really worried - vertigo please help.

Posted , 9 users are following.

Hi,

About 6 weeks ago i experienced what i thought was a very severe case of vertigo.

It happened all of a sudden - the room started spinning to the point where it made me vomit and gave me a headache.

I couldn't really walk because I was so disorientated, and had to go to bed so I could close my eyes to stop the spinning.

My symptoms barely improved the next day, and it wasn't until the third day that I started to slowly get better and my symptoms started to improve. 

It took me about two weeks to make a full recovery, though by the fourth or fifth I was able to walk around, the dizziness being more intermittent and not as bad as the initial onset.

After the fifth day I continued to get better, and after a week I was considerably better than before only feeling a little dizzy and remained the same from then on, fully recovering, as I say, after two weeks.

I must note on the 4th and 5th day I was getting better, but vomited twice.

However, This Will have been because I ate too much rich food, and my stomach was sensitive from vomiting before, I expect.

After I'd recovered I went to the doctor.

The GP I saw told me that he thought I had something wrong with my sternocleidomastoid muscle, and that it was known to cause problems with dizziness and vertigo, as well as headaches and sickness.

He asked me to stand, and said he said he could visibly see My posture was lopsided and that the sternocleidomastoid muscle was inflamed and was pertruding slightly.

After research online, I found many other people had this problem.

I then went back to the doctor a second time, and he laughed when I told him what the other doctor had said not to listen to him, and said that it was an episode of vertigo.

I thought that it was then behind me, but now, just over six or so weeks after The initial onset, I had another experience five days ago.

This time it was nothing like the severity of the first, and I had it for three days.

The first day it was medium intensity, the second day was somewhat worse, and then the last day got a lot better and now I dont have any of the symptoms mentioned below.

I was fine walking around, and the experience was more dizziness than vertigo this time around, as the room wasn't violently spinning like last time.

This time, rather than the dizziness being continuous, it came over me in waves and only seemed to occur when I was lying down or then sat up, when I moved my head, and when I looked up.

If I was sat stationary I wasn't dizzy.

Other symptoms were feeling slightly sick and a slight headache in my forehead, but as said before, I presume these to do with the dizziness and motion it's self and also anxiety.

I also had some neck pain, which I didnt have the first time I got these problems six weeks ago.

The neck pain was worse when looking up, and was mostly towards the back of my neck.

This neck pain came on a day after the initial dizzyness and has now gone.

I went back to the doctor, and they said it was likely something to do with the inner ear like an infection, and that the neck pain was probably unrelated.

They booked me in to see an ear, mouth and throat specialist, and also booked me an MRI scan which will be before I see the ear mouth and throat.

(I often feel my ears are a little bungged up, but not sure if this is just normal and me noticing things that aren't there.)

I started to research online the symptoms I was having, and noticed vertigo along with stiff neck are symptoms of brain tumour, so now I'm really worried I have a brain tumour.

I've looked up all the different types of vertigo and am still not sure what I have.

I suffer from immense anxiety, and am hoping someone on here can help me get to the bottom of this with some answers as to what it might be, before I have the MRI. 

I'm a 19 year old female, by the way.

Thank you very much.

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  • Posted

    Sochima is right about the MRI being useless. It will show signs of stroke or tumors. About it. I had mine done then after had a PT app. Therapist said they have a special cat scan shows more of inner ear stuff. But its a very expensive machine and specific as to what its used for. So not alot of places have them. We have 4hospitals in our area and a place does only imagery. None have one. I had MRI with contrast and they did inner ear nerves etc etc. Showed narrowing blood vessels which doc said was no big deal.
    • Posted

      right I see.

      I'm incredibly nervous about having it. You have to wait a few weeks here just to get a letter, and then another week or so to hear the results, whoch will be crippeling for my anxiety.

      thanks

    • Posted

      I got lucky. Doc ordered it. Got authorization for it. They had a cacelation got me right in for it. Takes a long time to do it but it went by pretty fast. They put ear plugs in your ears cause the machine is loud. I had MRI's done on my knee before. Listen to music while they did that. Its different when your heads in it. Was loud. I am very sound sensitive and i did ok.

  • Posted

    It could be vestibular migraine that you are experiencing.  However, I would do the MRI to be on the safe side.

    Eleftherios S. Papathanasiou, PhD, FEAN

    Clinical Neurophysiologist

    Fellow of the European Academy of Neurology

    • Posted

      I've heard of vestibular migrain before, but I ruled it out because of the neck pain not being not one of the symptoms, and also because I the two episodes of vertigo I had were different and I didn't know why. Maybe i was wrong to do so.

      because of this, I couldnt place my symptoms because I seemed to have both peripheral vertigo (the second time) and central vertigo(the first episode).

      not sure if thats the case or weather they were both the peripheral type, but its made it very difficult - having two different episodes - to decern what might be wrong.

      i'm terrified for the this MRI incase it shows up I have a tumour.

      i didnt have any of the symptoms apart from the vertigo and neck pain, but I'm still really worried as I read of people who had minimal symptoms.

      thanks.

  • Posted

    Dear  MLT80,

    There are lots of types of things that cause vertigo, so it's quite difficult for the doctors to diagnose which one. I think that everyone fears they have a brain tumour when they have these horrible symptoms but please take comfort from the fact that in the vast, vast majority of cases ( I don't know the figures but I should think actual brain tumour diagnosis from vertigo is vanishingly small) it is something else. IT's great that you're having an MRI because that will put your mind at rest re; the brain tumour thing. It's usually a disorder of the inner ear which is not life-threatening but unpleasant.  If you suffer from anxiety it is also possible that it is anxiety related. A great friend of mine used to have crippling vertigo when she got anxious - unable to get out of bed - but it has completely gone away now she is on a low dose antidepressant (for thirty years).  BPPV is a type of ear disorder resulting from crystals coming loose in the inner ear canal (you can look this up) and causing you to unbalance. It's associated with movement - like in your second episode. If it is this, it can normally be resolved by the doctor performing either a berrl or epley manoevre - basically different ways of rolling you about, which make you feel awful when they're happening but do often work wonders. Vestibular neuritis, which I have got, is caused by inflammation of the inner ear. The thing about being sick as well - vomiting I mean - is perhaps related  to your high anxiety ; it is possible that the fear of the symptoms caused it as a reacition. ALso neck pain could be a symptom of a virus. It is very possible to have recurrences of BBPV or any of these things.  

    • Posted

      thanks for the reassurance. 

      I've been absolutly scared out of my wits about haveing a brain tumour.

      i've been going through all the different symptoms trying to find which type of vertigo I correlate with, and because i've had two quite different episodes it's been really difficult try and decern what I have and what I don't. I go through the symptoms of a certain type, and then find I'm missing a few symptoms on the list or have things that are t on the list (like neck pain) and worry its something serious.

      The doctors havent really been much help and they dont know, so now I have to go and have an MRI and be scared to death.

      I'll ask rhe doctor about those rolls, hopefully its bppv or one of the other types and not something deadly.

      anxiety causing some of the issues makes sense, maybe some of it is that.

      thanks

       

    • Posted

      Anxiety can make your symptoms alot worse. You have to try to calm down a bit. Looking things up on the internet seems to be making you alot more nervous as well. For me sitting in a waiting room makes me nervous for no reason. I have no idea why. Lol. Anxiety kicks in fast. If theres children in there, it kills me. Being very sound sensitive if they scream , my head spins.
  • Posted

    Sounds like BPPV.  You should see an Otologist and be evaluated.  They can do some physical therapy and get the crystals in your inner ear back in place.  It also could be vestibular neuritis, labyrinthitis (some hearing loss), or vestibular migraine. Or meniere's disease which is less likely but always a cause for concern.  Don't waste your time with GP's or ENT's.  They're clueless.   

    • Posted

      Thanks for the reply.

       

      When you say it sound like BPPV, do you mean the first or second occurrence? or are tou refering to both? 

      Probably not labyrinthitis then as I don't think I've expereiced hearing loss.

      Thanks for the advice.

       

    • Posted

      I looked up a few ENT's. Found a couple who was also oto's. 2 birds with one stone sort of. Also he had a audiologist in his office. Got that done to. Need docs who spcialize in what you have.

    • Posted

      Sometimes the bppv can feel different. Depends on whats causing it. The dizzy i get from reading is a little different than the dizzy i get from riding in the car or watching tv
    • Posted

      Right I see, understood.

      I thought it was characterised by shorter periods of vertigo lasting thirty seconds to a minuet, and my initial attack six weeks ago seemed to be continuous, especially at the beginning.

      this time around it was more like bppv by the sounds of it, but the initial attack was, unless bppv CAN las for longer periods.

    • Posted

      My phyisican said that you can start off with VN and after that you're more susceptible to BPPV because of the damaged vestibular system.  It could be both.  

    • Posted

      My first episode lasted a few minutes. Dizzy for months after. My second episode lasted 3 days. Dizzy for 3 months after.

    • Posted

      Oh right, that's reassuring, thank you

    • Posted

       good to know, thanks. I guess it's normal to have differing episodes then

    • Posted

      With me, anyway, it depends on what triggers it. Fluid in my ears can be a bad one. A lady rear ended my car at a redlight once. Not real bad. Cracked the bumper cover. Gave me vertigo slightly. Dizzy for a month. Lol.
    • Posted

      I see. Hopefully something similar can explain my two experiences.

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