Aa
Can any Infectious Diseases cause Vertigo?
I am 27 and have been experiencing Neurological symptoms for a little over three years now. I started seeing a Neurologist three years ago, actually today, and he has been NO GOOD. MATTER OF FACT JUST A YEAR AGO HE STARTED TREATING THE MIGRAINES HE KNEW I HAD, FROM DAY ONE. My first symptoms were numbness and tingling in my extremities that appeared in my left leg, but slowly spread to the rest of my body. I found out about a year later from my Rheumatologist that it was actually Neuropathy, Restless Leg Syndrome as well as Myoclonus all of which are considered Neurological.
stiffness, major fatigue, depression, major headaches, spasticity, spasms, myoclonus, restless leg, tingling in head and extremities, vibration sensations, buzzing sensations when moving head from time to time, anxiety, major cognitive dysfunction, sleeping dysfunctions, inability to feel and recognize touches unless they are visual, muscle weakness – especially in extremities, extra tension in arms and legs with usage, chronic indigestion, walking (I have a gait), constant state of tiredness – inability to complete most tasks – moving or lifting items, exercising, walking, carrying grocery, brushing hair, etc
To make the situation worse on October 28th I woke up and the room was spinning and has been since. As soon as my Neurologist's office opened I called and informed them of the fact that I was unable to walk with out running into items or falling completely down. The nurse told me to lie down immediately and to do nothing until she called back. When she called back, she told me to either go straight to the ER or come there. I was told that I was suffering from Vertigo. Unfortunately he has done no testing, just continued to take me off of medication the last few months, which has not helped.
My Rheumatologist last month looked in my ear and noticed that my eardrum was swollen remarkably on the right side so decided to send me to my ENT. He also decided before the appointment to prescribe two weeks of high dose prednisone 4 5mg tablets in the am, and 4 at night as well as two 600 mg antibiotics daily for two weeks. This helped the eardrum go down as well as the apparent ear infection I had at the time. The ENT said that it could have made the Vertigo worse, but was not the main cause, and in turn sent me for an MRI with and w/o contrast and well as Vestibular PT. I had already done the Vestibular PT eval just 6 weeks in advance.
This time the results were much worse she said, she didn't give me the results from the first time. This time though when she scored me standing still and doing a few different exercises I scored only 13 out of 24. When she scored me for gait it was 8 out of 24, so both are pretty poor. She said that she hasn't seen it get that bad that quickly. Now I am facing life using a walker, my Vestibular Therapist ordered a walker this past Friday, and is hoping to keep it at just a walker.
We are unsure as to what is causing the Vertigo, I had several MRIs before years ago searching for MS, as well as a LP, a Evoked Potential and all came back normal. This MRI came back normal as well. Everyone seems to think the cause of the Vertigo still is Neurological, just not sure why, I am firing my current Neurologist though. But cannot get into another one for a few months.
My new Neurologist, the one that I was scheduled to see, until I could see the other, was really surprised to see how bad the Vertigo was. And to see how poorly it was treated. He was really blunt, and was really blunt when he called the other Neuro a donkey (not the actual name he used). He stated that if the Vertigo started in October then the MRIs and all of the other testing should have started in November. He was also surprised at the fact that I was unable to stand even 5 seconds without falling to one side or backwards by myself. He also started checking for Nystagmus, and I was surprised at how long he would stare at my eyes before he would actually tell me say anything. I am wondering if he saw anything strange, but he also stated that he wouldn't be upset if I decided to go elsewhere in the end, if I find that after treatment with him I am still unsatisfied. He was really nice and has decided to redo the ENG, do a Lumbar Puncture as well as a Lyme Titre and a few other things. He is so concerned with the Vertigo, its causes and the severity of it, he suggested that I keep my other appointment with my Neuro in Savannah (the one that I couldn't see until next month) for a consult. This has me really concerned as to what could be causing it, and how severe it could get. He has suggested that I limit my driving and that I walk only with my walker. What a bummer. Any ideas?
stiffness, major fatigue, depression, major headaches, spasticity, spasms, myoclonus, restless leg, tingling in head and extremities, vibration sensations, buzzing sensations when moving head from time to time, anxiety, major cognitive dysfunction, sleeping dysfunctions, inability to feel and recognize touches unless they are visual, muscle weakness – especially in extremities, extra tension in arms and legs with usage, chronic indigestion, walking (I have a gait), constant state of tiredness – inability to complete most tasks – moving or lifting items, exercising, walking, carrying grocery, brushing hair, etc
To make the situation worse on October 28th I woke up and the room was spinning and has been since. As soon as my Neurologist's office opened I called and informed them of the fact that I was unable to walk with out running into items or falling completely down. The nurse told me to lie down immediately and to do nothing until she called back. When she called back, she told me to either go straight to the ER or come there. I was told that I was suffering from Vertigo. Unfortunately he has done no testing, just continued to take me off of medication the last few months, which has not helped.
My Rheumatologist last month looked in my ear and noticed that my eardrum was swollen remarkably on the right side so decided to send me to my ENT. He also decided before the appointment to prescribe two weeks of high dose prednisone 4 5mg tablets in the am, and 4 at night as well as two 600 mg antibiotics daily for two weeks. This helped the eardrum go down as well as the apparent ear infection I had at the time. The ENT said that it could have made the Vertigo worse, but was not the main cause, and in turn sent me for an MRI with and w/o contrast and well as Vestibular PT. I had already done the Vestibular PT eval just 6 weeks in advance.
This time the results were much worse she said, she didn't give me the results from the first time. This time though when she scored me standing still and doing a few different exercises I scored only 13 out of 24. When she scored me for gait it was 8 out of 24, so both are pretty poor. She said that she hasn't seen it get that bad that quickly. Now I am facing life using a walker, my Vestibular Therapist ordered a walker this past Friday, and is hoping to keep it at just a walker.
We are unsure as to what is causing the Vertigo, I had several MRIs before years ago searching for MS, as well as a LP, a Evoked Potential and all came back normal. This MRI came back normal as well. Everyone seems to think the cause of the Vertigo still is Neurological, just not sure why, I am firing my current Neurologist though. But cannot get into another one for a few months.
My new Neurologist, the one that I was scheduled to see, until I could see the other, was really surprised to see how bad the Vertigo was. And to see how poorly it was treated. He was really blunt, and was really blunt when he called the other Neuro a donkey (not the actual name he used). He stated that if the Vertigo started in October then the MRIs and all of the other testing should have started in November. He was also surprised at the fact that I was unable to stand even 5 seconds without falling to one side or backwards by myself. He also started checking for Nystagmus, and I was surprised at how long he would stare at my eyes before he would actually tell me say anything. I am wondering if he saw anything strange, but he also stated that he wouldn't be upset if I decided to go elsewhere in the end, if I find that after treatment with him I am still unsatisfied. He was really nice and has decided to redo the ENG, do a Lumbar Puncture as well as a Lyme Titre and a few other things. He is so concerned with the Vertigo, its causes and the severity of it, he suggested that I keep my other appointment with my Neuro in Savannah (the one that I couldn't see until next month) for a consult. This has me really concerned as to what could be causing it, and how severe it could get. He has suggested that I limit my driving and that I walk only with my walker. What a bummer. Any ideas?
Lyme disease can in fact cause all of the problems you list, and can be very difficult to treat. I've been treating Lyme disease for over 1.5 years, and didn't see real lasting improvement until the 9 month mark.
The popular belief that Lyme is "difficult to get, easy to treat" does not fit the experienece of many patients who go undiagnosed for years and struggle with long-term treatment.
The popular belief that Lyme is "difficult to get, easy to treat" does not fit the experienece of many patients who go undiagnosed for years and struggle with long-term treatment.
I totally agree with you! We have to fight to get doctors to even listen. That migrane trash bin is there even if you don't complain of or have headaches!
Medical school need to change. Medicine used to be an ART and a science. Now if there isn't a test to test for a condition or a pill that can cure it, then it doesn't exist and you must be crazy or have migraines!!
Hang in there thester6474, keep fighting for yourself and take someone with you to doctor appointments for both moral support and help in remembering things you want to tell the doctor and remembering what the doctor says. Also, sometimes doctors will listen to the third party before you.
Hope you find all the anwers soon,
K
Medical school need to change. Medicine used to be an ART and a science. Now if there isn't a test to test for a condition or a pill that can cure it, then it doesn't exist and you must be crazy or have migraines!!
Hang in there thester6474, keep fighting for yourself and take someone with you to doctor appointments for both moral support and help in remembering things you want to tell the doctor and remembering what the doctor says. Also, sometimes doctors will listen to the third party before you.
Hope you find all the anwers soon,
K
Hope you feel better soon! Hi, my 16 year old daughter is having similar symptoms since October 2009. We believe her's was set off by the swine flu. Saw multiple specialists including a neuro-ENT that specializes in vertigo/dizziness & each one backed up the 1st diagnosis of Migrane . They all tossed it in what I call the "Migrane Trash can"! Being a Critical Care nurse for 24 years I couldn't stop questioning why they weren't listening to the other symptoms she was having. Many of her symptoms were pointing to Inflammation of the cranial nerves! Why weren't they seeing this?February we went back to her Primary Physician whom is great! And after discussing my concerns he ordered multiple
viral & bacterial blood tests & cultures. We have 2 definate diagnosis so far-both viral -Varicella Reactivation and Mono and we are still testing other things too. My advice, don't stop pushing for an answer. Find doctors that will listen to your subjective & objective symptoms. I have found many specialists today won't go outside the box of thier specialty when diagnosing. A far cry from the doctors I worked with years ago who knew almost everything & weren't afraid to step outside thier specialty when needed. Keep the faith & I hope you find the right doc! Debs221
viral & bacterial blood tests & cultures. We have 2 definate diagnosis so far-both viral -Varicella Reactivation and Mono and we are still testing other things too. My advice, don't stop pushing for an answer. Find doctors that will listen to your subjective & objective symptoms. I have found many specialists today won't go outside the box of thier specialty when diagnosing. A far cry from the doctors I worked with years ago who knew almost everything & weren't afraid to step outside thier specialty when needed. Keep the faith & I hope you find the right doc! Debs221
I do have Lyme Disease, I was actually diagnosed with it back in January of 2007 and given a small dosage of antibiotics. We aren't really sure that they did anything to irradicate it though. I see that it can cause Meningitis and Encephalitis, I am certainly hoping that we are one step closer to finding out the root cause of all my problems. But I see that there are no treatments for either of these, which scare me. I have redone the ENG, and it shows that since I had it done in November that I have less usage of my right ear. So there is something affecting the right ear and its nerve, just aren't quite sure, what. My PCPs first thoughts were of course the two conditions I mentioned earlier, and when I saw that they can indeed be caused by Lyme it has me concerned.
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Infectious Diseases Community
Fearing autism, many parents aren't vaccinating their kids. Can doctors reverse this dangerous trend?
Can HIV be transmitted through this sexual activity? Dr. Jose Gonzalez-Garcia answers this commonly-asked question.
A breakthrough study discovers how to reduce risk of HIV transmission by 95 percent.
Dr. Jose Gonzalez-Garcia provides insight to the most commonly asked question about the transfer of HIV between partners.
Before your drop a dime at the pharmacy, find out if these popular cold and flu home remedies are a wonder or a waste
Fend off colds and the flu with these disease-fighting foods
