# Can Crohn's cause dizziness?



## PKA (Sep 10, 2012)

Hi, everyone. I don't post much but I have a question. I would like to know if Crohn's can cause dizziness/ lightheadedness. 

I have been having this issue since late May. At first I thought it was due to prednisone because it started around the same time I first took it, but I've been off that for a while and it's only getting worse. It's worse in the mornings and evenings but sometimes it lasts all day. Sometimes I have to sit or lay down it gets so bad.

I have had bloodwork done twice in two weeks and everything was normal. But I'm still worried it could mean something serious, as I never had this problem before I had Crohn's. Does anyone else experience this? And is there anything that can be done about it?


----------



## Jennifer (Sep 10, 2012)

There could be a number of reasons. First things that come to mind are dehydration and being low or deficient in nutrients. When you had blood work done what did they check? Was anything low like B12 or iron for example (there are a lot of things you could be low in like calcium, folic acid, vit A, D, E, magnesium, potassium, zinc etc, you have to request for all of them to be tested). Even being low in any of these can bring on symptoms of a deficiency. Do you know your blood sugar level as well?

Do you have issues with anxiety or panic attacks? Have you been sleeping well (I've seen a lots of people mention insomnia, including myself)? Have you had your heart checked out (this is another issue that pops up on the forum, people having heart troubles, could be brought on by medication or simply another health condition)? 

When did you stop taking the Prednisone? What dosage did you start at? How quickly did you taper? Its still possible for Prednisone to be a factor since your dizziness started around the same time you started taking it and its a pretty potent drug which can make your body to take a while to go back to normal.


----------



## EthanPSU (Sep 11, 2012)

I often get dizzy spells but I have diagnosed myself as having Orthostatic hypotension.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthostatic_hypotension

Pretty much just a cause of dizzyness from a rush of blood. But this does not seem to be your case at all. Havn't experienced it like yuo have.


----------



## PKA (Sep 11, 2012)

Crabby: when they did bloodwork they did a "comp. metabolic panel (14)" and "CBC with differential." I don't really know what those mean, I'm just reading off my invoice. Unfortunately they didn't tell me any specific numbers. They just said everything was normal.

I do get stressed sometimes but I don't think it's to the point that I have an anxiety disorder. I've never had a panic attack. I sleep great, in fact I'm tired all the time, so that makes it really easy to sleep at night. And no I've never had my heart checked ... I really hope it's not that, that sounds really serious :/

I stopped the prednisone mid July, I think. I remember starting it late May and it was a six week course. I started at 40 mg and then reduced it by half a pill (I guess that would be 5 mg?) each week for six weeks. I stopped feeling the effects of it at like 20 mg.

Ethan: that's not what I normally experience but I have that happen to me a lot too. I didn't even know there was a name for that. But yeah if I stand up after sitting for a while and/or stretch, a lot of times my vision goes black (I don't lose conciousness, I just can't see for a few seconds.) I fell once from being so dizzy from it. It's not pleasant at all :/

Thank you both for your responses


----------



## Jennifer (Sep 11, 2012)

"CBC (Complete Blood Count). This measures the red and white blood cells, and platelets in the blood. It is standard whenever blood is tested." http://www.crohnsforum.com/wiki/Blood-test-codes-and-results-explained 
More info here: http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/cbc/tab/test

"Comprehensive Metabolic Panel- To give your health care provider important information about the current status of your kidneys and liver as well as electrolyte and acid/base balance and levels of blood glucose and blood proteins; to monitor known conditions, such as hypertension, and to monitor the use of medications to check for any kidney- or liver-related side effects." http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/cmp

Your vitamins and nutrients were not tested but they did check your blood sugar. You can request blood work from either your GP or GI. Sometimes the GP is faster (least that's how its always been in my case). You can have the results sent to both doctors.

Edit: Being tired all the time sounds like it may be related to the dizzy spells. Still a possible vitamin deficiency (or being low).


----------



## Perfer (Sep 11, 2012)

I was going on vacation to bali and because of that I took a vaccine, dont know what its called but its one you drink to prevent you getting a stomach bug or something, anyway in this vaccine there were live bacterias, and for some reason the place where I took it which knew I had crohns let me take it, later my doc told me to never take ones with live bacteria.

I struggled with dizzyness for a year afterwards, I had to cancel my trip to bali I had fever everyday for almost a year, and my dizzyspells made me feel so disoriented I had trouble just going for groceries sometimes. I was on sickleave from work the entire year, then for some magical reason it dissapeared.

my doctor took bloodtests and tried a few different things but they never figured out what it was.


----------



## nogutsnoglory (Sep 11, 2012)

I often get dizzy it's really debilitating but I'm absorbing food fine. I think I may have vertigo.


----------



## PKA (Sep 11, 2012)

Sounds like I need to request to be tested for a vitamin deficiency. I have an appointment on the 27th so I suppose I'll just ask then. Hopefully it's something really simple and just taking a supplement takes care of it. Thank you


----------



## CLynn (Sep 11, 2012)

PKA, we usually wind up deficient in vitamin D3, and I personally have gotten so low that I have experienced dizziness. I am supposed to take a shot of it once a month, but my mom was diagnosed with cancer and I went months without stopping at the doc's office to get the shot. Once I got a shot and got my level back up, the dizziness stopped. Now I just do the shots myself, then I don't go without because I can't get to the office during their hours.


----------



## PKA (Sep 12, 2012)

That's good to know, CLynn, thank you. I looked up the sources of D3 and I hardly eat any of them, so that's a real possibility.


----------



## b1ackmai1er (Sep 12, 2012)

Although I am the only one in the family with Crohn's, it is the rest of my family the suffers from the dizziness spells. The call it swamp gas fever. It is worse when I take Questran, the farts go on for hours 

 2


----------



## nogutsnoglory (Apr 17, 2013)

I had a VNG test done where a machine blows warm and cold air into each ear for a minute. This part of the test is torture. Not only does the pressure hurt the ear and it feels so strange but the room begins spinning rapidly and you feel like puking. These are normal side effects of the test that everyone experiences. 

I get the results soon and hopefully will know why I'm dizzy all the time. I don't think it's related to Crohn's but it certainly is exacerbated by feeling weak and off balance from the disease.


----------



## Jennifer (Apr 17, 2013)

What doctor ordered that test for you nogutsnoglory?


----------



## kiny (Apr 17, 2013)

I've only been dizzy twice over the course of my disease.

-one reason was low iron
-another reason was using caffeine with cipro, this can make you super dizzy

I think for many people it's iron, low B12 will make you tired, but it never made me dizzy


----------



## nogutsnoglory (Apr 17, 2013)

Jennifer said:


> What doctor ordered that test for you nogutsnoglory?


An ENT.


----------



## hbrekkaas (Apr 17, 2013)

I'm dizzy quite often, but I have no idea if it has anything to do with Crohns itself....I think right now the culprit is Predisone. 

What about looking at what you eat? Do you have any food intolerances/allergies? Before I went GF I was dizzy all the time, and it was caused by eating gluten. Once that was out of my diet everything cleared and the dizziness got so much better. Not totally better, because my blood pressure sucks, but better. I could at least focus on what I was doing for the first time in years. My mom has the same issue, if she eats something that her body does like, thats one of her first symptoms.


----------

