Chronic Dizziness Vs. Vertigo

Hi all! I was wondering if anyone has chronic dizziness. I have chronic dizziness lightheadedness and only had a few Vertigo attacks. The reason I am asking is that my ENT wants to start me on Gentamycin injections. I told him that I do not have chronic Vertigo. I only get Vertigo when I am under stress. I do however have severe brain fog. I am going for another MRI to see if there is any change since my last one in 2004. Just curious as to why my doctor would want to take this invasive move on just chronic dizziness. Would the Gent Injections make this go away? I am at the point where I cannot function at my job because of lack of memory.

I have read the database info on Gent injections and it seems that this procedure is for Severe Vertigo. I am confused. I do not want to have a procedure done that will potentially do more harm than good.

Any thoughts?????
Kitty

 

I have both but haven't had my doctor suggest Gentamycin injections as of yet he has however just yesterday mentioned endolymphatic sac decompression surgery. I can really relate to how you feel and wish you the best of luck.

 

Chronic dizziness is never meniere's disease. Even in meniere's worst form it isn't.

If you want, I have very reputable data that can back this claim up.

 

Very strange that your doc would want to do Gent for daily dizziness. Are you sure you don't have MAV?

 

Hi Nassman yes I'd like to see it as I have a post going about having surgery but am also scheduled to see a neurologist for my migraines. My doctor said I have "Severe" balance problems. If you would please read the thread I started this morning so I'm not repeating what I've already said

 

Kitty,

I think you are right to question your doctor about why gentamicin injections will help your chronic dizziness. Caution is warranted. Make sure that you’ve tried, or at least considered, all the less invasive procedures before proceeding. Also, I would not rule out the possibility that your own body may eventually sort itself out enough to lessen your daily dizziness. My daily dizziness eventually lessened to the point where it is no longer a problem. That took about 4 years to happen.

I would also like to see Nassman’s data that show that chronic dizziness rules out MM. The statement seems too black and white. But hey! I’m from Missouri. I need to be shown the data.

Joe

 

I have had chronic dizziness since November and I believe it is mav related as I also get bouts of bppv that I am experiencing now as well.I think it is a good idea for you to see the neurologist to see what he says. For me personally I would never even consider these injections. Mav can be treated with other drugs and exercises help with the bpv. I do understand that some people who experience severe vertigo will go this route but it is a personal choice and one must be aware of the consequences. I have seen three doctors and not one said anything to me about gentamacin injections. I will always try the less invasive approaches first. Donna

 

i have dizziness. light headedness a few Vertigo attacks. I also get Vertigo when I am under stress and or when I get upset and i do however have brain fog ocasionly and my doctor tells be that mm is burning out. ( HUH, maybe i need a new dr.) but it sounds like maybe you want to stop working.

 

No Problem! This link is very long but is probably one of the best sites known for explaining every possible cause of dizziness (both intermitent and daily) known to man.

http://www.pneuro.com/publications/dizzy/index.html#psychiatric


Hop it helps!

 

I don't think gent injections would help for chronic dizziness either. I would look into MAV or an anxiety thing first. I have migraine variant which results in chronic disequilibrium not a feeling of lightheadedness at all. But I do get peculiar anxiety attacks with it that come out of the blue and last for hours on end that give me a feeling of lightheadedness. They are somehow related. Have you had an extensive work up done on you? When this started with me, I ended up seeing specialists in seven different fields to rule out everything that could possibly be causing these symptoms.

Joanne

 

Thank you all for all your posts. I am just so grateful that there are so many intelligent people on this forum. So much information that is shared is greatly appreciated.

Nassman-Thank you for the impressive information on dizziness. I will have to print it out so that I can read and highlight the areas that pertain to me and bring this to my doctor.

As far as anxiety goes, yes I do have anxiety and depression. I am also looking into getting my hormones checked. Many symptoms that I have mimic peri-menopause.

I am getting an MRI tomorrow morning.

I do not think it is MAV however I will discuss this with the Dr at my next appt. It is a fact that we need to be our own physicians.

Thanks everyone.
Kitty

 

Excellent read Thank You Nassman. I can tell the difference if its simply being dizzy or vertigo. Dizzy I can still function but when it's vertigo I can't function. I do have anxiety attacks and depression so I will just have to wait til I see the neurologist and let him see what's going on with me :-[ I'm all screwed up :-[ :-\

 

I think this is probably the BEST way to explain the difference!

 

Nassman,

That was a great article but the only information that I found about vague dizziness (article does not mention chronic dizziness at all) is reproduced in quote above. No data were presented in the article that supports your statement that “Chronic dizziness is never meniere's disease”.

Even if the majority of people with vague dizziness have anxiety problems, I can not infer that MM sufferers do not have chronic dizziness. Those two statements are logically disconnected.

Now I am not trying to give you a hard time. But I am worried that someone who has MM and chronic dizziness may be thinking that they were improperly diagnosed because of your statement.

If someone wants an explanation as to why they are having chronic dizziness, then it is best to seeks answers from their doctors. I think it is a mistake to rule out MM solely on the basis of experiencing chronic dizziness.

As one example, I offer the following scenario: a person with MM has frequent episodes of vertigo, then develops anxiety, and subsequently epxereinces chronic dizziness. Did the person's MM dissappear when they developed anxiety?

Joe

 

I apologize that this is so long. It is just one story about how long it took to get a name for something I had for a long time.

I had literally years of dizziness and imbalance long before the first remembered true vertigo attack and the attacks themselves were far apart and on weekends.

I was always asked what I had been drinking and I am not a drinker. They called me the dizzy blonde at work. : I took things in stride. I finally enrolled in tap dancing as it was one activity I actually liked and at the same time gave me a chance to get coordinated - maybe that was what was wrong with me. Next I enrolled in ballet dancing (we are talking about me when I was just a little over weight and past 40. I was hoping the bar exercises and the need to balance while taking the different positions would help. Unfortunately lift off and landing after a jette caused me shin splints and cut short my dancing activity. Then I developed heel spurs. Walking was the next exercise to try to keep coordinated.

During all this time I had visited neurologists and ENT's allergists and my PCP not just one but numerous times. I was treated to migraine, allergies of unknown source after numerous tests to try to pinpoint just one. Given nasal spray and told I was allergic to smoke because when camping smoke botherd me and being around smokers in the work place and other places bothered me and closed my sinuses. My sinuses were numbed and wires sent into them to exray them and numerous exams.

I saw my dentist for possible TMJ, which was ruled out. On my I own did an elimination diet till I identified bothersome foods and eliminated them from my diet. I stopped the migraine meds when the elimination of certain foods actually helped. That helped get rid of the migraines but did nothing for balance, tinnitus and fullness and what I recognized and deterioration in my hearing. I had been partially deaf since I was first tested when I was 18 so had it since a kid in both ears - the deafness.

Meanwhile the chronic imbalance and disturbing fullness and noisy ears continued to plague me. I complained about static on the work phones and dyfunctional phones at home. We replaced them many times without help. it became apparent it was me at fault and not the phone equipment when others had no problems hearing well on them. This little drama continued to play out from the age of 32 until I was 56 and I had a huge vertigo attack at work. I was taken to the ER and fortunatley was having all the symptoms together while there, still feeling nauseated, although my stomach was emptied. My eyes wouldn't focus and were spinning and I had to keep them closed. I had to be examined in a darkened ER room - the bright light bothered me.

The Er Dr. gave me the name of two ENT's in the area that specialized in Meniere's and what he suspected what I had. Finally another Dr in the same practice where I had previously seen two other Drs. listened to my complaints and started testing. I was also to see a neurologist to rule out some suspicious things on the MRI but both said I had Meniere's. It took me over 25 years to get a diagnosis. I don't think I have been misdiagnosed.
I was already bilateral and finally was getting some help and information about what was wrong. It was great to finally have an answer to soemthing that had plagued me for so long.

You too will find answers. I just wanted to share my own story and show you that a diagnosis often does not come over night. Hang in there. The link nassman is a good one and will cover many things that are possible problems but of course not complete and does not cover all your symptoms. Chronic dizziness is just ONE symptom - make sure your Dr. listens to all your complaints.

Get a second opinion and an otolaryngologist or otoneurologist if possible. Good luck.

For people like me, maybe it was better I was kept in the dark all those years so that I finally felt validated about the symptoms after a long time of complaining.
Find a Dr. who will listen and remember you are telling him about several complaints and not just one. Drs., especially PCP's seem to tune out all but the first complaint and focus on one thing. It can be frustrating and annoying to be put off like that. You deserve better. good luck. #

 

Joe, you are correct. I was in a rush and I did not have time to also type what numerous neurotologists have told me.

When i first presented with my symptoms, I had chronic dizziness for months at a time. It wasn't vertigo, there was no nausea, vommitting, hearing loss, etc., but it was pretty bad and it was constant. It was, as I described to these doctors, a "swimming sensation" in my head, often made worse by sudden head position changes, even if they were very subtle (i.e. looking up from my keyboard to the monitor).

I described these sensations to a neurotologist at the House Ear Clinic in LA and to the neurotologists I saw at the Toronto General Hospital in Toronto as well as the prestigious Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto. The one thing they all concured is that chronic dizziness was not a symptom (or sign) of meniere's. Of course, I must mention that my ENG and hearing tests also did not point in that direction.

This is what I am basing my comment on.

 

hey nassman, what have you been DXed with??

my docs rule out menieres and i have chronic dizziness and imbalance, but i can't get a DX.

 

I have the chronic vertigo, Ihave it just about every day now. Just today I went into work after 1 hour I had to go home. I have been doing this for the past year. I have been to a ENT doctor but he will not say if I have Menieres or not. I have got to do something soon.

 

Hi Lighthouse and welcome -

It could be so many things.

Some things to consider:

http://www.menieres.org/jacki/jackis70.htm

 

VERTIGO IS CHRONIC DIZZINESS. I HAD THE GENAMYACIN INJECTIONS AND WENT INTO REMISSION FOR ALMOST TWO YEARS! I BEGGED FOR MORE, BUT THE ENT WOULDN'T DO IT AS IT CAN CAUSE MORE HARM THAN GOOD, IF OVERUSED. IF YOUR ENT THINKS THE GENO WILL HELP, IT PROBABLY WILL, BECAUSE MOST ENT'S DON'T USE THIS TREATMENT WITHOUT MUCH CONSIDERATION OF THE PROBLEM. GOOD LUCK AND LET ME KNOW HOW YOU ARE DOING. TWINKLE