Dizziness / Hazy / Imbalance
Discussion
I'm hoping that someone can possibly help shed some light on the way I have been feeling for some time now.
Since January this year I have been feeling like I have lost my sense of balance. It has been coming in waves since the start of the year but has got much worse over the last week up to the point where I feel like simply standing up can be difficult and that I need to hold on to something.
The dizziness is also coupled with at times feeling very hazy and not with it at all almost like a feeling of being confused and slow. This has now also lead on to anxiety that when I experience this wave of dizziness I get my self in a state and I have to leave the room or I fear that I might fall over. I have tried to figure out in my mind what these symptoms could be and have even cosidered labyrinthitis. I purchased some OTC Sudafed as well as Otex to eliminate blocked ears but this hasn't helped.
It got soo bad yesterday that my finacee made me go to the A&E department to see a GP last minute. He performed some basic tests such as blood pressure and checking for basic signs of diabetes and had perscribed me some anti vertigo tablets. I have only taken 4 since yesterday up until now and this has made no difference.
I am a 30 year old male who has always been in good health and this is starting to inhibit my day to day life. I am also due to start a new job in the next few weeks that will involve extenive driving which is becoming more difficult and so I need to get this sorted as soon as possible. One thing that I am concious of is that I smoke and as a young(ish) guy enjoy drinks often during the week with friends etc and I fear that this might be the root cause of this however I am also considering the labyrinthitis still but the A7E GP stated that my ears seem clear?
Thank you in advance,
Simon.
Since January this year I have been feeling like I have lost my sense of balance. It has been coming in waves since the start of the year but has got much worse over the last week up to the point where I feel like simply standing up can be difficult and that I need to hold on to something.
The dizziness is also coupled with at times feeling very hazy and not with it at all almost like a feeling of being confused and slow. This has now also lead on to anxiety that when I experience this wave of dizziness I get my self in a state and I have to leave the room or I fear that I might fall over. I have tried to figure out in my mind what these symptoms could be and have even cosidered labyrinthitis. I purchased some OTC Sudafed as well as Otex to eliminate blocked ears but this hasn't helped.
It got soo bad yesterday that my finacee made me go to the A&E department to see a GP last minute. He performed some basic tests such as blood pressure and checking for basic signs of diabetes and had perscribed me some anti vertigo tablets. I have only taken 4 since yesterday up until now and this has made no difference.
I am a 30 year old male who has always been in good health and this is starting to inhibit my day to day life. I am also due to start a new job in the next few weeks that will involve extenive driving which is becoming more difficult and so I need to get this sorted as soon as possible. One thing that I am concious of is that I smoke and as a young(ish) guy enjoy drinks often during the week with friends etc and I fear that this might be the root cause of this however I am also considering the labyrinthitis still but the A7E GP stated that my ears seem clear?
Thank you in advance,
Simon.
Edited by sicasey on Monday 5th September 14:10
Sounds to me to be very much like Labyrinthitis - have been suffering from for last 12 weeks and am on sick leave currently.Your ears wouldnt really show a sign although symptons do vary tremendously from person to person - I have been told mine is acute and very severe but not extremely so - compared to the 0 i was feeling and unable to move for a week or so am probably now at a 7 but recovery is very slow baby steps and no drugs will help ! If thats what u have then serious sympathies but u will get better or so my doc keeps telling me !
I second that! I had similar symptoms bit not so severe as you describe & doc said it was 'positional vertigo' & recommended I do the Brandt - daroff (look it up on youtube - doc said that as well!) treatment but you need to see your doc &, IF this is what it is, he should be able to tell you which side (ear) is worst affected & that affects how you do the exercise. But SEE your/a Dr soon - please.
Labyrinthitis has nothing to do with blocked ears.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labyrinthitis
The tablets may take time to work so keep taking them. I would also examine your lifestyle - poor/little sleep, stress, alcohol can make the symptoms worse.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labyrinthitis
The tablets may take time to work so keep taking them. I would also examine your lifestyle - poor/little sleep, stress, alcohol can make the symptoms worse.
See your GP again and get a referral to an ENT specialist (Ear Nose Throat), if it is ear related it can be a vast manner of things as the symptoms can be very similar.
For example I suffer with menierie's disease which has some of the symptoms you described and has led to needing surgery to be able to get my quality of life back.
In the interim look at your diet (cut out caffine, alcohol, salt) as these can all contribute, in addition keep an eye on your stress levels.
One trick to help when you have a dizzy spell is to focus your eyes on an object in front of you, a picture on the wall, coffee cup, anything, just sit and keep looking at this only dont divert your vision, you'll find the dizziness will pass quicker.
Good luck
For example I suffer with menierie's disease which has some of the symptoms you described and has led to needing surgery to be able to get my quality of life back.
In the interim look at your diet (cut out caffine, alcohol, salt) as these can all contribute, in addition keep an eye on your stress levels.
One trick to help when you have a dizzy spell is to focus your eyes on an object in front of you, a picture on the wall, coffee cup, anything, just sit and keep looking at this only dont divert your vision, you'll find the dizziness will pass quicker.
Good luck
Another meniere's sufferer here, all of what you describe sounds familiar, except I also had vertigo attacks where basically the dizzyness is extreme to the point I wont be able to stand up and will cause nausea, they'd start suddenly, doesn't last very long and I'd be knackered afterwards. At one time it was once a week, but haven't had one for ages now (thankfully!).
Long term effects are deafness and tinnitus in one ear.
With meniere's it affects everyone differently with different severities, for the previous poster to of had surgery it must of been quite bad.
I was told caffine, salt and alcohol all aggravate the condition - not in the sense of you'll have a pint or a cup of coffee and feel bad, but a progressive build up, so generally minimise or cut it from your diet. I swapped coffee for tea (and drink less of it), both salt and alcohol intake is low anyway. Don't really know if it helped but it couldn't hurt and I was quite willing to do anything to improve the situation!
The Americans are big on "Bioflavonoid", specialists I've seen here give it short shrift, I think you can get them in health shops
I got given betahistines, which did bugger all, I have seen it suggested that they are little more than a placebo.
I was also given something else (can't remember what it was called) that I was advised to take when I felt a dizzy spell coming on. The idea was to lessen or stop it all together. It didn't work because by the time I felt a spell coming on it was too late - ended up throwing them back up in most cases.
As someone else said get referred to ENT.
Long term effects are deafness and tinnitus in one ear.
With meniere's it affects everyone differently with different severities, for the previous poster to of had surgery it must of been quite bad.
I was told caffine, salt and alcohol all aggravate the condition - not in the sense of you'll have a pint or a cup of coffee and feel bad, but a progressive build up, so generally minimise or cut it from your diet. I swapped coffee for tea (and drink less of it), both salt and alcohol intake is low anyway. Don't really know if it helped but it couldn't hurt and I was quite willing to do anything to improve the situation!
The Americans are big on "Bioflavonoid", specialists I've seen here give it short shrift, I think you can get them in health shops
I got given betahistines, which did bugger all, I have seen it suggested that they are little more than a placebo.
I was also given something else (can't remember what it was called) that I was advised to take when I felt a dizzy spell coming on. The idea was to lessen or stop it all together. It didn't work because by the time I felt a spell coming on it was too late - ended up throwing them back up in most cases.
As someone else said get referred to ENT.
Crafty_ said:
I got given betahistines, which did bugger all, I have seen it suggested that they are little more than a placebo.
I has labyrinthitus for over a year and they helped me a lot although, like all drugs, they'll work better on some people than others.OP: As others have said get your GP to refer you to an ENT specialist and you can't tell if you have Labyrinthitus by looking in your ears... you sure you saw a doctor and not a cleaner in a white coat?
Also, if you think it may be starting to cause you anxiety see if your GP will refer you to a cognitive behavioural therapist. I had the same problem and in the end even though the main symptoms of Labyrinthitus had cleared up I was getting an odd symptom (buzzing in the back of my neck weirdly) that the ENT specialist couldn't square with Lab and suggested it could be anxiety based caused by the fact that I'd been ill for quite a while, hadn't been able to work and had got myself in a pretty low state. Went to see someone and it did help a lot - that specific symptom went away over a few weeks and turned out to be triggered by anxiety. With a little bit of help you can get it all in perspective and you'll be well on your way to being sorted out.
Edited by dern on Saturday 10th September 19:05
Crafty_ said:
Another meniere's sufferer here, all of what you describe sounds familiar, except I also had vertigo attacks where basically the dizzyness is extreme to the point I wont be able to stand up and will cause nausea, they'd start suddenly, doesn't last very long and I'd be knackered afterwards. At one time it was once a week, but haven't had one for ages now (thankfully!).
Long term effects are deafness and tinnitus in one ear.
With meniere's it affects everyone differently with different severities, for the previous poster to of had surgery it must of been quite bad.
I was told caffine, salt and alcohol all aggravate the condition - not in the sense of you'll have a pint or a cup of coffee and feel bad, but a progressive build up, so generally minimise or cut it from your diet. I swapped coffee for tea (and drink less of it), both salt and alcohol intake is low anyway. Don't really know if it helped but it couldn't hurt and I was quite willing to do anything to improve the situation!
The Americans are big on "Bioflavonoid", specialists I've seen here give it short shrift, I think you can get them in health shops
I got given betahistines, which did bugger all, I have seen it suggested that they are little more than a placebo.
I was also given something else (can't remember what it was called) that I was advised to take when I felt a dizzy spell coming on. The idea was to lessen or stop it all together. It didn't work because by the time I felt a spell coming on it was too late - ended up throwing them back up in most cases.
As someone else said get referred to ENT.
The other tablet may have been serc, or a water tablet as they believe keeping fluid retention to a minimum also helps with menierie's, yes went through the verigo and dizziness for a number of years ended up with the gentemicin injections into the ear to kill the ear off (the most painfull experience ever) & only worked for a short period, in the end had to go the surgical route, note totally deaf in one ear BUT no more diziness (touch wood) & life has returned to normality..Long term effects are deafness and tinnitus in one ear.
With meniere's it affects everyone differently with different severities, for the previous poster to of had surgery it must of been quite bad.
I was told caffine, salt and alcohol all aggravate the condition - not in the sense of you'll have a pint or a cup of coffee and feel bad, but a progressive build up, so generally minimise or cut it from your diet. I swapped coffee for tea (and drink less of it), both salt and alcohol intake is low anyway. Don't really know if it helped but it couldn't hurt and I was quite willing to do anything to improve the situation!
The Americans are big on "Bioflavonoid", specialists I've seen here give it short shrift, I think you can get them in health shops
I got given betahistines, which did bugger all, I have seen it suggested that they are little more than a placebo.
I was also given something else (can't remember what it was called) that I was advised to take when I felt a dizzy spell coming on. The idea was to lessen or stop it all together. It didn't work because by the time I felt a spell coming on it was too late - ended up throwing them back up in most cases.
As someone else said get referred to ENT.
sicasey said:
Since January this year ..............It got soo bad yesterday that my finacee made me go to the A&E department to see a GP last minute.
So, from 8 months of suffering to suddenly rushing to A&E??? This is everything people are begged NOT to do. It is not an accident OR an emergency. Why not go through the proper channels and you may get the correct treatment!
I went to A&E once because I lost hearing in one ear the evening before I was due to fly offshore, and the doctor had a look, checked there was no spider in there, but told me he is basically not allowed to give me any proper drugs or drops or cleaning treatment because it was a GP problem, not an emergency.
JakesterUK said:
The other tablet may have been serc, or a water tablet as they believe keeping fluid retention to a minimum also helps with menierie's, yes went through the verigo and dizziness for a number of years ended up with the gentemicin injections into the ear to kill the ear off (the most painfull experience ever) & only worked for a short period, in the end had to go the surgical route, note totally deaf in one ear BUT no more diziness (touch wood) & life has returned to normality..
Serc is a betahistine.I still can't find what the other one was, but the side effect list was kinda scary, in higher doses it is given to sufferers of schizophrenia and stuff like that.
I had read up on injections/surgery - shame its so destructive, but like you say it gets your quality of life back if you have it severely.
My biggest fear was having a drop attack when driving, it never happened. I did ask the specialists about advising the DVLA etc and they basically said it wasn't acute enough to worry them!
I have maybe 40% hearing in the affected ear, some things I can't hear at all in that ear - depends on frequency. I find if I'm somewhere with a lot of background noise it makes it really hard to hear, was recently in the food court of a US shopping mall with friends, walked down the path maybe 25-30 yards, friends are gone, I look round to find them stood pointing the other way - I was going the wrong way and they'd been shouting to get my attention, didn't hear a thing
It is handy though, for example we were staying in a villa and the kids would get up early and start playing/making noise, by turning my "good" ear to the pillow I drowned out the noise and got a bit more sleep
Your posts are a bit like 'looking in a mirror' and I can really relate to the symptoms you mention.
The reason I had to go with the surgery was the frequency of attacks, I've had meniere's for over 9 years and up until 3 years ago had infrequent attacks like yourself.
However these increased until I was having 2-3 an hour 24/7 which I can't even begin to explain how god awful an experience that was, the injections and surgical route really are a 'last resort' option which I wouldn't recommend to anyone unless the menierie's has reached life destruct levels.
The reason I had to go with the surgery was the frequency of attacks, I've had meniere's for over 9 years and up until 3 years ago had infrequent attacks like yourself.
However these increased until I was having 2-3 an hour 24/7 which I can't even begin to explain how god awful an experience that was, the injections and surgical route really are a 'last resort' option which I wouldn't recommend to anyone unless the menierie's has reached life destruct levels.
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