Chronic dizziness and head pressure (Page 2)

I was diagnosed with Panic Disorder 3 years ago after receiving numerous testings and wrong diagnoses'. Now, at 21, I am in University and because of my disability I have to do my exams in an isolated room with a longer time to do the exam. I have major problems with my panic almost every day of my life which is not good for my for year old daughter or on my health. Nothing has seemed to work (medically speaking). I have taken Clonazapam, Celexa, Valium, Paxil, Effexor, Prozac, Buspar, Ativan, Mirtazapine, Seroquel, Trazadone, Xanax, Zoloft and what others have mentioned Amitriptyline. Almost all the anti-depressants gave me adverse effects like fatigue all day, more anxiety and the worse one for me is the nightmares. Amitriptyline, Trazadone, and Paxil gave me such bad nightmares that I was scared to sleep at night. Recently, I have tried herbal/dietary supplements like samE (spelled that way), Vitamin B Complex, Star of Bethlehem (tincture), and rescue remedy products. They work for brief periods but then back to panic and anxiety. Now that I am in University, things have gotten worse. 3 days ago I spent the night in emerg because I was experiencing the same thing everyone else seems to be experiencing. Minus laying down as it gets even worse when I do! The headaches I am getting aren't like any headache I've ever had before. My mom thinks they are tension headaches but I am not so sure that you get dizzy and light headed with mild nausea? Also, I seem to be okay in the morning. It hits me at around dark and keeps me up til 3am! Where I live, the doctors are not very good and they will not treat me. I tried to explain my difficulties and she looked at me with no emotion and said that I am depressed and to go see a physiotherapist! That would have been done LONG ago if I had the money! Any help on this or suggestions would be great. We all know how horrible it is but try to tell someone who doesn't have anxiety or panic that it is

I'm having the same problem as the poster above. I'm 18 almost 19 and still live at home and sometimes i have to have my mom sleep next to me just to calm me down. ITs affected my social life and its hard at work (customer service so i run around everywhere). she wants to get an MRI on my brain but i dont think it's necessary to drop thousands of dollars to be told i'm fine. My uncle also suffers from anxiety. My grandfather had schizophrenia and my father has bipolar disorder. One thing that bothers me that no one mentioned was that my left arm is numb AT all times. Does this happen to anyone else? I've had an EKG and i have a special cardiologists considering i've had a heart condition since i was born but everything came back normal. I'm just sick of this because like all of you said, i cant function.

Hi philosophyxdream. Yes I have had numbness in my left arm as well. Before I was diagnosed with Panic Disorder, I used to think I was dying of a stroke or heart attack because they say thats a symptom (along with all the others that come with panic attacks). At one point, I made the doctors hook me up to the machine that monitors your vitals and heart. They stuck all sorts of tubes and needles in me but nothing. Nothing was wrong with my heart, lungs, organs or vitals. My doctor says that with anxiety, panic and stress, your body does really strange things and numbness is one of them. She said that sometimes your limbs aren't getting enough blood to them because my breathing is shallow. I think shes right because most of the time, when my panics in full swing, I am definitely NOT breathing properly! Maybe next time this happens, try to take deeper breathes to calm your body down. I know you say that its numb all the time? You might have a pinched nerve in your shoulder, neck or arm. I do from all my panicking! I tense my muscles when I'm stressed out because thats how I cope with panic, anxiety and stress. Hopefully this helps

this really did help a lot, thank you.

i had one more question. Back in September i took LSD for the first, only and last time. I've always been a little...off as you could say, so i knew it would be a bad idea. My mom and i were discussing what could have caused all of this and we came to the conclusion that the acid just clicked on this switch. is that possible?

Yes. To be completely honest, not only was my traumatic life experiences to blame for my Panic disorder but what I just learned from my doctor: I used to use cocaine everyday for 4 months straight. My doctor (and the books I've been reading) says that my Panic disorder could have been "drug-induced" meaning there was a chance I could have never developed it at all if I had never used cocaine. I would say from my experience with it, my doctor is right because I started having panic attacks when I was smoking lots of weed but when I stopped smoking it, the attacks went away. They came back though when I started using cocaine. Now I am clean and I still have panic disorder. She says that I will most likely have it forever but that doesn't mean I will have the attacks forever, just the disorder itself. What I can suggest to you is that although LSD could have brought it on, think about the stress in your life first or anything that's happened to you in your life that was no just hard on you emotionally but mentally and physically. I say that because you only used acid once so its hard to say thats what caused it. Now if you've been using other drugs as well? That could be a suspect too....Jeezz all these problems! I know what your going through! Good luck and if you have anymore questions feel free, its always great to have someone who knows whats its like

I've had the exact same symptoms as most of you as well. Does anyone have any updates or solutions?

dklassen posted something about having his tonsils removed. I've heard of this causing dizziness and head pressure before. Has anyone looked into that? or dklassen have you had the surgery done yet and if so has it working?

After recovering from a viral infection, I started to experience the same symptoms: mild dizziness, head pressure, and neck pain. I googled my symptoms and found this forum and was relieved to find people in the same boat as me. I did some research and came across this:

http://www.medpagetoday.com/Surgery/Otolar yngology/5085

Its a U of Penn study of people suffering from nonspecific dizziness. It describes the same symptoms we are experiencing as Chronic Subjective Dizziness. It is caused by damage to the nervous system. The damage can stem from acute anxiety (traumatic event) or infection of the nervous system (viral).

I dug further and found no cure for it, but I did find this:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1547579 6

Its the abstract of a U of Penn study on the use of a drug called Sertraline for treatment of CSD symptoms. The study saw ~75% of patients have significant relief from the symptoms.

I hope this helps everyone.

Wow! finally other people that have felt the same way I do and continue to! If anyone hears of anything that helps please let us know!!

Just for everyone's information, for my symptoms I've had a CT scan, multiple exams, multiple blood tests, chest x-rays, allergy tests and I had a holter monitor which measures your breathing and heart rate over a few days and everything came back normal. My symptoms have increased lately and my doctor has no idea what it could be. He also does not necessarily think it's from anxiety or stress because the other symptoms that usually accompany anxiety and stress are not present. He is going to consult with another doctor and get back to me. I will post here whatever they come up with.

Cheers

I have suffered from a condition similar to what many of you describe and have been for 20 years now. As many of you have, I have had nearly every medical test imaginable with no definitive diagnosis. I have been diagnosed with everything form panic disorder to inner ear condition and while each explains some of the symptoms, there has been no diagnosis that explains all of them. I feel that many doctors hear what they want to and depending on who you go and see, you will get a different diagnosis.

I will share the predominant symptoms that I have and also share some of the things that have made my life more manageable over the years.

My condition began while working in a lab, spending every day working on materials through a microscope. One day I had a severe dizzy spell that induced a panic attack. Here is a list of symptoms that are present at different degrees depending on how severe the symptoms are.

-Disequilibrium
-Light-headed
-Foggy feeling in my head
-Feeling of unreality
-Pressure in my head, primarily near my temples, my sinuses and my mastoid are (behind my ears).
-Tightness in my neck and feeling like I need to crack my neck.
- Sensitive to light and loud noises, esp low frequency noises.
-Gassy stomach
-Heart Arrhythmia (was diagnosed after the symptoms began, not present before)
-Feeling unusually chilly
-Numb tingling on the surface of my skin, usually in my legs.
-Increase in symptoms when working out, esp lifting weights or anything that increases blood pressure.

Many of these symptoms are associated with numerous other conditions, but for me, these are the primary ones that have been consistent over the years.

Now for what has helped me to a certain degree. The symptom that has the biggest negative effect on my life is the disequilibrium. The feeling of imbalance causes vertigo and can trigger panic attacks. The stress of the condition is exhausting and I believe that it is also mentally exhausting to the brain and will decrease the stress fighting chemicals.

The one medication that has made a significant difference has been SSRI antidepressants. For me it was Paxil for a number of years and recently I switched to Lexapro. I personally believe that the stress of this condition decreases serotonin levels and probably epiniephrine and norepinephrine. These are chemicals that your brain uses to deal with stress and when levels are low, additional symptoms arise. The antidepressants have not completely eliminated the symptoms, but they seem to make it easier for my brain to deal with the stress of it.

The other thing that really seems to help is exercise. Although exercise often increases some of the symptoms, I stick with cardio exercises and stop if the symptoms get too strong.

One of the things I find so difficult is distinguishing the difference between primary symptoms and secondary ones. I feel like some of them are a result of others. For example, the more physical symptoms such as the dizziness and disequilibrium put a lot of stress on the body and may explain some of the anxiety and hypersensitivity.

I still don't have a definitive diagnosis and continue to hope something will be discovered. In the meantime, I think it's important for people to share their experiences. The more we learn, the more information we have when we go to our doctors. I have learned all too well that if you don't have a plan when seeing your doctor, they will tend to focus on what they know and the symptoms that are applicable to their specialty. Arm yourself with questions and move on if you don't get the answers you need.

Bill

I'm experiencing similar problems to many of the other posters. I'm 20 years old and I have dealt with an anxiety disorder for my entire life. My dizziness started in the past few years when my panic attacks became more frequent and intense. I haven't seen a doctor about it yet because it's a common symptom of panic attacks. My dizziness is more like a head rush...it only lasts from 1-3 seconds, but it keeps happening over and over with about 30 seconds of relief in between them. I've started to worry lately, however, because it seems my heat beat tends to flutter slightly during the rush. It's hard to know exactly when to go to the doctor though when I don't know if it's serious, or just anxiety. My blood pressure is on the low end as well (normally around 90/70), but I don't know that it's low enough to cause this. My dizziness is also accompanied by a low grade nausea. I worry sometimes that I'll just fall over one day with no one around to find me...of course that's my anxiety talking as well. I am on anti-anxiety medication, and while it does help to lessen the frequency of my panic attacks, it does nothing for this problem. I was astonished to see how the number of people experiencing symptoms like mine.

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I believe that some of you are suffering from mitral valve prolapse syndrome or dysautonomia, others from adrenal fatigue, chronic fatigue syndrome,b12 deficiency, etc...
hope it helps
i'm suffering from something similar.

i have suffered this for 5 years. It descended on me just before my mother died, feeling like a brick falling onto my head. Besides, the pressure I had had brain zaps and dizziness. The drs gave me an anti-depressent which stopped the zaps,and took away some of the pressure and occasional painful pinching, which could at very worst stretch from the bridge of my nose down to the back of my neck, but it didn't make it 100% 'better.'
I saw another dr and had an mri,which was normal. I was now put on amitryptiline...and within a week or two the head pressure had broken! I took it for a year, then decided I was 'ol' and stopped. About 6 months later, out of the blue, I started suffering hideous daily anxiety and panic attacks. I eventually got them under control, but as I felt normal in other ways, suddenly the head pressure returned! The dr gave me Amitriptyline again, but it doesn't seem to be working so well this time.
The roots of this problem seems to be 80% anxiety,with a few people possibly suffering sinus/ear disorders as well or instead.Like so many here, I seem ok asleep, and maybe even 30-60 min when I wake up--the bam! dizziness and pressure. Computers,crowded rooms,noise,bright lights,tiredness,flying all make it worse. I am suffering badly right now, yet just came back from a holiday in which my head was 100% normal nearly every day in a week...

Hey all,

This is just a suggestion. I too always have pressure in my head, and sometimes get very dizzy especially when I stand up. And like some of you guys are saying about the cold feet. My feet are always cold too! I went to the doctor and had numerous tests ran. Urine test, chest x ray, tons of blood tests, and she of course listened for anything wrong with my heart and lungs and she said everything was perfect. No vitAmin deficiencies or anything. Oh and i also had a thyroid test and it came back perfect as well. The pressure in your head is called a tension headache. I always have this. And it gets really bad when i have anxiety attacks. It's where the muscles in your neck are tensed up due to your anxiety which is due to you worrying about it. I am the same way! I am working on it! All the muscles in your head are connected to your neck! Remember that! And if it's pressure then it is tension. I know how it feels. Sometimes your head and ears go numb and your ears ring sometimes. It's just stress . And the dizziness thAt comes with it also caused by stress. Stress is one of the number one causes of dizziness and those tight muscles around your head pulling at the backs of your eyes and ears isn't helping I know. My doctor prescribed me some zoloft for the stress because she couldn't find anything wrong. It's a vicious circle. One night i stood up and got dizzy and my heart started pounding and i thought my heart was gonna stop. My uncle used to be the same way. He was rushed to the ER and they said it was stress related. He said it felt like his heart was just gonna stop. Try not to worry about it because it will just make it worse. It is a vicious neverending circle. And try and notice that times when your aren't anxious or worried about anything, did you notice those symptoms? They are common stress symptoms. Get some anxiety medication if you feel like you need to. Or even visit a chiropractor and he will get your neck put back into place. I am visiting one soon. Good luck to you all!

ipayton785 thanks.... helps me a lot

Hey all,

This is just a suggestion. I too always have pressure in my head, and sometimes get very dizzy especially when I stand up. And like some of you guys are saying about the cold feet. My feet are always cold too! I went to the doctor and had numerous tests ran. Urine test, chest x ray, tons of blood tests, and she of course listened for anything wrong with my heart and lungs and she said everything was perfect. No vitAmin deficiencies or anything. Oh and i also had a thyroid test and it came back perfect as well. The pressure in your head is called a tension headache. I always have this. And it gets really bad when i have anxiety attacks. It's where the muscles in your neck are tensed up due to your anxiety which is due to you worrying about it. I am the same way! I am working on it! All the muscles in your head are connected to your neck! Remember that! And if it's pressure then it is tension. I know how it feels. Sometimes your head and ears go numb and your ears ring sometimes. It's just stress . And the dizziness thAt comes with it also caused by stress. Stress is one of the number one causes of dizziness and those tight muscles around your head pulling at the backs of your eyes and ears isn't helping I know. My doctor prescribed me some zoloft for the stress because she couldn't find anything wrong. It's a vicious circle. One night i stood up and got dizzy and my heart started pounding and i thought my heart was gonna stop. My uncle used to be the same way. He was rushed to the ER and they said it was stress related. He said it felt like his heart was just gonna stop. Try not to worry about it because it will just make it worse. It is a vicious neverending circle. And try and notice that times when your aren't anxious or worried about anything, did you notice those symptoms? They are common stress symptoms. Get some anxiety medication if you feel like you need to. Or even visit a chiropractor and he will get your neck put back into place. I am visiting one soon. Good luck to you all!

I agree with you ipayton785..
Hi guys,

I have been suffering from the same symptoms as you. I believe I know my problem asi was fortunate to be diagnosed properly. The problem is stress and anxiety. When you worry for too long continuously, the brain can't handle that anymore and these feelings come up. A psychiatrist should be able to diagnose this properly and put you on right medicines. Get medicine if you badly need it as it has some side effects, however, I would advice try to change your lifestyle. It will be extremely hard but you need to be perseverant and it will pay off. Start with mild exercising with very good healthy diet and slowly increase exercise. Please make sure you cut down on junk and preserved food. Sugar and caffeine are big no. Eat lot of fruits specially bananas, blueberries. Also eat walnuts, fish, yogurt, fresh vegetables.
The logic is simple, excessive stress and worrying caused some wear and tear to your body and brain, now , by adopting a healthy lifestyle, you need to repair it. It's not easy and ask for a lot of effort.
But that is the difference between cure and illness.

You can search web regarding Anxiety disorders and you wil know exactly what I am talking about.

I am working towards getting well each day and wish you the good luck too.
Only you can cure yourself and you are responsible for the illness in first place.

Oh and remember to eat! My stomach has shrunk so much i have trouble eating now and I am trying to get it stretched out so I can eat. That is one reason that your circulation is so poor. Stress and not eating is a terrible combination!

Hi I am new to this site. I have been reading all of your comments. I have the same symptoms as well. I feel like I cannot function like a normal person. I have been researching this topic as well. It appears that most of us have some sort of anxiety. Mine started after a heat stroke. From that moment on I had fear of getting hot because I thought I would have another heat stroke. Now I can't seem to figure out how to enjoy the summers. Not only that, but I can't be anywhere where it is above 70 degrees or I start to panic. I have started medication for this which is Zoloft. It has worked very well for anxiety and panic however, now I am left with this terrible dizziness that we all seem to have in common. It affects my work, my relationships, and my home life because everyone wonders what is wrong with me or they think that I am just faking it. Not to mention the dizziness always happens at the most inopportune times like when you are supposed to be on vacation having a good time, out to dinner, or working on a really big project at work. It never ceases to interfere. God help us!!! This is rediculous!!! What I would give to feel normal again!

I'm wondering how everyone is doing, if anyone has had any relief since the last posts, especially dizzy_marc. Did the Amitryptaline start to work again for you? I just started taking it yesterday and feel like a zombie today, but I'm going to give it time. I have the exact same symptoms as dizzy_marc, started out almost the same way as well. Hope everyone is doing better these days.

Along the same lines as everyone else, ill try and be to the point about my experiences and add some things that affect me that no one has mentioned. Have never tried medication, and that hasnt worked out either since ive been dealing with the dizziness for about 10 years. Im 28, used to smoke weed for many years (dont now its been 2yrs). I have had a few traumatic experiences. Am going through one again right now. I think a lot has been touched on already. I wake up out of bed feeling like this, right away for me it doesnt take some time to kick in and it usually stays with me till i goto sleep. Ive always ate properly with home cooked meals from breakfast to dinner. I know im worse off if i miss a meal or dont get a good sleep. I also have had sinus issues since i was a kid.

Theres two sorta natural things that can trigger it to make it worse that ive noticed. Sometimes going to the washroom for a #2, sets it off even worse for a couple of hours. I believe its more so from my body releasing off toxins when im going to the washroom. I believe it does happen more often after a weekend of drinking... But im not sure im not a doctor, havent seeked helped just trying to take care of myself and hoping that someday it gets better. Masterbation affects me aswell, just did a search on it for the first time and i guess im right. Some people say that it allleviates stress but definately not for all.

I do know that when i am extremely happy about something or am looking forward to something it pretty much goes away. But thats the rare cases of vacations or women lol, maybe something good at work or doing a good deed. I used to be very quiet because this condition clearly made me unhappy but i guess ive just grown up and now i just accept it. Im smart as hell person or book but can be clumsy cause im always in a fog.

I know i havent helped with any idea for a solution and while i dont take prescription drugs or anything really, i even try and avoid using tylenol. I still wouldnt mind if there was some sort of remedy for this. To me it seems like amino acids should work cause i believe all of this is caused due to some sort of mental defficiency but since so many of you say it doesnt, and i also do eat right then just like the other prescription drugs ill keep waiting for a miracle.

While i dont wish it on anybody it is a relief to read everyones experiences. So thank you.