Has anyone been diagnosed with cervicogenic dizziness?

It comes and goes.  I will have a few good days, then something sets it off and the dizziness will come back and last for days. I spend a lot of time at a computer, and my vestibular therapist thinks that may contribute to my issues.  I have  just started doing the core exercises.  I tried regular balance exercises, but they made me so much worse so I stopped them.  I am  also doing the neck stretches and massages.  I waited months to see a specialist, and he also wasn't much help. I have been doing the vestibular therapy since April. It has helped a lot.  At least now I can walk most of the time without feeling like I am bouncing. I don't think there are any meds for this.  I have heard of people getting Botox injections to help their neck.  I am going to see if i can learn more about that.  Have you seen a vetibular therapist?

Hi Natalia,

My wife is currently undergoing similar problem i.e vertigo that aggravates when seated or in sleeping position and she has these symptoms almost throughout the day. Did you root cause your problem? Doctor is diagnosing this as BPPV but I believe it is BPPV + Neuromuscular disorder as she has neck stiffness and pain in the neck once in a while. Have checked Vit D and B12 levels. B12 was normal, however she has already taken Vit D supplements for past 2 months and her condition hasnt improved. Any suggestions or diagnosis in this regard would help. Elpley's maneuver helps to stabilize sever dizziness but not the constant to and fro motion as if she is in a ship. they symptoms get suppressed when in motion like in the car but aggravates with heat and when not in motion. 

Hi raj13858,

That sounds very similar to me. I have tinnitus in one ear aswell and during the night I sometimes have terrible jerks. I've just started seeing an acupuncturist so going to stick with that to see if I get some relief. I was previously seeing an osteopath who said it was definitely coming from my neck, just under my ears and I have a TMJ issue also. He said my spine is misaligned so he did some massage and manipulation work which I definitely got relief from but I found the manipulation(cracking) of my neck v. hard to cope with! I might go back but I'm giving it a break for the mo. He explained that the neck muscles are trapping a nerve which is causing mixed messages to the brain which is causing dizziness.

I have had a weak core for years so my neck was over compensating for that and also my job requires quite a bit of bending and lifting. All that with added stress etc over years has caused a build up. I'm going to an ENT specialist for the first time this week and wreckon I will be referred to a neurologist to get a closer look at situation.

I'm trying to do some core exercises and stretches of the neck and keep the activity up to an average scale on the days when I'm not so bad but it is very hard and has obviously affected my mood also.

There is a page on facebook called menieres vertigo tinnitus tmj and have found some good advice here and reassuring to know other people are going through the same thing.

I hope your wife gets some help and starts to recover soon, it's an awful thing to battle with. If she sees me on that facebook page, tell her to say hello! I won't give out my second name here but I'm pretty sure I'm the only one on the page called Natalia!

Take care xxx

Has your wife done vestibular therapy?  The gaze stabalization exercises helped greatly in relieving the bouncing and rocking feelings.  I saw a neurologist who said I alsohave vestibular migraines, and he put me on a diet for migraines. Eliminating triggers such as caffeine and bananas has greatly improved my dizziness. Vestibular migraines can also cause neck stiffness and pain,  My neurologist  also has me take 400 mg of magnesium glycinate. There is a great facebook group called vestibular migraine professional and the members there also offer lots of good advice

My wife's audiometry was fine, but tested positive for Dix-Hallpike test for BPPVby an ENT specialist and also did the Epley's maneuver for couple of weeks now.

Couple of times she had severe giddiness and now she has a feeling of continuous swaying on sitting and lying down and sometimes while sleeping.

Today we did the MRI which says

"Cervical spine shows straightening . Mild disc desiccation seen at C2-C3 through C6-C7". We will be meeting a neuro musculoskeletal specialist tomorrow and see what's his opinion. I beleive Physio + Vestibular therapy is the only way to go. Have you tried yoga or any other treatment?

Hope you feel better, i can understand the tough times you must have gone through, my wife is hardly confident to step out of the home or stay alone at home ever since this started. 

Hi Kikili,

She had just started on Vestibular therapy for her mild swaying/dizziness symptoms. Very next day after doing the Brandt Daroff excercise for the first time she had severe giddiness that woke her up from her sleep.

However, she felt OK after we visited ENT and doing the Epley Maneuver which was tough for her but eventually she was back to the rocking/swaying condition which she had before. I am guessing there is no easy cure for this without change in lifestyle. I need to read about magnesium glycenate. Doctors have prescribed anti-anxiety drugs so she atleast calms down of her symptoms. I plan to start simple yoga for her from May though the doctors are advising not to. I will try explore all possibilities and find whats the best option for the benefit for all. Intersetingly my cousin also is undergoing similar problem and I'm just wondering if it is not an issue with any particular kind of lifestyle or food habits. Thanks for the advice!

My Epley's were tough also.  I could barely get out of bed the next day, I was so dizzy I could hardly stand up. My vestibular therapist never told me you must remain upright for 48 hours after an Epley. I found this out after my fourth visit. (I switched therapists after that).  The gaze stabilization exercises are where you look at an "x" and move your head back and forth and up and down.  These didn't fix my dizziness, but did get rid of most of the rocking and bouncing.

My wife was asked to sleep at a 45 degree angle after Epley for a week.

But now she is struggling to lie down flat as she got used to this sleeping style. She has been asked to do gaze stabilization as well from yesterday. Will share the results. Today we are meeting a neuro-muscular specialist. I'm hoping he has a good therapy in plan for her.

My vestibular therapist has been a great help.  She has shown me stretching exercises for my neck and strengthening  exercises  for my core muscles.  She also massages my neck muscles, which are always tight.  I sit at a computer all day, and have terrible posture, and I am sure that contributes to my issues. My rheumatologist has me taking Flexeril (muscle relaxer) and I think that is helping. My symptoms are slowly improving.  I am glad to hear there is hope for me getting rid of this.

I have been doing my vestibular therapy for over a year.  I don't think I will ever have good balance ( I can't stand on one leg for more than a few seconds), but at least I no longer feel like I am rocking or bouncing.  The gaze stabilization exercises helped with that.  I still get regular neck massages, and do lots of stretching for my neck, and I am taking musle relaxers which seem to be helping some.  I was referred to a new neurologist (who is a headache specialist)  and he also diagnosed me with migraines, which also contribute to dizziness and neck/shoulder pain. He gave me a migraine diet to follow, ( I cut out all caffeine) and I that is also helping. I do notice that my dizziness is less frequent, and I recover faster, so there has been improvement. You might want to research vestibular migraines, since some of the symptoms are similar to the cervicogenic dizziness.    The book "Heal your Headache" by Bucholtz had some very good information.  If you have facebook join the group "vesibular migraine professional".  I learned a lot from the group members.