Dizziness/Haziness w/mild vertigo - symptoms of brain mets?

Rosamond

EDITED W/AN UPDATE: MY BRAIN MRI WAS CLEAR AND THE SYMPTOMS SEEM TO BE DUE TO RESIDUAL EFFECTS OF HAVING HAD BPPV FOR A PERIOD OF TIME. YAY!

About two months ago, I noticed a couple of periods of time where I felt a bit "disassociated" or detached when speaking with people at work. Those only lasted for a few minutes. It took two months for me to receive a diagnosis of BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo) from an ENT, and I went to a vestibular therapist and had an Epley procedure done, where you are positioned to move the ear crystals that have dislodged in your inner ear to a place where they can be reabsorbed. Because I had BPPV for several weeks, my vestibular therapist believes that my intermittent hazy-dizzy days are due to my vestibular system being out of whack. Of course, I am suspicious that it's really a sign that something worse is there. I am getting a brain MRI that my primary ordered later this week (at my annual physical, basically for my peace of mind), but that is causing scanxiety, of course! Has anyone out there with brain mets had these symptoms? Or, has anyone without brain mets had BPPV and then residual dizziness / haziness? It's important to note that it does seem somewhat positional in nature (worse after periods of looking down for an extended time) and does seem to be getting better, overall. But, it does come and go, typically every other day. I am doing vestibular rehab exercises that also bring on the dizziness in an effort to habituate my brain to listen to the inner ear signals again, and not just my eyes. These are directed by my vestibular therapist. It's freaking me out and causing a lot of worry!

RebzAmy

I suffer from this - and have suffered really badly in the past. It's a horrible sensation as it makes you feel so off balance and also like something could be really wrong. It can also come from any neck or upper back problems you may have as they are all interlinked and it is the sort of thing that comes and goes over time and some days could be worse than others. It's horrible wondering what's going on and thinking horrible thoughts though

Rosamond

bump

BarredOwl

Hi Rosamond:

I had benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) in 2014. It came on suddenly and out of the blue. I just rolled over in bed one morning and the room began to spin. Bending down would cause the floor to rise/tilt, and I almost fell over a few times trying to put things away in the kitchen. Tilting my head back was a problem. I had an idea what it was or it would have scared the crap out of me. I saw a general practitioner to confirm BPPV. The exercises to reposition the otoliths actually worked very well for me (just a few sessions on my own at home). The severe attacks stopped, but I had dizziness on and off for a few weeks (during which I did not drive). For a while, I could not sleep on my right side. Eventually, I found that holding my hand in a fist against my chin served to orient me (which way is up), so I could sleep on that side. I didn't experience anything like disassociation. I still get occasional very mild dizziness (not spinning), which I attribute to lingering aftereffects.

Hoping for a clear MRI for you.

BarredOwl

Blinkie

Rosamond - I've had dizziness in the past, before having breast cancer. I was also tossed around by a therapist to make the crystals move. What a weird experience that was - but it worked. I also get dizzy in the dark. For that, I was given exercises to do to strengthen my sense of balance.

Being dizzy is invisible to others but it affects everything in day to day life. Ugh.

One of the side effects listed for anastrozole is dizziness; is that what you are taking?

I hope your difficulty is just dizziness & that it is unrelated to cancer. Sending hugs.

LoriBach

That is so funny this showed up again today. I had my physical this morning and my 4/month check with my oncologist and this was a topic. I symptoms last year, had an MRI that came back clear. They did the vestibular manipulation and it seemed to help. The dizziness is back again - very much as you describe it. Once again they are sending me to a PT to move the crystals. My onc agreed with my regular doc's recommendation.

Rosamond

Good news! MRI was all clear, and the vestibular rehab therapy seems to be working, just taking some time. The vestibular therapist said that if you had BPPV for awhile and did not realize it, it can sometimes take a bit longer to get rid of residual vertigo and dizziness as your brain started to "adapt" to the "new normal," and the system must be reset. I'm looking at a large letter "E" several times a day with head movements, and using focal points when walking down hallways and aisles, looking side-to-side. Knowing that my brain is "unremarkable" now removes that source of anxiety and can speed the recovery. Thanks to all who replied!

BarredOwl

Great news! Hope you continue to improve and get back to normal soon.

BarredOwl

Rosamond

Thanks, BarredOwl, and continued good health to you!

Manuella

Hii! Having similar symptoms to what others have mentioned here, mostly when walking/standing and moving head up and down. Feel dizzy and off-balance/swaying. Went to MSK emergency room yesterday and was there from 5pm to 3am and got no answer. They did a CAT scano which came back OK. Then neurologist intern (she was like 12 lol) did a bunch of physical tests and said I didn’t have vertigo bc my head is swaying not spinning and vertigo is only spinning (have looked online and the definition includes: dizziness, swaying, spinning, loss of balance etc.). She said what I have are signa of brain mets and I need an mri but MRI is closed until Thurs and god knows when they’ll get me an appt. so yeah, freaking out

Rosamond

@Manuella, what was your outcome? It sounded like BPPV to me

Manuella

@rosamund they have no idea what it was. They did a brain MRI and all was fine. I had the symptoms for about 3 weeks after the MRI and they slowly went away. Maybe an inner ear thing? Very very thankful it was nothing! 🙌

Rosamond

@Manuella so happy for you! Mine comes and goes. Yours can come back, but at least now you know it’s not brain mets!