weird symptom- is this familiar to anyone?

JaniceM

JaniceM

Well-known Member
Location
still lost between two shores..
A couple of mornings ago, I woke up. It was like being on an ocean wave instead of a bed/mattress- moving around, pulling me down. Not sure if this is a definition of lightheadedness, but it was extreme enough that I had to crawl to the bathroom. After prepping for the possibility of needing medical care, I sat outside to get fresh air while trying to figure out where to go and how to get there. Within a couple of hours, it subsided.
I had slight dizziness this morning, and a couple of times a few weeks ago, but the episode I described was the worst. Is anyone here familiar with something like that?

Quite a few years ago, I was diagnosed with calcium deposits in inner ear canal. One episode was similar to the one I described, and went to ER. That time, and other times, I was given a prescription similar to Dramamine. In other words, treat the symptom instead of the cause. I learned a relatively minor surgical procedure could cure it permanently, and learned there are exercises to prevent the dizziness.

I have also hypoglycemia, plus am also prone to dehydration.

I'm one of those people who almost never gets sick, and go into panic-mode when anything is abnormal. So I'm wondering if anyone here experiences this symptom, and if the cause was determined.
 

@JaniceM Wow.... sorry to hear about your health scare..... sounds like you've answered some of your own questions.....was thinking.....could Vertigo be a possibility. You're right in saying, that often symptoms are treated, but the important part, the cause, is sadly over looked and not dealt with. Hope you get feeling better.
 
I've had similar experiences. A few years ago, I started to bend to pick up something off the bed & as soon as I moved my head, I started to fall. I found that tilting my head left or right also caused the same falling sensation. I was fine as long as I kept my head vertical. That lasted the whole day, then disappeared. I didn't see a doctor, but I read it has something to do with an inner ear disturbance. Balance seems simple but it's complicated & it doesn't take much to upset it.
I suspected the problem was caused by my trying to clean my ear canal by letting water into it in the shower. The problem hasn't returned since.
 
win231 said:
I've had similar experiences. A few years ago, I started to bend to pick up something off the bed & as soon as I moved my head, I started to fall. I found that tilting my head left or right also caused the same falling sensation. I was fine as long as I kept my head vertical. That lasted the whole day, then disappeared. I didn't see a doctor, but I read it has something to do with an inner ear disturbance. Balance seems simple but it's complicated & it doesn't take much to upset it.
I suspected the problem was caused by my trying to clean my ear canal by letting water into it in the shower. The problem hasn't returned since.
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That could have a lot to do with it. I've noticed dizziness is worse when I get water in my ears.
 
JaniceM said:
And yet, the 'doctor' at the ER that time said the best way to clean ears is to swish water around in them.. :cautious:
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What? With the problems you’ve been having this is the medical advice he/she gave?
That’s crazy. I’ve got a man made ear drum that often gets infected due to water getting in it and Vertigo is what I get . Hypoglycaemia causes low blood pressure so the same thing can happen.
 
JaniceM said:
Interesting, isn't it, when average folks on a forum are more knowledgeable and sensible than 'health care providers.'
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Usually, when a doctor gives me bad advice, I just ignore it & do what I know is right. You can't argue with someone who thinks he knows everything - & many doctors think that.
Sometimes, I've said something to a doctor that makes him think: "Doctor, you've known me for a few weeks or years. I've lived in my body for 67 years."
 
win231 said:
Usually, when a doctor gives me bad advice, I just ignore it & do what I know is right. You can't argue with someone who thinks he knows everything - & many doctors think that.
Sometimes, I've said something to a doctor that makes him think: "Doctor, you've known me for a few weeks or years. I've lived in my body for 67 years."
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Unfortunately, my current environment is one where individuals are led to believe the full range of 'health care providers' are like an inch from God- cannot ever be wrong, cannot make mistakes, etc. It's outrageous.

Years ago, I was remarking to a neighbor about an especially-incompetent "Physician's Assistant," and neighbor was absolutely gushing when he said 'Physician's Assistants have almost as much training as Doctors!"
I was tempted to tell him if he ever needed his appendix removed or heart surgery, ask me to do it so he'd save money. :ROFLMAO:
 
JaniceM.....it sounds like BPPV...unpleasant but not life-threatening. If you look on the internet, you will find exercises you can do to dislodge the crystals in your inner ear, the cause of your problem. Don't be fobbed off with pills.
 
Since it happens first thing in the morning, I wonder if it could be dehydration.

6 Signs of Severe Dehydration and How to Treat It
https://www.gohealthuc.com/library/4-signs-severe-dehydration-and-where-go-help

"Did you know that your brain is composed of 73% water? That’s why drinking water and eating water-filled foods can help your brain work better. On the flip side, if you don’t get enough fluids it can have adverse effects. If you’re feeling like you might pass out at any moment, or you’re confused over where you are, how you got there or what you’re doing, it might mean you are severely dehydrated."
 
JaniceM said:
Unfortunately, my current environment is one where individuals are led to believe the full range of 'health care providers' are like an inch from God- cannot ever be wrong, cannot make mistakes, etc. It's outrageous.

Years ago, I was remarking to a neighbor about an especially-incompetent "Physician's Assistant," and neighbor was absolutely gushing when he said 'Physician's Assistants have almost as much training as Doctors!"
I was tempted to tell him if he ever needed his appendix removed or heart surgery, ask me to do it so he'd save money. :ROFLMAO:
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It all depends on where PAs get their training just as it is for doctors and nurses as to where they go to school and do their subsequent internships and residencies. Never believe health care providers are like an inch from God. We can only do our very best with the tools and knowledge we have access to. Some, unfortunately, do not soak up and contain that knowledge. Personally, I'd see my family physician about your problem. It indeed could be due to any one of all the above comments mentioned, but you need to be examined and a brain scan done first and foremost to rule out any problems there.
 
It sure sounds like vertigo to me.
I had an episode a few years ago and it was unbelievable.

I was perfectly fine when I laid back on the bed to put in eyedrops, but when I raised up it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was so dizzy that I could not couldn't stand. I had no idea was was happening and I called my wife back from her morning walk to help me. She found our walker and I was able to make it to the bathroom where I promptly emptied my stomach. I was sicker than a dog and my head was spinning like crazy. It took several hours before I even felt slightly reasonable and a full day before I could hold food down.

The closest thing that I had ever felt to this was severe sea sickness during a hurricane off North Carolina, so I took a dramamine which helped a tiny bit. Later that day I got in to see my regular doctor who gave me something a little stronger that my own pills, but they did not help that much either.
Over a few days, it dizziness tapered off slightly, but it did not go away.

Finally, a friend recommended that I see his ENT Doctor, and when I did, he got me squared away very quickly with some kind of head maneuver. I could not believe how quickly my symptoms went away. He told me that all the pills that regular doctors push for this problem are useless and the problem was that the crystals in my right ear had gotten out of position. The problem has not returned.
 

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