Daily episodes of either vertigo, dizziness and/or ataxia for 4 months

Posted by kdalda75 @kndaustin71, Apr 10 11:09am

Have had the above mentioned symptoms for 4 months following a surgical procedure for COPD Zephyr Valves. Breathing is great but am haunted with vertigo, ataxia, migraine auras with and without headaches. Three ENT Dr. have brushed it off to Neuro once the word Aura is mentioned. Am quite miserable, depressed and at my ropes end. Have not found a clinician who is truly interested in resolution of the problem. Otherwise, am a healthy, could be more active 75 y/o!

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I hear you - I have similar problems. Hang in there God loves you.

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@kndaustin71 Symptoms of vertigo and muscular headaches on the back of the head can be caused by spine issues if a muscle spasm has shifted spinal alignment. I am a cervical spine surgery patient, and this happened to me before I had a C5/C6 fusion surgery. My physical therapist was able to work on my muscles to get my spine better aligned and stop the symptoms. It might be worth asking your doctor about a physical therapy evaluation or some imaging of your neck to see if there are any degenerative spine issues that may trigger muscle spasms. Physical therapy can help a lot and may be a simple solution.

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@kndaustin71
I have many neurological issues and it sounds like you would benefit from some testing and assessment by a neurologist. Balance issues and dizziness can lead to falls which are a serious risk for you that you want to prevent. You may have been impacted neurologically by your COPD surgical procedure. Good luck getting answers and help from a neurologist.

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@dlydailyhope Thank you ! I am being followed by neurologist office! An NP! practically impossible to see a physician these days. Am well aware of the fall risk especially with osteoporosis... I contend that a neuro-otologist should be quite capable of medically managing vestibular pathology however once they hear there may be a migraine component they're too anxious to refer back to the neurologist!
@jenniferhunter I am beginning to think that there is a cervical component to my issues as I also have cervical spondylosis from C-1 to T-1...So will discuss this coming week with an actual MD from the neuro dept.
Just not holding out alot of hope! Thanks to all for the responses. Makes me feel not quite as alone!

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@kndaustin71

@dlydailyhope Thank you ! I am being followed by neurologist office! An NP! practically impossible to see a physician these days. Am well aware of the fall risk especially with osteoporosis... I contend that a neuro-otologist should be quite capable of medically managing vestibular pathology however once they hear there may be a migraine component they're too anxious to refer back to the neurologist!
@jenniferhunter I am beginning to think that there is a cervical component to my issues as I also have cervical spondylosis from C-1 to T-1...So will discuss this coming week with an actual MD from the neuro dept.
Just not holding out alot of hope! Thanks to all for the responses. Makes me feel not quite as alone!

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@kndaustin71
I have congenital spinal stenosis (cervical and lumbar), degenerative disc disease, spondylosis, cervical spondylitic myelopathy (c5-c6) which required ACDF surgery. Cervical spine issues can affects head/neck, arms/hands, legs/feet. I had daily headaches, dizziness, balance issues, difficulty walking and controlling my bladder as a result of the spinal cord compression. It might be good to have a neurologist do some MRI/MRN/EMG/nerve conduction testing. Good luck!

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@jenniferhunter

@kndaustin71 Symptoms of vertigo and muscular headaches on the back of the head can be caused by spine issues if a muscle spasm has shifted spinal alignment. I am a cervical spine surgery patient, and this happened to me before I had a C5/C6 fusion surgery. My physical therapist was able to work on my muscles to get my spine better aligned and stop the symptoms. It might be worth asking your doctor about a physical therapy evaluation or some imaging of your neck to see if there are any degenerative spine issues that may trigger muscle spasms. Physical therapy can help a lot and may be a simple solution.

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@kndaustin71 I just went thru a failed lumbar surgery and found out I have spinal stenosis and I also have bulging disc in my neck. My neck is really tight. Any chance you had Tinnitus before the cervical surgery I’m wondering if you did did it improve? Are you satisfied having the cervical surgery or wish you would have dealt with the pain ?

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I'm sorry that you did not get relief. I actually have not had surgery on my cervical spine, and have yet to be evaluated for it. I do not have tinnitius, just really vertigo, light-headedness, and migraine auras sometimes with headache and sometimes without. This is usually on a daily basis. The surgery that I had was for my lungs....I had valves placed to make it easier to breath & which has helped tremendously. I was thinking that perhaps the cervical stenosis may be a contributing factor to the unrelenting vertigo, dizziness and unbalance feeling when I walk. Hopefully, the Neuro physician can shed some light. I'm not holding any faith tho'. I have lost a lot of confidence in the capabilities of my particular medical community.

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@sbtheplumber1

@kndaustin71 I just went thru a failed lumbar surgery and found out I have spinal stenosis and I also have bulging disc in my neck. My neck is really tight. Any chance you had Tinnitus before the cervical surgery I’m wondering if you did did it improve? Are you satisfied having the cervical surgery or wish you would have dealt with the pain ?

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@sbtheplumber1 I have tinnitus that seems to be related to antibiotic use and is increased by allergies. I had an ACDF at C5/C6 and it had no effect on the tinnitus. I also do have thoracic outlet syndrome, neck tightness, and jaw tightness, so that may be involved too.

I am glad I had the cervical fusion and it did relieve all the pain I had before surgery, and it restored the coordination in my arms. Prior to surgery, I had pain all over my body from spinal cord compression.

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@jenniferhunter Thanks for the info. I have had the tinnitus for years and it’s getting worse I hear it over most people’s voices. Hearing doctor couldn’t find nothing and since I have moderate hearing loss they’ve ordered hearing aids . I chose the rechargeable kind so I’m not dealing with batteries and I can wear them at night to play sounds to drowned out the tinnitus I hope thru them. After the failed back surgery I’m a little nervous doing a neck surgery.

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@kndaustin71 I was diagnosed with Ataxia about 6 months ago. I have had balance issues for many years but over the last year, it has gotten so bad I can’t walk outside without a walker.
The Ataxia is also giving me double vision so I can no longer drive. That’s a crushing blow!
Ataxia is the result of damage to the cerebellum. I have atrophy there.
My neurologist said that there is nothing that can be done about it.

I was also recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Dementia. The new medication for people who have mild dementia is Leqembi. I was approved by Medicare and start next week. It’s 27% effective…better than nothing.

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