Light headed and nothing else. No other symptoms

[John seeder]

Hi Everyone. Basically I am light headed all the time. This started one day out of the blue and has not stopped. ALmost a month now. I've been to doctors, tests, ct scans, bloodwork, etc. All normal. My doctor thinks it may be anxiety and stress, but I have no palpitations, no shortness of breath, basically no other symptoms. He prescribed Lexapro, but I am reluctant at this point to start it just yet.

When I say lightheaded, I mean light headed. I don't mean vertigo. I can walk fine. It feels like lack of oxygen to the brain I guess. Can this be anxiety and I don't even realize it? Again, I have absolutely no other symptoms but this light headenness. I try to be an easy going person. I have improved my diet, taken multi vitamins, etc... Please help as it is affecting my quality of life. Thank you.

[mandie]

Hi John

This is my main symptom of anxiety. I dont have paplatations or shortness of breath either.

When i have a panic attack i have alot of other symptoms, but when im anxious i mainly have the liteheaded feeling all the time.

The more i think about it, the more it stays. We have to learn to ignore it and it will go away.

love mandie x

[John seeder]

Hi. Yes, it is really weird. I mean literally I have no other symptoms. No panic attacks, no heart palpitations, nothing. I hope the lexapro helps, but am afraid of the withdrawal effects.

I do notice that when i wake up that the light headedness is not so bad. It's there, but not bad. My blood pressure tests are fine though. Perfect range. i did have a throat thing about 2 months ago (Feeling of like a piece of popcorn kernel stuck in throat and throat felt tight), but that is like 95% gone. I'm even going to a gastro docotr to check for acid reflux (I'm sure I don't have it though).

Hopefully this passes. Anyone else out there with light headedness? Any remedies on how to get rid of it? Thanks.

[flyinjw]

For a large portion of my day, the only symptom I experience is light-headedness. It is very unnerving because I don't always feel anxious while I experience it. Sometimes it comes with a general feeling of weakness, headache, and some random aches, pains, spasms, etc.

The only thing that has been effective so far is ignoring the lightheadedness. I mean really ignoring it - distracting myself to the point where I can't help but ignore it. Then, it goes away until I do a "self check" to see if I still feel lightheaded, at that point it often comes back...or maybe it was there all along...hard to tell... :)

[EmmaJane]

Hi john

this definately sounds like anxiety. you could be hyperventilating. Not breathing properly. Maybe you could try some breathing techniques.

[Dave31]

Hi John.
Mine too came out of the blue, and like you have not experienced any palps or out of breath, but have just returned from 4 days in hospital, where i had various blood tests, chest x-ray, eye scan and MRI scan, and to no avail, apparently everything is normal, although that's good news, I can't understand or get my head round what I'm experiencing!
As for the health anxiety thing, i haven't or aren't experiencing any anxiety other than wondering what's going on.
Like so many on these posts, the Neuro & Dr's don't seem to have any explanations for the problem. I was literally told by the hospital staff to go home and live with it! And if it persists go back to my GP.. Whats the point in that I ask myself? It was her that put me in hospital in the first place! :mad:

Although mine isn't 24/7, thankfully, I do get it quite often. One thing with me I'd like to mention, is, when I sit down the area around the brain tends to spin, every time.
I can walk to town, about half a mile, but walking back is like I've been on the drink, my legs are all over the place!


davesdiscs.co.uk

[catwoman2]

Also may I suggest this as well - http://www.vestibular.org/vestibular-disorders/specific-disorders/labyrinthitisvest-neuritis.php could be a cause. Although I suffer from high anxiety and it has been help to see others have been experiencing the same symtoms. If you do have the viral ear infection and it's not caused by bacterial there is nothing the doctors can do anyway - you have to sit and wait it out. With all things like this it's best to be checked by a professional just to be sure.

[Gradontron]

Hi,

Started feeling lightheaded a week or so ago, first night it kept me up all night, it has been scaring me so been looking online for answers, this forum seems to hit the nail on the head. In the past I have had what I call 'funny turns' where I have felt light head and sometimes pass out, but it usually goes soon after, but now it will not leave me, however I havent passed out from it, it just feels like I could.

I also find that ignoring it seems to be the best way to make it go away, but I find it hard to ignore, at the moment just trying to relax by watching comedy films etc.

Hadn't considered anxiety but it could be as I am studying Animation at university which involves alot of staring at a screen and concentrating hours on end, which causes stress and I guess could lead to anxiety.

Reading these posts is comforting, but I just want it out of my life otherwise this could effect my future career

[Colt]

It really is good to read that others feel this way. I'm experiencing the same symptom. Lightheadiness. I find myself yawning a lot as well but mostly just the lightheadniness. I've been in and out of emergency as it did cause me to kind of freak out. I realize now that I was having anxiety in relation to how I was feeling. But as someone else posted, normally I have no other anxiety. The only time I get anxious is when I get this feeling. Been happening for about a month now and I am no longer extremely anxious about it and even when I'm being active and think its out of my mind, I still get feel the same lightheaded feeling. It's true, the more I think about it the worse it gets so I am starting to believe it could all be anxiety related. Very strange for me as I have nothing to be anxious about minus this persistant problem. I take adivan when I feel really bad and I can't say if it helps or not but I have been prescribed a long term medication that takes a couple weeks to kick in so I'm hoping this helps.

Got a golf trip planned at the end of this week and I'm a little nervous about feeling this way while I"m out of the country but the doctors seem fairly sure its anxiety and like the others, my tests have come out normally. I haven't had a CT scan as they don't feel it's needed considering my only symptom is the lightheadiness. I also find myself staring off a lot, unable to concentrate. Hoping it goes away soon and the pills start working. Good luck to everyone.

[Outlier]

It's been about 10 years since the original post. I'm wondering how it went for everyone. Did the lightheadedness go away on its own?

For the last 2 weeks I was having the exact same symptoms as the original poster, John Seeder. Doctors seem to think it's anxiety, but there's nothing going on in my life to cause significant anxiety. It really feels physiological. Just like the original poster said, it feels like there's not enough circulation going to my head. Similar to if your foot falls asleep or your hand falls asleep due to poor circulation, it felt as if my head was falling asleep (lightheaded) for some reason. It wasn't so much the dizzy feeling, it was more the lightheaded/fainting feeling that I got. And if I did feel any anxiety it was because of this unexplained feeling, not because of any other life circumstances causing stress. And like the original poster, I did feel less of it after waking up. It would happen later in the day when walking around, driving, or doing other stuff.

So after about 2 weeks, I do feel that the lightheadedness is starting to disappear. This makes me think it could have been some kind of virus that was lurking in my body or head somewhere. The symptoms felt like a virus but with no other symptoms other than the lightheadedness/fainting spells.

So 10 years later, how is everyone doing? Are any of you still getting the lightheadedness? If not, how did you get it resolved? Did it go away on its own?

[MarkyMark88]

It's kind of relieving to see a post for this symptom. This is something I have been experiencing since my first panic attack back in August. There will be days where I have little to no anxiety and I will have this feeling of lightheadedness. Almost like I can pass out at any moment. I notice that it goes away though when I take a clonazepam.

Like one poster put it could be due to not breathing properly. My therapist said the same thing. And the weird part is you could be hyperventilating without even realizing it. You don't have to have the classic rapid panic like breathing to hyperventilate.

As another said just try to completely ignore it. Or as my therapist puts it, welcome it. Allow yourself to feel the symptom and accept it. Then it will eventually become and afterthought. Easier said than done, but it is something I am trying to work on. Glad to know that I am not the only one that feels this symptom in an isolated form. Easily one or the most worrisome anxiety symptoms I get.

Mark