Weird question, weird symptom

General
1

Okay, this is a new one on me. Please tell me if any of you have experienced it or not.

Yesterday I said I was feeling pretty good, not too much pain despite a day of torturous physical activity on Friday. True. But I also had the devil of allergy symptoms on Saturday. But that's not the issue.

Today I woke up feeling completely out of sorts. Not from pain (well, except the usual SI and back pain) but I felt dizzy all day. Like I was a bell and somebody was striking the gong every minute. I haven't changed my meds. or their dosage. I'm only on Effexor (an antidepressant,) Lyrica (for the pain,) and Valtrex. I've on rare occasion felt slightly light headed for a brief moment but today it was non-stop.

Any thoughts on this?

2

Allergies. for sure.

3

All three drugs you're on can cause hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). This could also be the problem, and definitely worth looking into.

Also - are you keeping well hydrated? Dehydration is another possibility.

Or...two of the drugs you're on can cause high blood pressure, and one low blood pressure - have you checked your blood pressure lately?

I hope you find the cause soon!

4

Thank you both! Sounds like I need to run this by my doctor to figure out what's what. I can't be driving around on my job, delivering meals if my head is spinning like that. I didn't realize the meds could do so much messing around with blood sugar and blood pressure.

5

Hi Pet,

Good advice there, I have bouts of that, sometimes even goes into vertigo, if I use the wrist bands for nausea, it straightes me right out, but have things checked first!

6

Good thinking Deb, you are so right!

7

Hello,

I was on Effexor and it caused me to be dizzy - how long have you been on it? Allergies are very bad this year too - I almost ripped my eyeballs out yesterday.

8

Hi Petunia, I haven't had this experience myself, but my husband deals with vertigo and dizzy spells. We are going through testing right now with the ENT office and the Cardiologist. Sometimes no reason is found but there is one thing that has been said that makes sense. In the ear there is a fluid level that sometimes accumulates too much. When this happens it can cause our equilibrium to get off and cause dizziness. Sometimes this is related to allergies and other times it just happens. Sorry I don't have any better help for you, feel better soon and please don't be driving.

9

If you wake up with it, its likly Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo. Not uncommon with folks at age 50. Basically you are getting some salt or calcium deposits floating in your middle ear. There are a bunch of positional things you can do (contortions in my book) that will float them off to an area of the ear where they don't cause so much trouble. An ent will take you through them. They usually dissolve on their own. They really don't know why, but it does seem women going through the "change" and folks with joint problems and osteo get it more often. Its almost like being car sick'

For some reason candied ginger helps some folks. It works for motion sickness too along with the "wrist bands" Or you can try the Brandt -Daroff excercises. This involves a specific series of movements that the patient performs alone or with the doctor or physical therapist. The specific set of maneuvers is listed below:

1. From a sitting position, turn your head 45 degrees to the opposite side, then lay on the affected ear DOWN. Stare at an object about 8 feet away and wait for the dizziness to resolve and stay there for about 1 minute.

2. When the dizziness resolves, sit up and stare at the same object until the dizziness is over.

3. Then perform this in the opposite direction.

4. Repeat steps 1, 2, and 3 three times.

If you have a cervical collar, slap that baby on. it helps too.

Or a good decongestant to clear the sinuses..... Allergies are horrible this year and the sinuses will fill up while sleeping......

10

Still not feeling too groovy today but have to add quickly that TNTlamb has a lot of knowledge and it's fun to read his responses. As soon as I shake WHATEVER this is (I'm thinking it may be a virus at this point, then I want to look at his response an pay more attention to it. When my brain is back on.

11



tntlamb said:

If you wake up with it, its likly Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo. Not uncommon with folks at age 50. Basically you are getting some salt or calcium deposits floating in your middle ear. There are a bunch of positional things you can do (contortions in my book) that will float them off to an area of the ear where they don't cause so much trouble. An ent will take you through them. They usually dissolve on their own. They really don't know why, but it does seem women going through the "change" and folks with joint problems and osteo get it more often. Its almost like being car sick'

For some reason candied ginger helps some folks. It works for motion sickness too along with the "wrist bands" Or you can try the Brandt -Daroff excercises. This involves a specific series of movements that the patient performs alone or with the doctor or physical therapist. The specific set of maneuvers is listed below:

1. From a sitting position, turn your head 45 degrees to the opposite side, then lay on the affected ear DOWN. Stare at an object about 8 feet away and wait for the dizziness to resolve and stay there for about 1 minute.

2. When the dizziness resolves, sit up and stare at the same object until the dizziness is over.

3. Then perform this in the opposite direction.

4. Repeat steps 1, 2, and 3 three times.


If you have a cervical collar, slap that baby on. it helps too.

Or a good decongestant to clear the sinuses..... Allergies are horrible this year and the sinuses will fill up while sleeping......

12

lamb,

Petunia and I would like for you to make a video demonstrating exactly how to do this, it is just not quite clear to us. Please? I'm sure Seenie would like to see it too!

SK said:



tntlamb said:

If you wake up with it, its likly Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo. Not uncommon with folks at age 50. Basically you are getting some salt or calcium deposits floating in your middle ear. There are a bunch of positional things you can do (contortions in my book) that will float them off to an area of the ear where they don't cause so much trouble. An ent will take you through them. They usually dissolve on their own. They really don't know why, but it does seem women going through the "change" and folks with joint problems and osteo get it more often. Its almost like being car sick'

For some reason candied ginger helps some folks. It works for motion sickness too along with the "wrist bands" Or you can try the Brandt -Daroff excercises. This involves a specific series of movements that the patient performs alone or with the doctor or physical therapist. The specific set of maneuvers is listed below:

1. From a sitting position, turn your head 45 degrees to the opposite side, then lay on the affected ear DOWN. Stare at an object about 8 feet away and wait for the dizziness to resolve and stay there for about 1 minute.

2. When the dizziness resolves, sit up and stare at the same object until the dizziness is over.

3. Then perform this in the opposite direction.

4. Repeat steps 1, 2, and 3 three times.


If you have a cervical collar, slap that baby on. it helps too.

Or a good decongestant to clear the sinuses..... Allergies are horrible this year and the sinuses will fill up while sleeping......

13

Here some pics:

Here's some pictures:

http://www.drtbalu.com/BPPV.html

Don't confuse these with the Monica Brants Exercise video series (tape one is Butt sculpting)

14

Could be allergies or vertigo symptoms. I have had vertigo before when my PsA symptoms have been very bad.

15

lamb, surely you know by now that I was 'egging you on'! We wanted to see YOU make the video! LOL!!

tntlamb said:

Here some pics:

Here's some pictures:

http://www.drtbalu.com/BPPV.html

Don't confuse these with the Monica Brants Exercise video series (tape one is Butt sculpting)

16

Hi Holly,

So sorry you had to go through this on top of everything else that goes with the dreaded PsA, please don't think I am taking any of this lightly, you just came in here in the middle of a joke! I am teasing 'the lamb'!!

Hope you are all having a good, pain free day!

SK



Holly5 said:

Could be allergies or vertigo symptoms. I have had vertigo before when my PsA symptoms have been very bad.

17

I don’t know if it’s the same thing, but I’ve had episodes when my face flushes and I feel lighted-headed. I think it was because the flare caused my blood vessels to dilate and my blood pressure fell, too. Maybe you should get you BP checked…

18

My BP is always a very solid normal, just a bit low, when my SI joints and curling tailbone from the Stenosis goes to the level of being intractable it can go quite high, my GP does not want me in pain, he wants me to take Opioids as a maintence drug, I will not do this. I take them to break pain cycles or if the pain is so great that I think that I want to go to the Hospital, and you can trust me when I tell you that I NEVER want to go there! There is also a pain in the ribs that has been severe, Doc has even had to give me Demerol shots in the Sternum area! WHEW!! He is the only one I would trust to do this. I get so bad I can barely pick up a coffee cup or dinner plate. It does break the cycle, I can get 'crashed' in bed for long periods, the dope does help either break or prevent that.

My DC is also a personal friend, he cannot advise me on meds, but he can walk me to the car and say "Susan, as your friend, I think you should take the pain meds"! In case anyone would be unfamiliar with Chiropractors, they do not like or believe in narcotic use, but he knows it is better than me being in bed for weeks, even months.

As for BP, no worries there, my Doc is most concerned that there is something yet undetected, as good as he is, he insists that I additionally go to a Rheum, and I know that this is the reason. They keep looking for Lupus or MS or something in the neighborhood to show up.

lamb and Rich have given me some good possibilities for the lower back area, there are also disc and facet problems there. I have just started doing my own research into those possibilities.

I additionallly have Secondary Raynaud's Syndrome, and possiby Scleoderma so my hands and wrists can get bad at the slightest exposure to cold, even a cold drink in my hand for a moment can put me into orbit! Those blood vessels constrict, in the Winter my gal has a terrible time drawing blood, has to use a Premie needle! It never seems to drop it too low.

I think I'm rambling now, not sure I answered your question or not, I think Deb gets something like this as well, she left a comment on 'undiagnosed attacks' that kind of touches on all of this.

When the Immune system goes into overdrive, who knows the crazy things it can do to us!?

Hope you are having a very good day!

SK

19

Wow, tntlamb, that was fascinating information! Thank you. I'm going to cut, paste and keep it for future reference. I THINK it was a virus, as it turns out, but am not 100 percent positive. So I'm really pleased to have your info. I know of someone that this happened to you, as you explained, and it was terrible for her. Again, thanks again for this dynamite info.

20

SK, you seem to have a lot on your plate, to put it mildly. I'm not sure how you put up with the levels of pain that you do in as many areas as you do. I couldn't do it. The rib pain sounds AWFUL. I've heard that pain in the rib area is AWFUL. Makes since as you are perpetually twisting in that area throughout the day. I've read your other thread about myofacial pain and those terrifying seizures. I wish your docs could figure out what's going on with you.


Thank you to everyone who wrote with your input. I'm going to keep it all for future reference, if this pops up again, as it's aggravating to experience and impossible to get through the working day with it. Hopefully it was just a one-off from a virus.