Been dizzy

[Alfie33]

Been to the doctors about Been dizzy and hospital are fitting a 24 hour ecg to me. But my argument is that I Don't feel dizzy every day ,so if they fit it on my good days it won't show anything

[DodgyTickerMum]

Hiya, do you have a home blood pressure monitor? A low B.P. can make you feel lightheaded, together with a cocktail of heart meds (many of which also lower your B.P) - is definitely not the best combination.

Hope you get some answers and feel a bit better.

[Alfie33 in reply to DodgyTickerMum]

Yes i do have a home monitor my BP is fine but my pulse goes from 80 to 199 . So there fitting a 24 hour ecg at some point to see if my heart is beating correctly. I just hope im having a bad day when they fit it

[Judithdalston in reply to Alfie33]

when I had my 24 hour BP monitor on I tried to do the whole range of things I might do over a week to get the range of activities, but obviously not m daily swim which n itself was therefore not typical. 6 months down the line now waiting a 7 day monitor!

[DodgyTickerMum in reply to Alfie33]

Hope you get the monitor fitted soon. I’ve had lots of these over the years. Always came back ‘abnormal’ but, because they knew I had a murmur - the G.P dismissed the results. What I should have had, was an Echo, which would have revealed the extent of my valve issues. Hindsight is a wonderful gift! 🤦🏼‍♀️

If you don’t get any joy with the G.P and you’re in a financial position to do so, you can refer yourself to see a cardiologist privately. (Preferably someone based at the hospital you are under). I think an initial Consultation is around £250. You can then be referred back to the N.H.S, but they would then oversee your care and you then have a point of contact, if further issues arise. Hope you get something sorted soon.

[Gooner1947 in reply to DodgyTickerMum]

I was thinking about getting referred to a cardiologist privately. I've noticed the cardiologist I saw on my NHS appointment in Newport does also have a private clinic at a private hospital nearby.Food for thought.

[L8Again]

My wife started having episodes of syncope 6 years ago. She would lose consciousness (her heart would stop) for periods of up to 30 seconds. These episodes were often 6 months apart. Two 24 hr and one 3 day holter monitors detected first stage heart block and ectopic beats. After 4 years and no progress, we paid £400 for a 14 day holter monitor. The report from this showed first degree block; ectopic beats; thousands of missed heart beats and one very short period of AF but no episodes of syncope.

The results from the 14 day holter monitor were though enough to persuade her cardiologist that she needed an Implantable Loop Recorder (ILR). A month after this was fitted, my wife had a syncope episode. I took her to our local A&E and once the tracing team had looked at her trace she was admitted immediately for the fitting of a 2 lead pacemaker.

In sum, a 24 hr monitor might reveal a cause for your dizziness but it might not. Unfortunately, if nothing untoward is revealed you may not get the answers that you are looking for. The NHS does not fit ILRs without clear clinical evidence of need. It can be extremely frustrating not just for you but also those close to you.

[Rya83]

Hiya hun. I'm waiting on cardiology. But recently I have been feeling dizzy too, my BP was normal and heart rate was 112. Which he didnt seem too worried about. 🤦‍♀️ All I got from my gp was I had something called Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo. He gave me travel sickness tablets and that was it. I hope you get more luck. Xx

[Ewloe]

I pushed and have had both a 5 day one and a 7 day one. Also I’ve an Apple Watch and I printed recorded things when I was symptomatic which showed arrhythmias. I showed these to the cardiologist. All helped with the diagnosis. Good luck.

[Goldstar45]

Hi sorry to hear about your dizziness issues it is a problem getting a diagnosis and takes time I notice one of the replies mentions going private (Yes I'm aware we've all paid into the NHS and probably you beliefs or means prevent this course of action) The waiting list in our area is ridiculously long so I've had to bit the bullet in the past and seek private advice. Around £1000.00 (of course costs differ depending where you live) should pay for an initial consultation, echoscan, ecg and a follow up consultation, if you choose a consultant that works for your local health authority they should be able to to feed you back into the NHS for any medication you require. ( Yes lots will condemn such actions and of course the choice is yours ) Hope you get sorted soon.

[Qualipop]

I had the same problem with monitors trying to catch bouts of ectopics. They just kept trying until they eventually found them. Be persistent. If this one catches nothing, ask for another- and another.