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Headache / Dizziness - HELP
Dec 23, 2022 I was driving home from the store and felt a wave pain from my left shoulder across my chest and got extremely dizzy/faint. Ended up blacking out. I pulled over because I thought I was having a heart attack. My heart started racing, got up to almost 200 beats per minute, Chest tightness, couldn’t breathe, etc. I was take. By ambulance to the hospital and diagnosed with palpitations and sent home as my numbers returned to normal.
New Years Day returned to the hospital with another episode. Did CT scans, stated it was palpitations and sent me home. I felt extreme headache, dizziness, ear pain, chest pain. Add anxiety and not sleeping because I was scared.
Jan 5th went back to the ER as the headache would not get better. Did head CT and no aneurysm or anything. Gave me meds and sent me home. Medication helped for a few days and headache returned worse than ever.
Been in and out of ER with scans and whatnot since. One doctor suggested musculoskeletal pain, nerve pain, etc. Saw cardiology in the beginning of April and heart monitors came back with no sign of arrhythmia. I do have inverted t-waves and with a family history of CAD, they scheduled an echo stress test in May.
I saw ophthalmology and was cleared with nothing wrong (except dry eyes) from their perspective.
I had an MRI on my brain and it showed “There are a few punctate nonspecific white matter lesions left
frontal lobe, can be
associated with seizures, migraines, vasculitis, versus atypical multiple
sclerosis” but i do not see neuro for a few weeks.
My acid reflux is horrible. I wake up with burning and sore throat and pain in my neck (most likely from acid reflux) been taking famotodine and tums. This morning i noticed a small lump on my neck. Wondering if that could be causing my headaches and dizziness?
This all started in December and I am not sure what other route to take. I feel as if my PCP is getting annoyed and passing me off on the NP. I have headaches and am constantly dizzy. All my blood work is normal (including thyroid panel). It is affecting my daily life. I just want to go back a few months and feel the way i used too. Any suggestions? Thoughts?
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Could you be experienced migraines? I get migraine associated vertigo even when I do not have a headache.
Good luck,
Kat
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1 ReactionI don’t think so. I get migraines and have for years. But I do not think the dizziness for almost five months now is related to migraines :/ there is no relief at all
The fact that it is starting to affect my daily life is debilitating. I cannot drive. I cannot get through a full work day. I cannot be there 100% for my children. I just want to feel better. I was hoping someone would have a similar experience.
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1 Reaction@jlmunson88 Welcome to Connect. Your experience sounds a bit like vertigo. I have experienced vertigo as a spine patent, and because muscle spasms can rotate vertebrae independently, (as it did in my case), that can be a reason for vertigo to happen. The vertebral arteries run up inside the sides of the neck vertebrae, and a muscle spasm twisting the vertebrae can stretch them altering part of the blood supply to the brain. Another condition that can cause blacking out can be thoracic outlet syndrome which I have also. That can cut off blood supply to brain in the neck, and also affect circulation to the arms and hands. My hands used to turn blue and get cold. When cervical vertebrae rotate it causes headaches very much like a migraine usually worse on one side because the muscles connecting the head and neck are getting over stretched by the spasms that pull the bones out of alignment. When my C1 & C2 rotated, it caused vertigo with spinning as well as the headache. Physical therapy helps that a lot, but it can happen again if there is a muscular imbalance between the sides of the neck.
Have you had a spine injury such as a whiplash? You may want to consult a doctor about your neck in case you have an undiagnosed spine problem. Thoracic outlet syndrome is missed by most doctors, so it's best to see a vascular specialist or chest surgeon in a teaching hospital or medical center that treats TOS and lists it on their website as a condition they treat.
Mayo would be an excellent place for diagnosis if you can get there. A physical therapist may also be able to help and would be able to treat TOS if this is related to vertebrae that are getting rotated. This has not been a problem for me since I had a cervical fusion that corrected the spine issues.
Here is some information about TOS:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/thoracic-outlet-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20353988
https://mskneurology.com/how-truly-treat-thoracic-outlet-syndrome/
https://mskneurology.com/atlas-joint-instability-causes-consequences-solutions/
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4 ReactionsHi
It's a good idea to see a neuro it could be a form of epilepsy or it could be some form of a migraine as they affect people differently
Good luck
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2 ReactionsI got an appt with Neurology tomorrow afternoon! Thank you! 🫶🏻
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1 ReactionHave your blood pressure checked while sitting and standing.
muns 5
Wow....have you seen a neurologist?
What did the neurologist say?