At the moment I have a whole big mish-mash of 'brain-fog' type symptoms that I just can't seem to get a handle on. Some background on what has led up to this;
I've had issues with anxiety and depression, on and off, from the age of 15 (now 44). I've been coping well for the last ten years or so with no major setbacks. Been settled on meds that keep me stable for a long time, Venlafaxine 150mg a day for over twenty years now, and Zopiclone for over ten years.
Then I caught a flu-like virus at the beginning of January which completely knocked the stuffing out of me for ten days or so (fever, bad chest, stuffy head and sinuses, no energy or appetite, aches and pains). Anxiety kicked in a bit, but was reassured by GP that this was a perfectly normal response to my situation, and it eased off as my symptoms improved. COVID test came back negative, GP said it could be flu or a flu-like virus, or could've been a false negative with the test. Went back to work for four days, probably pushed it a bit too much, got very anxious, light headed, and exhausted and had to go home early :( Doctor signed me off work, did some blood tests which came back fine, and diagnosed me with post-viral fatigue and anxiety. Was prescribed Propranolol to help with anxiety (taking half a 40mg tablet three times a day), which has definitely brought down the panicky feelings, but increased the light-headedness.
It's now been about five weeks since I last went to work and I'm really struggling. Physical exhaustion and virus symptoms have eased off, but my mushy head seems to have got steadily worse. I feel uncomfortably light-headed all the time, with stuffy/pressure feelings in the right side of the top of my head and around the top of my neck. Difficulty thinking and confusion are there pretty much all of the time as well, I lose track of what day or time of day it is easily, and find it harder to concentrate on anything, or follow through a train of thought to a logical conclusion. The most difficult thing to cope with is the constant feeling of unreality, for the last couple of weeks I haven't been able to ground myself at all. The unreal feelings are also tied into 'sticky' thoughts and emotions. It's really hard to explain but, if I watch a TV programme, or have a conversation with my partner about something that happened in the past, the thoughts and emotions and just general 'feeling' associated with the event just 'stick' in my head. I don't suddenly believe I'm in a TV programme, or have travelled into the past, it just feels like my whole head is 'coloured' by the experience that I'm watching or talking about, and I can't shift it whatever I do (for hours or days afterwards).
I'm worried that the Propranolol is contributing to all of the fuzzy headed feelings. I've tried cutting down the dose (after discussing with my GP), but only managed two doses at 10mg (instead of 20mg) before my blood pressure and heart rate shot up and sent my anxiety spiralling :(
In the past, I've been able to ground myself with music or familiar things when I feel unreal, but nothing works at the moment. Getting a good night's sleep has always helped to get rid of any stubborn symptoms too, but now I still feel exactly the same when I wake up. I just feel mentally exhausted from it all and can't see any way forward :(
Any thoughts or advice would be very much appreciated.
Thanks, Andrew
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