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xfirebirdx · 10-30-2012, 01:07 PM

Hello Everyone,
I am really hoping i can get some answers from this site, i am at the end of my tether and just am so sick of it all that i have no where else to look.

Bit of background - im female, 41 next month, overweight, stopped smoking 4 years ago, rarely drink alcohol, i live in Scotland in a small rural town.
Things i do have - ectopic heartbeats, acid refulx (take omeprazole when have a flare up) restless leg syndrome - anxiety
Medications - femulen mini pill,omeprazole when needed, vitamin b complex
Tests ive had done - 24 hour holter monitor, heart ultrasound (3 years ago) blood tests. doctor looked in my ears and said they looked ok

It started 3-4 years ago, its hard to describe so please bear with me!!

I constantly feel like the world is slowly moving around me, its almost like i am on a very very slow moving roundabout all the time, sometimes i feel that if i move my head round too fast, it takes a split second for everything to "catch up" with my head
or it feels like when i move my head round my brain is loose inside my skull and it takes that split second to follow my head round - i know this is impossible its just how i could describe it

when im walking, i feel like im walking squint, almost like ive had a few drinks (i haven't) it is also like when im walking, you know how you "bob" up and down as you walk? it feels like with each step while looking forward, my brain is bobbing up and down making everything in the distance move and it gives me the "ive been drinking" feeling.
Also when im walking the ground feels spongy underfoot when clearly it is not, it also makes me feel i am an inch or two taller than i really am?

When i wake in the morning, even before i open my eyes, i can feel inside my head that the very slow moving roundabout thing is happening! I usually get up slowly and sit on the bed a few moments before getting up, but when i do, i am "swaying" while im walking about. Scares me so much!

Other things that make me off balance -
Big busy patterns on carpets and walls
Lots of people walking past me on the street/in a shop
Lots of people in a small room
Looking down long aisles in shops
Small ceramic tiles in the kitchen and bathroom
Scenes on television where the camera spins round fast, or spins fast round a static object/person
If i am vacuuming/mopping the floor
Heights!

Another horrible sensation i feel is like the ground has suddenly "dropped" beneath me, at the same time everything around me "jolts/drops" and i often grab hold of something/someone as i really think the ground has fallen away, this lasts a split second then all is normal. I can also feel this while sitting on the couch watching tv etc.

I have been to the doctor about this many times, but i keep getting told its anxiety and they try to give me tablets which i wont take ( im scared of side effects)
I do have anxiety, i know i do, it started when my mum died suddenly of a heart attack 4 1/2 years ago aged only 54, im only just getting to grips with the grief, i know her death affected me deeply and it still does but the anxiety/fear of me having the same fate as her is not the same thing that i am feeling with this dizziness thing.

Ive told the doctor again and again i am anxious because i get this dizziness/off balance symptoms and its real, not "all in my head" but none of them will listen to me.

I dont know where to turn to anymore, my life is slowly getting depressing, i stopped working because of this last year and we are struggling now money wise, but i know i just cant work like this.

I keep asking them if my ears are ok, ive never got earache but i now the balance is controlled in the ears but they wont refer me to see anyone about it.

I cant see how i can get this solved.

Bercy · 10-30-2012, 01:34 PM

Our stories are errily similar. Over the past 2 years each crisis for me gets worse and worse. I have had every test imaginable like you. Holters, echocardiograms, blood tests, exhaustive vestibular tests, even a cardiac catherization. Still no diagnosis as to why I have this constant dizziness and heart palpitations almost 24/7. However, one thing I did a week ago was to stop taking my B complext vitimins. And within 3 days, my symptoms have become much improved. The dizziness has diminished and the heart palpitations have completely stopped.

This may be just coincidence since I stopped the B vitimins. Who knows. I have tried to google side effects of B complex vitimins, but have come up only with suspect pages at best.

Question. Do you have tinnitus or that awful ringing in your ears? Sometimes it goes away for me and other times it is like a Boeing 747 roaring in my ears.

Good luck and please keep us posted as to your status.

xfirebirdx · 10-30-2012, 03:24 PM

Hi Bercy

Thanks for taking the time to read my long winded post

I do have a sound in my ears/head - its not loud as such, just in the background, kinda like a high pitched whistle/static noise, but like i said its not loud, its not annoying me much, i have heard it most of my life and it aint bothered me really, i thought everyone had it lol
Thinking about it, it has been there most of today, i dont know if its linked or not?

I started the b complex 3 months ago, for anxiety, i have various symptoms which i do worry greatly about, and im not sure if i should list that symptoms alongside this off balance one?

Linda x

Bercy · 10-31-2012, 12:35 AM

Linda, I have been suffering from this for the past 2 years and I am tired that the doctors dismiss me because nothing shows up on a test or x-ray. Doing as much research as I can on the internet is a double edged sword. So much of that information is just flat out inaccurate, biased and misleading so it is very dangerous to self diagnose. But I have come to the following conclusions (at least in my case)

1. This is probably multi focal, meaning that I feel that there are several factors contributing to my dizziness, headaches, ringing in the ears, and heart palpitations.

2. I am overweight too. Not morbidly obese, but overweight. I weigh 220 pounds and at 5'9" I should weight no more than 180. I am down from 231 pounds, and as I loose the weight I do sometimes think that my symptoms ease up. WHY, well I suspect that the excess weight is placing pressure on my vagus nerve which can/maybe cause all of my symptoms. This pressure on the vagus nerve may be the cause of the acid reflux or the acid reflux may be causing the vagus nerve pressure. I really don't know but I do feel that this may be a factor. Of course the doctors only roll their eyes at me.

3. I have eliminated all supplemental vitamins and non prescription medications. As a cardiac patient, I spoke with my cardiologist and we went over my medication list to narrow it down to only the minimal required. This has also seemed to lessen up some of my symptoms.

4. I drink more water and stay better hydrated. I am never thirsty, so I must force myself to drink. Staying hydrated is good for 1,000s of reasons, including maintain good blood pressure and vestibular balance.

5. I saw an endocrinologist and was diagnosed as insulin resistant. This is a pre-diabetic situation and definitely can cause all of our mutual symptoms. We are at the right age and weight for this to me a major factor in our health. It means some difficult lifestyle changes (which I am trying to desperately adhere to), particularly diet and exercise. If not, I face having to take insulin injections further down the road.

I do feel that this may be the most important multi factor. My cholesterol, triglycerides are coming down, as well as my weight. I do miss my sugars and processed foods, but I have become most creative in making "pizza" with an egg white "crust", and other creative recipes. Quite the challenge.

I am an American expat living in France. In January I am going to a 4 week cardiac and pulmonary rehab in the south of France. I hope that during this time, the doctors will aggressively look as to why I continue to suffer.

Good luck, and please keep us posted as to your progress.

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