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Please Help!!

Sat, 08/25/2007 - 00:14
Here I am at Mayo Clinic and I am still lost. Like so many others on here, I have no diagnosis. I found this board on accident and could not have been more shocked or excited about what I've read. It started last summer when I started having dizzy spells where I would feel so dizzy I would almost fall down. It would last under a minute and go away except that I felt wiped out. Then at the endo of December I had a huge attack. I was in the McDonalds drive-thru and all of a sudden everything went black and there was a flash of light and I felt a pressure in my head theat started at the top of my head and fell like a waterfall down to the back of my head. I became so hot and dizzy I knew I was going to throw-up. I drove myself home with my head out the window in 20 degree weather. When I got home I started throwing-up and could not shake the dizziness. I went to the doc the next day, I barely could walk, and was diagnoised with vertigo and told to see the ent. Because it was during the New Year weekend, everyone was out of town and I had to wait until the 2nd to see anyone. In the meantime I was slurring my speech, very slow reactions, and my left side was weak. I was admitted to the hospital on the 2nd and had a few tests performed - mri, mra, blood tests, and neurological exam. They found nothing and diagnoised me with vestibular neuronitis, no stroke, brain tumor, lesions, nothing. I did not loose the dizzy sensation so I called the doc and he said I would get over it. Then I went to see another neurologist and he said it was my migraines so he put me on topamax - I got so sick taking it and he would never call me back so I quit taking it. I started physical therapy and it helped with my balance tremendously. I went to see an opthoneurologist and he said it wasn't my eyes. Then I saw another neurologist and he said it was the lipitor and I needed to consider that it was mental! While all of this was going on I was having small dizzy episodes that would hit me out of the blue and knock the wind out of me. Then I decided to go to Mayo in hopes I would find a diagnosis. The doctor I saw said I had a menegitis virus that had attacked my brain and it was causing my problems. I said ok, not feeling confident, but decided to stop looking. Then August 6th I had another attack that knocked me down for about 4 days. I was in Walmart looking at backpacks for my daughter and I became so dizzy and nauseated, I could hardly walk and had to leave immediately. I called the doctor at Mayo and she said to come see her. The soonest I could get in was the 20th. I had vestibular testing with the spinning chair, moving platform, and water in the ears - all normal. Then I had another mri - normal. I saw the doctor and she said she spoke with the dizziness specialist and I have "acute benign dizziness." She put me on neurontin starting with 100mg 3xs a day. I can only take 100 mgs so far and it still makes me dizzier and jittery. When I was researching the medication I came across the symptoms of a simple partial seizure and it was very close, if not right on, to what has happened to me. There is more to my symptoms that what I have mentioned, like pressure in my head before I get dizzy or right after, I run words together to make one word, I can't remember things very well sometimes, like I will ask my husband 3 -5 times - did I say that already? I get nauseated when I walk through stores and I feel awful, I almost can't do it. My balance is better, but I still cannot walk in dark rooms very well. I also noticed that before the first big episode in December my left eye would not stop twitching, after the episode it stopped. Before the attack in August my eye started twitching and my face was hurting on one side like a nerve was irritated, after the episode it was gone. Anyway, I asked the doctor to do an eeg just to check and she said ok. Of course, it was normal! This afternoon I decided to just give-up and forget about getting better or ever finding out what is wrong. I am feeling like it is all in my head and that maybe I should have a psych consult. I am afraid to drive, afraid to go to the store alone or even be alone, my school work is suffering, my work is suffering and my family is suffering. If any of this sounds familiar or like seizures, please email me or post. Should I keep looking and if so, with who?? I appreciate all of your help!

Comments

Ahh gee I totally relate to

Submitted by SunflowerPower on Sat, 2007-08-25 - 20:08
Ahh gee I totally relate to you deerwendy! I have attacks of dizziness, but not as extreme as yours, and I feel like giving up too! You need to go to an epileptologist, a neurologists who specializes in epilepsy and get an opinion from him or her. The EEG results for partial seizures will almost always be normal if you're not having a seizure at the time. You also seriously should probably have a tilt table test, if you haven't had one already. There are a lot of things that it could be so you have to be patient and see lots of doctors and put up with a lot of crap and condescending attitudes. Keep an open mind and go to the psych consult, because it may help, but trust your instincts and do what you need to do to be healthy! Don't stop till you've exhausted every avenue and don't let anyone give you grief for looking after your health.

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