Dizziness, vision problems, sinus pressure, anxiety

[BrittL33]

Hi Everyone,
I've been experiencing dizziness (double vision, swaying back and forth) as well as some vertigo, along with the sensation that I am falling. I also have shimmering black dots in my vision (hard to explain), almost as if my eyes have trouble adjusting to light but 24/7. I have a "lump" in the back of my throat on the top and I am constantly swallowing and clearing my throat. I also have sever sinus pressure at times, right in between my eyes, around the top of my nose and under my eyes. This also accompanies a raging headache. To make matters worse I also feel like I am shaking all the time and feel very anxious/ worried as well as depressed sometimes because these symptoms have greatly affected my life.
I had to quit my job, my university studies as well as lost my social life because of this ailment.
I am only 19 years old.
I have been having these symptoms for 8 months now and have seen many doctors, and have had pretty much every test you can think of with nothing noteworthy enough being shown to be the cause of all of this. It is extremely discouraging to say the least.
Please if anyone have these symptoms as well and has any positive insight, let me know!

[Paderla Anitha, DNB]

Hi, the condition needs proper evaluation. The cause could be an inner ear problem. Dizziness can have different sensations.  If your dizziness feels like you are spinning or the room is spinning (and especially if associated with nausea or vomiting), this might be due to an inner ear problem. Also, inflammation in the nose and sinuses can cause inflammation around the Eustachian tube, which is the tube that runs from the back of the nose to the middle ear and is responsible for draining the middle ear of fluid.  If there is Eustachian tube dysfunction from nose or sinus inflammation, fluid can remain in the middle ear which can lead to dizziness. Discuss these options with your doctor when you happen to meet him next time. Good luck with your therapy. Regards.

[BrittL33]

I will definitely bring these things up next time I see my doctor.
Thank you for the insight!

[gaza260]

Hi, I can see this is a post from last year and just wanted to share my experience, if I may, the symtoms you have noted are the same as what has been troubling me for years (and many others if you research anxiety forums) and relate more I believe to the heightened state of anxiety you are in or more commonly known as nervous sensitivity. This state creates all kinds of sensation that would normally not bother us too greatly and be more background issues, than in your face and on top of us. I hope you have managed to control your syptoms to some degree, but I would guess this will always be apart of who we are and when we feel fatigued, tired, or overly stressed these sensation come rushing forward and present themselves. Took a long time for me to understand what was happening, the anxiety state, is an high arousel state of consciousness, where the full concentration of the mind is fixed upon keeping the body protected. These apparently important messages bring us into direct contact with the actual sensation of the entire body, and everytime a change is experienced, whether that be ear pressure, or sinus drainage, to heart palpitations etc we are acutely aware of that change and pump adrenal into our system. These sensation tend to startle us and we become increasingly attuned to the body we reside in. As the sensitization increases so does the body's tension mechanism, designed for us to fight or flee in the event of danger. Over reactive to the current situations stimulated in the physical body we intensify the feeling and we become more aware of the sensory movements or changes the body is making. When we calm a little these episode setlle back into the background (somewhat). Under normal states we would not necessarily notice the conditions, but if we have been under too much or increased stress we begin to become tired, so the body heightens the emotions and feelings. I have had the sinus pressure, head spinning, pain between my eyes, and many, many other sensations that caused me to be very troubled and missed many days off work. The hardest part is bringing these over-reacting and acute sensations down a notch or two, or as Dr Claire Weekes puts it 'reducing the volume' so it is more background noise than foreground drama. You will need to use meditation, music, walks along the beach etc, things that make you relax and feel peaceful. Use your mind to disengage from the stressors of life and find contentment in the way you live each day. I hope this is of some help. Good luck.

[litl]

Very interesting...yes this sounds a lot like the primitive (reptilian) system excessive arousal.  The more cortisol you pump out (stress hormone) the more rumination (thinking about something over and over) becomes imprinted in the brain.