Dizziness and pressure in head?!?

[just1yogi]

I need to hear from anyone who is having or has had this feeling of dizziness with waves of pressure in the head. I have had this occassionally since my dx in 2003. But it has been non stop for 2 days now. I finally talked to my Neuro today and she thinks it is just part of the progression of my MS and wants another MRI.

Flairs in the past have always been foot drop, numbness, and exagerated balance problems. But this feeling of pressure and dizziness is new and not fun. It is worse when I lay down.

I would appreciate any input on this. Even if it is just to know I am not the only one this is happening to.

Is this just another sx that I will have to add to my list of unpleasantness? I hate it because it makes me feel so helpless to do anything about it.

[Thinkimjob]

I have this. Feels like an inside-out vise, like your head is going to burst. But it's not like a migraine.
Dizzy, but no need to vomit.

I think it might be a lesion in that part of the spine where your neck hits the pillow, but I'm not a doctor, so I don't know.
It does go away (or it does in my case).
Try lying absolutely flat on your back, with no pillow.

I am fascinated, honestly, at the enthusiasm your US neuros have for MRIs, especially since it costs you so much money.

I'd understand if there was any point, ie a new exciting treatment, but it's just mmmm that's worse than the last one, and nothing to help.

[just1yogi]

Thinkimjob,
I have only recently started seeing this Neurologist. So we are still getting to know each other. She is still tying to sort out what is just whining and what is important. I know that I am paying more attention to every symptom that comes along since I have been reclassified to SPMS.

It is very easy for me to visualize a new lesion cooking away in my cerebelum as waves of dizziness sweep over me. But you are right. What difference does it make? There is a very real feeling of helplessness that begins to creep in.

Helpless but not hopeless. I am convinced that everything happens for a reason. I love what Joseph Campbell said about reviewing our lives and discovering, " how encounters and events that appeared at the time to be accidental become the crucial structuring features of an unintended life story."

[Citlalli]

I've been having this exact combination--dizziness plus a slightly sickening feeling of pressure in the head, kind of behind the eyes--and was telling myself it might be a side effect of Baclofen... Any chance that's what it is? I'm seeing a new neuro next week and must remember to put it on my list.

[rennie]

I experienced the dizziness and pressure in the head and eyes just this past month. Saw the doc and was told that the dizziness is an inner ear thing. She had me lay on my back, but a pillow under the arch of my back and turn my head left, then right. When I turn my head to the right, the dizziness sets in.
She didn't have any comments as to what to do about the pressure in my head.
Mostly, I stayed flat on my back and tried not to move my head alot.

[Baker298]

So sorry to hear that you're experiencing dizziness. Mom's chronic vertigo was caused not by her MS but from gamma knife surgery six years ago (and that's an entirely different community/website that I blog on). She also notices that the dizziness increases based on the humidity level (high). She calls herself a Human Barometer (daily I ask her what her Dizziness Scale, 1-10; she's always at a 6) and it was especially debilitating the days leading up to Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene in New England in August.

What Rennie is referring to is the Epley's Manuever used for BPPV -- Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo. The flipping moves the crystals back into your ear canal. A PT and a PTA performed it because each time it was done Mom thought she was gonna fall off the mat. There's a modified version that can be done in your bed at home. See if your MD can write a script for PT. Sending you good thoughts.

[foggyrose]

Oh yes, both things sound so familiar. Dizziness was one of my first symptoms, especially when the weather was warmer or I took too hot a shower. Eventually the shadows of trees, poles, etc., when my car would pass them, brought on the dizziness. Also the pressure in the head.....I'm sorry you have this, but on the other hand it's reassuring to know someone else has this same symptom.

I can remember mentioning it to every doctor I saw, but they all just seemed to brush it off and never gave me a reason for it. Sometimes I'd actually get a "goose egg" type bump on my head on extra bad days. Thankfully, as time went by, it's finally not happening much at all. I imagine it's part of the inflammation that goes along with the MS and hope yours goes away too!

Take care.......

[Daisy Dead Petals]

Got these both all of the time. Ice on the nape of the neck while resting quietly sometimes works wonders. Dizzy can last a few seconds or a few days, as well as any length of time in between. Feels like there is a lemon size growth inside my brain.

DON'T get a neck massage it only makes it worse.

[Coriander]

crazy mad vertigo

I get crazy mad vertigo at times and sometimes feel like my head is in a vice. The vertigo is worse when I am fatigued. Taking half a valium helps the vertigo issue but hurts my ability to walk. Lying down and napping helps both problems for me.

[AnneLouise]

I have this. Feels like an inside-out vise, like your head is going to burst. But it's not like a migraine.
Dizzy, but no need to vomit.

I think it might be a lesion in that part of the spine where your neck hits the pillow, but I'm not a doctor, so I don't know.
It does go away (or it does in my case).
Try lying absolutely flat on your back, with no pillow.

I am fascinated, honestly, at the enthusiasm your US neuros have for MRIs, especially since it costs you so much money.

I'd understand if there was any point, ie a new exciting treatment, but it's just mmmm that's worse than the last one, and nothing to help.

I know this was posted a while ago, but just now read it.
Yeah, why do I have to have an mri every year? Because I'm on copaxone and the neuro wants to see how it's working? Can't you just look at me? Or listen to me? I should know how I feel, considering I live in this body 24/7. And my insurance doesn't cover it until I meet the deductible. The four that I had did not change at all, though I have progressed (24/7, remember?). I could understand getting an mri if I change treatments. My neuro wrote up a script for one and I haven't made the appointment yet. Sorry, but this irritates me.

[just1yogi]

The update on the MRI that my doctor ordered is that the insurance company denied it. Here in the United States our insurance companies control all of our access to healthcare.

A secretary sits in an office and looks for any reason they can find to deny an authorization for a medical procedure. In my case the doctor failed to list the dizziness as a new symptom. It appears they have a different set of rules for PPMS than for RRMS.

The dizziness and pressure is much better now and I have decided to just add these to the galaxy of other symptoms that make MS so fun.