Dizziness update

So I normally include these updates with Friday Favourites but this update is going to be bigger so its get it's own separate post. 

It's been over a year of dizziness, over a year of unknowns, over a year of medical tests, over a year of restrictions and having to play it safe. I'm at breaking point, I want to get my life back and I want people to realise that being dizzy 24/7 isn't just inconvenient its deteriorating. I honestly thought the dizziness was caused due to low iron and  I never in a million years thought that I would still be living with almost 18 months later or that it would be consistent. 

So I have been keeping a health diary for quite a while now and while we (my doctor and I) haven't noticed any patterns it has been interesting to see my dizziness get worse. There's a schedule to it, I have a day where its on the milder side (but still the same score if that makes sense?) and then the following day I get nausea and really bad headaches and the next the dizziness is bad along with headaches and the nausea ebbs and flows. It's like my body has to relearn how to cope with the dizziness which can take up to two weeks. It has been on a 12 week cycle but last week at the 6 week mark it got worse which is strange and unexpected. I also felt like the headaches were a lot more intense and panadol didn't really help which made things challenging. 

So I saw my doctor today (on schedule) and he was concerned (as to be expected) as it should be plateauing but it's not and it's steadily getting worse. Now I've had all the tests and its been mentioned that the next step is to redo them all which will take time (and money) and compare the results from last time (a year ago). So the tests I will most likely have to repeat will be the following:

• Thorough blood test - I actually had one of these in September to recheck my iron levels.
• Glucose test - also known as the test that requires fasting, 3 blood tests and drinking a super sweet drink.
• Echocardiogram - basically an ultrasound of your heart.
• Holter Monitor - I get to wear a monitor attached to me via wires for 24 hours that measures my heart waves. 
• MRI - a scan of your brain that requires going into a noisy tube for 20 minutes. 

Thankfully we're not jumping into that just yet as my doctor wants to do some more research and chat with some colleagues for advice. My doctor really wants to get the bottom of it now more than ever as it's getting ridiculous and I shouldn't have to live like this. Also if I had a diagnosis it would be beneficial even if there was no treatment it's the unknowns which are weighing me down at the moment. Will this dizziness continue to get worse? How will it impact me next? Is there something that can lessen the impact? Could this have been preventable?  These are questions I want answers to and I am afraid that I will never get. 

Because I know I will get asked, no its not the following:

• POTS
• Low iron
• Meniere's
• Diabetes 
• Thyroid issues
• Vestibular migraine
• Anxiety/other mental health issue 
• Sinus issues
• Witch doctor curse/curse in general (covering all my bases here haha).

Also for good measure I have seen the following specialists:

• Specialist physio with an interest in vestibular disorders
• ENT
• Neurologist 
• Optometrist 
• Podiatrist (unrelated to my dizziness but thought I should include this for good measure)
• I have also spoked to a naturopath about it

In my mind I feel like we are missing something and I'm not sure what, which is why part of me is more than ready to repeat all the medical tests again. I jokingly said to my doctor that you would think with the amount of medical dramas I watch that someone on one of those shows would give a clue as to what I am dealing with. But unfortunately chronic dizziness doesn't make good TV compared to other ailments. 

So what do I want it to be? Honestly I will accept any answer that doesn't require me taking random medication for an unspecified amount of time that leaves me feeling like a zombie. But really I just want to have a diagnosis because being dizzy 24/7 shouldn't be normal for me.