Anxiety dizziness

[Dogmum15]

Hi everyone, just looking to hear if other people experience this or is it just me?

So I had a baby boy 6 weeks ago via emergency section and he’s brilliant but I’m struggling with a feeling of light headedness/dizziness. It almost feels like the ground is moving but I feel the sensation in my eyes if that makes sense? Sometimes is a room spinning sort of dizziness but again it’s in my eyes. I’ve had vertigo before and it doesn’t feel the same. The lightheadedness is constant and it is actually effecting my social life as I’m afraid to go anywhere encase I get really dizzy. I don’t want it to affect my maternity leave with my little boy!

I suffered with this feeling before pregnancy and the GP put it down to anxiety but wouldn’t give me anything to try and help it. I do have a history of panic attacks which are thankfully becoming less frequent but this feeling of lightheadedness just seems to be lingering. A different GP has put me on 10mg of citalopram now to try and see if that helps. Would anyone recommend vestibular physio?

Does anyone else experience this and if so did you ever get rid of it?

I have had an MRI of my head which was normal, blood work all normal, thyroid panel normal, iron levels checked normal. I’m at a completely loss and I just want to feel normal again.

Thanks for taking the time to read :)

Also should say I’ve had my eyes checked and all perfect according to the optician.

Yes I would push for balance testing etc to get to root of dizziness. If dr is useless or the wait is too long, seek out vestibular physio or ENT. I hope it passes quickly for you. X

Also the gp is shit for assuming it’s anxiety and putting you on antidepressants.

Hi @Lighttodark yes completely agree! They’re always so quick to blame everything on anxiety. I have reached out to a private physio specialising in vestibular rehab so I’ll definitely book an appointment. Anything to feel normal again! X

A simple thing to try is box/controlled breathing as per - often we can forget to breath deeply and that can result in a lack of oxygen = dizziness.

@Eyesopenwideawake thank you so much for this I will certainly give this a try!

I had this for years.. it was anxiety and caused me to hyperventilate. Citalompram works for me and I've been on it for years. Take note of your breathing when you next get it, and if your stomach muscles are tense x

Look into vestibular migraine. There is a Facebook group with the rather strange name of 'vestibular migraine professional.' You don't need to have headaches and the symptoms can be constant. I have it, although controlled now. If it's migraine vestibular rehab won't work, preventative medication will. Neurologists who specialise in migraine know about it. It's a common cause of dizziness/lightheadness and/or vertigo. I had 2 ENT docs and a GP put it down to anxiety.

Hi @Jingleballs2 did you have the lightheadedness 24/7? It’s so debilitating. I’ve only been on citalopram 10 days so I assume it’s going to take a little while to kick in x

Hi @TravellingIncognito thanks for this I haven’t heard of it before. Would you have lightheadedness 24/7? What medication would they prescribe for it? Perhaps I should go back to my GP and offer it up as a suggestion.

Hi,

Yes, I definitely did have lightheadness 24/7. Don't be fobbed off by a GP or ENT who tells you migraine would be intermittent, not constant. That's rubbish. Mine started with months of lightheadedness. The fact you've had vertigo previously is also relevant. This may have been migraine related. It's treated with preventative medication, common ones are propranolol or amitriptyline. There are many. It's trial and error, if one doesn't work it doesn't mean it's not migraine. It's a diagnosis of exclusion, it it's not other things then probably migraine. It won't show up on an MRI. You could certainly ask your GP, maybe print out and take her some info. If this becomes a persistent issue I'd insist on a referral to a neurologist who specialises in migraine. Should it come to this, the Facebook support group I mentioned can point you in the right direction regarding specialists who know their stuff in this area, not all do.

Not 24/7 without fail no. It was shortly after getting up and could last all day, but there was usually a period after waking up I was OK without the dizziness before the anxiety returned x

@TravellingIncognito this is so interesting! My ENT also diagnosed vestibular migraine but because it was constant I didn’t believe them! I’ve had it for 3 years. Anxiety makes it MUCH worse for me, and when I’m not in fight or flight it’s almost gone. I don’t take anything fit it apart from a million supplements. I have just started HRT as they said it is usually a peri-menopause presentation of migraine in migraine sufferers. I have actually had a typical migraine since so I guess it is vestibular migraine after all? They recommended avoiding triggers. I still have no pattern of what my triggers are. They advised low dose amytriptoline for reducing migraine episodes. I am currently struggling to feel safe while standing up, it’s been three months of feeling like my legs can’t hold me up, lots of tests, all normal! It’s an anxiety thing for me. Was in A&E on Sunday with it. Am starting CBT in two weeks. Any recommendations very welcome please 🙏

*anything for it

• HAVEN’T had typical migraine

@SallyTee It sounds like your ENT was probably right. Hormone fluctuations can impact migraine. I went from vestibular migraine to headache based ones during peri/meno. Migraine can be changeable. Anxiety can exacerbate migraine and dizziness can exacerbate anxiety. Bit of a catch 22. It’s generally treated with drugs used as migraine preventatives, there’s lots. Doesn’t tend to respond to triptans, the type of drugs used if and when a migraine happens. There’s also studies that show that high ish doses of B2 and/or magnesium can work for some people as well as drugs. If you do a google search it will tell you dosages. Your GP can give you one of the daily preventative drugs to try like amitriptyline or propranolol. It’s trial and error re what will work. If it proves too tricky for GP to work out correct drugs then the specialist you need is a neurologist who specialises in migraine. Or maybe the ENT you saw suggested something to try in your post consultation? I am seen in a specialist neurology clinic.

@TravellingIncognito I’m really grateful for your reply 💗thank you!

If anxiety makes it worse, try to focus on things like breathwork, somatic exercises/yoga, meditation. There’s also a “vestibular psychologist” on insta who does some psych therapy for dizziness associated anxiety.

@Lighttodark thank you so much. I have followed on insta. X

Did the anti anxiety meds help ? I’m in the same boat and it’s horrible