Headaches, dizzyness & now seizure.

Hi Donna, thank you for trying. After scouring the internet, I did find out that along with epilepsy (which is what I may be deaing with), there are symptoms of dizziness and vertigo. My ENT dr is absolutely useless. I spoke to the secretary and asked her to notify the dr of this episode and a) whether he has heard of a connection and b) to indicate whether I can/should stop this Nystatin.  2 days later, I am still waiting for an answer. Ridiculous.

Ho. Sorry to butt in on you comment with Donna, but I know all about useless ENT,s!!  Tbh Marie,,if you can via your med insurance or however it works there,  I would definitely be asking for a referral with a Neuro otologist AS ENT,s just do not 'do' anything Neuro in experience

 

Hi Gillian,

no need to apologize, I welcome your comments and suggestions. We are here to support one another in whatever way we can.

👍👍😊

yes totally,agree Donna.  the thing is with ENT,s -  Ear, Nose And Throat, that is exactly what they are and do, heRing problems, hearing aids wtc.,  children's grommets, glummer, throat problems Nd so in.  they don.t do the Vestibular system in their studies.  In fact ENTS,s only study for half, roughly.,the amount of years that Vestibular Neuro Otolgists, Otolaryngologists wtc wtc do.  When I asked an ENT why my right ear continually popped every single time I swallowed (it is also "full feeling' too), he said that that meant my Eustation  tube was working properly.  so,I said, "so does that mean because my left ear doesn't pop that that means my left Eustation tube isn't working properly"!!  If looks could have killed I'd have been dead! Ha ha!!  Btw he didn't,t answer me,,wonder why? 

....I typed glue ear, not glummer!

Unfortunately, no. I was not happy with the care in the ER, the attending physician had one foot in my cubicle and one foot out. It was quite apparent that he did not have the time to hear what was ailing me. I was moved from one waiting room to the other, and only to be moved back again. On my last move, the nurse told me to sit in the waiting room, yet again, and he became annoyed when he saw that I was not moving as fast as he wanted me to. I said I know where to go but I think I'm going to...(that's when I fell to the ground). I was discharged with urgent follow-up care with neurology. Urgent is 2-4 weeks here, if you are lucky. Personally, I think testing should be done right then and there to view brain activity, not waiting weeks after the episode. This was not a small seizure so I am surprised why I was not given an EEG soon after. I don't know, this is all new to me. I was so out of it and could not think clearly to ask further questions. Today, I am feeling more alert and my muscles are not as sore. No one told me the results of my blood test or what the after effects would be of this seizure. Very disappointed. Thank goodness for the internet.

hI Marie ,,I agree with Donna, I wouldn,t wait for the wheels of the system to turn (I,ve,learned not to on that myself!).  go see your GP, he is after all your Primary Care Dr, no matter which country you,re in, Canada right? and when he hears about your collapse, just say you  want to see a neurologist tomorrow, not in two to three weeks and play it,up!! although you shouldn't,t need to, I would do it anyway. Sadly it,s thenonly way to be heard these days, the  squeeky wheel,and all that!!!

Hi Gillian,

I wish it was that easy. No way could you ask to be seen by a specialist the next day unless perhaps you were a relative of the specialist's secretary. Not in Ontario.

Hi Laurnce,,I am pretty sure Marie is in Canada., But I picked up on something g you said about yourself re the tingling etc and you might want to look at something called Chiari.  Was reading about it on Brain and Spine Foundation website (if you haven,t seen it you should, it,s a good site) and on a search for seizures I did to,look for Marie, there was a list of interviews with a nurse on the subject of Chiari.  It has dizziness as a ah prom, but other things too.  Have a Google!!

Dizziness as a symptom, sorry predictive txt

I'm with Laurance with the tingling feelings - I have it across my right side of the scalp and into my lip and tongue. I mentioned it as soon as I started to feel sick with the spins outs but was pushed aside! Still there 5 months later and increase when my headaches increase ! 

Hi Gillian,

Thanks for thye information I will have a look at this now.

Laurence

 

Hi Laurence,

Thank you for your best wishes. Yes, I am in Canada. MRI wait time here is on average 4-5 months. My original MRI date was Dec 22 at 2 a.m. We shall see what they bump it up to. Many frustrated people here head off to the United States and pay a great deal of $ to obtain a MRI test sooner. Your doctor must indicate that the test is urgent at which time you could be looking at a 1 month wait time. The key is to be asked to be placed on a cancellation list and make sure you do not move far from your phone. I find that CT scans are readily given in ER and many times I think it is just to keep you quiet at the risk of being exposed to unnecessary radiation. An MRI is far more in depth, depending on what you are being tested for. What irritates me is when you see people throwing all this $ on silly extravagances when they could be donating their excess cash on imaging equipment for their local hospitals. Saving lives. Here in Toronto, it was announced the ridiculous salaries and bonuses provided to executives of the Pan Am games. We are talking about base salary of $236k with bonuses in some cases equalling that, not to mention cars, computers... Sorry, but that just irritates me to no end.

Now to get back on topic. Yes, I do get tingling and numbness on side of face and top of head. Doctors attributed that to migraines. Apparently with a TIA, it is a sudden numbness on one side, the numbness does not travel to other limbs. For instance, if you say I had numbness on my left arm, then I felt it on my left leg which then moved to my right side, they would rule out a TIA and be looking at other neurological issues.

Hi Marie,

That is awful having to wait all that time for an MRI.  Paula is right, in the UK on the NHS you would be seen immediately after having a seizure.  I hope you get an earlier app't.

How long have you been dizzy (and other symptoms) and what has been diagnosed?  Have you had and MRI before?  I have had two MRI's and and neck MRI but nothing could be found and hence i was diagnosed with VN.  I did feel like I was making a small imrpovment until out walking up a hill last thursday.  I had a very dizzy moment and have felt horrible ever since.

There are a lot of us out there with these awful illnesses it is about time the medical fraternity sat up and did something about them.

Anyway, hope you are beginning to feel a little (or a lot) better.

Best wishes

Laurence

Hi Laurence,

Thank you for your well wishes.

I am truly sorry to hear you had a setback, very frustrating indeed. I managed to bump up my EEG appt for this morning. I think they just simply became put off with my phone calls and granted me an appt to shut me up. As for the MRI, I am still waiting for a date. 

In the beginning of July, I started off with intense headaches for 2 weeks (pain & pressure), that proceeded to dizzyness and nausea, soon after came the vertigo after a balance test. It has now been 3 months of relentess headaches, nausea, dizziness, neck pain and bouts of vertigo and one seizure for good measure. I have lost over 10 pounds and have no appetite. If I eat, I become extremely nauseous. VN is certainly being entertained as a diagnosis. When I visited another hospital ER, to gain a second opinion, (a hospital with neurology as its bragging specialty), I was floored when the attending neurologist sarcastically asked me, "What would you like this hospital to do for you?" That was insane, I didn't know how to answer that other than state the obvious, run some tests and let's get to the bottom of this because it is one hell of a way to live your life. I echo your sentiments, they do not take us seriously. It is a shame. How does one survive if one cannot work due to this disability.

Take care Laurence and I hope you see better days ahead

hi Marie and Laurence,  I am really sorry to hear about your setbacks and struggles, Marie, with these damned specialists.  I got that type of comment (they must teach them That in Medical,school in UK too!!) once, so I said 'I don,t know, you,re the doctor'!! Ha ha. Shut him up! I,said it in a jokey way to,take,the edge off how i really felt, and went straight into all my. Symptoms.  I had,to,pull up my rheumatologist yesterday as I really wanted to get his attention on my neck, as he was hurrying things through so quick and I only go once a year!   he had a student sitting in so guess he had to be on his best behaviour. he always makes a point that my Arthritis is 'mild' despite the fact I've had it since my late 20's (it,s a secondary thing as I had developed Crohns disease in mid 20's),,so had to,joke,with him saying, 'i know you,re running late and need to catch up (I had waited 45mins  over appointment time) but I won,t see you for another year", so he then sat up and listened!! But  of,course I got the "you can always see your GP",  well that,s not the same as a specialist is it, so I think my facial,expression said that.  I guess my age, 67, helps somewhat as they think you,re just an awkward old woman, but it gets you that way in the end eh?  still didn,t get the X-ray I wanted, only hands and feet,,which I don't, have a Big pblem with. So,go figure!,