Unsteady symptoms for months - could it be anxiety?

[Rocker77]

Hello all,

Before I go into my symptoms I just thought I'd give you all a bit of history.

The symptoms mentioned below have also affected me back in 2008 on 2 occasions lasting 5 weeks each time but never as chronic as my current bout of unsteadiness.

Prior to these symptoms starting, I had moved countries, chasing my dream career, and was settling into life here. I decided that my relationship with my girlfriend of 3 years was not working, and broke up with her 3 days before this all started so I am wondering if this is some type of insecurity or anxiety causing this.

Since the mid of march this year I have had the feeling, when standing and sitting on solid surfaces that I am moving, or the floor is moving below me.

When I am in any type of motion I feel no symptoms, whether on a bike, in a car, train, bus etc etc

I also have relief when laying down on the sofa or in bed.

I have not had any spinning vertigo but it certainly feels sometimes like the world is trying to tilt, and that is a horrible feeling.

I feel worst when standing still on a solid surface, when walking I feel like I am on a slightly moving boat.


I have had every balance test conceivable. I have had an MRI and my brain is fine, my ears are also fine and I don't have an inner ear issue. My vision has also passed all tests and the doctors have established this is not an inner ear issue.

The only other condition they believe could be causing these symptoms is migraine associated vertigo, so I have been on migraine preventatives for the past few weeks but no difference in symptoms yet.

I don't feel anxious on my surface but I'm wondering if below I may very well be anxious and this is driving these symptoms. I am trying to settle in a new country and it's all so much harder with dealing with these horrible symptoms that I put off meeting up with people and doing certain things, so as to avoid the symptoms

I would love to know if others thing this could be anxiety driving these physical symptoms ?

[BellaLuna]

Hi Rocker77!

Welcome to AZ...we are glad to have you aboard! This site should help give you the support and advice that you seek. Please feel free to explore the forums, as we have several different ones that may suit your needs.

As far as the off balance and unsteadiness, I have also gotten those same exact symptoms. I also do not get bothered by them when I'm in the car or even laying down. But sitting still or standing will bring out that "moving/swaying" feeling also. Like you, I have also had many tests such as MRI of the brain, neurological tests, CT scan of the brain, vision tests, and bloodwork. All doctors have put it down to anxiety. I know it can get frustrating, but I notice that the more I focus on it the worse it gets. I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone with this! You may want to write up a post about this and put it in the Health Anxiety section of the website...I am sure you will find others who can relate! Enjoy exploring the forum!!

Best Wishes,
Bella

[spazzytastical007]

I know exactly what you mean! I experience this exact thing quite often. Esp when Im sitting or standing still which has made me feel like I always have to be on the go because it drives me crazy and I cant sit still. I also do avoid certain situations or bail out of things because of it. Which just creates more anxiety for me lol. Like you, a lot of times I wont have any other anxiety related symptoms at the time. Its really hard for me to not focus my attention on it. Always makes it so much worse and bring on other symptoms.

[armygirl53]

I know this is somewhat late, and perhaps the unsteadiness is no longer there, but I thought it would be worth a shot to reply anyway, seeing as I've dealt with similar symptoms on and off for nearly a year now. I recently posted about my situation in a new thread a few days back.

I began experiencing similar symptoms in March of last year after weaning off of Lexapro 10mg. I began noticing that, here and there, I would feel as if the ground wasn't solid. I would generally be fine most of the day, but noticed that certain times of the day, my equilibrium seemed to be "off", my vision would become a bit blurry, and I would feel as if the ground was pulling me down.

Throughout the next couple of months, this sensation became much worse and I began experiencing it constantly. I would feel decent in the morning, but by mid-afternoon, the unsteadiness hit me full-force. After experiencing this daily from about April-June, I decided to visit the ER to find out what the issue was. They simply did blood work and found nothing wrong. They weren't anxious to do CT Scans/MRI because they have my medical records (tons of anxiety-related occurrences) on file and chalked it up to GAD. They did prescribe me a 10-day supply of Xanax to alleviate the dizziness, which seemed to only work temporarily.

I wasn't too bothered by the symptoms because I figured that it was yet another physical disturbance caused by my overwhelming anxiety. I am an avid runner and did not let this sensation get to me when it came to my nightly jogging. I don't remember having many panic attacks as a result of the unsteadiness either. It finally went away the week my cousin got married (likely because my mind was focused on the wedding) but once again returned for a couple weeks post-wedding. It finally went away for good in early July, potentially because I was in a new, happy relationship with somebody and was on vacation.

When the symptoms eventually disappeared, I never looked back on them or thought about them again. In fact, I was doing awesome without my medication and it was as if I never experienced anxiety altogether.

Then, at the end of January (this year), I suffered from a mild panic attack in my car while driving. Over the next few days, I realized that the blurry vision returned. With this came the unsteadiness once again. Initially, I remembered the experience I had months before and again chalked it up to anxiety, but the panic attacks suddenly became more frequent following this event. I went to my GP, who claimed that I had fluid in my inner ear which could attribute to the unsteadiness. He prescribed me Augmentin, which I became afraid to take, in fear that I would go into anaphylactic shock. This created a wave of even more panic. When I finally began taking the medication and the unsteadiness still wasn't going away (about a month later), I decided to revisit the ER. The doctor took one look at me, did a few balance tests, and automatically diagnosed me with BPPV and prescribed me Antivert, which didn't work one bit. Just last week, I decided to visit another ER. They did blood work and a CT scan and could not find a thing wrong with me. However, the doctor referred me to a neurologist who I went to this morning.

The neurologist reviewed my CT scan and thought it was absolutely unnecessary to do an MRI/EEG, because when he asked what happened the day I began experiencing the unsteadiness, I told him that I had a panic attack. He automatically knew that anxiety was the culprit and told me that I have worked myself up into a complete frenzy. He did, however, prescribe me a low dose of Effexor for my anxiety/unsteadiness.

I could conclude this much: Anxiety could manifest itself in so many physical ways, from joint pain to balance problems. Throwing oneself into full-blown, chronic anxiety only makes these physical symptoms much worse. From one, simple panic attack that I could have easily blown off, I began obsessively looking up symptoms on the internet, failing to engage in normal, daily activities, and constantly crying/worrying about death. I wasted nearly two months of my life focusing solely on my symptoms, rather than ignoring them and continuing with my life. In turn, they have become much worse and I am experiencing regular panic attacks once again.

I know I posted a new thread regarding this, and offered my advice in that particular thread, but I will restate my opinion here for those who have not come across my thread: move on. Two simple words. If your brain scans have come back clear and doctors can't seem to find anything physically wrong with you, you are most likely going to be just fine. Don't let these anxiety-manifested symptoms consume your life.