Light headedness worry

[Dan21]

Hello everyone.

I'm almost at my wits end as after such a good run of being pretty much HA free, it has come back and hit me like a car wreck.

For about the last week I have been feeling absolutely knackered. I mean so, so tired. Yawning loads. But I have had an almost constant feeling of lightheadedness and at times dizzyness. I've had a couple of episodes of what I can only describe as head rushes when I have been either crouched or bent down then stood up. Really not nice. But on top of this I have had a feeling like you get when you have not eaten and you feel weak and a bit jittery/shakey. And if thats not enough, I've had for the last few days what feels like a tension headache that just wont go away. Its not severe, just nagging away enough so as I know its there.

I feel such a failure each time I have to post because I know most other people in the world just get on with their lifes. I feel annoyed with myself and generally down.

I went back to see my counsellor yesterday and told her about the fact that my wife and I are having a baby. We had a long talk and I broke down and told her how scared I feel about it, how much the news has brought back the pain of losing my Dad and that I feel ABSOLUTELY FULL of fear about most things. I dont mean that as a throw away comment either, I'm pretty much two steps away from feeling fear or anxiety about one thing or another. I wanted so badly to tell her about my physical symptoms and how I'm completely terrified that it is something seriously wrong with my brain. I'm absolutely bricking it right now and hoped for some words of encouragement from anyone.

Ive just started back at Uni and apart from my head being ALL OVER THE PLACE, I'm feeling like crap. Aching and feel like I could sleep for a week. My Mam and wife have said that there are lots of viral infections around at the moment that can make you feel like this but I cant help thinking that they only say things like that to make me feel better and ease my mind.

Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks

Dan

-----------------------------
I want to go up to my anxiety, smile, put my arm around it and say to it caringly, 'Hey! How are you? How's your day been?'

Then, just as its about to answer me, I wanna throw a sack over it and give it a hiding within an inch of its life.

That would be nice.

[seeker]

Well, the light headedness and shakiness could well be becasue you are constantly breathing shallowly, or it could be becasue you have not eaten enough, or it could be low blood pressure. None of which are anything to worry about. I get it all the time - shaky in the morning, sometimes so bad that I think I'm going to fall over. Are you on any meds? Might be worth getting some for a little while to calm you down and get on an even keel again. You have got a lot going on at the moment, so make sure you take time to properly relax! Freshers Flu is soo common - so many people in a new place, so many bugs going round - it's expected that you will become ill in the first few weeks back! I hope this helps a bit!

[nomorepanic]

Dizziness or light-headedness
The sensation:
You feel suddenly light-headed, woozy or dizzy. This is sometimes accompanied by a feeling that you might faint or pass out. It also may feel as though you are walking on a boat, or that the floor seems to move up and down and it's hard to balance. You may also have difficulty placing your feet because your perception of the ground or floor may be wrong. In some cases it may seem that even though you are standing on a firm floor, the floor may be vibrating or moving.
The reason:
This symptom has a few variations. Some people may experience a sudden head rush feeling, which goes almost as quickly as it comes. As long as the individual doesn’t react with more fear, the symptom will come and go and will vary in frequency from a number of times per day, to a few times a month.
Another variation includes a constant state of unbalance, spinning, wooziness, fogginess and so on. Often it is accompanied by a feeling that you may pass out (some people do, however, that’s not common).
This symptom has a few causes. It could be from a blood sugar imbalance, hyperventilation (not getting enough oxygen) or an inner ear or ear pressure condition.
This is a common symptom and sometimes an individual can experience both forms, and at different times. I did.
There are tests available that can accurately identify a blood sugar imbalance, however, most often this isn’t the main cause. Typically, those with anxiety disorder have their blood sugar levels within the safe range when tested. However, long periods without eating may aggravate the condition because blood sugar levels may drop too low because of not eating. It’s important to eat regular wholesome and natural food so that the fluctuations in blood sugar remain in the normal range.
If you are experiencing this symptom, having medical tests may be beneficial. Certainly, to rule out any other cause.
If your symptom is a result of hyperventilation, deliberately deep slow breathing will reduce and even eliminate this symptom.
While deep relaxation will help to diminish and eliminate most symptoms, I’ve personally found that this symptom is one that hangs on the longest, and is the least responsive to immediate counter action. However, a regular deep relaxation routine provided me with results… it just took awhile.
As with all symptoms, when the nervous system gets sufficient rest, this symptom will diminish and eventually subside.


Nicola

People will forget what you said
People will forget what you did
But people will never forget how you made them feel

[ceecee]

hi dan
you sound so much like me!!!!i know its a horrible feeling,i wish i could give you some advice,but don,t know to get rid of it
take care
rach x

[Dan21]

Thanks everyone.

I'm trying to stay calm and not get too carried away with this. I'm hoping that some rest and calm might help me ease these awful symptoms.

:(:(

-----------------------------
I want to go up to my anxiety, smile, put my arm around it and say to it caringly, 'Hey! How are you? How's your day been?'

Then, just as its about to answer me, I wanna throw a sack over it and give it a hiding within an inch of its life.

That would be nice.

[ladybird1402]

You sound exactly like me!!! Whenever I get a lot of stuff going on I tend to get "ill" which includes light headedness as well as other cold like symptoms - my counsellors think that perhaps its because I can worry about my health instead of worrying about the numerous other things that have piled up which kind of makes sense. Stress and anxiety can make you so tired and the dizziness is most likely the shallow breathing. I now practice Yoga and I know it sounds stupid but it really does help! According to my Yoga teacher most people breath too shallowly or incorrectly which affects your blood gasses. If nothing else Yoga will teach you how to breathe and reduce the dizziness and light headedness. You have such a lot going on that you should never feel like a failure- even the most 'together' person would find those circumstances challenging! You should not hide this from your family by talking to them and your GP now you can stop this downward spiral before it gets too bad that you cant cope. They can help you...
good luck
x

Ladybird1402

[domino]

Hi dan, just a short reply, that you are feeling abit better today.

[Joe1981]

You are not alone my friend! I too suffer from light headedness, off balance and a wierd floaty feeling.. Been going on 3 months now for me.. I've had all the tests done and everything has come up clear. Doctor says it looks like anxiety, it's when u worry being dizzy it gets bad.. Try not to think about it it should go away.. it almost went away 100% for me but it came back when i started stressing bad again..

Feel free to add me to your hotmail or send me a pm and i'll be glad to help if i can.. Take care bud and remember you are not alone!

[Dan21]

thank you for all of your kind messages. Have just woke up and dont feel any worse but also dont feel so much better either.

For all of those who have similar symptoms, can I ask, do you ever get a sort of mild tension headache with the woozyness too?

I have to say that as comforting as it is to know that there are others out there who are suffering similar feelings, I'm still bricking them that this might be something terrible e.g. stroke/brain disorder...

-----------------------------
I want to go up to my anxiety, smile, put my arm around it and say to it caringly, 'Hey! How are you? How's your day been?'

Then, just as its about to answer me, I wanna throw a sack over it and give it a hiding within an inch of its life.

That would be nice.

[Dan21]

Hi again.

I woke up this morning feeling pretty much the same so I made an appointment at the docs and decided to see what they thought.

Well, she was wonderful and understanding. She said that the symptoms I described were 'bread and butter' for GP's. I explained that I had experienced palps and globus in the past and now I seemed to have dizzyness, shakiness and headaches to boot.

Then I started to get upset which was highly embarrasing. I had printed a piece from the net which I had found about GAD and I showed it to her and said - thats me, thats how I feel almost always.

She said she would make an appointment for a full blood count (which worried me) and prescribed me some beta blockers. She said that she was confident that the blood test would be normal and that the blockers should make a difference in the short term. I hope so.

Has anyone had experience of beta blockers? I'd love to know anybodys experience with them.

:( Still feeling sorry for myself........

Dan

-----------------------------
I want to go up to my anxiety, smile, put my arm around it and say to it caringly, 'Hey! How are you? How's your day been?'

Then, just as its about to answer me, I wanna throw a sack over it and give it a hiding within an inch of its life.

That would be nice.

[AHRW]

I have just found this forum - I am so so so worried about feeling light headed, I am in a vicious circle of fear. I managed to get it under control a few months ago but it has come back with a vengence with headaches to boot! More blood tests which push up the whole stress factor, waiting for results etc etc. I tried a Cognative Therapist and that was a great help. I am going back to see him next week.

Anyhow - it feels better to share this with you, other people just don't get it. I am getting light headed because I am scared of getting light headed. Nasty.

Alistair

[Cazza50]

Hi Dan

You are describing my symptoms exactly. I have had constant lightheadedness/dizziness for a week now, normally it comes and goes. I was anxiety free for most of last year and all of a suddern it came back within a split second just before Christmas and its been pretty bad since then. I feel absolutely awful and feel like I am going insane!

I try to do yoga and it usually works unless I am really bad in which case I go to bed or if I can't like when I am at work, I try extremely hard to focus on one task. This probably works the best as I find that later on I think to myself, oh, I haven't been dizzy for a while, but then I am obviously thinking about it so it comes back. Its so frustrating!

I get the headaches too, right across from one temple to the next. They can last a few days.

It kind of helps know that others are experiencing the same things.

Caroline

[Dan21]

Hi.

I know what you mean. I usually do some volunteer work on Thursdays but today my anxiety was so bad, I had to contact them and say I would have to call it quits as I couldnt carry on letting them down (a few abscences lately due to family emergencies, but todays was simply too much anxiety)

Anyway, the dizzyness comes and goes, its like a constant wooliness with fleeting two or three second outs of dizzyness, even when I'm sat down sometimes........

Bizzare.

-----------------------------
I want to go up to my anxiety, smile, put my arm around it and say to it caringly, 'Hey! How are you? How's your day been?'

Then, just as its about to answer me, I wanna throw a sack over it and give it a hiding within an inch of its life.

That would be nice.

[bambamers]

HI DAN,EVERY SINGLE THING YOU SAY IS EXACTLY HOW I FEEL.AND I TOO GET REASSURANCE FROM KNOWING OTHER PEOPLE HAVE THE SAME SYMPTOMS SO UST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW I GET THEM TOO.

LOUISE

[cattttt]

Hi Dan, the beta blockers are wonderful. I have a fear of taking meds (see my post) and coulcn't bring myself to take them for weeks, then on night I woke up feeling so anxious and upset I didn't care, I just didn't want to feel like that.
So I took one, didn't take away the fear in the mind, but after all that trembling shaking and palpitations, I felt still, so still...........take them, they really help.

[cazza]

Hi Dan
this is deffinately anxiety i had exactly the same as you for months lightheaded all the time headaches 24/7 shaky sweaty it takes a while but they do go you have to relax and accept there is nothing wrong except anxiety i did not take any meds
you will be fine take care carol

[Dan21]

Thanks for the messages. I've had the beta blockers for two days now and although I still feel anxious, I can relate to Cattt's post, you sort of get a stillness. Wow, its nice to be able to try and relax without having my heart racing.

-----------------------------
I want to go up to my anxiety, smile, put my arm around it and say to it caringly, 'Hey! How are you? How's your day been?'

Then, just as its about to answer me, I wanna throw a sack over it and give it a hiding within an inch of its life.

That would be nice.

[AHRW]

Hi Everyone,

Everytime I read a message from someone who feels the same as me I feel better. Thank you!

Still not feeling 100% but on the positive side this is the best I have felt for months.

Alistair