Been feeling lightheaded thought it was low blood pressure

[puddicat]

Been feeling like this for a while, went to the doctors she took my bloodpressure and said that i was fine,then she made me play silly buggars, had me touching my nose and touching her finger then balancing on one leg and turning my hand back and forward what was she testing for?anyway she said i was ok, but i still feel like i am going down in a lift when i reach the edge of the pavement or feel like i am going on a escalator any ideas!!!! thanks

[naky-nag-nat]

Could be something to do with your ears and balance?

[sqad617]

Need to know:
1 How old are you?
2 Are you on medication for anything?
3 Do these attacks have an element of rotation or do you just feel faint?
3 Do you have fullness or buzzing in the ears during an attack?
Thanks

[4getmenot]

I agree get your ears checked out

[puddicat]

sqad

53
No
Yes not very often but last a couple of days
No
Thanks

[showcatbenga]

Doc was testing to see if your co-ordination was affected or your balance or your blood pressure.
If the problem was your ears - like an infection - your eyes would jerk when tracking a finger (left to right), keeping your head still. Healthy follows smoothly.
You could have postural low blood pressure. This means your blood pressure falls suddenly on standing up from lying or sitting.
You could have developed vertigo which has a number of causes. Often side effects from other medicines are to blame! Be precise about how long you have been suffering & at what activities or time of day you are most affected.
As you are still experiencing these symptoms you should go back to your GP. Ask 'why' when you are asked to perform 'tests' - it becomes so routine to doc that they forget to explain to us mere mortals! lol. You should be told what problem each test is excluding.
Explain how this is affecting your life - resticting it - & reducing your confidence to go out alone. Ask how long these symptoms will last & at what point should you become worried or need a referral for further investigations.
Hope you feel better soon.

[sqad617]

showcatbenga is quite correct in that you need referral for a cardio-vascular assessment.

[puddicat]

steady issac not as bad as some on here i do go to work inbetween work shifts this is my time off spent waiting for the f......ing boiler to be fixed another thread lol

[puddicat]

Just wanted to update now have popping ears several times a day! even though i havent been flying, wheres my nusrsing abrs when i need them lol!!!

[Eve]

They do this to me a lot when I have dizziness and vertigo (I have menieres disease) to see if it seems to have any kind of neurological cause which would indicate certain problems which would need investigating.

I see you get any spinning sensation, like what is around you is moving or you're being pulled to the ground or have you had any problems with your hearing?

My ears also pop all the time which is part of the tinitus I get with meniere's.

Do you get any pressure in your ears as well as the popping?

Did the doctor check your ears or suggest anything like an inner ear infection or labarynthitis?

When you say for a while, how long are you talking?

[puddicat]

no checking of the ears, my popping of the ears has just started recently!

[Eve]

I'd go back to the doctors.

There are medicines for dizziness if it's really affecting you, I have stemetil for the sickness and dizziness part of menieres. I think they can also prescribe buccastem.

I'd press for a cause though and get them to check your ears for any sign of infection or fluid.

Did they check your blood pressure standing up and sitting down?

Do you have a high salt intake prior to the episodes of dizziness?

[Eve]

Ps, if the popping is driving you mad then try having a personal stereo on, anythng with headphones as it can fool the ears sometimes and can give some relief.

[puddicat]

jenna to your question she took my blood pressure sitting down, and i dont have a more than average salt intake,funny enough dont feel so dizzy thats subsided yet again but the ears are popping quite regularly

[Eve]

Is is a pressure popping or general popping (like Rice Krispies in your ear) without pressure?

If tinnitus (noise), this may be of help including how to approach your doctor...

http://www.tuneouttinnitus.org.uk/home/whatcan ido/

Do you have any tendency to be anaemic?

[puddicat]

no i wouldnt say i was anaemic but it hurts when my ears pop you know that metallic kind of popping!

[Eve]

I know it well! I have medication to help ithat, pressure and other symptoms (betahistine and cortico steroids). I

t took me a loooong time to get help for my ear problems via various GP's, ENT, neurology and a specialist neurologist despite having symptoms for nearly 10 years, vertigo drop attacks and a mother with the same disease so it's not always easy going.

You can try and train yourself to distract yourself from the popping, focussing on other sounds for instance.

I find mine worse trying to get to sleep when it's quiet so put Sky News on in the background and tune my ears to that. As it's repetitive I eventally drift off.

I'd go back and be more forceful.

Ask whether it could be related to blood pressure change from standing and sitting and ask her to check, ask if it could be related to anaemia and ask if they can do a blood count (they may not if no other signs but worth asking) and ask them to check your ears for any sign of infection or fluid.

I can't comment on the cardio bit but ask about that as well.

[puddicat]

Thanks jenna for all ure help! can cope with popping at this time, but it gets worse will go to the docs ure a star!!!!

[Eve]

No worries, happy to help :)

Many GP's aren't too good with ears so don't be shy asking for a referral to ENT if you are still suffering and not getting anywhere.

I should have been more forceful and let myself be fobbed off for a long time before I got the help I needed. It wasn't until one of the GP's saw me in the midst of a bad vertigo attack that they realised something needed to be done.

If it helps, make a diary, see if anything triggers it (salt intake affects mine - check sodium levels on packaging) and you can use it to show how much and how often it's affecting you eg hearing on the phone, conversations, TV etc..., trouble sleeping beacuse of it, however it affects you.

Good luck x

[puddicat]

hang on jenna dont go !my ear has just popped my right ear is the worse, you say speech funny enough i am struggling so much today coulnt get my brain in gear and i stuttered my replies!!!!