ENT orders MRI with contrast!! advise needed

[uk2]

Hi

Finaly made it back to my ENT after 2 yrs he feels my vertigo and balance issues and ringing in the ears is not menirers disease or to do with my sinuses even though the xray showed they were inpacted 2 yrs ago 3 mths later the CT scan showed it was clear( only just got results of that today), i was put on serc bethhistmine but had no effect and he said if it had been the inner ear this med would of worked.

He has ordered a MRI with contrast of the brain and was shocked the neuro did not do that in 2007.

So will this show an inner ear disorder ( even though he thinks its central) or will it show MS or will they not be looking for this?  he did say his not a neuro so cant give a dx but it will be done and ready for when i see my neuro for my urgent appointment ( which i am still waiting for).

The scan wait is 5-6 weeks which is less then last time 12 weeks i waited 2 yrs ago. and then he wants a balance test done end of march so i wont see him for 8 weeks i guess i am hoping i will see the neuro sooner and its at a neuro hospital with better equipment.

I thought all this was linked to my sinuses and inner ear but i guess not, even though i have mucus running down my throat all the time and have to use a steriod spray twice a day.

If all the tests come back inconclusive he said he would send me too another centre and do more intensive testing.

also i have trouble sleeping never sleep more then 2 hrs at a time, sweat loads at night, tried most meds never work. They dx me in 2008 with fibro but i have got alot worse and eneded up disabled in just 2 yrs and 3 drs feel now i have more then fibro going on.

would value any advise.

sam

[Steven Y Park, MD]

Just based on what you've told me, and regardless of whether or not you have MS, it sounds like you may also have a sleep-breathing problem. You probably have many, if not all of the symptoms I recently posted on the MS community forum: throat clearing, post-nasal drip, sleeping on your side or stomach, cold hands or feet, and one or both parents with severe snoring.

Your inner ear and balance problems are most likely due to a variation of migraines. It's been shown that you can have a migraine in any part of your body that has nerve endings. If it occurs in your sinuses, you get sinus pressure, headache, post-nasal drip and pain. If it occurs in your inner ears, you can get dizziness, spinning, hearing loss, ringing, and imbalance. If in your hands, you can get cold hands. In your stomach, constipation/diarrhea/bloating/indigestion.

Take a look at Dr. David Buchholz's book, Heal Your Headache. He talks about migraines differently, and I've found his methods useful with my own sleep-breathing practice. My feeling is that major sleep inefficiency is a major trigger for these atypical "migraines."

The fact that you're waking up about every 2 hours means that you're waking up in the deep sleep parts of your sleep cycle (which is about 90-120 minutes). When your muscles relax most in deep sleep, you'll stop breathing and wake up. Because of the intense stress response to these obstructions and arousals, your involuntary nervous system kicks in and you get the classic vasomotor symptoms such as night sweats, palpitations, etc. With all this going on, it's no surprise that you may have fibromyalgia.

You should undergo a formal overnight sleep study to more fully assess your sleep status.

[uk2]

WoW

Thank you no body else has been ever able to explain this, why i wake every 2 hrs no wonder the drugs dont work!!

i have heard of stomach mirgraines,i get post nasel drip, rhaynards sydrome, sweats, heart missing a beat,vertigo.pressure behind eyes,jerking eyes, numb patches and am r sided weakness and registered disabled in just 2 yrs my life is so turned round i used to be fit work 30 hrs a week got 3 kids young, run 5 miles a day on my day off with my dogs now i go everywhere in a wheelchair and scooter.

I had my adnoids out and my tonsils when i was 7 as used to snore and had so much time off school always had sinues problems since i was teenage so was shocked that the CT scan showed clear sinues and that the ENT thinks its central not inner ear. My parents snored. I have TMJ cant open jaw far as it sets pain off, over crowding in mouth teeth never been done.

Thats amazing that you can have mirgraines in any part of your body.

How do i do this sleep study? there is one only a few miles away i see the sign outside, how do i get  refered my GP has refered me to so much at the moment i dont want to push her she will think i am a hydrocondrac. (excuse spelling on my post). can i refer myself? i am UK remember.

how do i look at this book do i google it?

Thanks so much
sam