Hi all this is my first time posting here and i have been reading some of the posts. Its very interesting to hear what everyone has to say and how they are doing with the dizziness.
I am a 42 yr old female who has had dizziness 24\7 for the last 3 yrs and counting. They still havent figured out what is wrong with me i have and all sorts of tests like Mri of my brain and neck, ultrasound of all the arteries and veins in my neck and head looking for something clogged. I have had the god awful ear test done where they put water in your ears and you watch a stupid light bounce around on some dumb bar. My hearing test comes out perfect every time i hear just fine. The ear test with the water witch is looking for bppv comes out the same everytime...with bppv when your head is tilted back you will have rapid eye movement that will begin to jiggle back and forth and then stop...mine just keeps on going and they dont know why.
I dont have the type of dizziness associated with the bppv that would have more to do with positioning of the head which i have had in the past.
At this point i have a constant feeling of being off balance all the time and i feel as though i could fall at any moment. Sometimes when i walk around i have what feels like my head is going to drop to the floor at any moment behind me and i will be on the ground. My vision gets what i call a fog look to it where i can see things clearly but theres a fog infront of it which is very odd feeling.
I can no longer go into the stores especially for long amounts of time the stimulation in the store is incredible i barely make it down 3 isle and im ready to be out. The bigger the store the less distance i can go. I get the neasous feeling and i feel like im really sick and my head starts to hurt from everything going on around me.
The Mall is a definite no no for me there are way too many pple walking by and they are traveling at different rates of speed and all different directions and the floors in the mall are very shiny and i will start walking and next thing i know im practically hugging the wall to stay upright, so i no longer walk the mall which i used to love to do.
So vertigo also doesnt mix with high places i went to a baseball game one time and had these seats really high up and i thought i was going to die up there and i kept thinking that others were going to fall down. Yeah i no longer go to baseball games.
I went for about a year with out driving and had to take taxi to work because the bus was just too unbearable with the bouncing and all the stops and stuff. I have been put on clonazepam for the dizziness which has helped to a certain degree it has never taken it all away. But i can now drive my car to work and back and a few places around town. Just riding in the car long distance makes me feel sick and i have a hard time so i try to sleep or close my eyes and hope for the best if i have to travel long distance with someone else driving.
I manage to hold down my job at this point because i know exactly what i am to do each night and the nurses that work around me know when i am having a bad day and will make sure to watch me and make me stay sitting as much as possible on those days so they are a great bunch to be around. They all know what i have and they have seen me go into an episode while just standing there talking to them and it scares the crap outta them because they dont know what to do with me either. I tell them it will pass and i sit down and wait. most times it passes if it doesnt i am sent home.
So i am at a loss of what to do anymore i have done too many tests and im exhausted all the time i am told that my brain works twice as hard to compensate for the off balance which causese fatigue, eye pain and my newest developement is the headaches on a daily basis. I wake up in the morning and say good morning headache how nice to see you again. Lets see how you will treat me today will we manage to have a good day or a bad one and are the pills going to work today or am i screwed for the day. peanutt121
The Following User Says Thank You to peanutt121 For This Useful Post: TeenzK (06-09-2012)
I have suffered with all of your current symptoms for 6 years. I recently went to California to see an eye specialist who diagnosed me with Verticle Heterophoria. Please research this. I know how awful and frustrating this illnes is but you might simply need prisim lenses. You cannot, however, see just a regular eye doctor. You have to go to fresno, California or Michigan. If I can anwser any questions you might have just let me know
The Following User Says Thank You to lfanner For This Useful Post: peanutt121 (06-07-2012)
My 84 year old Mother had a stroke 11/2010. About May of the next year she started having issues with dizziness. She thought it was one of her meds but after her pcp changed or stopped each one throughout the year her dizziness remained the same. She went to the balance clinic for vertigo in September 2011 and again in February 2012. After several treatments (5+ the first time and 3 the last) at the balance clinic she still had same degree of dizziness. In May her pcp prescribed her ativan (lorazepam) .05 mg to be taken 1/2 in the morning and 1/2 at night (so that is .025mg in morning and night). Note she didn't have anxiety he was looking for something to help her dizziness. Well guess what from the first day she took the 1/2 pill she had not had any dizziness. I am posting this because for a solid year I researched and viewed hundreds of message boards trying to find help for her. We just went to see her pcp yesterday and I asked him since the ativan did help did it give him any idea of what was causing the problem. He said at the end of every med it states "unknown" and again in this case he did not know. Hope this helps someone else!
I would really like to thank you for giveing me that information i took the test on the web site that the name sent me to and the next morning i got a call from the lady i watched on the videow dr deb she talked with me for like an hour and asked me all sorts of questions and told me what kind of dr to look for in my town and what tests to have done. I went to my ent that week and showed him what she told me and he kept looking at all the things on the paper and ordered the tests that she told me and sent me to an eye specialist that has told me i have 3 things going on with my eyes and its not my ears making me dizzy. there was so much things he did to me and told me that i cant remember all but one thing is i have one eye seeing farsight and one eye seeing near sight. so thats one of the issues he gave me some kinda temporary glasses there in the office im to use for the reading and come bak to him in 2 weeks. so far they must be doing something because my eyes are straining and get tired quickly so im off and on with them when reading. Im told by others that is normal with glasses and the change so im going to stick it out. I just wanted to thank you for giving me that word.
Peanutt121
Hi I too am a current sufferer of vertigo and dizziness going on 3 years now. All the symptoms quite off balance at times not so bad and others quite bad. Please could you give me the name of the doctor that you saw in Fresno so that I might too contact them and perhaps this would help me as well. How are you doing now? This whole ordeal is very overwhelming and very hard for others to understand. I have seen so many doctors and still no help has come my way. I pray for the normalness(sp) of my life of 3 years ago. Thank you so much for all the help you are providing to everyone here it seems that you are very concerned and sincere in your thoughts and posts.
Thank you
Marrie13
Hi! We are not in the Fresno area or California either. I can tell you it was her pcp who prescribed the ativan .05 mg to be taken 1/2 in the morning and 1/2 in the pm. Maybe you can contact your pcp and he can prescribe this for you. It's a really low dose and helped rid her dizziness from the first dosage (actually within thirty minutes of taking!).
There are two doctors in the states who can diagnose verticle heterophoria.
Dr. Eidal is at Reedley Eye Center in Fresno California.
Dr. Debbie is in Birmingham Michigan. Either one if emailed will talk with you about your symptoms and if you might have this. it was an intial adjustment to the glasses but im doing great. People will never understand what we suffer with and that is why Im trying to help as many people as possible.
Do you struggle with malls, grocery stores, driving etc?
Yes I struggle with malls and stores not so much driving. It's weird withe the malls and large office buildings. I've never experienced anything like this before where wide open white spaces they all seem to move or something it's really weird and then try to explain that to someone. Also the fast movement of people etc. it also seems to affect me. And no something new, I went to a movie last night, it had alot of visual effects, I tried to not watch them but still, anyway I seemed to do okay but then around midnight I had a horrible attack, where it lasted longer and everything was spinning out of control I couldn't stop it, I again was throwing up and I got a horrible headache. In your experience do you think this could of been because of the movie?
Thank you again, please let me know if you think of anything else I can do? Did you go to the doctor in Reedley?
I have never experienced spinning but everyone is different. I did avoid movie theatres though, the visual stimulation was just too much. I describe my feelings in large spaces as waves. The floor doesnt feel stable below me. The eye doctor ( Dr. Eidal in Fresno) told me that our eyes pick up the fluttering in ultraviolet lights which cause the dizzy sensation. I woud also have troubles with elevators, escalators, cars etc. My body always seemed to need more time to realize it wasnt moving anymore.
When you are feeling bad cover one eye with your hand. If the eyes are the root of your problem this should help ease the severity. You could also get an eye patch from the drug store and wear it for a day.
The following user gives a hug of support to lfanner: marrie12 (06-20-2012)
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to lfanner For This Useful Post: marrie12 (06-20-2012), Rita j (06-20-2012)
Thank you very much I will certainly try that. I just talked with the Doctor in Reedley and hope to see him next week. Again I am very grateful to you for this information and perhaps my problem will be resolved although he thought from talking to him that it might be more than one thing causing my issues. I am very grateful to you because at least I see a light at the end of the tunnel where before there was none.
Thank you
Marrie12
Well just to clarify....along with my glasses, I see a NUCCA chiropactor and also wear a retainer at night for my jaw. When we compensate for our eyes, our alignment is off. it is all connected so any little thing helps. A nucca chiropractor adjusts only your atlas and it is very gentle. It has helped me dramatically although never took it away completely. Just some other ideas to find relief
The following user gives a hug of support to lfanner: peanutt121 (06-20-2012)
Thanks for that added info, yes I agree that every little bit helps and anything that works is worth it's weight in gold. I am so appreciative of any little moment I have of balance in my life. Thanks again.
Oh I forgot to ask do you know of any nucca chiropractor? The fresno area works for me or anywhere in California also is fine. I know that I've had PT before and at times it helps but they are not to gentle. Others mention regular chiros but they too are not gentle. The neck, shoulder, and back pain and constant headache and face pain are unbearable at times.
I actually live in Vancouver, BC so Im not too sure about Nucca chiropractic in Fresno.
Apologies!
But try to find one. The manipulation is extremely gentle which is vital for us! It will alliviat that heavy head sort of brain fog feeling as well as the headaches.
The Following User Says Thank You to lfanner For This Useful Post: cold247 (08-09-2012)
what i did was printed out the information on the verticle heterophoria and took it into my ent and he sent me to an eye specialist that i spent over and hour doing different tests with him and i have 3 things wrong with my eyes. That Dr Deb from michigian called me after i took the online test she had and i talked to her for over an hour and she told me what kind of dr i needed and what tests to have done i am in the process now with the eye specialist and i have started to get a bit better i use the glasses for reading right now which is a big part of my job. I go bak in a couple weeks and hes going to do more.
good luck and contact me if you need.
Peanutt121
I am not a doctor, but was recently diagnosed with Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo(BPPV). This is the most common cause of dizziness, the problem is caused when small debris in the inner ear is dislodged and floats into the semicircular canal. My vertigo symptoms started after I had dental work performed and my initial thought was that I had a bad infection from that work. I suffered for 2 ½ months before being advised to see an ENT Specialist.
My symptoms were severe bed spins usually lasting 5-10 seconds when laying down for bed, rolling over, or rising from bed. I also feeling anxious, I had trouble focusing, headaches, tired eyes and complete fatigue. Some days were terrible and I never really felt stable.
I went to an ear & balance center located in central Florida. Was diagnosed, treated and cured in one visit. The treatment was performed using an Epley chair which basically is a chair that you get strapped into and slowly they spin you in many directions while they monitor your eye movement with special goggles. The goal is to reposition that debris into the correct area in your inner ear. I left the treatment that day dizzy so I would recommend a driver. The dizziness lasted another few hours and slowly cleared. I got a good night sleep (the first in months) and woke to a stable world. It has been three weeks since the treatment and I have had no reoccurring dizziness at all.
There are instructions on doing the Epley maneuver at home, but the ENT uses the Epley chair to confirm that you have BPPV before treatment and then a computer verifies that your condition is repaired by watching your eye movements. Many people who try to performe the Epley maneuver at home only make things worse.
lfanner, I've been reading your success with great interest. I too am from Canada and have experienced dizziness, headaches, etc for about 11 months. I ended up seeing Dr. Debby in Michigan who diagnosed me with vertical heterophoria. After putting on the prism lenses in the office I felt some improvement, but when I left and up to now (almost two weeks later) I feel disoriented/unsteady, sore eye muscles, ongoing facial pressure and just overall feeling yucky. I was told it would take about two weeks to get used to the glasses but I'm starting to wonder if my eyes are really the cause of the symptoms I'm experiencing. I was wondering if you could tell me how long it took you to get used to your glasses and what kind of "adjustment period" you went through? Your advice is greatly appreciated as I'm on the verge of giving up on these glasses
Hi peanutt121, it's been a few months since your last post - I was wondering if you ever got better after you started using the special glasses? Thank you!
The Following User Says Thank You to loneman For This Useful Post: peanutt121 (11-04-2012)
Dizziness 3 yrs and counting. 
Hi all this is my first time posting here and i have been reading some of the posts. Its very interesting to hear what everyone has to say and how they are doing with the dizziness.
