Re: Anxiety and dizziness

Posted By CCF Neurology MD - AY on September 21, 1998 at 06:00:51:

In Reply to: Anxiety and dizziness posted by Steve on September 21, 1998 at 01:37:29:






I'll start off by letting you know this because it might relate to my current problem-
When I was in high school 3 years ago,I smoked marijuana frequently and I enjoyed it.Then I tried LSD. The first time was o.k. But the second time I had a very bad experience on it and sat by myself in somebodies car for hours and started to think about a 1000 thoughts per minute and felt like I was going crazy. I still tripped a couple more times,and each time had bad experiences. After that everytime I smoked marijuana I got real paranoid,couldn't talk to people and couldn't stop thinking and thinking. I've never felt the same after I had those bad acid experiences and for years wondered what was wrong with me,being embarresed trying to explain to people that I couldn't smoke marijuana anymore. I still did anyways,but I had to drink alcohol with it to feel somewhat better. This led to me becoming a alcoholic,because it made me feel more like myself.
  This April I was working at a fast food restaurant at the front register and there was a lot of customers in line. All of a sudden this weird feeling kicked in like a flashback and I felt like I was going to faint. After that everytime I went behind the register at work I felt dizzy and when there was a lot of customers,felt like I was going to faint. I had to stop working the register. I got tested for everything physical (I thought it was anemia) but nothing showed up. I couldn't handle it anymore and quit my job. After that and to this day,it's gotten very worse. It turned into being around people and going into public places that makes me panic and feel like I'm going to faint. And when I'm at home it isn't exactly better,either.All day I feel dizzy and sometimes my head feels like there's 100 pounds on it. Anytime I worry about any little thing,feel uncomfortable,or nervous, I feel like I'm going to faint,especially when I'm standing up or sitting at a table with my family. I've seen a counseler who said it was severe depression and anxiety,but I don't feel like it's depression. I was given prozac and buspar. The prozac made it worse,increasing the panic and dizziness I took the buspar for 4 weeks and it didn't help me one bit. I can never relax at all and that's all I think about is my feeling like this. It's stopped me from doing everything I want to do. Could I have a chemical inbalance? Also note that I haven't took LSD for almost 3 years,only smoked marijuana a couple of times at the beginning of this year, and I stopped drinking in May,about a
month after I had this problem.Any help will be greatly appreciated.




Thanks for your question.  After carefully reviewing the symptoms described
in your messages, I cannot find an "unifying" neurological explanation for
your situation.  Severe anxiety disorder appears to be the most likely
explanation, because stressful situations seem to promptly trigger your
symptoms.  I am assuming that your councilor (psychiatrist?) has made a
medical evaluation to eliminate "organic" diseases (such as anemia) before
deciding for a psychiatric explanation, if not, a medical evaluation should
definitely done.  Because you have stopped using illicit substances for
some time, it certainly simplifies any treatment regimen.  I would, however,
strongly encourage you to seek the help of a "substance abuse" program if
the problem recurrs.  It is rather unclear if past usage of LSD and marijuana
is the explanation for your current problems, but their usage represents
medical risks in themselves, without having to be linked to your symptoms.
I hope this information is helpful.  Best of luck.
This information is provided for general medical education purposes only.
Please consult your doctor regarding diagnostic and treatment options.