Under investigation for dizziness

Thanks for your reply.  It is very strange feeling and I just don't know what the cause could be.  I'm just worried they won't be able to find any cause as it scares me.   At the moment as I am sitting down writing this I feel a pressure in my forehead, like a headache.  Originally a neurologist said it was migranous related and put me on amitryptaline but that didn't work, they just kept making me feel very drowsy.  I'm hoping they will get to the bottom of it.   

This is daily though is that possible? 

I was diagnosed with migraine vertigo and yes it was happening every day to begin with. It's a feeling of unsteadiness or like I'm going to fall, happens when standing in open spaces. What happened when they did the water test? Did it provoke your symptoms at all?

Hi carina, yes daily and sometimes can last for a week or more, with recovery periods in between and then back to similar.  As I have BPPV and silent migraines the consultant told me not to confuse the two.  Now i know the difference between describing feeling dizzy and balance problems.  Dizzy was when my head was swimming inside my skull when i rolled over in bed but now i have visual vertigo and balance issues caused by silent migraines, of course, when i get anxious it worsens, but the medication i take has improved the amount of visual vertigo i experience, as has cutting back on triggers which i believe for me are over indulgence in chocolate, cheese and caffeine.   It has taken me 2 years to get more insight into what it is i am actually experiencing, so i would say now i am hardly dizzy, having not had a recent bout of BPPV but i have occasional periods of visual vertigo whereas before it seemed almost constant.  Keep hydrated and try not to get over tired.  Keep moving as taking to bed and lying around maker it harder to retrain the brain to compensate for the lack of balance.  Best wishes.  Anne.

I get my results from the balance tests at the end of this month so I will update you and yes, having the test did bring on my dizziness which she said it would, it was very unpleasant as my palpitations started again which I know was the anxiety brought on my dizziness and fear of fainting but I need to get to the bottom of this.

I am waiting to get my balance test results at the end of this month so will let you know.  I have had eyes tested, MRI scan etc so I am being thoroughly tested at the moment and hope there will be a conclusion to why I get this.

My GP is putting this down to anxiety but I'm not convinced.  I don't smoke and only drink the odd glass of wine when I go out for a meal.  I am determined to get to the bottom of this

anxiety obviously can worsen the problem but isn't the cause, your GP is being sloppy suggesting this before eliminating other possibilities.

Hi Carina i am also on nortriptyline for silent migraines.  I also am on a restricted diet that could be causing them.  Have you got a diagnosis?

They have put it down to migraneous vertigo although I've never suffered from migraines before so it came as quite a surprise to me,  this has all come about over the last year or so.  Am hoping this will help otherwise I have no idea what would be causing my dizziness/unsteadiness.  How are you getting on with the medication?

Hi Carina, same here.  I'm on it for 'silent migraines' that cause vertigo,.  My vision goes wonky and i feel spaced out and the consultant said that was caused by silent migraines.  Initially the tablets really helped but now i am getting the problem back on occasions and he said i could up the dosage by 10 mgs to 20mgs a day as was on 10 mgs.  I have also stopped drinking caffeine drinks and am trying to cut back on sugar.  Overall there there has been an improvement and i do notice now that i get a dull ache at the base of my skull and behind my left eye and also sometimes at the top of my head, so maybe this is a problem.  I notice it more when i wake up, first thing in the morning.   At first i wasn't convinced either but there were days when i was getting a pounding in my ears rather than a headache and consultant said this is all part of silent migraines where you just get mostly the vertigo and visual problems.  A colleague at work was also having tension headaches and cut out caffeine and started using brown, natural sugar and she says so no longer gets them anymore.   I am hoping to come off th nortriptyline if i can control the symptoms with diet. Hope you feel better soon.

hello anne, can i ask, how often do you get these 'silent migraines' ?  i have recently started taking nortryptaline but haven't really noticed a difference yet, i am still getting my frontal headaches with feelings of unsteadiness/dizziness and my head feels really heavy.  I get these quite often, a few times a week, i can go say for a week to 10 days feeling 'ok ish' and then i get a few in a week, does this sound normal?  the consultant did say it will take up to 2 weeks for the medication to kick in.

Hello Carina, I think mine were almost daily with a few days off and then back again,  it took about 2 weeks for me to notice any difference.  I was having wonky vision, where i couldn't focus my eyes, and balance problems most every day, worse in the mornings and easing off throughout the day, so it was almost daily.  Likewise i would also have the odd good week and then go backwards again, so basically I was all over the place, good day, bad day.  As someone else here once wrote, good 5 mins, bad 5 mins, good day, bad day, good week, bad week, which pretty much sums it up, totally unpredictable.  It hasn't gone away completely but i would say i am 80% improved, as though i can still feel it sometimes in the background it not so much at the forefront anymore.  I may need to increase the dosage as i am starting to find it isn't as good as it was when i first started on the nortriptyline in July but i am trying to cut back on my diet that might be causing it rather than increasing the dosage as i would like to come off these meds if i can and it worsens my tinnitus in my left ear which was caused by a head injury many years ago.  Hope you feel an improvement soon.