Vertigo Outbreak?

Hello All,

I had a pretty scary experience with my mother three days ago. Around 2 am I woke up to her screaming for help. I found her sitting on the side of her bed with her head down. I asked her what was wrong and all she could say was that she wasn't well - she was utterly dizzy, so much so that she could not stand. She asked me to call for an ambulance - fearing that she was having a stroke - however, she soon recovered enough to walk around a bit. Her dizziness persisted for the next two days, albeit, not as severely as it was the morning she woke me up. Yesterday she went into the hospital and was diagnosed with vertigo. While there, she was told (by her Doctor and Pharmacist that it was not only her with this problem but that everyone seemed to have it lately. Now, I'm no doctor but I do study medicine as a hobby. It is my understanding that none of apparent causes of Vertigo are contagious. Therefore, I ask you... are any of you suffering from Vertigo right now or have any of you had vertigo spells recently?

[edit on 16/10/07 by WickedStar]

I only ever have a vertigo feeling in dreams, so not a lot of help from me - but not noticed any one I know commenting on vertigo at all.

BTW you know that french dude who free climbs stupedly high buildings? He says he suffers from vertigo ever since he hit his head - think he should get another hobby

Vertigo is a condition arising from several different factors of which the most common is called Benign Paroxysmal Vertigo, which specifically is related to problems with inbalance in the ear. Many people don't realize this, but a part of the inner ear called the Vestibular Labyrinth is lined with small deposits of Calcium Carbonate commonly referred to as Otoliths. To make a long story short these crystals are very sensitive to gravity or change in direction, which can displace them into other parts of the ear. When the patient realigns their head these crystals fall again and displace the balance to give the sensation of movement, without actually experiencing a great deal of movement. Cancers and tumors can cause the same problems as well if they infect any part of the ear canal or ear drum.

If the physician was seeing a lot of cases of Vertigo recently it doesn't necessarily mean that it is contagious, but something related that is very different. To explain this, some medical literature has hinted at the possibility of a viral means of the onset of symptoms. Vertigo, by nature, is generally a symptom of another problem and therefore cannot be diagnosed as a primary cause in and of itself. Nevertheless, when we take a look at conditions such as Labyrinthitis we see that the primary set of symptoms include Vertigo, and since Labyrinthitis has been known to be caused by the Influenza virus, some Rhinoviruses, and a few Adenoviruses. These viruses usually cause conditions relating to the upper respiratory tract, and because the inner ear is often infected during the replication cycle we see Vertigo arise as a primary symptom of these conditions. So, when the physician was talking about seeing quite a few cases of Vertigo it was most likely because there were more reported cases of these common viral infections in patients. It is also why Vertigo cannot be spread by itself, that is, a virus can cause a certain condition which has symptoms related to Vertigo, but not the Vertigo itself.

I hope this helps, but if you need further explanation I can go into the science behind why this holds true.

My grandfather just got Vertigo...his, however, was believed due to a mild stroke, which probably makes it unrelated.

Hey Jazzerman et. all
I appreciate all your input. I hope that it's just a virus and not a cancer or a stroke.

Well, this topic happens to be right up my alley. I just suffered a stroke due to blockage of one of my vertebral arteries. One of two which lead to brain. I am quite fortunate since I was able to get to the hospital within hours. I am also lucky that at this time, ( one week later ) I have no paralysis or speech problems. However, the one lasting side effect for me is in fact vertigo or vertigo like symptoms. Extreme dizziness, problems walking and disorientation.

I may have Wallenbergs Syndrome and am undergoing tests right now.

www.ninds.nih.gov...

Since you report the hospital does not suggest a stroke, sometimes, people have "min-strokes" which are hard to detect. It could also be the result of a TIA or transient ischemic attack which it typically a pre-curser to a full on stroke.

www.americanheart.org...

I would suggest follow up with a Neuro-Surgeon

My thoughts and prayers are with you.

regards...kk

reply to post by WickedStar


This is nuts, my mother was diagnosed with directional vertigo a couple of weeks ago... seems more common lately

yes i have had bouts of vertigo many times with no explaination ..it lasts sometimes all day sometimes a few hours.. bren

I experienced severe vertigo lasting 3 days just about 2 weeks ago. I would roll over in bed and continue spinning. It was bad enough to cause vomiting. It has since stopped. I was perplexed by its severeness. Never happened that bad before or since.

Ok, it just so happens that i cant lie down because everything spins. Its scarey and i thought i had water in my ear, but it looks like it could be more serious?
Why did my mother give birth to a hypochondriac???

Seriously, for two days now when i lie down i start spinning.

Chemtrails? Do they want us all dizzy?

Sure, you laugh but it could be a new method to make things easier for the NWO, you know?

All the best to you, Kinda Kurious,

Might want to try some fish oil supplements and make sure to get lots of sleep to let it heal. It's great that you got to the hospital so quickly, Thank God!

And yes, I had vertigo also. It would feel as though I was falling off the planet and then I would panic. This happened for several years, the panic attacks became a routine when the vertigo hit. The cause is still uncertain but it seems to be letting up after starting a treatment for chronic Bartonella which is a bacteria pets carry and is usually short term, unless you have more than one pet. They tend to pass it back and forth and keep it in the house. Many times they do not have any symptoms and most vets do not check for it. Our new Vet did, and then told my husband and I to be checked just in case and yes, positive. We have just finished two months of antibiotics and the vertigo is gone, what is left is the panic attacks that started after the vertigo began. So now I'm working at keeping the panic attacks at bay, they tend to show up whenever I'm in a moving car which is where my vertigo had been at it's worst.

STM

[edit on 10/21/2007 by seentoomuch]

reply to post by Jazzerman


Wow, that was very interesting! I learned a lot.

I suffer from Vertigo but only in regards to heights....Im very afraid of heights. Even if im watching a movie and a person, say, looks over a high bridge, I get that sense of vertigo and my stomach "falls".

I only experience it in regards to heights thats it. In your opinion, would it have anything to do with what you described?

[edit on 21-10-2007 by greeneyedleo]

My knees feel like jelly at great heights. My ironworking days were over the moment I was born.

I've only had vertigo while I was on prescription meds (Campral). It says right on the bottle "MAY cause dizziness". They weren't kidding. Lemme tell ya it's no fun when you wake up and have to pee and you have to crawl on hands and knees to get to the toilet, then slowly sit on the seat and put your head in your hands.

Oy MH, bringing back some not so tender feelings. Been there, done that, not a whole heck of a lot of fun.

First, I would like to wish that your mother returns to perfect health asap!

Also, I believe one of my uncles was diagnosed with Vertigo. Im not 100% positive but I will email him and double check.

Originally posted by MostlyHarmless
Lemme tell ya it's no fun when you wake up and have to pee and you have to crawl on hands and knees to get to the toilet, then slowly sit on the seat and put your head in your hands.

Thats not vertigo, thats called your college years. I remember mine well, oh wait, no I don't....

Quite surprising that noone has opined that the vertigo could be caused by changes to the earth's electric magnetic field and axis of rotation. Can you say pole shift?

In sincerity, I have found that my personal vertigo bouts have more to do with blood sugar levels than anything else. I found that cinnamon worked better than anything to level off the blood sugar.

[edit on 22-10-2007 by disgustedbyhumanity]

Hi

Update: Just went to the doctor today to check in after being on the antibiotics for two months and the end of the vertigo I have had for several years. It is now gone, totally gone. I even stopped halfway on the elevated walkway between the parking garage and the professional building and spun around looking at all the cars, streets and landscaping two stories below me, no problem. Two months ago I pretty much crawled across the walkway with my husband holding me halfway up for part of the way.

My doctor was incredulous, he had not known much about the neurologic effects of chronic Bartonella and he had only given me the antibiotics at the insistence of the vet who had diagnosed our cats and dog.

He then told me that he had vertigo until just recently. That many times while he slept he would waken with a vertigo attack and would crawl to the bathroom. Driving was impossible. Walking across the street, no way, wasn't possible. He had changed his lifestyle to fit around the vertigo and he had it for a year and a half.

He said that positional and crystals shifting was the main "theory" but that many of the doctors were now suspecting viruses. Bartonella is a proto bacteria, a whole different route and he was interested and all for finding the causes in the upswing. He took a couple of mls of blood from me to send to the national vet lab to compare to the strains my dog was carrying (usually cats carry this infection, occasionally dogs. My dog had tested with a very high count and with several strains. We had taken him in from a family from the Texas/Mexico border which has a very high infection rate)

Dr. Hardy of the national vet lab is going to look for a match and then use this case and others to campaign for vets to test for bartonella more often and to warn the pet owners of symptoms, especially homes with more than one pet which would mean "chronic" rather than the short lived cat scratch disease which is totally different from the chronic.

Oh, almost forgot, my doctor had used steriod treatment for his vertigo along with other methods, he is not sure which one was the treatment that worked, after a year and a half. I had tried the steroid treatment a couple of years ago also, it did not work. He also extended my prescription for antibiotics for another two months to make sure that all of the Bartonella is gone, that there was no chance of it coming back.

Hope they figure it out all the causes soon, I wouldn't wish vertigo on my worst enemy.

STM

[edit on 10/23/2007 by seentoomuch]

reply to post by dgtempe


I found the following info and it appears as though it is an illness that can be imported. I think it is noteworthy, but, it may not apply to the cases presented here.

Historical Lassa Fever Reports and 30-year Clinical Update

Their clinical courses were complicated by severe
neurologic dysfunction, including unilateral sensorineural
deafness and vertigo.

www.cdc.gov...