I Am 67 Yr Old Male With Hypertension I Take

Posted on Tue, 4 Dec 2018

Question: I am 67 yr old male with hypertension I take Lopressor/catapres /norvasc/prinzide/clonazepam/paxil/ I had a episode and had tp go to the er, I had been woosy headed and unsteady for about a week...then all of a sudden the problem with my vision went to extreme ,I had to hold on to the chair so I would not , I felt heat going up my neck and I had to close my eyes to get the tremendous spinning to subside...they thought I was having a stroke. The hospital took blood every 3/4 hours..CT scan with and w/o XXXXXXX chest X ray BP was in the 170's/180's (I had my meds early in the day at3:45pm no more until 5am the next day at hospital (they kept me over night) They said I had a anxiety attack/positional vertigo/resistant to my BP meds,never taking into consideration that I was stressed to the XXXXXXX and had no meds in me...when they did give me mymeds and I fell asleep the XXXXXXX I had a very SLOW HR and possible OSA, they gave me meclizine to take.... I saw my Doctor he took me off work for a month whie I see a sleep Dr and a ENTdoctor I am still unsteady /woosy headed...Its like a bad boat ride and you finally get to land the rocking /unsteadiness is still there looking down then up is not good I need help! all test at ER found nothing!

Answered by Dr. Dr. Naveen Kumar Nanjasetty (16 hours later)

Brief Answer:
It could be Benign positional vertigo, Meniere's disease, or Spondylitis.

Detailed Answer:
Hi

Thanks for posting the query

I have gone through the query thoroughly and understood your problem.

Dizziness of spinning in nature could be due to various reasons such as Benign positional vertigo, Meniere's disease, Spondylitis, etc.

1. Due to the increased blood pressure, there can be damage to the peripheral vascular system of the inner ear causing a disturbance in the labyrinth and semi-circular canal. This has to be rectified, hence, anti-hypertensive medicines have to be continued to reduce the blood pressure and improve the perfusion in the inner ear.

2. It is better to take betahistine instead of Meclizine. Betahistine doesn't cause drowsiness and also, it reduces the blood pressure marginally and improves the perfusion in the inner ear.

3. Spondylitis is another condition which could present with similar symptoms. Hence, an x-ray of the neck has to be done to rule out bony changes.

4. Bed rest for a few days is mandatory. Avoid stress, excess salt in the food and caffeinated drinks.

You should get better with the above medications and home remedies. If not, then, we need to investigate further. An MRI of the brain would be required, to rule out any neurological lesions.

Hope this answers your query; I will be available for the follow-up, queries.

Regards
Dr. Naveen Kumar N.
ENT and Head & Neck Surgeon

Note: Consult an experienced Otolaryngologist / ENT Specialist online for further follow up on ear, nose, and throat issues - Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D