Imbalance, Leaning Towards Left Side, Headaches. Causes ?

Posted on Sat, 26 May 2012

Question: I have a feeling of off balance ( i start to lean towards my left side ) and then a few seconds later the off-balance feeling is gone followed by a headache that can last a long time.

Answered by Dr. Jasvinder Singh (48 minutes later)

Hello,

Thanks for posting your query. I can understand your concern for these symptoms. What you are having can be due to ataxia which is a lack of muscle coordination during voluntary movements.

First and foremost any disorder of cerebellum should be ruled out. Apart from that other causes like alcohol abuse, stroke, tumor, cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis (debilitating disease that affects your central nervous system, which comprises your brain and spinal cord) need to be ruled out.

You need an urgent neurological examination from a neurologist and investigations like omputerized tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of your brain and a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) done to confirm the diagnosis. Once diagnosis is confirmed, treatment can be planned.

Hope this answers your query. If you have additional questions or follow up queries then please do not hesitate in writing to us. I will be happy to answer your queries.

Wishing you good health.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T