Sudden onset of vertigo - could it be thyroid related?

[lovelab]

Hi all,

The earliest appointment I've got a GP appointment for is7 Feb. and by visio, for my sudden onset of vertigo.

I am visiting my elderly mum in UK for a week and woke up first morning with vertigo in bed as if I was very drunk and had to hold onto the mattress to get balance, eyes kept scrolling and felt very nauseous. It passed once I sat up in bed.

It then happened again when bending down to do my boots up, and I had to sit on the floor til vertigo passed. It has also happened when I look up or down but by adjusting my neck and looking straight forward it goes. After 3 days it has more or less gone but again this morning I felt it coming back (day 5)

To be noted I have had neck pain over past few weeks. I have arthritis in the cervicals (old whiplash injury from teenage years). But this time my neck pain included the muscles on the right side of my neck as if I had strained it. But cant think how I could have done that other than sleeping in a bad position.

I looked on list of thyroid symptoms and saw vertigo as one, hence coming on here to ask your opinion.

Does this sound like a thyroid problem to you all? Or a more mechanical problem like a trapped nerve. If thyroid, what to do, expect? It is very debilitating and frightening tbh.

(I am currently on 100 mcg L Thyrox, and supplementing vitamin D3. I am due to have new bloods done. I have low vit D despite supplementing and and am bad converter from FT4 to FT3 as seen in past posts. I have been trying to get my vit D levels up and to find a doctor who will prescribe FT3. Not found one yet in my home in France.)

Thanks for your feedback.

[tattybogle]

Just a thought as it came on suddenly ~ Have you considered Labyrinthitis ? nhsinform.scot/illnesses-an.... I knew someone who had that, and it was similar to what you describe ( except it was constant )

[lovelab in reply to tattybogle]

I'll look it up. Never heard of it before. Thank you.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

When were folate, B12 and ferritin levels tested

Low B12 is extremely common on levothyroxine if not supplementing B12 or vitamin B complex

Low B12 symptoms 

b12deficiency.info/signs-an...

methyl-life.com/blogs/defic...

when were thyroid levels last tested

[lovelab in reply to SlowDragon]

Thanks Slow Dragon, I'm due when I go back to get bloods done. Been 6 months since vitamins etc done. B12 was ok ish but you did say then that it could be better. I'll insist more on this when I video the doctor. Thank you again.

[lovelab in reply to SlowDragon]

I am wondering also if my calcium levels which have been high in the past and vitamin D deficiency might be doing something odd ... I'll get this tested again too. They did test my parathryroid glands a couple of years ago and that came back normal.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to lovelab]

if you had LOW vitamin D and HIGH calcium….you need parathyroid tested again

Essential to test vitamin D, calcium and parathyroid levels together

parathyroid.com/low-vitamin...

Once you get results put in this app for diagnosis

calciumpro.com/

[lovelab in reply to SlowDragon]

Thanks again. I didnt know I had to test them altogether . I'll keep this in mind.

[Imaaan]

I get vertigo as a symptom when my ferratin isnt optimal. Another possibility is the ear

[lovelab in reply to Imaaan]

thanks for info. It seems therefore to be vitamin or mineral related more than thyroid medication related. Will keep this in mind.

[Framboise]

Commiserations I know what that's like! You mention neck ache, have you lifted anything heavy in the last few days, or have you slept awkwardly with your head on one side? Does the area under either ear feel at all different or odd? I would guess that with the recent pain yours has a lot to do with the muscles all around your neck and throat.

I had vertigo and dizziness for years, was treated by osteopaths etc who told me it was all coming from my neck, but their treatment sometimes made it better, mostly made it worse. I eventually found a sports massage therapist, who also did myofascial release work and trigger point therapy. She worked on my upper shoulders, the back of my neck then my sternocleidomastoid muscles and got rid of it. It came from an old injury to my left shoulder which over the years had started pulling up to my neck and then round to my SCMs due to me working for hours on a computer with my head on one side and always sleeping in the same position.

This may not be the cause of yours but the fact that you woke up with vertigo rings a bell with me, I only have to sleep on my right side and I wake up with it too. Have a look at these links. If you don't think your vertigo is similar then see a doctor in case it's something more serious, but in my experience it's more often a muscular problem. If you think your vertigo could also be caused by these muscles, and if it doesn't settle soon, you can either try to treat it yourself via Curalistic link, or better still find someone who is prepared to work on the SCMs - not all physios, osteopaths and massage therapists are, so it's worth checking before you go to them:

fibrodaze.com/trigger-point...

triggerpointtherapist.com/b...

curalistic.org/sto-handbook/

facebook.com/groups/curalis... in case you're on Facebook

triggerpointselfhelp.com/st...

physio-pedia.com/Sternoclei...

[lovelab in reply to Framboise]

Thank you for sharing this. Very helpful. I think it is quite likely. Hope it gets sorted. I feel a bit of an idiot stumbling around.

[lovelab in reply to Framboise]

video is excellent in first link. Thanks

[App1]

Last year I was seen by a student GP as I was suffering dizziness. On examination she said this had an underlying cause and suspected low thyroid which was confirmed by the blood test she then ordered,. This may be of interest to you,. Wish you well,

[lovelab in reply to App1]

Thank you for feed back.

[Hidden]

I have had vertigo a few times (I have Graves disease). It actually started before I was diagnosed with Graves disease. I was given exercises to do by the doctor.

[lovelab in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for feedback.

[serenfach]

Look up Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). It sounds worse than it is! And pretty easily fixed.

I did the exercises myself after a week of walking into walls, and the vertigo went and has not come back. No harm done if it is not this, but worth a go. Good luck!

[lovelab in reply to serenfach]

Thank you. Will give it a try. As you say nothing to lose. Have found a video that shows the exercises. The eye movement in the video seems very similar to what I am experiencing. Not sure if I can post the video link here. It's called the Epley manoeuvre if anyone else is interested. Will let you know how it goes.

[ZeldaR]

Hi,

Just to add my own experience from a few years ago, which felt exactly like what you describe, especially the sudden onset. I also have Hashimotos and thus a range of problems pop up on a regular basis. But in this case the dizziness felt 1000% worse than anything I'd felt before. I ended up seeing a private GP -- had the same problem as you of not being able to get an NHS appointment for weeks and I simply couldn't stay off work that long -- and she diagnosed me with a viral ear infection. She prescribed something called Serc which eased the terrible vertigo within a day. Since then I've had lesser flareups most winters, and I always keep Serc at hand which does wonders. By now I can discern the difference between the vertigo related to deficient vit B levels, and the full on ear-infection type of vertigo. The GP had told me that many of the patients she saw with this problem were foreign visitors; something to do with their immune systems not being exposed to what is a regional-specific virus. (I'd worked abroad for many years, so I also fitted this bill .) Unfortunately the treatment requires a prescription so you'd still need a GP.

For your sake I almost hope that this is what you have, because it means that much as the symptoms are terrible, there's a quicker fix than for just about every other possible cause. Either way: I hold thumbs that you manage to see a GP sooner rather than later.

[lovelab]

Thank you so much sharing. It's dreadful when it hits in. But am beginning to manage my movements and seeing what sets it off. Ill take a note of the medication. I know my vits are not great because of bad absorption. I'll have to mention all this to GP. Wondering how he can check if I have i infection on a visio call ... doctors are private in France anyway but there are just not enough. Dreadful shortage in my area.