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It's almost 6 years and things are looking up !

Posted , 7 users are following.

DizzyDarren
DizzyDarren

It's been a while since my last post so I thought I would today. The good news is I am feeling a lot better than I have done.

The turning point for me was when my anxiety got so bad I had a bit of a melt down back in October/ November. I went back to the GP and insisted that he gave me something for it and refer me back to ENT. Anyhow he put me on Fluoxetine and it's been brilliant. Those horrible fight or flight feelings we get with Labs or VN has completely gone.

Now that I was starting to feel better, I decided to take the plunge and buy some varifocals. I was really worried that they would make me more dizzy but they had had the opposite effect. Some of you may remember me saying my eyes felt like they were playing up so I used to deliberately hamper them by wearing a weaker prescription or just wear my readers. These varifocals have been brilliant. Why didn't I do this before?

I've also given up coffee with caffeine and the 3 or 4 sugars I used to have with each cup. I now just drink Decaffeinated and sometimes I'll put some whiskey in it if I want a good night's sleep.

I am pleased to tell you all that those horrible foggy headaches have gone and I am not fatigued the next day. I'm getting my confidence back, I've been out in my car more and visiting a few of my customers.

These varifocals seem to suppress the visual stimulation you get while driving or when you are in a busy store. I don't seem to sway in queues like I used to either.

Anyhow you know how long it takes for appointments take, I did finally have some tests back at ENT this week. Apparently there is now nothing wrong with my ears. My left ear is 10% stronger than my right ear which is well within the limits. The consultant also concurred with me that it's now my eyes that have been given me these weird feelings due to over compensation so he is going to refer me for some VOT ( Vestibular Ocular Therapy ) for some specific exercises which should fix things.

I hope all my dizzy friends are getting better too.

2 likes, 47 replies

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  • paula59
    paula59 DizzyDarren

    Posted

    Brilliant to hear some good news.  Im so pleased for you.  Im sure the anxiety makes everything worse and without that things must be much better.  Im already on duloxetine which they changed me to from fluoxetine.  Both were good for me.  Dizziness still there though.  Maybe one day mine will go.  Get out there and enjoy yourself, make up for lost time.  Love paula
    • deni1
      deni1 DizzyDarren

      Posted

      Really good to catch up with your journey and even better to hear your good news I hope it gets even better for you. 👍
    • DizzyDarren
      DizzyDarren

      Posted

      How are you getting on Paula?
    • deni1
      deni1 DizzyDarren

      Posted

      I'm fine thanks I have little dizziness now if I do its random and like yourself often a focus thing, BUT I swapped it for a rotor cuff tear / frozen shoulder, (must be all the weight training....NOT lol. Go to the musculoskeletal clinic in march. Eee life's grand 😂
    • DizzyDarren
      DizzyDarren deni1

      Posted

      Oh dear. If its not one thing it's another ! Good luck with your clinic appointment :-)
  • jason61983
    jason61983 DizzyDarren

    Posted

    Well done Darren. Hope things continue to get better for you. I can't take fluoxetine as I had such bad side effects on it. Know many who are fine on it. Best wishes.
    • DizzyDarren
      DizzyDarren jason61983

      Posted

      Cheers Jason, I dont think I've spoken to you before. How are you getting on?
    • jason61983
      jason61983 DizzyDarren

      Posted

      Things getting worse by the week sorry to say. Had this for a year now. Got appointment in April with neuro-otologist. Trying my best to stay positive but not getting my hopes up. I wil make sure I keep all on here updated. Take care mate.
    • DizzyDarren
      DizzyDarren jason61983

      Posted

      Yeah good luck to you too mate. If you ever want to pick my brains, feel free to message me. Let us know how you get on in April.
  • marlene21102
    marlene21102 DizzyDarren

    Posted

    Hiya Darren only thought this week to drop you a PM see how you were doing ,well you've made my weekend hearing things have gotten whole lot better,so glasses were the thing to get ( varifocals ) ,thinking to how often Weve had eyes tested ,how many time ,you. me Anne ,? Optician did ask if I wanted varifocals last eye test  JAN -14  but declined as I didn't want further probs ,like we do .Maybe now thinking big mistake .will make a phone call to my optician ,on what you've said alone .

    regarding the Fluoxtine it was that Benzo that set me on road to anxiety Darren ,plus increased my tinnitus big time ,never been happy with it since .

    I didn't know about Benzos and tinnitus as I do now ,they don't always mix well together  drs know very little about tinnitus and meds that do more harm than good ,so it's a lottery game if you take them ,as some are fine. Then some are not as in my case .

      Your up and running. That's the main thing Darren ,get some if not all of your life back .Long overdue .

       I'm pretty much same as I left you weeks back. Still struggling daily .Glad you came back and said how you are ,and what you'd done ,so we can take it on board .Stay in touch okay with how it goes .Hope you treated yourself to a pressie .I will when I'm sorted ,3 years with it now ,bet your Mrs is happy at the outcome .xx

    • anne05147
      anne05147 marlene21102

      Posted

      Marlene, fluoxetine i understand is an antidepressant not a benzodiazepine, benzo's are like diazepam, temazepam, lorazepam and mostly anything that ends in 'pam', minor tranquillsers.
    • DizzyDarren
      DizzyDarren marlene21102

      Posted

      Thanks Marlene and yes my mrs is happy lol, I think more relieved really and relieved for me. I haven't been the easiest person to live with thats for sure but now I will make it up to her. I took her to Bath this morning for a bit of shopping. I did all the driving and I got to say Marlene, now that all those flight or fight feelings have gone, it's brilliant, My confidence is definetly coming back :-)

      Fluxotine is an anti-depressant, but I guess they use it for anxiety too. I suppose anxiety and depression goes hand in hand, I don't know but I am happy the pils work for me.

      Although opticians are great and prescscribing glasses to help you see, in my opinion they have no idea of how the eyes work as part of your balance system. They are clueless about visual vertigo or vertigo in general. I spoke to one lady about tints and she just though they were a fashion statement and unfortunately for her I got cross becuase I knew more about the benefits of tinted lenses than she did.

      If you've not yet got vatifocals Marlene, I would definitely recommend them. Specsavers will give you a 30 day trial. I was the same as you, I was a bit worried but a year later I took the plunge and although a bit weird at first, definetly the best thing I've bought. I went for some with a base line tint of "0" and a reactalight sunglass lense.

      All the best Marlene and I hope you find your answers soon and everyone else too :-)

    • anne05147
      anne05147 DizzyDarren

      Posted

      yes i a think that's why i get on so well with my old varifocals because they are reactalight and it makes a huge difference compared to my single vision lenses that aren't.  Also because the px is not as strong as it should be my vision gets a chance to adjust on its own, whereas the too strong lense from spec savers had my vision bouncing around all over the place trying to make the adjustment.  It's amazing how much more we now know than the opticians.  I took my too strong lense back to spec savers and had to quibble to get a refund over their 'no quibble refund'.  When they said they would have to see the manager about me getting a refund i said 'what about the no quibble refund, we're quibbling now' at which point they agreed i could have a refund.  I don't know if i will be welcome back to get another pair of specs from them so i am going to try Boots next and have a throughly good talk about my vertigo and how it is important i get the right px and lenses.
    • marlene21102
      marlene21102 anne05147

      Posted

      I learn mor every day Anne ,thought they were all Benzos ,I avoid them period ,only take one BP tab a day  less going in on meds better for me ,instead of looking at problem at start they stick everyone on them .

        That said  they worked for Darren ,so a result .What works for one doesen't another  how it goes ,maybe it's our genes that makes the difference ? 

        I only had rhinitis when I saw a Dr .So today I'm wary of them ,oh yes tinnitus as well ,got louder  never went back to a slight hiss,after those meds .Live and learn .will remember the ending in pram .as you wrote Anne .😊

    • anne05147
      anne05147 marlene21102

      Posted

      fluoxetine is good for anxiety which is good if you get anxious with dizziness, because its all a viscious circle isn't it?  Dizzy, anxious, anxious, dizzy.  I also wonder if the time i fainted on a plane was the beginning of my problem, cos the other night when i got anxious about not being able to breath i also felt as though i was going to pass out.  I can laugh now but at the time it was pretty scary.
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