Dizziness/foggy feeling

[Just concerned...]

Hello.  For a few months now, I have been having this somewhat bizarre feeling in my head.  It comes and goes - sometimes lasts a while - sometimes goes away for a week or so.  It's almost like I'm dizzy, but not like I'm about to pass out.  It's almost a similar sensation to motion sickness where I feel like what I'm focusing on with my eyes suddenly makes me kind of nauseous.  I feel kind of "foggy-headed" - kind of like when you have a bad head cold and you're "disconnected", so to speak.  I had been given a new type of contact lenses by my eye doctor, so he switched me to another kind, thinking that these may have been drying out too much and re-shaping on my eye to cause focusing problems.  I'm not sure if this is related to my eyes or something in my head or something else!  It scares me when it happens and it can sometimes last for a few hours where I'm incredibly aware of my head feeling foggy - probably causes me to worry about it more than I should.  I do work most of my day on a computer.  Is this something I should look into?  I was told it could be related to allergies?  Is this something to be concerned about?  I am scheduled for my annual physical with my doctor at the beginning of January - would this warrant seeing him sooner?  Thank you in advance for any advice you can offer.

[CCF Neuro[P] MD, RPS]

Dear Just Concerned:

It is difficult to say what may be occuring, as the internet is not a good medium to diagnose an illness.  I think since this have been going on for awhile you are okay to wait until January, UNLESS the symptoms get worse.  I would keep a journal of these events.  Note the time, duration, and what you were feeling. Also include anything associated with the "foggy feeling" such as seeing objects like black dots, colors, nausea, vomiting, etc.  There are many things that can make you feel foggy from sinusitis, medications, viral infections, to the real bad things.  

I hope all is just passing and you are soon back to health.

Sincerely,

CCF Neuro MD

[CCF neuro MD MM]

The symptom you describe while obviously very distressing is very difficult to attribute to a single cause. Very frequently it is not possible to pin down an exact basis of these vague intermittent subjective feelings.
I would at least be confident that it is not due to an  "allergy" however !!
This could be due to a number of underlying causes, for instance if your blood sugar is low this can occurr, you would need to have your blood sugar level checked during one of the episodes to be sure.
Very rarely this can be due to epileptic activity, but you would need an EEG during one of the episodes to clarify this.
One way to help determine if this is a serious problem is to ask if other people notice something wrong during one of the episodes, if so it is more likely to have a definite organic basis. I cannot advise you when to see your doctor but I do this  this shoud be brought to his / her attention and investigated.

[Just concerned...]

Thank you so much for your quick answers!  I will start keeping track of what is specifically going on and be sure to talk to my doctor about it in January.  He is doing some routine bloodwork in December before my physical, so I may mention it to him before then in case he wants to have anything extra run on my blood.  Thanks again.

[kevin]

This is very interesting...I was dizzy for 6 months, and saw halos, fluorescent light really made it bad...The weird thing is I got my first pair of glasse for nearsightedness and it started to clear up however I still get lightheaded but not as bad....I have very tight neck muscles I think from posture problems , and I thought I might have been squinting causing my neck muscles to become tenser and making things worse...I too have a feeling of dry eyes and scratched my left cornea before all this started..it wasn't healing properly...I thought I had MS or something but had normal MRI of Brain, cervical and lumbar and normal EP's.How could the eye cause this dizziness folks? CCF Neuro or anyone else who cares to comment? My symptoms "just concerned" were a lot like yours....Strange stuff.

[CCF Neuro[P] MD, RPS]

Dear Kevin:

The tracts of the eye and vestibular system are connected.  If there is disruption of either, there can be dizziness.  For example, motion illness, in some people the eye does not process movement correctly and therefore one gets nauseated and sometimes a lightheaded feeling.  

Sincerely,

CCF Neuro MD

[kevin]

Thank you for your response...my neuro is very open minded, and when I show him information like this, particularly from another neurologist, he is very receptive and actually asks for copies of this information....to help decide things...( I've had the other types of doctors who dismiss anything I bring to them as " forget everything from the internet") so I'm very lucky...Since just concerned and I seem to have a similar problem, is there a test that can be performed for this this type of thing and which specialist.Last post, promise. Thank you again.

[CCF Neuro[P] MD, RPS]

Dear Kevin:

Yes there is a test that looks at eye movements in concert with vestibular function.  It is done only at specific centers such as Harvard, UCLA, and the Cleveland Clinic.  

Sincerely,

CCF Neuro MD

[anon]

go see a neurootologist (inner ear specialist) at a teaching hospital.

[CCF Neuro[P] MD, RPS]

thanks for the comment.

CCF Neuro MD

[Adam]

Hi,

You really need to
a) have vestibular testing first.. pray that its negative.. a vestibular problem is definitely something nasty to have as there is not much you can do about it.
b) have a CT scan of your sinuses.

I had the same problems as you, but when vestibular testing came back negative, the neuro assumed there was nothing wrong with me and that I'd be better off at a psychiatrist.

And I did go to a psychiatrist, who said my problems sound like they could be sinus-related. I was given a nasal spray called 'Beconase AQ' which got rid of most of the pressure I would get in my head and I could focus properly and my vision cleared up a lot. Dizziness/imbalance still remained somewhat, so I had a CT scan of the sinuses which showed a very badly deviated septum, polyps, very little flow in ethmoid and maxillary sinuses but no sinus infection. There was no way to tell if surgery would fix my problem for sure, but I had it done and now I feel 100% again (after living for 2 years with fogginess, lightheaddedness, dizziness/imbalance and feeling detached).

Please give it a try.

-Adam

[Margaret Roosa]

I don't know if I'm in the right place or not, but if I'm not, please forgive me.  

Several months ago, I began to have what I call "spells."  It feels like something in my spine that gets weak and then I feel very light headed as though I'm going to pass out.  

I've had 5 major spine surgeries - 2 lumbar and 3 cervical, the last being for spinal cord compression at the C3/C4 levels.  I've also had a total hip replacement.  Because of these chronic conditions, I'm currently a patient in a Pain Management Clinic at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, in Washington, D.C.  I'm treated with MS Contin 30 mg, MS Contin 15 mg, 2 percocet at bedtime, 100 mg of elavil before bed.  In May of this year, I became very depressed and was given Wellbutrin and Trazadone.  These spells started after that.  

Most recently, I've had cataract surgery on both my eyes.  Upon recovery from the cataract surgery, when my doctor (ophthalmologist) was examining my eyes, he found that my optic nerve is swollen and immediately sent me to other doctors who agreed that it was swollen and told me I need to see a neurologist right away and the swollen optic nerve meant an increased level of pressure in the brain.  My initial physician wanted these other folks to determine if I have papilledema or pseudo papilledema.  The second physician I saw, as I said above, said that I needed to see a neurologist right away.  

I had a brain stem stroke in 1988 and tomorrow, I'm going to see the neurologist who treated me for that.  I'm a military dependent and wanted to keep my care at Walter Reed, but for some reason, they've dropped the ball on this and thus I decided to see the physician who treated my stroke simply because of the doctor's sense of urgency.  I seem to remember at that time that something was said about my optic nerve, but I cannot remember what.  I do remember that I was given cortisone to try to bring my vision back to normal after the stroke.  However, I'm sure they have my records archived and can easily find out.  It didn't, but it did get normal over a period of time by itself.  I had double vision then.  When I mentioned this to the second ophthalmologist (the one who told me to see a neurologist), he said no, this is more recent than that - meaning this swelling.  I don't know how he could know that.  

Anyway, as I said above, the only unusual symptom I've had are my weak spells and I've been told that I get very pale during them.  It almost feels as though my blood pressure rises and then suddenly drops.  

I would appreciate any comments you may have regarding my condition.

Margaret Roosa

[Jonathan]

I am very interested in the comments about the dizzy feelings.
For the past three weeks I have been experiencing these dizzy feelings but not as a headache. They have been at their worst when I have been eating and having a glass of wine with dinner. At that point I become dizzy and feel very hot. I immediately lose my apetite.
I have recently changed my reading glasses for a slightly stronger pair but I would be amazed if this caused such an effect. I have also been taking a course of Roaccutane but my specialist who prescribed these does not believe they would be having this effect.
I have now lost my appetite and don't know where to go next.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[CCF Neuro[P] MD, RPS]

Dear Jonathan:

I would take a wild guess and tell you that your dizziness and flushing is due to the interaction of the alcohol and accutane.  I would not do both at the same time.  Look at the insert of the accutane and see if this is a side effect.

Sincerely,

CCF Neuro MD

[E.J. Gill]

Very interesting that so many people have similar experiences.  I too have been experiencing, dizziness, blurred vision, out-of-focus-type experiences. I also have added turning "40" to all of my other issues which have included one petit mal seizure which, after many tests, directed my physicians to locate a meningioma located on my brain and sitting on the nervous system area that affects the left side of my body.  Various medication failures have lead me to Dilantin for the past year with little side effects.  Recently, the vision thing started up.  So now I wonder is it "40" or is it the medication?  I've had my vision checked and have been told "welcome to getting older".  But I can't seem to accept such a change so rapidly and noticeable.  One thing I have discovered that seems to relieve the length of the experiences is Chiropractic care.  I understand that this may seem unusual, but I have found that proper adjustments to keep my skeletal and muscular system "in-line" seems to do a great deal.  I carry my stress in my shoulder/neck area and this relieves alot of pressure in this area.  I can actually feel a "rush" type sensation after an adjustment.  I have also found that keeping physically active helps as well.  If I don't get up and move, I notice more bluriness.  Best wishes to all.

[CCF Neuro[P] MD, RPS]

Dear E.J. Gill:

thanks for the comments.


CCF Neuro MD

[Wendy]

For my lightheadedness, my ENT has recommended the surgery which Adam (above) probably had.  I was going to get it done till a couple of people told me how horrible it was to have their nose packed for three days, and how it didn't even always help.  But after reading Adam's comment maybe I'll give it a shot.  Adam, if you get this, what was your experience with having your nose packed?

[Wendy]

For my lightheadedness, my ENT has recommended the surgery which Adam (above) probably had.  I was going to get it done till a couple of people told me how horrible it was to have their nose packed for three days, and how it didn't even always help.  But after reading Adam's comment maybe I'll give it a shot.  Adam, if you get this, what was your experience with having your nose packed?

[CCF Neuro[P] MD, RPS]

Dear Wendy:

If surgery is what you do, I hope that your symptoms are relieved by it.

Sincerely,

CCF Neuro MD

[Karen]

i dont agree with the person who said it your diziness could not possibly be related to allergies!! i have had re-occuring problems with diziness and extreme fatigue for years, it comes and goes through out the year- ihad many tests done and plenty of blood work, nothing showed up-i am now convinced that it is allergy/sinus problems.  a good allergist or ent will verify that.

[CCF Neuro[P] MD, RPS]

thanks for your comments.

CCF Neuro MD

[david]

Hello my name is david. About a year ago on Thanksgiving eve, I took the drug known as extacy. After that I smoked pot. In the morning when I woke up, I felt as if I were in another time zone.  I thought it was just going to wear off but it hasn't to this date. (a year later) My symtoms are constant foggieness, confusion, panic attacks, pressure in my eyes, social dissruptance,( I can't even look at anyone in the eye anymore) I rarely feel normal. I'd say maybe 1 day out of the week I'm ok. After a Saterday night of drinking It is at it's worst. My personality has totaly changed because of this problem. I cannot afford an mri or catscan. I have become deathly affraid of social events that involve people listening to what I have to say. It has also affected my driving. D

Did this drug cause a chemical imbalance in my brain? I'm not a big pot smoker but when I did, I felt as though I were on another planet. I couldn't understand anything that came out of people's mouths. I think it might be some kind of imbalance. Is there anyway to balance it if I'm right. There are many other symptoms but I think you get the idea so far. What do I do? I'm only 23 years old. I can't deal with this much longer. Please advise....

[Wendy]

David, have you tried a psychologist?  I know it's probably not what you want to hear, but your drug event could have spurred a psychological problem that was lying in ambush.  Ya know,  kind of how sometimes a traumatic event starts something?  For example, if you were paranoid, even just a bit, before you took the drug, and it was, as you described, a bad experience, paranoia in general could have begun there.  I am sorry you feel so awful.  I feel awful too.  I am apparently suffering from anxiety or panic or something.  It sure takes a lot of the pleasure out of living.  But maybe we will both be lucky, and this will all eventually pass.  Good luck, and try to get better insurance or go to a doctor school or participate in a study where you get free medical treatment.  Such studies are advertised in the classified ads.

[CCF Neuro[P] MD, RPS]

Dear David:

I would see a psychologist or psychiatrist.  It sounds like you have had a drug induced psychosis.

Sincerely,

CCF Neuro MD

[david]

Thank you for your comment doctor. What does a drug induced phychosis mean though?  Is this cureible? Is their any other way of handling this? I cannot afford a phyciatrist.....David