For the 1st 9 months or so after my stroke I suffered a lot of dizziness / fuzzy / woozy heads. It had eased off a lot but at the end of last year you may recall I had a severe dizzy spell which saw me back in A&E. Thankfully after a number of weeks that eased off & since then I have had an odd dizzy spell but at quite a low level. 3 weekends ago I had another bad dizzy spell, where I thought I was going to faint, & nausea. I rested up & after a couple of days it went away.
Last weekend I went to a little get together for my step daughters birthday. I only managed a couple of hours before having to leave. The following day I felt like my head was going to explode all day. That eased off but all this week I have felt really wobbly. I’ve stumbled a few times & on Weds I had a little fall. Well more I bent down to do something, went a little dizzy & forgot to stop bending no injuries sustained.
Yesterday & today I have felt light headed, dizzy, like my legs are wobbly & it’s starting to get me down.
I saw the Stroke consultant after my last A&E visit & he said he didn’t know what was causing the dizziness. Fobbed me off really. I then saw my GP. She was great, explained loads to me, reassured me & referred me to ENT. ENT rejected the referral saying they didn’t think I had vertigo. My GP has gone back to them to say how do you know you haven’t seen her & I’d like you to see her. That battle is still being fought. I am seeing my GP again on 25th April about something else but will ask about dizziness again.
I returned to work 4 weeks ago & have been doing 3 hrs on a Mon, Weds & Fri although this week did Tues, Weds & Fri. I was due to increase my hrs next week but its been delayed until week after. I’m not sure if that’s causing some of my symptoms or not.
If you’ve read this far you’ve done really well I guess I’m just after any coping mechanisms that people use for dizziness as I’m really struggling to cope with feeling like this all the time.
Hello @Mrs5K
I don’t normally deal with dizziness per say, but I do notice a sort of faint feeling when trying to interact with people at times, almost like a film over my brain. I have been attempting to return more to work on a very limited phased schedule but cannot shake the fatigue and weird feelings enough to do so just yet. It’s almost a year now so for me this makes me wonder how long all these symptoms could last. Best wishes to you and hope you feel better real soon.
I read to the end because I suffer from dizziness and I was interested in your experience. I have to be careful when i’m brave enough to try and pick something up because like you, it has led to falls. My Gp claimed one ( of many) of my tablets caused dizziness so I stopped taking them and had awful cramps! Which a nurse said the tablets I had stopped prevented cramp! I must say your GP sounds incredible. Cherish her.
I’m getting fatigued now! So I’ll finish and wish you all the best.
@Mbhope i don’t think there’s any way of knowing how long the symptoms will hang around for. It was 16 mobths before I returned to work & only doing 9 hrs a week currently. Just when i think i’m doing ok I seem to have a setback. Like most of us I guess.
Hope you improve enough to try a return to work.
Best wishes to you xx
@Mahoney It’s very frustrating when you seem to be getting nowhere with the medical professionals. We’ve all had that I’m sure. I think when I saw my stroke consultant he was having a bad day as he seemed to be in a bad mood. My GP though is great & i know I am lucky there. I guess I just want to know why I feel dizzy all the time & if something can be done to ease the symptoms. I can’t really pinpoint what’s causing it as the other day it came on when i bent down, previously when i was wiping up a plate & sometimes just when i’m sat down.
@Georgie2021 you have my sympathy. It’s horrid isn’t it. I hope you’ve managed to sort the meds so you don’t have cramp or dizziness! My GP has been very supportive & I know I am lucky there.
I never thought about the computer possibly causing it. I will watch out for it & see if it brings symptoms on. I did lower the brightness on the screen the other day as I was struggling. Definitely worth a thought.
Hopefully the hospital will accept the referral this time
I read to the end because I used to have it prior to stroke. It was mainly at night when I’d first lay down in bed…always felt I was going to fall out and had to hold on 'til the room and my eyes stopped spinning Sometimes it would happen when I bent down for anything too. But it cleared up all by itself at some point over the past 2 years post stroke. ENT offered to do the Epley manoeuvre on me last year when I was getting my hearing sorted but I turned it down as it seemed to have cleared itself up.
And I know my MIL had it several years ago and the doctor did this for her, think she had to do it at home herself too a couple times. It seemed to sort it for her.
In the mean time you could try to determine which side it stems from by following the instructions on the webmd site I’ve posted bellow. Maybe try the manoeuvres yourself to see if they may help.
That’s all very interesting - I suffer from dizziness on and off and had been putting it down to tiredness after the stroke but I will ask the stroke nurse at the hospital about it when I see her in May - an appointment arrived out of the blue - thought I’d been discharged from her clinic as I hadn’t heard anything for ages but obviously not. My GP is lovely and very responsive but I think mainly all she can do is to refer on to secondary care
@EmeraldEyes thank you for the links i’ll look into them & see if i can determine which side it’s coming from. It could be from my stroke though as it started then but who knows
@FionaB1 when I went to A&E in Dec the stroke nurse said where I had my stroke (occipital lobe) can cause dizziness. I’d be interested to hear what your stroke nurse says.
I did wonder if mine was due to tiredness but i’m not sure. I don’t do that much really.
Hope you’re keeping ok & your appointment goes well xxx
Mrs5K. So sorry to hear this Ann but it could be something to do with the computer as it seems to have come on about the time you went back to work. Dizziness is horrible isn’t it? Makes you feel so unstable and wobbly.
My problem again is my foot turning outwards when walking. It’s been very scary today but no idea why. After making a fuss I now have an appt at my hospital with an Orthotist late next month. My foot has already caused a broken wrist and is stopping me walking as I’m so scared of falling again.
Hope you get some answers soon Ann. Like you I have an amazing GP so lucky in that respect.
@Apple i’m really hoping it’s not being caused by work as pretty much all my job is computer based. Will see how it goes over next few weeks.
I’m pleased to hear you’ve been referred to an orthotist hopefully they can provide some support to stop your foot turning outwards. I can understand you being wary. Falls can be frightening & really knock your confidence.
Seeing as it came on post stroke I wouldn’t have thought it could be the computer. I mean, you didn’t have it before your stroke did you and its now worsened?
Anyway I hope your doctor puts her foot down with a firm hand and gets you sort out with ENT pretty sharpish
Bore da @Mrs5K, my world is a giddy world, and I do use certain techniques to make things manageable. In my experience be careful that you are not being anxious of feeling dizzy as this will potentially make the experience of being dizzy worse. Are there any things that cause heightened dizziness, lighting, movement, thoughts &c? All my giddy issues are stroke related, and I have an issue with my convergence-accommodation reflex, which means my brain can’t control my vision and movement in sync. I get giddy if I move quickly and then slow down, or the light changes, or the surface I am walking on changes. I do controlled breathing to reset my cognitive spatial-visual problems, such as standing still with my eyes closed, breathing in for four and out for five through pursed lips. This slows down the anxiety felt when starting to feel giddy. I also use muscle-tensing techniques which are used by fighter pilots to prevent orthostatic hypotension, which is when low blood pressure causes dizziness as they zip and zoom through the air in their flying machines.
@Rups thank you for the tips. I will definitely try some of them.
I am quite good at the deep breathing if I start to feel anxious once the dizziness starts.
I usually find when i’m moving about it’s worse but also, like this morning, just when i’m stood up. This morning a visitor popped by & I stood for a minute saying hi. I had to grab a chair & sit down as felt very dizzy.
The Stroke Nurse mentioned that an occipital lobe stroke can cause dizziness so it may be that but I don’t know. I too have convergence isdues which i’ve been seeing opthalmology about since my stroke & I do daily exercises for. Not due to see them again till end of May. I get some double vision in the periphery & I feel, in general, my vision is a bit blurrier than it was. I did turn the brightness down on my computer monitor the other day as it seemed too bright.
I’ve been checking my blood pressure & it seems to be ok.
Do you get nausea with it too?
It’s quite debilitating at times isn’t it. You have my sympathy having to live in a giddy world. I can honestly say I hate it. But if i’m stuck.with it I need some coping techniques so am very grateful for your tips.
Shwmae @Mrs5K, I can get nausea at times, especially if I push past the feeling as opposed to managing it. Blood pressure can drop when feeling anxious, so muscle tensing helps prevent that fainting feeling. I can become anxious if I get too giddy as the main symptom I had when the stroke struck was severe dizziness. I have noticed that when I am doing something and my mind wanders, if I return my focus to what I am doing, I can get giddy. I relate this to when someone is lost in thought, they tend not to notice what is around them. So, the brain has to shift gears again, this can cause a moment of adjustment if the problem is spatial-visual.
As with anything though, I tend to think that if you are worried that this might be something other than stroke related, it is worthwhile chasing up with medical professionals, even just for peace of mind. Though, if it is BPPV (vertigo), it shouldn’t last long.
@Rups my stroke too started with awful dizxiness & nausea so when I get it it’s natural to wonder if it’s another stroke.
I was looking on Dr Google last night & came across something called PPPD & a lot of that resonated with me. I don’t pay much attention to Dr Google though as like to have a proper diagnosis. My GP has referred me for further investigation so hoping the hospital will see me this time. I’m seeing my GP next week anyway so will mention it again.
Thankfully after a week the symptoms have eased a bit today. Hopefully be gone completely tomorrow…until next time that is
So over a week on since my dizziness started I am still feeling dizzy. I thought it was going away on Monday as it eased off but it keeps coming back in waves. It’s really getting me down now. Hopefully the weekend will see it gone but who knows.
Sorry, just feeling sorry for myself & needed to get it out my system.
Hope you’re all enjoying the sunshine
No need for apologies, it really must get you down, dizziness to that extent is a hard one to cope with. It’s no fun that’s for sure. And this is the best place for getting things out your system The weekend is nearly here so get out and sit in the sun while we have it
no injuries sustained.
Sometimes it would happen when I bent down for anything too. But it cleared up all by itself at some point over the past 2 years post stroke. ENT offered to do the Epley manoeuvre on me last year when I was getting my hearing sorted but I turned it down as it seemed to have cleared itself up.
