Dizziness/anxiety

[sunshinecalm]

Does anyone that suffers from panic disorder get bouts of dizziness even they are not feeling anxious or panicky?
Before I had my first full blown panic attack I was getting these bouts of dizziness and had thorough check-ups and nothing was found.It was put down to anxiety.

I have this dizziness again.My doctor wants me to start taking cipramil to help the anxiety but I'm scared in case it make things worse especially the dizziness

[LadyVooDoo]

Hi there sweetie. I just read your post and realize we have/had quite a few symptoms in common. About three years ago I was diagnosed with panic attacks and was treated with Diazapam. It never worked. Even at 60mgs a day. Along with that, I was constantly dizzy, had a heavy pressure in my head, ears popping, headaches, post nasal drip, vertigo, distorted vision, what I thought were heart palpitations in my throat, flushing (heat) of the body, chest and neck pain, pain in my muscles and a slight tingling in my arms and legs at times. To make a long story short, and after a million different medical tests, I found out that I had severe acid reflux disease and I was dangerously low on Vitamin D. While I never experienced the usual burning sensation associated with acid reflux, I did have other common and less common symptoms of the disease. For instance, the dizziness, the heavy pressure in my head, the popping in my ears, the vertigo and the post nasal drip, were the signs that acid was rising far beyond my esophagus and into my sinus cavity. ( I was a smoker and didn't realize that nicotine actually relaxes the esophagus and allows twice as much acid to rise without any restriction. ) Secondly, since I couldn't eat any dairy products by having acid reflux, ( not that I knew that then. I just thought it made me throw up whenever i ate it ) along with the fact that I never left my house for fear I would freak out in the middle of a shopping mall with a panic attack, my body was starved for Vitamin D. This was the cause of the body flushes and significantly added to the dizzinand painc.  You see, both conditions can absolutely mimic panic attacks, as well as the other symptoms I discussed earlier in this post. I suppose I'm trying to say, if you are ever diagnosed with high anxiety, panic attacks or PTSD and to you, the diagnosis just doesn't fit who you know you are. Or, if psychotropic or sinus medications are prescribed and is has no notable effect, don't assume you're crazy or have a brain tumor. Look at other options. I went three years thinking I was completely insane while assuming the worst. Another clue would be that panic attacks aren't incessant by nature and don't usually don't last ten hours to days on end. After being treated with Tagament and prescription Vitamin D, I was back to normal. One last thing, there are several other reasons why one could easily believe they are having panic attacks. Food allergies are one. uA histamine intolerance is another. Even the body's response to high levels of Vitamin B can fool even the best of Doctors. Even alcoholism van cause most of these symptoms. Ask questions people. Don't be afraid. Document everything. What were you doing or eating prior to your dizzy spells or panic attacks. You won't be sorry. Best of luck to all of you.

[jess990]

You can email me through this website and we can chat, or you can post here and we can all respond. We are all here to help one another and learn from one another!

[sunshinecalm]

many thanks for your replies.Thanks Jess990.I do appreciate your offer and will accept it.anything that might help I will certainly try.

[RubyWitch]

Since you say you had these bouts of dizziness BEFORE your first panic attack, I have to wonder if your not packing a previous problem into your anxiety suitcase? I'm glad you've had a good medical check-up. Did you mention the dizziness at that time? If so, what did the doctor do? Look in your ears? See nothing wrong and let it go? I have to really side with Jerzeegal here and suggest that you make an appointment with a good ENT specialist. Let them rule out any sort of inner ear problems that can so easily cause dizziness. (vertigo) If they say there is nothing wrong, then it's time to see your doc again about a possible relation to your panic disorder. Check out what the beautiful Jess990 has to offer and try that while you wait to see the ENT.
I have sever panic disorder and do get dizzy at times, but I have concluded it's usually because I haven't eaten. Seems to happen more frequently if I'm also really stressed out. Just a thought. I've taken to carrying nuts and berries in my scrubs!
Best of luck!
Peace
Greenlydia  

[jess990]

I have had dizziness for  years, really bad the last year and a half. It is anxiety!!! I have started therapy and it has helped a lot. You can email me here on this site if you want me to give the exercises he has me doing!

Take care!

[Jerzeegal]

When I had bouts of dizziness it was actually vertigo caused by an inner ear disturbance. I do suffer from anxiety and have noticed that when I am especially anxious I get "funny headed" sometimes.

I was taking antivert to deal with the vertigo and it helped quite a bit although it made me sleepy.