Not every morning we wake-up with bubbling energy. Some days we are tired to get up from the bed if not sleeping properly. There is nothing to worry if you are tired in the morning but while trying to get up if you feel dizzy or confused then there is some problem. You can ignore it if it happens just a day or two but if the same condition continues daily you need to check with your GP for sure.
What Is Dizziness?
Morning dizziness is common in the first trimester of pregnancy for some women. However if you are feeling like fainting or confused and not able to walk properly this condition is known as dizziness. Dizziness can be defined as vertigo or sensation of spinning. It can also be described as a feeling of weakness and fainting. Some people feel it as lightheadedness and in rare cases people lose their balance resulting in falls.
Morning dizziness can occur due to many factors including long-term use of drugs and alcohol. Dizziness has become common complaint in the lives of many people due to many causes. In this article we shall discuss what causes dizziness and its complications and what are the risk factors that can cause dizziness. Further we will learn about the ways of treating morning dizziness.
Morning Dizziness Symptoms :
Feeling of morning dizziness can be explained in number of fashions like:-
- Sense of spinning motion
- Feeling of faint and lightheadedness
- Losing balance while getting up from the bed
- Feeling of nausea or vomiting
- Difficulty in walking and moving your head
- Difficulty in standing up
- Floating feeling
These are only some of the signs associated with dizziness and some people may experience other symptoms also. Sometimes it becomes so difficult to stand up that you need to sit down or lie down in the bed for some time. Feeling of morning dizziness may lasts anywhere from few seconds to several minutes also.
Warning signals :
Check with your GP if you have any of the following signals along with dizziness. Sudden headache, fainting, chest pain, numbness in legs/arms, increased palpitation, difficulty in breathing, nausea/vomiting, stiffness in neck and high fever. The above signs indicate some serious problem inside and you need to consult your doctor at once.
Causes Of Morning Dizziness :
Dizziness in the morning is one of the common signs related with many underlying diseases ranging from mild to severe.
- Blood Pressure – Sudden increase or sudden drop in blood pressure can cause dizziness in the morning. Many people can get morning dizziness due to the side effect of hypertension drugs. It can occur due to postural hypotension also. Here dizziness occurs almost every time the person tries to stand up from sitting or lying position. People who are taking hypertension pills for long-term can get morning dizziness if their blood pressure is not in balance.
- Vertigo – Vertigo or spinning sensation is the major cause of morning dizziness in many people. They tend to lose sense of balance when something is wrong with the sensory nerves. The person who experiences this condition feels that the surroundings are also moving and spinning with him. Vertigo is the disorder of the inner ear in which the nerves signals from the ear to the brain and vice-versa are not consistent. Inner ear problems like Meniere’s disease, ear infection, and paroxysmal positional vertigo can cause morning dizziness. Vestibular nerve of the inner ear can get infected with virus causing severe vertigo.
- Migraine – Migraine or severe headache can cause episodes of vertigo and morning dizziness lasting from minutes to several hours.
- Blood Circulation – Sudden heart attack, arrhythmia (rapid heartbeat) and cardiomyopathy and TIA (Transient Ischemic Attack) can block the blood flow suddenly causing morning dizziness. You can experience dizziness even if there is reduced oxygenated blood flow to the ear or brain.
- Multiple Sclerosis – This is a type of serious neurological disorder in which the protective upper layers (called myelin) of nerve cells of the brain and spinal cord gets damaged causing dizziness, fainting, stiffness, blurred vision, sexual problems and much more. Parkinson’s disease can also affect the balance of a person causing dizziness.
- Medications – Certain types of antidepressant drugs, anti-seizure drugs and sedatives can cause morning dizziness.
- Psychological Disorders – Anxiety disorders can induce a feeling of lightheadedness or dizziness and sometimes even panic attacks also.
- Anemia – Very low levels of iron in your blood can cause dizziness and other symptoms like pale skin and fatigue.
- Hypoglycemia – Diabetic people can get this problem commonly. People who are using insulin for long can get their blood sugar level suddenly low. Sudden drop in blood sugar can cause profuse sweating, anxiety and dizziness. Hence it is necessary to check and balance your sugar levels if you are diabetic.
- Dehydration – If your body loses water balance suddenly it can cause dehydration leading to dizziness. Frequent bowel movements and vomiting can deplete fluids level in the body causing dehydration.
Who Are At Risk?
Elderly people and people who are diabetic (for long-term) and people who are taking blood pressure pills and those who are in treatment for psychotic problems have increased risk of getting morning dizziness and fainting. And you are at high risk of experiencing dizziness if you already had this episode.
Sudden dizziness can injure you anytime. It can cause falls and injury in your body. People who are driving and working with machines have to be careful if they get dizziness.
Your doctor would listen to the complete symptoms apart from dizziness. He may ask few questions whether you had experienced blow or attack to the head. Depending on the symptoms and medications you are using, he may order for CT scan of the head to get clear picture of the brain. If needed, you will be asked to go for MRI scan. Further he may check your eye movements and hearing capacity through specialized testing. Head movement test and posturogrpahy may also be done to detect which part is not in balance.
Treatment is purely based on diagnosis. Success of treating a person with dizziness lies on the expertise of the doctor. He/she would find out the underlying medical condition and devise suitable treatment plan. Occasional dizziness would get resolved without medical help. But if you are getting it now and then you should not delay in taking treatment. Diuretics are prescribed for treating Vertigo and Miniere’s disease. Your ENT specialist will confirm his diagnosis before prescribing any drugs.
An antihistamine like Antivert is given for managing symptoms of dizziness. Drugs belonging to anticholinergic group can also be suggested. If anxiety is your problem your doctor may prescribe valium or alprazolam like drugs which gives you quality sleep. Physiotherapy including balance movements is helpful to improve your balancing capacity. Vestibular rehabilitation is effective in people with problems in inner ears. In severe cases of inner ear infection your doctor may give you a shot of gentamycin in the inner ear so that it would disable the balancing function. For those with dehydration issues, intravenous fluids are injected for balancing the loss of fluids.
- Surgery :
Through surgical procedure called labyrinthectomy sense organs from the inner ear is removed thus disabling it. The other ear would carry out the balancing function.
Lifestyle Changes :
- Firstly you should be aware of dizziness and prevent losing balance.
- You can take support of a cane to gain stability and watch your steps carefully.
- Remove unwanted objects and tripping hazards from your room.
- Whenever you feel dizzy you can sit down or lie down immediately irrespective of the place.
- People with frequent episodes of dizziness should avoid driving to prevent accidents.
- Follow the instructions of your doctor and go for regular checkups.
Often morning dizziness is harmless problem unless it is indicative of underlying condition. Prognosis of dizziness depends on the underlying medical problem and prompt evaluation and treatment.