Headache And Dizziness

Headache And Dizziness

by Pat
(Utah)

Headache and dizziness

I'm 56 yrs old female. I've had headaches since I was about 15. I've had migraines a few times.

Lately, I get a dizzy, light-headedness, followed by a slight headache. I've also had a sound in my left ear, a whooshing sound. My headaches are usually on the left, behind my ear including the side of my head on the left.

However, last night I had a totally new experience. I was riding in the car,slightly reclined, when I looked up to look at the road my head became totally dizzy, but not spinning, locked in dizziness. I was aware of my surroundings, my head was stuck in a sort of dizziness, kinda like crossing your eyes except with some lightheadedness. Then I had a headache the rest of the night.

The last month I've had nausea bad enough I saw a doctor who did some testing,liver, pancreas, gall bladder, kidney, it all checks out. What was the weird dizziness last night? p/s Don't take meds, hate them, but been off of 10mg. Citalopram for about a month now.

Pat

Answer:

Hi Pat,

There can be a couple of things going on regarding any new symptoms of headache and dizziness.

First of all, the odd lightheadedness sounds more like dysequilibrium or a sensation of feeling slightly 'drunk'. This is common as a part of migraine aura especially since you get a headache right afterwards. In migraineurs, the rocking sensation of the car often provokes these symptoms in addition to nausea and/or vomiting. Many people with migraine have a history of carsickness as a child.

The "wooshing" sound is from the blood vessels in the neck. It is normal to hear this when you lay down at night, but hearing it during the day should be worked up further. It may indicate some cartotid stenosis. At the present time anyone over the age of 50 should have screening carotid dopplers to rule this out.

While dysequilibrium can accompany seizures, this does not sound like what is happening.

Any change in a headache profile means an MRI of the brain and in your case I would recommend an MRA of the brain and possibly the neck. Either dopplers of the neck or an MRA can get a look at the carotids.

One last thing to consider is a new onset of hypertension, but usually the headache is global in nature and throbbing. Fluctuating blood pressures can cause headache and dizziness.

When you return to the doctor you might want to discuss this with him or her. Any further treatments would be based on what is going on, and remember, a migraine profile can change at anytime in your life.

Good luck!

Mary Kay Betz MS RPA-C

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Headache And Dizziness

by Ashley N
(California)

Fuzziness and headaches

I am writing about my mom who just turned 50 and other than the headache is in good health. Note that she did have a hysterectomy about 2 months ago.

For about 4 weeks now, she has had a constant headache that is accompanied by "fuzziness" and dizziness. She said she feels as if her head is in a fog and these symptoms are non-stop.

Yesterday she had an MRI and she said today the headache and other symptoms are completely gone. She has not yet received the results from the MRI, but I am very curious to know if the MRI had anything to do with her headache going away? Also note that they did give her a dye through an IV. Thanks!

Ashley N.

Answer:

Hi Ashley,

I am assuming your Mom got an MRI of the brain with contrast due to a new onset of headache. MRI's are imaging studies that use magnetic energy to view the brain. This is accomplished by changing the magnetic fields to literally excite the water atoms in the brain. On a microscopic level the electrons of the atoms change a bit and help create contrasting images in the brain that we can interpret. The IV contrast was done to rule out a tumor.

As such, an MRI would not take the headache away. In fact many of my patients complain to me, that if they had a bad headache like your Mom, it only makes it worse!

A sense of confusion with vertigo and headache could be migraine headache symptoms. This can happen at any time of life or even re-occur if your Mom had migraines as a teen.

One thing should be added to her work up. Blood work to rule out temporal arteritis can be done. This is a rare type of headache that occurs only in people 50 and older and is easy to rule out with the blood test.

Good luck!
Mary Kay Betz, MS RPA-C

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Does the scenerio above sound like you? If not, or if you think you need more information please read about different types of headaches to find out which type of headache you are experiencing.

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