So I recently was diagnosed with vertigo and have been receiving physical therapy to reposition my loose crystals. Many of my initial symptoms resembled the symptoms of Eagle Syndrome prior to my surgery years ago. I assumed that my elongated styloids were growing again, until I had the intense spinning and nestagmus. I was wondering if anyone else with Eagles also had vertigo and if there’s a connection other than a preceding injury. Besides my C4-C6 fusion, how many more issues will I have to cope with? Head injuries are no joke!!
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No joke for sure, PITN! It’s nice to see you back, though, even if you are dealing with vertigo and nystagmus. (I get queasy just thinking of it: I’m not an Eagle patient, but I do have Meniere’s, and I’ve had the rocks in my head rearranged as well, LOL)
Hang in there, and don’t forget to wash those hands!
Seenie from ModSupport
I hope that the PT you’re having does help with your vertigo; I’ve seen it work quite well on TV, but don’t know of anyone who’s had it done…
Have you had a CT to check that the styloids haven’t grown back, or are the doctors sure it’s crystals?
It’s quite common to have dizziness with vascular ES, or if the styloids compress certain nerves . If you’re interested here’s a link to a discussion about Vestibular Rehab some members have tried:
I have had the dizziness for a year. I did vestibular nerve tests and even vertigo therapy for 2 months and it didnt work. The therapist told me that it wasnt classic vertigo and that maybe its something else. THe first 10 days was the worse because the whole room was spinning and i couldnt really sleep well.
I have heard of others who have also had the dizziness but the vertigo is somthing that isnt constant as to what i feel and maybe just like others on here because its not a matter of lose crystals its probably a nerve problem.
I have been off this forum quite a while so you may already have found relief, but today I was diagnosed with vestibular migraines. Dizziness, vertigo, motion sickness and a host of other symptoms are associated with vestibular migraines.
Hi DeeG,
Were you diagnosed w/ vascular or vestibular migraines? They are very different critters. Vascular migraines can be a function of ES if you have vascular compression caused by your styloid(s). Because the internal carotid artery or jugular vein can become compressed by the styloid(s) when the head is in certain positions, blood flow to/from the brain can be slowed or blocked which in turn can cause migraines due to lack of blood to the brain or too much blood in the brain.
I just found this brief explanation of a vestibular migraine on Google:
A vestibular migraine is a nervous system problem that causes repeated dizziness (or vertigo) in people who have a history of migraine symptoms. Unlike traditional migraines , you may not always have a headache. There are many names for this type of problem. Your doctor might also call it: Migraine -associated vertigo.
Just curious since you haven’t been diagnosed w/ ES yet & a vascular migraine diagnosis would be significant relative to a potential ES diagnosis.
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Vestibular migraines is the latest diagnosis.
There is a problem with the cartoid artery also, but they cannot figure out the exact issue there.
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Have you had a CT with contrast- I’m sorry I can’t remember? do you notice worse symptoms when you head’s in certain positions?
Hi DeeG,
Thank you for clarifying the migraines diagnosis. The internal carotid artery (ICA) can be compressed by an elongated styloid. More often we see compression of the internal jugular vein (IJV), but there are several members who’ve had carotid compression. That’s why Jules asked if you’ve had a CT w/ contrast. If you haven’t but plan to, make sure you let the referring doctor know you want it done w/ your head in the position where your symptoms are the worst. Generally vascular compression doesn’t happen when the heads in a neutral position but when it’s turned left, right, up, down or on a diagnonal looking up or down. Try different head positions to see if certain positions cause symptoms to flare.
Yes, I have noticed it is worse when directly forward for a long time without supporting my neck or turned to the right like when looking into rearview mirror.
Sounds like you could have some vascular compression. Have you ever gotten a diagnostic CT scan for ES, DeeG? I recall you had some sort of a scan but no one ever felt you had ES. Sure sounds like you’ve been misdiagnosed to me!
I have had at least 3, but I do not know if the one from VA is clear enough for review and that’s the only one I have on disc right now. When I go to VA next time I will go across to UAMS to get a clear scan and see if they can give 3D copy on disc.
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Once you get a good copy especially 3D, if you don’t mind posting it, we can give our non-medical opinions. 
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I have vertigo and dizziness, but I never had nystagmus. That is why nose and ear specialists said that my symptoms are not from inner ear problems.
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@Jete - People w/ dizziness caused by vascular compression don’t usually have nystagmus with their dizziness. The dizziness doesn’t come from inner ear problems but from the internal carotid artery(ies) being squashed by the styloid(s) or or the greater horns(s) of the hyoid bone causing lowered blood flow into the brain & thus oxygen deprivation to the brain. The other option is the styloid(s) are squashing the internal jugular vein(s) which means deoxygenated blood can’t flow out of the brain as fast as the carotids are putting it into the brain so pressure builds up in the brain which causes intracranial hypertension due to the excess fluid in the brain. On very rare occasions, both situations can occur.
I’m very sorry the doctors you’ve seen don’t recognize that there are different types & causes of vertigo/dizziness besides inner ear problems. There must be someone in your country who does, but it may take some searching for you to find that doctor. Besides ENTs, have you tried a vascular, maxillofacial, head & neck, or neurology specialist? One of those other types of doctors might be more helpful for you at this point. If you can get a referral for CT scan of your neck (skull base to hyoid bone) with contrast that will be the most helpful for seeing if your styloids or hyoid bone are contributing to your symptoms.
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Soon I have appointment for mri without contrast to see my head and neck blood vessels. Maybe they will found something there.
I also went to osteopath, who said that only he can offer is to adjust my neck. But I had bad experience with that in 2010., because I get in hospital for 10 days with extreme headaches (nothing helped). In the end doctors give me something to balance my pressure in head, because they thought something was wrong with that. It helped.
That’s why I don’t let adjusting my neck this time.
I don’t know where I can get those other doctors you have mentioned…
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Your doctor specialties may be called something different than what ours are in the US. I’m sorry I don’t know what those doctors would be called in your country.
Good idea to stay away from osteopaths & chiropractors who do neck adjustments for now. If you have ES those adjustments can do more damage than good as you have experienced.
Pressure in your head is a very common symptom for vascular constriction either of blood going in or coming out of the skull/brain. You need to make sure that the radiologist & doctor who examine your MRI look very carefully at both your internal/external carotids especially near the tips of the greater horns of your hyoid bone (carotid bifurcation) & at the tips of the styloids. They also need to check the internal jugular veins especially the area between your styloids & C1 vertebra as that’s where the IJVs most often get pinched.
My IJVs were both compressed, & in spite of a CTA & an MRV, I was told they were fine both by the radiologists who read the scans & by the doctor who referred me for them. It took converting my images to 3D & having someone on this forum show me that they were both compressed for me to learn the truth.
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