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Chronic Headaches and Dizziness: Treatment at Mayo Clinic?

Posted by churchaustin2 @churchaustin2, Nov 5, 2021

Hi,

I am from Canada and I am looking to potentially get treatment for my wife at the Rochester location.

She has had chronic headaches and dizziness for over 2 months now. The headaches are there everyday and ranges in severity from around 2/10 to 6/10 in terms of pain. The dizziness comes and goes. She was prescribed triptans which don't seem to work and neither do over the counter pain medications. She also has a stiff/sore neck but the doctors have ruled out meningitis. We initially thought it was a tension headache but it has not gone away.

She has been referred to a neurologist and an MRI for her brain but there is a long back log and don't even have a date set yet. So now we are exploring other options. I'm not even sure where to start with booking at the MAYO Clinic. There are a lot of options for booking appointments. So, firstly I am hoping someone can give me direction on what kind of appointment I could book for her?

Thank you

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j67topher | @j67topher | May 18 8:10am
In reply to @missybelle "My dizziness was not like vertigo. I had a pressure and full feeling in my head..." + (show)
@missybelle

My dizziness was not like vertigo. I had a pressure and full feeling in my head and my eyes felt like I was dragging along in almost a swaying environment. Riding in the car to various doctors was very hard. I think one of the hardest parts of this was trying to get a diagnosis. I had the primary doctor, the neurologist, the eye and hearing exams, the brain MRI, all while the docs were coming up with nothing. Finally the ENT showed me a video and asked “Is this what you are seeing?” Bingo! She diagnosed PPPD and suggested SSRI type antidepressant which for some reason helps with this and Vestibular Rehabilitation. I’m not taking an SSRI but my mental health therapist said the one I’m taking is very similar so we didn’t change that. Most docs I saw are completely unfamiliar with PPPD as it’s a relatively new term. The rehab therapist made sure to rule out regular vertigo which probably comes and goes in spells. Mine was all day every day. I was able to read and watch tv so when I wasn’t in motion I was comfortable. It’s pretty scary stuff researching on the internet so I would just ask an ear, nose and throat doctor. Sounds like you have a lot going on. My neurologist thought I was having silent migraines and had never heard of PPPD. I’ve never had a migraine in my life so I did not go along with her assessment. Since I just got better over time with a few sessions of vestibular therapy and doing the exercises at home, I think I had a true case of PPPD. Hang in there and I hope you can get things sorted out.

Jump to this post

How long did you have PPPD? Are you over it now?

REPLY
mikayla | @mikaylar | May 19 8:58am

I have had headache/dizziness for 5 yrs/9 mos all day/every day. Neurologists cannot figure it out. I treat in Philly at Jefferson Headache Center. There may not be an answer I am afraid.

REPLY
Moderator
Lisa Lucier, Moderator | @lisalucier | May 30 8:30am
In reply to @aggie82 "What is pppd?" + (show)
@aggie82

What is pppd?

Jump to this post

Hi. @aggie82. PPPD is Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness.

@j67topher - how has the PT/vestibular therapy gone?

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