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Suggest Treatment For Dizziness, Dry Heaving And Vomiting
Question: Suffering from dizziness after a day of dizziness and vomiting plus dry heaving for hours. Going to chiropractor lately and he has helped me but wondering if I have vertigo possibly from neck injury when young. Have also been on no sugar diet. Don't know what to do for this weak, lightheaded feeling after being so sick in bed for 24 hours 2 days ago. Any advice ? Thank you so much.
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Brief Answer:
Neck injury can be the origin, but other causes should be considered
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I am sorry about the symptoms you are experiencing.
So if I understood you well you have chronic neck issues with dizziness and have been suffering from intense dizziness and vomiting for 2 days, the dizziness still persisting.
Regarding the possibility of a neck trauma being at the root, yes that could be a possibility, a neck spinal trauma followed with degenerative changes with aging might cause such symptoms. That is due to compression of upper cervical nerve roots or of the arteries supplying the posterior part of your brain by bony spurs. However before putting that as a definitive diagnosis imaging tests are necessary starting with a simple x-ray of your neck and perhaps an ultrasound of the neck vessels.
Apart from that other causes should be considered such as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo problems of the inner ear, blood pressure alterations, anemia, low blood sugar etc. So blood pressure monitoring, and a routine lab check (blood count, blood sugar, electrolytes) is recommended.
The no sugar diet is not likely to be the cause if you are taking enough liquids and calories.
Once the cause has been ascertained, management can be discussed, if neck issues physical therapy is the mainstay of the treatment, medications which could be used are muscle relaxants for short periods or anti inflammatory painkillers if with neck pain as well. Antihistamines like dimenhydrinate or meclizine could be tried to control your dizziness.
I remain at your disposal for further questions.
Neck injury can be the origin, but other causes should be considered
Detailed Answer:
I read your question carefully and I am sorry about the symptoms you are experiencing.
So if I understood you well you have chronic neck issues with dizziness and have been suffering from intense dizziness and vomiting for 2 days, the dizziness still persisting.
Regarding the possibility of a neck trauma being at the root, yes that could be a possibility, a neck spinal trauma followed with degenerative changes with aging might cause such symptoms. That is due to compression of upper cervical nerve roots or of the arteries supplying the posterior part of your brain by bony spurs. However before putting that as a definitive diagnosis imaging tests are necessary starting with a simple x-ray of your neck and perhaps an ultrasound of the neck vessels.
Apart from that other causes should be considered such as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo problems of the inner ear, blood pressure alterations, anemia, low blood sugar etc. So blood pressure monitoring, and a routine lab check (blood count, blood sugar, electrolytes) is recommended.
The no sugar diet is not likely to be the cause if you are taking enough liquids and calories.
Once the cause has been ascertained, management can be discussed, if neck issues physical therapy is the mainstay of the treatment, medications which could be used are muscle relaxants for short periods or anti inflammatory painkillers if with neck pain as well. Antihistamines like dimenhydrinate or meclizine could be tried to control your dizziness.
I remain at your disposal for further questions.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
Thank you Dr. Taka for your info and advice. I would like to take advantage of my follow up and pick your brain some more as I intend to share this with my chiropractor. He is a chiro with Maximized Living that services the U.S. Olympics and saved me from back surgery 10 years ago. Today however, I have serious arthritis in my neck as shown on the x-rays we took. I believe it's between C4 and C5 that it's bad. Can this cause vertigo like symptoms ? Do you think that the neck exercises that I do daily to strengthen my muscles or my adjustments could contribute to this? I have also been under serious stress for 3 years. I know that stress can cause some major problems. Any info and further advice is greatly appreciated and I can't thank you enough in advance. I'm grateful to have found this website.
Brief Answer:
Yes, neck spinal changes can cause dizziness.
Detailed Answer:
Cervical arthritic changes or cervical spondylosis is known to be associated with dizziness due to the mechanisms I explained above (compression of blood vessels to the brain or compression of the nerves which take information on neck position to the brain).
Physical therapy to strengthen your neck muscles is beneficial as it reduces the strain the spine has to deal with. Other methods are posture changes, traction, chiropractic manipulation etc.
As for the role of stress, well stress can cause all sorts of symptoms, there have been times when I have attributed dizziness to stress in some patients. However that is only once other causes are excluded. In your case since there is a well plausible cause in the neck issues I think that should be addressed.
If you feel you have other symptoms which could be attributed to stress then of course concomitant treatment for anxiety could be considered.
I hope to have been of help.
Yes, neck spinal changes can cause dizziness.
Detailed Answer:
Cervical arthritic changes or cervical spondylosis is known to be associated with dizziness due to the mechanisms I explained above (compression of blood vessels to the brain or compression of the nerves which take information on neck position to the brain).
Physical therapy to strengthen your neck muscles is beneficial as it reduces the strain the spine has to deal with. Other methods are posture changes, traction, chiropractic manipulation etc.
As for the role of stress, well stress can cause all sorts of symptoms, there have been times when I have attributed dizziness to stress in some patients. However that is only once other causes are excluded. In your case since there is a well plausible cause in the neck issues I think that should be addressed.
If you feel you have other symptoms which could be attributed to stress then of course concomitant treatment for anxiety could be considered.
I hope to have been of help.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Raju A.T
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