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Constant dizziness
Bliss 101
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So for about a week now, I've been feeling light-headed almost all the time. The sensation is a bit like what you get when hyperventilating, only milder. It feels as if the world is gently swaying all the time, but there's no real vertigo in the sense that the world would be spinning or that I'd be in danger of losing balance. It's not position-dependent, and sudden movements or changes in position don't affect it at all. Occasionally my cheeks and ears feel hot, as if I were blushing.
The symptoms just showed up one morning, and have remained stable since then without getting better or worse. It's bad enough that I'm constantly aware of it, but not bad enough to actually keep me from working and studying. Sometimes the dizziness randomly disappears, but usually only for 15 minutes or so. Alcohol apparently helps; a glass of wine seems to make the dizziness disappear for a couple of hours. A hot shower seems to alleviate the symptoms for like half an hour. I've also had palpitations and rapid heartbeat on a couple of nights, but this is a symptom I've had all my life whenever I'm stressed. I've certainly been pretty stressed lately, and worrying about this isn't helping.
For the record I haven't had much exercise in the past three months due to an ankle injury, I've been sleeping irregularly and eating unhealthy crap, and as a result I've gained some weight. I'm returning to my normal, more or less healthy lifestyle now, so maybe it'll help. I do plan to see a doctor about this if it goes on, but a regular appointment is weeks away. Should I go to the ER or something? My google-fu tells me that dizziness is common and usually goes away on its own, but I don't know if constant dizziness for a week still qualifies as common and nothing to worry about.
The symptoms just showed up one morning, and have remained stable since then without getting better or worse. It's bad enough that I'm constantly aware of it, but not bad enough to actually keep me from working and studying. Sometimes the dizziness randomly disappears, but usually only for 15 minutes or so. Alcohol apparently helps; a glass of wine seems to make the dizziness disappear for a couple of hours. A hot shower seems to alleviate the symptoms for like half an hour. I've also had palpitations and rapid heartbeat on a couple of nights, but this is a symptom I've had all my life whenever I'm stressed. I've certainly been pretty stressed lately, and worrying about this isn't helping.
For the record I haven't had much exercise in the past three months due to an ankle injury, I've been sleeping irregularly and eating unhealthy crap, and as a result I've gained some weight. I'm returning to my normal, more or less healthy lifestyle now, so maybe it'll help. I do plan to see a doctor about this if it goes on, but a regular appointment is weeks away. Should I go to the ER or something? My google-fu tells me that dizziness is common and usually goes away on its own, but I don't know if constant dizziness for a week still qualifies as common and nothing to worry about.
Bliss 101 on
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If it's not getting any worse you're probably safe to wait another week, but if you aren't just dehydrated you shoudl talk to a doctor about it. Can you just call your GP and ask?
that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat
If urgent care isn't available, tell them the symptoms have been continuous for a week, and you'd really like to get seen sooner rather than later. They'll have people canceling appointments all the time, and should be able to put you on a call list, and get to you in a matter of days.
Your symptoms sound like your brain is not receiving enough oxygen, maybe is nothing, but you should be checked for any medical condition, low blood pressure (hypotension) and a stroke can cause this kind of dizziness.
I'll see if I can get into urgent care, because I'm gradually beginning to freak out. The entire (Finnish) healthcare system is a mystery to me since I've never really had to use it. It's free, but there are long queues for everything.
edit: well I called and they said this doesn't really warrant urgent care unless it gets worse, so I'll have to wait a couple of weeks. Apparently it's most likely blood pressure related, or something to do with my ears. They said dizziness without any other symptoms is extremely unlikely to be a sign of anything life-threatening.
I had serious dizzy spells (as in couldn't even stand up for periods of time), and it turned out to be labyrinthitis (inner ear imbalance). If it's that, you'll get some anti-dizzy pills and be on your way.
Do you still have a personal physician? Or is it more, whoever can see you will get to you? If it's the former, I suggest still calling and inquiring about a call-wait list.
one possability is
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labyrinthitis
And just to the "this could be serious" thing, I had balance issues, and it ended up being a mass on my meninges that was pressing on my eighth nerve on the brain stem. Of course, I also presented with hearing loss in my right ear.
But they still passed me around like a drunken frat girl, and took their sweet time. I got bounced from urgent care, to my personal physician, to ear/nose/throat, finally to neurology, and didn't get a damn MRI done for nearly two months. Four months before they got around to biopsying the thing.
Thank god the mass ended up just being scar tissue, and not cancerous. But I ended up with a bad ass scar, and a metal plate in my head.
OP, I don't tell you this to freak you out, just scare you enough to pressure these people to see you as soon as they can. Hydration is the most likely cause behind this, so start watching your water intake in the mean time.
These people are overworked, and under appreciated, so it's understandable that they'll discourage visits as often as they feel is safe, but people with legit issues will get shoved to the sidelines as well, which is why you need to take charge.
Dizziness is a really wide-ranging symptom, so it could be:
Blood Pressure issues
Stroke
Clots
Ear Infection
Sinus issues
General Hearing/ear degradation
Brain Cancer
Scar Tissue on Brain
Neurological Diseases (many)
Allergic response
Dehydration
Tinnitus
It takes a while to eliminate things and nail it down. While I say I have Labrynthitis, there's still a possibility it's meniere's disease. Talk to a GP, and get to a good Ear/Nose/Throat person to start knocking things out. On the plus side, you get to go into a soundproof room and listen for tones, as well as get all sorts of funky balance things done!
Yeah, looks like I have a personal physician, even though I've never met her.
I wasn't terribly concerned when this started, figuring this is just some weird thing that will pass, but now that it's been a week I've started vacillating between "probably nothing" and OH MY GOD I'M DYING and it's driving me crazy.
I bet it turns out to be too much earwax or something.
I've been there man, so I sympathize. Just pray that you don't have to four months of those "OH MY GOD I'M DYING" feelings before you can relax.
I used to have hair before this. It was thinning, but at least it was there.
Good luck at the Dr. Keep us updated.
I'm gonna go drink a glass of water now.
also, consider temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ)
maybe i'm streaming terrible dj right now if i am its here
It's likely just your lack of sleep. It'll make you.. loopy!
This is what I'm hoping for.
Do you have any personal update? did you get cured???
If it is anemia they'll give you some iron pills (or in extreme cases, a transfusion) and try and figure out if there's some underlying condition or if your body's just not absorbing iron well.
Smite: Plutoniumwombat
I have that, it sucks. No warning, just once every couple months/years I can't walk straight or even stand up. Thank god all my heavy drinking in college prepared me so well for the spins.
This turned out to be a case of ear wax buildup, which was pretty amusing because at some point I was convinced I was going to die. There was some kind of a petrified lump of ear wax lodged in my ear. According to the doctor this is an uncommon cause for such symptoms (uncommon enough that they decided to run blood tests just in case, even after cleaning my ear had seemed to cure the symptoms), but it can happen.