Vertigo?

[tad316]

About one month ago I was sitting on my couch and out of nowhere I felt incredibly dizzy (like my brain was swimming in my head) I think this sent me into a panic because I started shaking and went to the ER because I had no idea what was going on with me. The ER folks said it was BPPV o Benign Positional Vertigo. Since then I have had headaches, nausea and this constant sense that I can describe as dizziness but not the kind that makes me lose balance or like I'm going to fall over. It feels more like I am wearing somebody elses glasses and things are distorted and most recently it has gotten worse. It is really hard to focus on things, i feel like my eyes are jumping around and my head and neck ache. My dr. basically thinks I'm crazy and I have an anxiety disorder so she prescribed me medicine for that which is great because I am incredibly scared that this is something serious and therefore do have some pretty high anxiety. So, my question basically is if anyone out there has experienced something similair? if so, what was it and more importantly how do we fix it?! I don't want to sound over dramatic here but this is beginning to take a huge toll on my personal and professional life.

The dr. also ran a few motor skill tests when I asked her for a CT or MRI of my head and she said that she didn't find any reason to give my insruance company to authorize that type of test. She did an x-ray of my sinuses-unremarkable and also bloodwork that found everything to be ok.

Any help I can get would be great, thanks!

[tad316]

update: saw the ENT today. He says it's "most likely" vestibular neuritis. Of course, he is not 100 percent sure but has ordered an MRI to rule out tumors or other things that may be more serious. He couldn't tell me if the odd feeling in my left arm is related to this at all (i'm almost positive it isn't). At least I am getting closer to finding out what this awful drunken/dizzy feeling is for sure so I can fix it. That won't be until teh end of the month. I will update then...just in case anyone else is experiencing similar symptoms.

[Cath278]

hey tad316, Glad to hear you are making some progress! Best of luck with the MRI! and hopefully, an answer soon.Cath278.

[caregiver222]

This is not an "anxietyt disorder" and I would respectfully suggest you ask the doctor how many boxtops he sent in to get his medical degree.

There is a superior and inferior vestibular nerve.When there is an imbalance bewteen the signbals vertigo results. Generally this condition is "self-limiting" and takes about a month to resolve.

The imbalance is often due to a viral infection, particularly herpes. In such a case Acyclovir is often prescribed. Antivert (lorazapam), phenergan, and valium are often helpful.

The nerves travel through a very tiny bony structure and if they swell they can become damaged. To reduce the swelling oral prednisone is prescribed. In a worst case a special surgical procedure is used to open the bone to permit the nerve to decompress.

Often this is only in one ear (although the vertigo effects the entire body). Eventually, even if there is severe damage to the nerves on one side, the nerves on the other side take over and normality is restored.

[tad316]

Cath and caregiver, thanks. I appreciate the support. Yes, my Dr. is a real quack...lol. So, I got an x-ray of the neck done which of course came back fine and now I have asked for the MRI of the neck. Since he informed me that the two weird issues are not related and this would be the next step if the x-rays were good. I'm hoping that the MRI will give me more insight into why my arm feels weird and I’m twitchy. I feel like a damn hypochondriac! I spend hours researching what might be causing these things, my gf thinks I'm neurotic (not that she doesn't believe me, she totally does) but I perseverate on whether or not these things are all made up in my head?! You just start to think, maybe it is anxiety? Maybe I'm just overly aware and hyper sensitive and these feelings are all normal? Then, I have a really bad dizzy moment or a body shudder and an arm twitch and I think, nope there is definitely something wrong. So, on to the next test! :-)

[hava]

This pranayam will help you very much.Start today, and keep a log of each symptom.After 3 weeks you will notice the symptoms getting less.Try to do anulom vilom nearer to 30 minutes to feel the benefit.You have gone through a lot of tests, so this is what you need.
Build up your timing gradually.If you feel tired or dizzy, stop and resume after one minute.
Anulom Vilom –
Close your right nostril with thumb and deep breath-in through left nostril  
then – close left nostril with two fingers and breath-out through right nostril  
then -keeping the left nostril closed  deep breath-in through right nostril
then - close your right nostril with thumb and breath-out through left nostril.
This is one cycle of anulom vilom.
Repeat this cycle for 15 to 30  minutes twice a day.
Children under 15 years – do 5 to 10 minutes twice a day.
You can do this before breakfast/lunch/dinner or before bedtime or in bed.Remember to take deep long breaths into the lungs.You can do this while sitting on floor or chair or lying in bed.

[tad316]

new symptoms: weak feeling in my legs almost heavy. the last few days my arms have trembled upon waking and throughout the day i feel shaky in my arms and weird sensations all over, almost like a chill or something. Still dizzy/drunk feeling some days that is better some days it is really bad like today. My headache is back today, pressure and super dizzy with all the weird twitchy shaking weak sensations. I don't think that the two issues are unrelated anymore. I have no idea when I am scheduled for my MRI yet either. This is really starting to scare me and take a huge toll on my life. Anybody have the weird shakiness? or have any of the other symptoms I've described?