I'm hoping someone on these boards can help me.

My symptoms are dizzyness (all the time 24hrs per day), light sensitive(brightness bothers my eyes), light headness, speech is sometimes slurred and problems with my eyes focusing.

2 months ago I went on a 3 day bachelor party (not mine) holiday. We drank excessivelly and slept very little. The ocean was very rough and waves were pounding us all 3 days.

On the second day I began to be very dizzy but attributed it to the alcohol & sun.
I came back and tried to sleep it off however I was terribly dizzy all the time.

I have been to 4 GP's, 1 nueurologist (no diagnosis), 1 ENT (no diagnosis), and 1 opthalmologist(claims my vision is perfect 20/15).

No one is sure of what I have. I was on CERC and BIAXIN for 2 weeks, they did not help.

One GP claims its labyrinthitis and will go away. The other 3 were clueless. We did a CT & blood tests, they showed nothing.
I used to be very active before this trauma. I recommenced weight training 2 weeks ago hoping it might help. I do not know if that is good or bad. Should I continue?

I cannot get a sure diagnosis let alone figure out how to get better. BPV and Meniere I believe are ruled out as my symptoms are 24hrs a day.

Caffeine seems to be murder. Every time I ingest it, I get worse right away for 2-3 hrs.


Any ideas, suggestions would be appreciated.

Hi Brutesky,
Welcome to the board, hopefully you will find some answers here.
Did you come down with a cold or flu when this happened to you? Any other viruses lurking around? If you have labyrithiitis it is often brought on by a virus which sneaks in and infects the inner ear. The inflammation causes your dizziness and depending on the severity of it can cause some permenant damage.
Has the ENT performed any tests yet? I would suggest that in the near future you try to get one of your doctors to perform some tests to determine if this is inner ear. An ENG and caloric test be a good start.
As far as the working out, I would definitely recommend you stay active but watch not to overdo it. I have tried to maintain my weight routine, biking and skiing throughout and I think the moving around really helps.
If you do have some damage, your brain is going to be compensating for the loss of your vestibular system, this is the fuzzy, lightheaded brain fog you experience and probablay is the speech and visual issues you are having. Not fun is it?
I have had labs (labyrinthitis) and BPPV so I know how you feel and can empathize with how you are feeling right now. Labs can take some time to clear and depending on the severity of it can take longer than doctors anticipate, in fact most of the people on this board have dealt with this issue of doctors not understanding why they are still feeling bad after 6 weeks. lots of people have inner ear infections and they clear up in 2-6 weeks (those people generally aren't on this board!!)
Hope you find some relief, keep us posted.
FC

Hey Brutesky,

Feel your pain man...got hit with this almost 7 weeks ago out of nowhere...thought I was just hungover but boy was I wrong! Shakes, sweats, spins constantly, shortness of breath, nauseau, confusion... you name it, I had it...thought I was dying but alas, I have improved, very slowly albeit, but I have improved...still going day by day, good moments and bad moments but it will run its course...I was in the gym 6 days a week and didn't go for the first two weeks, then slowly got back in over a couple of weeks and just started lifting a little harder in the last week...still not there but you will improve...its frustrating because if you are like me, then you are used to a fever for a couple of days and that's about it...this is a great way to learn patience :)

Hang in there,

Sportsfan

Hi Brutesky
Just wondering if you have noticed any change in your symptoms at all - has it got even a little bit better or worse? Does it vary during the day. Can you drive and do normal everyday stuff like shopping etc? If you can you should try to stay active and do something each day, even if is only a little walk. If it is an inner ear disorder like labyrinthitis then being active really helps and will help with your recovery.

Best wishes and hope you get some answers soon
Tesss

Here is quick update.

Yesterday, I met with another ENT that runs a dizzyness clinic. I thought I was going to beat him when he told me that I have nothing wrong, its all in my head. He ordered an ENG which I did today.
I have improved since first getting ill. Right now my biggest symptom is that I am in a "dream state" & light headed all the time. I get dizzy occasionally but severely if I ingest caffeine.
I do work, drive and live relativelly normal. I'm still not sure if I should be lifting weights or not. The doctors are clueless....

I totally understand the urge to beat the doctors when they tell you nothing is wrong and it is all in your head. If they could only feel for one second what we feel like all the time, then they wouldn't be so fast to think it is nothing. Even though it is by no means life threatening and does get better, it is serious in the sense that it affects your life in many ways, and is hard on your will power and patience. It's good to hear you are feeling a little better. It's good that you did the ENG test. That will tell which ear is causing the problem and if there is any damage. If there is, you will still be fine. It might just take longer, as your brain needs to compensate for the screwed up messages it gets from your ears. With that said, stay away from caffiene and alcohol for a while.

I am on my second expereince with this lovely crap. I had it four years ago for six months, and then it went away without a trace. Now it's back and i'm at the end of my six months, and recovering. I have my good days and bad days, but getting better. It came on again after catching a bad flu. Things like viruses and drinking too much can throw your compensation off, so try to stay away. Although during those four years of feeling fine, I drank whenever I wanted and was fine. So I'm hoping that in a few months I can go back to enjoying a beer again every once in a while. But feeling stable and not dizzy is worth not drinking.

Stay with the working out. I don't think it can hurt, it can only help. The more you move the more your brain has to work, which is a great thing. Don't over do it, just because you don't want to get too tired. I usually feel better after I workout. It helps with the stress that this stupid problem brings as well.

You will be fine. hang in there and take good care of yourself. Ask your doctor about possibly taking Ginko Biloba. It's supposed to help with compensation as it increases the blood flow to the brain. Don't start taking it without asking your doctor. It helped me. I think, it did at least. Didn't hurt. It's hard to know if it's the ginko or just time that helped. In alot of cases like these it is just time that will do the healing. You just need the patience. Which I know is really hard to have sometimes. hang in there!

Small update....

I'm trying a slew of vitamins/herbs to try and combat this illness. I am a bit better and hopefully their combination is working.I also completelly avoid coffee as it clearly bothers me.

2 Multivamins per day 1 morning, 1 luchtime
Vitamin C 3-4 grams spread out throughout the day
Vitamin B-Complex
2 Ginko Biloba
Lecithin
Co Q10
Garlic extract
Glutamine powder

If money is no issue, I recommend trying my cocktail. There is no danger, it can only help.
My immune system is quite strong using all these things....hopefully the virus is on the run...

In the same boat, I'm completely miserable....... I was very active myself this happenned a year ago to me......It's been up and down when I was in physical therapy I did my best. Driving whips my arse badly.