Q: I am a 35 years old female suffering from vertigo. Six months back, suddenly one morning, I felt that all things are swinging around me and this continued for almost half an hour. The doctor taught me some neck exercises, which helped me a bit but I couldn’t walk as fast as I used to. I was prescribed Stemetil for seven days and some vitamin supplements. After feeling well, I stopped taking the vitamin supplements but my doctor told me that I would have to take it regularly. Slowly I came back to my normal life. However, just a week later, I noticed that I cannot walk swiftly and so I went to a neurologist, who told me that I am suffering from a neurological problem. The ENT specialist told me that it is vertigo due to calcium deficiency. I also had wax in my ears, which I got cleaned. I want to know am I actually suffering from and can that be treated? Can my problem be cervical spondylosis?

A:You seem to have multiple problems. At 35 years of age, you may be having some problem with calcium deposits called otoliths in your inner ear which when they get dislocated result in positional vertigo (that is vertigo after change in posture, for example getting up from lying position). However, its duration is short while in your case it lasted for 30 minutes. The positional vertigo is usually recurrent unless specific treatment is taken.

Contrary to common belief, cervical spondylosis does not cause vertigo. Also at the age of 35 years, you are unlikely to be suffering from significant cervical spondylosis.

Calcium deficiency also does not cause vertigo.

Are you having walking difficulty without vertigo? If this is so, then it needs to be taken seriously. Please get a fresh consultation from another neurologist.