Off balance and dizzy

[LyndaK]

DIZZY, LIGHTHEADED, FOGGY-HEADED, OFF-BALANCE, TIRED, ANXIETY,

Finally, I have found other people who share my frustration and fears, and who are complaining about the exact same dizzy/lightheaded/foggy-headed feeling symptoms that I have. I started having an off-balance, dizzy feeling (which started as "on again & off again") feeling around 3 months ago. Then the week after Christmas, while I was shopping in a clothing store, I bent down and I got this dizzy/lightheaded feeling, like I was going to pass out. I didn't pass out, but I had the worst panic attack because the dizzy feeling scared me. Right after that, I started having panic attacks while driving - some so severe that I would have to pull my car over to the slow lane because I really thought I was going to pass out because they were so severe. Now, 8 weeks later, I have a dizzy, lightheaded, foggy-headed, off-balance feeling on a daily basis, which lasts all day and all night long. Some days I feel dizzier and more off-balance, and some days I feel just a little off-balance and foggy headed. I also have a foggy feeling in my eyes and my head feels like I have "air" in it, like it's full of something, and my right ear feels full all the time, and to make matters worse, I am tired all the time and no matter how much sleep or rest I get I still wake up with that tired, exhausted, foggy-headed feeling. I work full-time at a law office and I have to do alot of typing and proof-reading, which I have had alot of trouble doing these past few weeks. In any event, I went to my PC in the beginning of January because I thought I had another sinus infection. I had one (or so I thought) in October and my pc gave me an anti-biotic which seemed to clear up my symptoms. But then I started getting the same symptoms again at the end of December (which was a very stressful month for me because we lost our electricity for 10 days due to an ice storm and we were without power, heat, food, water, etc., until 5 days before Christmas. Needless to say, my anxiety level was extremely high during the month of December. I should mention that in 1998 I was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Anxiety Disorder and I do not take any prescription medications. Anyway, back to my story... so in January I went to see my PC and because he had just treated me for a so-called sinus infection, he didn't want to give me another anti-biotic so he ordered lab tests which included a CBC, Thyroid, Hormonal, etc. and chest x-rays, which (thank goodness) were all good and so he suggested I start taking an anti-depressant (Celexa) to help with my anxiety and to help with peri-menopausal symtpoms he thinks I may be experiencing even though my hormonal testing was normal. Simultaneously, while awaiting my lab results from my PC, I went to see an ENT who gave me in-office ear testing, which he concluded was normal. I also had a sinus CT (the new 64 slice one that shows everything and then some), which was also normal/negative. Needless to say, I am still having that dizzy, lightheaded, foggy-headed feeling, and I am having a feeling of tiredness in my eyes and my right ear and across my forehead to the top of my head feels full. I have been having acute anxiety because I worry constantly about my symptoms. I think about it from the minute I wake up in the morning until I fall asleep at night. I also have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. Thank goodness my husband has been a rock of support for me because I have been so distraught as the days go by and I am not feeling better. I have had bouts of crying a few times a week and I am really getting depressed about it. I am normally an active person and I "go" from the minute I get up until sunset. This "disorder" or whatever it is has put the brakes on my life to the point where I fear going anywhere and even more so I fear I won't get better. It is a little comforting to read the posts on here about other people experiencing the same symptoms as me and so I don't feel all alone. Today, I am wondering if my symptoms are inner-ear (even though the ENT said I didn't have any inner-ear issues) or if they are simply peri-menopausal (I'm 49). In any case, your feedback and support will be appreciated.

[sharona]

Hi
Please let me know if it is peri-menopausal as I have the same symptoms, I have been to my doctors which said the dizziness is high blood pressure, even though I think its not, as I have monitered it myself over a month.I am due to have a 24 hour BP and heart moniter machine on in April so I will let you know.

Sharon

[LyndaK]

Hi Sharon,

I am still trying to figure out if my symptoms are peri-menopause or just anxiety/stress related. I have an appointment on 4/6 with my GYN and I am hoping to get some answers then when he retests my hormonal levels and I discuss my symptoms with him.

Since my post on 2/24/09, I've only had mild symptoms of dizziness & lightheadedness. I am keeping track of my symptoms on a daily basis. I wish I had thought to do that 10 weeks ago when the symptoms started, but I was too worried and freaked out to even think straight. I actually felt like I was in a frozen state of mind. I couldn't eat, I couldn't work, I was having awful crying spells, I was an emotional wreck, until I found this website and read everyone elses stories. It really made me feel alot better and since then I've been following some of the advice of other people, like keeping a daily log of my symptoms. I noticed last month that my symptoms (dizziness, lightheadedness, crying spells, very high anxiety, anxiety attacks, shaking, insomnia, waking up throughout the night, breast tenderness) did get worse the closer I got to my period. For the past 11 months my periods have been irregular in that I either get 2 periods a month, none at all, or I skip a month, or I skip 3-5 months. I never know when I'm going to get it and/or if I'm going to get it. I am really anxious to meet with my gyn so i can go over my symptoms with him. He may have a different opinion/diagnosis about my symptoms than my PC had when he told me my hormonal testing (that I had done in January) was within "normal" range. Fortunately, I don't have high blood pressure so I can't comment on whether your symptoms are related to that or peri-menopause, but don't give up getting an answer. In the meantime, good luck with your BP and heart monitor testing. Please let me know how you make out with that. I am curious to know if your symptoms are peri-menopause related.
LyndaK

[LyndaK]

Hello again,
I wanted to follow-up on your BP & heart monitor testing and ask if you have had it and if so how you made out. As for an update on me, I am still experiencing the same symptoms referenced in my previous posts. I did see the gyn specialist on 4/6 and he told me that it is possible that the symptoms I'm describing are peri-menopause related, but he said he is not sure about the dizziness/lightheadness. He has heard of dizziness/lightheadness happening during peri, but he has never treated anyone or met anyone who has experienced it. In any event, he prescribed a bc pill (Loestrin) which he wants me to try for 3 months to see if it helps regulate my hormones and the dizziness/lightheadness. Unfortunately, he said that there is no specific test to see if your hormones are imbalanced unless you take a blood test at the exact same time that the imbalance is occurring. I have been doing some googling and found that adrenal fatigue (which is caused by hormonal imbalance) causes all of the symptoms I am experiencing, but unfortunately there isn't a test for that and anything endocrine related is very difficult and near impossible to diagnose. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the bc pills balance my hormones and allow me to feel like myself again!

Best regards,

Lyndak

[bluewoman]

PLEASE keep us posted on how the pill works- i am considering taking them too because i have the exact same symptoms as you. i am 37 though and doc is afraid of the pill because of the clotting factor

[sharona]

Hi
My appoitment for the moniter is the 20th April so I will let you know. Thanks for the advice. I do think its menopause symptoms especially as my mum had the same. Speak soon.

Sharon

[conxx]

It is caused by the imbalance of C02 and Oxygen in the blood stream which stems from increased heart rate and rapid breathing. I learned some breathing techniques here. http://panicdisorderanxiety.com

[gagrawal]

Hello All,

Nice to find this forum to describe the very unique problem that I have been suffering from for the last 3 years.

I am a 30 year old male, residing in India. I used to travel abroad quite often to Europe, specially to colder countries like Sweden. After one such travel in 2003, I had a giddiness attack (with my head spinning bad) during midnight, and it lasted for a day. Stugeron was prescribed and it subsided. All the tests were carried out to rule out any brain or neurolgocial disorders. Nothing turned up.

The episode recurred after an year in 2004 and again in 2005. Since 2005, I started to have a continuous feeling of imbalance along with light headedness. I also developed acute travel sickness, with air travel being the worst for me.

A caloric test performed showed a small issue in the left inner ear, after which I ws again prescribed Stugeron and Vozet. Its been 4 months now since I have started to take these drugs but the continuous feeling of off-balance remains. It has really affected my work, even though I have been free of any kind of personal/work stress.

[BasilCat]

I have had a lot of dizziness and loss of balance with anxiety too. I would say that along with unreality, it has been my main symptoms of anxiety and it is very scary and unpleasant.
To cap it all, about 18 months ago I was in bed on a Saturday morning and I woke up in the worst state of dizziness I have ever experienced. I was terrified and whilst it must have only lasted 30 seconds, it felt like 30 years. It was like things were going round inside my head. My balance had gone, I felt I was going to fall off the bed, I didnt know which way was up - it was awful. I thought I was having a stroke or something. When it stopped I was so shocked and I cried for most of the weekend. The doctor told me it was positional vertigo. Trouble was, it gave me a bit of a set back with the anxiety.
The positional vertigo only came back once about 2 weeks ago. It was not as severe and not as bad but it was there all the same. Something told me to lay still and relax and not fight it and then it was gone.
But the dizziness/loss of balance I have had with the anxiety feels totally different. Still awful all the same.
I would say that I have got a phobia about dizziness as a result of all this. It absolutely terrifies me and I cannot cope with feeling out of control. Thankfully I have not had it so much lately.
Shirley

[BasilCat]

Forgot to say Lyndak, I had panic attacks in the car too. This was at the start of my 4th breakdown 3 years ago. For almost a year after that, I would not get in a car, let alone drive one. Then I dared myself to drive around Tescos car park when it was quiet and hubby was shopping there. Then I drove the 1/4 mile to Tescos. Then I managed to get into town (2 miles) then I started driving round it - 3 or 4 miles. Then I started going to Martin Mere about 10 miles away. But I was still desperate to be able to drive the 60 miles to my parents again, the way I could before I had the breakdown. So I carried on with the 10 miles to Martin Mere, once a week for a year. Then I took my daughter on a 60 mile round trip to Lytham and back before Xmas last year. It felt strange to be so far from home with the car again and I didnt know what to expect but I was ok. Then on New Years Day this year, I dared myself to go the 60 miles to my parents with hubby sat next to me. 2 months later I did it again. Then, after exactly 3 years of not being able to do it, I finally drove the 60 miles to my parents on my own. It was on Good Friday. My next challenge is to do it with my two kids in the car. Its taken me 3 years but now I have done the drive. It was an emotional torment for me these last 3 years, not being able to do it but at least now I know I can. It is possible. I would say that I am 90% recovered from the anxiety and although I did not feel 100% when I did the drive, it wasnt enough to stop me attempting it.

Shirley