Vertigo?? Share Your Experience
 

I have been having some sort of weird vertigo, dizziness, unbalance kind of thing for several weeks now. It is difficult to describe other than it feels like my brain is vibrating and my balance is off. I end up tightening up my body to hold my position and hold on to something. These events only seem to happen when I am standing or walking around and many times there is quite a bit of stimuli around. My eyes have trouble getting back in focus as well. I am sure my eyes have something to do with this. I did go to the ophthalmologist and will be having a couple of more tests done.

This is not like the vertigo I have seen in my daughter and others have explained. As I discussed with my neuro, it is not anxiety related as there are no symptoms of anxiety BUT it is anxiety producing. At this point I am so frustrated as I don't know how to stop it. The neuro did give me a prescription for Ativan to see if it works better than the Valium (which 1/4 tablet knocks me out).

Anyhow, any advice you all may have would be so appreciated as well as sharing your experience with vertigo/dizziness.:hug:

I had some crap happen just afte rmy appointment..it sucked and felt like my head wanted to go two seperate ways. maybe it was the med I got in the office combined with a DR.Pepper ha-ha. I am hoping it was just anxiety..been having that lately..heh.

It sure diod scare the F out of me.

Hi tkrik,
I got that almost-vertigo/dizziness thing with my last relapse. Spinning was a new symptom for me.

I have had dizziness and a feeling of the floor dropping down before, so I put out my hand to grab something quick. It's a crapola feeling, then it passes, and repeats many times a day.

This time when I laid down I thought the bed would spin, a bit nauseous too. The bed didn't really spin but it felt like it would.

That prompted a visit to the Neuro who confirmed a relapse, weak arms and legs, strength lost, couldn't open a jar or lift the milk container.

I did 5 days of 1000 mgs IVSM (IV Solu-Medrol steroids) and it all went away.

The issue of vestibular therapy, seems to me to be more Ménière's disease of the inner ear rather than eye or nerve involvement with MS. I am sure mine was MS.

Dizziness and off balance can be high blood pressure too, so always give your doctor a call and get checked.

Many other problems can cause vertigo and or dizziness. Sometimes it is the meds we take. When first on them our bodies are not used to the assault, and it takes time to get the right dosage, or a med change.

I guess panic attacks can do this too. The anxiety problem can become acute and cause dizziness even fainting from Hypo-ventilating. Sucking in too much O2 in a panting or gasping way with panic.

Years ago I had no idea what was going on either. If I turned my head back and forth in the mall to look at each side with stores, I got the floor dropping thing. I thought It was my ears. But it wasn't. it was the eye, brain connection.

But Ménière's disease happens to many people and is easily fixed by putting you in a special chair that spins fast, to make the hair follicles and inner ear deposits, move around, to settle in a better place, as the ear interior got caught up in a displacement or fullness, causing the dizziness. It works for many people.

You just need to find the cause, it may be treatable. Mine was MS and steroids were needed due to mobility problems along with it.

They may have you lay flat and put your head back below the table edge and move the head back and forth fast to test for this. See if you get dizzy. There are meds for this too.

Eric P: The secret ingredient in Dr. Pepper is: fig juice. Gives the different taste from cola's.

I hope you feel better soon. :hug:

Had it for three years. It was my eyes. Went away after I started Tysabri. Hasn't been back since.

I don't miss it at all, although clinically it was interesting when it wasn't interfering with my activities of daily life...:p

Hope you get some answers soon!

Thank you everyone for your replies.:hug::hug: It makes me feel better knowing some of you have experienced what I am going through.

Faith - Were you experiencing BPPV? That is what my DD18 experiences. Poor girl can't move at all and just has to lay down. However, this isn't quite what I experience and really hope to never experience. I have such empathy for those who have this type of true vertigo.

Eric - Dr. Pepper causing vertigo - lol I can understand the anxiety you are feeling right now. You are going through a lot of adjustments and changes and it does take some time. Many, including myself, will tell you the 1st year is the toughest. Just hang in there.:hug: BTW - what med did they give you at the dr. office?

Lady & RW - The eye/brain connection is exactly what I think is going on as well as the lesion on the pons acting up. About the same time this started I also had no concept of where my body, especially legs - mainly left leg, was in space and time. Although this happens at home, it is more evident when there is a lot of visual stimuli/auditory stimuli. Maybe my processor is down. :D

It doesn't appear to be heart/sinus related as I don't experience this when getting up, bending over, and things like that and it is very different than what I have experience in the past with sinus issues as well as low blood pressure issues. It is hard to explain other than there is a brief shift somewhere, whether it is me or outside of me I don't know as it happens rather quickly. I explained it to the NP as a brainquake. LOL Then it takes a bit to get my bearings back.

Lady - I have experience the floor moving out from under me before. Another type of quake. LOL Weird feeling. The 1st time that ever happened to me was when I was working at the hospital. I was walking down the hall when it happened. I looked around thinking something happened but nobody else was holding on to the wall.:o :p I realized it was me. (This was during my dx process too). That hasn't happened to me in a long time but I know what you are talking about.

I do have my visual field test this week and then they are going to dilate my eyes and take a look in there to see what is going on. I do have part of my visual field missing - not major and I only notice it when closing 1 eye during exams, neuro or eye.

Hopefully, I will figure this out soon. Getting pretty tired of this right now.:mad: I'll let you all know what they find out.

Hi Tricia. I don't have the brainquake but I just wanted to say that I hope it passes soon.:)

BPPV is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. It one of the most common types and is what my daughter initially was diagnosed with. It has to do with the "rocks" or "crystals" in the inner ear that causes the vertigo. The symptoms are different that what I have been experiencing. There is are a couple of maneuvers they do to dislodge these "rocks" (I think Epley Maneuver is the one they wanted DD18 to do but after another episode they determined it was not BPPV). Moving my head does not bring on the dizziness/vertigo and the NP tried to bring it on in the office and it didn't happen. The only thing that did happen was when she laid me back with a pillow under my shoulders I got extremely nauseous. Once I sat up, I was fine. Weird.

Cyn - Thanks!:hug: I think I am on my 4th week of this.:rolleyes:

Guess not, krik.

Like I said, no spinning. So dizzy, though, that I was nauseous when I was not in reclined position, sometimes to the point of vomiting.

Vestibular therapy can help for either vertigo, or dizziness.

~ Faith

:hug: Been there with vertigo and pray it never happens again to me. You mentioned the eyes, did they say anything about you having nystagmus (eyes moving left and right rapidly)? I had that during my 2 month vertigo episode.

Pam - The NP really didn't say anything. She did want to talk to the Dr but he was out on an emergency and wasn't in the office at the time. I do have a follow up in a few weeks with them though.

In the meantime, I discussed this with my PCP who recommended starting with the ophthalmologist for a thorough eye exam as we really feel there is a visual component to this. Other than that I have nothing to go on. One of 2 things will happen, either I will get worse or get better over time. LOL j/k

I have only had a few mild bouts of sporadic vertigo. Mine may have been inner ear -- happened when I was turning my head in bed and driving. I wasn't driving in bed;). Just wanted to say that I hope they can help you:hug:.

I've had it a couple of times over the last 4 years or so...I hate the kind where the room keeps spinning...that's the worst. I had that about 4 years ago...the thing I get is the floor-dropping sensation. Good description...it usually occurs in Hawaii when I get overheated...my DH has to catch* me because I can't keep my balance.Hope you feel better real soon...:hug:

Debbie - Balance is part of it as well. I find myself tightening up my body just to maintain my "position" in space and time and then I end up triggering a spasm sometimes by doing that.:eek::p

oh TK, I usually have vertigo.. but me being dizzy, off balance, off mindset, just off... eyes want to close stuff... end up not functioning and then sleep helps like 6 or more hours of sleep. they have not figured it out yet.... no to migrane as that is last med they tried.

BUT I did have this BPPV stuff you mentioned starting last sunday, I was doing yoga.... oh my waas laying down moved head to left and wham room spun so badly... I feel for your daughter if she had this.... I was so gone that was the worst ever....

I was out of work for a week.. just got back yesterday, went to ENT last monday, they said I was so out of it they could not do that head positioning stuff yet.. but they will be this thursday. VAlium, prednisone and anti nausea stuff gave me for the week... feeling much better but that was the worst ever.. hugss,sarah

Sarah - They determined that DD18 was actually having migraines that was causing the nystagmus and thus causing the severe vertigo. She gets completely immobilized when this happens and has tingling and numbness as well. They gave her valium and Antivert to help her and she would spend about a week on the couch not moving.

I know you have been experiencing bad vertigo as well and I hope they find something that will resolve yours. DD18's vertigo was so bad they couldn't even do the exam in the ER. They pumped her up with IV valium so they could do the exam. I know where you are coming from and I have so much empathy for people who have to go through that.

I am glad to hear you are doing somewhat better.:hug:

I like the "Brain Quake description" :eek: besides my "Floor Dropping" term.

Either way its an awful feeling. It's hard to explain to non-MS people who never had this. They must think we are delusional as well.

My DIL gets this and does not have MS, but has ear problems. She had the spin chair treatment and it worked. I do feel so bad for anyone who gets this.

I am slowly coming off this ride. I only had a couple of episodes today.

Lady - It's hard to explain to anyone. Then you feel like a total idiot because you just can't explain it right.