  GP knows best.

terry

terry

[PastorDan]

Interesting.  I was on Calan SR many, many years ago, when I'd had some PAC's.  Seemed quite benign.  I vaguely recall a caplet-shaped pill that was a pale green.  Of course, in our generic world, it could be anything nowadays.  Thanks for the thought.

[rendean]

I was given verapamil by my MS neuro for atypical migraine and it has done well. Only a very small dose. Worked 6 months until today....

[PastorDan]

My MS neuro didn't care if it was migraine or not.  He just decided it wasn't typical MS, so he sent me on to an underling who settled on atypical migraine (for no aparrent reason).  Meanwhile, the twirling, spinning, tumbling, sinking, rocking, and whichever other motions i can't remember how to describe have been constant since Thanksgiving, and nearly so for some weeks before that.  They only vary in intensity.  I wish they'd come up with an atypical migraine med, because the typical ones haven't made much of a dent.

[rendean]

I have had the twirls before , about 3 years ago and bought a ticket for my 1st MRI, CT scan and 7 staples to my head along with a 4 day inpatient stay and no answers.

This morning, it happened again. Just as you described. Woke up before the alarm and and thought the clock  was moving, reminiscent of those college party days, and rolled over and went back to sleep. Got up 2 hours later and had a MAJOR attack of vertigo just as I entered my tiled bathroom. Nice long bruise along my right arm from the elbow almost to my wrist, skinned knees and sore muscles. But..I accomplished my goal. I felt as if an earthquake had hit (I do not live on the west coast;-) and my bathroom counter tops were spinning. My goal was not to hit my mouth on the counter. In that , I was successful. Don't have a clue what caused it and the folks at the Infusion Center could have cared less. Will touch base with PCP and local neuro tomorrow in person .I'll let you know IF I found out anything.

Oh wait.. the brain just turned back on..My physical therapist did tell me my left eye doesn't track properly and if I step with my left foot and look left I lose my balance which sounds similar to what you experienced. You might "practice" with someone on a padded surface and see if you can identify if this is an issue for you. My PT said mine was permanent neuro damage but taught me how to work around it. However, today's vertigo was on my right side and was not like the loss of balance identified in PT.

I wish you luck in finding the origin of your problem. I had the vestibular work-up, etc , was sent to the Dizziness and Balance Center at a major academic hospital. Their dx: atypical migraine. My MS neuro told me that's their pat answer when you don't fit their protocol. His educated guess-MS.

Wishing success in finding an answer and safety until you do.

Hugs,
Ren