Dizziness 10 Years On...
 

Nearly 10 years ago, I suffered a mild concussion with no unconsciousness. I hit the top of my head on the door frame of a small private aircraft. I developed a headache and it resolved with rest and an Advil. This is the first and only concussion I have ever had.

A couple days later, I had a migraine event with numbness in my right hand and the right side of my face. I also had trouble speaking - slurred speech and even difficulty thinking clearly.

After the migraine, I went to the hospital and had both a CT scan and MRI which were both negative.

A few days later, I woke up with dizziness/lightheadedness. It is not vertigo. I told the neurologist who ordered the MRI and he said that it was transient and would go away on its own. It has not gone away.

I have tried many therapies to combat my dizziness: vestibular rehabilitation, craniosacral massage, chiropractic (including NUCCA and Atlas), and acupuncture.

I have also seen an ENT. VEMP and CDP tests were normal. Caloric testing showed that I have a 26% left sided weakness. She said it is on the borderline of "significant" (25% or greater).

All the specialists I have seen told me that my dizziness would get better in time. After 10 years, I'm still dizzy and I think is actually getting worse. I seem to be ok for a few hours in the morning, but by the afternoon/evening, I'm usually too dizzy to do much more than sit on the couch or lie down.

There is no and never has been any rotational component to my dizziness. Occasionally I feel some pain on the back of my neck. It is almost as if someone is constantly pushing on the back of my neck with light pressure. My dizziness gets worse with motion, exercise, fatigue, hunger/thirst, mental stress, and complex visual stimuli. Although, I'm dizzy even when reading a book in a windowless room.

A few weeks ago, I started taking Ginkgo Biloba and vitamin B12, but they don't seem to be making a difference.

I'm not really sure what to try next. Thanks for your help.

Airmaster,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

It sounds like you have tried almost every specialty and therapy.

What have you tried for yourself? Have you done anything to change or improve you posture, especially when resting or sleeping? For some, the trauma from a vertical hit concentrates on the C-1 to occiput joint, NUCCA and Atlas focus on this but unless you follow their treatment with discipline posture when sleeping or resting, the inflammation never reduces.

I tried NUCCA and know many who have benefited but I did not. I got the best results from a physical therapist who did very gentle traction and mobilization while I laid on my back on the treatment table. She would just pull on my head and gently rock it. Then, I would ice my upper neck and be very careful with sleep posture. I needed to learn to sleep on my back with very little pillow under my head. If I was able to sleep with straight head and neck posture, the next day would be much better. It took most of a year to restore the stability in my upper neck so I was not having symptoms.

The C-1 to Occiput joint has very poor stability and can get bruised easily. Learning self-care can make a big difference.

Have you ever seen a migraine specialist? This seems like classic migraine associated vertigo. Dizziness appears suddenly after a migraine attack. This doesn't have to be what you would traditionally think of as vertigo or "spinning". There are receptors in your inner ear for rotational acceleration and also for linear acceleration. Any of them can get screwed up (or have their signals to the brain get screwed up).

Some people respond to migraine treatment (medication). Try looking at stories on mvertigo.org to see if any are relatable.

Mark is right that it could also be an unresolved neck injury. Just the fact that it came on after a migraine attach makes me suspicious for migraine.