Hi,

I subscribe to some medical information via email, including the NEJM Journal Watch Stroke Alert, and this article was in the email today:

Stroke may present with vertigo as the only symptom

In the article the author writes “. . . days to weeks of continuous vertigo or dizziness, nausea or vomiting, head-motion intolerance, gait unsteadiness, and nystagmus . . .” can actually be caused by small strokes.

That just floored me. Which one of you reading this has not had horrible days with those symptoms? I know I have. My doctor actually ordered an MRI to try to diagnose the cause of my vertigo.  Negative results.

I’m not trying to alarm anyone with this information, but you might want to talk to your doctor and get an MRI if you have persistent vertigo.

Just saying.

Dan

Posted under Causes, Symptoms

Hi,

Sometimes I’ll go for weeks without any significant dizziness, and then out of nowhere I’ll have a vertigo attack.  Now these attacks, while difficult, are not the full-blown vertigo attacks I used to get.  No, no more upchucking (that, I’m pretty sure, came from the soy allergy) or nystagmus, but my stomach feels just short of nauseous, and it can be difficult for me to walk straight. Driving is possible, but sometimes not a good idea.  I know I shouldn’t complain, because there are many of you out there who are still having upchucking vertigo attacks. How quickly I forget.  A perfect day for me is one without dizziness of any kind. I rate my vertigo/dizziness impairment on a scale of 60% to 100%. Read More…

Posted under Symptoms

Well, I thought when I stopped taking the metoprolol tartrate that I was home free, that I would have no more unexplained dizziness. Wrong. LOL.

I have a very acid stomach, and I’ve had several ulcers over the years, so I was taking omeprazole (Prilosec) 40mg/day. Well, I got an ulcer in January from a MethylPREDNISolone Dose Pack that I was taking for a back injury, and my G.I. specialist gave me a prescription for a greater dose of Prilosec (80mg/day). Man, did I get dizzy! Of course, it says right on the bottle: “May cause dizziness“. Duh.

Tried Protonix with the same result (dizziness). Four 150mg Zantac a day couldn’t handle the acid, and I wound up taking Prilosec again, but only 20mg/day (OTC). It appears that for now I’ve hit a decent balance between dizziness and stomach pain.

The lesson from this? Examine every medicine you take to determine if it could be contributing to your dizziness or vertigo.

Posted under Causes, Symptoms, Treatment