Help-Whats my problem?

[Imaz]

Hi,

It has been four weeks now without improvements.  I initially felt dizzy and wanted to faint one morning after getting out of the shower getting ready for work.  I then laid down on the bed when I felt the world was spinning around me.  As I got a held of myself again I quickly made an appointment with the Doctors that same morning.  Doctors sent me for a full blood test.  Having the results back the next day, the results all turned out fine.  As I let it ride off thinking the problem was only once off, I still didnt feel like myself since the incident.  Two days later driving home from work I felt like going through another episode, feeling like fainting whilst driving and shortness of breath.  So I pulled over and left the car on the side of the road and made a trip to the Emergency room.  Hospital review the same blood test results I've been carrying on me and also performed an ECG, that also turned out fine.  

My local GP then prescribed me with a drug called stemitil which is suppose to correct the fluids in the brain and help me balance through the day.  I must say the stemitil does not always work for me so I have been making several if not almost 10 visits to my GP asking for referrals and even sent me to do a CT scan.  CT scan turn out ok which was good. I have also seen other GP's to get a second opinion and after describing the symptoms and showed what my normal GP prescribed me they also assumed it was positional vertigo.  My symptoms are light headed, feel anxious when I think I'm going through another episode, vision is not always that clear, fatigue, ears seem to always need popping, I get anxious being around crowded/loud places.  This has affected my life and I loose concentration in what I do.  I have stopped driving for about a month now, as soon as I try, I will get a headache or feel anxious when I feel an episode is about to begin.  I have yet to know what exactly is my problem as the Doctors say I'm fine and its more of anxiety.

[Imaz]

Hi,

What gets me is that most of the time its cause was due to an infection somewhere, why couldnt the GP prescribe us with a round of antibiotics to fight the infection from begining...  i dont know about where you at, but here in Perth, it takes months to get an appointment to any kind of specialist...

Anyhow, my ENT has now referred me to a physiotherepist to help me with my balance.  Assuming its some kind of exercise???  Not sure what will be done there.  My appointment is 31stMarch. On the letter from the physio, they recommend to go straight home after the session to remain still as possible for the rest of the day??? not sure what exactly they will do during the sesion.

Have you seen or been asked to see a phsycologist ?  if you have, has it worked/helped you any better to handle situations.

Are you able to drive with these problems or have you ceased to drive for now?  Im at the stage where im not comfortable enough to drive as I dont want to be in the situation where I could become of harm to others... And the fact I feel like I can't handle fast/paced motion!!!!

[dolphinlvr]

Hi..yes, I think that is what the paxil does. This started 4 yrs ago. I was sitting on the couch watching the news, turned my head from right to left and something went haywire....kind of foggy headed, disoriented, very, very scared, no pain anywhere....knew something was bad wrong, woke my cousin up and had her take me to the hospital. After alot of tests on my heart they decided I was dehydrated. It was 7 mo of he-- later that my pc finally sent me to an ent who tested (water, air) me and said I apparently had had a viral infection that damaged my vestibular system on my left side. Have a good weekend, Joyce

[Imaz]

so paxil is the drug to overcome the brain lag? how long have you had the problem for and how did it happen initially?

[dolphinlvr]

In some instances, yes. it's according to whether the damage is perm. or temp. my damage is perm. caused from a viral infection, I will always have this trouble...thankfully it's pretty well controlled by meds.

[Imaz]

with the brain catching up, that will heal itself in time rite? are you still encountering that?

[dolphinlvr]

Ok...panic is the 2nd symptom......not the first. When that happens, close your eyes(if that helps), take deep, slow breaths and think....my brain is playing catch up it will subside in just a few minutes. I KNOW what is happening and I KNOW it will go away.
That should help ease the fight or flight panic symptoms. Believe it, say it! Move your head slowly, no matter what you're doing...don't jerk your head side to side or up and down....do it slowly. In the forum type in search words...like the vestibular neuronitis and see what posts come up. Have a good day. Joyce

[Imaz]

what i felt;

1. i felt like my hearing/eyes were out of sync with my mind, hence i closed my eyes.
2. fear it would get worst so thoughts of leaving the room and panic was running through my head.

yes, i went to the website, symptoms sound familiar, but i didnt know where to start in the forum....

[dolphinlvr]

Good morning! Loud, crowded places are not good...lol. I have the same thing happen when I go to a movie theatre.....I don't know if it has something to do with the vibrations from the sound or not.The slower paced the movie is the better I handle it....if it's fast paced, action packed....moving around alot and LOUD...I have to leave. So, what you were feeling is about the same. It's very important(for your sanity...lol) to try your very best to notice which happens first.....in split seconds.
Feel out of sorts - something isn't right
Panic - short of breath, have to move, leave, whatever, pace, sweating, tension in your scalp, nausea, all kinds of odd symptoms. When you "almost" feel you're going to have an attack....what's the very first thought?
foggy
not right
short of breath
somethings wrong in my head
tingling in your scalp
I am no Dr but...I do believe that a panic attack or anxiety is brought on by something, people with inner ear disorders are famous for having panic attacks. Did you ever go to the web site I told you about? They blocked it before but, it's the dizzy lounge dot com....see if that works. Please read the info in there it will help you understand some of the things that are going on. Have a great day, Joyce

[Imaz]

i went to a homeshow today and sat in for a presentation where they were demoing a home theatres for about 15mins.  I couldnt take it! the sounds where really irritating my ears and caused me to almost feel im going through an attack.  i hang in there though and closed my eyes some times trying to hold the pain.  not sure exactly what that was indicating???  either eye or ear related issues? im not normally like that when it comes to home theatre sounds and loud music...

[dolphinlvr]

Wow ! Go away completely?? That's great news! I'm glad everything went well for you!! Take Care Imaz, Joyce

[Imaz]

I just came back from ENT.  No they did not do anymore tests and thought it was not necessary.  ENT diagnosed probable left eustachian tube dysfunction and possibly left vestibular neuronitis.  Hence the prescribed Nasonax spray on my last visit showed improvements now.  Because I mentioned that the balance is getting better but I'm still not able to drive as I feel like fainting when I get to the traffic lights, he refered me to a physiotherapist.  As they will show how to do the balance exercise to retrain yourself.  Says in time it will go away completely.  Audiogram was normal.

[dolphinlvr]

Good morning! My ENT prescribed Paxil and Valium for me. The Paxil targets the neurotransmitters needed and the valium is for an extra boost if I need it....airplanes, loud crowded places, very overcast days, etc. Good Luck tomorrow! Joyce

[Imaz]

I forgot to ask you, what are you or how are you treating your Vertibular disorder?

[dolphinlvr]

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[dolphinlvr]

Lol ! You remind me of myself, I refused to relate my problems with inner ear trouble...and I don't know if that's your problem or not....it just sounds soooo familiar. The way it was explained to me is that if you have problems with your balance mechanism on 1 side, over time the other side learns to compensate for it therefore, making you feel that it is easing up or even going away, this process can take weeks to months....according to the amount of damage that's been done. Where do you live? Is there a Balance Disorder Clinic close? That's where I would start. Most "normal" people can balance themselves on 1 leg for a time whereas if you have a balance problem you're wobbly almost from the get go. You mentioned feeling dizzy/lightheaded after you eat, mine is within 5 min of sitting down to eat at home.....1 Dr said I had reactive hypoglycemia and to eat small meals several times a day.....what I actually have is a small compact kitchen where I'm turning left, right, looking up, down...in other words, it affects me like the stores do...lol. I'm zipping back and forth all around in this little space and when the meal is done and I sit down...Bam! You also said something about fatigue....after a "Bad" day when your body has had to work hard at keeping you balanced you do feel like all your get up and go has got up and went..lol. It drains you. Loud crowded places knock me on my butt! Again...those places will usually have alot of movement going on and with the movement is the delay or"lag" and then the panic sets in cause you don't know whats going to happen in the next 5 min...all you know is that SOMETHING is not right! Closing your eyes does not help...the messages, visions, are still trying to get in the door of your brain...lol. Another thing is weather.....see if you notice any difference when it is very overcast.....alot of people with balance disorders do. Just so you know....the ENT in Fl that I saw had just come back from a seminar overseas where he learned that people were having great results with Paxil....that is what he put me on. I have tried to get off of it several times because of the reports about it being so addictive and hard to get off of....well, I'll do fine for about 5-7 days and then it seems like all the symptoms come back full force, then I start taking them again and it takes about a week to get back in my system....after doing this 4/5 times....I'm doomed to a life on Paxil...lol. Ahhhh...just read back through your posts....VISION !! After MY 1st episode...I went from PERFECT vision to needing glasses, to give you an idea....usually people realize that they're having trouble seeing , go to the Dr, come out with a presc. for say a + or - 0.50 / 0.75 ou.....mine was -2.50 /-2.25 that is a HUGE difference. I was working on a jig saw puzzle the day I had my 1st "attack" using reading glasses, when I got out of the hospital I couldn't do the puzzle even with stronger reading glasses (it was a month before I even felt like trying..lol). Haven't done one since. Anyway....sorry this is so very long but, like I said...I went round and round with this and now I'm at peace with it... I KNOW what is wrong and for 3 yrs I didn't....talk about a miserable existance!! Good Luck Thurs., can't wait to hear what they say. Joyce

[Imaz]

mistake above,

I meant, I'm now coming to a conclusion its more of an anxiety.

By the way,  I took a bullet and went to the health shop and picked up some Blackmore - multivitamins.  I have been taking them for a week now and they may of also helped.  I noticed I'm no longer fatigue as I was during the sickness...  I feel farely fresh if not 100% as I was before.  Dr's too also said Vitamins just go down the toilet and wont help me with my problems...  

Give the vitamins a go, maybe your lacking in something that you dont know of.  

[Imaz]

Thanks for your post.

My first visit to ENT, they did not check for warm air, cold air, warm water or cold water as you had mentioned.  He only looked through my ears, thats all.  I did a hearing test as refered by my ENT last monday and the hearing tests turned out good.  I have a second ENT visit this thursday.  Not sure what the outcome of that will be.  My dizzyness/lightheadedness seem to have degraded overtime and today I feel much better in that sence.   As for my ears popping, I noticed it has also been getting better, I no longer have to frequently pop my ears.  As for everything else, I'm coming to a conclusion where its no more of an anxienty.  I tried to drive again once last week, again I felt the sensation of wanting to faint(but I dont actually faint).  I am not on any medications, though the DR's presribed me with Xanan, which I have not started taking.  However,  my initial dizzy spells, lightheadedness was not just all imaginative as what the Dr's would think.  I'm begining to think they were maybe related to infections which may of healed itself overtime,(took a damn while though).

As you mentioned above "When you were a kid did you ever spin around real fast...stop...and then it took a few minutes for your eyes and ears to "catch up"? "  -  YES thats what it feels like.  Its sort of a feeling like your eyes relay a bit and delay the sensors to the brain I guess?  Another word would be like lagging hehe...  Is that what you feel?

I too get frustrated with the responses with Dr's....  

With my neck pains,  I had my father give me a deep massage on my shoulder pin-pointing on a stubburn pain with some chinese blam we picked up a while ago.  That seem to cure the neck pains/stiffness over a weeks worth of massage!!!  I'm glad that too went away..  

With the panics,  I'm not sure what to do with that as the Dr's think its more phsycological and refered me to a phsycologist.  Which I have not made an appointment yet.  

[dolphinlvr]

Imaz.....I go through exactly what you're explaining...have for the last 4 yrs.When you went to the ENT did he do any tests....warm air,cold air, warm water, cold water....in your ears?  Balance tests? When you were a kid did you ever spin around real fast...stop...and then it took a few minutes for your eyes and ears to "catch up"? Is that what it feels like, only slower and not as much reaction? I have total vestibular loss in my left ear apparently caused by a viral infection, I had what seemed like panic attacks all the time it seemed...it was NOT all in my head..lol. Try reading the posts in The Dizzy Lounge....see if anything sounds familiar. Please let me know if he did those tests. And no, I'm not in the medical field in any way..this just interests me, there's soooo many people that are suffering and Drs aren't listening. There are thankfully alot of great Drs but....every once in awhile....ya know?? In the meantime...try pretending that your neck is in a brace..don't jerk your head back and forth or up and down....move more of your body...and do it SLOWLY....that seemed to help me. Can't hurt...lol.

[Imaz]

Hi,

Thanks for your post.  How did you control or overcome your panic attacks?  I noticed in crowded/loud places or even seeing fast moving objects I feel like falling/losing balance and get weak, this includes shopping malls etc.  I often try to avoid such places I noticed.  

[Sregeem]

really sounds like anxiety to me, i've had all those symptoms with panic attacks

[Imaz]

Hi,

I dont know if this is related to my problem, I noticed since I've been having all these symptoms.  My ears are clean from wax, when in the past I've been the king of wax and the cotton tips use to be almost orange every time.

Thanks

[Imaz]

Hi,

I just came back from ENT specialist, they could not find anything obvious.  Only the fact that it might be an infection which maybe causing all my symptoms.  If it were an infection then it would take several months to self cure.  However, ENT is referring me to do a hearing test to see if my hearing has changed.  If it has then will need to do further tests, MRI etc...

[Imaz]

Hi Dr Wilkinson,  

I have made an appointment with an ENT early Feb.  Hopefully the ENT can outrule whats been causing my problem.

Mean while, my local GP asked if I should see a Phsycologist for my anxiety.

PS - Having to clear/pop my ears very often mean theres a problem with my middle/inner ear/infection?

[Eric P Wilkinson, MD]

Hi Imaz,

You need a full exam, hearing testing, and possible balance testing by an ENT physician.  You also likely need an MRI of your brain and brainstem with contrast (gadolinium).