Has anyone noticed weight loss? I have lost some weight over the last three weeks. I am assuming it is because I’m eating less cause being dizzy doesn’t exactly make me hungry. Anyone else have this?
I received my Pfizer vaccine in February and posted on this site in March. I am a 56 year old healthy female. I had dizziness and nausea for 7 weeks. I postponed my second dose for the 42 days, but I was still dizzy so I never took it. The dizziness triggered a lot of anxiety for me, or maybe the anxiety was triggered by the shot (?). I had Xanax at home (for occasional insomnia) and that got me through. I also tried taking Zyrtec.
I also have a history of anxiety and depression ( I took Prozac when I was in grad school in my 20's)...but haven't taken it since then. Unfortunately, my anxiety became so bad that I was prescribed Lexapro. Taking Xanax to cope was obviously not the best thing to do.
I don't if the Lexapro helped the dizziness, but I just wanted to let people out there know that I had dizziness and nausea, and anxiety for 7 weeks and it has finally resolved and I feel back to normal.
I know there has been some folks posting that they've benefited from acupuncture treatments for their dizziness. I consider myself a skeptic when it comes to alternative treatments unless I'm presented with scientific evidence. This pilot cohort study from 2015 caught my eye. Mind you it's a pilot study but I found it interesting nonetheless. Now I'm considering acupuncture myself...
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4459064/
I had the same reaction. I felt dizziness and panic that I hadn't had since my 20's. I'm 56. I took Xanax to get through and was prescribed Lexapro because I didn't want to take too much Xanax. The dizziness lasted for 7 weeks. I'm back to normal now. I had the 1st Pfizer shot on Feb 25.
@diyer I was diagnosed with BPPV many years ago. I've had vertigo spells in the past but they were very infrequent and passed quickly. The vertigo I experienced after getting vaccinated with Pfizer was nothing like I had experienced before. it took vertigo to a whole new level for me.
I self reported to the VAERS.
@tlinda-mar54 my dizziness ie lightheaded started 15 days after the 2nd pfizer and lasted from 4/3-4/9. Milder and short duration compared to many here. During that time, I took lorapepam low dosage every other day and that helped with the wobbles. Here I thought I was done with dizziness, but started to experience it again last night and went to lay down early hoping it would go away. Woke up this morning and I was fine first but within 2 hours feeling dizzy again. My pulse lower than normal for me but bp ok today. I took lorazepam again.
My symptoms are more similar to what doctors are calling POTS after Covid for long haulers. Except mine is through vaccine
＂Tae Chung, M.D., assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation and neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and director of the Johns Hopkins POTS Program, says “POTS is very real.”
While experts are still researching the long-term side effects of COVID-19, it is clear to experts that some survivors are experiencing the classic signs of POTS as a result of their COVID-19 diagnosis.
Chung says POTS is related to autonomic nerve dysfunction. He explains that the autonomic nervous system is responsible for involuntary control of many of our body functions, such as sweating, pupil movement, bowel movement and blood flow. Many POTS symptoms are thought to be related to inadequate control of blood flow, causing brain fog and dizziness. Chung suspects that COVID-19 may be associated with chronic inflammation in the autonomic nervous system, causing POTS.＂
symptoms of POTS:
I’m having some lingering COVID-19 symptoms. How do I know if it’s POTS?
You should talk to your doctor if you have had COVID-19 and are experiencing ongoing symptoms, including:
- Severe fatigue
- Lightheadedness.
- Brain fog
- Memory problems
- Shakiness
- Headaches
- Spiking pulse rate with minimal or mild physical activity
- Chronic nausea and vomiting
i had a 3 hour low fever after 1st Pfizer shot snd a sore arm. After the second shot, I had a very sore arm and muscle pain, and digestion issues for 36 hours which went away. 2 weeks from the 2nd shot I woke up with a thrum thrum sound in one ear. Strange. It was there at night also but unnoticeable in the daytime. Following day, extreme vertigo. Any movement of my head caused spinning in the room. By evenkng, nausea and unable to eat. Next day, continued dizziness and vertigo and nausea. Day 3 of dizziness saw GP who said “yes this is a side effect of both the moderna and Pfizer and usually sets in a couple weeks after. Many of my patients (very busy doctor) have this. It goes away in 3 days to 3 weeks. All of them have recovered.” Basically told not to worry, that it’s very common and goes away. Nausea gone by evening of day 4. Day 5 dizziness lingers with some vertigo snd “disequilibrium “. The sound is gone from the ear. I took 5 mg of Valium for two nights, and a beta blocker for 3 days so far, as my blood pressure is abnormally high also these last couple days. The beta blocker is usually for headaches. Hope this goes away soon. My doctor is never wrong. Had the same GP for 15 years. Also advised me to address the high pollen count by taking an over the counter remedy like DHist or Claritin. Allergy season is brutal this year.
So I've written on here before, pg. 88. I am 6 weeks out tomorrow from the start of all the side effects. Around the 4 week mark I felt like I was slowly getting better but during the end of week 4 and the start of week 5 I regressed big time. Headaches that wrapped around my temples and into my cheeks and ears with intense ear pressure. Blurriness came back and dizziness/vertigo with light headedness came back strong. Possibly new Tinnitus. It honestly brought me down mentally because I've fought this long and hard just to turn around and start over again. I am on an anti inflammatory diet and was taking some ibuprofen for the ear aches. I was barely eating because every time I ate I would get tachycardia/heart palpitations. I am 29, have allergies, and asthma but overall I do not have any other medical issues. So I decided to take a chance on another doctor.
I live in Texas and am not a physician and I'm not telling anyone what to do. This is just my experience and the advise given to me, for me. First thing she told me was that she works with the infectious disease director and gets valuable information from him about the vaccine. She said that if she told him about everything I have been through that he would say without a doubt to not to get the 2nd dose. There is a significant chance that the second dose could put me in the hospital, which at that point, the benefit does not out way the risk. Secondly, she believes this is an autoimmune response on my body that was activated from the vaccine. Basically, whether I have an auto immune or not, my body went in to overdrive and inflamed areas like the ear. Although I do not have exact answers as to what I have or why my body did it, I have been given meds. I am on a 60mg Prednisone taper over 13 days. I've read from previous posts that this is what should be done for this inflammatory response. I'm on day 3 about to taper down tomorrow. I will write back when it's over to see how much it helped but for now, the tachycardia has been under control for 3 days (which hadn't been under control for even 1 day). The headache is less severe, and the dizziness is GONE. Ear fullness is still there but not as bad. Eye bluriness comes and goes. I believe that if it helps all of my symptoms but comes back when I get off the taper, then I may need to do another round. I do believe this could be the best way to get to normalcy for me. Hope this helps anyone with uncertainty.
April 6th I received my first dose of pfizer covid vaccine. The second night, I woke up with a cold sweat and the vertigo spinning or dizziness. I need to go to the bathroom so after some movements, when I felt safe i sat up straight. My stomach was upset. I started to feel a drop in my blood pressure so i took a few sips of water with a pinch of pink himalayan salt. Returned to bed in a sitting position and did some diaphragmatic breathing and a technique called the kapalabhati. This way of breathing focuses on short sharp exhales (I was feeling my blood pressure still falling). After the breathing I contemplated calling the paramedics (I live alone). They did my vitals - heart, blood pressure and oxygen).
This was about an hour and a half from the start to the episode. I had already started to feel closer to normal.
Everything was in normal range so they asked if I prefer going to the hospital. I declined. They were kind and said please call back if you feel any symptoms.
March 2nd:
Woke up at 3 with a strong episode of Vertigo (without any movement there was intense spinning). Grabbed my phone and pulled my self to the floor, could not make it to the bathroom. I lay there for a good two hours or more, using my phone to follow the different manoeuvres to stop the spinning. About two hours later i was able to sit up. I put a call to the medical clinic, crawled and brought myself to standing. My weakness led to a drop in blood pressure. I took a sip of water with honey and the retching began. Meanwhile the nurse and doctor returned my call and advised that I go to emergency to rule out the possibility of a stroke.
A full day of investigations plus CT scan of the neck was clear and I was referred to see an ENT as a follow up.
The evening before this episode i had a deep massage and felt the pressure on the sides of the neck and back of the head. Probably the reason the doctors wanted to rule out any clots.
It took me many days of making sleep adjustments and the ENT confirmed that its my horizontal ear canal where the crystals are dislocated. She suggested some floor rolls which i didnt find easy to do. So i continued with my brahmi breathing, and meditation and relaxation poses. I narrowed it down to the specific head and body position that brings on the dizziness. I have been walking and it helps. Cutting down on caffeine. I take Ginko biloba to help.
When i went for the vaccine my vertigo was manageable.
December 2015
First time i had vertigo. I woke up drenched and threw up and had upset stomach. The paramedics took me to the hospital and i was diagnosed with vertigo. After four days i recovered and continued all my yoga poses, including head stands. My student said her vertigo improved since she started yoga.
I wanted to share my story and be part of this group. Where i feel we can all learn from each other how to manage the vestibular condition and learn our triggers.
@cheals1022 I’m curious if this this went away. I got my 2nd dose of Moderna 5 days ago and I’ve had intermittent dizziness ever sense. It’s not terrible but is uncomfortable and something I’m hoping will go away soon.
@nasu I totally agree with you! Along with the vertigo and headache is a very increased heart rate upon standing or getting up and walking across the room! Absolutely sounds like POTS to me... I had thought the exact same thing!