Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Vertigo

Hi,

I have a very bad vertigo for the last two weeks and the symptoms is up and down. I feel bad again today and decided to go to the hospital and get some medication.

Doc check out my blood pressure and it's bit low: 110/60 but still can't really figure what's behind the vertigo and refer me to the Neurologist for further check.

I decided to take the medication and see what happen - if it's not getting better then maybe I should check out to the Neurologist.

Wondering if this is AS related?

Sinta

Hi Sinta,

I get vertigo, and through trial and error and experimentation, have come to this opinion to its cause. Basically when you get involvement (AS that is) around the shoulder and neck (you might not notice this by the way) then your blood flow to the brain - especially the area concerned with balance - is restricted because of the inflamation.
You can test this, if you stare up at the sky, then you can force the restriction, when you look ahead again, the vertigo will be very noticable. You can make this feel better by looking down - there fore reliveing the pressure and reducing the restriction, and this should relieve the vertigo.
Try it and see, granted this is my pet theory, but it works for me. I treat this by making sure that i take my anti-inflams and avoid doing anything that might further antagonize any neck involvement.

Hope this is of some help

Moose

Slimmer than I was!

Sinta:
My husband went through a 4-day spell last month where he was extremely dizzy even when sitting down. It passed. We asked the rheumy about it on his initial appointment and he didn't seem terribly concerned, but of course it was over by then. Said it might have been an infection of some sort. And to follow up on what was already posted, his AS (?) is very much in his neck.
Rita

Well, I've had permanent oscillopsia (near-total loss of balance function) 24x7 for the past three years. My doctors eventually told me it was autoimmune inner ear disease (AIED)...once you have one autoimmune disease, you're more likely to get others.

ANd actually, the best doctor for dizziness is a neurootologist. Neurologists will basically check you for multiple sclerosis and stroke, and won't help if you have inner ear damage.

Of course, AIED is relatively rare, and a mysterious virus is more common.

But AIED is treatable, with massive doses of prednisone (~60 or 70 mg/day), unlike many other causes of dizziness. So early diagnosis is important (It took me a couple months to get diagnosed, and by then the damage was mostly irreversible...although the new hair-cell results look promising.

-p

Hi Sinta,

Sorry to hear about the vertigo, hope you get the answers you are looking for a solution. I have no experience with vertigo myself.

Hope your puppy is behaving himself

Take care,

Tim

Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional

Well, Sinta, I can't add anything of use, I just wanted to say that I hope you're feeling better soon.

Hugs,

Kat

Agree with all that Moose - I was going to speculate on the same.

Also, pressure on nerves can also induce some vertigo like effects also due to inflammation / altered posture and so on.

Cheers
Jo

Hi! I hope the neurologist can help you figure this out. Two weeks seems like an awfully long time to have vertigo. Hope you feel better soon. Helen

Hi,

Yes I 've lots usually falling, even when lying down in bed, like through the hole in the floor that goes on forever.I just recently had a flare and had spinning rooms which is not typical at all, and it woke me up in the middle of the night. "Funny I thought I've not been drinking......for months".

I've found that over using my arms loading up the shoulders can bring this on too, so if I lift etc I make sure there are others around and I avoid driving etc.

Dr's treated it initally as a panic attack, then I discovered if I lie on my back and tilt my head back it eases........I takes a few minutes but then slowly improves. sometimes getting up and walking helps if it's not too bad.

Preddy seems to fix this stuff within a few day, what causes it?

This I am told is the brain having blood supply issues to parts of the brain supplied by the basilar artery, which in turn is fed by the vertabral arteries. Again there are causes such as pressure/imflammation/irritation which can cause this.

This diagnosis was reached by talking frankly to the neuro, those sensations etc will indicate the parts of the brain/nervous system affected and map out the supply's affected. they are also useful as they are on the differential path from the inner ear stuff which is also affected by immune disease.

In the past I've tried migraine type meds which have not been particularily effective, some things improve but others worsen. Have you seen a neuro before?

They can be a bit odd, as they see alot of people convinced they have cancer etc, but a good one can help heaps.

you need to be prepared for them, brief history etc, symptons list, and questions....

Good luck, I hope you get better soon


David

Thanks all for info and support.

I took the medication last night, the doc gave me two kind of medicine and told me to take the stronger one if the mild one not works. I took the mild one, nothing happen, so I took the stronger one, it helps. So, this morning I wake up okay.

I believe this is somehow AS related but the funny thing is, I am not having flare at all, my neck is normally functioning, and the only problem that stay is the back pain after work.

It's not fun having this Vertigo, using David words - it's like being drunk for months , even when you lay down, you still feel all room spinning.

The vertigo come in one package with nausea too - and the only thing that make me relief if I keep throwing up, over and over.

Hopefully, I can recover quickly this weekend, I don't like seeing stranger Neurologist.

Hugs,
Sinta