Lightheadedness - is this due to Acoustic Neuroma?

[john twoffer]

My main symptom right now is lightheadedness. When I stand or sit up, I get weaker and weaker and must lay down. I am not dizzy, there are no balance problems right now, but I must lie down or recline in a chair all day pretty much every day.
I have been watching and waiting for 6+ years on the AN.
Can lightheadedness be caused by an acoustic neuroma? Or must it be due to another medical problem?
My AN is small at about 10 x 13 x 9 mm and was 5 x 7 x 9 mm in 2000 (or 7 x 9 x 5, not sure which dimension is which).
Thanks,
John

[nancyann]

Hi John,  I didn't have any lightheadedness, but that doesn't mean others haven't had it.  I had a 2 cm AN removed.  Didn't have weakness either. 
Best wishes, Nancy

[Palace]

John:


Do you have very low blood-pressure?

Also, another reason something like that can happen if a person isn't getting their nutrition properly.  Even if you are eating lots of fruits and veggies there can be something wrong with a person digestion and or colon.

Make sure you take care of this problem.  I get really tired and I don't know if this is due to my large AN.  I used to have more energy than anyone I knew.



Palace

[nancyann]

UGH!!!  The fatigue is a P.I.A. isn't it???  Nancy

[Jeanlea]

John,

I also had some lightheadness.  I thought it was low blood sugar.  I only noticed when I would be sitting or kneeling on the floor and the getting up quickly.  I don't know for sure that it was part of my AN, but I do know that since I've had surgery it's been gone.  I would also get pressure in my head if I strained myself too hard.  That is also gone.  My doctor told me not to lift anything too heavy before my surgery.

Jean

[john twoffer]

Jean, you sound a lot like me. Lightheadedness and pressure in the head. I get pressure in the had if I strain to move the bowels. Maybe it is the tumor. I am othostatic with my blood pressure at times when I am symtomatic, i.e. it drops and my pulse goes up. I have been worked up for thyroid, anemia, vitamin B12 and they are all okay.
John

John,

I also had some lightheadness.  I thought it was low blood sugar.  I only noticed when I would be sitting or kneeling on the floor and the getting up quickly.  I don't know for sure that it was part of my AN, but I do know that since I've had surgery it's been gone.  I would also get pressure in my head if I strained myself too hard.  That is also gone.  My doctor told me not to lift anything too heavy before my surgery.

Jean

[comfortzone]

I have experienced lightheadedness and if it progresses it turns into outright dizziness and then nausea. I've just been attributing it to the AN. My AN is small right now (8mm) but I originally went to the doctor because of the symptoms I had been having and how crappy I felt. Same thing, had all the tests done and then was sent to the neurologist. Looking back I have had a few spinny, lightheaded and vertigo moments over the past few years - I thought I was just a clutz! It seems that some people don't have any symptoms at all, or maybe they just don't talk about it, but I think it really affects me.   

[Battyp]

John I'm curious..what side is your an on?

I know that there is a correlation with left side an's and high blood pressure problems.  I was told that once the tumor is removed it usually corrects hbp problems.  Wonder why my doctor specifically said left?

[john twoffer]

Mine is on the right side. It's weird to say, but I'm glad to hear other people have lightheadedness and that I'm not alone in this! But I want to be clear that it is not dizzyness, or a balance thing, it's a problem standing or sitting. I get more lightheaded, and feel weak, and must lie down. I also have an increasing headache the longer I try to stay upright.
 :oJohn

John I'm curious..what side is your an on?

I know that there is a correlation with left side an's and high blood pressure problems.  I was told that once the tumor is removed it usually corrects hbp problems.  Wonder why my doctor specifically said left?

[Crazycat]

Hello John,

 Ã‚  You'd better believe it's caused by the AN! I started losing hearing in my left ear six to seven years ago. In 2002 I began seeing double all day, every day. This double vision was accompanied by lightheadedness and a hypoglycemic type of malaise that would come and go throughout the day and night. I lived in that condition for about two years. Then, my equilibrium went, big time. I was never dizzy, never nauseous and never had any bad headaches - as huge as my tumor was - I was just staggering around like a drunk. My condition was compounded by hydrocephalus  - csf build-up in the cranium - because the tumor was so big. So before my diagnosis, I went from thinking that I was diabetic to believing that I had M.S. or Lou Gehrig's disease. It was a very scary time in my life. Through my own research on the net and a few blood tests that bore out that I had a normal blood count or "CBC", I came to the conclusion that I had a noncancerous growth effecting my hearing and vestibular system otherwise known as an Acoustic Neuroma or Vestibular Schwanoma. I was right. Toward the end of my "guessing game" I was going around complaining about my condition to people, saying that I either had MS or a brain tumor. I remember when I first began having the double vision, I asked a friend what he thought might be causing it. Without hesitation he replied: "Brain Tumor". I knew he was right.

 Ã‚                 Keep in touch and take care,    Paul

[ellenvig]

I also experienced the light-headedness, big time.  When standing, sometimes, it felt like I was shrinking, and spinning a bit, and I'd have to concentrate on not passing out.  Since I had radiation, that went away.  I'm now getting some recurrence of symptoms, including that one, since the tumor is dying and swelling.  Hopefully it won't last for too long!

Ellen

[john twoffer]

Are you taking steroids for the returning symptoms? You are only 1 - 2 months post treatment right?
Thanks,
John

I also experienced the light-headedness, big time.  When standing, sometimes, it felt like I was shrinking, and spinning a bit, and I'd have to concentrate on not passing out.  Since I had radiation, that went away.  I'm now getting some recurrence of symptoms, including that one, since the tumor is dying and swelling.  Hopefully it won't last for too long!

Ellen

[Jeanlea]

Hi,

I thought I was the only  other one that had these symptoms.  I didn't even pay any attention to it.  I would get a sharp, but short-lived pain in my head during bowel movements.  I also noticed a strange feeling when turning my head quicky from side to side, not dizzy, but a peculiar feeling.  Along with the dizziness, I had these symptoms before my AN was diagosed.  I didn't even consider them a problem.  I only found the AN because I noticed a slight loss in hearing in one ear on the phone.  Guess I was good at ignoring symptoms.  Now if I could only ignore the facial paralysis and numbness...

Jean

[Road Trip Dale]

My two cents....and its an answer you've already heard.  First, go tell your doctor and have he/she check you out!!!!  Lightheadedness could be any of a lot of things, none of which are particularly good, including the AN, but the only way to know is have your doctor do some tests.  I had some lightheaded problems and my doctor, who is a little holistic if you know what I mean, put me on a Glyconutrient supplement program.  I feel great and its even helped me drop about 20 lbs.....so my advice, old and sage that I am, is go have the experts check you out.  Remember amateurs give amateruish answers and I'm definitely an amateur....

Road Trip

[Crazycat]

John,

   Dale is right.
You already know and have known that you have AN. From this standpoint, it only stands to reason that the  lightheadedness that you're feeling is related to it. You will notice that the longer you "watch and wait" the worse the lightheadedness is getting and the more other symptoms will begin to appear as the growth increases in size, wreaking havoc on your balance center and vestibular system. I know, I've been there.
 I should be a poster child or text book example of what can happen when you let it go too long. The lightheadedness I experienced became double vision and eventually, hydrocephalus and total equilibrium failure.

                 Paul