sorry addy, it was 18 mths. i was out with my children one afternoon and i started to feel alittle lightheaded. so i went home to lay down. at the time i was 29, owned my own bussiness, had been dating the love of my life for only 6 mths. the lightheadedness and dizziness came about once a week, so i took some vitamins, but didnt help. so i went to the dr and they said i had inner ear infection, went thru 2 series of antibiotics, nothing. after lots of drs and specialists and tests and needles (the worst had to be spinal tap) the only thing i kept getting was. . ."all the tests were normal, this is probably stress, take these antidepressants". so i did, i tried several, made me feel worse. during this time i have gained 40lbs lost my bussiness and had to send my children to their dads, because i cant drive or even get out of the bed without being lightheaded and dizzy, which who would be able to continue a normal life without being able to stand up. so the drs said i was depressed and needed to walk 30+ mins a day, take my meds. i mean every dr said this, 3 gp's and even the specialists. even though i KNEW this was not true, so i tried the walking, i took off around the block, and before i could make it back to my front door, i was blacking out and out of breath, scarey stuff. at this point i was furious, i called my gp and wanted him to set me up with a treadmill test, so that they could see that i couldnt do it, and he said no, i would have to come and see him before he would suggest that. hell no, that was my exact words, i will not spend another dollar for you to tell that you dont know whats wrong with me, i will go about it someother way. so i called my cardiologist, who did a TTT within 3 days of the phone call, and i finally got my answers!! but now we are just figuring out how to fix it. when i got home i called my gp to let him know that i am NOT crazy!! boy was he shocked. anyway, i see that you went to vanderbilt, i have considered that, but i also considered mayo, i want to get this under control, so that i can atleast have a halfway decent life again. i would eat coal at this point!! let me know more about your visit at vanderbilt. i really need to go somewhere to make sure there isnt an underlying cause,, that is slowly taking me under. but i really only have enough in saveings for 1 trip, so i need to make sure its worth it!