Strange head feelings, lightheadedness, blurry vision...is it anxiety?

Mental health
1

Hi everyone,

I’m not sure where to go from here, I’ve seen just about every doctor I can think of and had just about every test they can order.

I’m a 26 year old healthy male. I workout 5x a week and enjoy everything from running to weight lifting. Life was great until last January (2017) when I started to get lightheaded randomly for no reason. It felt as if I hadn’t eaten all day, but that was never the case. This happened almost daily. I kept telling doctors “it feels like my brain is slowly shutting down, or part of it is not working properly”. That’s the only way I could describe it. My vision easily goes blurry, and I have to really concentrate on using my eyes for things to be clear.

I had a cat scan, MRI, countless blood tests (thyroid, parathyroid, CBC full panel, hormones including brain hormones), holter monitor (2 days), event recorder (30 days), allergy tests, sleep study, lung X-rays, and everything came back normal.

My doctors are starting to think it’s anxiety...and I’m willing to accept this diagnosis...except for the fact that I don’t feel anxious at all. I don’t feel depressed, I don’t feel really much of anything at all actually. I’ve had panic attacks in the past, and I know what those feel like....and what I’m experiencing day to day now is different, so it’s hard for me to accept anxiety as a diagnosis.

A year later, the lightheadedness only happens about once a week (I think due to the fact that I’ve cut out caffeine. I noticed that caffeine made everything much worse), but other symptoms have started. I get weird dull headaches, my vision is still blurry every day, I’m pretty fatigued most of the time, and I notice my muscles are always tense. I always feel weak. 

As a last effort, my doctor prescribed me Lexapro. I’m totally willing to try it...IF this is anxiety. Otherwise, I don’t want to mess with antidepressants. Any thoughts? 

Final thoughts: Before all this happened last January, I was a cigarette smoker. I recently quit. I also used to use pre-workout drinks before my workout and would drink coffee a few hours later. My caffeine intake was off the charts...probably equivalent to about 4 cups a day. I’ve noticed that since I cut it out, I have 0 tolerance, even to decaf coffee.

Never used any drugs in my life.

My symptoms coninside with the administration of the gardisil vaccination and menactra (meningitis vaccine). Could this have anything to do with it?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated. I’d love to get back to enjoying life.

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jason you mention you don't feel depressed or anxious at all yet you have all these anxious tendencies; the health anxiety...uncertainty and so on.  and you state you've had panic attacks before so my initial impression was denial.  what you've written here is more or less is what i would've written 2 yrs ago and then some.  so, i'm a little baffled you're having a hard time accepting anxiety as a diagnosis considering what you have seemingly gone through this past year.  

clearly you have health anxiety which will manifest symptoms that will leave you pondering and searching for answers, hence the numerous tests; vicious cycle for sure.

likewise, my symptoms have been brutal the past few years.  the reality is i suffer from GAD and OCD.  the random fatigue, the blurry vision, the off-balance feeling, the weird head pressure that doesn't hurt but feels weird (comes and goes briefly), very tense muscles, body-wide muscle twitching for over year now and on and on...popping joints all over, waking up out of a deep sleep trying to catch my breath, etc...  i could list symptoms for days.  i've had the MRIs done, blood work galore, hearing and balance test, x-rays, ultrasounds, tests for days.  likewise, i was doing a lot of caffeine and getting little sleep.  my diet was dominant with refined carbs which apparently adds to anxiety.  likewise, i've cut caffeine and have been focused on proper diet...fruits and vegetables, plant based diet taking priority.  

i can definitely empathize with you, it's a horrible thing to go through.  i'd like to add that after two years of health anxiety i've noticed a subtle shift to not caring anymore about all the symptoms.  it's like i'm exhausted mentally worrying about them.  it's as if my body has taken the wheel from me and has decided it's tired of worrying about all the symptoms.  luckily, i find myself worrying less these days.  anyway, good luck jason...you're in good company. 

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 Jason, first of all congratulations on quitting smoking.  That is awesome! You have just begun adding years to your life. The lightheadedness headaches, blurry vision, fatigue and weakness could very well be related to underlying anxiety that you may not even be aware Of.   Just the fact that you had panic Attacks in the past tells me that there still might be something inside you related to stress  causing the symptoms. 

Try the lexapro But you have to give it a good six weeks to see if it helps. Sometimes less. And yes, caffeine always makes anxiety worse. There’s always the possibility that a vaccination can cause symptoms but it’s very hard to know for sure.  Is there anything in your life right now causing you some stress or anxiety? 

 I had all of your symptoms starting in my 20s. All my tests were normal. Felt like I was the only one in the world feeling this way. I couldn’t believe all my symptoms were due to stress and anxiety but they actually were. After a while the body just can’t take it anymore and it has a little break down where we develop the symptoms.  What I do is completely relax my mind and my symptoms diminish or go away. I listen to meditation so YouTube for anxiety when I lie down to sleep. They also teach you how to separate yourself from stress and anxiety, negative thoughts, etc. I do this daily . It really helps. You can definitely get back to enjoying your life, you just need to learn how to manage anxiety. Counseling can also help because these things are difficult to overcome all of it it really helps to vent to somebody else in person. Make sure you don’t sit around and worry about the symptoms because they will get worse if you do.  Besides, all your tests were normal so this tells me it’s about anxiety underlying. 

 do things that relax you. Take one day at a time and remember to laugh and smile.😁 

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Hello Jason, I have been through your experience before and fortunately I am the same age as you. I also used to do regular workouts as you and was healthy. I started feeling your symptoms last year, after passing through many doctors one of them discovered it as neuropathy, that is nerve injuries. It has many causes but in our case it could be excessive workouts without allowing the body to heal itself. Don't be anxious because it will make the condition worst. Nerves heal slowly so pls take time and talk to your doctors and follow their advice

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Probably anxiety. Careful with meds. Stay away from benzodiazepines!! Get a professional massage for some relief. Anxiety is the worst! I can't even walk straight most days.

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Hi Italia,

Thank you so much for the response. I didn't expect anyone would read the long explanation I wrote, so I really appreciate your time. Your response means a lot to me....also nice to see a fellow Italian in similar shoes!

Is there anything in specific that you have found works best for you? I'm in the process of messing with my diet, although it's already extremely clean. 

 

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Hi Jan,

Thank you so much for the response. I didn't realize how isolated I was feeling until I saw all these responses, and I immediately felt a weight taken off my shoulders. 

I'm currently debating taking the lexapro my doctor gave me. My only problem with taking it is that I'm not sure it will help with these physical symptoms, and I'd hate to take a drug and go through the withdrawal side effects if I'm not even sure it'll help.

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Thanks so much for your reply. I'm sorry you're going through the same issues. I appreciate the advice, I will definitely bring up the possibility of neuropathy next time I see my doctor. 

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Thanks for the response Mike. I feel you on not walking straight...it's so strange. 

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I wish I never took meds. I still have the same issues but now I have to deal with withdrawl, insomnia, suicidal thoughts, and OCD which I believe the drugs triggered. Truth is I don't think any drugs can fix this.

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Hi mike44081

We note from a recent post which you have made to our forum that you may be experiencing thoughts around self-harm. If we have misinterpreted your comments then we apologies for contacting you directly. But if you are having such thoughts then please note that you are not alone in this, and there are people out there that can help.

If you are having these suicidal thoughts then we strongly recommend you speak to someone who may be able to help. The Samaritans offer a safe space where you can talk openly about what you are going through. They can help you explore your options, understand your problems better, or just be there to listen.

Their contact details are on our patient information leaflet here: https://patient.info/health/dealing-with-suicidal-thoughts, which also offers lots of other advice on how you can access the help you may need.

If you are having such thoughts then please do reach out to the team at the Samaritans (or the other people detailed in our leaflet) who will understand what you're going through and will be able to help.

Kindest regards

Patient

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Thx.