It's been a while since my last post so I thought I would today. The good news is I am feeling a lot better than I have done.
The turning point for me was when my anxiety got so bad I had a bit of a melt down back in October/ November. I went back to the GP and insisted that he gave me something for it and refer me back to ENT. Anyhow he put me on Fluoxetine and it's been brilliant. Those horrible fight or flight feelings we get with Labs or VN has completely gone.
Now that I was starting to feel better, I decided to take the plunge and buy some varifocals. I was really worried that they would make me more dizzy but they had had the opposite effect. Some of you may remember me saying my eyes felt like they were playing up so I used to deliberately hamper them by wearing a weaker prescription or just wear my readers. These varifocals have been brilliant. Why didn't I do this before?
I've also given up coffee with caffeine and the 3 or 4 sugars I used to have with each cup. I now just drink Decaffeinated and sometimes I'll put some whiskey in it if I want a good night's sleep.
I am pleased to tell you all that those horrible foggy headaches have gone and I am not fatigued the next day. I'm getting my confidence back, I've been out in my car more and visiting a few of my customers.
These varifocals seem to suppress the visual stimulation you get while driving or when you are in a busy store. I don't seem to sway in queues like I used to either.
Anyhow you know how long it takes for appointments take, I did finally have some tests back at ENT this week. Apparently there is now nothing wrong with my ears. My left ear is 10% stronger than my right ear which is well within the limits. The consultant also concurred with me that it's now my eyes that have been given me these weird feelings due to over compensation so he is going to refer me for some VOT ( Vestibular Ocular Therapy ) for some specific exercises which should fix things.
I hope all my dizzy friends are getting better too.
Brilliant to hear some good news. Im so pleased for you. Im sure the anxiety makes everything worse and without that things must be much better. Im already on duloxetine which they changed me to from fluoxetine. Both were good for me. Dizziness still there though. Maybe one day mine will go. Get out there and enjoy yourself, make up for lost time. Love paula
Thanks Paula....will do :-)
Really good to catch up with your journey and even better to hear your good news I hope it gets even better for you. 👍
Well done Darren. Hope things continue to get better for you. I can't take fluoxetine as I had such bad side effects on it. Know many who are fine on it. Best wishes.
Thanks Deni, How are you getting on?
Cheers Jason, I dont think I've spoken to you before. How are you getting on?
How are you getting on Paula?
Things getting worse by the week sorry to say. Had this for a year now. Got appointment in April with neuro-otologist. Trying my best to stay positive but not getting my hopes up. I wil make sure I keep all on here updated. Take care mate.
Yeah good luck to you too mate. If you ever want to pick my brains, feel free to message me. Let us know how you get on in April.
I'm fine thanks I have little dizziness now if I do its random and like yourself often a focus thing, BUT I swapped it for a rotor cuff tear / frozen shoulder, (must be all the weight training....NOT lol. Go to the musculoskeletal clinic in march. Eee life's grand 😂
Oh dear. If its not one thing it's another ! Good luck with your clinic appointment :-)
Cheers Darren. I will be in touch.
Hiya Darren only thought this week to drop you a PM see how you were doing ,well you've made my weekend hearing things have gotten whole lot better,so glasses were the thing to get ( varifocals ) ,thinking to how often Weve had eyes tested ,how many time ,you. me Anne ,? Optician did ask if I wanted varifocals last eye test JAN -14 but declined as I didn't want further probs ,like we do .Maybe now thinking big mistake .will make a phone call to my optician ,on what you've said alone .
regarding the Fluoxtine it was that Benzo that set me on road to anxiety Darren ,plus increased my tinnitus big time ,never been happy with it since .
I didn't know about Benzos and tinnitus as I do now ,they don't always mix well together drs know very little about tinnitus and meds that do more harm than good ,so it's a lottery game if you take them ,as some are fine. Then some are not as in my case .
Your up and running. That's the main thing Darren ,get some if not all of your life back .Long overdue .
I'm pretty much same as I left you weeks back. Still struggling daily .Glad you came back and said how you are ,and what you'd done ,so we can take it on board .Stay in touch okay with how it goes .Hope you treated yourself to a pressie .I will when I'm sorted ,3 years with it now ,bet your Mrs is happy at the outcome .xx
Good news Darren. I'll get my eyes retested as i wear my old varifocal lenses which are now about 4 years old. Let us know how you get on with Vestibular Ocular therapy. Great to hear you sound so much better. I've had stinking cold for past 7 weeks and the other night couldn't breathe at about 2 am in the morning, my ears were totally bunged up, my nose too and my throat felt as though i couldn't swallow. I woke my husband saying i felt scared as i couldn't breathe and then felt as though i was going to pass out with the fullness in my ears. I was on the verse of a panic attack cos of not feeling able to breathe. I went see a GP today who has px me antibiotic for sinus infection and hoping it will help cos' with the vertigo and blocked ears and sinus it has increased all my dizziness. I'm hoping the antibiotic will resolve everything, ever the optimist.
Nice to hear from you Anne and yes I will let you know how I get on. Good luck with the antibiotics. My Doctors practice won't even dish them out. Theres a big sign on the wall saying "Don't Ask". Me an the wife had a cold which wouldn't shift and hung around for a few weeks. Hope it shifts soon for you. All the best :-)
Hi Darren ,sent you a post ,don't know why with held a mystery ,nowt in it to warrant a Why ,see if it comes through later .Will pm you if not Good going by you SORTED .xx
thanks Darren, no i wouldn't want to take them if i didn't need them either, but sometimes they might be what's needed if it is actually a bacterial infection of course they are no use for a cold, but think mine is more than just a cold as it has been going on for so long now. I was a bit surprised that i got them to be honest, i just wanted a steriod nasal spray to help me breathe as all the over the counter stuff wasn't working. My husband went out and bought me the full works cos' he's not use to me waking him up saying 'i'm frightened', so he knew it must be bad. It is good to know that after 6 years you are turning a corner. I much prefer varifocals to single lenses but spec savers gave me too strong a lense on the last px so i went to see another optician who said i didn't need such a strong lense. I am going to see if i can get a referral back to see someone again about my balance. I also only drink decaff coffee now and find it probably helps, as when i use to drink too much caffeine i noticed how tense it made me, like a cat on a hot tin roof.
Hi Marlene, I dont recall seeing a recent post by you unless I missed it :-( Yeah PM me if you like :-) Nice to hear from you.
I often think that if Specsavers had their way, they would want to give us a prescription that allows us to see 2 ants mating at 50 yards...lol
I'm actually loving my varifocals. If anthing with these, the distance aspect, isn't as great as my single vision lenses but who needs to see a mile down the road in high definition...Not me !
Yeah definitely try and get a another referral Anne, if its been a while since your last one.