Dizziness

[JudyAn]

It took me over 6 hours to paint a ceiling in January 08.  Later that evening, intermittent dizziness began and persisted.  Saw my MD who said I might have crimped the two arteries at the back of the neck.  A tick bite necessitating Doxycycline in early June made the dizziness worse, so after clear Lyme and RMSF titres came back negative, I was taken off the Doxycycline.  Went for about 2 months with no dizziness.  Approximately 3-4 weeks ago, the dizziness returned worse than ever and more often.  ER visit MRI of the head was negative.  Carotid ultrasound at MD's office was negative.  No heart problems other than MVP.  Had a small child run into my left jaw prior to Christmas 07 but CT of sinuses and L jaw show no infections or break/fracture/dislocate.  ENT MD diagnosed badly deviated septum, but this dizziness started in January - never present before.  Wondering if the arteries in the back of the neck are still crimped?  I get a sensation at the base of my skull as if someone were sucking through a closed straw accompanied by severe dizziness.  Not imagining this.  What test or tests would conclusively diagnose minor or major blockages and is such a blockage possible?  Don't want to traipse from MD to MD searching for an answer if this is a serious problem.  Don't want to wait until stroke to know I wasn't kidding about the dizziness.  

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

Patients with cerebrovascular disease have partial or complete blockages in the arteries that supply the brain with blood.  These blockages can cause a temporary loss of blood flow (called transient ischemic attack, or TIA for short), or permanent loss of blood flow (called stroke; also called cerebrovascular accident).This can lead to impaired blood flow through these arteries and so dizziness.Sometimes a small clot can also cause TIA.

In case MRI is normal,you can go in for MRA(magnetic resonance angiography) or CT angiography.MRA is helpful in diagnosing vertebrobasilar stenosis, although recent data suggest that intracranial vertebral artery disease can be missed. When near occlusion of the carotid artery cannot be distinguished from complete occlusion on MRA or carotid Doppler ultrasound studies, cerebral angiography should be considered.

Please discuss these options with your neurologist.

Take care and pls do keep us posted on how you are doing.

[KatEyes]

An MRA of the head and neck will show the vessels that may be "crimped" and any other abnormalities in the circulatory system in the head and neck. I had similar symptoms many years ago and no one figured things out for sure till the MRAs. My blood vessels became compromised when I looked upward or jutted my jaw forward due to bulging disks in the neck. The thing about bulging disks is they can go in and out, and are worse in some positions, so it's hard to pick them up sometimes. If an MRA hasn't been done, that would be my first thought.