Once again afraid of Brain tumor

[JohnM]

Since late September, I have been in a near constant state of anxiety, ranging everyday from mild apprehension to sheer panic. In between therapy sessions I've tried everything to relieve the agonizing worry; drinking, adderall, properly prescribed Lorazepam. The only relief I get is sleep. Now, for the past two days I have experienced only what I can describe as a slight unsteadiness and off-balance feeling when moving, like my feet feel too light. (I initially put this down to wearing a new pair of heavy boots that I'm not used to). Also, after I stop walking, I'm aware of myself swaying slightly. Also, I occasionally get a moderate pain shooting over the right-front part of my head, eye, and cheek, and sometimes into my teeth. I'm absolutely terrified it's brain cancer. Could this just be the cumulative effect of almost 3 and a half months of dread and misery? I'm afraid to go back to a doctor since I've spent so much money already pursuing symptoms that turned out to be nothing. I don't expect any definitive answers of course, just some guidance. Sorry to burden you all with my craziness, but it's beginning to rule my life.

 

[Concernedgal]

Do you take ssri? If so. .go to your doctor and stop because sometimes ssri can effect your central nervous system. My grandmother died of a brain tumor so... I think your good on that but, I think that you should definitely stop taking the anti depressants. They are meeting get you up it sounds like. But, that's just my opinion.

 

[JohnM]

Do you take ssri? If so. .go to your doctor and stop because sometimes ssri can effect your central nervous system. My grandmother died of a brain tumor so... I think your good on that but, I think that you should definitely stop taking the anti depressants. They are meeting get you up it sounds like. But, that's just my opinion.

No. I don't take an ssri. I do take Lorazepam on a semi-regular basis. Thanks for your help and patience concernedgal.

 

[Concernedgal]

Your welcome. Sorry I couldn't have been more help to you .

 

[Kelculator]

While unfortunately I cannot say it is 100% anxiety or give you a diagnosis, I can certainly tell you such off-balanced feeling, no matter how real it feels, can be completely caused by anxiety. I used to have this feeling that one side of my head is heavier than the other, and would cause my neck so much strain. I was convinced that something HAD to be wrong with me. Turns out it was just anxiety.
So yes, when you feel dizzy, it is very possible that your anxiety is giving you this.

 

[JohnM]

While unfortunately I cannot say it is 100% anxiety or give you a diagnosis, I can certainly tell you such off-balanced feeling, no matter how real it feels, can be completely caused by anxiety. I used to have this feeling that one side of my head is heavier than the other, and would cause my neck so much strain. I was convinced that something HAD to be wrong with me. Turns out it was just anxiety.
So yes, when you feel dizzy, it is very possible that your anxiety is giving you this.

Appreciate your help man.

 

[Concernedgal]

While unfortunately I cannot say it is 100% anxiety or give you a diagnosis, I can certainly tell you such off-balanced feeling, no matter how real it feels, can be completely caused by anxiety. I used to have this feeling that one side of my head is heavier than the other, and would cause my neck so much strain. I was convinced that something HAD to be wrong with me. Turns out it was just anxiety.
So yes, when you feel dizzy, it is very possible that your anxiety is giving you this.

A matter of fact... he is right about the dizziness part. There a difference between being dizzy and suffer from vertigo. Vertigo ...although some of the symptoms can be feeling dizzy also has a while battery of symptoms such as head heaviness and even ringing in the ears and of course anxiety bmcan be a symptom of vertigo or vertigo a symptom of anxiety. Good catch @Kelculator .

 

[_Lukas]

You mentioned that you've been drinking. When I drink too close to when I take my medications, I get vertigo. Is it possible that you sometimes take your meds when there's still alcohol in your system, or vice versa?
I don't know if vertigo is a common side effect of taking meds with alcohol or not, because everyone metabolizes stuff differently, but that's been my experience and I'm sure it's happened to others. Taking antipsychotics or antianxiety meds with alcohol can be extremely dangerous, especially if the medication causes drowsiness or has sedative properties.

As the others have already said, anxiety can cause dizziness as well. Panic attacks can cause dizziness too.

 

[janemariesayed]

It sounds like vertigo to me too. Although it could also be brought on by drinking with the meds. The meds have like a double effect on the alcohol so you only need half as much to get the same effect. I was given meds once where I wasn't able to drink grapefruit juice because the effect would have made me dizzy and feel sick. The thing is to read the pamphlet that comes with the meds to see the side effects and follow the instructions.

 

[Chris Lewis]

Hi, I completely understand your symptoms as I too had a similar balance issues for about 3 months. I never had vertigo / spinning but just a light head when walking and slight movement when still. I believe it was all down to anxiety and that is what two ENT specialists told me as well as my physician. My first advice would be to not read your symptoms online - avoid the internet as much as possible as these medical websites will always match your symptoms with an awful disease. Try and stay calm. I went through a phase of constantly bouncing from one doctor to another and spent a huge amount of money doing this. When I was in my worst stage I spoke to everyone close to me about what I was going through and I found this really helped. Let me know if you would like further advice.

 

[JohnM]

Hi, I completely understand your symptoms as I too had a similar balance issues for about 3 months. I never had vertigo / spinning but just a light head when walking and slight movement when still. I believe it was all down to anxiety and that is what two ENT specialists told me as well as my physician. My first advice would be to not read your symptoms online - avoid the internet as much as possible as these medical websites will always match your symptoms with an awful disease. Try and stay calm. I went through a phase of constantly bouncing from one doctor to another and spent a huge amount of money doing this. When I was in my worst stage I spoke to everyone close to me about what I was going through and I found this really helped. Let me know if you would like further advice.

Thanks so much for your advice. For a more complete picture of what I'm currently experiencing, and the medical treatment I've sought for it, I'd refer you to my most recent post. https://www.anxietycommunity.com/index.php?threads/floor-moving-up-and-down.1957/#post-21427