hello again, and anxiety sucks

Hi, I was here last year but had to re-register because I have a new email.

I've had episodes of extreme dizziness/feeling like I will pass out/shakiness for over 2 years now. first happened on my drive to work (i had an hour commute). pulled over at a gas station and put my head between my knees, eventually was able to get out of the car and buy an orange juice. i first attributed these episodes to low blood sugar, because i was never a breakfast eater. now i work from home. thank goodness. and I eat every 2-3 hours.

I've had a brain mri, extensive blood work, hormone testing, had my inner ear checked, holter monitor. everything was normal except i did pass out during a tilt table test. was told to increase my water and salt intake, and not let myself get too warm. sometimes my blood pressure does go kind of low (90/60, 85/55 at its lowest) but many times when i feel dizzy and like i might pass out my blood pressure is fine (110/75). can you tell i own a bp monitor and check often? :)

i have been working with a therapist for about 8 months now to help me through this and help with anxiety. I have had fewer episodes than last year, but I still pretty much do not drive or go anywhere by myself.

today I had a major episode while getting a massage (!) how can anything be less anxiety provoking than that? I've been getting regular massage for years and it's helped me both mentally and physically (back broken in car accident years ago). laying on the table, sudden severe dizziness, felt like I would pass out, had to ask my husband to come take me home.

I also just started taking progesterone, because these episodes get much worse around the time of my period, and i've looked into the connection between low progesterone and panic attacks , possibly perimenopause.
I'm 37 and there is a lot online about dizziness and panic as perimenopause symptoms (something dr.'s dont usually tell you about). the progesterone had made me feel more calm, but i still had this horrible episode.

I am a little nervous because my husband will be away for a business trip tomorrow thru sunday. i used to be so independent, a do-it-all-on-my-own, travel across country by myself kind of person. now i feel like such a mess. and feeling so discouraged. this is 2 going on 3 years living like this. not always this down but this episode at the massage therapist really got to me. feel like i will never be normal again.

right now my theory is that I have a combination of some kind of medical issue (vaso vagal, maybe perimenopause?) combined with anxiety.

thanks for listening. just wanted to re-introduce myself, and be able to share with other people who might be able to relate. my husband is sometimes supportive, sometimes impatient with this, but just doesn't understand. and i dont blame him really, if you haven't lived through it , it would be hard to .

i'm glad this forum is here and that people share their experiences because even when i'm not posting, it helps to read what people write and know you're not alone in this.

Welcome back Littlewing,

Glad you decided to revisit.

First let me say you are not alone. I'm not a doctor, so none of this is medical advice, but I'm sharing what I can relate to from my own life, okay?

Hormones are very powerful, and when they fluctuate, our minds and bodies can feel almost like foreign objects to us.

You said you had "hormone testing" done in your lab work? And what was the result? What was the dx given to you as to why they rx'd progesterone?

It sounds like you're being pretty thorough with getting your health checked out, and the more you can rule things out, the more you can narrow other things down. So that's a good thing.

I can only speak for myself, but when my Husband has to travel, I find my anxiety goes way up, even when there's not a thing to feel anxious about. I can't sleep without him in the bed (the dog comes in handy, but it's just not the same). Even though we stay in communication, there's this underlying anxiety just from knowing he's not home.

Perhaps that's causing a trigger of events for you right now?

For the record, I've had panic attacks at massage before. But for me, I have personal "issues" where I don't like to be touched. So straight out of the gate, that makes this quite an endeavor for me. But I wanted to mention it to you because it's happened to me, and I understand the experience, if the circumstances are different.




M.

Hi LW and welcome back.

I am sorry to hear of your recent scare. I have had similar issues, so know that you are not alone.

about a six weeks ago, my husband had to travel out of the country for business. He has been on many business trips within the states, but never abroad, so I was a little on edge...but nothing unusal, so I thought.

Well the third night that he was gone was a Friday, so my daughter and I went out to eat at her favorite restaurant. It is always noisy and crowded, but that is not a problem.  However, they kept getting our order wrong, and pretty soon, we had two waitresses and a manager all standing around our table...causing too much attention for me all of a sudden. I got hit with a severe attack of vertigo, like I had never experienced before. It shook me up to say the least. It was not like anything that I had experienced before. I felt like I could not distinguish up or down, and that the world was spinning around and around me. I did not however allow panic to over take me, and used my breathing techniques to calm myself down, and recovered fairly quickly.

Long story short, I got through the episode, and have since made two successful trips solo, that I was concerned about since having that disorienting and scary experience. I made a road trip of several hours on my own, as well as flying alone to see a friend (our own Kitt) in another state, all without any anxiety or incident.

I chalk it up to anxiety, perimenopause that you mentioned and migraine headaches that can bring about such symptoms.

I bring it up to let you know that though we go through episodes that alarm us, and are frightening...we are stronger than the things that challenge us.

You can put this latest dizzy spell behind you, and know that you are better equipped to handle anything that comes your way in the future.

I am sure that you will do fine as your husband is away, and you have us here to support and cheer you on.

Post everyday if you need to. We will be here.:)

I hope that you are feeling better now, and that tomorrow is a day full of calm and hope and faith that things can get better.

Talk to you soon,

Scaredy Cat