What is the latest on your condition? I have similar symptoms and these are being investigated but no solution as yet.
I am female from Malaysia, 46 years old and I also have very similar problems and as u said it only happens when I drive on the highways at high speeds. No problem when driving in the city. I feel unbalanced particularly when the road turns right and then the sensation of losing my balance comes, to the point I have to slow down, sometimes to 50 km/h to take the corner safely. I also checked with ENT and Doctor said no problem with my inner ear. I have a feeling it could be due to either dry eyes or perhaps also my diabetes. The problem is I enjoy traveling in my car and this has definitely impaired my love for traveling. I really someone has some explanation to my problem.
Hi. Have you found answers yet? Just wondering.
I have the same symptoms. Were you able to find out anything?
Hello fellow anxious dizzy drivers - I may have found a simple and free solution to our problems - BREATH - please read on: I'm a 30 year old male from New Zealand and have had pretty much all the symptoms of above posts, slowly getting worse over the past 6 years since I developed OOS and also put my lower back out when I was 24 (which was basically a result of terrible posture, weak core strength and a high pressure job with a lot of time spent at a badly structured computer station).
I was anxious about the symptoms, but they only became a debilitating problem for me at the end of 2009 when I had a panic attack while driving at high speed on the motorway. I was very stressed at the the time as I was intensively working on a feature film script and also about to get married!
I found this forum 3 or four months ago and began occupational rehabilitation therapy after reading the post about somatoform syndrome. This has been a big help with relieving the neck pain and building better postural strength so that I can actually sit in a healthy position while driving i.e. not slumped forward with my neck tilted and pinched at the back - basically retraining my body so as to get rid of all the old bad muscle memory.
But my big break through was when I went to a new GP recently for a check up. I had it in my head that I might have an inner ear infection and that might relate to the dizzyness etc, but alas no infection to blame - however when we discussed my symptoms of dizzyness, loss of balance, confusion, anxiety, panic attacks, erratic heart beats etc she clicked that all the symptoms where text book HYPERVENTILATION SYNDROME. I have unknowingly been an "under-breather", which means I take tiny short breaths into my lungs. This under-breathing causes us to have a lack of oxygen and when our body doesn't get enough oxygen we panic and feel faint and dizzy - it's a primitive fight or flight type reaction, but it's very unhealthy to be living in a constant state of anxiety about fight or flight!
I have only just started to retrain my breathing technique but have already noticed that if I catch myself feeling dizzy I just need to start taking healthy breaths in and out again (simply put: 3 seconds breath into diaphram - not into chest - and 4 seconds out) I also plan to take up meditation classes to help with my breathing retraining and you probably should too, but in the meantime do a search for healthy breathing techniques/exercises and start practicing!
I hope this helps!
All the best
Luke
I too feel the same but i feel i know why it is this way. At nights the roads are pretty dark at the first place and its very calm inside the cabin which after some times makes the brain activity weak, airconditioner even worsens the situation, iam sure the people who are facing problem are running the car with airconditoner ON. The few old cars airconditioner produces small percentages of carbon monoxide which actually makes the person driving car drowsy, i would recemmond to roll down your windows atleast for 5 mins for every 30 or 40 mins of drive to take fresh air which you can clearly see the results and try to avoid to see opposite headlights directly, hope this helps.
I too suffered from many of the same symptoms outlined in so many of the posts. Over a year later, I'm able to drive without too much distress and dizziness. While it is not perfect, I am no longer petrified of driving. I'll give more of my details and bio at the bottom of the post, but here are the actions that I took to improve my case:
1) I underwent Balance Retraining Therapy. This involved a number of tests and therapies, but the one that produced the best results was an exercise where I looked at a letter, about 2 inches high, placed at eye level on the wall 4 feet in front of me. Then, I moved my head back and forth about once per second for 15 seconds, then up and down for 15 seconds at the same cadence, and finally back and forth for 15 more seconds all the time while focusing on the letter on the wall trying to keep the letter stationary. I did this for about 3 days. After 3 days, I performed this action twice per day, the second time the pace was quickened and the head didn't move as far. Similar to if you shook your head to indicate "no". Performing this action more than this does not help, in fact it can hurt. I saw a huge improvement after 3 day.
2) I started allergy shots. I was having problems with seasonal allergies that resulted in sinus drainage. This has helped a little.
3) I use a steroid nose spray before bedtime during the times of the year when pollens are at their worst and I experience significant sinus drainage. This too has helped some.
All of my hearing and inner ear testing came back as normal. No problems with blood sugar, pressure or any other test. It wasn't until I took the balance tests where I was moving my head back and forth while starring at the dot on the wall did it become clear that something was amiss. The dot was moving all over the place. As it was explained to me, balance problems can still go undetected even if the normal ear, nose, and throat hearing and balance tests are performed. This was my case where I passed all those tests without identifying any underlying problem.
The other point to note is that balance is a combination of sight, inner ear balance, and to some extent, touch. The "floating sensation" that you experience is a result of the brain unable to discern between what your eyes see and your inner ear detects from a balance standpoint. As it was explained to me, when the brain cannot discern what is going on, it gives you that "dizzy feeling" because it can't figure out which input is correct. The balance retraining therapy is to get the inner ear back in sync with what the eyes are seeing, thereby bringing the two into sync.
Just a short bio: My problem manifested itself when I was 52 years old, although I had on and off problems before, usually when I was suffering from allergies. I'm a male in good health.I underwent all the testing through my ear, nose and throat doctor. Like most of you, explaining this problem made me sound like I was nuts. It occurred worse when I was driving on a multi-lane highway with barriers on each side faster than 50 mph. There were occasions when I was very tired, the problem occurred at speeds as low as 35 mph. One side-effect is that I have a tendency to experience anticipatory anxiety. That's what I'm battling now. The way that I have worked through this problem is by driving on multi-lane highways when I'm feeling my best. This reinforces (in my mind) that I can drive on these roads and be relaxed while I drive. After 1 year, I'm just about over this problem, but I still have bad days due to sinus problems or occasional anticipatory anxiety where I think too much about the road where I've experience the problem in the past. It is tough to forget those roadways where I've become dizzy and then experience an anxiety attack so bad that I could barely drive off the highway because I was violently shaking.
I hope that maybe my experience can help those of you who still suffer from this problem. There is help. Search for "Balance Retraining Therapy" for a location in your area to see if they can help. Determine if there is a correlation between sinus problems and days where the problem is worse. Possibly a combination therapy will work for you too. Best of luck!
Hello all, as mentioned above, there is another post/thread on this topic and within the past 24 hours I have requested anyone who is still suffering from these similar symptoms to please let me know who you are. Once I have an idea of how many still are, I will post the steps to give relief to some or all of you. I will have a few questions to ask such as current medications and such, so please feel free to join me over here:
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Neurology/Dizzy--and-Blur-Vision-while-driving/show/11737
I've had this problem too I go to the dr in march. I also feel like my head will explode when I stand up at times
I feel the same exact way and I am also a diabetic.
Hi folks, I was driving home tonight on a 2.5 hour stretch and suddenly felt a "disequilibrium." I have had similar symptoms for years but it was intermittent so it is hard to trace. At first I thought it might have been some food I ate. Then I thought maybe it was the air conditioner. So I pulled over on the next exit and parked for 15 minutes and tried to breath deeply. As I drove home, it occurred to me that I was experiencing a LOSS OF DEPTH PERCEPTION (esp. since this "vertigo" occurs mostly at night, but not exclusively). I was able to re-train my eyes to look at signs in the distance and tracking them as they approach, then focusing on the next sign, and so on. In this way I was able to continue driving despite the "disequilibrium" I experienced. I hope this may be of help to someone next time they run into a similar experience!
Best regards.
Have you recover? i have same problem too, Im malaysian
Please let me know if you have found a solution to your problem! I have been having the same problem for years. It's always on the highway going over 55mph and whenever there are turns to the left or the right (also, going downhill). I have severe problems when driving through the mountains in West Virginia and Kentucky. I am able to drive normally on straight flat highways (e.g. Ohio, Indiana,etc.). I feel like I'm off balance and the car is going to flip over. I have been to a neurologist and everything is fine, my inner ear is fine, and otherwise healthy (e.g. no high blood pressure, allergies, etc.). This is really impacting my ability to travel by car. Please let me know if you have had any success in resolving your issue. Interestingly, my sister has the same problem
It's 2012, and I have had the same problems as everyone else. I just heard about something called vertical heterophoria. Apparently one eye sees higher than the other, so the brain has to adjust. This can cause dizzyness, headaches, anxiety and other symptoms. If I have this, it can be fixed by adding a prism to my glasses. I sure hope it works because I had my worst driving dizzyness ever yesterday. The dr. Is in Michigan, so I'm going to fly out. I'll repost after to let you know if it works.
do not waste your money. I wasted $3500 without any benefits. This is not a vision problem Unless you have depth perception issue.
Jan 2013 same problem..felt it the first time one year ago.
Thought it was related to years of night shifts, lots of hours in front of computer.
After reading above posts, I am thinking my problem is related to Breath. Do have a breath problem.
Now,
Driving! all the windows pulled up, heater/ac;no fresh air in
Home! all the windows closed heater/ac on; no fresh air in
Home to car! walk only a few steps
Car to office walk only a few steps again
Every move! car
Exercise! none (too little..)
Surely all these contributed to my driving issue on the highway today
No problem at all in the city.
On the highway, I feel going in the air, off balance..
I will practice what ""jjb2010 Nov 14, 2010" mentioned
"I looked at a letter, about 2 inches high, placed at eye level on the wall 4 feet in front of me. Then, I moved my head back and forth about once per second for 15 seconds, then up and down for 15 seconds at the same cadence, and finally back and forth for 15 more seconds all the time while focusing on the letter on the wall trying to keep the letter stationary"
Good luck to you all.
Whilst doing the eye exercise above just now it, it occured to me that the object was at times slightly out of focus as it moved towards or outside the full field of view of my spectacles. Bearing in mind that a few years ago I happily drove a Transit van to my son's university and back - around 550 miles - in a day, without any of the usual symptoms of vertigo I normally get in a car I'm wondering whether spectacle wearing has any bearing on this. The Transit had a much higher driving position so that I would have been looking downwards consistently through the centre of my spectacles, rather than making use of the more more marginal focus towards the top of the glasses. Just a thought - perhaps I should trial contact lenses...??
Hi, Also got this problem.
My temporary solution is, while your driving or even not in driving and then you feel dizzy and hard to breath, the first thing to do is don't stop driving but you must slow down (if your driving) and relax your mind. Make Exercise Breathing. I breath in diaphragm not in lungs because you will get in Hyperventilation, Nausea and Palpitation. Inhale from Nose and pause for 2-3 seconds then Exhale from your mouth slowly. Dont overbreath, take a sit and get also fresh air. Do this and you will feel relax.
I've been heavy drinker of Coffee and I think it was the reason why I got this problem because of Caffeine, so I quit. I also lacks of sleep and exercise.
I also visited my Doctors. They check my eyes, ears, blood pressure, cholesterol, uric acid, ECG, sugar but they are boundary normal.
I'm also Overweight and I'm only 23 years old.
So I made up my mind to hit the Gym, Eat good foods, avoid junk foods and soft drinks and I sleep more than 7 hours even I woke up early, I push my self to get 7 or more time to sleep.
My Doctor also told me that maybe my Anxiety got higher and one of the solution is to get a Self Medication.
I hope my advice will works.
I'll update you guys.
Hi, Also got this problem.
My temporary solution is, while your driving or even not in driving and then you feel dizzy and hard to breath, the first thing to do is don't stop driving but you must slow down (if your driving) and relax your mind. Make Exercise Breathing. I breath in diaphragm not in lungs because you will get in Hyperventilation, Nausea and Palpitation. Inhale from Nose and pause for 2-3 seconds then Exhale from your mouth slowly. Dont overbreath, take a sit and get also fresh air. Do this and you will feel relax.
I've been heavy drinker of Coffee and I think it was the reason why I got this problem because of Caffeine, so I quit. I also lacks of sleep and exercise.
I also visited my Doctors. They check my eyes, ears, blood pressure, cholesterol, uric acid, ECG, sugar but they are boundary normal.
I'm also Overweight and I'm only 23 years old.
So I made up my mind to hit the Gym, Eat good foods, avoid junk foods and soft drinks and I sleep more than 7 hours even I woke up early, I push my self to get 7 or more time to sleep.
My Doctor also told me that maybe my Anxiety got higher and one of the solution is to get a Self Medication.
I hope my advice will works.
I'll update you guys.
I have the same problem for years but got worse last October that even changing lane was so difficult. I've seen a psychiatrist, neurosurgeon and finally a head and neck specialist. I was diagnosed with disequilibrium and just started with balance therapy. I haven't been driving since October 2012 and quit my job last month. I was trying to relieve some of life stresses so I quit my job. I am not sure if the balance therapy will help me go back to driving again. I will let you know in a few weeks. I was also given a Paxil. I was told that my balance issue give me anxiety and so I panic.
My feeling was I feel like that I am losing control of the car so I drive vey slow specially in curves. I have to drive with my right hand in the stirring and my left hand hugging myself and my body leaning to the right. It used to be on the left only but last October when changing lane to the right, I felt the the star is slipping out of control and I have to break. Sudden jolt cause me to panic. That's why I stopped driving. I've even went to see the acupuncturist to no avail...
Disequilibrium diagnosis makes sense to me but not sure if the therapy will help. I was told That my balance will not o back to normal but will improve by therapy. Among my home work training, I also do some balance exercise from you tube...
Hi everyone,
I'm having some success this week. If you want the long version, I just typed it out in the comment section for Ryka. The short version is that inflammation in my neck is causing my googly eye problem, and not my eyes. My problem is just the road looking like it's slanting, and feeling like the car is on it's left wheels while on the highway. No problems when not driving. I got a NSAID shot on April 3rd, then started taking Oxaprozin 600mg twice a day. I drove home every day last week on the highway including once at night. I' m not driving in the left lane, but I'm not leaning halfway across my car. I guess this version isn't that short, but I'm really excited that this is helping! I hope it helps you too.
Oops, my other post was on Rayka, not Ryka.
Ok, the Oxaprozin helped for a month and a half. After that, I read Dr. Sarno's book on back pain. It actually helped as much as the Oxaprozin. I tried physical therapy. After a lot of tests, they had me do exercises where I move my head as if shaking it "no", while either looking at my thumb, or looking at a letter surrounded by a checkerboard pattern, while walking. It didn't help. I'm trying optokinetic stimulation to see what happens. I think I have visual vertigo. I found 3 videos on you tube, and I downloaded a 3d flying screensaver and an asteroid screensaver to stare at. I also downloaded a car racing game that I tried out today. I'm feeling a tinge queasy from that one. I'll let you know if it helps.