Please help this stuff is ruining my life!

Keep pushing scottie. Congratulations on the newborn coming in December. I have anxiety that affects my day to day living as well. Hows your diet? Its great that you exercise but you must also fuel your body appropriately. I stay away from caffeine and items like that to try and tame the anxiety. I can tell you i was symptom free for around 3 years after getting into really good shape. I had all the confidence in tge world. I have since fallen back into old habbits and the anxiety is back. Im on my own journey back into a healthy life and building confidence again. I find for me its easier to cope with the anxiety if you have the confidence in your body. Also it is great that you went back to work. Take every day as a win because you are functioning in society. Dont knock yourself for taking a pill

I have the feeling of fainting and being unbalanced everyday. I don’t know how to get rid of it either. Mine started after I hit the back of my head and got a concussion and hasn’t gone away (happened last November). But I believe that my anxiety has made it worse and stick around. I used to walk around and everything was fine. But now I can’t go anywhere without feeling unbalanced and trying to find something to hold on to. I just started taking 10 mg of Lexapro to see if it’ll help with my panic attack’s/anxiety to see if it maybe calms me down and helps me not think about my balance/potentially fainting issues. I know it’s all in my head but I just think one day I’m just going to have a seizure or faint out of no where.

My anxiety started in 2005 after my Mother passed away. I tried medicine but didn't like it at all so I stopped taking it. It had gone away for the most part and then a couple months ago I was in a horrible head on car accident which was not my fault. I have been dealing with physical therapy going to doctors etc. My anxiety has come back full force. I feel dizzy or light headed at least once a day (I had that same feeling in 2005) I also feel like everything I eat gets "stuck" in the upper middle of my stomach. It has gotten so bad I went to the ER had a cat scan and even the GI doctors say there is nothing there. My blood work all came back perfect too. I am terrified of being in a vehicle even if my husband is driving. I am trying to find ways to overcome this without trying medicine again but it is so hard.... Praying for all to get some type of peace

scottie15 said:

I am looking for any sort of hope or personal experience. I have finally been able to return to work after 6 months off due to agoraphobia and social anxiety. I have a fear of wide open spaces and talking to people in wide open spaces i tend to get terrible tremors mixed with a shakey voice so I have now avoided those situations and it makes me look like an idiot!

I have been dealing with GAD, Panic disorder, BiPolar and social anxiety (agoraphobia). In order for me to make it through the day I have to take 2-3 .5mg of klonopin before my shift and an additional 1 throughout the night, as its the only thing that has worked. I cant go to the grocery store unless I have a cart to lean on and I'm having a newborn in december of this year. I do not want to put my family through this as I am only 28 but i cannot function. I exercise daily until i statt getting overexerted which sends me into a flurry of dizziness. I have constant dizziness ALL day and nothing has worked. It sometimes affects the way I walk. Its so embarassing. Ive had my heart, brain, chest, blood work, anything you can think of and it all comes back normal.

Sorry for the lengthy post but can anyone relate? Possibly tell me about their personal experiences? I have left a ton out considering the post is long enough but i could write a book of synptoms. Also, no antis nor mood enhancers have worked. Please help! Im losing all hope.

Click to expand...

I can definitely relate... Like my post below says every time I eat I feel like I've swallowed a bowling ball. I have had a complete set of blood work, x-rays, mri, and even a cat scan and everything comes back fine. I am even having my GI doctor do an upper GI next month!! I am so tired of feeling this way again. I am doing everything I can to try and get over it. Mine all started after a horrible car accident. Now no matter if I am driving or my husband drives I am on edge all the time. It can be a very scary world when this stuff happens... Just keep on pushing through. I fully believe that is what we have to do. Also, I am hoping to get some comfort coming to the forum.

scottie15 said:

I am looking for any sort of hope or personal experience. I have finally been able to return to work after 6 months off due to agoraphobia and social anxiety. I have a fear of wide open spaces and talking to people in wide open spaces i tend to get terrible tremors mixed with a shakey voice so I have now avoided those situations and it makes me look like an idiot!

I have been dealing with GAD, Panic disorder, BiPolar and social anxiety (agoraphobia). In order for me to make it through the day I have to take 2-3 .5mg of klonopin before my shift and an additional 1 throughout the night, as its the only thing that has worked. I cant go to the grocery store unless I have a cart to lean on and I'm having a newborn in december of this year. I do not want to put my family through this as I am only 28 but i cannot function. I exercise daily until i statt getting overexerted which sends me into a flurry of dizziness. I have constant dizziness ALL day and nothing has worked. It sometimes affects the way I walk. Its so embarassing. Ive had my heart, brain, chest, blood work, anything you can think of and it all comes back normal.

Sorry for the lengthy post but can anyone relate? Possibly tell me about their personal experiences? I have left a ton out considering the post is long enough but i could write a book of synptoms. Also, no antis nor mood enhancers have worked. Please help! Im losing all hope.

Click to expand...

Have you thought that you may have vertigo? That makes you feel dizzy. Apart from that, it does sound like you are suffering from anxiety. Keep up with the meds the doctor has given you. After a while, they should kick in and begin to work better.

scottie15 said:

You are not alone! I almost wish i had a reason for this spiralling the way it has but I dont. I have had some traumatic experiences but nothing that I ever felt really effected me. I get so bad that I have no choice but to hold onto something. I have a great support system but when im in my panic state theres no talking me down. My dizziness never goes away, but like you said everything Ive had done has came back completely normal. I dont get it. And it controls my every move. I fight the hell out of it but it has me by the neck. The only way i am anxiety free is if im at home by myself or with my girlfriend and have no communication with the outside world. I just find it hard to believe a person physically has nothing wrong with them yet they are ohysically affected and its noticeable.

Click to expand...

Maybe even get a cat scan...? Your equilibrium could very well be off as well for whatever reason.. That is something that could actually come from even your ears believe it or not.. It's a horrible feeling for sure. I am trying to get through without meds but some days are harder than others

scottie15 said:

You are not alone! I almost wish i had a reason for this spiralling the way it has but I dont. I have had some traumatic experiences but nothing that I ever felt really effected me. I get so bad that I have no choice but to hold onto something. I have a great support system but when im in my panic state theres no talking me down. My dizziness never goes away, but like you said everything Ive had done has came back completely normal. I dont get it. And it controls my every move. I fight the hell out of it but it has me by the neck. The only way i am anxiety free is if im at home by myself or with my girlfriend and have no communication with the outside world. I just find it hard to believe a person physically has nothing wrong with them yet they are ohysically affected and its noticeable.

Click to expand...

I am really sorry to hear about your state. I don't get dizzy spells often but I do know how they can make you powerless. It's hard to do anything when our body doesn't support us. Taking medication for a long time, wouldn't help in dizziness but in this case, we can't consider that.

Try not to take any medicine with an empty stomach. Eat something and only then take medicine. Otherwise it would make you dizzy and not to mention that you wouldn't be able to do much work at all. I couldn't even walk when I took medicine with an empty stomach. So, make sure to eat something.
Get lots of sleep. Lack of sleep would make us lightheaded and later leads to dizziness. So, try to sleep more even if it means you have to take a pill for that. Just make sure that those pills don't have that many side effects.

Take vitamin c and vitamin e rich food.

Hi Scottie,
I too have dizzy spells, well not really dizzy but extremely light headed. I also feel like I walk funny at times. Almost like I'm wearing shoes that are too big and tripping over my own feet. It's so bizarre what this crazy thing called anxiety can do to us physically.

Scottie you said you have been on klonopin for the past nine years and you feel like it's not working well anymore. This is what happens when you take a benzo for too long...it starts to lose its effectiveness and you need more and more. Look up klonopin and withdrawals and dizziness....this may be your answer. Most gp's are unaware of exactly how benzos work and don't tell you that eventually it will wear off and you will need more. However, having said that I certainly would not suggest that you take higher doses or ask for a higher dose and most importantly DO NOT abruptly stop taking them as it can cause a seizure. I did not tell you any of this to scare you in anyway, but to let you know that the dizziness you are experiencing could be caused by the waning benzo in your system. Hope that helps.

Scottie, I'm a first time poster. I joined to contribute to this thread. I hope sharing my experience w/dizziness will be mutually beneficial..

I entered my 40s in basically perfect health.. around 43 I started experiencing everyday imbalance (always an internal sensation, not like a room spinning around me). Tried addressing it (on differing Dr's advice) as theoretical allergies, vertigo, etc. Finally found a doc who noticed how stiff my neck was. Stress & physical overuse had created trigger points throughout my neck & shoulders. Which can contribute to chronic dizziness. Single session of trigger point injections returned me to normal health for 6 months. But then the dizziness came back, my trigger point doc had retired.. and I subsequently developed unprecedented social anxiety + the chronic dizziness. Not sure why the injections helped so much, bcuz I feel now that it's ultimately more a mental (than health) issue, but related. I do find neck loosening stretches & exercise are partially beneficial. I don't take any meds, I basically cope w/the daily sense of being sea sick (over the last year). I think there's a yet undiscovered direct link in the brain function of balance & anxiety, (bcuz there are days when I'm almost fully extroverted again & less dizzy). If u have time please research trigger point dizziness (anxiety can cause unhealthy, unrelenting tightening of muscles) & I'll continue sharing & following progress..

Love this story