Vertigo?

[Pollito916]

What do you know about vertigo?

My mom wasn't feeling well today, she said it came on suddenly at work and she had to be driven home. She said she had a headache, then felt kind of dizzy, light-headed, and nauseous. She called my sister, who is an OR nurse, who called a dr she worked with who said it sounds like vertigo, caused by a viral infection. Ok, sounds reasonable, but I think mom should see her regular dr tomorrow to be sure. I offered to drive her. If she does have vertigo, it looks like there are multiple causes, not just viral, so how would this dr know that just talking on the phone to my sister?

I got in a huge fight with sister over this, b/c she thinks I am questioning her intelligence and abilities of her and the doctors she works with. Then she mentioned that the dr she called is an anesthesiologist. Am I crazy for thinking that mom should see her own dr that knows her medical history, instead of just taking the word of an anesthesiologist who diagnosed her over the phone 3rd person?? Is an anesthesiologist even qualified to make that type of diagnosis?

Also, my mom takes care of my DS3 on Fridays - if she has vertigo regardless of cause, will she be able to do so, or do I need to start looking for alternate childcare?

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

I can't see where going to your moms normal physician is a bad thing. First, she will physically looked at. Second, she will get peace of mind and so will you since she babysits.

My sister has vertigo and it can get really bad. She has a few medications that they have prescribed including a water pill. Hope your Mom feels better quick.

 

[Pollito916]

Bumping for more opinions.

Current update: my mom called this morning and still feels out of sorts. But she doesn't want to go to the doctor today, and I can't force her. She thinks my sister and her friend are qualified to make the diagnosis over the phone and doesn't see any point in going to her own doctor, even though she still feels like crap.

If the anesthesiologist is right that it is viral, should I be concerned about me & my son being around my mom? I am 34 weeks pregnant, so I wouldn't want to risk anything happening to the baby.

 

[starrzone]

What you're describing sounds just like what my friend has! It's called Vestibular Neuronitis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestibular_neuronitis .

It's been a bit disruptive to his daily life, and he's missed a few days of work because of it. It's not a contagious condition, so you don't need to worry about catching it. The only thing I'd worry about when your mother is taking care of your child is if she ever has to carry or drive him anywhere; when my friend's condition is bad (it sometimes varies; fine for a week, and then it gets worse), he pretty well likes to stay in bed. Of course, everyone is different! Oh, and he has gone to his family doctor (who said it was viral, the condition I mentioned above) and has an appointment with an ENT (ear, nose throat) doctor next week. I'd suggest your mother goes to see one of those specialists. Hope she's feeling better!

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I was diagnosed several years ago with positional vertigo. I told my doctor I would get dizzy if I rolled over in bed and changed the position of my head or sometimes if I leaned my head to the right when I was standing or sitting. She said there are little crystals in your inner ear that help keep your equalibrium. Sometimes the crystals shift and it can make you feel dizzy. She prescribed meclazine, which is the same ingredient in Bonine which you can get over the counter. I took it off and on for a few weeks until the dizziness stopped.

From what I've been told, there are many causes of vertigo (which basically means dizziness). Your mom would be best off being actually seen by a doctor to determine what is causing hers and how it should be treated. I do agree that she shouldn't go by what someone tells her over the phone. I can't believe a responsible doctor would even try to diagnose a patient he doesn't know and hasn't actually seen.

 

[Kirby]

I get vertigo from my allergies. They cause my inner ear to retain fluid. I suggest your mom see her doctor. Vertigo can be caused by a number of things and she should find out why she got it.

My vertigo used to hit about once every ten years until last year. It seemed I was having bouts of it every couple of weeks. I've had it under control for the last eight months but ragweed is blooming and I'm starting to feel off balance.

Good luck to your mom!

 

[LizEN]

I also came down with vertigo a few months ago and saw an ear nose and throat Dr for a diagnosis. there are many different kinds and she should see if they can nail down which one it may be. Since you are expecting, a call to your OB may be in order if only to allay your fears.

Generally it takes a few days to pass and is hardly ever as bad if it comes back. Check out the Mayo clinic site on vertigo, lots of good info there.

Good luck to you and your fam.

 

[jen0610]

What do you know about vertigo?

My mom wasn't feeling well today, she said it came on suddenly at work and she had to be driven home. She said she had a headache, then felt kind of dizzy, light-headed, and nauseous. She called my sister, who is an OR nurse, who called a dr she worked with who said it sounds like vertigo, caused by a viral infection. Ok, sounds reasonable, but I think mom should see her regular dr tomorrow to be sure. I offered to drive her. If she does have vertigo, it looks like there are multiple causes, not just viral, so how would this dr know that just talking on the phone to my sister?

I got in a huge fight with sister over this, b/c she thinks I am questioning her intelligence and abilities of her and the doctors she works with. Then she mentioned that the dr she called is an anesthesiologist. Am I crazy for thinking that mom should see her own dr that knows her medical history, instead of just taking the word of an anesthesiologist who diagnosed her over the phone 3rd person?? Is an anesthesiologist even qualified to make that type of diagnosis?

Also, my mom takes care of my DS3 on Fridays - if she has vertigo regardless of cause, will she be able to do so, or do I need to start looking for alternate childcare?

Sounds a lot like what my MIL had a couple of months ago. But she got it first thing in the morning, couldn't get outta bed it was so bad. FIL called our neice, who's a RN. She told him to give her meds and she would be right out. She got there, check MIL blood pressure and called the ambulance. At the hospital blood pressrue was in the 220-230/180-190 range!!! Needless to say, my 83 year old MIL stayed in the hospital for the weekend.

She was released on Monday and Tuesday, she was at her regular dr's office to follow up with him. While she knows that she was seen and treated by a very good card dr and staff at the hospital, she still wanted to get with her dr. Like you said, she knows him and trusts him and values what he has to say. In no way shape or form did our neice feel like grandma was slighting her, the hospital she works at, or the dr's and nurses she works with. And the bolded italicised is because while my MIL had this service that I typed done, your mom didn't and IMHO is basing her health on a half a$$ed diagnosis. Sorry if your sister is offended by you wanting your mom to see her regular Dr....but this is HER MOTHERS HEALTH she is dealing with. You don't feel right..GO TO THE DR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Jestocost]

I had a bout with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV)--which is the cause of about 20% of dizzyness--last year. My symptoms were actual room spinning with physical spinning sensations; not just a more generalized light headedness or dizzyness.

The most common cause is a blow to the head or some kind of head trauma, but it can be cause by a viral infection (like vestibular neuritis) too or even by dental work (due to how you're positioned in the chair). In a fairly high percentage of cases the original cause is never definitively identified.

Seeing a doctor would be advised as you can accurately diagnose only by an actual physical exam to check for nystagmus (jumping of the eyes).

You can treat the symptoms with motion sickness medications, but that's generally only if the nausea isn't tolerable. Otherwise, you can try to wait it out, try some home exercises to reposition the inner ear rocks, or visit a physical therapist who is certified in performing maneuvers to reposition the ear rocks. I did the home exercises and that seemed to do the trick for me.

More info here, but get a true diagnosis before getting treatment,

 

[WDWBarb]

DD was suffering bouts of vertigo from mild to extremely severe starting about2.5 years ago. One time she actually started vomiting and her eyes were spinning - I rushed her to her ped. right away (closer than the hospital). They diagnosed it as viral. It ended up being a thyroid issue (and the worst incidents were thyroid "storms"). She was only finally correctly diagnosed about 3 months ago.

There are many causes of vertigo - none of which would be made worse by seeing a doctor.

 

[golfgal]

DS15 just spend Friday, Saturday and Sunday on the couch with those exact symptoms. He threw up a few times on Friday and just felt dizzy Saturday and part of Sunday. He was a little sluggish yesterday and is back to 100% today. Not that your mom might not have something else but there is a bug going around (some of the other marching band kids have had this too).

 

[Pollito916]

Thanks to everyone who gave input - it seems like there are a lot of different causes for people feeling like this.

Update: my mom called back this afternoon and asked if I would take her to her regular doctor. So we went and they confirmed it seems to be vertigo, but were unsure of the cause. They gave her an antibiotic and a steroid in case it is an inner ear infection. If that doesn't help in a few days, they want her to see a neurologist. I'm a little surprised they didn't refer her to an ENT doctor. But I still feel better that she was seen by her regular doctor now so they can monitor this and hopefully get to the root cause.

It was kind of concerning to see her this way - she was having trouble walking straight and just seemed out of sorts. The doctor told her it can last anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks. I can't imagine feeling that way for such a long time, and she's worried she'll lose her job if she has to lose that much work.