My mother of 90 lives with me, has vascular dementia for just over a year. Generally healthy other than PAD (chronic blocked arteries), and on meds for blood pressure, also blood thinning due to strokes. Nothing else.
Just recently suffering increasing bouts of dizziness (thought was due to raised bp but meds adjusted and not resolved). Doctor assumed paroxysmal vertigo, I knew not as not related to head movement at all (often comes on after lying still on back in bed all night, or sat in chair, though sometimes on standing). No knowledge at all from local doctors but have read the knowledge online with links with vascular dementia.
Was prescribed meds for nausea and dizziness etc., no effect (forget name) and with risk of raised mortality if a stroke sufferer, also another but 10% risk of bringing on parkinsons-type symptoms so left alone. Such meds seem to come with potentially nasty side effects not worth risking.
Not found a safe one yet that also helps.
So, so far no relief and symptoms increasing. Comes on really quickly from feeling well, chronic burping comes instantly with acute nausea (feels like vomiting but never does).
Also now has caused quite severe constipation (normally very active bowel and healthy diet). Am trying to get her to drink lots of hot water to help stimulate peristalsis but as yet no luck (been very little over 10 days or so). Which of course will aggravate nausea.
A nurse told me of case where a vascular dementia sufferer had to have medication for her stomach to empty, I think she said (forget details) and really suffered to death, am of course concerned with ref. to my mum.
Am curious if others have come across the brain effects from VD as interfering with the head and gut in this way, and helpful solutions/relief found. As looks to be most logical cause, more common dizziness explanations don't fit.
My parents plus I had our bouts with vertigo. What worked for us was a prescription pill called "anti-vert", that pill now has another name but the doctor can find the updated information. The name is on the tip of my tongue but I just can't remember it. I use that pill any time I go to the dentist because leaning so far back in the dentist chair can trigger dizziness with me.
Stomach backed up. Here's an old fashion remedy, a small glass of drinkable apple cider. My sig-other swears by it.
Luckily when I had vertigo years back my doc put me onto the Epley Manoeuvre which cured it fast, as knocks the crystals out of the inner ear. Is so very simple yet not widely informed of or practised by doctors, is a terrible oversight. He told me of patients he knew who had had it over 10 years - not me!! Assuming it's the form you refer to, with loose crystals in the inner ear. I was convinced I'd been hexed before I learned what it was!
Has your mom been seen by an ENT?
I don't understand why you have decided that she doesn't have BPV. My DH was dxed with this and specialized PT to adjust the crystals in his inner ear worked wonderfully.
https://www.healthline.com/health/benign-positional-vertigo
The brain and the gut are directly linked, and whenever this comes over her, extreme burping and nausea comes over too, is really strong.
So back to (what is not surprising given the state of her arteries, narrowed blood vessels in the brain, and number of strokes, so affects within and to the brain) wondering if others have come across this variation in an elder and if any forms of relief had been found?
Since starting post she's deteriorating quite fast in terms of feeling too unwell to function for more than a couple of hours at best. Initially the dizziness was occasional but has progressed into longer and longer bouts, the nausea/acute burping progressing too (didn't happen to start with).
So her meds were slightly increased (doc said had to be careful due to also being on blood thinners).
Has been checked few times since and is measuring as healthy.
So sadly doesn't seem to be an easy explanation there.
Back to my sense it's things being affected in the brain from having had strokes. And wondering if anyone else has dealt with this form?
If that is the case, please take her in either to urgent care or to her PCP and find out if there is impaction.