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Dizziness with anxiety

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Posted 6/5/2016 12:11 AM (GMT 0)
I've been getting sporadic panic episodes these last few months that begin with a sense of vertigo or dizziness. I sort of feel like I just got off a boat, or that I've been drinking. I know it's anxiety because then my heart starts to pound and I reach for a xanax. I also get brain zaps, usually at night when I am resting, before bed.

Things seemed to be improving the last few weeks and this week things took a nose dive and I was back to the dizzy feelings, sense of panic.

I am coming to the conclusion I need a medication daily until I get through this (I am practicing CBT and seeing a new therapist to practice mindfulness). But this won't help me in the present as that will take time.

So I have two different p-docs. One says Prozac. The other says Gabapentin. I was on Paxil (another SSRI like Prozac) for 14 years. I have been off the meds for 9 months. I have only taken Xanax as needed (and only within the last three months when I started to get the anxiety symptoms). I am weary of taking another SSRI seeing how hard it was to get off of Paxil (I'm still feeling withdrawal symptoms this many months out).

Gabapentin is a drug for epilepsy which seems to work well for anxiety and seems well tolerated to many.

I am afraid of both drugs. I don't know which would be the safer route for me to go. The Gabapentin, I've been told, will leave my system quickly if I don't respond to it. The Prozac, I have no idea.

I am confused as what to do. Should I seek a 3rd opinion? That might take weeks to get a new appointment. I'm really torn and upset by my current circumstances.
Posted 6/5/2016 12:33 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Toulouse...

I don't have any experience with Gabapentin, but I did try Prozac at one point in time. I do remember it made my anxiety worse, and I stopped taking it. Prozac is an anti-depressant, so it's kind of an "upper", but there are some people that have had success with it for anxiety issues. I just wasn't one of them.

I refuse to take any more SSRI'S myself, not only because of the withdrawal, but I had a terrible time with weight gain from every one I took.

I'm strictly on Xanax now, 3 times a day, for a few years, and I have no plans of going off of it. It's the only thing that works for me. So I stick with what I know helps.

Wish I could be of more help to you, but maybe someone else will come along and have better advice. Good luck!

Fox
Posted 6/5/2016 12:35 AM (GMT 0)
T.,

I am sorry you are experiencing a rough patch lately. :( It is fantastic that you are working in therapy...but yes...you could benefit from an Rx for the present time, certainly!

I personally would go with the Gabapentin. I have read many good things regarding the effects of GABA on the anxious brain. (though not the same, GABA and Gabapentin are similar in structure)

...another consideration might be Buspar...which can help control many of the physical symptoms you mention. Perhaps you can inquire about this with your P-doc next appointment. ..

I wish you the best in finding the best option for you! Keep us updated so we can keep you in support. :)

S.C.
Posted 6/5/2016 1:18 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for the responses. I just contacted my first p-doc who said Prozac and told him about the 2nd opinion on the Gabapentin and he thought it was a good choice for me and that I should start the Gabapentin, up 100mg twice to three times daily. Between the two p-docs and my neurologist (who I mentioned this too, and said it does work), I think that's enough for me to feel safe trying it out.

He said he sees good results from it and the only side effect he has seen is fatigue, which I should watch out for. I will start it in the morning tomorrow and see how it goes.
Posted 6/5/2016 4:18 AM (GMT 0)
Toulouse, the vertigo and dizziness go hand in hand with panic and anxiety as far back as i have been able to research, Peace

Larry ***
Posted 6/5/2016 1:28 PM (GMT 0)
I had the same kind of dizziness you are talking about! Just a couple months ago, I started feeling dizzy and had "brain zaps" that felt like little burst of adrenaline. This not being one of my normal anxiety symptoms, I was freaking out. I even went to the ER. Now, about two months later, the dizziness has almost totally subsided. I just feel a little from time to time.

As for the Prozac/gaba, I agree with SC and Fox and would try out the gaba. Prozac is supposed to be one of the more stimulating SSRIs, which sometimes doesn't do well with people who have just anxiety (without depression).
Posted 6/7/2016 8:50 AM (GMT 0)
Hi

Sorry to hear you are having a tough time at the moment.

I am also having a lot of dizziness at the moment and it is unsettling for me I think it is a combination of anxiety and possibly a trapped nerve in my neck which i'm just looking into.

I take Prozac at the moment and have found it to be a good medication but we are all different when it comes to meds and what works well for one person may not work as well for another.

I hope the Gabapentin works well for you keep us posted.

Hibee
Posted 6/7/2016 12:35 PM (GMT 0)
Feeling dizzy/off balance is my worst symptom. I hate it. I often wonder if that one symptom were gone would I feel anxiety as much as I do?

I'm using Ativan at the moment and I try and resist it as much as possible. I am considering going on meds so I can just move on with my life.

You are not alone.
Posted 6/7/2016 10:56 PM (GMT 0)
Wednesday I went to the emergency room due to panic attacks associated with dizziness. I was prescribed 1mg of Ativan which did nothing for me except help me sleep. I was prescribed 3 pills for 3 days to take at bedtime, I took the last pill on Saturday. I'm still experiencing panic attacks, I'm still dizzy like heavy head feeling like I've been on a boat. I've taken motion sickness medicine meclizine and that hasn't worked either to stop dizziness except make me drowsy it's rather discouraging
Posted 6/7/2016 11:00 PM (GMT 0)
Any pills or medicine i took only made my anxiety worse than before. I have found other ways to stay anxiety free though. good luck
Posted 6/8/2016 1:35 AM (GMT 0)
Toulouse, it's all Anxiety I Hate it. I go through bouts of having the dizziness it's really annoying. I end up scaring myself into a panic I'm like maybe my bp low or high so I check it and then I check my ekg and I'm like ok it's just anxiety ughhhh... It will pass but it does come in spurts could last a week a day whatever but you will be fine. Gabapentin is also used as a pain med slot of my patients are on it as well.
Posted 6/8/2016 10:21 AM (GMT 0)
I had nausea and weakness all day and was awake all night with a racing heart. I am going to bite the bullet and try the Gabapentin. I am going to try not to be anxious or worried about trying it. Be been told and read many positive reviews on it. I hope it works for me.
Posted 6/8/2016 1:30 PM (GMT 0)
I have been feeling the same way so I completely understand how frustrating this is. I already went to the doctor and she said that I am okay and that if the dizziness continues she can do blood work next week.

I hope that you feel better soon... It is so hard to feel this way and believe that is is only in your head...

Best of luck :)
Posted 6/8/2016 6:15 PM (GMT 0)
T.,

Wishing you the best with your start up!! Stay positive and expect only good things!

S.C.
Posted 6/8/2016 9:11 PM (GMT 0)
Let us know how the gabapentin works! Wishing you all the positivity in the world!
Posted 6/9/2016 1:13 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks for all the well wishes. But I'm putting the breaks on the Gabapentin. After trying to figure out what's been going on lately, talking with my doctor, and others who know about Benzo withdrawal, it seems more likely that I am experiencing withdrawal symptoms associated with my Xanax use. Things really set in yesterday when I felt like I was in severe withdrawal again (like I was from Paxil last year). I knew this wasn't just anxiety, but withdrawal. My brain was craving a chemical and it was bad. It didn't help that I took magnesium a couple times in the last week, which makes benzo withdrawal worse. So for me, not knowing my body was starting to become dependent on the xanax, it seemed to come out of nowhere. I was doing so well until a week ago or so, and now it all makes sense. The dizziness, the increased anxiety, agitation, nausea, sleep problems, sweating, feeling weak in the legs, pounding heart, flu-feeling, shivering, yeah - that's withdrawal.
So, I feel better knowing what it is I'm likely going through. And my plan of action is to taper off the xanax (with my doctor's help) as well as doing Mindfulness therapy sessions 2x a week (until I start to get back to baseline). Today I feel about 60-70% better than yesterday. Maybe a little fatigued, and a little down but better overall.
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