Re: Re: dizziness

[Guest guest]

I’m

not sure my experiences will help, but I deal with dizziness all the

time. I also tried Lexapro for a while but had so many side-effects that

I stopped using it. I wasn’t on Lexapro more than 6 months, and the

side-effects it generated didn’t seem to be connected to dizziness as I

had frequent episodes of that for several years before I started Lexapro, and

continued on unchanged after I stopped. But that’s my experience.

From what I know about Lexapro, it “shouldn’t” affect the

brain but since it works by boosting serotonin, which impacts the nervous

system (why I stopped using it) I would certainly keep it in mind as a

possibility. Unfortunately the only way to know for sure is to stop using

Lexapro for several months; it takes at least 30 days for the body to adjust

when you stop using Lexapro and other SSI medications. I was only on a

low-dose Lexapro for 6 months and I could feel it continuing to work for 6

weeks after I stopped using it.

I’ve

done some reading on dizziness because my doctors can’t find a direct

cause. Inner ear problems are the most common cause of dizziness, so your

daughter could certainly have issues if she’s also dealing with

allergies. I do have tinnitus, but my doctor says I don’t have any inner

ear issues that could cause dizziness. My neurologist has made some

suggestions as to the cause, but the tests I’ve had so far haven’t

revealed any direct cause of dizziness (no brain tumor!) At the moment,

my neurologist thinks the dizziness is triggered by my spinal issues; I have

vertebra damage in my neck along with lumbar and thoracic, and the bouts of

dizziness tend to appear when I’m moving my spine in a certain way. But

they also occur in the middle of the night when I’m not moving much. He

tested me for Chiari’s malformation – have you asked about that in

regards to your daughter? One of the symptoms is dizziness, and it is can

show up in adolescence… Not to worry you or anything, since it isn’t

all that common a condition. I have a lot of symptoms common to Chiari’s

malformation, but don’t have the bone abnormalities.

Oh,

I had several months when I dealt with vaso-vagal syncope, which is fainting

accompanied by severe nausea, vertigo and drops in body temperature. The

vertigo was extreme, and so was the nausea, during these episodes.

That turned out to be intermittent pressure on my vagus nerve caused by a large

ovarian cyst that had to be removed (along with all the other reproductive

organs). Once I’d had the hysterectomy, the vaso-vagal syncope

stopped and hasn’t returned. I’m not sure what tests there

are for vagus nerve abnormalities, but there might be something. Does

your daughter get other symptoms when she feels dizzy?

My

primary care physician suspects the dizziness is more likely to be triggered by

my metabolism. I’m not yet convinced, but am keeping an open mind

and am paying attention so I can find a possible connection.

So

I’m still trying to find the causes of my frequent bouts of dizziness and

vertigo. I get both kinds. At the moment I lean more towards a

spinal trigger, but since my metabolism is poor and I’m also dealing with

a lot of neuropathies and neuromuscular issues, any or all of this is probably

a factor. I just cope as best I can. Usually the bouts

of dizziness don’t last more 10 minutes, so I just wait it out.

If

you haven’t seen a neurologist yet, that might be a helpful option.

Kim M.

SCD 6 years

Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction 6+ years

neurological & spinal deterioration 3+ years

[Guest guest]

If my DH's allergies are severe and he's really clogged up, he will get

dizzy and off-balance. It's so hard to keep those eustachian tubes

clear when your body is so intent on squeezing more liquid into your

sinuses.

If it is an inner ear thing, it could take several sessions for the

therapy to work.

FWIW, what I've learned about the SSRI drugs (had to switch my Mom over

to a different one), is that you do have to make changes slowly, and it

generally takes about 4-6 weeks.

Hope your DD gets some relief soon !

Sue