I know you posted this some time ago, but my mother is having "episodes".  She is 71 and they have become much more frequent.  Dizziness, trouble speaking, confusion, etc.  It seems her BP is spiking, but after a few months...dr's are still puzzled. 

Did you ever find out a diagnosis?

dblack

1/22/11 8:17am

My mother is 71, also and has been having these same symptons, it happens randomly sometimes a week a part, some times months a part.  It seems to be preceeded by being tired.  What did they find out for your Mom?

SherylS

2/ 6/11 8:47pm

I'm really curious about this too, this is happening to my mom as well and she's 71 too. I've been trying to find some help ffor this and especially the dizziness. She's been on blood pressure meds for quite a few years and they've varied. Right now she's taking lisinopril and atenolol.

I am a 41 year old who has spikes in BP and my doctor thinks I am crazy.  I get frustrated with her because she keeps throwing pills at it. I feel something more is triggering this.  I have been eating right.  My cholesterol is where it should be.  I workout at a gym.  It is surprising to me with all I am doing that I get huge spikes that scare me and my husband.  Even he says what the %$#@ is going on.  He know I have been doing all the right things. The last time I went into my doctors  office I brought in a Panoramic x-ray that I had taking at my dentist.  Which happens to be an office I work at.  On my pan the dentist noticed a calcified ligament in my neck.  He said did you know you have Eagle Syndrome.  I said NO.  He said you may want to get it checked if you keep having problems with dizziness when you turn your head. I also had severe one sided headaches, palpitations, weakness and BP would go up.  The dentist said it can push on carotid arteries and cut off blood flow during time that you turn.  I think my doctor got offended that I was pushing to get this checked.  She wrote another RX for blood pressure.   Which almost landed me in the hospital.  I had the opposite reaction to it.  My BP went sky high.  I know something is wrong.  I can see why people don't want to go in to see doctors who think they know better than the patient their symptoms.   Sometimes I think they are on auto pilot and don't care.  I finally got an Oral Surgeon our office refers patient to say yes you have eagles and I need to get a CT to see if pushing on something.  He wants his friend who is a ENT to check me also.  I go monday.  This is very rare but they have started to question deaths do to carotid pressure causing carotid anyerism.  I am looking for a new Doctor.  She keeps telling me arthritis is my problem.  I don't want assumptions I want facts and test.  She is not willing to do tests.  Even though I showed her an x-ray with fact that it is there.  She still said she knows the body and it is arthritis.  I am done with assumptions.  I know my body better than her.  Something is not right.  I have seen a few others in our office with this on their pan.  May of them have had symptoms that they can't get their doctors to find out what is causing it.  I question eagle syndrome.  Most are asymptomatic but the few with it is hard to get doctors to look outside the box and listen.  My doctor also sent me for sleep apnea which at the time I thought it could possibly make my heart work harder. Maybe causing spikes.  It didn't help.  With eagles you can feel a ligament in the back of your throat.  The pressure from the air triggered severe symptoms and causes severe weakness, ear ringing, numbness to left side of my face and stabbing left side headache.  All on the side ligament is on.  I asked my son if my face was dooping.  Extra oxygen made it worse because of air flow pressure from c-pap.  Sorry so long but I wanted to help people see that not all doctors got it together.  Go with your gut feelings.  These weird spikes are our bodies way of telling us something is wrong.  Don't let assumptions rule get facts.