My problem that's still here after 34 years

Posted , 4 users are following.

Hi everyone. I just wanted to see if there's anyone who has anything similar or can relate to my post. Forgive me if I ramble, but I'll try to give you the condensed version.

In 1981, I got dizzy out of the blue and it was pretty bad and frightened the life out of me. I remember hearing a soft sound in my right ear and then everything went spinning. I was screaming and terrified. Now here's the thing; ever since that attack subsided, I immediately noticed 'something wasn't right'. I felt weird, lightheaded and unbalanced. I remember going to play football (soccer) that evening as usual. Something was still wrong. After football, we used to chat. When I sat down, I felt slanted. 

The next few months brought on more dizzy attacks. Each one as frightening as the first. For months, apart from the dizziness, I always had a bobbing, swaying, floating, flying sensation. When I lay down, it felt as if my feet were in the air or my feet felt like it was on the mattress and my head was in the air, at an angle, like a see-saw at rest. When I closed my eyes, I felt like I was flying through the air at great speed. Sleep was thus difficult. My wall was full of football photos. When the light was switched off, I could see all the photos and posters starting to move about on my wall.

My head was full of pressure, like someone pumping air into it non-stop. My eyes always felt teary and for some reason, I always had them three quarter closed, not on purpose, but it happened naturally. I could not walk properly. I had to hang on to things. 

I went to hospital and also saw many doctors and my poor dad forked out  a few thousand dollars over the next several years. I was given all kinds of diagnoses; hypoglycemia, temporal lobe epilepsy, I was hospitalised for a suspected brain tumour. Over the next few years, I was tested for everything that made sense; brain, eyes, ears etc etc. Nothing. Always clear. Not a thing wrong with me. Doctors didn't know what was wrong, yet they still 'told' me I had this or that. Not one of them could look me in the eye and say "I don't know". 

A few years later, the dizzy attacks got rare. The unbalanced feeling was still there (still is to this day) yet the intensity has varied over the years. It got better (on its own) and got worse. 

Only 11 years later, I was told a name for this condition - panic attacks. My doctor asked me to read a book and I came back and told him that it now makes sense and I agreed with the diagnosis. But he did not know what the lightheadedness, unbalance, whizzing through the air or the other weird sensations were. I have spoken to other doctors dealing with panic disorder who had no idea what I was on about. Their other patients never had a 24-hour-feeling. 

In 1998, I became agoraphobic. Still am. But, what I want to know is, is there anyone here who has beaten the spaced out, weird, unreal sensations? If so, who did you see, what did you do, what did you take? To this day, I am still convinced that something happened in my ear that caused everything else, but I've had that tested (in 2 countries). There were times I would be praying that they'd find something wrong, but it was all normal. One should be happy, but I hated being told I was normal when something was still wrong. I'm convinced that I picked up panic attacks and agoraphobia for nothing. Something happened that triggered it. After so long, I'm still not cured. I've given up a lot of hope and it's shaped me and my thoughts. I want the lightheadedness and unbalanced feeling to go away. I heard about these stones in the ear that can cause problems. I have not explored that, but I've spoken to my doctor, so hopefully, that might be of help, but not holding my breath.

Sorry, I could go on, but I'll stop. Any advice from someone who has improved or beaten this? I want to thank everyone in advance, just in case. Big thanks to all cheesygrin

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  • Posted

    I do a lot of humming - especially when I'm trying to walk from one place to another and feel off balance.  Not like just acrazzy girl humming all the time - ha ha.  Although it may come to that.  Bestie you mentioned wearing thin soled shoes - where can I look for some of those.  I do better with my balance when I am bare-foot (the doctor says I do not have neuropathy though).
    • Posted

      Ooooh a hummer eh? You take requests? Heehee

      Seriously though, I don't recall mentioning anything about thin-soled shoes. Perhaps it was someone else? I don't know where you can get those, but you might try a Chinatown somewhere, or those taichi shoes. No idea, sorry. But good luck finding it. I'm sure you can. Perhaps do an online search and maybe order it online? 

  • Posted

    Maybe it was Anne that recommended thin soled shoes - I need to go back and re-read all of the posts!
    • Posted

      no it wasn't me Kathie, but i thought it might be an interesting try.
    • Posted

      Now that I think on it, I believe it was in an article I read around the same time as I joined this group.  The article was saying if you drag your feet a bit the shoes with think cushioned soles are too bouncy and tend to grab and that thin soled shoes would work better.  Of course like with anything, we have to try and figure out what works best for us.  I still really miss cute heels but those days appear to be gone forever.
    • Posted

      i know, it's still hard for me to believe that before all this started 2 years ago, i was at a christimas work party, dancing around and spinning like a top and not in the slightest bit dizzy. I so loved to dance.  Now i have to be careful how i get out of bed in case i fall to the floor. Strange days. I remains hopeful still, even it it might be unrealistic that this problem will disappear as mysteriously as it arrived.   
    • Posted

      Same here.  I always lived in up stairs apartments and now I can't step up on a curb.  And always the fun aunt playing with the kids in the middle of the floor.  Strange days is a perfect way to put it.
    • Posted

      careful with curbs, they are accidents waiting to happen.  I once stepped down from the bus up onto the curb and then flat on my face, the going down on the steps of the bus and then stepping up onto the curb was more than my balance could handle in one easy manouver.

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