Hello everyone,
I just stumbled across this forum in my incessant googling, and I thought I'd join in. I'm a 27 year old female living in Washington, D.C. but originally from NY. I'm having an MRI with contrast on Monday 10/30 and I'm having some anxiety about it, so I wanted to post my story to see if anyone has had similar experiences and can perhaps offer some support.
I started having episodes of vertigo a few months ago. During the month of August, my left ear felt clogged, like it had to pop, for about a week. It was really bothering me, but it eventually went away. In mid-September, I was out at a street fair and had a major vertigo attack. I couldn't even stand up. I had noticed my ear starting to feel clogged again earlier that week, and over the next few days it got progressively worse, accompanied by tinnitus. Since I moved here recently and don't have a PCP yet, I went to an urgent care clinic that I had been to before. I have a history of severe allergies and sinus problems, so the PA diagnosed me with labrynthitis and advised me to continue with antihistamines.
I followed the suggested course of treatment, but it only got worse. I was having bouts of vertigo several times a day, and my ear was so pressured I kept saying I felt like my head was going to explode. I was losing sleep because I'd wake up with vertigo, and there was NO relief from it--lying down actually made it worse, so I'd just have to wait it out. I also had significantly reduced hearing in the left ear. It was becoming debilitating, and I got fed up one day and started calling around to ENT doctors. I finally found one that could see me that day. I went in and had an hour-long hearing test at an audiology lab, then saw the doctor. I had hearing loss in the left ear--not a shocker--just assumed it was temporary from whatever was clogging it. The ENT suspected Meniere's, and put me on a prednisone pack and a diuretic and advised that I go on a low-sodium diet and cut out caffeine and alcohol. A few days aftter the appointment I started to get major headaches (I've never had a migraine but I'm assuming thats what it feels like) and I assumed it was from caffeine withdrawal, even though I only have about 1 cup of coffee a day and very few other caffeinated drinks.
I followed that for 2 weeks and felt better towards the end--still felt a little pressure but not as much. Vertigo had subsided. I returned to the audiology lab for another hearing test. Saw the ENT, told him how much better I felt, that I thought the diet had helped, blah blah blah. He tells me my hearing results are exactly the same as the prior test. Wow. So he wrote a prescription for the MRI. Didn't explain why, just said"to rule out anything else". I made the appointment for the MRI 2 weeks ago.
For the past 2 weeks I've been having vertigo almost every morning when I wake up. I've been late to work a few times because of it, not wanting to get behind the wheel until I felt 100% ok. I have an intense feeling of fullness in my ear, although the pressure is less than it was before. The tinnitus is becoming bothersome and I have noticed pressure behind my left eye, forehead and cheekbone. I know this might sound crazy but I actually "feel" like there is something in my head. Normally I'd attribute that to sinus problems but I'm breathing 100% clear so it doesn't make sense. I've been having difficulty sleeping for months now, and I'm constantly exhausted and lacking energy. I've also been having stomach issues since this all started--not sure if it can be related, but I'm just trying to get this all out right now.
At any rate, I know nothing can be diagnosed until I have the MRI, but I needed to vent a little bit to people who might understand. My mother is a nurse and keeps telling me I'm crazy and I have nothing to worry about, but that's not helping me. Thanks for listening and thanks in advance for any information or support.
