11 months of dizziness and now headaches

Thanks Paula I will do my best to relax. I hope you find medication that works for you. Keep trying. Good like with the dizzy clinic I will look up if theres one near me. I don't think there is much that can be done to be honest but like you I will not give up seeking help. Most frustrating having to go back to gp to ask for more help as they have told me they don't see what else they can do. Think they are fed up with me bringing the dizziness and other symptoms up. Hope you enjoy the easter weekend. Thinking of you and others here too.

Sorry to hear your suffering similar symtoms. All this searching for help would make a well person stressed and ill I know. Be strong. Best wishes.

Hi jason i have been seeing a healer well worth the money im feeling a bit better shes taken the anxiety away .which dont help with diziness.

Hi Jason, do you think your headaches may be the cause of your vertigo.  I am being treated for silent migraines as the cause of my balance problems and have noticed that when i wake in the morning i have a tension in the base of my skull and behind my eyes which i wasn't so aware of before, and the meds the dizzy clinic put me on are easing this i think and my visual problems and  balance are improving and the stiff neck i had is also easing along with shoulder pain, so it's a step forward for me.  Cheese and chocolate are supposed to be the 2 biggest triggers for migraines but could be anything for someone who is sensitive and bright lights can also be a problem.

Hi Anne. I have tried explained whether I am suffering from migraines which may be causing my problems to my specialist. He does not seem to think I am having migraines but the last 2 times I saw him he mentioned if I would like to try migraine medication. I asked what medication he was thinking of and he offered me an antidepressant. I think he offered sertraline. As my research finds this mediacation generally does not help migraines and me already being on one form of antidepressant already I declined his offer and said I would have a think about it untill my next appointment. Like people say these dodctors have no clue about migraines. I have given up on asking my GP about migraines and seeing a specialist in this area. On these forums I have read that many people with similar symptoms to ours have had relief using some migraine medications such as betablockers. When I told my specialist this he smiled and gave no feedback.

I thank you for your reply and feedback Anne.

I assure you I have not given up hope in seeking help but at the moment there is alot going on as my father passed away recently.

In the next month or two when things have settled down I will get on to my GP and demand to go private to see a specialist in migraines and an endocrinologist for the thyroid.

I hope you continue to see improvement now you are on the right track.

Take care.

What medication are you now taking for migraines ?

nortriptyline 10mgs, it is a tricyclic antidepressant but used at this low dose can be used as neuro pathic pain relief.  I may have to increase the dosage as although the tension in the base of my skull has lessened it is still there but less noticeable.  I also have been given a list of foods to avoid but i have not cut them all out and am starting with the most obvious which are cheese and chocolate to see if this has any difference.  I think too much of anything may be the problem and prefer to try everything in moderation.  I have given up caffeine completely and as i don't drink alcohol i haven't needed to give that up, i have also given up smoking in an effort to help myself, and i am trying to eat a much better diet whenever possible but i don't want to end up a food bore who keeps banging on about what i can and can't eat, so i just try to moderate my diet as best i can.  I know that dehydration effects me more than i realised and also not eating regularly which drops my blood sugars.  All these things combined i feel affect my balance also, so i have to try and be more mindful to pay attention to when i feel the wobblies coming on and what might be causing it.  Hope this helps.

thanks Jason, my sympathy on losing your dad.  I think you are right to take a break from persuing this too much at the moment as even that in itself can become a stressor.  I had seen ENT for 2 years but am now seeing a neuro otologist who basically told me i have been wasting my time with ENT.  He said my visual problems and sensitivity to some sounds and problems with bright lights were all part of silent migraines.  I'm not convinced but am prepared to follow his advice in case he's right but i do notice since taking the antidepressent in low doses it is improving my neck pain and trapped nerve in shoulder and i feel much better overall.  I would increase the dose of the nortriptyline but can't at the moment as i am waiting for an operation in 2 weeks with a general anaesthetic  and this medication i am on is contrainindicated prior to surgery.  So i am keeping it at the low dose but the consultant said i could take the dosage up to 75 mgs if needed. I went out this morning without anything to eat and the dizzies started to come on, I came home and had something to eat and now they are going away.  Take care of yourself.

Thanks for your reply Anne. I will ask to give the sertraline a try when I next see specialist. I too don't drink and have tried cutting things out of my diet. I find since I brought caffeine back into my diet I have been better than without it but I make sure I don't overdo it. I have recently been making sure I drink more water. Well done for packing in smoking. I switched to smoking an ecig 2 years ago now and even wonder sometimes if that may be causing some of my symptoms. I have tried to reduce and stop smoking it but I can't live without it for now and I love it too much.

i too have wondered if it's the nicotine gum i use to quit smoking.  So i have cut down on the amount of gum i chew because maybe that is causing the problem, although i have been on it many years without problem, but you never know when your body will decide it's had enough of a particular substance.  Sometimes i feel i am just clutching at straws.  By the way you might want to ask your doctor if he's starting you on sertraline as an antidepressant, or as an anxiety antedote for your vertigo or for your vertigo as a pain relief.  In others words what is the reason your doctor is starting you on sertraline?  For myself i really don't want to take medications that are for something else when it is vertigo that i have, or silent migraines or whatever.  Having said that if you are depressed/anxious by all means do what you think is best for you as it might help.

I have been more positive about my condition for a while now and I have spent less time analysing things and searching for help online. That's why you haven't seen me on here for a while. I have a bad day mood wise now and again but since the dizziness started I have been mentally sound and I feel that is what is getting me through this. The sertraline was offered to me for migraines by the neuro-otologist.

good for you, i too feel that getting over obsessed with this condtion gives it fuel.  I am trying to keep a balance.  Glad you too are seeing a neuro-otologist because they seem to be offering me more input.  I am due to go back to start exercises in September as i had to delay due to forthcoming operation and i am also in a study that they are conducing with the university of kent to see how i am improving or not as the case may be, so i'm feeling a bit more positive.  Ultimately i have learned that this condition has ups and downs but is not as bad as i use to feel when it first started as i may be adapting.  I just feel that like a computer something has gone on my hard drive and it may or not be repairable, so anything that helps is a bonus.

 

Thank you Anne. I have been very busy the past month but I make a conscious effort to not stress out and take each day in my stride one day at a time. Some days I have to accept I am not well enough to cope with anything and generally my friends and family have become more understanding and used to my condition with it's ups and downs and I am not afraid to let them know I cannot make appointments and meet their expectations on a bad day. Acceptance is the key to getting through a bad day or week. Easy for me to say as I do not have the amount of responsibility some people have but that is quickly changing due to my father passing. I get a bit frustrated some days and want answers to why I feel this way but generally I am very happy to be here and appreciate the health I do have. Some friends and close family have more severe health issues which are life threatening not just life changing. I am still young but I am learning that life throws us challenges and given time which I do have I can learn to make changes and adapt. I have watched too many of my close family recently pass away without any time to come to terms or except their illness. I am not religious at all but I make sure I count my blessings everyday. Take care Anne. 

Hi Anne - not been on here for a while as nothing changed.  Having been at work all day, its too hard to go on the laptop when I come in.  Finally getting to my next neurologist appointment, 13 august, so I am going to take my notes on SCM and see what he says.  Ive not been on any meds now for months and Im no different.  I have also finally got an appointment to see a neck consultant but not till October.  They are treating me as a new patient with a new problem but its not, its a continuation of the three years of silent migraine or whatever it is.  Im hoping he can send me for some test or other or a scan on my neck to see whats going on.  Been a bit stressed about job and car and also tried to be on diet and the dizziness is worse.  Im better when I eat what I want but then I just pile on the weight.  Now I cant dance any more, I have to get rid of it.  Its a vicious circle.I wonder if it will ever stop.  Ill let you know what my guy says.  Lets hope he can throw some light on something for us !!!

thanks Jason.  This condition is very unpredictable and can come and go, as someone else said good 10 minutes, bad 10 minuts, good day bad day, good week, bad week.  For myself over the past 2 years i am slowly improving as was at a point where i was once crawling around the floor unable to walk through a door without clinging to the frame.  Take care Jason too.

 

Hi Paula, please let us know how you get on especially with the neck guy cos i think that's where all my problems originate, and having physio for it 2 years ago was the start of my problems.  I'm just off to work now so catch up again after your appointments.  Hope you get some good news and some action.  Anne. xx