Post-Covid dizziness/off-balance, as most troubling symptom

Hi All

Very similar. Feeling of fullness in ears/pressure changes. As thought there is water present but scans show none. Feeling unbalanced - especially in large areas, walking on a track with lines (walking in grass is easier). Pressure in head an face as though there was a sinus problem but there isn't. Tingling in jaw and around the ear area on side of head. Never actually diagnosed with COVID but started 3 days after being exposed to multiple people at a conference who came down with it. Have had MRI's, MRA's, but nothing seems to help. Some days better than others. Can ride a road bike no problem. Tried the baseball cap idea but no luck. Hope everyone feels better and will let you know if come across anything that helps.

God Bless you for living with this for 40 years!

I had severe vertigo for the first few weeks after my Covid infection in Dec 21/Jan 22. Falling down, clutching furniture type vertigo. Then it became generalized dizziness for months, no rhyme or reason. In the past two months, I have fallen down twice. No memory of falling (I still lose time in general) but I recently injured myself. I was home, thankfully. But I just wake up on the floor, seconds later. (When I lose time, it is for longer.) If it matters, most of my symptoms are neurocognitive. I also have essential tremor in one hand. Sometimes I feel like I’m vibrating inside. Rapid pulse with palpitations when lying down. I’ve always had migraines, but they are now more frequent and more often with aura. I am so tired of this. Oh - also have distorted sense of taste/smell. Not as bad as others.

My US pharmacist brought in a big bottle of meclazine 25mg for me to buy rather than the little bottles of otc 6-8 pills. You might ask if your pharmacist could do that for you. It was inexpensive and will last me a good long while.

A month after covid, I awoke to severe vertigo (spinning in my head) that caused nystagmus in my eyes for probably 5-10 minutes. I thought it was BPPV, but it wasn't. I ended up with 24/7 spinning vertigo for 5-6 months. Did lots of things in the meantime (P T., saw an ENT, had a brain MRI, lots of lab work, scheduled appt w/ neurologist). I had LOTS of other symptoms that went along with the vertigo (tremors, such severe, extreme fatigue, tingling all over my body, daily migraines began, etc. )

WHAT HELPED? Neurologist found I was low on ferritin, so she had me begin taking iron every other day. My vertigo then began to be more intermittent. Another neurologist said I'd had Wernicke's encephalopathy which had left me with brain damage which could be permanent. I finally also was referred to an immunologist due to low immunoglobulin M, but he's the person who REALLY helped me! My 3 brain MRIs all showed "moderate mucousal thickening" and two mucous retention cysts in my right sphenoid sinus. So, he had me begin a sinus regimen that has almost kicked my symptoms to the curb completely ... after 13 mos of suffering! I now do a daily sinus rinse with NeilMed products. In the morning & at night, I use 2 sprays in each nostril of Azelistine 0.1% (aka Asteline). During the day, I take 2 sprays in each nostril of OTC Fluticasone (aka Flonase). At bedtime, in addition to the Azelistine nasal spray, I also take 2 pills: OTC 10 mg Cetrizine (aka Zyrtec) & 10 mg montelukast (aka Singulair).

I started breathing better the very first night I used the montelukast! And my symptoms have VASTLY improved in the 2 months I've been on this regimen! The brain fog and vertigo feeling in my head is nearly completely gone now!

I hope and pray that this info can help someone else. Blessings, all!

First - where do you live to get such care? Two neurologists three brain MRIs and a immunologist - I'm looking to relocate. All kidding aside, would you recommend going straight to an immunologist? I have all the same symptoms and would like to move directly to the cure

I had Covid in June 22.
In late August I started having vertigo symptoms. I had vertigo in the late 80’s that lasted a few days then another bout in 2010 that lasted a week. My GP said they are seeing vertigo after Covid especially in women. She started me on Claritin and Flonase spray. Vertigo got better then it keeps coming back.

Yesterday while talking to my lung doctor I mentioned the vertigo.
After answering some questions he said it could be Mineres Disease. He sent a letter to my GP advising her of his thoughts. I have a regular check up with her in a few weeks and I will discuss this with her.
Please google Covid vertigo.
Good luck.

I live in the middle of Kansas. And, believe me, I had to fight hard and wait for MONTHS to have these various tests done and/or to be seen by a neurologist. It was not fun. But, when a 57-year-old previously completely healthy woman can suddenly not move her feet at times, and the rest of the time she has to hang onto walls, use a cane or walker, or have her arm held by someone in order to move, something is clearly wrong. That's why they kept doing MRIs on me. They thought I'd had a stroke. But, in the end, it turned out that wasn't the case.

Yes, I would recommend going straight to an immunologist/allergist first if your vertigo symptoms don't appear to be BPPV which can be remedied through simple head exercises. My immunologist did more for me in my first 10-minute telemed appt than my PCP, my ENT, my PT, my rheumatologist, and all the technicians and doctors who ran all these other tests for me (3 brain MRIs, a head & neck CT, an EKG, an EEG, a 5-day in-home EEG study with video, a nerve conduction EMG study, plus more blood work than I can even remember).

In the meantime, while you wait to see an immunologist, I suggest you try daily nasal rinses with NeilMed Sinus Rinse (or a generic), start using OTC fluticasone (Flonase is a brand name) nasal spray, and take 1-2 OTC Zyrtec (or generic) allergy tablets per day. If those things help, you might not even need to see an immunologist. But the immunologist would be able to prescribe the montelukast (brand name Singulair) pills which, for me, I believe are 1 of the things that helped me the most. The immunologist also prescribed the Azelistine (Asteline) nasal spray for me which is the thing that seemed to finally get my head out of the vertigo fog feeling.

Best of luck to you. I'd love to hear if any of this helped you.

Also 57 years old and very healthy before Covid. Coming up on a year and still dealing with dizziness. Physical therapy, ENT, neurologist visits and many “normal” tests and still dealing with this. Never thought of an allergist. Now I know my next step! Thank you for sharing!!

I'm new to this thread and reading the posts. I'll try to cram the timeline and my personal storyline in here as briefly as possible, but hopefully someone here can help in support. I got covid in late November 2020 (lost sense of taste and smell with nothing out of the ordinary). Fast forward a year later to November of 2021, and out-of-the- blue my right eye started twitching, followed by muscle twitching in my right arm, and then eventually all over my body which basically hasn't stopped. I then started experiencing heavy/dizzy/leaning feeling all the time and when walking, along with feeling fatigued and an abnormal feeling in my gait. I also experienced these weird internal vibrations while laying down at night, but mostly when I woke up in the morning. It was nothing that I have ever felt before in my life. I was finally able to get an MRI to scan for lesions on my brain and then met with my neurologist in January of 2022. The first MRI of my brain and top area of my neck came back normal and unremarkable. My neurologist then completed the EMG test and then another MRI, this time of my upper spine/cervical neck area. Both tests came back as normal. The Neurologist ruled out the scary ALS and stated she didn't think it was MS either. Though the tests all came back clear (which is a relief to negate the scary stuff), these symptoms, unfortunately, persist but with less internal vibrations interestingly enough. I still to this day have the heaviness and the "weighted down" feeling, as well as muscle twitches everywhere and wavy ripple-like muscle twitches in my legs. I have fatigue and especially in my right hand/arm when picking stuff up. I do plan to go back to the neurologist and re-test with an EMG, just to make sure muscle/nerves haven't degenerated.

For a span of maybe a month or two, these symptoms had lessened, but then have reared its ugly head again the past few weeks. I suppose the good news is that I don't feel I've deteriorated within the last 10/11 months as far as muscle degeneration, worsened fatigue, etc. However, the bad news is, it hasn't "gone away" like what many people have told me. I take magnesium at night, and I think that helps a little with the muscle spasms. If anyone can share their experiences with me and provide possible medications/supplements to help lessen the symptoms, it would be greatly appreciated.