Vertigo - Anyone experienced the Same ?

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kddham
kddham Posts: 53 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello All, I am Kamal and currently going through very strange and slowly recovering issue. Following is what happened to me :

I was practicing for long running from past 2 yrs now. Started with 5km then went upto 10 km and then ran around 6 half marathons to far.2 yrs back I had weight of around 113 kgs , was dropped to 95 kgs after all my efforts to loose weight (including running).

- During Feb14 when I was running 15 km, after 9 km I got sudden loss of balance and then I stopped. walked for 1 min and then the feeling of loss of balance got settled. I again started running and then the same loss of balance started appearing. I then decided to only walk. But after 1 km of of walk I started feeling very acute dizziness and spinning sensation. I somehow called my wife and she picked me after 40 mins. At my home I vomited once and thrown my all intake during run (Gatorade). I then slept for 2 yrs and when I woke up I was 100% normal. I searched some stuff around the same indecent and started correlating that it may be due to loss of sodium etc.
- Second day went fine, but had a bit of hedaque.
- Third day when I woke up and was sitting in restroom keeping my head down. I suddenly started getting the same sinning sensation again, This time it was more that first day. I some how managed to come to bed and asked my wife and parents to take me to emergency care. They took me too hospital where I was gone through some basic tests, like blood test, BP, CT Scan. During the end part of the day I started to feel better but was not able to walk by my self. Any head movement was making me very uncomfortable and dizzy. Doctor has recommended 1 week of bed rest and advised that it may be due to Vertigo attack cased by Labyrinths issue. So they asked me to meet some neurologist. But my all tests were fine.
- After couple of days of rest, when I was okay to walk at lest , I had met one of close by Neurologist and described the full episode. He had taken all the feedback and then took some balance tests (like walk in a line with closed eyes). He has also diagnosed that it is due to Positional Vertigo (Labrinths) and has given me Vertin 8 mg and one regular Vitamin tablet. I took this for around 2-3 weeks. I found that I have started getting better week by week.
- In parallel my neurologist asked me for all types of blood, urine tests which all came out to be 100% okay. But I started getting headque most of the days which started disturbing my worklife. I have also asked the doc about the same but he mentioned to wait for some more time and see if it subsides. Even after 1 month of medication when I did not see any improvement in headque (mainly on the top part) , I have asked doc to look into this. He asked me to go for MRI of head and neck.
- I went through MRI and in MRI, the results were bit different. It suggests that the Labyrinths seems to be working fine but I have symptoms of start of Spondralits near Neck region. I was asked to take some neck and core muscles rehabilitation program with some physiotherapy for 10 days. I took that which resulted in very little improvement on my hedaque.
- Doc then tried some sleeping pills too which kind of given some improvement but then based on his recommendation, sleeping pills were stopped.
- After this I have not met the doc and I am trying to learn the overall symptoms. Following are the symptoms ;

1) When ever I get up in morning with sound sleep, I feel almost 90% okay.
2) When I sit on chair for long time, I started getting heavy head and slight loss in balance and this turns into heavy head during later part of the day. The heavy head normally goes only after long sleep.
3) When I lye down for long time on stomach and say if I am working on laptop in this position, I again get the same feeling as above.
4) When I drive for long distance say more than 2-3 hrs, I started getting same feeling. Same if I watch movie sitting long , I get the same feeling.
5) I dont seem to get any problem in doing heaving strength and weigh exercises.
6) I am able to walk more than 1 hr for sure
7) when ever i try to jog or run, I started getting same dizziness and loss of balance after 2 km of jog.
8) Climbing stairs are also creating same symptoms.
9) Sometimes I get pressure on my eyes also along with heavy head and loss of balance. I have got my eyes tested and found to be all okay.

I request folks/doctors out here to help me if you are aware of this case and recommend me what should I do ? I am kind of bit emotionally down that GOD has taken away my running passion :(

Best, -Kamal from India

Replies

  • kddham
    kddham Posts: 53 Member
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    ?
  • moij0
    moij0 Posts: 87
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    There are lots of sites online to help you with this vestibular disorder and many have found tai chi and yoga help to rebalance you and the slow movements help. im afraid if non of the medication helps you just have to learn to live with it and avoid situations that cause it to become worse or , just go for it and live your life to the fullest knowing you will have to deal with the consequences of a possible attack. Check out menieres desease forums and groups on social networks for vestibular disorders , other people support and experiences can help.

    Good luck you only live once, dont let this stop you living x
  • starznholes
    starznholes Posts: 170 Member
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    I get these vertigo attacks, once every few years. Sounds very similar to what I experience and it usually takes a few months to completely go away after the initial attack. I have been to the ER, regular doctor, ENT and have done all these numerous tests myself, just like you have. I am no doctor but I recommend not pushing yourself too hard with the running if that seems to trigger it.


    The best thing you can do is take each day at a time and hope you fully recover from it. I have heard of cases where it never quite goes away.

    A couple of people I know that have vertigo several times a year advised me to take a daily allergy pill to keep the symptoms away. Not sure if this is legit advice but I have heard it from different people now, so it may be worth a shot.

    Good luck!!
  • kddham
    kddham Posts: 53 Member
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    Thanks
  • scot34
    scot34 Posts: 7
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    I had this exact problem, vertigo. I went to the doctor and they gave me what its called mechanical treatment where they turn your head sharply to one side while you are lying down. After the session They tell u not to move your head sharply for few days it took only one session and i was fine. Headaches & dissness kept on for few weeks after with no major attack.
  • miss_smilla
    miss_smilla Posts: 5 Member
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    I had this exact problem, vertigo. I went to the doctor and they gave me what its called mechanical treatment where they turn your head sharply to one side while you are lying down. After the session They tell u not to move your head sharply for few days it took only one session and i was fine. Headaches & dissness kept on for few weeks after with no major attack.

    My mum was diagnosed with the same issue, and had the same form of treatment as above and it worked. It seems to rebalance the fluid in your ears, which causes the issue in the first place. If you can't get to a phsyio who specialises in this, there are videos on youtube which will show you how to do neck and head exercises that may help with this
  • _John_
    _John_ Posts: 8,641 Member
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    the only 2 times in my life I've had vertigo were when I was on a strong antibiotic that had that as a side effect and when I was running like 5-6 miles day and not really eating enough.
  • mommyrunning
    mommyrunning Posts: 495 Member
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    It doesn't happen when I run but I have had random dizzy spells and noticed that when I lay down while awake then get up (like when watching tv) I get a pressure in the base of my skull and feel dizzy when I get up. So I will be interested to hear if you get a diagnosis.

    One thing that occured to me is you could be having blood pressure issues that normalize by the time you are seen by a doc. They make blood pressure monitors you can use at home. They are sold at pharmacies. Maybe try taking a few readings when you are at rest to get a baseline then take a few when you are experiencing symptoms.
  • njitaliana
    njitaliana Posts: 814 Member
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    I had vertigo for 8 months. I saw a neurologist, an otolaryngologist, and others. A chiropractor helped temporarily. The main thing that worked was two months of physical therapy with active release technique done on my neck twice per week. I cannot imagine that ten days of PT would be enough to help. A lot of people get better with vestibular therapy, particularly the Epley maneuver. But the therapy on my neck helped. Do a search on cervicogenic vertigo for more info.
  • icimani
    icimani Posts: 1,454 Member
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    I was in a motorcycle accident a few years back and got a fairly severe concussion. Ever since then I notice I tend to get vertigo whenever I get overly tired or stressed, or I get a cold/flu. The neurologist told me that it's normal and may never go away. He also told me to be sure and stay hydrated when I exercise. I'm not a runner so I can't speak to that, but I do walk and I now make darn sure that I have enough liquid and protein.
  • Escloflowne
    Escloflowne Posts: 2,038 Member
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    I get this every time I stand from a seated or laying down position, it has slowed me down but I refuse to let it win, I still go biking, running and do Spartan races.
  • kddham
    kddham Posts: 53 Member
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    Guys.. Just want to update you all ..found solution of my vertigo.. Core strengtheing is working for me :)
  • hal1964
    hal1964 Posts: 82 Member
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    I went to my doctor. The meds they gave me actually made me feel worse and made the symptoms worse too.

    So they sent me to an ENT then to a neurologist. Anyway, many months and a few expensive tests later (EcoG and MRI) they found no cause to my vertigo. The neurologist theorized it was a virus that attacked my peripheral nervous system. There is no diagnostic test to test your peripheral nervous system.

    I learned that vertigo is a symptom. For me whatever I had smoldering beneath the surface cleared up over time.

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