Balance and vertigo problems and anxiety

[Tero]

My wife used to suggest these long trips, like over 12 h driving, I have pretty much cancelled them except maybe in summer. I am currently no help driving, but we have a 19 year old who sometimes is along.

But my driving alone is 15 000 miles a year.

[gaaron]

Only you know best. The only times I've done 12hr driving is abroad with a boyfriend who doesn't know how to drive - telling me it's easy! My children aren't insured to drive my car....

[Tero]

Well, they could learn.

I told my kids to take the car keys away from me when I am old enough, that is too old to drive. I thought 70, but it might be at 60 at this rate.

[gaaron]

My daughter does drive and I gave her some money to buy a car - she bought a house......It could be nice to be 'looked after' but no, no! - as in taking freedom away!-even tho' it's scary

[Tero]

I gotta go do chores, nobody is home. Here is one more article on the inner ear. Take care.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Anxiety-Pa...as!&id=2211974

[Tero]

Not quite sure how to examine the issue related to balance. As I only have strange sensations of speed and so on driving, and it comes and goes by the situation...less car less panic...it may not be balance in my case, not to a great extent.

But I did order the guys book for 3 dollars used.

[Tero]

Back to this topic. I have been on vacation 2 weeks, so no driving. Air travel was OK, no dizzyness of anxiety. So it seems to be when I am at the wheel. I still need to get balance issues checked out, as I do not sense speed well past the low stop and go speed. At 70 mph I am OK as passenger, so it is not like I get car sick. But I have to look out the window the whole trip.

[BasilCat]

Hi there, I have suffered with balance, vertigo and anxiety too. Infact I know my anxiety is returning when my balance starts going and it its one of my worst anxiety symptoms, that and unreality!
But yes I have had a lot of vertigo over the years too. One of the worst places I get it is in bed and I have been told that its actually known as benign paroxyml positional vertigo and its about the postition of the crystals in my inner ear and them being in the wrong place. I woke up extremely dizzy one saturday morning about three years ago and thought I was having a stroke, It was so bad and I was absolutely terrified I can tell you! The sensation must have only lasted 30 seconds but it felt more like 30 years! It was awful. I have had it since then but mostly not as bad. It was bad about 3 months ago when I was sat in the armchair looking down at my mobile phone. The terrible dizziness came right out of the blue! So I am very careful these days how I position my head!
Another place I get bad dizziness is in a plane when it is taking off!! No sooner has the plane left the runway than I am really dizzy and disorientated and my balance is gone! Its an inner problem I think and it really puts me off flying although I am in the UK and have been to America three times and the caribbean.
Re driving, I had panic attacks in the car when I had my last breakdown in 2006 (My 4th in 30 years!!) and was unable to drive at all for the best part of a year. As I told friends and family, I was not scared of driving, I was scared of having more panic/anxiety attacks whilst driving. My mum lives 60 miles away from me and for 3 years I could not drive to see her but I put in a lot of effort and now I am back to driving normally. At one point I did not think I would ever be able to drive again. But I am happy to say that I have proved myself wrong. I had to do it one step at a time though and start at the beginning again with tiny distances and slowly build myself up to driving further and further. I am fine now though.
I just wish I could get rid of the positional vertigo though because every night I get into bed I am scared in case it comes back really bad again. I can feel it kicking in whilst I sit here typing but it stops when I move position.

BasilCat

[Tero]

Sounds familiar. Though my balance is mostly OK, walkin etc., I have had to rely mostly on visual cues driving, and at times even that was a bit off from normal, especially at night.

Thanks and take care!

[Rob1970]

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