Vertigo

[Cherit]

Hi Everyone,
Yesterday morning I awoke like any other morning, (except I was visiting my brother in another state). When I got out of bed, all was fine. I laid back down for a few minutes, then sat up to drink some coffee at which point my vision went totally haywire! Double vision, triple vision, crooked vision. No spinning effect, but any movement of my eyes or body made it much worse. Closing one eye helped a little, closing both eyes helped alot. Also it was very hard to look at anything, as if I were looking at the sun, I could only squint, then look away. I had no nausea, but I'm not prone to motion sickness. Also, if I tried to stand up or walk I would lean to the left. Had my husband not been hanging onto me, he said I would have fallen over like a tree. No other symptoms at all.
I began feeling better after a couple hours, but didn't return to normal until about 8 hours later.
Does this sound like vertigo? Maybe some sort of a migraine? I did awake with a very dull, mild headache. Any information provided would be most appreciated. I don't EVER want to experience this again.
Thanks in advance..Cherit

[jrona33]

Hi Cherit, I'm actually on this forum because I've been experiencing the same thing for several months now almost daily. The doctor said it was migraine aura without the headache. If you have a history of migraine with aura then you're likely to experience the aura without the headache from time to time (from what I've gathered from reading a bunch of articles online). I'd say that's what it is especially since you had sensitivity to light along with your other symptoms (as sensitivity to light is a tell-tale sign for me of migraine). I actually went to the ear nose and throat doctor b/c I thought I had an inner ear problem but it turns out to be migraine. I was actually going to ask a very similar question to yours but I wanted you to at least know you aren't the only one. I rarely get migraine with pain anymore-just a dizziness and confusion like I don't know where my body is in space...it's almost like an out of body experience sometimes accompanied by a lot of brain "fog". I've failed on every preventative medication out there so I'm looking into changing my diet to see if that helps. I've been reading about MSG (they hide it in many foods now and label it with different names so even if you're reading labels you can easily miss it) and Aspartame-both excitotoxins (key word toxin!) and have decided to give up both completely. If you'd like me to send you articles I've found let me know and I'll be glad to share. I know what you're going through-I'm right there with you-and it's very frustrating! Oh, and what you're experiencing is vertigo but if you have a history of migraine then it probably isn't peripheral (ear related) but rather neurological...but I guess you gathered that, huh? :) Take care and I hope you feel better! (I hope this made sense-I have a migraine without headache right now and I'm spacey lol)

[Cherit]

Thanks for the information, I appreciate it. I have no history of migranes or vertigo though, would that change anything?... I will be 58 yrs. old in September, and consider myself very healthy. I take no medications, and try to exercise regularly, usually swimming at least three times a week.
I cannot imagine dealing with this type thing daily!! Bless your heart....you must just stay put, because going anywhere in that condition would be dangerous.
If you'd like to send me those articles you've found interesting, I would love to read them. You can send them to my email address which is [moderator note: e-mail address has been removed]
Thanks again for responding and letting me know I'm not crazy and this does happen to other people.
Hope your symptoms go away and stay away real soon!
Cherit

[jrona33]

Cherit, Now that I know your age and that you have no history of migraine that changes everything. Your chance of having migraine decreases after age 40 and quite dramatically after age 50. It is highly unlikely you would develop migraines after age 50. Some people have them after age 50, my grandmother still gets them, but if you have no history of it then it's very unlikely you'd start now. All of the signs that you mentioned before are signs of migraine but are also warning signs of STROKE. Please see a doctor immediately!! You can appear perfectly healthy and still be at risk for stroke. My step father and grandfather are both stroke victims and every minute is precious so the sooner you get to the doctor the better. I don't want to scare you but this is very serious. Your episode on Sunday may just be a warning of what could be soon to come. I'd go to the doctor tonight, even the ER triage to get checked out. My step father ignored the warning signs and he now requires around the clock care. If you go to the ER tonight and they say your bloodwork is fine then no harm done, right? If you go tonight and they find something you may have saved your own life. There are preventative medications they can give you if you're at risk. I'm convinced this is totally neurological instead of an inner-ear problem because the visual disturbances are neurological symptoms and not inner ear symptoms plus there was only dizziness and no room-spinning effect to indicate that the inner ear is to blame. I've heard of stroke victims whose warning signs were just simple vertigo problems in the beginning. Please let me know how you're doing and keep me updated!!

The American Heart Association's website states the most common warning signs of stroke are:
* Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
* Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
* Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
* Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
* Sudden, severe headache with no known cause