Extreme dizziness when walking.. Help

Hi Lisa,

It could be something as simple as anxiety - which can cause the most alarming symptoms.

However, you really do need to see a doctor to get it checked out again. You say you were blacking out when you first started having these dizzy spells. That doesn't sound like vertigo at all. You can fall over with vertigo (I know because I've had it myself) but you don't black out.

As you're clearly still quite young, it could be due to low blood pressure, which can cause a feeling of light-headedness and occasionally lead to blackouts.

Whatever it is, there's absolutely no need to start googling rare diseases and scaring yourself. There are plenty of far more prosaic explanations for your symptoms. Just go and see a doctor, and tell him/her everything you've described here.

HI Lisa

First of all, please do not berate yourself or allow anyone else to to do so simply because you chose to research your symptoms. The very fact that you find yourself on this forum exonerates you of any foolishness you may feel for googling. This is because it is here that you soon discover that you are not alone. This in itself will help to alleviate the symptoms of your condition, because although anxiety does not result in the long term symptoms you describe, the feeling of isolation is stressful. This only makes the condition seem far worse than it is. So what I would say to you, Lisa, is jolly well done for googling!

Having said that, if like me, your visit to this website was not before you had stumbled across all kind of horror stories, you will need to permanently detox from all the negative stuff you have read.  This is bound to scare you, particularly if you tend to be a glass half empty rather than half full kind of person. This is the best place to do that.  I find that in the main, people who have issues relating to vertigo on here have a positive outlook and you need to hear that.

The way I described the symptoms I have to my GP is that it is like the aftermath of a heavy drinking session that never goes away. It was after that I was diagnosed with the inner ear contion that results in vertigo. The two main types being vestibular neuritis and Labyrinthitis, the first condition without loss of hearing and the latter with some hearing loss.

This also results in a ringing sound in your ear that you do not notice until you lay your head on your pillow at night and everything falls silent. It can make you feel sick in reduced lighting or when you switch off the bedside lamp.  Your ears may feel congested and it tends to feel worse in the morning. I have suffered some slight hearing loss and have been diagnosed with labrinthitis.

What you quickly come to realise as you share your experience in this forum, however, is that the effects of vertigo are diverse. Some find that it is easily manageable, some have it for a short period and others struggle with it on a long term basis. For me it has been a debilitating experience because it tends to effect cognition in the area of recall and concentration. Part of my job is in radio broadcasting and this involves working with a lot of complex audio data and the condition can make that difficult but you just have to soldier on.

You are nevertheless absolutely right to go back to your GP.  However, in my experience, unless you have other symptoms that suggest that there is some neurosurgical problem, they will probably just prescribe medication to help with the sickness. This is the very thing that drives people to google and to find forums like this which is good but there can be a downside to it. As that old saying goes, “misery loves company." In other words the mutual sympathy we find in others with the same condition can simply reinforce the negativity we feel rather than alleviate it

This is why I think it is important to be pragmatic about these things and accept that although your condition is not life threatening, you will have to find ways of managing it . So it is with that in I pass on some things I have learned that I hope will help you do that.

1. Only do research on your condition on the NHS website. They provide medical information and advice in a responsible way.  http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Vertigo/Pages/Causes.aspx

2 .Do not self diagnose, pick out the worst case scenario or dwell on it. The brain is a complex piece of hardware and if you do that, it will send out signals to your body to create all the symptoms of some fatal illness that in reality just does not exist.

3.  Keep calm and carry on. You find this message printed on just about everything these days and there was a time when I thought it was just superficial, empty rhetoric but it is actually good advice. The temptation with vertigo is to make it such a focal point of your life that it becomes more debilitating than it should be. Though it can be a struggle keep working and keep studying

4. Get a good nights sleep. This is really important as the dizziness is made far worse by tiredness, so don't go burning the candle at both ends too often.

5. Trust your doctor. More important than anything else I have said is trust your doctor. They have all your medical history and are best placed to advise and treat you. Having said that, you should never be afraid to question them on their judgement and request further investigation if you feel that would help to relieve your anxiety.

I hope this helps if only in a small way and please keep us informed on how you are doing.

 

I had similar experiences. First outbreak about 20 years ago was the worst!!!  I have suffered from periodic vertigo outbreaks, every 4-5 years. Very hard to diagnose but most likely due to herpes simplex 1 type virus infection in my inner ear... I found out that antiviral remedies work well for me (better within one day!!!). More specifically: L-lysine (1,000 milligrams three times daily), echinacea tea, 1-3 raw garlic cloves/day, mushroom based immune boosting supplements. 

If you google natural viral remedies (for herpes virus) you will find other options such as:   elderberry, calendula, astragalus and licorice root.

On the same note stay away from nuts, oats, coffee and chocolate ... (Again, perform a google search on what foods to avoid for herpes outbreaks)... Those foods indeed flared back up my vertigo when I thought I was better...

Good luck!