FEELING OFF BALANCE 24/7 - HELP !!!!!!!!!!!!!! - Inner Ear Disorders Message Board

I Robertson · 05-16-2003, 03:25 PM

Hi - basically i have rcovered form the acute phase of Labrin's bbut still suffer form long periods of imbalance. In fact this year I have had constant sensation of imbalance when walking and standing. I can sometimes even feel like I am moving when I am sitting down. This is year 2 of the problem for me. I have had all the tests and it is deffinately an inner ear issue. Any one else out there who feels like this. Please Please let me know. Thanks. Thinking of you all.

XxlDippsxX · 05-16-2003, 03:37 PM

YES i have badly.. been 1 yr for me... all tests came bk normal... ok theres 2 things it may be.. inner ear prob.. which is up to the ent... may operate.. or it could possibly be anxiety..... doc told me as i suffered with it, my body got used to it... i may feel normal but am shadowing it... ??????? lol .... thats what he said... so after an mri, eeg, blood tests, opthamoligist, motion sickness tabs... bla bla bla he finally refered me to an ent... which i have to wait untill march next yr for an appointment.. grrrrrrr (NHS)

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dipps

I Robertson · 05-16-2003, 04:32 PM

Oh thank god - there is some-one who feels the same as me. to be honest it is a funny co-incidence but I too have suffered from anxiety in the past. But I know exactly how to control it and not have it control me. I think that it is not imagined what we are suffering. But what i would say is that it is exagerated likley by us worrying it and paying it alot of attention. But you know they say that people who worry alot and anre basicallly analitical thinkers are actually brighter than the average. Is that a concilation - I am not sure. Any way i deffinately find that If I let myself get really wopund up about it it does seem more severe. But the fact is I have and periods with very little or minimal symptoms and others like this year when it is persistent. What I do believe is that if you stay positive in the belief that at some poinmt we will recover it helps you simply cope with it better. I guess it is like any chronic condition it is a case of mind over matter. I am not saying that i am a happy bunny about it - of course i would be delighted if it went away - please god hurry that bit up. I actually found the ENT doctor really helpful. Aside form any thing else it seems that the vast majority do get over these symptoms it is just very much that it is quiclker in some than in others. Incidentally did yours start with Labr's - do you avoid ecrtain activities, does it put you off participating in activities away from home. Thanks for your reply I really app[recaite it.

Emsybobs · 05-16-2003, 04:45 PM

Me again, I also have the feeling of moving when sitting. Have it at this moment! Are you bad in crowds? I may have already asked you this. Did your ENT say you would recover? What annoys me is, there is no way of telling when. I have good periods and then wham, like now, I feel I am back to where I was 6 mths ago. Very annoying. I am worried the damage may be permanent and I am so scared of that. You are right though, staying positive is the key. Thanks for your advice, you have made me feel better :smile: xxx

I Robertson · 05-16-2003, 05:46 PM

Hi - oh yes i do feel that I am moving even when I am sitting. Tonight I went out to dinner with my husband and kids and although I stuck it out I felt stressed. The symptoms were basically that i was moving all the time although obviously i wasn't. When I feel like this which is alot of the tiome when sitting in an up-right position i get the feeling that I may either faint or that i will be unable to walk properly. To my relief i can say that neither of these things have ever actually happened to me. To answer your question about is this permanent - i spoke with my ENT doc today on this very subject after reading the article about vestibular damage. He assured me that this is like highly unlikely and if this was the case would show up on an MRI scan. I like you also wodered how it was that the symptoms dramatically improve for a period and then wham we are back at the beginning (well not the very acute stage but the off balance and sensation of movement when still bit). he told me that the reason this happens is that the inner ear does in fact kinda recover and the brain compensates hence feeling better. Then a minor thing irritates the inner ear agin (eg: increase in stress levels, minor illness, a reduction in activity e5tc etc) and you got it the old symptoms are back. He assured me that these are not forever and that they will deffionately get better. I think that we have both had periods of remission or at least when we were much better proves his point. It is I guess just an utter pain in the but and we have to wait it out. In my experience it is bettert to try to keep as active as possible during the day this apparently helps to compensate for the imbalance and get the brain to switch of the imbalance sensations.He was at great pains to emphasise that although all these feelings are gross/scary they are actually do us no real harm - so keep going. Yep- I do feel worse when I am in crowded places or out shopping. I think that this is due to several factors, the first is that we are in an unfamiliar enviroment when feeling off balance this increase anxiety levels and quite naturally increases symptoms. The second is that when you are out and about you have to move more like dodge people in super markets etc etc and you are often forced to stand inn positions that you probably avoid at home like ina que to pay for something. Again just keep doing it - if nothing else it will reasuureyou and help to increase your confidence that despite all this off balance nonsense nothing awful does actually happen to you. Incidentally do you feel a bit light-headed at the same time. I can even sometimes feel that not only am I off balance but that the ground is somewhat unstable. Don't you just love these inner ear issues!! Let me know