These symptoms are getting worse!

[angiebaby]

Hello. I am a 40 year old woman and have been suffering with severe dizziness for 3 years now. I have other health issue's but not connected with this. I do not take any medications. I have seen a balance expert, he thought it may be BPV, had MRI of neck and brain = all ok. Had a neck xray - showed military neck (perfectly straight neck). But nothing else. I have seen two physiotherapist, no help. I have mentioned Sternocleidmastoid syndrome and they have never heard of it. My symptoms are many: Dizziness, blurred vision occasionally, watery eye's at times. Nystagmus. Tinnitus. Jaw, neck, upper chest, shoulder, neck, arm pain. Tingling in hands, normally left. I have had my heart checked = ok and my bp is normal, mostly on the low side. I also have this weird 'cutting off' sensation when moving my head, neck and this sometimes wakes me up at night. This is very scary as i feel like i will collapse. I also have hot/cold sensations in the back of my neck at times. I can cope with pain but the dizziness is so severe i just want to sit in a chair and not move. When i do move i am off balance, have walked into doors/frames and walls. My eyes feel like they are rolling round in my head most of the time. I loved reading but sometimes i can't do it as moving my eyes to read makes the dizziness worse! I can't exercise as i am so unsteady and i now can only work 16 hours a week because of it. It has made me have depression and anxiety and also have panic attacks and i feel so tired and listless all the time. I have had my bloods done and all clear! I just don't know where else to turn and never want to get up in the morning as i know as soon as i do, IT STARTS! I am also getting severe muscle pains - arms, shoulders and legs. If i do something repeatitive they feel like they are stuck and warm and ache.Can anyone please help me?

[countrygirl]

This is a long shot but have you ever been tested for Lymes Disease tht you can get from a tick bite???
On the other hand I have herniated neck disc and bad arthritis with nerve impingement and I get a huge amount of your symptoms from this but not as badly as you - the vertigo and constant feeling of unsteadiness are worst. I also get a split second falling feeling when my neck is particularly bad. I also get odd sensation in face head and scalp like crawling pressures and tingling and also horrible dropping sensation when I try to fall asleep at night.
Did the mri of your neck not pick up anything????
Have you had mri of your head/brain ears??? I had one done for the vertigo to rule out an acoustic neuroma etc
It does seem as if you have had most things checked- I know how awful the dizziness is as I have had long spells where I hardly dare leave the house and when the vertigo attacks I literally have to sit down regardles of where I am and hang on to the floor!

[angiebaby]

Thankyou so much for your post.

I did have an MRI of my head and neck and it did not find anything, although i did not have the injection of dye - nor would i want it if it was offered lol.

I do have that quick 'spin' a lot and i have the head rushes (and head zaps) very often and the feeling of falling. It does seem to be associated with my neck, if it wasn't then i am sure it would be there ALL the time, constantly. However, it is worse upon movement, which would make sense. I have noticed the past couple of days that the front of my neck and up the side's - to my jaw, is hurting more and i am having a strange sensation in my cheekbones today also. Like a heaviness and also a heat sensation. I am sure this has something to do with it also.

I have had to stand today, for about 5 minutes and do some 'silly' exercises and i have noticed that while i was stood there my lower back was hurting and my feet were having 'funny' sensations in them, hot and cold and cutting off. So i am even more convinced that this is something to do with my back and neck.

Thanks again.

[angiebaby]

Little update!

Last night i felt so desperate and low about all of this going on that i posted to one of these websites that can give health advice. I put down all of my symptoms for my head, neck etc but gave no information of my circumstances.

This qualified therapist person has replied to my question on what this could be and she says that all of my symptoms can be caused by the 'sternocleidomastoid muscle' in my neck!! Apart from the tingling in my hands, which can be caused by another two muscles. She says that as these muscles are the problem, it CAN BE TREATED!

I know that i am no further forward, as such, as none of the health professionals that i have spoken to knows of this syndrome. The only way i knew about it was from RLR (Neurologist from America that runs the heart forum).

I also know that i can not afford a Chiropractor anyway, but i can find things to help me, exercises and such. I feel a little better today and am thankful that all my symptoms can be caused by this syndrome. This proves that i am not mad and i should not have been 'fobbed' off by different health professionals along the way as 'someone who has anxiety!'. I KNEW that the anxiety was not the problem, the problem was causing the anxiety!

I am glad that i have continued to search for answers and now it looks like i may have finally found some. Albeit 3 years down the line lol.

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