Have you ever suffered from any of these problems?

Correct, for me I do not believe it has anything to do with the psychological aspect of vertigo.

Also, for me there are two components to the anxiety. One is the physical where I phsyically feel like I could jump out of my own skin. Second is the looping horrible thoughts and the sometimes feeling of doom. It is scary to me how quickly it can come on and how destructive it is to my life.

One thing I am doing, that so far seems to be working, is getting daily exercise. The Sunday before President's weekend I did a 15 mile, 5,300 ft. elevation gain hike. Then I did my three mile walk to work until Thursday. I decided my body needed some rest so I didn't exercise Thursday and Friday. Well, the weekend rolled around and it was cold and rainy so I had my first lazy weekend in over a year. Monday, President's day, I woke up with anxious thoughts that got progressively worse. I went for a long walk then took some Xanax. Tuesday I walked to and from work and it took until Thursday before the anxiety was gone.

I have been walking to and from work ever since which is about 2 hours of daily exercise. I haven't had any anxiety since. I hope this continues to work for me. It sure is a motivator to get my @ss out of bed so I can get an hour long walk in before work. At this point I think I would take vertigo over anxiety.

I'm editing to add that my vertigo has changed since I came out of remission. I had two attacks in November. Both lasted about an hour and I vomited both times. However, the vertigo didn't seem as violent as they had in the past. I was on the ground spinning, vomiting into a waste basket (I was at work), broke out in a cold sweat and went white as a ghost, but the spinning wasn't as severe.

 

At one time or other, and misdiagnosis by some Quack Dr.s cause we have good insurance.....

Well, ALL of the above.

Ain't that a bitch!

 

I’ve had MM for 14 years now. Shortly after being diagnosed I began to experience panic attacks. They weren’t too bad at first but as time went on they became much worse. I was still working at the time and began finding myself sitting in the parking garage at my job trying to calm myself down before going in to work a 12 hour day of standing on my feet as a hairstylist. Between the MM and the panic attacks I was becoming a wreck. I dreaded the thought of getting up and trying to make it through yet another grueling day.

Eventually my MM rendered me unable to work anymore and the panic attacks really kicked into high gear after that. For some reason, the thought of no longer working sent me spiraling rather than easing the attacks. Plus I had way too much time on my hands to think about things and let those thoughts take over my mind. I became more and more fearful of leaving home and eventually I became housebound. I went several months without leaving my apartment. I wouldn’t even go downstairs to get the mail out of the box which was attached to my front door. I became very depressed to the point of having suicidal thoughts on a daily basis. Honestly, if there had been a gun in my house at the time I’m not sure I’d still be here today. I stayed in my pajamas all day, I barely ate enough to keep myself alive, I couldn’t sleep, I would go days without taking a shower (I went an entire week once) and I became very withdrawn from my family and friends. I wouldn’t even answer the phone if anyone called. I dropped over 50 pounds in a very short period of time and was literally falling apart.

Then I found out my ex was going to have to have major surgery and I knew I’d better do something to pull myself together so I could be there for him. I didn’t want to have to start taking meds to get me through because I was afraid of having a bad reaction to them so I called a friend who had a Health & Wellness Center right across the street from me and had been trying to get me to come and see her for months. She practices Energetic Balancing and Reflexology. I made several appointments with her and ended up cancelling them because I was too fearful of leaving the house and walking those few steps across the street to see her. I finally decided if things were ever going to change for me I had to take the bull by the horns and get myself out the door no matter what.

So I started out by walking down the stairs the first day and I survived it all the while panicking, sweating, disoriented and extremely nauseous. The next day I walked out my front door and stepped outside; survived that too. Then I went to the end of my driveway and every day after that I went just a little farther than I had the day before until eventually I found myself making it all the way around my block. I then called my friend again and told her I was ready to see her. With a lot of love and patience on her part she taught me breathing techniques, how to see things in a different light before allowing them to take over my thoughts completely and gave me some relaxation exercises to do at home and some self-help, motivational type tapes to listen to. To say that my friend saved my life and my sanity is not an understatement and I am eternally grateful to her for that.

So to make an already long story a little shorter, I finally got to the point where my panic attacks became less and less severe. I started getting out more, socializing again AND I made it through a 15 hour day at the hospital while my ex had surgery. Even when they came out and told me there were some complications, I managed to stay calm and not go into a tizzy and start panicking.

My apologies for this rather lengthy post but I wanted to share this with all of you in the hopes that it may give a little inspiration to those of you suffering with panic/anxiety attacks. Never give up hope trying to find something that will work for you whether it be professional help, medication, meditation etc. I know firsthand it’s not an easy thing to overcome but there is always hope and help and with a lot of hard work and determination it really can get better.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend and good health my friends.
Lulu

 

sirlanc are you wondering if those who ended up manifesting anxiety/panic/depression after their MM exploded, were already predisposed toward mental health conditions? MM simply triggered it. Had it not been MM then it would have been something else.

Do you think that those who have had pretty bad episodes, and/or continue to have them, yet lack the anxiety/panic/depression condition (despite the severity of their disease), are simply not predisposed toward mental health condition?

Can you please explain your thoughts on this?

 

There are some reasons to think this is the case. Panic attacks have inheritance factors but of course people get it who don't have it in the family. There is up 90% chance that if an identical twin has panic attacks his twin will have it as well, no matter if they grew up in the same house or not. Other things that point to hereditary factors are its more common with females and it usually starts at an early age. A chronic condition can contribute as well but in some cases including MD, panic might be the trigger for the medical conditions episodes (e.g. a panic attack can trigger vertigo, nausea and even tinnitus)

 

The nature/nurture coupling is well known by most everyone. What I'm hearing you say, however, is that nurture plays a bigger role in this case? We have an attack, we panic, we learn to associate panic with an MM attack so then when we don't have attacks, the panic/anxiety reactions remain because we've conditioned ourselves to generalize the reactions.

Am I reading your post accurately?

 

just sharing the stats, but for sure panic attacks are not a symptom of MD and are not part of a formal dx. i think MD might be a trigger in some, but not the cause.

 

I had never had an anxiety attack until after a particularly disturbing MM episode -- the first time they told me my hearing was never coming back -- the day I was supposed to see John Mayer in concert and two days before I was to get on a plane and fly 3000 miles to CA! A few weeks later, I started not being able to breathe and was convinced I was dying. That went on for awhile and it took me a long time to put the two events together. As I've become used to living with this disease, I've also learned how to manage the anxiety.

BUT, and this is a big but, I've often wondered if it was PTSD related -- long-delayed after years of domestic abuse (not my current hubby!) At any rate, the anxiety is under control and the depression is manageable without medication, so it's enough right now for me to be better. I don't know if I'll find the root cause.

 

You might find this helpful: http://www.bookcreationcoach.com/BookCC/excerpts/exc_psych_mind.htm

 

Very interesting, Intrepid. Thanks for sharing.

 

When I have more time I am going to look into the connection between panic/anxiety disorders and vestibular disorders. This is an abstract from an interesting journal published in the Annals of Clinical Psychiatry. It dates back to 1998. I downloaded the full article but don't have time to read it right now.

The impact of cognitions on the development of panic and somatoform disorders: a prospective study in patients with vestibular neuritis.

F. GODEMANN1,2*, A. SCHABOWSKA1, B. NAETEBUSCH1 , A. HEINZ1
AND A. STRO¨ HLE1
1 Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charite´ University Medical Centre, Campus Charite´ Mitte,
Berlin, Germany; 2 Centre for Neurology, Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, St. Joseph Hospital, Berlin, Germany

ABSTRACT
Background. There is a high incidence of panic and somatoform disorders after vestibular neuritis.
However, the occurrence of psychiatric disorders has been shown to be unrelated to persistent
functional vestibular impairment. The aim of the present study was to examine the role played by
cognitions in the development of panic and somatoform disorders.

Method. In a 2-year prospective study, cognitions were recorded at various stages using the
Agoraphobic Cognitions Questionnaire and Body Sensations Questionnaire. Our analysis focused
on whether body-related anxiety or panic-related thoughts can predict the development of a panic
or somatoform disorder.

Results. Fear arising on the first day of an acute vestibular episode did not predict the development
of panic or somatoform disorders. One week after the dysfunction, however, the fear of vertigo was
a significant predictor, explaining 20% of the variance in the development of either disorder. After
6 weeks, persistent fear of vertigo or vomiting predicted approximately 30% of the variance,
and after 6 months panic-related thoughts predicted 40% of the variance and, with the inclusion
of body-related fears, as much as 60% of the variance in the development of panic or somatoform
disorders.

Conclusion. Our data confirm prospectively a number of fundamental assumptions of cognitive
theory concerning the development of anxiety disorders. Subjects who experience vertigo as particularly
alarming focus more intensely than other patients on the negative symptoms they perceive
as being related to the disorder. Patients with panic-related cognitions were prone to develop panic
or somatoform disorders.

 

This is another interesting article which confirms what some have said on this forum over the years.

Which comes first? Psychogenic dizziness versus otogenic anxiety:

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the hypotheses that physical neurotologic conditions may trigger anxiety disorders (otogenic pattern of illness), that psychiatric disorders may produce dizziness (psychogenic pattern), and that risk factors for these syndromes may be identified. Study Design: Retrospective review of all patients (N = 132) treated at a tertiary care balance center from 1998 to 2002 for psychogenic dizziness with or without physical neurotologic illnesses. Methods: All patients underwent comprehensive neurotologic and psychiatric evaluations with attention to the longitudinal course of symptoms and risk factors for psychopathology. Patients were grouped according to the condition first causing dizziness. Risk factors were compared across groups. Results: Three equally prevalent patterns of illness were found: anxiety disorders as the sole cause of dizziness (33% of cases), neurotologic conditions exacerbating preexisting psychiatric disorders (34%), and neurotologic conditions triggering new anxiety or depressive disorders (33%). Panic disorder and agoraphobia were significantly more prevalent than less severe phobias in the first two groups, whereas the opposite pattern existed in the third group (P < .0001). More patients in the first two groups had risk factors for anxiety disorders (P < .05). Depression was not a primary cause of dizziness in any patient. Vestibular neuronitis, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, and migraine were the most common neurotologic conditions.

Conclusions: These data support the hypothesis that physical neurotologic conditions may trigger psychopathology as often as primary anxiety disorders cause dizziness. A third pattern appears to be equally common wherein physical neurotologic conditions exacerbate preexisting psychiatric illnesses. Individuals at risk for anxiety disorders may be more likely to have primary psychopathology.

Which comes first? psychogenic dizziness versus otogenic anxiety†

Jeffrey P. Staab MD, MS1,3,*,
Michael J. Ruckenstein MD2,3

Article first published online: 3 SEP 2010 The Laryngoscope

 

What about positional vertigo while they are MaKing you move to take body pics at the ER??

Now, that is not fun!!

How is everyone?

 

Well - all my "mental" issues came after the chicken and got worse with the more eggs that were hatched. If I could just get out of the house enough, I might find a doctor who could help me :-\

 

I believe for many people with a chronic illness that upsets their balance, sends them dropping to the floor without warning, turns their ceilings into floors and floors into ceilings, takes away their hearing, prevents them from getting a good night's rest because the room turns, the bed moves, their stomachs lurch, their tinnitus screams, etc. it is very, very challenging to get about their days WITHOUT any anxiety at all.

The only way this can be achieved is (perhaps) with medication - Xanax, Ativan, Valium for frayed nerves and a frayed vestibular system, alcohol for sedation, anti-depressants for mood disorders.

I don't think a person with none of the above in his/her system can tackle long periods of constant MM assault and be absolutely fine.

It is going to affect people on a psychological level in some way. The degrees may vary but I doubt anybody is immune from a mental health standpoint.

 

Totally agree. No one with this condition can or should be asked to cope for too long out a drink.

 

Try not drinking for 6 months and see if you cope as well as you do

 

Why the hell would anyone go and do a stupid thing like that?

 

Why not?

 

Believe it or not, I actually went the whole summer of 2009 without touching a drop of alcohol. At that time my hearing issues were relentless and nothing seemed to be working. I decided that I needed to give my body time to heal, and I didn't want to increase its workload by metabolizing booze. It didn't affect my symptoms one way or the other, and it really did not affect my coping, either.