What Causes Blurred Vision,dizziness And Lightheadadenss?

Posted on Sat, 12 Jul 2014

Question: Hi..Today I was driving and my vision got super shaky, i was extremely dizzy, and light headed. I pulled over right away thankfully there was a street right next to me, and I had my mom come and pick me up to bring me to the hospital. I told the doctors in the ER what happened, they gave me a cat scan and he said everything looked great. I told them I was driving when it happened but they told me i did the right thing by pulling over...I know they can take your license away for having seizures but seeing that this wasn't one could they still take my license even though the CAT scan came back good and it wasn't a seizure I was just really dizzy?
Thanks. :)

Answered by Dr. Sridhar Reddy (5 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Unlikely to be seizures

Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Welcome to HCM!
This is Dr. Sridhar here and I shall be answering your question.

First of all, you did a good thing by pulling over your car and not driving. Such instances are known to cause accidents.

Now, there can be several reasons why you experienced such thing. Seizures are one of the reasons but are pretty rare and unlikely in your case.

If I was your treating doctor, I'd suspect some common causes like Hypoglycemia or Hypotension.

Hypoglycemia means decreed levels of sugar in your blood, which leads to dizziness and loss of consciousness. This is likely to occur if you didn't have anything to eat or drink that day. Or if you are diabetic and on medications.

Low blood pressure is another cause.

If I were your treating doctor, I'd investigate your blood sugar levels and measure blood pressure.

Since you CAT scans were normal, there is nothing to worry about and you won't be losing your license.

To prevent something similar next time, just make sure you eat something in the morning and aren't empty stomach before driving.

Hope I've answered your query. Feel free to ask if you have any doubt.

If not, you may close this discussion and rate my answer.

Wish you good health.

With regards,
Dr. Sridhar

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj

Follow up: Dr. Sridhar Reddy (5 hours later)

Thanks so much for the in depth answer. :) This happened at about 3:30 in the afternoon and the last time i had ate was at 10 in the morning I had a power bar. They checked my blood sugar and it was 78. My blood pressure was good as well.

Answered by Dr. Sridhar Reddy (40 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Blood sugar is slightly on the lower side

Detailed Answer:
Hi again,
Good to see you remember your test results. Both the results are normal but blood sugar appears slightly to be on the lower side.
There is nothing to worry about, specially since the CAT scan was normal. The normal scan thereby excluded any brain pathology, which was the only serious issue that would have concerned us.
So, continue your routine and just make sure you don't stay hungry for too long before driving.
Hope this information helps.
If you are satisfied, you may close this discussion and rate my answer.
With regards,
Dr. Sridhar.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj