Strange Dizziness

Ganluan

I've gotten some very helpful advice here about some simple medical ailments, so I'm hoping someone here can help me out with this as well :P

Before anyone mentions it - yes, I will be seeing a doctor.

Recently (within the past few days) I've started feeling lightheaded/dizzy for long stretches of time. It's not vertigo - the room isn't spinning or anything - but I feel a bit disoriented and a bit nauseous at the same time.

It lasts most of the day at work and continues after I get home, but not as severe. It tends to taper off later at night and in the morning. At work I stare at two monitors all day so I don't know if that has something to do with it.

I haven't had my prescription glasses changed in quite a while, so I'm wondering if my prescription has "worn out" and I need a slightly stronger one. Has that happened to anyone here before?

I stopped taking Claritin because I thought it was causing it, but it keeps persisting. I've tried taking Zyrtec-D to see if allergies/sinus congestion is screwing with my balance, but it didn't do much.

I'll need to speak to a doctor soon - I don't know whether I need to eventually speak to a neurologist, allergist, or ENT, but I need to do something! Has anyone experienced something similar to this?

DusT_HounD

Apologies in advance, but can i get a REALLY stupid reply out of the way first (but i AM basing it on my own experience) and ask if you take caffeine regularly?

I have these symptoms when on a caffeine high after too much coffee, although i assume you ruled out that possibility already- it was just that since you're having this feeling throughout your working day (when many people would be having coffee/ tea/ coke etc), but it lessens during the evening and morning, i thought i'd ask.

I know your symptoms had only been recently, but in my case, for a long time, i had been getting up, having no breakfast, and just a large black coffee first thing in the morning. I did this for about two years without problems, apart from the aforementioned caffeine hit. Anyway, that's where my own problem became distinct from yours, in that i developed gastric reflux and oesophageal spasms, but since the coffee had been part of my routine for such a long time, i didn't think it could have been the problem. I went to see my doc and got referred to the gastro clinic, which took about 4 months, in which time i had hit on the coffee as being the source of my troubles. Anyway, by the time i got scoped, my symptoms had all but cleared up (i went ahead with the scoping just in case.)

Actually, i really hope that caffeine IS your problem, cos that would be very easily fixed. Definitely go grab your doc at the first opportunity.

ihmmy

Personally, I tend to get dizzy and slightly nauseous when I haven't eaten in a while. Sugary foods make it worse. Try snacking on something proteintastic (i.e. nuts) or even a starch that isn't super sugary (so, crackers for example) and see if that will help alleviate it a little

Bliss 101

This may sound odd, but I suggest you get your ears checked. A friend of mine had similar symptoms that eventually got really bad, bad enough that he was sure he was going to die. He went to the ER, they did all kinds of tests and were perplexed to find nothing wrong, until they checked his ears. "Oh, you have a lot of wax inside your ears, let's clear it up". The symptoms disappeared instantly.