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Seeking advice: The compounding effects of BPPV/Tinnitus & GAD

JamesM1
Community Member

Hi all,

I'm sure i'm not alone in this thought; 'Is it physical or psychological?'. This is a question I often ask myself, especially when experiencing an acute bout of anxiety, with the main symptoms being vertigo and presyncope and general panic.

For a brief overview, approx 5 months ago I picked up a standard head cold which escalated to a respiratory tract infection, then to bronchitis and finally pneumonia. It started with the usual trips to the GP where I was told to just rest, drink fluids etc. Finally, I drove myself to the ER but on the way was briefly losing consciousness at red lights due to breathing issues, which wasn't fun. This was a triggering point I think. An x-ray confirmed the issue, I was given antibiotics for a bacterial infection. My initial recovery was quick, within 48hrs I started feeling better.

My chest has cleared many months ago, however, I still have persistent symptoms which include, vertigo, tinnitus and presyncope. In addition I also have GAD symptoms as I've been advised(by a GP) which include a bounding pulse(I can put a book or paper on my chest and you can see if move to the beat of my heart, this seems odd to me), feeling of falling through the floor, heavy feet, dizziness. The list goes on.

Physically I do have BPPV(Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo) in conjunction with tinnitus. When I moved my lower jaw forward the pitch and tone of the tinnitus goes up, it's pretty constant. Left ear only with fluid behind the ear drum and BPPV confirmed by doing the epley maneuver or just tilting in general.

I've been though a barrage of tests; bloodwork, x-rays,ECG and BP monitoring, nothing has been found. The only thing I noticed for the first 2 months post infection, was sudden spikes in BP, It would suddenly rise to 160/100 then fall to 125/75 within 5min. The whole time however, my heart rate would be steady on 65-70BPM and I wasn't panicking or feeling anxious.

I just don't feel well to put it simply, some days are fine others are of very poor quality. I sometimes find myself rocking or swaying. I'm still struggling and trying to justify, and in disbelief on the physical effects of a mental condition.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Best regards,

James.

2 Replies 2

Soberlicious96
Champion Alumni
Champion Alumni

Dear James,

Welcome to Beyond Blue and thankyou for sharing your story.

I too have suffered some terrible effects from anxiety; I'm an asthmatic and have had some very serious asthma attacks, some brought on by anxiety, to the point where I actually stopped breathing one time and my parents had to do CPR on me.

The human mind and body are a complex machine, even at the best of times, and what I have found to be extremely beneficial, along with medical treatments for the physical, and counseling for my mental health, is meditation.

Meditation is something I can practice any time, anywhere, that I don't need an appointment for. It helps to slow and deepen my breathing and my heart rate and slow my mind down as well.

It sounds like you've got a lot going on. May I suggest that if you are not already linked in with some sort of counseling service, that it may be worth looking into?

And in the meantime, I do hope you start to feel better soon. Wish I had more to offer, but I am not a professional medical or mental health person ..... Just a fellow human with the human condition.

Take care. You're welcome here anytime. Xo


Thanks for the kind words and sharing your story. It's nice to receive support and hear other perspectives.

Appreciate it.