Tell me why I've been dizzy for the past 24 hours
 

Yes yes, I know, see a doctor... I will, but it's not an emergency so I won't be going until tomorrow.

So, maybe you can help me figure it out before then and maybe I won't even need to go anymore!

For some reason I started feeling dizzy yesterday afternoon. It was really hot outside, so I thought maybe I was dehydrated and I drank some water. When that didn't help, I thought maybe I was overtired - I didn't get a lot of sleep the night before - so I took a nap. When that didn't work, I thought maybe I hadn't eaten enough food so I ate some pasta and an apple. Still dizzy.

Sometimes it feels worse than others, but I've felt at least a little dizzy ever since yesterday afternoon and I can't for the life of me figure out why. I've never felt dizzy for an extended period of time before.

Any ideas? I'm getting really sick of this.

Have a bit of sugar. Get a teaspoon and get just a quarter of it and throw it in your mouth. Drink more water. Check on Web MD.

Last that time that happened to me I got ten shots in the arm and ten shots in the ass to widen my veins. Check with your doctor. Could be thinning blood vessels.

Magpie's RN student sister suggested that periodic bouts of dizziness may be caused by low iron.

These are all just guesses. You know what you need to do though, so I'll leave it at that.

Is it loss of equilibrium dizziness - unsteady on your feet? Or nauseous dizziness?
Have you noticed any irregular heartbeats? Any symptoms other than the dizziness?
You should probably go see a doctor asap regardless...

Mostly unsteady, the occasional feeling of nauseousness comes as a by-product.

No other symptoms that I've noticed. I feel otherwise fine except a somewhat (but barely) congested nose.

As for sugar, I had frosted mini-wheats for breakfast, and that didn't help.

Hard to believe it would be low iron considering I eat red meat fairly often, but who knows. I'll give it a try.

First off, don't take iron supplements. DON'T. I'll explain when I'm less tired.

Secondly, could be sinus trouble. Allergies and sinus infections can both mess with the inner ear and lead to dizziness. Do you have allergy trouble? Are you having any other sinus issues?

Probably not iron if you eat red meat often. Could it be stress?

Well, you already stated the obvious so my work here is done. Dizzyness is nothing to take lightly and asking for diagnosis here is - well - I don't know what to say that is PC.

Wasn't planning on iron supplements, actually I was just going to have a can of sardines :p

Anyway, onodrim and one of our friends seems to think it could be an inner ear thing, so onodrim is bringing me some pseudoephedrine. I don't have any allergies, but I do have a mildly congested sinus right now, so it's worth a shot.

---------- Post added at 08:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:47 PM ----------

This is a good time to plug the TFP mobile view by the way. Posting from bed!

If I had to guess, it's because Bear Cub rocked your world.

That's usually the cause.

if pseudoephedrine doesn't make you more dizzy, you're lucky. get your ears checked. and sinuses. i think that would be more likely for a sudden onset than something more major.

Get your blood vessels check. No joke.

inner ear seems like a plausible cause, as I get terrible dizzy spells when my allergies are acting up. My worst lasted 3 days, made me very nauseous and woozy feeling.

Pseudophed can make you jittery, so if you take it before bed, you might have insomnia. Eat a hot pepper or make a ginger/garlic tea. Or hell, add some hot pepper in a ginger and garlic tea, just boil them all and strain them. Add honey and lemon, and voila! your nose will run off your face.

Well, I took some Zyrtec and my sinus congestion is feeling better, but I actually feel more dizzy. Pseudoephedrine is supposed to help dizziness if it's an inner ear issue, so I guess that's not it.

Not much else I can think of to try tonight. We'll see what the doctor says tomorrow.

Medically, there are actually several different kinds of "dizzy".

Suddenly worse when you stand up or move? Experience of things moving around you, spinning or swaying, or that YOU'RE spinning or swaying even though you know you're not? That's Vertigo. Usually caused by inflammation in the inner ear, but can also be caused by migranes.

Feel off balance? Difficulty moving? Running into stuff or falling over (or feel like you might)? Disequilibrium. Common in the elderly, it can also be related to the inner ear, but more often has to do with a general dulling of sensory input.

Lightheaded? Muscle weakness? Feeling faint? Presyncope. Cardiovascular or neurological.

yeah I was just on webmd... vertigo seems to fit best

Have had it on a few occasions. Inner ear infection. Antibiotics were needed to clear it. And also Antivert (meclizine) to help relieve the dizziness and nausea. Antivert is relatively inexpensive and can be purchased from a pharmacy without a prescription.

Go to a Dr.

Wax build up in your ear(s.) It's fucking with your equilibrium. I get this once or twice a year. I have to hit a doc to pry it all out and get some antibiotics to prevent infection and / or kill the one I already have. If this is indeed your problem, you can't clean it yourself as it's embedded deep. And it'll take a lot of wax remover kits to put a dent in it.

Keep us posted.

How can I be the first to suggest "it's a tumor"? It's just as likely as anything else suggested here.

Smeth, you must have a previously-undisclosed deathwish if you're asking for this kind of medical advice under these circumstances from this peanut gallery.

Everyone who said "go to the doctor" please step up and collect your prize!

Yay! What do I get?

Well, like I said at the very beginning of my post, I will be going to the doctor today. Sheesh, is it so bad to talk with people beforehand? Some people are capable of reading health information on the internet and not immediately thinking they're dying you know ;)

Anyway, I think it's either an inner ear infection or dehydration, both of which would be odd since I've never experienced them before, but they seem most likely. If I had to put my money on one, I'd say dehydration, but I don't have a headache and I've been drinking more water since starting to feel this way and it hasn't gone away. The water does seem to make it a little better though, so maybe I'm just not drinking enough to make up for it yet.

Will it clean the oven?

And also, The_Jazz, this is just for you:

Smeth response = fail

Martian response = win

And you are dying. We all are. The only variables are "of what" and "how long". Sorry to not be Mr. Sunshine and Rainbows, but it's one of the few certainties of life.

If you're dehydrated to the point that its affecting your balance, then you should notice virtually no urine flow or highly acidic urine. And, and I say this seriously, you may be at risk for gout since that sort of dehydration is long-term.

Wow, gout, death and a tumor in two posts. That's got to be some sort of record, at least personally.

I got diagnosed with BPV

(Benign Positional Vertigo)

i've only had 2 serious episodes of it though, the dizziness was so bad, you're sitting completely still but it feels like some godlike deity reached down and SPUN THE SHIT OUT OF YOU.

The 1st time resulted in me trying to make it to the kitchen and getting some water to try and flush it out of me, whatever it may have been. Wound up diving head 1st in to the linoleum and spending 45 minutes like that apparently.
The 2nd time, I just crawled to the bathroom, longest crawl across the hallway ever... massive amounts of vomiting later, and a call from some craigslister who wanted to buy my Korg EM-1, I had him come buy it for 50$ off in trade for him taking me to the hospital.

They didn't do shit except stick me with a large bill for going "you have vertigo, we can give you something for it but it'll fuck you up in other ways detrimental to your feild of work because it makes you mentally unresponsive, it's kind of a dimmer.

So i was like "fuck that" and there ya go. My history with dizziness :p

Well yes, that's true. Kinda sucks, but I don't think I'm dying anytime soon, how's that? ;) Martian's response was good though... it has been awhile since I've seen Kindergarten Cop.

Actually, that's one reason I thought of it last night... I hadn't gone to the bathroom all day, and when I woke up at night to do so... well, it seemed acidic, I'll just leave it at that :p After drinking 3 glasses of water though, I went to the bathroom a couple hours later and all was fine.

Oddly, gout is one of those illnesses that does worry me more than it should. I had a teacher with gout. I do not want gout. Which is why - let's all say it together - I already plan on going to the doctor today ;)

Shauk: Thankfully, I'm not feeling that dizzy!

Smeth, I think you should go see a doctor.






Lack of reading comprehension skills aside, I find that italics do a much better job of highlighting important information than bold in TFP Green, which is my preferred skin.

And gout is a nasty, nasty disease. I know someone with it too, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. But a day of dehydration seems more likely to cause other issues before vertigo, but then again, I've got zero days of medical school under my belt along with the fact that I'm a well-known idiot, so what do I know?

And for the record, my immediate and consistent response to any sort of complaint above the shoulders is always "it's probably a tumor" and is stolen directly from "Kindergarten Cop". Just so you know. And knowing is half the battle.

I agree re: italics vs bold, but I already used italics earlier in the sentence so I wanted to differentiate :p

You're right about dehydration too. That I have no other symptoms is a major point against it, but considering I don't normally drink enough water and how hot it has been the past few days, it seems like a reasonable possibility. It fits more with my lifestyle than anything else I can think of.

I suggest you see a doctor! ASAP! It could be swine flu.

I agree with inner ear infection or wax buildup since there's no other symptons.

I'll toss in one more vote for ear infection. You can buy meclizine over the counter at any pharmacy for help with vertigo, but it won't get rid of infections.Your doctor will probably put you on antibiotics for a week or so if he thinks that's the problem - and he probably will. "Inner ear infection" is one of those CYA phrases doctors like to use when they have no clue what's wrong with you - right behind "Too much stress."

Lots of people have chronic bouts of vertigo - my Mom gets them at least twice a year - they put her out of commission for 7-10 days each time. My wife used to get them once a year, but has thankfully been spared the past few years.

Check your blood pressure - if it's normal, it's probably not a vascular issue

However, if you go a whole day without peeing, you are definitely dehydrated. Drink some Gatorade and water until it comes out clear

Well, the doctor guessed inner ear infection. I say guessed because it's not like he saw into my inner ear, it's just that the absence of other symptoms makes it the most likely culprit. Never had anything like this before, but unfortunately he says now that I've had it once I'm more likely to get it again.

Interestingly, he did not prescribe any antibiotics, just the meclizine.

SM - if you're likely to get it again, antibiotics really aren't going to be your friend in the long run. If you take them now and your body adapts, you're gonna be outta luck if it comes back and they have to find something else to combat.

Inner ear infections suck. So do Swimmer's ear infections.... pretty much any ear infection. Just be glad you don't have to put a hearing aid in the ear on top of the infection!

Yeah, I'm generally not a fan of antibiotics, just mentioned it in response to yournamehere. Given the option, I'd almost always prefer to let my body handle the healing on its own.

It could definitely be worse. This is the first ear infection of any sort I've ever gotten, so I'm lucky in that regard. I'd imagine they're especially more common if you have to wear a hearing aid regularly :(

ITS NOT A TUMOR!






My work here is done. Glad to hear that you're on the road to recovery and that I don't have to worry about you tumbling down a flight of stairs. I'll just go back to worrying about Ono pushing you down them.

Glad that's been wrapped up.

Here's to being Dizzy...even if just for a couple of days.

I mentioned it for two reasons:

1. Infections are caused by either bacteria or viruses. Antibiotics kill bacteria. Naturally, if it's a viral infection, no amount of antibiotics will help.

2. One of the reasons that we're in such a deep pile of sh!t regarding antibiotic-resistant bacteria is because so many doctors tend to prescribe it for anyone complaining about anything - it has a placebo effect and makes the patient feel like the doctor is being proactive and made a correct diagnosis. It's a very rare and brave doctor who is honest enough to say, "I'm not sure - let's give it a week and see where we are."

Hope the meclizine helps, SM70!

Holy crap what is wrong with his cheeks????!?!??

holy crap! is this the first time you've seen Dizzy?

Holy crap I think it is.

I vaguely remember them being large, but there is something altogether unnatural going on with those things!

Get your blood sugar level and blood pressure checked. This should be the first thing you do. Then have some blood drawn.