This is my first time on the board, and I was hoping you guys could help me.
For 6 months I have been suffering with the following symptoms:
Dizziness (particularly in supermarkets, shopping malls, motorways and airports)
Nausea
Feeling “off balance”
My dizziness comes also when I am queuing in shops, and I even passed out once when I was standing in a queue in Las Vegas (highly embarrassing).
I have had my heart checked, my ears checked, blood pressure, blood tests, and everything has come back normal. I do NOT get headaches with my symptoms.
The doctor seems to have washed her hands of me, after saying “what do you want me to do about it?”, and I have been going to regular acupuncture/reflexology which seems to have lessened the frequency of my dizzy spells.
Do you think that my symptoms sound like MAV ?
Caffeine seems to worsen my symptoms, as do decaffenaited drinks.
I hope someone can help me, or give me some advice for how to tackle my symptoms when they arise. I panic sometimes which probably makes them worse. Hypnotherapy hasn’t helped either.
It could be MAV, but it could be other things too. When you say you have had your blood pressure tested, have you just had one-off readings, or have you done more detailed tests (e.g. standing up for a decent amount of time before it’s taken)? I just wondered as your symptoms (particularly passing out in a queue) sounded a bit like someone I know who has orthostatic hypotension. But obviously no one on here can diagnose you, just make suggestions, so really you need to be referred to a consultant (or to someone for a second opinion if you have already seen a specialist in the right field).
The other problem is that it is true that anxiety can cause all these symptoms too. Or it can make it a lot worse. Quite a few people on here take migraine preventatives that have a beneficial effect on anxiety levels, so it tries to treat the migraine and anxiety at the same time.
Just a quick note about “passing out”…when I first got this, I was spinning uncontrollably for 3 days straight. One day I was standing in my kitchen and I started feeling nauseated. I decided to walk upstairs so I could lay down. I hardly made it up the stairs as I felt a black curtain come over my vision ( I was going to pass out)…and as soon as I layed down I could tell my pulse was low, but the black curtain started to go away. I was freaked out… If I hadn’t layed down in time I would have passed out. I haven’t had that feeling since. I asked 1 of the docs I work with and he said that given my circumstance passing out was not overly unusual (stress)… It is called neurocardiogenic syncope… doesn’t mean that gives us a new diagnosis… just can happen to us given our dizziness and high levels of stress when we are spinning. If you pass out often though, than I think it would be wise to mention to your physician.