light headed not quite dizzy

[ingemlb]

Hi. Have a question. I have now been on Prednisolone since around 27th of January up and down a bit starting on 30 then down to 20 then up to 25 and finally on around the 18th of Feb it was increased to 40 mg which finally settled the joint pain that had restarted when the dose was dropped to 20mg. I am also on 10 mg once a week of Methotrexate and last wednesday swallowed my 4th dose of that. I was in hospital from 21st Jan to 25th Feb and my first follow up appointment with the Rheumotologist is on 25th March. Before that I will have another full set of blood tests.

I left the hospital pain free on Tramadol 50 mg 4x a day, Paracetemol 1300mg 3x a day with oxycodone on standby if needed. I had already cut the Tramadol in half prior to leaving and a few days later reduced it to 50 mg 2x a day.

From Friday I started to get some mild pain in side of right knee. Limping a bit. The pain is very mild on resting but a bit stronger on walking.
It hasn't increased.

However since around the same time I am getting to feel light headed from time to time. Bit worse tonight on the verge of dizzy but couldn't really call it dizzy. More fuzzy in the head and unsteady. i.e. no spinning.

Sinus still producing a lot of mucous and cough is intermittently strong. however I am convinced the cough is related to the sinus issue.

Other symptoms such as redness in eyes have settled and mouth ulcer has healed.

I got the flu shot on Friday from the GP. Had the Pneumonia vaccine a few weeks ago in hospital. I don't have a fever.

Urine strip tests showed a bit of blood in the urine GP thought it could be caused by the Methotrexate and has done another urine test.

Anyway was wondering if the light headedness or whatever it is could be due to side effect of the Pred or now that the Methotrexate has been in my body almost 4 weeks is it due to that? Or is it a flareup of Wegener's?

Any ideas welcome :)

[Alysia]

Hi Inge,
as far as I know, mtx is NOT causing blood in the urine.
you need to check it more: is it uti ? what is your creatinine, is it normal ?
as for the feeling in the head, it can be because of the sinus inflamation.
it can also be because of problems in the ears. how are your ears ?

[ingemlb]

Thanks Alysia. My GP seems to think it is possible that the mtx causes blood in urine and it is also listed as one of the potential side effects. As far as I know creatinine is fine as everybody said my blood tests showed no kidney issues.
UTI still being checked via the latest urine test and yes GP also said some of the values, including blood in urine, could be a sign for a UTI flareup as well hence he did his own test. Don't have the results as yet.

I have had far worse sinus inflammation without this light headed ness. Last year before the sinus surgery I had a lot of headaches but that was different. This time I am rather unsteady and whoozy feeling in the head. Just check bp it's borderline on the higher side. According to the recent ENT checkup whilst in hospital my ears are normal. no inflammation and hearing perfect. this doesn't feel like the vertigo I had when the sinus' were blocked near the ear drum. In those days it was quite bad vertigo and for several years had to have grommets implanted. But that all stopped around 2001.

[Alysia]

Hi Inge,
I had vertigo, as a result of wg, prob, be4 I was dx.
if it is vertigo now, you better rest. untill its over. couple of days, and don't drive.
it can also be fatigue as a result of all the tough time you had.
are you sleeping enough ?

[ingemlb]

this one is not quite vertigo just a sort of whoozy feeling. No spinning sensation but unready

No have not had great sleep all year:( it's nearly midnight so will try now. But I have been a lot more active last couple of days wit doctor's appointment, visitors and doing a bit of housework. maybe need to rest more

Night night all. Will check in in the morning :)

[Alysia]

maybe you just need good sleep. good night Inge :)

[mishb]

Great information Alysia.

Inge, I tend to agree with Alysia in that the MTX is probably not causing the blood trace in the urine.
Also I wouldn't think that 10mg would be causing the light headedness. Next time you see the Rheumatologist they will probably increase the MTX
I started at 10mg then increased to 15 and then 20, and this is the dose I have been on now for nearly 3 years......others also increased in this way.

Sleep is the biggest culprit for me with the woozy head feeling.
I also have Meniere's and, you are correct, it is a totally different feel to the vertigo.

Sleep well, sleep long and stress less :biggrin1:

I will also be heading off to bed now and you wont see me again until lunchtime. Saturdays and Sundays are my big sleep in days :hug1:

[NikkiNicole]

Hello! I'm awake now! hahaha. I got lightheaded and off feeling when I was tapering from Prednisone. Otherwise, whenever I take my MTX injection, I feel very very very off, not quite lightheaded but not quite right either. I don't know if you are having a similar reaction. I've never had blood in my urine with my dose of MTX which is 25mg. I've done it via pill and injection. Even with my worst UTI I've never seen blood in it, there have been traces shown on my urine tests but that's it.

I don't know if anything I said helps!

[ingemlb]

Nikki you sure did. I didn't know you could get MTX via injection at these low doses. I am going to ask if I can be swapped over when they put me on 20mg. Because that would bypass my stomach and its ulcers so should be a lot better. Guess it means a trip to the clinic but to protect my Ulcers I am happy to do it.

Michelle the sleep is still a big issue. Will try to get something to help because I wake up as tired as I was when I went to bed. Woke up with the same wooziness in my head and the same pain in the hips. So I added another tramadol back into the mix this morning.Also having a friend drop in for lunch and I am on my own so of course I was busy trying to cook and then my stomach wen into its usual spasm (or oesophagus who knows what spasms there ) and so I took immediately a buscpan and valium thinking by the time my visitor gets here I'll be stressed out of my brain and don't want the tears gushing out in the first 5 minutes anyway.

so now I am nice and relaxed and even the wooziness is gone lol

And I am proud of myself. Started cookng last night Made a pork hock stock. Roasted some root veggies. Today strained the stock, added lentils and some fresh veggies then added the chopped up root vegetables. And I have a bread baking away in the bread baker. I can't believe I pulled it off :) Soup is a bit on the salty side which I have been trying to avoid but ... for one day will have to do. Hope my friend likes salty and likes pork. I forgot to check.

Well she will be here any minute so signing out.

Hope you got some good sleeping Michelle.

Wishing all a nice day. Sunday here and nice and quiet. Hot but comfy. Hope all of you in Europe are fast asleep by now :)

:biggrin1::biggrin1::hug2:

[mishb]

Enjoy lunch Inge.....sounds delicious. Just remember your spoons

Sleeping was not the best for me last night - a new kitten in the house is like having babies all over again :biggrin1:

[ingemlb]

ah yes kitten... I think we have decided to stay pet free for now :)

[annekat]

Speaking of kittens, allergies can also be a cause of light headed feelings, and an increase in ear blockage. For me, I think it is the seasonal allergies, since this stuff is happening to me, and it seems to happen most at this time of year when the pollens are coming out. I know I've been talking about this on other threads and on Facebook, so, sorry to repeat myself.

[Deborah T]

Hi Ingemelb - Blood in the urine should always be taken seriously, it is NOT a common s/e of Methotrexate. You should at the very least have a urine culture to rule out UTI (Uriniary tract infection). Creatinine is important for Weggies to assure kidney function is okay. I also have frequent bouts of dizziness - more like feeling tipsy without the alcohol. Does this improve if you keep your head from tipping downwards? I find my dizziness is far worse if my head is tipping down. Could be sinuses. Could be other. Do you have ringing in the ears also - if so, let doctor know. There are exercizes available for "vestibular training" if dizziness is secondary to sinuses or ear issues.

Best wishes -
Deborah T

[pberggren1]

Another Deb. Tell us your story Deborah. WE want to get to know you. Welcome to the family.