She phoned Mrs. S about 09:00 complaining of vomiting and dizziness. See was unable to stand without an intense reeling sensation and subsequent vomiting. We went round to see her, thinking that it could be a stroke (64y.o.) heavy smoker. On arrival it was obviously not a life threatening situation so I held off calling 999 and called NHS Direct. They had a chat with her and arranged for a non emergency paramedic to visit (I didn’t know this service existed?). I left to return to work and have since found out that she was taken to hospital as her BP was 190/80.

Bearing in mind that last night, she banged her head on a cupboard – “harder than I’ve ever banged my head” she said. I asked if she’d had a blue flash on impact and she said yes. Could she be suffering from concussion and her BP be a result of anxiety over her symptoms and the presence of a paramedic?

I also thought of labyrinthitis as she’s been “poorly” for a few days.

Any ideas?

Ta.

The symptoms sound exactly the same as when I had labyrinthitis. I’m not a doctor BTW. Took me about 10 weeks (in great cycling weather) to get back to fairly normal.

Oh, if it is labyrinthitis, ditch the anti-dizziness tablets as soon as possible. They actually make it harder to recover.

^ this exactly.
Had it twice (last time was about 9 years ago) and it’s bleedin awful frankly. I’m still very wary of anything that involves spinning around.

Best thing I found was to simply sit/lie with no head movement whatsoever.

I had it before. It’s like being very drunk with a sober head which makes all the more confusing when you’re needing to sit down to stop yourself from falling over. Not something I want again.

BPPV? 😉

he symptoms sound exactly the same as when I had labyrinthitis

Yes, this is exactly what I thought of which I read the symptoms your MIL had. My wife had this a couple of years ago.

It’s amazing how quickly it hits. The last time I had it I was out in the garden when suddenly everything went mad. I couldn’t stand let alone walk and I ended up crawling back to the house on all fours while being sick – nice. 😐

What is it with MiL’s and bangs to the head?
Mines in ICU at Frenchay, She’s in a REALLY bad way.
Apparently she’ll be lucky to survive the weekend.

😥

I actually quite like my MiL so a quite gutted.

Sounds like labyrythitis, but the history of trauma and hypertension (along with smoking etc) can’t rule out CVA/TIA or some other kind of haemhorhage.

“non emergency paramedic” Is probably and ECP or Paramedic Practicioner, essentially a paramedic with advanced training and skills who is in theory in a better position to treat at home or refer back to GP etc. They also respond to emergencies as appropriate.

“white coat syndrome” is a common cause of increased BP, and BP is just a number when taken once during an incident.

Although ECP’s/PP’s have been around for a while I can see more and more staff (particuarly on cars) being trained to this level to keep people out of hospital where appropriate.

Hope MiL feels better soon!