Please, please help me

[carrot-cruncher]

Can anybody point me in the direction of a helpful & easy-to-read medical website.

I ask 'cos my Dad has been having problems for the last 2.5 years & we're fed up with being bounced back & forth between neurology & cardiology who both keep saying they can't find anything wrong with Dad.

Dad keeps suffering intermittent dizzy spells.   When he has a spell he can't stand, very often he can't even answer a simple question & loses all co-ordination.   We've been keeping a record of his spells but there's no pattern to them, he can have several one week then go for months without a hint of one.

According to the hospital it's not epilepsy, strokes, diabetes, food allergies or his heart.   He's had sleep-deprived epilepsy tests, heart monitors....the works & we've still not got an answer & the not knowing is driving us all barmy.

All we want is some definitive answer then we can work around it.   The worst part for the family is watching Dad detiorate from being active & fit to somebody who on bad days can't even get up the stairs on his hands & knees

CC

[carrot-cruncher]

[tim]

Poor you.

I would have thought it unlikely that a website could do better than the specialists, but under 'medical advice' there are many approaches - many for money!

The only one that I've ever used (free) is https://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/enquiry/enquiry.asp

[slugcatcher]

Sorry to hear about your Dad CC, it must be horrible to watch and not now what is happening.

But I am with Tim, about the specialists, I think if you found a site that would give systems the same as your dads, but without tests, it could be something totally different.
I now you must be wanting a precise reason for all this happening to your dad.
We could possibly all give similar experiences and they all be different conditions.

Hope everything turns out OK for your dad and your family

Best wishes
Ron

[Hyacinth]

I'm so very sorry, CC - what a worrying situation for you all, and particularly for your Dad, not knowing when it may happen again.

Has he ever been seen by a Dr. at the time he's having one of these attacks, I wonder? - Lishka

[honeybee]

What a worry.

I was going to suggest nhs direct too as i know many people that use them regularly and find them helpful.

However rather than search the website i would suggest that you call them. 
They have a 24 hour sevice and the telephone number is
0845 4647
At least they will be able to offer you some support and maybe point you in the right direction, although ive never used them myself , ive heard very good reports.

Good luck

[moonbells]

My dad has dizzy spells too, as you they've ruled out a lot of things. Latest theory is either his recurrent ear problems (Dad has a perforated eardrum from when his dad boxed his ear when he was 18... so is pretty deaf on one side) or cervical spine (neck) problems. 

Meanwhile he can't sometimes stand up or drive, and as Mum can't drive at all, it's a bit worrying. You have my sympathy. Has he been checked by an ENT specialist?

moonbells

[caz 406]

There's a website -www.healthboards.com. It's not medical advice but it's like this one only people share their medical experiences. It may not be of any use, but it could be worth a look in case anyone has had same/similar thing.
Good luck...

[tim]

My thoughts on nhs are that it would be much more helpful for them if they had a full explanation by e-mail, rather than by trying to offer help on spec on the phone?

And much cheaper for you??

[Gadfium]

CC - my Grandad had similar problems, in his case it turned out to be inner ear related. Was fine, then would be unable to stand, dizzy, felt sick, no pattern as to when it would occur... have the neurologists checked all this out? Have he been seen by ENT specialists?

In general, I agree with Tim, in that the specialists are the experts; however you have to hit on the right specialist - there are so many fields of expertise nowadays, that doctors have little 'overlap' experience, and their appreciation of lateral/alternative/wider approaches are rare. I found this out the hard way... it nearly cost me my life.

[busy_lizzie]

 CC I am so sorry your dad is having such unpleasant symptoms.  Have you looked at Menieres disease or something related to the inner ear.  The worst thing is not knowing,  - having had odd symptoms that puzzled the medical profession myself, I know how frustrating it is.  The sooner he gets to know the sooner something can be done.  I do feel sympathy for you all and hope you find the answer soon. love, busy_lizzie  

[Gadfium]

CC - like Busy Lizzie has just suggested, Menieres is a distinct possibility, also 'benign positional vertigo' and 'vestibular neuronitis', which is also known as 'viral labyrinthitis'...

For lots of reading, try a google search using the terms: 'dizzy spells' ear (with the quote marks)... e.g. these are some of the documents that appeared http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/html/Dizziness.html, http://depts.washington.edu/hearing/Menieres%20disease.html, http://www.michiganear.com/library/brochures/dizziness/dizz_brochure.html, but there are thousands more.

[tim]

Now that you mention that, Gadfium, yes - I had inner ear infection causing nausea & dizzy spells. But don't think that I lost co-ordination. Never checked!

I was given phenobarb for it. Great stuff!

[rosebud]

Hi CC, just my twopence worth, OH has very similar symtoms had to get him to casualty on one occasion they couldent find anything wrong cut a long story short, it turned out to be and still is VERTIGO very scary indeed he gets totally confused among other symtoms. PM if you wish. Regards. Mary.

[Anne Robertson]

My dad suffers from similar sounding symptoms, each lasting 1 min to 1/2 hour. He's been told they are TIA's - trans-ischeamic attacks ( basically, very mini strokes ie not enough blood getting to the brain for a short while.
In between time he is completely normal and leads a very full and active life.
Hope they soon find out what's wrong with your dad.

[return of the mac]

CC- awful to hear- i have had big health problems myself, NHS 24 were VERY good and so was my local NHS. However i managed to get an appointment with an alternative therapist called Jan De Vries, who tweaked my diet and gave me some drops. Now i feel great thanks in part to him- heres his website:
//www.jandevrieshealth.co.uk

Take care
John

[Tulipa]

I suffer from Vertigo on and off, it is the most debilitating thing and sometimes can't lift my head up from the pillow without being sick.  Other times it feels as if my head swoops down to the floor, like on a roller coaster and I stumble and must look drunk.  really embarrasing! I shall be seeing either a neurologist or ENT specialist next time it happens.  I can go months without an attack then it just catches me unawares.  Have they looked at MS? as that can produce very similar symptoms with incoherrent speech, dizziness, clumsiness, lack of co-ordination etc, it has lots of different forms.

[clairenpaul]

Hi CC,
So sorry to hear you and your family are having such a difficult time - you must be so worried.
I used to be a nurse and when I read your post my first thought was a TIA as Ani has mentioned or perhaps an ear problem but i would imagine that the specialists have already checked these out.
You could try NHS direct, but if I were you I would keep plugging at the doctors and hospital - when my son was very young he was poorly with vague symptoms and i nagged and nagged the doctors until they investigated it fully. fortunately he's fine now but sometimes unfortunately you have to be a bit of a pest to get things done.

Good luck we're thinking of you all xx

[BAGGY]

Sorry to hear about your dad.  I suffer form chronic epilepsy ( fit free for 18mth so far ;D).  I had been coasting along on my dugs quite hapily and then all of a sudden I had really bad dizzy spells where I was completely spaced out.  The drugs had built up in my system and poisoned me.  I am no expert but I wouldn't rule out the epilepsy / inner ear thingy.  Epilepsy comes in so many different forms.  Unfortunatley I get the rolling on the floor frothing at the mouth type like a rabid dog (sorry if this offends anyone but it helps me deal with it  :'()

[DolphinGarden]

Hiya cc,

from your second paragraph I recognised a little of the symptoms of what my father had, and ani then gave it a name, TIA.
He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's but it turned out to be a lack of blood to the brain.  He used to drive lorries, and when younger a certain brand of truck the company he worked for just didn't suit him (he was a tall man) and it is thought, I think it was his opinion anyway, that the constant hunching over led to a pinching of the blood flow in his neck.

I was living in America when the symptoms started (15 years ago) and this is going on what my mother told me since. The confusion and dizziness were symptoms he had.
Now I don't want to alarm you, though maybe did. But it turned out not to be the Alzheimers, just they thought it was as he got a bit confused....

I haven't looked at the links supplied, but most people have suggested this TIA diagnosis, and we're all at home at our pcs,so what do we know....


good luck

Ciaran

[Jane the Novice]

Sorry to hera your Dad is unwell. I am a nurse and my immediate thought was a TIA as previously suggested. Has he seen a Vascular Specialist to rule out the possibility of a blocked or partially blocked carotid artery?