Dizzy Spells

JC5

DH with VD has been having dizzy spells several days during the past few weeks . They occur when he is sitting and at random times! He had an MRI today and neurologist said there has been little to no change since his last 2 years ago and is not sure what is causing his symptom. He is on medication  for diabetes , but the past few weeks he has been, in my opinion, OD on sweets/ last post about taking him out backfired! So wondering if that could be the cause of his dizziness? He has an appointment with his PCD next week! Any thoughts? 

One more thing… if MRi has shown little to no change from 2 years ago, why is he worse now?

Tks?

BethL

Hi JC5. The dizziness could be due to something other than dementia - perhaps an inner ear problem, or postural hypotension (low blood pressure). Hopefully your PCP will help sort things out.

KathyF1

JC, my husband ( stage 5) also says he’s dizzy quite often. And he too eats sweets excessively. I don’t know the answer. But interesting that symptoms are the same.

jmlarue

I'm doubtful the higher blood sugar from sweets is the culprit. Typically, high blood sugar causes sleepiness and, when very high, unquenchable thirst. I suppose dizziness might appear if he had a sustained high blood sugar (250+) over many days and was actually in ketoacidosis. You didn't mention any other drugs he takes. I take Gabapentin for the neuropathy in my feet caused by diabetes. It can and does cause some dizziness and awkward gait. I'd ask the PCD to review all the meds he might be taking. A drop in blood pressure can cause dizziness, too.

My DH has VD, but several MRIs over the course of his progression has not shown the damage caused by chronic TIAs in those micro-vessels of the brain. The one thing I've learned over the course of this disease - there's lots of questions and darn few answers, not even from the so-called specialists and their expensive tests. Frankly, I've given up trying to figure out the "whys" of dementia. I'm too busy trying to figure out the "hows" of coping with each new behavior that pops up.

saltom

My DH is now in SNF rehab because of othorstatic hypotension ( I believe also called postural hypotension).  His blood pressure drops about 20 points when sitting from lying down and drops up to another 50 points when standing  up causing dizziness.  He had several other issues that got him in the hospital to begin with, none of them the dementia issue.  He has to take medication to raise his blood pressure if it is below a certain point before he can have and OT or PT.  I don't know what causes it.

JJAz

Dizziness and fainting are common symptoms of Lewy Body Dementia, which is frequently missed as a diagnosis.  The 1st link below will give you more information about LBD.  If LBD is your spouse's diagnosis, there is a good online support group for LBD spouses at the 2nd link below.

https://www.lbda.org/symptoms/

 

https://groups.io/g/LBDCaringSpouses

M1

Hi JC, to your question-no imaging tests are sensitive enough to show the changes of dementia. The changes are on a microscopic level. The doc was looking for strokes, almost certainly-some strokes in certain areas of the brain can have dizziness as a symptom.