Is this vertigo?

by **effectsofaltitude** » Mon Mar 29, 2010 1:51 pm

while this question may parallel other "vertigo" related threads here on SP, i needed some more specific answers than the others were able to provide.

so here's the skinny...
me and my old lady used to do a lot of climbing back when we were dating. got married... had kids...etc. so now, the kids are a little older, and she wants to start climbing with me again, but ever since the kids were born, she tells me that she gets dizzy anytime her feet leave the ground. so, we take it slow, and hit up the local climbing gym. first route she goes up, i can tell something just isn't right. i tell her to come down... we clear her head for a couple minutes... she says she's fine... so she goes back up. so she's going up on a dihedral, turns around into a rest position, and as soon as her eyes looked away from the wall (to the ground below), her face goes as white as a ghost. needless to say, we called it quits, for the day. she was fine hours later, but she was pretty upset because she really likes to climb.

so i do some research, but i cant find anything about the biological changes in a woman after childbirth, but after talking to some other women (non climbers), they all say that after having kids, their balance was never the same. is this vertigo?

i would appreciate feedback from anyone, but i am hoping that someone who has actually experienced child birth (and bounced back), might be able to chime in.

thanks in advance!

by **nhluhr** » Mon Mar 29, 2010 5:12 pm

Just out of curiousity I googled "vertigo after childbirth" and one of the top hits was this post from "the dizzy lounge", a web forum dedicated to discussing dizzyness symptoms.

Hi KaraP
Welcome to the dizzy lounge. Very sorry that you are going thru all that you are at a time in your life that should be so happy for you.

I know many of the woman here have said their symptoms have increased during times when hormones would play a part. It seems thru the years here though that we have pretty much put that to these are times when our bodies retain extra fluids and when you have an inner ear or vestibular disorder that does enhance the symptoms so it may or may not be a sign for you that the hormones are the soul cause.

Shortly after having your son did you end up getting sick with a cold/virus? If not im wondering if by chance child birth could have caused a possible fistula in your inner ear. A fistula is a small tear that can be brought on by pressure changes or even bending and lifting something too heavy. So my thoughts are during child birth you do alot of pushing and that I feel could be enough to cause it. You symptoms may not have showed up at first as maybe the tear was small and over time became a bit bigger. Just speculating of course. I could be way off the track.

I saw where you asked what MAV is. MAV is migraine associated vertigo that stems from migraines that can at times be silent so you don't even know you are having them. Do you have a history of migraines?

If I could suggest a doctor for you to see at this point I would suggest a neuro-otologist. They specialize in treating people with dizziness and balanced disorders and all in all have a bit more knowledge about inner ear and vestibular disorders then say most ENT's do.

Sorry for all the questions and at this point for just speculating on what could be. If you tell us more maybe something will ring a bell and we may have a better idea of what might be going on with you.

Truly hoping you will be able to get to the bottom of all of this real soon!
Jill
__________________
Dizziness & Vertigo for 18 years. Diagnosis Autoimmune Inner Ear Disorder (AIED)

Full story read here. http://thedizzylounge.com/jill.htm

Perhaps migraines, perhaps AIED, etc... Time for a checkup with the doctor?

by **Sierra Ledge Rat** » Mon Mar 29, 2010 11:26 pm

Sounds more like anxiety than vertigo.

Vertigo is a sensation of motion when you're not moving. Try spinning around and around in circles and then stop suddenly. That feeling you get when you stop is VERTIGO. You're not moving but you feel like you're spinning and/or really off balance.

If she is experiencing vertigo, it has nothing to do with childbirth.

Vertigo is most commonly an inner ear issue. Vertigo spells are more commonly precipitated by head movement, looking upwards, or anything else that causes fluid to move in the semi-circular canals.

More rarely, there are other causes of vertigo such as inherited diseases (Meniere's Disease) and other problems.

Both vertigo and anxiety are common complaints that doctors see frequently. Any doctor will be able to interview her in detail, examine her, and help her figure out the problem. You don't need to go to specialist unless your doctor feels that further evaluation is necessary.

And be careful what you read on talk boards. Including my advice right here. (:

Go see a doctor.

by **mconnell** » Tue Mar 30, 2010 3:24 am

Sierra Ledge Rat wrote:Sounds more like anxiety than vertigo.

Agreed. Anxiety is not uncommon after child birth. My wife started having severe anxiety attacks after our first child was born. After several months of suffering, she went to a doctor, who got it under control very quickly.

by **MoapaPk** » Tue Mar 30, 2010 3:32 am

I had vertigo as a result of the destruction of the neural pathway to my left inner ear.

It felt much like this old game:

Take a pencil, hold it high above your head, stare at it, and spin around 10 times while focused on the pencil. Now throw the pencil 3' in front of you, and try to step on it.

by **tigerlilly** » Tue Mar 30, 2010 4:20 am

Ya. Vertigo is more complicated than you think. There are a number of causes, so first go see a professional. Stop reading now. still reading? Ok. It comes on suddenly - some say from virus, ear infection, bad cold, allergies, sudden impact, etc, etc. It will put you flat on your back for a few weeks. You want to puke your guts out because the room will not stop spinning. I've had it happen twice, each episode was 5 years apart. The second wasn't so bad (it only lasted a few days) because I immediately went to the doctor to get it "fixed".

One common cause is "bppv". Apparently, there are microscopic calcium deposits (rocks) in your inner ear, responsible for sensing forward momentum. They can get dislodged. If they do, they float around stimulating little hairs inside your ear, making you feel sick. There is an easy way to fix it, though. http://www.dizziness-and-balance.com/di ... /bppv.html (assuming this is the cause).

My sense says she does not have bppv. I think it is perfectly normal to get woozy high up, which is why I don't look straight down!! ;-)

Is this vertigo?

Is this vertigo?

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