Dizziness (Drunk feeling)

[nutcasetom]

Dizziness (Drunk feeling) ... help?
Hi im 19 years old and for about 7 months now i have been experiencing like a severe dizziness feeling.. it is almost like a drunk feeling and i can't focus on anything. It is like my vision ain't 100% and also i am suffering with like a pressure in my head sometimes it is a weird feeling. It is like im looking through a video camera of some sort and viewing everything different. Also i get like a pressure feeling around my eyes sometimes too.

I also notice times it is worst, It is worst when i am in daylight, like it is too bright for my eyes and also when i go in supermarkets with the fluorescence lights. When i walk i find it worst and even like going into a car i feel it sets it off much worst. Sometime i have short bursts of attacks when it feels worst then it will ease up but i will still have the feeling. After i feel extremely tired like i could go to sleep too.

Ive been doctors many of times and they have gave me a blood test, blood pressure ect, looked down my ears and all they say is im suffering with agoraphobia and panic disorder. Also ive had my eyes checked. Because this feeling i have i can't go out because it is so severe but they are just putting it down to anxiety. Ive been untolds of times. I do suffer with other symptoms of anxiety but like jelly legs ect but this feeling just feels like something else and it is constant.

Im having cbt at home at the moment but no one will listen it is all getting put down to a panic disorder when im not even panicking. I get this pressure and drunk feeling 24/7 nearly and it is worst in the morning during the day and it eases off a little bit a night before bed.

It is on my mind 24/7 and i just want it to go and don't know what can be causing this, im healthy and young and it has been happening for 7months and sometimes it comes and goes ect but im having a bad burst of it at the moment for days on end.

Does anyone else have this or know what it is.. if anyone could help it would make my day i can't stand it no longer, ive never taken drugs or do i drink in my life... i just can't imagine why i have this.. I know i don't drink but i still can imagine what the drunk feeling feels like.. it is horrible and i feel spaced out.

Any help will be appreciate, I just can't imagine what is causing this and i don't want to put it all down to a panic disorder. When the drunk feeling is what is making me panic

[rox19]

Hey guys, I also suffer wid da drunk like vision, it lasts about a week and I get it once a month. Its often brought upon wen I get sick for eg da flu etc. Did all da scans and checks. I suspect it has to do wid an inner ear infection but cant be too sure. I even tried bio strath thinkin it could flush da bad yeast out. Im really fed up to say the least. Its been about 9 years and as da years go by it gets worse. Someone please help:-(

[silverfox67]

Are you getting enough vitamins?  What is your diet like?  If you are living on hamburgers and french fries, you need supplements!  Magnesium is so important and a lack of it causes anxiety, dizziness, double vision, electrical zaps, insomnia and many other symptoms.  Most of us don't eat enough green leafy vegetables and have a magnesium shortage. - Hope this info helps.

[Londres70]

For starts, have you had any imaging done of your head/brain, i.e. MRI?

Any vestibular testing done?  

Any neuro testing done, i.e. EEG, VEMP?

Yes, I know EXACTLY what you are talking about.  I was diagnosed with Unresolved Labyrinthitis and it has taken me almost 4 years to recover.  It was related to a viral inner ear infection I had.  

I would find another physician who is willing to investigate for a physical cause.  If there isn't any, then and ONLY then should you start to consider a psychological cause and that should ONLY be investigated by a Psychologist.

[jemma116]

Sorry to hear about your plight.

Have you ever bee involved in a accident or suffered from whiplash?
Do you suffer from arthritis at all?

Anxiety and stress can make you feel dizzy.  But with the lights making you ill, you may be suffering from photosensitivity,
Dizzy spells can stem from ear problems, middle ear as well inner ear infections as well from infections in the throat, pharangitis, tonsilitis.

You can also get feelings of dizziness from postural hypertension.  You say that your blood pressure is normal so that is ruled out as being a cause.

Postural hypertension is for example when you rise up too quicky from a sitting position and there is a blood rush to the brain.  I suffer from postural hypertension becaue I have osteoarthritis in my neck.  Does your neck creak and crack when you turn your head? Are your dizzy sensations made worse when you turn your head?

Dizzy turns can also arise from urinary tract infections.

If your dizzy turn was a sensation that the whole room is spinning and you have to lie still, this is caused from problems in the balance mechanism in the inner ear.  Severe sensation of this could end up being Menierres disease.  But don't worry, it does not sound at all that have that.

It would help your doctors to find the cause if you kept a record of what you are doing when you experience these sensations.  It may be that it is just anxiety and stress related.  Stress can manifest itself with phsycal symptoms too.

[lizzie41195]

I'm so sorry. It's ridiculous that you have to go through all this for days on end. I have been to a doctor for several years over the same problems (dizziness, headache, nausea, etc), and all she did was point to stress or anxiety as being the reason I have had dizziness, nausea, or headaches but it took years to finally give me a referral to a social worker to work through my problems on various issues in life. For ee, that really wasn't the only culprit. I actually did have a physical problem that I needed to address. I found out that I have stomach issues only about a year ago. Anyway, I know how it is to be feeling bad all the time and not being able to do anything. I hope you can still enjoy doing things when you are feeling better. I really hope you get better soon. Sometimes, it just helps to do fun things like watching a favorite movie or TV show. Sometimes, it just helps to go to sleep. For me, I just want to sleep sometimes because I don't have to deal with the unpleasant symptoms day and night. Perhaps, you do have anxiety. Anxiety can cause physical symptoms like dizziness. I think you should talk to your doctor about anti anxiety medications. I used to take an anti depressant and it helped a lot both my mental physical symptoms like fatigue that went along with my depression. I hope this helps.

[Anonymouse88]

Have they given you any medications for the "panic disorder"?  If so, did they help at all?  Maybe ask your doctor for just a couple of pills of something like Xanax or Ativan (they're both benzos, and fast acting), and see if they clear up your symptoms.  If they do, then it probably is anxiety, and there are other drugs that work better for long term treatment of anxiety and aren't addicting (fluvox is one example).

Have they done an EEG?  Seizures can cause an awful lot of weird symptoms, but I unfortunately don't know enough about them to tell if they would fit your symptoms or not.  They're the only thing that comes to the top of my head that's not an anxiety disorder, though.  

If you feel like your doctor really isn't listening, you should get a different doctor if you can.  Ask for them to see you without having any chart on you, so they can see you as a fresh patient.  You can tell them about your symptoms, and if they want the same blood tests you've already had, you can produce the negative results, but try to avoid mentioning the previous diagnosis of panic disorder.  This should give you the best chance of getting an unbiased opinion.  If they still think it's panic disorder, then you'll at least have it from someone who wasn't biased to begin with.

Sorry I can't be more helpful on this one.