Interested in some opinions

Hi all, trying to diagnose my symptoms and plan next steps, any help would be appreciated.

A month ago I became extremely dizzy in the evening after I switched off the PC from a long day of work. I would describe the dizziness as a loss of balance when moving (like I was bouncing a bit) and light headedness/head tingling, there was no ‘room spinning’, I just felt like I needed to steady myself to walk to my bed. It was frightening as I’d never experienced anything like it. I put myself to sleep and booked the doctor for the next day.

The next morning I could walk but with a fair bit of difficulty. The doctor is at the end of my street so I hobbled my way to him and he referred me to an ENT specialist three weeks away. The dizziness continued to subside over this time, to the point that I could eventually drive a car and work, but I would experience more subtle episodes that would last for fewer and fewer lengths of time. I experienced constant tinnitus but not loud enough to really bother me, I just know it’s there when it’s quiet in the room. There also feels like there’s a slight pressure or fullness to my right ear from time to time.

The ENT specialist did some balance tests to rule out Meniere’s, confirmed my hearing was perfect, and diagnosed vestibular migraine as the most likely cause given I have a stressful job and have had a couple of migraines in the past. He recommended an MRI which also returned as normal.

It’s now about a month since my initial symptoms. The tinnitus is still there and I still feel a bit “off” like I’m not properly connected with the world. Some days I experience no dizziness at all, but if I do experience that it will usually come on about mid morning, with light headedness. Each episode is more manageable (early on I’d have to take calls lying down for a couple of hours, now I can kind of push through the discomfort and keep working) which makes me feel like something is improving/healing, but it’s just taking time.

I mentioned to the ENT that I’d be interested in taking something for the dizziness, he recommended Sandomigran and gave me a year prescription and said if it didn’t improve in two weeks I could get a referral to a neurologist. I was hoping I could just take something for specific episodes and was reluctant to start what sounds like a permanent course of something without assessing my options, particularly when my symptoms have improved a lot.

Just wondering whether these symptoms mirror anyone else in here and what other options I should consider (eg wait it out, physical therapy). Thanks

Posted May 4, 2022, 1:43 AM UTC

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