Poor Balance and Heaches

[seanyyz]

I am a 45 year old male. My balance seems to be off. I wobble sometimes and people occasionally joke that I might be drunk when I nearly fall over.
To test whether this is really just my imagination, my friend and I tried to do the "field sobriety test" that you see on Cops. I had a great deal of trouble walking 9 steps toe to toe without falling over (I did not make nine steps). And I swayed all over the place when I tried to stand on one leg.
I have had a few bad headaches (the kind Tylenol 3 wouldn't help) the last month or so, and some pressure headaches from time to time.
I saw my family doctor last week and he booked me for a CT scan next week (I am in Canada so that is the time lag with socialized medicine).
Thoughts?

[18USCVictim]

I got an MRI for my wife.  She has had a balance problem from Vimpat dizziness, so she is cutting that back.  The topic is her lesion T2 hyperintense on the frontal cortex.  Last year they thought it was the likely result of chronic ischemia.  She was in pain for a year and a half from an accident.  She had muscle spasms which drained her GABA.  Went into 4 status epilepticus seizures over a 30 month period.  I know chronic pain is bad for the brain, so how do I determine the exact cause of the lesion ?  Some TBI lesions have plaque attributes vs. a MS lesion, but first I would like to line up the lesion with the bony protrusion on the inside of the skull that was diagnosed by the neuroradiologist.  Is there a way to tell if the lesion lines up with the bony part of the inside of the skull, which would prove it likely hit the bone with a contracoup head injury ?

[Dr Sharma]

Hi there.  Since you have a balance disorder, it needs to be determined whether a medical condition or medication is the cause. If you have positional vertigo, the otolaryngologist might prescribe a series of simple movements and maneuvers to relieve dizziness. If you are diagnosed with meneire’s disease, change in diet like decrease salt intake, stopping smoking and limiting alcohol and caffeine. Injecting small doses of gentamicin or steroids behind the ear drum to reach the inner ear to reduce dizziness.
A vestibular rehabilitation therapist can help by developing an individualized plan to combine head, body and eye exercises to decrease dizziness and nausea. Wear low heeled shoes and use a cane or walker if necessary. Driving a car may be hazardous
The headache needs to be investigated if related to balance difficulty or isolated. Check for hypertension, migraines, tension headaches, cluster headaches and an MRI brain would help check any intracranial space occupying lesions etc.
This would aid greatly in the management. Take care.