Vertigo and dizziness

Simone, how is your hearing?  The "drunk walk" sounds like Meuniere's Disease to me...and I think it's odd that you're diagnosed with "anxiety" and not vertigo at the least. But, it sounds like you've sought help several times. Have you seen an audiologist? 

I have BPPV and it's bad enough, but your case sounds worse. For as long as I can remember I don't walk naturally straight, but I don't stagger, I kinda veer to one side over time (my college roommates liked to laugh at me going to class/campus). I think you should see another specialist, personally speaking. 

Good luck!

Hi you discribe my conditions,  I am 59 walk and stagger as if I am drunk. If I stand still I sway backwards and forwards. Have also been like this over a period of about  4 years.  Mine comes on labour an hour after I get up and can last 10 min to a couple of hours then it goes and usually I don't get anymore that day.   Some days I don't get it at all and I can also go several days when I don't get it at all. Sometimes I can work through it and it will just go. On rare occassions I close my eyes and do body scans and breathing exercises to control it and it will go.  I never know what I am going to be like from one morning to the next so I have to not plan the next day until it arrives, sometimes I think that I can make it happen by worry and thinking about things too much instead of just getting up and doing whatever it is that I wanted to do.  It was surges tend that mine was anxiety and I was put onto Diazepam for 2 weeks but I only had mild days during that time so I did not need to take them anyhow so that was not a very good result.   Do you have any neurological problems as I do and I have been in contact with people that have this balance / staggering problem and several have neurological problems.

I agree with the replies.  Have you specifically seen a neurologist? Have you had a nerve conduction study performed to rule out a polyneuropathy (a general nerve problem in the arms and legs).  You do not describe vertigo, and therefore I do not believe at the moment that you have an ear problem.

Eleftherios S. Papathanasiou, PhD, FEAN

Clinical Neurophysiologist

Fellow of the European Academy of Neurology

Sorry to hear you are off balance and 'normal' I have never been told I have anxiety but I have been thru a lot, and still off balance after 4 yrs.  There is lots of research you can do.

The Long Road of Lasting Imbalance, Dizziness, Vertigo

Here we go. You have brief episodes of dizziness OR you can have a violent attack of vertigo, vomiting, sweating looks like a TIA (transient ischemic attack) that puts you in hospital. If you can get tests in hospital you are lucky.

Enter the primary care physician who refers you to an ENT Doctor (ear, nose and throat).

ENT will do VNG test (videonystagmography) or electronystagmography (ENG)

VNG testing is a series of tests designed to document a persons ability to follow visual objects with their eyes and how well the eyes respond to information from the vestibular system. This test also addresses the functionality of each ear and if a vestibular deficit may be the cause of a dizziness or balance problem.

The ENT says, don't worry "One day you will wake up and it will be all gone!" or not!

Time goes by, you get a walking stick to help with balance.

Then you search for vertigo specialists, otolaryngologist ...

Also start Googling, Meniere's disease, labyrinthitis, positional vertigo, vestibular neuritis, vestibular migraine, and tumors of the inner ear nerves, and aging process.

You go to a specialist. Your physician may require further tests. The tests necessary are determined at the time of examination and may include hearing and balance tests, x-rays, CTs or MRI scans, blood tests, and ultrasound tests. A general physical examination and neurological tests may also be needed.

Causes: Half of all cases are idiopathic, i.e. UNKNOWN causes, 

Hi,

I know how you feel, am the same, been like this for years, had blood test done, MRI Scan on my ears and head, had a hearing test, all clear, this problem of standing still then moving forward and backward has been part of my life now for years.

Really feel down all the time now, been through depression, Anxiety whoch i still have, so scared all the time, its hell

 

Balance related conditions can be so hard to diagnose and also very hard to live with! They in themselves can lead to anxiety and depressions especially when it can feel like people don't believe you.

I have a rare condition called Superior Canal Dehisence Syndrome (SCDS). Symtpoms of this amount to much more than a drunk walk but people often do not realise that they are related. I will give you a brief, but not exhaustive list in case any ring a bell:

dizziness

brain fog (confusion, inability to recall things, difficulty with day to day tasks)

sudden extreme dizziness caused by sound (ie standing next to a speaker) or pressure ie sneesing

eyes bonncing in response to sound (not one I ever had)

hearing body sounds ie I can hear my eyes moving 

If you do have any of these additional symptoms let me know and I can point you in the direction of more information in case this is the cause.