Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

Imbalance, Fatigure, Pressure behind one eye, blurry vision

Hi everyone!

I'm 22, female. I've been suffering from fatigue, imbalance, neck tension, pressure behind right eye, blurry vision for almost 3 weeks now.

I'm generally very coordinated and have good balance, but following a chiropractic manipulation of my neck on Tuesday 4/27/10, I have been having puzzling symptoms. I've been to this chiropractor sporadically since October 2008, and she's always used tools to gently adjust my spine, but never before has she done a manipulation like this: she had an assistant pull on my legs, while she pulled on my neck and twisted it hard and fast to one side.

Later that night, I was nauseous. And that night while trying to get comfortable and fall asleep I whipped my neck violently up and down against my pillow (a sort of whiplash effect). I woke up feeling fine the next morning, Wednesday 4/28, but later that day I noticed my vision was slightly blurry or distorted.

Sometime soon after the 28th, dizziness started. Not vertigo, not spinning, but a feeling of imbalance, not being able to walk well (like I didn't know how far the ground was when putting down my foot), and the sensation that somethings were distorted in my vision, sort of curved, and moving strangely or more than they should be.

After a while pressure began building behind my right eye, and from time to time I have muscle tension on my right neck (the same side as the eye pain and pressure), my head hurts especially when I lay down and there is pressure on it from the pillow/bed. Sometimes I'm nauseous and I vomited a few times last week. I feel like I have trouble holding up my head, like it's heavier on the right side. My dizziness is worse when I'm standing and walking, but the dizziness can be triggered by rolling over in bed, getting out of bed, and looking up by tilting my head back. Again, it's not spinning like vertigo, but just unsteadiness like things are moving more than they should.

It's been over 2 weeks now and the symptoms may have fluctuated a bit from day to day, but they are constant and haven't gotten any better that I can tell.

I've been to the Emergency room twice, neither time they found anything wrong. I've also been to my general practitioner who send me to the second emergency room trip to have an MRI of my neck and head done because she feared that an artery in my neck had been torn because of the chiropractic adjustment and that I might be bleeding into my brain, and might have a stroke.

I have seen a neurologist who basically laughed in my face and said you haven't had a stroke yet, nothing's wrong with you neurologically. I saw a spine doctor who said my spine had no problems, it wasn't misaligned, and they could tell why I might be dizzy all the time.

I finally got the results of the MRI of my head and and I don't have a torn artery in my neck, and everything's normal EXCEPT for a "2mm right supraclinoid Internal Carotid Artery aneurysm, projecting inferiorly" which I've figured out from searching online is a brain aneurysm behind my right eye near the optical nerve. It's unruptured, and small so the likelihood of it rupturing anytime soon is small, but I don't know if it might be causing symptoms.

Could this small aneurysm in my brain be causing the eye pain and pressure behind my right eye, visual disturbances, imbalance, disequilibrium, nausea, occasional neck pain, unsteady gait (walking), and fatigue (I'm so tired all the time, and this is not normal for me)?

Do you guys know anyone who's had an unruptured brain aneurysm?

Do you know what might have caused it?

Do you guys think that my chiropractor's manipulation caused the aneurysm to form?

Thank you in an advance for any responses.
4 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
Your should consider Arnold Chiari Malformation Type I as a possible explanation.  If you research this in detail, you will find many features similar to what you've explained.  

Diagnosis can be difficult, and if you do have this your MRI will need to be examined by possibly several Neurosurgeons who may disagree about what they see.  Likewise, the radiology report may disagree.  However, you should read as much as possible about the condition because it VERY closely resembles what you have described.  
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
To be honest, I am not a fan of Chiropractors, they are stretching this and pulling that, etc.  In your situation, I would not get any more adjustments.  I am guessing the adjustments possibly aggrevated your problem.  

Secondly, 2mm is very small, but just because it is small does not mean it cannot cause problems.  One has to take into consideration the size, position, etc.; this is something for a Neurovascular/Vascular Specialist to figure out.

I would go with the Endovascular Neurosurgeon.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thanks for responding, Londres70!
I will look into Neurovascular specialists...I was researching and it seems like maybe a neuroradiologist or endovascular neurosurgeon would be up the right alley. What do you think? How do you think my chiropractor may have aggravated my aneurysm? Do you think possibly the carotid artery was stretched when she manipulated my neck, causing an already weak structure deep in my brain to become weaker? Do you think 2mm is large enough to cause symptoms?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I don't know anyone who has had one personally, but these need to be monitored CLOSELY by a VASCULAR SPECIALIST.  There is a high genetic link for one to be predispositioned to these.  

Secondly, I am sure it was there prior to the Chiro's adjustment and the adjustment aggrevated it.  

Thirdly, this is nothing for a Neurologist to handle; it would be more appropriate to consult a Neurovascular/Vascular Specialist to assess you/monitor this.  Some of your symptoms do correspond with this condition.  

Keep us posted.
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Neurology Community

Top Neurology Answerers
620923 tn?1452915648
Allentown, PA
5265383 tn?1669040108
ON
1756321 tn?1547095325
Queensland, Australia
1780921 tn?1499301793
Queen Creek, AZ
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Find out how beta-blocker eye drops show promising results for acute migraine relief.
In this special Missouri Medicine report, doctors examine advances in diagnosis and treatment of this devastating and costly neurodegenerative disease.
Here are 12 simple – and fun! – ways to boost your brainpower.
Discover some of the causes of dizziness and how to treat it.
Discover the common causes of headaches and how to treat headache pain.
Two of the largest studies on Alzheimer’s have yielded new clues about the disease