Vertigo Anyone?

[Nairek]

Hi all!

I know I haven't been on lately. I finally landed a full-time job & between that & school, I'm lucky if I know which end is up anymore

I was wondering if anyone here has dealt with vertigo symptoms being caused either by issues with their ear(s) or due to neck issues? I've been dealing with vertigo for the past 5 days. It's usually not bad until I either turn my head to the right or look down.

I know about 7 years ago I had some weird vertigo that lasted for maybe 1-2 weeks & was told that it had something to do with "stones" in the ear. Something about them spinning & getting stuck. It eventually went away without any treatment. It's just that this "round" of it has been making me lose my balance if I am standing & it hits. Granted I haven't fallen yet, but it's just weird. I can't see a doctor about it since I don't have medical coverage currently

Any ideas?

[Katie]

Hi Nairek,

I had a number of bouts of vertigo last year that lasted up to six weeks, and despite numerous check ups with Ear, Nose and Throat specialists, no one came up with any solid reasons for it.

Some suggested that it was related to a possible diagnosis of Fibromyalgia, others said it may be related to the compression of my spinal cord at C5/6. It went away after a month or so, and I haven't been bothered with it since.

I hope you have better luck at finding the cause, or at least have it go away soon, never to return.

[Nairek]

Ugh! It's such a horrible feeling. Last night when rolling over to my right side it just hit me in waves. It actually woke me from my sleep. Good thing I was already laying down!

I was told by an ear doctor that I had occipital neuritis on the right side. It happens to be the same side as my disc bulge @ C4/C5 & right radiculitis @ C5/C6. I have to wonder if all of this is related somehow. I'll have to wait another month before I can get it checked out. Hopefully it will be gone by then

[Katie]

Just wondering if this has gotten any better for you? Mine would come and go, never gone completely, but would be better some days than others. I hope this is the case for you.

This is an awful feeling. I thought I had gotten rid of that when I stopped induling so much when I was younger That's the last time the room spun that badly for me.

[Nairek]

Just wondering if this has gotten any better for you? Mine would come and go, never gone completely, but would be better some days than others. I hope this is the case for you.

This is an awful feeling. I thought I had gotten rid of that when I stopped induling so much when I was younger That's the last time the room spun that badly for me.

It's been about 2 weeks now. It hasn't been as bad I guess. I know it hits me bad if I look up. It hasn't eased up when I roll over or sit up from a laying position.

We were at the home store today looking at faucet displays & I had to grab on to a shelf to keep from falling over. Poor hubby couldn't understand why I grabbed his hand when walking out to the car afterward. I just felt like I was going to lose my balance. I was able to drive though so go figure.

If this is still going on in 3 weeks when I hope to have benefits, I'll see about going to see a neurologist or something. It could be my ear. Or it could be my neck. I don't know. The fact that it wakes me from my sleep is disturbing to me.

[KBear]

Karin, I'm sorry this hasn't gotten better. I'll be praying that it is not anything serious and is something that is easily remedied.

[Justin]

Hi Karin,

I hope you are feeling better. Hopefully, this is just a too much endolymphatic fluid in your ear affecting your vestibular system, which is responsible for balance.

The only suggestion I have while waiting to get in to see your doctor would be to avoid caffeine, smoking and alcohol. Good luck and keep us posted.

[Graysonlaw]

This is very interesting. I had a bad case of vertigo about four years ago. I now believe that somehow it is related to problems with my spine. I was out of work for over three weeks with the first episode. I had no problems at all until fairly recently:

First, about a week after a spinal epidural I had a vertigo-like problem with my eyes. They were out of focus and I literally had a very hard time seeing. It was very similar to the later stages of vertigo. This lasted for nearly three weeks. The pain doctor said there was no correlation with the spinal, but I found various references on the internet that show that as a potential side effect.

Second, after my fusion surgery, I woke up with identical symptoms. I was obviously groggy in the hospital, but this certainly intensified things. It got exponentially worse any time I left the small confines of my small room, and particularly bad when I went outside. The vertigo-like symptoms did not go away for over two weeks.

Interesting, but based upon the last two episodes, I can't help but feel that any monkeying with my spine causes my vision to go loopy.

[Katie]

Hey Pete, I agree. There were no other reasons for my weeks of vertigo except the spine. Sort of like the time I went numb from the waist down for about a month, on and off. No one gave me any answers, but then it went away and I haven't had any problems since last year.

[Nairek]

Well, it seems that the severe vertigo has gone away. It's so weird. I had it last Sunday when I was looking up at something. I noticed that it wasn't so bad last week. I'm not getting dizzy now but something is still a tad "off" so to speak. I just don't get it.

Part of me feels like it has something to do with my neck. I know that if I fall asleep on the love seat all curled up with my head at a weird angle, I tend to get headaches.

Now Justin's theory sounds plausible. I do have instances where I get stabbing pains in my ear when I turn to look the other way. It feels like someone is stabbing me with a pencil or like something is tearing. Hence the diagnosis of possible occipital neuritis. I do recall having a 5 minute episode of it 2 days before the vertigo started. Hmmmmm