Please talk me down and tell me to stop being a paranoid stupid idiot!

[sweetheart]

I've been getting dizzy fits for several weeks now and this weekend it has really started to panic me.

At first I didn't do anything about it as I have suffered from several bouts of labrythensis ( and ear infection that causes virtigo symptoms) before and put it down to that. However that usually passes within a week or two and I have now been having these dizzy spells for approx 5 weeks.

There is some other stuff going on at the moment and I'm feeling stressed, my vision at work seems to be worse looking a tmy computer screen and my head feels foggy - I've had a couple of instances where I can't get my words out or i can't type or write words in the correct sequence.

Anyway basically I have now stressed myself out and started thinking the worst! I've booked a dr apt for tomorrow morning and am totally bricking it and feel really panicked.

Please tell me it's fine and to pull myself together!

Hello,

You are only human and you are bound to worry, chances are it is nothing to worry about, stress can manifest itself in many ways, i had a friend who suffered from labyrinthitis and she could not go anywhere without falling over. it could be that coupled with stress and eyestrain from your computer.
Go and see the doctor but try not to think the worst, you will be fine. Do keep me posted.

thanks beu, of the several bouts I've had of labrythesis some have been mild where i can manage normal daily activity and some have been so severe that i couldn't stand up without falling over. None of them have lasted this long.

I am generally only getting dizzy when my head is in certain positions - for example when i turn over in bed and when I get up first thing in the morning. My blood pressure is fine as I had this taken last week for another reason so I know it's not because I've got a low blood pressure.

I'm just so worried the dr will take 1 look in my ear tomorrow and say there is no visable infection and I'll be left with a whole host of frightening scenarios. I probably shouldn't have left it this long but I don't just have time to fit in dr's appointments!

Have you ever had migraine? Do you have a generally stiff or sore neck? Either could be the cause of your symptoms - if the latter, then a regular massage may sort it out. If the former, then there are lots of treatments available.

Just go to the doctor!

If you are getting dizzy when your head is in one position you could have benign proximal positional vertigo which is caused by little crystals in your eary bits. This can't be seen by looking in your ears.
I suffer from dizzines and bouts of vertigo but mine is caused by damage done to my inner ear by a virus. If I am really dizzy I often feel a little confused as my brain is concentrating on not falling over and often the dizziness is just a vague fogginess.
I would go and tell the GP all your symptoms and hopefully they will try and help you.

nope to migranes and sore necks. I've got a dr apt for tomorrow but that seems like a long time away now.

poozle if they cant see that from looking in your ear how do they diagnose it and is it a permenant ongoing problem?

Oh that ear crystal thing! My father had that. They have a way of breaking them up, but I can't remember how - be warned out can make you very nauseous.

Sounds like you should be asking for a referral to ENT?

I know what you're thinking (and fearing) - but it's very, very unlikely to be that. Dizziness can have a zillion reasons and the least likely is that.

If you were uncommonly drowsy all the time, feeling sick for no apparent reason, fitting or being crippled with headaches then it would all be much more worrying.

The not being able to get your words out stuff is probably an anxiety symptom (it's quite common) brought on by your worry about the dizziness.

It will be fine sweetheart. Let us know how you get on at the doctor's tomorrow :)

thank you for the reasurrance - i have googled the crystal thing (yes I know you shouldn't google health problems!) and it does sound like it matches my symptoms pretty well - just hoping the Dr can confirm tomorrow.

Yes Crikey I have been thinking that even though I haven't admitted it to anyone because if I don't say it out loud it can't be true! I've been feeling sick just thinking of it Stupid over active imagination going into overdrive!

The average GP only sees one case of that every 10 years. It's really very rare :)

Thank you for your comments yesterday, they really helped me to stop freeking out. Seen Dr this morning and whilst he is doing some blood test just to be on the safe side he's pretty sure it's the BPPV thing that poozlepants said and he's referred me to ENT at the hospital.

Feeling much calmer today although dissapointed to be told this morning that this can last anything like 6 months and there isn't much they can do to treat it! Still at least it#s not that !

Ooh did I diagnose someone correctly. Hooray! I'm so glad you feeling a bit more reassured. Being dizzy all the time is totally crap. I had 3 years of basically being unable to read or use a computer mine was so bad.
Eventually you get used to it and you stop panicking everytime you are dizzy which makes it easier to deal with. If you are getting anxious with it because it can be scary when it just kicks in, get yourself some hypnotherapy it helps you stop panicking when it happens.

Can't you go and be 'manipulated' to move the crystals to a position where they don't cause a problem? At one point the drs thought I had BPPV and I was told this was the treatment.

I have been refered to ENT to have the minipulation done - hoping it will work!

Poozle - sorry you've had to deal with it to - it's fairly miserable isn't it!

I've been feeling a bit like I've been going mad my head / brain has felt so fuzzy. It's been really stressful actually

Your brain really can't concentrate on anything when it's getting load of weird balance signals from your ears and that feeling is very scary. I think it basically learns to adapt eventually if you ignore the dizziness and carry on. I ended up getting loads of panic attacks because my body started to stress when I was about to get dizzy- even before I consciously knew I was. Doctors are a bit rubbish when it comes to dizziness- sort of nothing we can do get on with it attitude they don't know how debilitating it can be. The only person who was good was a GP who had a long bout of labrynthitis. The fact you've got BPPV is good as at least there is something they can do about it. let us know how the manipulation goes.

I have to say the dr i saw this morning (not my usual one) was very good, i was quite surprised to get both the blood tests and the referal. I've managed to get an appointment for early next week providing my insurance will authorise it in time so I'm hoping that will sort it.

I've been really stressing out recently about this, my world just seems foggy and muddled at the moment and I am usually a super organised person so I've felt a bit like everything is crashing down around me. It came to a head on Saturday, I'd been dress shopping and tried on a lot of dresses (lots of bending moving etc) and nearly had a panic attack in the shop. It's so out of character for me that it really frightened me to be honest. I haven't really told anyone in real life quite how worried and stressed I've been about it.

Will be a relief to have a clear head again soon I hope!

Best to be is be open. I used to try and hide it all the time and I just got more stressed. Now I'm quite open about it and people are fine and really understanding. Shops are a nightmare, hot, crowded, lots of movement around you and by you and I find the flourescent lighting doesn't help.
If you go privately it should be sorted quickly.