Good morning wannabbetter....
Feel free to ask me as many questions as you want. this is a scary and disturbing thing that is going on - who would have imagined that an inner ear thing could cause so much grief, and anxiety. Lots of anxiety..when your head is not working right, it really does make one very anxious, or as you have dscribed it, nervousness.
I will try to answer your questions based on my own personal experience and what I have learned from others.
Nose congestion - yes (sinuses for me)
Confusion - yes, especially when there is too much information coming at me at once - I loose cognitive thinking skills, brain does not seem to keep up with what I need to do sometimes.
Head Fog - yes, and had lots of it. that is the part that is the most disturbing. Just makes you feel you are not really part of what is going on. Because of this feeling, I have dis-associated myself from friends, family, and things that I love to do. I am taking the afternoon off today from work to hang out with my wife, and I am nervous about this, cause I am constantly worrying if my head is going to feel foogy or not. When it is foggy, I am basically done, feel like I cannot function.
Balance off - lots of the time
Had an actual Xray, but I have had a CT Scan in the past
Allergies - there are many things that you could be allergic to in the winter. I am allergic to smoke, wood burning smoke, that will completely plug up my sinuses. So when you mentioned this, the bells and whistles went off - however this may or may not be the case for you.
Shaking upon awakening - not that I am glad to hear this from you, but it did solve a bit of a puzzle that I had not been able to figure out until now - seeing that you are experiencing the same. I am good through the day, and evening, and when I go to bed - but when I wake up in the morning, it is like a fast shaking thing going on - almost like a vibration. It seems to be worst f I am laying on my right side, and seems to go away when I lay on my back. Why, I have no idea, other than that there is a bit of a brain wave disconnect going on.
Also, if I have a nap sometimes, during the day, I will wake up feeling this vibration, shaking feeling then too. It has something to do with sleeping, then waking up ??? Second to the headfog, I find this disturbing as well, and makes me quite anxious, as this is a weird feeling, an unexplained weird feeling.
Up and Down motion - a definate yes, will make me dizzy. I had to quit curling because of it. I noticed a couple of years ago while working in the garden, that if I went from kneeling position to standing on my feet too many times in a row, I would get dizzy. I guess this was the start of it, and should have gone in then to rectify the problem.
Eye Movement - yes, if there is too much stimulation, too much visual going on - it will make me feel foggy, nausious, and sometimes dizzy. Watching TV is generally OK, but if they flash from one scene to the other rapidly and repeatedly, then I loose the ability to follow along. Even scrolling fast on the computer will set me off.
Eye Fog - yes, in my right eye. Again it is weird - I think that I can see OK, things are in focaus, but you described it to a T - like a film over your eye(s). I get this too - which would lead me to think sinuses, as you do have a sinus pocket behind your eyes. So yes, this is part of it too.
Vivid, unusal dreams - yes, all the time. I have restless sleeps, not all the time - but when I do, I end up loosing a few hours sleep.
Medication - I really do not know what to tell youabout this, you need to talk to your doctor. But with this, as David had suggested in the post after yours, anxiety is a big part of this - justthe fear of not knowing what the heck is going on - and the disturbing feeing all of this gives you would put anyone into an anxiety state. I have never had problems with anxiety until this all happened - but I sure do now. Always in the morning - night time for me I am fine. I am on Ativan, one - to help me settle down a bit, but also Ativan falls into the Benz family of drugs, that slow down the nervous system. It is also gven to me to desensatize the nerves in the ears, and this has helped too. Side effect - I have had none, but this does not say that you won't. However, you may not, and if it helps - then what the heck. You might want to try a small dose (.5) and if you do get a side effect, it will not last long, and besides, it could not be worst than what you have already put up with.
Iam so glad if this information is of any value to you. If you want,you can email me - you will find my email address in my profile - that way we can communicate faster, etc.
I have been dealing with this full force for a year now, and have searched for hours to find out solutions, and mostly find some support....which this forum has done for me. With this, knowing how youfeel, I will offer you as much support as I can - cause it sure does help.
Yes - you will get better, you just have to determine for sure what kind of inner ear thing is going on with you - and then determine the root cause - sinues, allergies, etc. From all of your symtoms,which seems to copy mine, you might want your doctor to look at Eustachian Tube Blockage. Also if you find a medication that will help you with your anxiety/nervousness - you are going to feel a whole lot better too!!!!
You have a great day,, and feel free to email me.
David - thanks for your post as well. All information is appreciated...
Gary