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24/7 dizziness ???

by Lightwise, Dec 22, 2006 12:00AM
Hi everyone ... has anyone out there experienced 24/7 dizziness from there anxiety ?

I would describe my dizziness NOT as vertigo but as an imbalance while walking (accompanied by a heavy/drowsy head). Sometimes it feels like the ground is not solid.

Those of you who have experienced the type of dizziness I've described, was it all day/everyday or just when you panic ? Does it ever seem to go away or subside ? Also, is there anyone out there who had this symptom then had it disappear after their anxiety was under control or their stress relieved ?
Member Comments (14)

by Pum, Dec 23, 2006 12:00AM
yes I've had something similar.  It felt like a brief sensation of falling backwards also.  I think it can be due to allergies too ie something to do with the inner ear but anxiety makes you focus more on it plus the chest breathing leaves you a bit hyperventilated all the time.



And yes it completely goes away when the anxiety is fixed.  Any sensations of dizziness when you are mentally well are dealt with rationally ie ignored in the main.  If you actually faint that is a different story.



Good luck.

by sue-aloo, Dec 23, 2006 12:00AM
To: Lightwise
I know EXACTLY what you are talking about.  I had it for approx 6 months straight with no relief at all.. Wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.  YES!  it was all due to anxiety and depression.  Went for MRI's on my head.  Went to allergists and Ears Nose Throat doctors.  NOthing physically wrong....finally a succumbed to the fact that is is depression and anxiety.  Started Meds.  Haven't felt that way (except for high anxiety situations) since meds kicked in.....Approx. 10 years now! I am on Paxil and Buspar.  BEST TO YOU.  SEE A DOCTOR.  IT DEFINITELY CAN BE RELATED TO ANXIETY...BUT ONLY A DOCTOR CAN TELL YOU FOR SURE.

by Lightwise, Dec 24, 2006 12:00AM
To: sue-aloo
I do take Paxil (6 weeks now). I have been to a number of doctors and specialists .... they have found nothing wrong. I will be tested for Lyme in two weeks.



So, you had dizziness 24/7, even when you were not anxious ? What other persistent symptoms did you have ? My dizziness has been going on for approx 4 months. I have other symptoms which have been going on longer. Any advice ? How much Paxil and Buspar do you take ? Thanks for yor help.

by sue-aloo, Dec 27, 2006 12:00AM
To: Lightwise
My lightheadedness and dizziness was also accompanied by pressure in my head.  It just never went away.  If it subsided (which it did very slightly..and very rarely) I was left with a dull headache.  It was truly horrible.  I seemed to always be in the middle of a slight panic attack...and sometimes a full blown one!  I had the shakes and nausea constantly.  I felt I lost my life.  Everything was a chore.  I was tested for every disease under the sun..lupus, MS, HIV (by my request even though I was not sexually active!  That is what anxiety can do!)  I went to allergists, ENT doctors, and finally a neurologist who took a CAT scan of my head (swore I had a brain tumor) and then an MRI because I was not convinced.  I then started Paxil (at a low dose) and I was also on this med. called Depakote...a very powerful drug for those with other "mental" conditions. I was convinced I was totally nuts, but my doctor assured me that my condition was from depression and anxiety.  It calms your brain.  I don't know the exact thing it does, but I had to be monitored on it.  Then after a year, I was weaned off the depakote.  A few years after that my parents both passed away in a very short time.  Most of my symptoms came back because of the stress and depression in my life.  That is when I started on the Buspar.  So, now, a few years after that, I am on 50 mgs of Paxil daily and 30 milligrams daily of Buspar.  



I hope you are feeling better, please let me know if you have any other questions.  I will be glad to share what I know.



Hang in there.

by piggybuzz, Jan 22, 2007 12:00AM
I have had this form of dizziness for over 2 years. It is not the vertigo type either but a constant bouncing feeling, pressure in the head and fatigue all the time. I have a terrible time falling asleep at night. I have also had every test under the sun done including an MRI and they cannot find anything physically wrong. I am also on Paxil which makes me even more tired. I am tired of feeling this way all the time. When it first started I wasn't feeling particularly anxious and even though I have been on Paxil for over a year, quit my job and try very hard to stay relaxed and rested I am still bouncy and foggy everyday. It is no fun and I have had enough.

by bowla004, Nov 28, 2007 10:52PM
To: lightwise
Wow this has sort of helped me. The thing that scars me is one doctor in the er said i had a panic attack and i did at that time. Now im constantly lightheaded and have a pressure in the same spot on my head. i have had a blood test for everything and they came out fine,i have had an upper gi, a cats scan which came out normal. I have had every test under the sun! The only thing they found wrong was i had ovarion ruptured cyst, but the doc says it's not serious and goes away. other than that all the other test came out fine  What gets me the panic attack is that during the day im so drowsy like i have no energy to do anything. But at late night im fine. During the day i feel like im dying of weakness and lightheadedness.  It's scars me because i can't even get out of bed and everybody is just telling me it's a panic attack and to get over it. Also that it's depression. i also feel like i can't breath. It just gets worse everyday.  And now it last till like 9 at night then im wired till 3 or 4 in the morning. My biggest fear is having a brain tumor! Even though i know it's anxiety im constantly like this everyday. I can't afford an MRI right now so i just tell myself to calm my self down that if the cat scan came out normal and every other test has come out fine then i must be fine. Yet even though i tell myself im fine i still experience the same symptoms everyday for the past 5 months. So if it is GAD like everybody including the doctors telling me this than how can i control it. Because obviously i have tried everything from distracting my self, taking xanax and telling myself im healthy and still i can not control it. Im seein a pshcologist next week. Does anybody have any suggestions on how to control GAD.

by iamfaithful, Nov 29, 2007 11:00AM
I experienced this for days on end in the beginning, then it went away, then came back, on and on.  I was so terrified of fainting or blacking out I dind't know what to do.  I felt like the medicine was also making me tired/drowsy, but then I wasn't sure.  I'm on a beta blocker, medicine for gerd and Xanax when needed.    I got so confused I felt like I was losing my mind and losing touch with reality.  Anyway, once I started eating better and trying to stay calm and not panic as much it got better-but it hasn't totally gone away.  It is an AWFUL feeling.  I felt as if I was walking in glue somedays, or sometimes (and I still do this) I would hold onto something while I was walking for fear I would fall down!  It is crazy.  
I am telling you, stress is such an awful thing, it not only wreakis havoc on  your mind, but it starts to wreak havoc physically as well!!!
I have other symptoms too, but I won't even get into that :-)
I hope everyone feels better and SOON!!!

by lost_myself, Nov 29, 2007 11:58AM
To: all who answered here
Even though this isn't my post i couldn't have described it better myself..today is really bad and reading this post helped me alot .Thanks to the poster and all who answered , your timing couldn't be better..Btw I am gaining control of my anxiety ,in part thanks to the Lucinda Basset program, this darn dizzy part is the hardest one for me to kick ..I have managed to get rid of alot of the other symptoms and am only taking beta blockers in a VERY low dose... Thanks again ..God Bless

by cal7902, Nov 30, 2007 10:31PM
To: all
I have this too and it is probably the number one thing that bothers me.  It is like the floor is moving or there are low spots in the floor when I am walking.  I am weening off Klonopin and weened off Corgard (beta-blocker) completely.  It has gotten better than it used to be, but sometimes it feels like it will never go away.  I also get this unsteadiness type feeling sometimes when I am sitting, but I cant tell if it's the palps that are making me move.  But I must also say that my left leg feels really weak and I have some knee pain in that leg when I exercise now that I didnt feel before my panic attack.  I am really thinking that it's the meds causing this, but I had it right after the panic attack, so I don't know.

I am really hoping it will go away soon.  It just makes me feel uncomfortable and not confident when I am out and about.