View Full Version : Have You Ever Had or Have Dizziness?
Have You Ever Had or Have Dizziness?
If yes, have you ever been diagnosed and treated the dizziness?
Have you gotten it to go away? If so, how?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Countless threads on the internet but I cannot find any that say they have a specific diagnosis or they NEVER follow-up and say the dizziness went away.
My situation...
My dizziness happened one hot day at work while walking around. Had a bad headache for a few days, had no more bad headaches since. Tightness or pressure comes and goes in jawline, ears and feels like the side and back of head.
A couple times I had what I believe to have been a panic attack. Woke up dreading, like I was not in reality. I had my left arm go numb when I woke up, I was not sleeping on it. If it was not for the hospital bill I would receive I would have gone to the ER.
Had a few days of eyestrain throughout the last three months.
Last few weeks started noticing neck pain and stiffness, comes and goes.
What has been most persistant and annoying is the dizziness. When walking past people at work, I get really dizzy but it also happens not as bad when I am relaxed at home. So I believe the social anxiety and stress makes it worse but is not the direct cause. I had gotten dizzy also while just standing at work but Id say that was only a handful of times.
I can deal with all the other things, it is the dizziness that is getting to me. It has been going on 3 months now. I have just received insurance and will make an appointment to see a doctor, but after reading countless posts and everyone saying the doctor just says nothing is wrong, it is just anxiety ect.. seems the doctors are of no help. The insurance will expire in Jan 14, the new plans are way too high.
I have been sleeping normally except for about 8 - 10 days over a two week period in Sept. when I had about 3 panic attacks and mostly racing thoughts.
Jim I suffer occasional bouts of dizziness. I've never asked a doctor what it is because it's never concerned me. My daughter suffers also but hers are prolonged and they're caused by vertigo.
I have also had tingling and numbness all down my left arm - turns out I have a damaged nerve in my elbow. Other than that I can't help but it's likely that others on NMP have had similar so I'm sure someone will stop by to share.
And I'm sorry you can't afford to access health care. It's seems a very misguided system when you have such a rich country that bars it's residents from availing themselves of what is, in all honesty, a right and not a luxury :unsure:
Hi Jim, welcome to the boards, I'm sorry you find yourself in this situation right now but I hope that you'll find some help & support on these boards.
I know a lot about dizziness, unfortunately lol, but hopefully it means I can help you even a little bit. I'll try to briefly give you an idea of what my story is and then talk about your symptoms.
About 8 years ago I went through about 2 months of bad dizziness along with other symptoms, I was told at the time that it was a viral ear infection called labyrinthitis and I'd just have to wait it out. Eventually it did disappear and I got my balance back, but it triggered my anxiety problems.
Since then I had patches of feeling dizzy for a couple of days, usually connected to having a cold or flu, or sometimes it just arrived randomly before disappearing again.
Last November I woke up feeling bad and eventually the dizziness set in again, it hasn't left me fully since then, but I've learned a lot about it in the meantime. I've been to Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy (VRT), a type of physio that focuses on your balance system and it helped me a lot but Im still working some things out.
My VRT therapist thinks I have something called migraine associated vertigo, where I have daily migraine-like symptoms and dizziness but no migraine headaches (weird eh!) and it was probably always my problem, it's not very likely that I had that ear virus in the first place. It explains a lot of weird problems I've had over the last few years, even symptoms I had without feeling dizzy.
So the work I did with the balance therapist helped me go from feeling completely weird & out of it all the time, to being able to distinguish the different symptoms and some of the triggers. I went from a complete mess to much more coherent again, and am able to understand what's happening.
The type of dizziness I get is like a feeling of being off balance or slightly drunk, and I also get a spinning sensation of movement in my head. I also am sensitive to noise (especially higher pitches), have tinnitus, am sensitive to light, I have an unstable gaze which means that it looks like the world is bouncing as I walk, visual sensitivity or visual vertigo (problems watching movement), difficulty travelling, blurry vision at times, difficulty looking at patterns, brain fog, weird feelings like my arms are weak or sometimes like they're not my arms, and lots of muscle pain/tension in my head, face, neck & jaw.
We believe that the migraine symptoms are being triggered by muscle tension coming from my neck and jaw, and it turns out I have a problem with my jaw that's called TMJ dysfunction (generally just referred to as TMJ). TMJ can be one of many different problems with the jaw, but it usually means that the muscles of your jaw and face are tense, tight, and working too hard. The impact of this can be huge and strange, it causes symptoms that you wouldn't even connect to jaw problems! Dizziness, imbalance, vertigo, ear pain, neck pain, back pain, vision problems, foggy fuzzy head, depersonalisation, feeling out of it, hearing problems, tinnitus, sinus problems, headache and migrane are all connected to TMJ - and basically everything I've been going through can be connected to it.
I grind my teeth in my sleep, and clench my jaw a lot, so my neck step is to try and stop this happening so that it will help calm the muscles in my jaw and help alleviate some of the balance problems!
So I hope you've read to here and I haven't been too waffly in what I've written. I wanted to explain everything clearly so that you might see some of your own symptoms in here. I notice that you say you have trouble with a tight and sore jawline and neck - this could very well be a factor in your dizziness.
When you're dizzy it's natural to experience neck pain & stiffness, this is because your brain tries to keep your head still by tightening up your neck, in the hopes of helping you feel more balanced.
I would venture that you feel better at home because you are more relaxed and have less pressure on your vestibular (balance) system. When you're out and about there's a lot more for your brain to take in and work on, and if you're struggling with balance then it's a lot more likely to get dizzy and tired. I am the exact same way, when I rest I feel much better. It sounds like you may have a little motion sensitivity too, if watching your co workers while you walk past them is making you feel dizzy - that's also normal if your balance system is struggling. I even find that some days watching motion on TV is difficult! But that's only if I'm feeling particularly bad.
Dizziness & anxiety are very much linked, in fact my VRT therapist told me that most people with vestibular difficulties will have anxiety to some extent. It's because your brain is getting mixed signals from your balance system, so it sparks off a little warning and can make us feel so anxious. Plus if your world looks weird to you, and you don't understand what's happening, it's natural to feel anxious. This was me in the beginning, I couldn't interpret my symptoms, I just felt really strange and everything looked weird and I was so anxious all the time. It becomes much easier to handle once you understand what's happening to you.
When you visit your doctor talk about your symptoms, but don't mention that you believe it's all caused by anxiety or anything of the sort. Because sometimes GPs don't know a lot about dizziness they can assume it's down to anxiety, especially if you arrive in a panic or all anxious about it. Try to talk to them as clearly and calmy as you can, explain your symptoms and if they mention anxiety tell them you'd like to have a balance problem ruled out before assuming it's all down to stress or anxiety.
Anxiety can indeed cause dizziness! And stress can also add a lot to, or trigger, vestibular disorders. But it's not always the reason a patient is dizzy, and it's important to get balance problems ruled out, especially if they're not directly related to feeling anxious or having a panic attack.
My doc referred me to an ENT who quite frankly has been kind of useless, but they are at least putting me through the tests like hearing and scans just to make sure there are no problems with my inner ear. They've also referred me to a neurologist who will help me figure out if it is migraine or not. But the person who has been the most help was the VRT therapist, it was after his initial assessment that I discovered I did have a problem with my balance system and he was able to write to my doctor and explain that. After that the GP took me a lot more seriously and she has been great since. Because the VRT therapist specialises in balance they are so much better equipped to understand your symptoms and help you.
The VRT therapist will assess your balance in the first session and explain what they think might be happening for you. They are not always able to give a full diagnosis because they cannot run the same tests as ENTs or neurologists, but they will definitely help. It might be worth asking you doctor about VRT or researching yourself to see if there is anyone in your area who does it. I went privately so had to pay for it, but it was worth every penny for how much it has helped me. Sometimes it's the ENT who will refer you for the VRT, I'm not sure where you live or if this is how it works in your health system. If you live in the US there are different types of consultants you can see for balance problems.
Vestibular.org is an excellent resource website for anyone suffering with dizziness problems - it may help you find a VRT therapist or good balance doctor in your area.
If you're finding that your jaw is sore it could very well be connected here, so it might be worth looking at whether you grind your teeth or clench your jaw either in your sleep or while awake. A dentist would be the first step for a TMJ problem, they can help diagnose it and find solutions for you if needed. Might be good to research good TMJ dentists in your area either.
For both vestibular problems and TMJ, stress relief and daily relaxation can be a big part of your recovery, so it might be good to look into how you can help yourself in this regard. I work on gentle yoga and meditation most days, and it helps enormously with muscle tension and relaxation. When we are stressed the muscles of the jaw can really be affected because we clench without realising it, so stress relief will go a long way with helping this type of tension and as a result there will be less dizziness.
My dizziness has not fully gone away, but I understand it better and am able to handle it more. I fully believe that if I can relax some of the tension in my jaw & face that it will help me. I'm going through a particularly stressful year, separating from my husband, so that will all add to how I'm feeling and I know that once it's done and I can relax a lot of that stress will lift.
A few months ago I could barely move without feeling sick, had scary symptoms like my arm going numb and the dizziness was unbearable - but I've come so far from that to being able to get on with my days now, mostly thanks to the VRT and lots of Internet research. I had to take a month off work recently because I hit another bad patch, but it's been triggered by stressful life events and I know that it can all get back to a good place again.
I know this is a really long message, but I hope that I've covered everything and have been clear enough. If you have any questions feel free to ask them here or PM me, I sincerely hope that this will help you in some way. I feel so badly for anyone who goes through balance problems because of what I've been through myself.
In conclusion:
- your dizziness may or may not be connected to anxiety, it's best to have everything ruled out
- research VRT therapists in your area
- research TMJ and see if it fits you, maybe visit a dentist
- it's possible to get help and get better
- it's natural to feel anxious when dizzy, if you accept that it will help you feel a lot better
---------- Post added at 09:15 ---------- Previous post was at 09:13 ----------
Jim I suffer occasional bouts of dizziness. I've never asked a doctor what it is because it's never concerned me. My daughter suffers also but hers are prolonged and they're caused by vertigo.
I have also had tingling and numbness all down my left arm - turns out I have a damaged nerve in my elbow. Other than that I can't help but it's likely that others on NMP have had similar so I'm sure someone will stop by to share.
And I'm sorry you can't afford to access health care. It's seems a very misguided system when you have such a rich country that bars it's residents from availing themselves of what is, in all honesty, a right and not a luxury :unsure:
Andria has your daughter been able to get any help for her vertigo? I hope that she's doing ok x
Jim I suffer occasional bouts of dizziness. I've never asked a doctor what it is because it's never concerned me. My daughter suffers also but hers are prolonged and they're caused by vertigo.
I have also had tingling and numbness all down my left arm - turns out I have a damaged nerve in my elbow. Other than that I can't help but it's likely that others on NMP have had similar so I'm sure someone will stop by to share.
And I'm sorry you can't afford to access health care. It's seems a very misguided system when you have such a rich country that bars it's residents from availing themselves of what is, in all honesty, a right and not a luxury :unsure:
Thanks Andria. Yeah I just hoped it is something that would pass, but it will be going on over 3 months. Its odd that that one day it happened all of a sudden like that.
I cant post links, but you can Google Dana White Blood Spinning...he says it cured his Menieres Disease which is Vertigo related..might help your daughter out.
The new health care law that just passed here in the U.S. made insurance for me not affordable - which I thought it was supossed to be the other way around and make it more affordable, lol. I have the utmost respect for doctors and think they deserve the highest pay, but reading countless posts about visit after visit and given no diagnosis is disturbing. I can understand having to take multiple tests and all but you should not be charged time and time again unless you are diagnosed and treated.
---------- Post added at 06:15 ---------- Previous post was at 06:09 ----------
Hi Jim, welcome to the boards, I'm sorry you find yourself in this situation right now but I hope that you'll find some help & support on these boards.
I know a lot about dizziness, unfortunately lol, but hopefully it means I can help you even a little bit. I'll try to briefly give you an idea of what my story is and then talk about your symptoms.
About 8 years ago I went through about 2 months of bad dizziness along with other symptoms, I was told at the time that it was a viral ear infection called labyrinthitis and I'd just have to wait it out. Eventually it did disappear and I got my balance back, but it triggered my anxiety problems.
Since then I had patches of feeling dizzy for a couple of days, usually connected to having a cold or flu, or sometimes it just arrived randomly before disappearing again.
Last November I woke up feeling bad and eventually the dizziness set in again, it hasn't left me fully since then, but I've learned a lot about it in the meantime. I've been to Vestibular Rehabilitation Therapy (VRT), a type of physio that focuses on your balance system and it helped me a lot but Im still working some things out.
My VRT therapist thinks I have something called migraine associated vertigo, where I have daily migraine-like symptoms and dizziness but no migraine headaches (weird eh!) and it was probably always my problem, it's not very likely that I had that ear virus in the first place. It explains a lot of weird problems I've had over the last few years, even symptoms I had without feeling dizzy.
So the work I did with the balance therapist helped me go from feeling completely weird & out of it all the time, to being able to distinguish the different symptoms and some of the triggers. I went from a complete mess to much more coherent again, and am able to understand what's happening.
The type of dizziness I get is like a feeling of being off balance or slightly drunk, and I also get a spinning sensation of movement in my head. I also am sensitive to noise (especially higher pitches), have tinnitus, am sensitive to light, I have an unstable gaze which means that it looks like the world is bouncing as I walk, visual sensitivity or visual vertigo (problems watching movement), difficulty travelling, blurry vision at times, difficulty looking at patterns, brain fog, weird feelings like my arms are weak or sometimes like they're not my arms, and lots of muscle pain/tension in my head, face, neck & jaw.
We believe that the migraine symptoms are being triggered by muscle tension coming from my neck and jaw, and it turns out I have a problem with my jaw that's called TMJ dysfunction (generally just referred to as TMJ). TMJ can be one of many different problems with the jaw, but it usually means that the muscles of your jaw and face are tense, tight, and working too hard. The impact of this can be huge and strange, it causes symptoms that you wouldn't even connect to jaw problems! Dizziness, imbalance, vertigo, ear pain, neck pain, back pain, vision problems, foggy fuzzy head, depersonalisation, feeling out of it, hearing problems, tinnitus, sinus problems, headache and migrane are all connected to TMJ - and basically everything I've been going through can be connected to it.
I grind my teeth in my sleep, and clench my jaw a lot, so my neck step is to try and stop this happening so that it will help calm the muscles in my jaw and help alleviate some of the balance problems!
So I hope you've read to here and I haven't been too waffly in what I've written. I wanted to explain everything clearly so that you might see some of your own symptoms in here. I notice that you say you have trouble with a tight and sore jawline and neck - this could very well be a factor in your dizziness.
When you're dizzy it's natural to experience neck pain & stiffness, this is because your brain tries to keep your head still by tightening up your neck, in the hopes of helping you feel more balanced.
I would venture that you feel better at home because you are more relaxed and have less pressure on your vestibular (balance) system. When you're out and about there's a lot more for your brain to take in and work on, and if you're struggling with balance then it's a lot more likely to get dizzy and tired. I am the exact same way, when I rest I feel much better. It sounds like you may have a little motion sensitivity too, if watching your co workers while you walk past them is making you feel dizzy - that's also normal if your balance system is struggling. I even find that some days watching motion on TV is difficult! But that's only if I'm feeling particularly bad.
Dizziness & anxiety are very much linked, in fact my VRT therapist told me that most people with vestibular difficulties will have anxiety to some extent. It's because your brain is getting mixed signals from your balance system, so it sparks off a little warning and can make us feel so anxious. Plus if your world looks weird to you, and you don't understand what's happening, it's natural to feel anxious. This was me in the beginning, I couldn't interpret my symptoms, I just felt really strange and everything looked weird and I was so anxious all the time. It becomes much easier to handle once you understand what's happening to you.
When you visit your doctor talk about your symptoms, but don't mention that you believe it's all caused by anxiety or anything of the sort. Because sometimes GPs don't know a lot about dizziness they can assume it's down to anxiety, especially if you arrive in a panic or all anxious about it. Try to talk to them as clearly and calmy as you can, explain your symptoms and if they mention anxiety tell them you'd like to have a balance problem ruled out before assuming it's all down to stress or anxiety.
Anxiety can indeed cause dizziness! And stress can also add a lot to, or trigger, vestibular disorders. But it's not always the reason a patient is dizzy, and it's important to get balance problems ruled out, especially if they're not directly related to feeling anxious or having a panic attack.
My doc referred me to an ENT who quite frankly has been kind of useless, but they are at least putting me through the tests like hearing and scans just to make sure there are no problems with my inner ear. They've also referred me to a neurologist who will help me figure out if it is migraine or not. But the person who has been the most help was the VRT therapist, it was after his initial assessment that I discovered I did have a problem with my balance system and he was able to write to my doctor and explain that. After that the GP took me a lot more seriously and she has been great since. Because the VRT therapist specialises in balance they are so much better equipped to understand your symptoms and help you.
The VRT therapist will assess your balance in the first session and explain what they think might be happening for you. They are not always able to give a full diagnosis because they cannot run the same tests as ENTs or neurologists, but they will definitely help. It might be worth asking you doctor about VRT or researching yourself to see if there is anyone in your area who does it. I went privately so had to pay for it, but it was worth every penny for how much it has helped me. Sometimes it's the ENT who will refer you for the VRT, I'm not sure where you live or if this is how it works in your health system. If you live in the US there are different types of consultants you can see for balance problems.
Vestibular.org is an excellent resource website for anyone suffering with dizziness problems - it may help you find a VRT therapist or good balance doctor in your area.
If you're finding that your jaw is sore it could very well be connected here, so it might be worth looking at whether you grind your teeth or clench your jaw either in your sleep or while awake. A dentist would be the first step for a TMJ problem, they can help diagnose it and find solutions for you if needed. Might be good to research good TMJ dentists in your area either.
For both vestibular problems and TMJ, stress relief and daily relaxation can be a big part of your recovery, so it might be good to look into how you can help yourself in this regard. I work on gentle yoga and meditation most days, and it helps enormously with muscle tension and relaxation. When we are stressed the muscles of the jaw can really be affected because we clench without realising it, so stress relief will go a long way with helping this type of tension and as a result there will be less dizziness.
My dizziness has not fully gone away, but I understand it better and am able to handle it more. I fully believe that if I can relax some of the tension in my jaw & face that it will help me. I'm going through a particularly stressful year, separating from my husband, so that will all add to how I'm feeling and I know that once it's done and I can relax a lot of that stress will lift.
A few months ago I could barely move without feeling sick, had scary symptoms like my arm going numb and the dizziness was unbearable - but I've come so far from that to being able to get on with my days now, mostly thanks to the VRT and lots of Internet research. I had to take a month off work recently because I hit another bad patch, but it's been triggered by stressful life events and I know that it can all get back to a good place again.
I know this is a really long message, but I hope that I've covered everything and have been clear enough. If you have any questions feel free to ask them here or PM me, I sincerely hope that this will help you in some way. I feel so badly for anyone who goes through balance problems because of what I've been through myself.
In conclusion:
- your dizziness may or may not be connected to anxiety, it's best to have everything ruled out
- research VRT therapists in your area
- research TMJ and see if it fits you, maybe visit a dentist
- it's possible to get help and get better
- it's natural to feel anxious when dizzy, if you accept that it will help you feel a lot better
---------- Post added at 09:15 ---------- Previous post was at 09:13 ----------
Andria has your daughter been able to get any help for her vertigo? I hope that she's doing ok x
HoneyLove, thanks for the detailed response - the more info the better. Yeah I definately do feel like I would feel a whole lot better if I could relax my muscles. Its like my head, neck, shoulders, arms are constricted. I noticed my neck cracking a lot now.
That sounds like a lot of doctor visits you have, I am still trying to find a doctor in my insurances network that is open on Saturdays. While I have my insurance left, I would like atleast to get blood work and some imaging done.
I thought of that also, to not say anything to the doctor about any anxiety or panic attacks. Post after post I read is people being told 'oh, its just anxiety' and then try to medicate you. Last thing I want are pills.
Have you heard about this "blood spinning" treatment....
I cant post links, but you can Google Dana White Blood Spinning...he says it cured his Menieres Disease
You'd need a confirmed Menieres diagnosis before looking at any treatment for it. Menieres usually manifests as bursts of room spinning vertigo that can last anywhere from 20 mins to 24 hours, and is usually accompanied by temporary hearing loss, low sounding tinnitus and sometimes nystagmus (eyes flickering on their own). If you're not getting symptoms like these then I'm not sure if you actually have Menieres, so be cautious about self diagnosing and trying treatments for a problem you may not have.
If your muscles are tense and your neck is cracking then look into the TMJ option and watch for posture problems like bending over your phone or tablet constantly and spending hours on computers without a break (this can cause a problem called text neck or forward head posture that can create a lot of muscle tension). Some regular physiotherapy might be of benefit to help you.
If you're not having any success I would highly recommend that you seek out a VRT therapist before trying any unconventional treatment, VRT is designed to help with the kind of problems you're having and makes the most sense to be one of your first treatment options.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.