By Tedler D. Depaynos, MD
The patient complained of sudden severe vomiting which practically emptied his stomach and made him weak. This was accompanied by dizziness and vertigo controlled only by non-movement of his head. Initially closing his eyes worsened the condition so that he had to stare forward until he got tired and had to lean on piles of pillows to maintain his upward stance and tried to be comfortable. Objects before him appeared to be inverted and even the persons in front of him talking appeared to be lying down or horizontal in mid-air. Since it was night and the patient eventually fell asleep, he was not brought to the hospital.
Gradually he recovered and his relatives attributed the attack to the various medicines he was taking.
After a few days he had a series of similar attacks so he was practically carried finally to the hospital. A cerebral attack was feared considering that he had a history of hypertension. His relatives however were praying that it was not something very serious.
An extensive work up was quickly done which eventually pointed to a condition on his neck or cervical area. What was significant according to his attending MDs were the slight sudden movements of the neck that caused his severe signs and symptoms. By history some of the attacks were precipitated by coughing and bending and sudden twisting or turning of the neck just like when somebody called him from behind.
After various medications which gave him apparent relief, a plain cervical x-ray revealed “degenerative osteoporosis” with “narrowed disk spaces” or “compression deformities”. In layman’s terms, the attending MDs surmised that some sensory nerves exiting from the cervical spine were probably compressed causing the dizziness, vertigo and vomiting.
Although the patient was still for further work –up and scheduled for more diagnostic studies as of this writing, those who visited him were reminded of the previous lady president when they saw him with a neck brace. Hence jokingly they called his malady, “GMA Disease”. They may have read her condition in the newspapers but they never imagined the signs and symptoms she manifested. Were they the same as their patient’s? She must have been super pitiful especially when she was frustrated at the airport to seek treatment abroad!
Osteoporosis which is mainly weakness of the bones due to lack of calcium is more common in menopausal women because of lack of estrogen which somehow deprives the bones of calcium. It may however also occur in men just like in this patient which in layman’s terms is due to wear and tear and old age. **
