sacolucci
31-10-17, 00:44
I will start off by saying I have had anxiety/panic disorder since my teens. I am now 33. Sometimes, I can totally forget I have anxiety and move on with life. Other times, my health anxiety is on overdrive and I feel like I'm going crazy.
Over the last five years, there has been a lot of changes in my life. I got married, started a business and had two children. My second child was born in August of last year.
Two days after I had my second child, I had a panic attack (the first one in 3 years) because I thought they had injected the epidural incorrectly and my legs were going numb. I went to the doctor who assured me there was nothing wrong and I wasn't paralyzed in any way.
I kept getting little panic attacks here and there but nothing major. I also never took a maternity leave. I hired a nanny to help so I could work around the clock. I also had to get my first child off to school which was 20 minutes away. This was extremely stressful for me. I felt like the world was literally on my shoulders. I also wasn't sleeping at night. I would work late into the night and then wake up to feed the baby.
One night, I awoke from bed and felt extremely disoriented. I had to get some Advil for the baby who was teething at the time. I remember looking at the container, seeing the words, but unable to comprehend them. I told my husband I just had to go lie down. I had never experienced such a bizarre sensation but I attributed it to not getting enough sleep and my brain still being asleep while my body was away. Made sense.
The next morning I felt completely dizzy. I was changing my daughter's diaper and tilting my head to the right when a rush of dizziness came over me. It felt like a rise of adrenaline in my body. I moved my head straight, rushed to my kitchen to eat something as I felt maybe it was because I hadn't eaten. The feeling soon subsided.
We went out to eat that afternoon and there was tv monitor just above us. I turned my head to the right to watch it and felt that disorientating feeling again. I panicked but the feeling went away once I looked straight.
We went to a movie after that and as soon as the light went out I felt extremely anxious and not grounded. I left.
I seemed to be ok the next few days when these dizzy rushes started happening more often. I was at my office, working late, looking at the computer which was also located to the right and my keyboard at center, when a rush of panic/dizziness came over me. I panicked because I was feeling dizzy and packed up and went home.
Then, I was in the car, driving my kids home from school. We went through thr drive-through to pick up some donuts. I reached over to get my wallet and turned to pay the lady at the cash, when a severe dizzy rush, fleeting sensation came over me. I panicked all the way home, hyperventilating. The feeling caused a panic attack and not vice versa.
I finally went to emergency because the episodes started becoming more frequent. They told me I had positional vertigo. They advised to go home and do the Epley. I went home and tried the exercise. There it was. As soon as I lied back to the right, I spun for 10 seconds. I thought, great! This is what all of this was! I did the Epley for 4 days and the spinning sensation when lying down went away. But the strange part is the dizzy sensations kept happening. I was on my cell phone texting and looked up and had the dizzy sensation. It only lasts 1-5 seconds. Afterwards, I am panicky, flush, clammy and shaky (anxiety tremors).
I've had a full work up. MRI, CT Scan, Bloodwork, ear tests, etc. There is no more BPPV and there is no central problem. The neurologist I consulted said she wants to do an EEG to rule out partial complex seizures. Of course, being an anxiety nut, I am petrified. I have felt panic/fear and I have felt a large amount of brain fog. This condition has also caused me to feel off balance all of the time.
I also have experienced derealization because I am always thinking about my symptoms. Sometimes these sensations would come even from talking loudly. So my question is, do you think this is anxiety or complex seizures? I am scared to do the EEG. Would I know if this was seizure activity? They honestly feel like brain zaps! I'm not on any medication.
Over the last five years, there has been a lot of changes in my life. I got married, started a business and had two children. My second child was born in August of last year.
Two days after I had my second child, I had a panic attack (the first one in 3 years) because I thought they had injected the epidural incorrectly and my legs were going numb. I went to the doctor who assured me there was nothing wrong and I wasn't paralyzed in any way.
I kept getting little panic attacks here and there but nothing major. I also never took a maternity leave. I hired a nanny to help so I could work around the clock. I also had to get my first child off to school which was 20 minutes away. This was extremely stressful for me. I felt like the world was literally on my shoulders. I also wasn't sleeping at night. I would work late into the night and then wake up to feed the baby.
One night, I awoke from bed and felt extremely disoriented. I had to get some Advil for the baby who was teething at the time. I remember looking at the container, seeing the words, but unable to comprehend them. I told my husband I just had to go lie down. I had never experienced such a bizarre sensation but I attributed it to not getting enough sleep and my brain still being asleep while my body was away. Made sense.
The next morning I felt completely dizzy. I was changing my daughter's diaper and tilting my head to the right when a rush of dizziness came over me. It felt like a rise of adrenaline in my body. I moved my head straight, rushed to my kitchen to eat something as I felt maybe it was because I hadn't eaten. The feeling soon subsided.
We went out to eat that afternoon and there was tv monitor just above us. I turned my head to the right to watch it and felt that disorientating feeling again. I panicked but the feeling went away once I looked straight.
We went to a movie after that and as soon as the light went out I felt extremely anxious and not grounded. I left.
I seemed to be ok the next few days when these dizzy rushes started happening more often. I was at my office, working late, looking at the computer which was also located to the right and my keyboard at center, when a rush of panic/dizziness came over me. I panicked because I was feeling dizzy and packed up and went home.
Then, I was in the car, driving my kids home from school. We went through thr drive-through to pick up some donuts. I reached over to get my wallet and turned to pay the lady at the cash, when a severe dizzy rush, fleeting sensation came over me. I panicked all the way home, hyperventilating. The feeling caused a panic attack and not vice versa.
I finally went to emergency because the episodes started becoming more frequent. They told me I had positional vertigo. They advised to go home and do the Epley. I went home and tried the exercise. There it was. As soon as I lied back to the right, I spun for 10 seconds. I thought, great! This is what all of this was! I did the Epley for 4 days and the spinning sensation when lying down went away. But the strange part is the dizzy sensations kept happening. I was on my cell phone texting and looked up and had the dizzy sensation. It only lasts 1-5 seconds. Afterwards, I am panicky, flush, clammy and shaky (anxiety tremors).
I've had a full work up. MRI, CT Scan, Bloodwork, ear tests, etc. There is no more BPPV and there is no central problem. The neurologist I consulted said she wants to do an EEG to rule out partial complex seizures. Of course, being an anxiety nut, I am petrified. I have felt panic/fear and I have felt a large amount of brain fog. This condition has also caused me to feel off balance all of the time.
I also have experienced derealization because I am always thinking about my symptoms. Sometimes these sensations would come even from talking loudly. So my question is, do you think this is anxiety or complex seizures? I am scared to do the EEG. Would I know if this was seizure activity? They honestly feel like brain zaps! I'm not on any medication.