14 year old daughter constantly dizzy since Dec 2016
 

I am looking for ANY leads on what direction to go. Brief medical history. She had a mild concussion in Feb of 2016. Constant dizziness started around Dec 2017. Not so much spinning, but wobbly constantly. On low end its a 2, on bad days its a solid 8 or 9 and she can't do any physical activity and have to pick her up from school (which has rarely happened). We've seen pediatrician, ENT, neuro at UCSF in San Francisco. Had chiro done, eyes checked, EKG, extensive inner ear testing at UCSF (not inner ear issue according to them), brain MRI (clear). She is excessively fatigued (more than normal teen) and neuro says that can be attributed to her constantly trying to stay balanced throughout the day. We do not want to medicate her if possible. She's only 14 and growing. Most recent MD who is also functional dr. thinks a variety of things might help - brain support for starters. Could be lack of O2, mitochondria need support, microglial cells could be in constant state of "on" , some axonal shearing from mild concussion. Stress makes it worse (she's in counseling at school and we make sure she's getting exercise as best as possible and keeping her load light), heat makes it worse, and too much exercise makes it worse too. We've also tried gfree diet, salt increase, water tracking. She's not a dramatic girl or a complainer so at this point we know what she's experiencing is very real. Recent dr. had her do some motor movements and she says they are on the slower side. She's currently taking Vit D as she's low, liposomal glutathiamone, and omegas. Just started last week. In one week we go back to check in and also try neuro osteopathic work. We are at the front end with this new dr. but she specializes in brain so we are hopeful. But this is my first time reaching out to a discussion board to try and get some outside thoughts from those with similar issues with child (constant dizziness). And when I say constant I do mean literally all the time.

What symptoms did she have between the concussion & Dec 2017 constant dizziness?
Was there another head hit, hard fall , sport injury or any other thing that might have set off or caused the increased dizziness?
It seems like a long time span for the constant dizziness to start up.. without some sort of triggering event..But I could be wrong on the time span..
Did she lose consciousness at all with the original injury?

I suppose the doctors are also ruling out other causes or illnesses? Just in case..

If school becomes to much for her there are online schools that are free just like public schools, she can log on for short time frames to do study/classes - whatever fits best for her ability & fatigue levels.
Pushing thru fatigue & symptoms can cause set backs & delay healing..

might look into Nucca /upper cervical (c1 c2) chiropractic.. Up C Spine has very good info on the subject.. this does not show on standard imaging & MDs don't really look into it.. IMO the old bias of MD vs DC... a very good DC can be very helpful..

I'm sorry to hear that your daughter is having trouble. I struggle with many of the same things, the result of a concussion sustained in a rear-end accident.

There are two things you might want to look into.

The neck is a delicate body part. If damage occurs to the upper part of the neck (atlas), given that the nerves move through that area, if there has been a disturbance from a misalignment, it can cause dizziness. You might want to check out a brain and spinal center.

Your talk of fatigue is typical among many people with a concussion, but you might want to go to an endocrinologist and have bloodwork drawn. They can test for things like growth hormone levels, adrenals, etc. My pituitary gland was damaged in the accident, so I now only produce minimal amounts of growth hormone on my own.

ambannister,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. I am sorry to hear of your daughter's struggles. It must make you feel helpless as a mother to have to struggle so to find her help.

At 14 years old, my first point would be to find a neuro-endocrinologist. UCSF likely has one or two. She may be going through some age related hormonal changes that are magnifying an imbalance. There are also an entire bio-identical hormone community of practitioners. Information Request | Women's International Pharmacy may be able to give you some choices to check out.

Her neck is vitally important. The neck injuries that come with a concussion are very subtle and rarely show up on imaging. They are more of a stability issue. A gentle twist or sleeping in a bad position can traumatize the neck and cause inflammation that can disrupt many systems since the autonomic nervous system is dependent on good blood flow through the upper neck (vertebral arteries)

Another concern is her sleep quality. If you could observe her sleeping or use a fit bit or a recording pulse oximeter to track her as she sleeps, you could get an indicator of poor sleep quality. She could have good quantity but poor quality. It can cause severe fatigue.

The Vitamin D and omegas are good but adding strong dose B-12, the rest of the Bs, all of the anti-oxidants, and even curcumin to reduce inflammation would be worthwhile. Check the Vitamins sticky at the top.

As Jo*mar asked, Did anything happen last December? It might have been something you would never connect to her symptoms but still have an impact.

Just know. There are plenty of people here who understand the struggles you are going through.

My best to you.