Happy New Year Everyone

Yes I am feeling brighter Marlene. My balance is still off and I still sway in queues and stuff but I am less bothered by it, if that makes sense. These Fluoxetine have been brilliant for making me feel more possitive and taking away the anxiety. Yes I am still working, although the Christmas break/ rest was definitely what I needed. Back to work on Friday and yes I am still driving without any problems although I still let me wife to the long distance driving :-)

Hi Darren ,hope with anxiety lessened ,all the balance as we both have Swaying etc subsides .Ive done those meds I went and checked up on what I'd been on ,that's 1 of them .Ive got this tinnitus going (bad) really high spikes ,plus I can be sat ,all of a sudden it will change ,that sets stress going up .Those with tinnitus will get that .then having rhinitis it's all add on's as I call them .So those meds have been more of a hinderance to be fair .

I do have Bach's rescue ,couple sprays on tongue .think because of the add on's I have ,there seems to be an ever up hill battle with all of it .

   I've not been back to dr since last Feb ,that's when I had 2 neck bones put back in by an Osteopath day after I saw my dr .hey still not got this balance anywhere near better .

   Woman who had same Head virus as me at same time ,now been told 9 yrs later her balance is Menieres just. Now to have another MRI ,with a dye going through ,had EMail last week ,so now I'm going to see what their findings are ,she did ask would that head virus cause her to have lesions ,they're not sure ,has the same thing happened to me ? we've kept in touch due to the bug ,so Darren maybe her results to that MRI will open up my door ,to this nightmare condition ,all that happened to me happened to her .within a 6/7 week time frame ,both local ,she lives 1/2 mile away .Fluke how we met up to .So it's now for me a wait and see .

   Glad you've had some work off time Darren. Got feeling Anne is already back at work ,she was doing better for a bit to ,along with Travis who says her anxiety has dropped .

   Just take it slow keep on those meds ,anxiety is the pits with our condition ,some have it some don't ,Gill I don't think has it ,but she's got a strong character ,maybe that's to her benifit Darren ,like to think so in regards to her .

  Again your driving okay ,all right not long distance ,but your doing okay when you are .Ive never felt off balance driving ,but I have it sat in a chair at home ,how frigging weird all this is ,in it's behavior .My husbands says it's got to be my concentrating when driving ,but why would it just leave me driving ? I be it concentrating ,got to be the brain I guess ,but then what do I know or understand Darren zilch ,same as us all .

   Hope this 2015 will be an answer for all of us ,get a move on with our lives .Pray for that I do daily .Keep us up on what going on with you ,and the balance .Happy New Year Darren .X

Darren Just a footnote ,What's this dreamlike state that's been mentioned ,not a clue .? What is this .? Thanks 

Hi Marlene,

I also am having problems with dizziness. It started in March 2012 after a sinus infection.  I was just told two weeks ago that it's chronic subjective dizziness.  I was prescribed Imipramine and just started it this past Saturday.

Can you tell me what other symptoms your friend who was just diagnosed with Meneire's has?

It's horrible feeling this way and the worry and anxiety and fear that we could pass out.  So scary for us.  I have a little girl at home with me and I feel so bad because I cannot do anything I planned while I was pregnant with her.  I feel so hopeless.  Now, having some side effects from the Imipramine.  I pray those stop within the next week or two.  Let us all know how things go for you too.

Best to all of us! 

Hi Marlene

Happy New year.  Been back at work since Monday.  I am planning on retiring next year but can't really afford it  and then  go back to work on reduced hours if i can return to work, cos it's all getting a bit too much trying to cope with my balance, work and home etc.,  Since the accident in my car this month, someone bashed into the back of me, it has left me extra careful. 

i think your husband may be correct about the concentrating when driving cos that's the only time i don't feel off balance and one of our doctors at work said the same about me when i said i don't feel it when driving.  I've been bad lately but that may be due to the pain relief which also causes dizziness so may be worsening the situation.

Hope everyone is feeling better or at least getting some answers soon. 

Hi Nikki

My first visit to ENT was about 5 years ago and he did a bunch of tests and diagnosed me with VN. At the time my dizzy spell came out of the blue, I don't recall having a cold or any sinus issues at the time.

I saw ENT recently becuase I insisted to my new GP that I wanted a referal becuase after 5 years I should've had compensated by now, I was actually quite surprised to get it.

During this visit, I didn't have any tests, more of an in depth chat, my wife was with me as well and he has arranged for me to come back for further tests with the migraine doctor as he thinks migraines might be causing it, or at least we can rule it out.

I've also become too dependant on my eyes which is giving me "visual vertigo" and the doc reckons VRT will sort this out although I told him I am not convinced but agreed that I will go back to doing this when all other tests have been exhausted.

The dreamlike feelings and the lightheadedness you feel are classic symptoms of a inner ear issue. For me, as the years went by, the dreamlike feeling has gradually gone away, sometimes I get it but not all the time. The lightheadedness seems to be with me all the time, not always that severe but kind of just lurking around.

What has helped me big time recently is the Fluoxetine the doc gave me for anxiety. OK I still feel off balanced, sway and all the that tosh but I do feel better in myself. For me the anxiety was excasperating my symptoms which wasn't helping at all.

All the best

Hi Darren,

Thanks for getting back to me. 

May I ask how often would you say you have that dream feeling? 

I hope you get better too.

Nikki

Nikki, It just gradually got better but it will come back if I am mentally tired. This illness knackers your brain out becuase so much energy is being used just to keep you balanced. Because your brain is working harder than before, it needs plenty of rest. I try to get at least 8 or 9 hours kip each night and I think that has helped me.

Marlene, this dreamlike feeling, the best way I can describe it is like you are an outsider of your own body while at the same time it feels like you are in a fish bowl looking out. You kind of feel detached. Difficult to explain. Let me know how that lady gets on with the MRI. It be great to know if it has a possitive out come :-)

Agree Darren,  tiredness really affects my balance and also dehydration, so i try to remember to drink enough fluids and not get overtired.  I really have to pace myself now about how much i can do in one day.

Just wanted to mention that you may want to ask about the ongoing use of the Klonopin.  My Neurologist indicated that Benzodiazepines delay compensation because they supress the vestibular nerve.  This information is on the Chicago Dizziness and Hearing website "Benzodiazepines are GABA modulators, acting centrally to suppress vestibular responses. They increase the affinity of chloride channel opening (Soto et al, 2013). There are differential effects across benzodiazepines on Gaba-A receptor subtypes. In small doses, these drugs are extremely useful. Addiction, impaired memory, increased risk of falling, and possibly impaired vestibular compensation are their main shortcomings."

This from the VEDA website "During the chronic phase, symptoms must be actively experienced without interference in order for the brain to adjust, a process called vestibular compensation. Any medication that makes the brain sleepy, including all vestibular suppressants, can slow down or stop the process of compensation. Therefore, they are often not appropriate for long-term use. Physicians generally find that most patients who fail to compensate are either strictly avoiding certain movements, using vestibular suppressants daily, or both."  (Not sure that I totally agree with their last statement)

Don't want to be a negative but, after I stopped taking Xanax on a daily basis and began VRT things began to improve for me.  Of course I realize that everyone is different and clearly there are those of us that have this condition in varying degrees.  Just a thought that you may want to consider.  The SSRIs, similar to what Darren has mentioned, from my research seem to be more effective for the anxiety and do not impact compensation.  I was on Gabapentin for a while for my anxiety.

Thank you for your concern.  I do want to stop taking the Klonopin some time.  My current doctor put me on Imipramine to help with what he said is chronic subjective dizziness.  After I start feeling better on this, I plan to come off the Klonopin.  I would like to have some just in case of bad time like as needed.  Not daily anymore.

How are you feeling?

I feel well this week.  Just completed 14 days of steriods and have some popping in my left ear still.  I believe that this is still the source of my residual problems.  I cannot seem to get rid of all of the fluid that apparently is on my inner ear.  Aside from just a little light headed feeling when I move quickly this has by far been my best week since all of this began.  My Otologist recommended that I go on a low sodium diet when I first saw him in September.  Not sure if that or just time and two additional rounds of steriods is now making a difference.  I still have a ways to go but, I am miles ahead of where the journey began.  I too take the Xanex as needed for those occasions where the anxiety gets the best of me.  Maybe take it once or twice a week.  When I first saw my original Neurologist I had been taking the Xanex twice a day for 6 weeks.  That is when he told me that it was why I had not been able to compensate.  I have continued the VRT exercises at home after beginning them in July and have even added some that I found on the internet.  As I mentioned in some posts, being in a large store still causes me to get overloaded and a floating feeling until my brain adjusts after several minutes.  Never get fully comfortable but, I can usually tolerate it.  Weather fronts coming through drive me crazy as well.  All in all I would say that after 9 1/2 months I am somewhere around 95% normal, aside from the large store issue.  I work all day, drive 60 miles each way there and coach a girls basketball team.  I could not do any of this 3 months ago.

This is a terrible condition and I read somewhere that 40% of the people who do not fully recover is related to anxiety.  I know that a lot of that is the case with me.  Some days I really have to push myself to get going,  and usually I find that I feel better that I did.  Also, statistically I read that around 60% of those suffering the condition recover by compensating.  So that 40% is 40% of the 40% that don't seem to recover.  I know that there are those that have suffered from this condition for years and I have to say that my hat is off to them and their ability to cope with feeling as I did in the beginning, every day of their life.  There is so little known about this condition and everything seems to be a guess by the doctors.  I do understand that they are diagnosing based on symptoms since they cannot see the inner ear itself.  I believe that my initial symptoms were the result of taking Losartan for my blood pressure.  I have been off of Losartan for 9 months and hoping that the low sodium diet will continue to help regulate my BP issues.  Marlene recommended beet root juice and I plan to give that a try as well.

Thanks for asking.  My hope is that research will continue to move forward for results to be achievable for all that are suffering with this condition that seems to be happening world wide. 

OMG Darren & Nikki, hope you don't mind me butting in but this is exactly how I have felt / still feel. Days are rolling into weeks, months and now two years...it is almost dream like, as you described, you feel detached, it's kind of like like is washing over you. Experiences are not the same, my memory is foggy and I feel drunk most days. I'm so glad you have described these same feelings / sensations because I truly thought I was going bonkers?!

Hi DizzyDebs,

Have you seen a neuro-otologist?  They specialize in the inner ear and might be able to help you.  There are also some other illnesses that cause the dreamlike state.  Have you talked to you doctor about this?  I have also heard that lyme disease can sometimes cause this.  So maybe some blood test can help ease your worries.  Keep in touch and let us know how you feel.

Take care,

Nicole