Thread: why do I get dizzy (frequently) all of a sudden?

This is so weird. I have noticed it only in the past couple of weeks.
I get dizzy for a few moments when I
- bend over to look down
- or just look down to the ground
- sometimes with sudden movements, but it's not that typical

Someone suggested it's vertigo, but I don't have any other symptoms, I'm not nauseated, and have no issues with balance, etc. And the dizziness is very short. For example just now I took a shower, while drying myself I bent over slightly, looked at the floor - felt a head rush and things started spinning. When I stood up, it was gone in a couple of seconds.
Sometime I just stand straight, and look down, and there goes the spinning.
Other times it's a sudden turn of my head, but looking down is mostly the cause.

Vertigo is often associated with balance issues, and my balance is pretty good, especially since I balance something on my head every weekend.
This Saturday, during the break of the show, I was sitting, reached over to grab my ankles, slowly, sort of stretching. Then things started spinning. It wasn't that my costume cut off the circulation, it was lycra and very comfy. As I straightened up, I was fine, but I also felt this dizziness while changing costumes beforehand, standing, looking down.

Then I went on and had a fire tray on my head, danced and spun with it and I was fine. (as long as I didn't look down, which is not recommended with a tray on your head). So my balancing is not affected.

so any advice?
thanks!

Are you on a diet?
Have you had your iron level tested recently?
Do you have any pain in your ear?

You should see a doctor because there are too many variables. It could be low blood pressure, low iron (anemia), not enough calorie intake, inner ear issues.

I agree with Tanya about seeing a doc. It could be an ear infection or a sinus problem.

Definitely see your doctor. My first thoughts were...
Dehydration.
Low blood sugar.
Low blood pressure.
Ear infection.
Hope this helps.

It happens to me regularly. It's why my spins still suck because I can't practice them fro more than five minutes without feeling dizzy. I think for me it's from the medication I am on. Are you on any medications? OTC or prescription?

Get it checked out by a doctor.

Low blood pressure. Have it checked out. (this runs in my family. The rule around my house is don;t stand up too fast!)

Get checked out by your Dr. Just to be on the safe side.

{{{HUGS}}}

I had the very same symptoms. They came on without warning. I was diagnosed with benign vertigo, I lived in Seattle at the time and since I moved to a dryer climate the dizzy spells have stopped, but I still get moving sickness riding the BART (commuter train). Sorry, no advice except I took motion sickness pill in the morning (Dr. suggested because he didn't know what else to do, and he was a specialist), or as needed. That really helped, that and getting out of a wet, cold climate.

Benign Positional Vertigo

Oh, forgot to say, there are exercises you can do. Just Google them and you will find them.

Originally Posted by Marianna

This is so weird. I have noticed it only in the past couple of weeks.
I get dizzy for a few moments when I
- bend over to look down
- or just look down to the ground
- sometimes with sudden movements, but it's not that typical

Someone suggested it's vertigo, but I don't have any other symptoms, I'm not nauseated, and have no issues with balance, etc. And the dizziness is very short. For example just now I took a shower, while drying myself I bent over slightly, looked at the floor - felt a head rush and things started spinning. When I stood up, it was gone in a couple of seconds.
Sometime I just stand straight, and look down, and there goes the spinning.
Other times it's a sudden turn of my head, but looking down is mostly the cause.

Vertigo is often associated with balance issues, and my balance is pretty good, especially since I balance something on my head every weekend.
This Saturday, during the break of the show, I was sitting, reached over to grab my ankles, slowly, sort of stretching. Then things started spinning. It wasn't that my costume cut off the circulation, it was lycra and very comfy. As I straightened up, I was fine, but I also felt this dizziness while changing costumes beforehand, standing, looking down.

Then I went on and had a fire tray on my head, danced and spun with it and I was fine. (as long as I didn't look down, which is not recommended with a tray on your head). So my balancing is not affected.

so any advice?
thanks!

yes, yes, yes! go see a doctor! hopefully, it's just something like dehydration or allergies- for me it is allergies, low blood pressure and cronic anemia- but a dear friend of mine ignored it for way too long, and eventually found out she had a tumor pressing on a nerve- there are just too many things it *could* be to take chances!

Dizziness was my first symptom of pregnancy!

thanks ladies - food for thought :)
Tanya: I am always on a diet :), but I do believe I eat extremely healthy, leafy vegetables, red meat, legumes and all. No I haven't had my iron tested, but I also take multivitamins. And I don't have any pain in my ear.

Kelsnasim: well, I do have low blood sugar and normal to low blood pressure (110/70). However I have had these all my life and I know the symptoms, and when I get my sugar drop, it's a different kind of dizziness: usually disorientation, lightheadedness, but never spinning. And my blood pressure diesn't give me problems, the few times in my life when I did faint, it was numbness/tingling/lightheadedness and a cold feeling. Again, never spinning. And I don't think it's dehydration, because I drink water all the time.

I wanted to say: please don't send me to a doctor, because I have no insurance. :(

My dancing hasn't suffered though, I can spin pretty fast and for a long time, and never get dizzy. Things do get a bit blurry, but I think that's natural after spinning a dozen times, and you would never notice. Even that night, when I had my tray on my head, I spun medium fast at least 10 times, and didn't get dizzy.

I am going to try to monitor is with the blood sugar, though, because I just ate (eggs,garlic, onion, cucumber, tomato, dill and mint, yum!) and now when I look down, nothing. Even for a long period of time. I feel that low blood sugar can be a cause of lot of things.

Sandra - well, pregnancy is definitely not an option! Unless it's immaculate conception :))

Lara... yes, I thought about having issue in / with the brain. I'm sure most problem starts with dizziness. But i didn't want to think about that.

The thing is I haven't changed anything, lived in the same house for almost 3 years. It is colder today (very nice October weather) but when I first started to notice these, it was still hot.

Jasani, I will look at that ink, thank you!

can you at least go talk to a public health nurse? up here, the fee is around $20 and you can work it off with community service if you have to- they can at least check your iron levels for you!

also, I don't take any medication.

& is anyone you are around a lot or where you work using different chemicals- one of my dizziness triggers is windex, another is lysol- if I am around either of those, i can get a dizzy spell up to an hour afterward. Some folks have that reaction to perfumes or incense.

Does your school have a student health clinic? If so, besides a low co-pay, costs should be covered by your fees.

{{{HUGS}}}

It's so hard to diagnose dizziness. My mom had a sudden spell recently, about two weeks, and it turned out to be a bladder infection. Do you have any other symptoms? Any added stress, pending deadlines, changes in your routine? Is it related to level changes? Does it affect your day-to-day life? I'd recommend browsing through WebMD first. Ginger root has helped me (some) with some bouts of dizziness. I've had a doctor put me on anti-depressants once -- I had something called mal de debarkment after a cruise--but the pills really didn't help. He said, in very kind words, it just had to go away on its own.

You're right about low blood sugar. Are you getting sufficient protein? I get light-headed when I don't eat well, and sometimes it feels like I'm getting dizzy, but it's not as marked as an actual dizzy spell. If you think your eating habits are adequate but you feel faint, you should still talk to a doctor. Low sugar levels could be indicative of pre-diabetes. Both are not good.

If it's affecting your day-to-day activities, it might be worth it to reach out to a doc. Sorry, I know you dont want to hear that!

Originally Posted by Lara L

can you at least go talk to a public health nurse? up here, the fee is around $20 and you can work it off with community service if you have to- they can at least check your iron levels for you!

I second going to the health department. It may not be pretty, but at least it's affordable.

I also suggest a trip to a doctor - I get like this whenever a nasty ear infection is coming on, it's the first sign for me, if I go to the doctor/nurse soon and get it taken care of, I save myself a lot of pain.

And while I'm waiting for ear infections to heal, the motion sickness bands (Sea Bands) really help with dizziness as well as nausea (they aren't just for boats!).

Sea Bands - Have you tried those on a cruise? And do they work? I thought about getting some last time I went on a cruise, but I took my chances and didn't have any side-effects after the trip.

thank you ladies.
No, at my school they don't have assistance with healthcare. It's a private university and we pay $1500 / month for tuition, you'd think they give you at least free healthcare!

I will look into some clinics to see what they offer, but the fact is I never ever go to doctors, because usually I never get sick. Last time i went was 10 years ago when I had migraines+ear infection. But since then I had no health issues, not even the flue (and I never get the flue shot). A couple of times I caught the cold, and in some cases it was very uncomfortable, but doctor couldn't do anything with that either.

But in the meanwhile I will monitor when I get dizzy, what I did before that, when i ate, etc.
We actually eat pretty well, and I think I am getting enough protein, because I try to stay away from carbs. A couple of months ago I started a system: i bought a small whiteboard for the fridge, and every Sunday me and my daughter decide on a menu for the week. This way i can ensure we have cooked dinner every night! It has been working real well, the "menu" has a variety and I have been looking up recipes and learning new things. And due to my schedule we actually have dinner at 5 pm (I eat a light snack after, and my daughter can eat as much as she wants if she gets hungry, because I know it's early).

Mayliz: the dizzines is not related to level changes, it's just to put my head down and look at the floor, it could be sitting, standing or bending over. The other day i was laying on the bed with my daughter, suddenly turned over, and everything was spinning for quite a while. And i was laying down. So there isn't much consistency in that, though.
I don't really have any stresses, other than the normal. :) Ii actually work better under deadlines. My school started in July, so this is my 4th class - it's easier than i thought, the classes are intense, with lots of reading and writing, but so far I have As and A-s.
A heard about ginger and it's effect on dizziness, i think I will by some, and see how I can incorporate it into our diet - it couldn't hurt!

Marianna, I am a physical therapist with training in treating vertigo and think there is still a potential for this to be vertigo related. People with vertigo can still be very balanced sometimes if not in an active vertigo attack.
Classical signs of benign vertigo are spinning bouts of seconds duration with looking way up , way down , rising or laying down, or turning in bed. It can be associated with nausea and imbalance but to differing degrees for each person and sometimes not at all. It should NOT be associated with hearing loss, vomiting, fever, chills, constant dizzyness, pins and needles sensations without being screened by a physician. Vertigo is treatable and can be treated by a physical therapist, ENT, MD, and other professionals; there is also generic protocols for self treatment that while take a little longer , for some people can be successful.
If you have any other questions specific to this please e-mail me , but you may have good luck hitting up a qualified P.T. for a cash pay deal to eval and treat just for vertigo which usually doesn't take more than 30 to 60 mins. (Average treatment success is in one to 3 visits but if you are pressed they may just teach you to self treat).
Hope some of this helps!

$1500 a month! Yeah, I'd expect some health care benefits, too. Do they also not offering counseling? Do you have a general physician? I assume not if it's been almost a decade since your last visit. Get thee to a doctor! I'm not trying to badger you, but it might be time for a little rendezvous with one...Also, try calling around to see if anyone offers 'discounts' for students. Some doctors have special programs (think of it as pro-bono but you have pay a little) to treat the under-insured. I had one OB-Gyn--a really good one--help me while I was in school. For instance, he'd have a tech come in and do sonograms for cheap, on certain, days. And he'd check the results. He also had a special rate for underinsured/uninsured patients. Might be worth it to check it out...and not just for your dizzy spells!

I hope you find some relief soon.

Well, to add ginger to your diet, try this yummy treat: Crystallised Ginger You don't HAVE to use white sugar, it is delicious with raw cane sugar or honey... But it makes the ginger super portable and super potent, plus then you have ginger syrup to use in other recipes...

how about sinus issues?
I really recommend the saline sinus rinses that you can get at drug stores or grocery stores. It is horrible, and gives me headaches at first, but it really clears out blocked sinuses.

I hope you find relief soon.

Originally Posted by AunnaBarika

Marianna, I am a physical therapist with training in treating vertigo and think there is still a potential for this to be vertigo related. People with vertigo can still be very balanced sometimes if not in an active vertigo attack.
Classical signs of benign vertigo are spinning bouts of seconds duration with looking way up , way down , rising or laying down, or turning in bed. It can be associated with nausea and imbalance but to differing degrees for each person and sometimes not at all. It should NOT be associated with hearing loss, vomiting, fever, chills, constant dizzyness, pins and needles sensations without being screened by a physician. Vertigo is treatable and can be treated by a physical therapist, ENT, MD, and other professionals; there is also generic protocols for self treatment that while take a little longer , for some people can be successful.
If you have any other questions specific to this please e-mail me , but you may have good luck hitting up a qualified P.T. for a cash pay deal to eval and treat just for vertigo which usually doesn't take more than 30 to 60 mins. (Average treatment success is in one to 3 visits but if you are pressed they may just teach you to self treat).
Hope some of this helps!

That's a symptom I had. It feels very strange and not at all pleasent. It came and went without warning for a few weeks. I self diagnosed vertigo but had all the immediate worries of everything more serious!!


I relied on the Penn and Teller diagnostic tool. Everything will do 1 of 3 things.
Get better. Get worse. Stay the same.

I put it down to some hayfever/sinus type thing but be sure 100%.w.:

Originally Posted by SandraDances

how about sinus issues?
I really recommend the saline sinus rinses that you can get at drug stores or grocery stores. It is horrible, and gives me headaches at first, but it really clears out blocked sinuses.

I hope you find relief soon.

SinuCleanse- Safe and Immediate Sinus Relief Naturally

I recommend the squirty bottle

Your symptoms sound like benign positional vertigo; but if it continues for more than another month I'd find a way to get it checked out. Apparently BPV is very common; my doc said every tenth patient she sees has it.

The dizziness you are experiencing could be signs of a whole host of issues. Looks like a lot of the gals have already touched on it. I had a similar experience some years back and my blood tests shown I was severely anaemic. Iron Tablets soon fixed that right up, but then later on dizziness continued and I got horrible headaches. An MRI revealed I had a 1.5 cm mass in my brain. Naturally this scared me! Further testing revealed it was a pituitary cyst and I had hyperprolactinoma. Meaning my nrain makes to much prolactin. 1 tablet twice aa week keeps it under control.

I guess what I am trying to say is, while its unfortunate you dont have insurance, your health is so much more important. It could be as simple as having a blood test to reveal what is happening. This will put your mind at ease too and you can start getting better.

Hope you feel better soon!