French TKO
New member
First, some background info: I am a twenty year old Caucasian female, college student, 5'5", 155 lbs, and was very active before this all happened. My medical history is pretty clean, never had any major issues or anything relating to what I am now going through.
At the beginning of this October, I began having dizzy spells. They would come on without warning and would come anytime, especially during a workout or right before meals. They would come and go but I could still function, wasn't feeling nauseous or anything like that. I was also having some sinus and facial pain, and thought I might have a sinus infection that was causing the dizziness. I made an appointment with my primary care doctor who saw me at the end of October. She tested me for thyroid issues, diabetes, white count, and several other things; as well as giving me a CT scan of my sinuses, which showed my sinuses as completely clean. She referred me to an ear, nose & throat specialist, and made me an appointment for the beginning of November. However, about a week later I woke up incredibly dizzy, and for the first time it did not go away. I called my mom in tears because I was scared and unsure what to do. She called my doctor who prescribed me Meclizine. The Meclizine did nothing, and my symptoms didn't go away, so a few days later she prescribed me Lorazepam, which also did nothing. By this time I wasn't having any sinus pains, just the extreme, constant dizziness. Even when I closed my eyes I could still feel the dizziness there. I couldn't drive, and riding in the car gave me motion sickness, which I have never had a problem with before. A few days later, my Dad took me to the ER because I simply couldn't function. They gave me a Valium IV and sent me home with a prescription for Phernegan. The Valium did nothing but put me to sleep and give me a hangover. The Phernegan did nothing but give me migraines and I had to stop taking it. At this point, i was out of work and school and pretty much all I could do was lay down. I finally saw the ENT, who said he didn't see anything wrong with my inner ear. I had an MRI of my head, which came back clean. About a week later I got a referral to a neurologist. I met with her and she didn't find any problems during the basic exam. She took blood for a Lyme test and also made me an appointment to get an EEG which happened a week later. I met with her again a few weeks after that. The EEG showed no seizure activity and nothing else that stood out to her, and the Lyme test was negative. At this time I was also having trouble sleeping-not falling asleep but waking up in the night and not being able to go back to sleep. Also, my hair began falling out. She decided that the next logical step was to look at a potential migraine variant, which can't be tested for, but just diagnosed by whether or not medications work. However, some meds work for some people and some don't, so when a med doesn't work I don't know if it is because I don't have it or if the med just doesn't work. So I guess right now I am just waiting some more. The first med she prescribed me is Nortriptilyn. I have to wait two weeks before talking to my doctor to see if it works or not but it has been a week and a half and no change. I also want to ask her about what type of Lyme test the lab did because I have heard about ELISAs coming back negative when a person really does have Lyme, but the Western Blot test being more accurate. As of right now, my symptoms are: constant dizziness (varies in severity with no triggers to the changing severity), hair loss, depression (which I think is just because I can't live my life, not as a symptom of the disease). I am sleeping better, partly due to the medication. I cannot read, go to school, drive, exercise, or do much of anything. I was a very active and busy person before this, with school, a job, friends, extracurriculars, and my animals. All I want is to feel better and have my life back. I see no point in getting out of bed when all I can do is lay on the couch and watch TV. If anyone has had a similar experience or has ANY ideas or suggestions, i would really appreciate hearing them. Thanks.
At the beginning of this October, I began having dizzy spells. They would come on without warning and would come anytime, especially during a workout or right before meals. They would come and go but I could still function, wasn't feeling nauseous or anything like that. I was also having some sinus and facial pain, and thought I might have a sinus infection that was causing the dizziness. I made an appointment with my primary care doctor who saw me at the end of October. She tested me for thyroid issues, diabetes, white count, and several other things; as well as giving me a CT scan of my sinuses, which showed my sinuses as completely clean. She referred me to an ear, nose & throat specialist, and made me an appointment for the beginning of November. However, about a week later I woke up incredibly dizzy, and for the first time it did not go away. I called my mom in tears because I was scared and unsure what to do. She called my doctor who prescribed me Meclizine. The Meclizine did nothing, and my symptoms didn't go away, so a few days later she prescribed me Lorazepam, which also did nothing. By this time I wasn't having any sinus pains, just the extreme, constant dizziness. Even when I closed my eyes I could still feel the dizziness there. I couldn't drive, and riding in the car gave me motion sickness, which I have never had a problem with before. A few days later, my Dad took me to the ER because I simply couldn't function. They gave me a Valium IV and sent me home with a prescription for Phernegan. The Valium did nothing but put me to sleep and give me a hangover. The Phernegan did nothing but give me migraines and I had to stop taking it. At this point, i was out of work and school and pretty much all I could do was lay down. I finally saw the ENT, who said he didn't see anything wrong with my inner ear. I had an MRI of my head, which came back clean. About a week later I got a referral to a neurologist. I met with her and she didn't find any problems during the basic exam. She took blood for a Lyme test and also made me an appointment to get an EEG which happened a week later. I met with her again a few weeks after that. The EEG showed no seizure activity and nothing else that stood out to her, and the Lyme test was negative. At this time I was also having trouble sleeping-not falling asleep but waking up in the night and not being able to go back to sleep. Also, my hair began falling out. She decided that the next logical step was to look at a potential migraine variant, which can't be tested for, but just diagnosed by whether or not medications work. However, some meds work for some people and some don't, so when a med doesn't work I don't know if it is because I don't have it or if the med just doesn't work. So I guess right now I am just waiting some more. The first med she prescribed me is Nortriptilyn. I have to wait two weeks before talking to my doctor to see if it works or not but it has been a week and a half and no change. I also want to ask her about what type of Lyme test the lab did because I have heard about ELISAs coming back negative when a person really does have Lyme, but the Western Blot test being more accurate. As of right now, my symptoms are: constant dizziness (varies in severity with no triggers to the changing severity), hair loss, depression (which I think is just because I can't live my life, not as a symptom of the disease). I am sleeping better, partly due to the medication. I cannot read, go to school, drive, exercise, or do much of anything. I was a very active and busy person before this, with school, a job, friends, extracurriculars, and my animals. All I want is to feel better and have my life back. I see no point in getting out of bed when all I can do is lay on the couch and watch TV. If anyone has had a similar experience or has ANY ideas or suggestions, i would really appreciate hearing them. Thanks.