Resolved question:
Hello, my mom has been having episodes of these symptoms on and off for about a year: blurred vision, double vision, nausea, feeling like room is spinning, unsteady gait, loss of balance/coordination. She was told it was migraines by one neurologist, but has been on an anti-vertigo drug as needed, but it hasnt helped. She also has epilepsy and is on tegretol 1600 mg per day and lamictal 1600mg per day. Is this a migraine or vertigo? None of the drugs she has tried have helped her. Nortryptaline was a preventative medicine she was on that also didn't help.
Submitted:
4 Days
Category:
Neurologist, Medical
Hi,
Thank you for posting your query at DoctorSpring.com
I have noted your mom's symptoms and they are suggestive of vertigo. In migraine, there are headaches. As she has no headaches, she does not seem to have migraine.
We need to identify the underlying cause of vertigo to help her get cured. Anti-vertigo medication such as betahistine would relieve the symptoms only for a short time.
Common causes of vertigo include BPPV- benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (ear-related), cerebellum disease related (brain). An evaluation by ENT and Neurology specialists would help to pinpoint the exact cause.
Also, we need to rule out side effects of tegretol in this case. Please get a blood level for carbamazepine (tegretol) done.
I hope it helps.
Best wishes,
Dr. Sudhir Kumar MD (Medicine), DM (Neurology)
Senior Consultant Neurologist