Daughter has dizziness, off topic

[corns5]

Hi all,
Just to see if anyone has ever heard of this. My 19yo (type 1) diabetic daughter who is home from college has NOT been able to lift her head up, and has gotten extreme dizzyness with motion sickness. We finally got to the ENT doctor yesterday after 2 days of calling in. He said her nerve from the inner ear to the brain probably got a virus, and is inflamed. He put her on steroids and valium. She is now walking just a little(she couldn't yesterday or the past 3 days at all), but is still dizzy. The doctor said it may take its course and take a few days for it to heal. Then he wants to see her for some tests for the inner ear, as he cannot test her now. How serious is this? For a diabetic as well, as I always have to consider that condition. Her blood glucose levels today were WAY up there, and she did get them down somewhat, due to the steroids.

Anyone else ever experience this or hear of this? Thank you for your input!

 

[LDB415]

I don't know what to tell you about it other than you need input from Greg.

 

[corns5]

Thanks LDB!! Got a pm from another caring member who has diabetes, and it may be from some high blood glucose episodes, although bg has been good for a few weeks now. Thank you, for your input!
_________________________________________________________________________
-Just a mom, I know, but always a mom from the time they're in your heart, to forever!

 

[Taylor]

Hey Carol, I don't know anything about complications of diabetes wrt to dizziness, but I can offer some general comments about her symptoms.

Firstly, are her symptoms actually "dizziness" or something else?
- Does she feel like the room is spinning? Or does she feel light-headed when she tries to get up?

- If it's the room spinning (vertigo), is it only when she starts to roll/turn/lie on one side of the head vs. the other? If this is so, there's a simple test that can determine is she has what's called benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, which is actually quite common and can be easily treated through a series of body positions to get the calcium stones out of the inner ear.

 

[staceylynn]

I've had vertigo before as well and it was a nightmare. I HATE feeling dizzy and there's nothing you can really do about it. I think mine came from inner ear damage because I used to (and still sometimes do) have the bad habit of sticking my hair in my ears.

It's a scary and miserable thing to happen. I hope it's something simple like that. Please keep us updated.

 

[Taylor]

Hey Seneca, I've never had it before but I've seen two patients with it already (I'm a med student) and have read up on it out of interest. Just google it and you'll find some good sites from Mayo and other major healthcare providers. The treatment is quite simple, there's a series of manouveurs that can get the stones out, and immediately you're better! Unfortunately some patients are too scared of the procedure, understandably because you'll be inducing the vertigo as you shift the stones around.

 

[corns5]

Wow, thanks Taylor and Seneca. I will have to show her this tomorrow. The room is spinning (the Dr. asked this too) as soon as she lifts her head either way, left or right. It is not when she turns one way or the other, as she could not sit up (or even lift her head without spinning severely yesterday at all.) She said the valium/steroid has helped, and in fact when she is due to take the valium, she spins alot more, and is much better off after. Far from normal yet though. ..... looking up the site you said, now, Seneca, THANK YOU!

 

[Taylor]

How long does each episode last for after she completely rests her head? The time period of the vertiginous period is important.

Okay, does she have any other symptoms?
- ringing in the ears?
- double vision?
- hearing loss?
- sudden weakness in any muscles or limbs?
- sweating? increased heart rate?
- joint or bone pains?
- headaches? migraines?
- previous viral illnesses? cold sores?
- changes in sensation over her forehead, cheeks, or chin?

*PS* - You probably shouldn't post the symptoms here... I have queasy feelings of violating patient confidentiality. You should PM Greg or plaifatt

 

[Clix Pix]

Actually, since it is really difficult for anyone to accurately assess a patient by reading words on a computer screen, the very best thing to do is to continue working with one's own physician in person. This is not a medical site and I am sure that the members we have here who are physicians would not attempt either a diagnosis or specific treatment recommendations for anyone without actually meeting with him/her in person. "First, Do No Harm....."

 

[Phil K]

Agree with Connie. And would like to add that a viral infection is a common cause, but I don't want to jump to any conclusion online without really seeing the patient and doing some tests.

Mitch, our ENT doctor, can tell you more.

 

[Taylor]

Actually, since it is really difficult for anyone to accurately assess a patient by reading words on a computer screen, the very best thing to do is to continue working with one's own physician in person. This is not a medical site and I am sure that the members we have here who are physicians would not attempt either a diagnosis or specific treatment recommendations for anyone without actually meeting with him/her in person. "First, Do No Harm....."

Good point... disregard what I've said. I'm sure all doctors find it frustrating when patients come in with their own ideas from the internet, and now I'm guilty of giving ill-informed advice! Shame on me :redface:

 

[corns5]

Thank you so much your input, though, Taylor. No harm received whatsoever. I am not trying to get medical advice, but appreciate your thinking this through via your caring, just wanted to know if anyone had heard of this before, as I had not! Especially since my concern at her being diabetic! None of the above would apply to your list, Taylor, in either case, and we ARE going to follow up with her physician when symptoms go away- hopefully by next week! I can see it is far more common than I thought it was, but needs follow up by her physician. All, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!
Thank you so much! This is a great group!

 

[noggcreek]

Highly recommend seeing an Neurotologist if you can find one. They are like an ENT on steroids that focus on the ear - balance and hearing. If your daughter's symptoms can subside enough they can test her to find out what is wrong - the testing can make you feel nauseated. There are also special chairs that tilt on 3 axis that can help get the particles back into places that don't affect balance. The Drs can figure out the sequence of moves in the chair to move the particle to a safe place. The treatment was invented by an ENT in Portland, Oregon back in the '60s. As usual they thought he was a quack but his ideas have been proven. It is said to work in 90% of patients. I don't know a thing about diabetes. I am not a doctor but have vertigo issues and mine subside on their own. My "attacks" come on usually overnight. I feel fine - but the room is spinning so fast to the left it makes my eyes rattle. No fun.

 

[latazyo]

Actually, since it is really difficult for anyone to accurately assess a patient by reading words on a computer screen, the very best thing to do is to continue working with one's own physician in person. This is not a medical site and I am sure that the members we have here who are physicians would not attempt either a diagnosis or specific treatment recommendations for anyone without actually meeting with him/her in person. "First, Do No Harm....."

+2,000,000

 

[spalding12]

i have just gotten home from my fiasco at the apple store.... TWICE/thread elsewhere


sounds like a case of Labyrinthitis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labyrinthitis

probably NOT diabetes-related
but..... i'm not sure in this case
folks usually do get better, rather quickly...
especially at age 19

antivert.... is the drug of choice
again... i'm a pediatrician who's been in practice for 20 years
but... i don't pretend to know exactly what is going on IN THIS CASE... especially only by internet

i wish you the best of luck
if i can help you in any way... please pm me

 

[LDB415]

I've been gone all day so Greg has already replied but here's my comment either way. Just change the tense of the verbs if you want it to sound like before he replied.

Seneca et al, Greg is a pediatrician by specialty and an excellent doctor by dedication and character. My dad is a doctor. He practiced 50 years of general practice. Although he wasn't a (fill in the blank) he is an excellent doctor. There are several specialists who altered their normal procedures when working with my dad. Usually any patient coming in was worked up as a new patient and basically they started from scratch regardless. When my dad sent someone and said he thought the patient had (whatever) they initially examined for and always found the whatever. He never said something he wasn't sure of. He received consultation calls from numerous doctors, some internationally known.

While I suspect Greg is most comfortable with pediatrics, I believe he is like my dad, an excellent doctor you can trust for good input into your situation. I suspect he'd refuse to perform bypass surgery but he could certainly give excellent advise and a valuable second opinion regarding one.

In a case such as this, with no ability to examine or perform tests, it certainly can't be taken as absolute but I'd personally be exploring what he suspected as one of the most likely possibilities.

 

[spalding12]

i'm honored by those words
they truly mean a lot to me.... a whole lot

i hope that carol will give us an update soon

 

[corns5]

Tiffany is still dizzy after a week and a half. She has finished with the valium and steroids at this point. We are headed to another doctor tomorrow am, who is an expert in Vertigo. Actually a physician's assistant is available, and he does manipulation to try to help. So we will see. We may go back to Dr. #1 as well, but so far, she is not all better (about 50% or so, can walk short distances, blurry vision and headaches now) and concerned that this would hamper her going back to college, so we are praying she is well by then. This week has not been the best, as Tiffany is diabetic, and this afternoon I just got a call confirming that our other daughter, Alexis is also diabetic, type 1. She is asymptomatic since she is at risk (over some years now) and is in a study, just no matter when the news comes it still isn't good news and hits you. But she is upbeat, great kid, and will deal with it. She may not even need to be on insulin as of yet, like her sister. I will keep you updated with any new information we hear about tiffany....Thank you all for your input.

 

[corns5]

Update. To the Dr's today, is definitely NOT the positional vertigo, but the viral kind (Labyrinth) and that she will get over this quickly due to her youth. Yay! Thank you Greg, you were right on! Dr. said if she were 85 yo it would take maybe 4-6 weeks time, but probably sooner....

 

[Mitchell]

Carol, sorry so late to this thread.

I'm the local ENT alluded to earlier in this thread. Your daughter does not have BPPV. Those patients do not have the dizziness you describe. BPPV only causes brief episodes of vertigo (less than 1 minute) which are brought about by the provocative head position.

Constant vertigo with nausea and vomiting (like your daughter) is typically caused by only a few things. The most common is labyrinthitis. As Greg mentioned, this is felt to be secondary to a viral infection of either the labyrinth (inner ear) or the vestibular nerve. This is all conjecture since we have no way of knowing if there is actually a viral infection in these areas. I typically treat these patients with oral antiviral medications coupled with oral steroids. Supportive medications like Meclizine and Valium can also be helpful. Unfortunately, steroids in a diabetic can be problematic and require frequent blood glucose monitoring with appropriate insulin coverage. The natural course of labyrinthitis is a gradual decrease of vertigo as the inflammation resolves. True, that the younger the patient, the more rapidly symptoms resolve. Most patients are significantly improved by 2-4 weeks. Many elderly patients take months to improve.

There are a few oddities that can cause persistent vertigo such as a vascular event (stroke in the ear or brain) which is usually associated with hearing loss, tumors of the vestibular nerve (neuroma) or brain (which can be ruled out with MRI of the brain), multiple sclerosis, and infections (syphilis, lyme disease, etc...).

Best of luck to you and your daughter. I wish her a speedy recovery. Remember that is impossible for us to diagnose over the computer.