Short spell of dizziness

[fairyfeathers]

hello to you all

I had catheter ablation end of Sept 2022 to alleviate flutter. I also had lots of annoying etopics. I was suffering with some tachycardia too and very low BP which made taking Bisosporol an issue. All went well. I’m currently on Edoxaban and 2.5 Bisosporol as a PIP. Things had settled down. I had follow up chat with my EP and I was a happy little bunny 😃. My etopics were less frequent and I felt better in myself. This week I have felt very tired and lacking in energy, just out of sorts. For the past month I have been experiencing more aches in my back and hips, which I put down to being in my 70’s! Sorry for the rambling.

Well this afternoon whilst walking my elderly doggy with my hubby I suddenly out of the blue came over very dizzy and I knew I was going to fall so I slowly went onto my knees. Luckily our Lane is quiet. My husband helped me up and we got back home as we were not far from our gate. I immediately did my BP which was high for me at 121/69 heart rate of 88. I took it again 5 mins later and it was 107/65 heart rate 82. All is well now the dizziness has gone.

This episode has knocked me for six and am confused as to the reason for the episode? Any thoughts please? Thank you.

[Singwell]

That sounds very upsetting as you don't know why it happened, plus it came on suddenly. You did have some warning though, which I think makes it presyncope (medical word for ferling faint) and you didn't lose consciousness if I've understood. Definitely talk to your doctor about this. I know there's a partner association to the AFA called STARS that gives information about feeling faint and syncope. Maybe have a look there. See what others say here too.

[fairyfeathers in reply to Singwell]

thank you for your response to my post. I had another episode this morning. I felt unstable and had to hold on to a worktop in the kitchen. It seems to come and go?? My BP is fine for me. Very odd. I haven’t felt very well for a month various aches and pains. I suffer with anxiety which just feeds on issues like this😔. I will ring my GP surgery Monday to discuss. Thank you again.

[MarkS]

As it came on suddenly, it could be a TIA. Does your husband know the symptoms? Did he notice if your face looked strange or if you were able to talk coherently and clearly? How long was it before you could get up and walk?

[fairyfeathers in reply to MarkS]

thank you for your reply to my post. I had no issues with my speech. When it happened I made the sensible decision to drop to my knees. Everything was unstable and I knew I would fall otherwise. This feeling lasted for a minute or so. My husband helped me stand and supported me walking. I do suffer with tinnitus and sinus issues so perhaps a reason for the dizziness I will speak to my GP surgery on Monday. Thank you again

[Snowgirl65 in reply to fairyfeathers]

Fairyfeathers, sinus problems can certainly cause dizziness and if it goes further down your throat and into your chest (caused by sinus drip), could affect your breathing and your not getting enough oxygen. Something to consider. I hope you have it checked out and find an answer quickly.

[fairyfeathers in reply to Snowgirl65]

thank you. I also suffer with bronchiectasis as an add on to the sinus issues. I’ll send off a Sputum test to my Resp Consultant for good measure. So many things to consider. I tend to blame most things on my heart as it’s the latest thing to misbehave! My Ear Nose and Throat Consultant actually wants to see me in person in the next 6 months to check on my sinus status as I have been having telephone chats only for the last 2 plus years. I’m feeling better this afternoon so that’s a positive.

[bassets in reply to fairyfeathers]

I have bronchiectasis and asthma and understand how difficult breathing can be. I hope you. can sort this problem out with your doctor soon. Best wishes.

[fairyfeathers in reply to bassets]

thank you, having a lung condition is a challenge but I am lucky as I do not have asthma with it as that must be very difficult. I hope you are well at present? x

[bassets in reply to fairyfeathers]

I am, thankfully, and hope it will continue! We moved to the country a while ago and I think it has helped a great deal. Hope you can find out what's causing these issues and sort them out soon. Take care x

[Rainfern]

There's a lot of things cause dizziness so only a GP can really check out and suggest what's behind your recent episode. It must have been very unnerving. I hope you are able to find ways to rest and relax over the weekend while you wait for an appointment, and be safe in the knowledge you can call emergency services if necessary. Take care.

[fairyfeathers in reply to Rainfern]

thank you for your support. I will rest and behave myself this weekend in the hope all will be well.

[Ppiman]

Only going from what I have read and been told, your ablation will have healed by this stage, so it's unlikely your doctor will look to this for the cause. It's also hard to know just how much of events like this are caused by anxiety, which you say you suffer from. The problem with this is that once a "switch is triggered" by a specific feeling, the mind and its anxiety then multiply everything so unhelpfully with awful feelings on top like a cascade of events. These can include a wide range of symptoms, including tingling in the chest and neck, numbness in the lips, high heart rate and blood pressure changes. It would also probably be difficult for your doctor to find a problem unless it happened in front of him or her.

The heart rate and blood pressure that you measured (even for you, as you say) aren't high at all, and don't seem to be high enough to have been a "panic" response. I suspect the only thing to do is to ask a doctor for advice. If you happen to have an Apple Watch or other home ECG device (e.g. a Kardia, or Wellue), that might be worth using if you can while an event takes place, but that won't be easy, either.

Steve

[fairyfeathers in reply to Ppiman]

thank you for your response. I decided against using an Apple Watch or Kardia as I knew I would be checking it constantly. Anxiety is awful at the best of times but at the moment I’m really trying my best to keep calm. I was doing well after the Ablation and I’m hoping my dizziness is unrelated. Thank you again. Hope you are ok?

[Ppiman in reply to fairyfeathers]

Yes thanks FF - just creaking in various places from being nearly 70. I seem to be ticking a lot of the boxes off bits and pieces wearing out!

I’m an anxious sort, too, but I have only ever found my Apple Watch helpful, so don’t be too put off. You know yourself better than anyone, though, of course. Overall, I suppose these things don’t really tell us much that we already know, but I get far more ectopic beats and mild racing than ever I get AF, these days, so it’s useful for that.

Steve

[fairyfeathers in reply to Ppiman]

I’m pleased you are doing ok, apart from the creaking! I will look again at an Apple Watch. My EP just said don’t worry about the Etopics. Easier said than done. I wish you well

[Ppiman in reply to fairyfeathers]

That’s exactly as I feel. This past few days they’ve been very frequent - as now, like a bumpy chest!

Steve

[Singwell]

Have a look at this link heartrhythmalliance.org/sta... If it's now your 2nd event even though fleeting you won't want to ignore it.

[Singwell]

Can I just check - you feel a bit faint AND dizzy? I might have missed some of the info. This just might be vertigo, which you can get if you've had an infection (labrynthitis where the fluid gets trapped in the ear). Or it can happen with anxiety. I had horrible stress related vertigo during the pandemic. I felt dizzy, nauseous and faint but my BP and HR were both on the high side.

From your responses above I'm.thinking it might sound more like one of these. Which btw is kind of good news...

[fairyfeathers in reply to Singwell]

when it happened I was walking normally and thinking this is nice I am having a good day health wise then without warning I felt very unstable I tried to steady myself but felt I would collapse so I went to my knees. My husband thought I had dropped something on the floor. I was able to tell him I felt dizzy no sickness and knelt there for a short while and it seemed to improve a little to enable me to stand with the support of my husband. Odd. I’m very on edge now as it happened again this morning, not as severe, but felt the floor was moving?? It improved quickly.

[Singwell in reply to fairyfeathers]

OK. These are all specific things to tell your GP - I felt the floor was moving. It passed quickly both times but I think you're right not to ignore it. I understand that you're on edge. I would be too.

[fairyfeathers in reply to Singwell]

thank you. The prob with my GP surgery is that now I’ve had a heart issue the Receptionists speak to Duty GP who says ring 111 for advice??? The hope is that as this is dizziness I might be able to attend my GP surgery.

[Singwell in reply to fairyfeathers]

Yes I agree. This is a new behaviour. Can you dig your heels in and insist that you get at least a telephone consult? I have to be very firm sometimes with our surgery. Alternatively you can also request a telephone consultation with duty GP via 111. I did this on Christmas day in 2020 when I had the vertigo attack. If you describe what happens they'll put you up their system. It's quite a good process once you've got through. Don't leave it till this evening though...

[fairyfeathers]

my Surgery were ok until I had a couple of trips to A&E with tachycardia. Plus my Ablation. As far as Surgery is concerned all my health issues are heart related and I need to attend A&E! I will be assertive on Monday and see what happens. If I have further dizziness this weekend I will contact 111. Thank you

[DawnTX]

Well it sounds like you did everything right when you felt the way you did and thankfully that your husband was nearby. I am afraid that feeling that way is almost normal to me since last April when it comes on, I seem to lose vision on the right side and there is a feeling through my chest I cannot describe but yes I feel as though I am going to hit the floor, I even feel it in my throat. I have only fully blacked out three times but this other feeling can happen several times a day I have no idea why I don’t jump up because I can’t my heart rate until now has been in the 150s and then in the 120s to 30s. Since being on digoxin the past month it is below 100 for the most part. Fingers crossed. All of this will be behind me by the end of the month because I just had a pacemaker planted it will be finished with the ablation etc. on the 27th. Your doctor needs to know what happened. He may just tell you to watch your numbers even if you didn’t have a fib there are times in your life you probably had your numbers changed but they just didn’t bother you like now. Sometimes I almost feel as though I am too aware and have to take a step back , it’s good to pay attention to your body but if you focus on every little bump we will make ourselves crazy. This is not a little bump for you and you don’t sound like someone that normally gets overly concerned with a number change. Best of luck talk to your doctor. Sometimes they could have a simple explanation and then reality with what we have, we have to expect stuff like this time to tell him I’m afraid even healthy people have things similar

please let us know how you are doing. I like to think we learn from each other. I know I have learned quite a bit on hair and it’s making this whole a fib journey easier. Also having a great doctor helps and I feel that I have been blessed with a great one, you need a doctor that talks to you not at you. I also don’t care how it sounds. If I have a question, I will ask mine and he has not laughed at me yet 🤗🙏🏻

[fairyfeathers in reply to DawnTX]

thank you so much for your response. I’m sorry you have had a rough and scary time but hopefully things will improve for you going forwards.

I have a lot going on at present and I’m sure this is not helping me health wise. I’m hoping the unsteadiness is due to tinnitus/sinus issues as these are bad at present? Plus my BP levels at the time of my unsteadiness was fine. But I will see my GP to discuss as it could be something completely different. I thought my heart was settling down nicely and I was relieved to have a little peace. You are correct when you say we can become too aware of what our body is doing which in turn causes anxiety. Thank you again. x

[DawnTX in reply to fairyfeathers]

I am trying to give what I have gotten on here, which is some relief to people. Having afib thrown at us was unexpected as we all know. I never thought of it until I had it and even then it has taken quite a while to sink in, especially since it has gotten so much worse. The first two years I had two ago ablations and they were successful. That means I took it for granted, feeling pretty good without issues other than some palpitations and my meds for keeping everything controlled quite well. I got hit with a lot when I was moving to Texas and went into full a fib and a typical flutter. It was pretty much downhill since then until now.

There is a saying, how do you eat an elephant? The answer is one bite at a time, and a fib is our elephant, I think. Every day they are working on things to make us better. In the meantime, we have to be grateful for what we get for relief. For me, that means no longer taking anything for granted, and not being foolish doing things to trigger. I will be going into a new phase next week when my pacemaker is connected and my AV node ablated. Thanks to people here I am no longer afraid of it. Deep breath reach out to your friends here if you need any of us.

[fairyfeathers in reply to DawnTX]

all the best for next week when it’s all symptoms go with the pacemaker and the ablation. I hope all goes well and you feel much better health wise.

After my Ablation in Sept 2022 I felt so much better after the blanking period and put Flutter etc and feeling awful to the back of my mind. I agree we must make the most of the good days if we are lucky enough to have them. the people on this Site have been so supportive and I’m very grateful.

[DawnTX in reply to fairyfeathers]

best of luck to you also🙏🏻😊

[Coco51]

Sorry to read this and hope things are settled now. But I just wanted to say that I have 2 friends who had what you describe and it turned out to be labarinthitis - an infection of the inner ear. One of them it happened when she was driving and called an ambulance to the roadside. It took about 10 days to feel better. Really hope you get over this soon.

[fairyfeathers in reply to Coco51]

thank you. I am seeing GP or senior nurse hopefully tomorrow if I ring at 8am and queue. I’m hoping you are correct and that it’s an inner ear thingy, which I obviously have time to fit in and deal with😂. I’m still feeling very tired and out of sorts and unsteadiness has improved lots.x

[Coco51]

Fingers crossed.

[fairyfeathers in reply to Coco51]

I saw a Nurse Practitioner this morning re my unsteadiness. She actually carried out an ECG, listened to my chest, did my sats, BP and took full details of what happened etc. She said the ECG this morning was in normal sinus rhythm which was good. She is arranging for me to have another Holter fitted and advised me to carry my sats device with me at all times to take a reading when I have another episode. I discussed my chronic sinusitis and tinnitus could be the cause of the symptoms but she feels my unsteadiness is to do with my heart/rhythm issues?? Which is disappointing. So I will see what happens next. My appointment today was quite amazing as all tests carried out without fuss and I felt she listened to me.

[DawnTX in reply to fairyfeathers]

No one has all the answers she could be wrong. Anyone that has had any type of ear problem knows when your equilibrium is off all of you is off. You feel lousy, and your balance is not great among other things. Wait and see what they come up with after all the results are in. I found during my hospital stay that, some of the nurses really don’t know what they don’t know. I have had incredible nurses, but this time around I had a couple I could’ve lived without very nonchalant dealing with me, including running off, letting me get up on my own, leaving me in the restroom. It was a big chart on the wall. I am a fall risk , I even had the red band on yet someone wrote that I was not and when I left they wrote down I said I had no pain which was farthest from the truth. I have such low tolerance for sloppy workers. I also had one that went through my entire hand and part of the other, trying to do blood for my glucose, I am not bashing nursing. They can be wonderful, but not everyone is equal just like us with a fib. Best of luck let us know how you are doing.

[fairyfeathers in reply to DawnTX]

thanks so much. I personally think and hope it’s my ears/balance issues that is causing the unsteadiness but she did not look in my ears and the sinus/tinnitus was dismissed. She was very thorough and kind so I was grateful for that. I have another Holter being fitted next Weds and they want to do a full blood count blood test. She did say any chest pain or worsening symptoms ring 999. All a mystery but hopefully answers soon. You sound as if you had a very stressful and scary time in hospital. Do hope things have settled for you?

[Coco51 in reply to fairyfeathers]

Well I'm glad the nurse was able to do all that - and listen! I find them better than the doctors when it comes to treatment and explanations. I did have a bad period after my second ablation - which was rocky ride for four months - when I kept getting "pauses". They were about 3 seconds long and I felt woozy. The cardio nurse said they worry when the pauses are longer than about 4-5 secs. But then they stopped when I settled. My understanding is that all these things, ablation, sinus problems, anxiety etc cause cortisol release and inflammation and that irritates the heart. Do you take Magnesium by the way? On the advice of a cardiologist much revered on this forum I take Mag Taurate and Vitamin C every day and I think it helps. Might be worth a try while you wait for the investigations.

[fairyfeathers in reply to Coco51]

Thank you. I think you may have given me some helpful advice regarding magnesium. I have taken this for years (prior and during my heart issues) but I ran out of my magnesium tablets 3 weeks ago and I had forgotten to buy more, kept meaning to order them but life has been so stressful recently (my husband's poor health plus elderly dog, plus dealing with the aftermath of my dad passing) I will order more Magnesium today in the hope it helps, even a little. x