Dizziness for a year now
by Denise R
(NH)
In January of 2010, I started to have spells of being lightheaded and dizzy. It would come and go. So I made a doctors appointment the same month. While there, my doctor asked me to describe the symptoms and she then looked in my ears. She said well I am going to be sending you to the ENT because it sounds like it may be your ears.
She then also proceeded to have the nurse take out all of the wax from my ears because apparentlty I had a ton. In February, I went to the ENT, had a hearing test and then saw the doctor, was told by the doctor that I had some slight hearing loss but after the other tests that he performed, he said that I may have Meniere's Disease or Labyrintis. Other than that though, he said to follow up in a year to see how I progressed. After the appointment and throughout the few months that followed, I was still being pestered with feeling dizzy and or lightheaded. No matter what I was doing whether I would be lying down or standing up. I would feel like passing out and then within a half hr. I would be fine again. This in turn, made me worry about the next attack and what could be possibly wrong.
I then proceeded to go back to the doctors a few times and was not given an explanation. Every test was coming back normal. After bout my 6th visit to the doctor, they found that I had low potassium and low blood pressure. I was told to take potassium pills and eat salt to increase my blood pressure and to make a follow up. Once again, I did and even after my potassium was back to normal, my blood pressure was back up, I was still lightheaded. Getting fustrated, I did google everything I could and went to the ER about 3 times, the ER doctor's were starting to say everything my doctor was.
About once a week, I would cry because there just was no explanation. I knew it was not anxiety because I have had GAD for about 11 years now and I know my body and I was not extra stressed. After the dizziness though and after ALL of my visits to the doctors, I felt like I was going crazy, at which point they would turn into panic attacks because I was at my wits end. One of the episodes of me being lightheaded was when I was at the lake with my husband, we were in our lake house with his parents and I didn't start feeling right, so I went to lay down and watch tv and the lightheaded feeling was so bad for about 45 mins that I wouldn't move because I didn't want to faint even though I was just lying there. My husband just rubbed my back but I just don't know.
So....to get up to the current time. Around Nov. I went back and finally saw another doctor, I think it was doctor number 5 in that office, she is an APRN. She pulls up my chart and says "Wow, no wonder you are fustrated" I said yup, my words exactly. She runs labs again and finds out that I have a Ferritin level of 22. She brings me back in and tells me that I need Iron Infusions. I wanted to hug her because no other doctor thought outside of the box and found this, so I said to my husband and mom that this must be what it was the whole time. In the appt though, I did ask her about it being my hormones as well. She asked me why I thought that and I explained that I have had PCOS (undiagnosed until this yr.) since I was 16. It runs in my family big time and I never have a menstrual cycle on my own. I have been on like 8 different kinds of bc pills since I was 18. The pills always affected me in different ways, I would be sad crying all the time, or anxious with anxiety all day. Or I would be depressed etc!
So at this point, I haven't been on birth control pills since earlier last year and haven't had a period since. Oh and I forgot to mention that in February after my ENT appointment. I had SEVERE chest pain, that those ER visits that I was telling you about, was two with me going in with chest pain. I had blood drawn and all was normal. I went in for CAT Scan and that was fine. The 1st time I left, I was told it was A-Typical Chest Pain and the second time, it was something else that was like what? um ok! Also in July, my pcp I think was so fed up with me being dizzy, that she ordered me an MRI. I did the MRI and it came back normal. In Dec. I set myself up for an OBGYN visit after the APRN doctor sided with me that it may be hormones and so she sent me upstairs in their office to get a second opinion on the PCOS and hormone levels that the APRN ordered. (Mind you that she didn't know what she was ordering) she just sat down with a medical book and looked up PCOS and started ordering tests. A few days later, I went in for a second opinion to the OBGYN and sat in his office for about 45 mins. He told me everything I thought I would hear. The results showed that I had high testosterone levels and high Andogren levels.
The doctor said that with progesterone pills, I will be able to start having periods again. I haven't taken them because I want to see an endocrinolgist before I take anything related to hormones from now on. It's now January and I just got my pcp to refer me to an endocrinologist. I also had the iron infusions (two of them to be exact) and now my ferritin levels are perfect. I am still lightheaded and have regular panic attacks because of everything but I have the appointment in two weeks so I am hoping to feel better soon.
I can't take it anymore. I just got so lightheaded this morning, I thought I was going to faint. I also have worn a heart monitor and of course I got the results from the doctor today and they said that there have been no significant abnormalities. Oh and I just keep on thinking of things because of everything that I have been thru. Tomorrow I have an ENT appt again and its to do an ENG test to purposedly make me dizzy to see if this is my inner ear. I went back for my ear appointment last week and was in the same bout as last week but the ENT doctor doesn't think it's Meniere's or Labyrintis. Got a lab taken as well two months ago where it showed my liver levels were elevated but not too bad, I just got blood taken for that last week and I am awaiting on results. At this point, this is where I am in in my struggles.
