Question-------------------------
Followup To
Question -
Thursday 9th March 09.37pm UK
Hi, I have 2 problems with dizzyness.
1) When I am in an aeroplane that is either taking off or landing, I get very dizzy, disorientated and my balance goes. Whilst I am NOT scared of the plane crashing, these sensations are exremely frightening and unpleasant and put me off going anywhere by plane. Have you heard of this before? If so, what is happening and how can I lessen these sensations or stop them completely? These sensations start as soon as the plane has left the ground and only stop when the plane is flying at altitude.
2) Sometimes when I am sat at a table for example, I suddenly get the feeling that I am falling forward (wether I am or not) and I find myself, like today in college, trying to conceal it and made out I was getting up and moving my chair back a bit. It is a strange feeling and quite embarrassing when it happens as it makes me jump and I never just know if it will get any worse or if I will land on the floor or what. Whatever, it is usually a very sudden thing and up to press has not been explained. Any ideas?
Thank you for your time.
Shirley Rimmer (Mrs)
Answer -
This sounds like an acute anxiety episode... where you get a rush of adrenalin from real or perceived fear and then it tends to pass after 15-30 minutes... There isn't a blood test to check this... it is more of a clinical diagnosis, but it sounds pretty typical of it..
hope this helps...
Thank you for your promt reply Robert. Much appreciated. So you think its possible that my problem is more about an adrenalin rush rather than anything physical, ie, an inner ear problem? Is it possible to keel over with such an adrenalin rush? The first time I flew, I was going from Gatwick to Nice 20 years ago. On that occasion, I was scared of the unknown. When the plane lifted off the runway, I was overwhelmed with dizzyness and sometime later, found my self waking up with my head on somebodys shoulder! Whilst this has never happened since, perhaps this is what I am scared of and so I still get the adrenalin rush. For sure - I am not scared of flying. And the point I have just mentioned (I had not thought of it before) is a good one, that I am scared of passing out again. So this in its self is winding me up inside, before the plane even heads off down the runway! I know that I will only fly long distance now. The reason being that there is a while between take off and landing and you are generally at your destination for 2 or 3 weeks so there is a break between the take offs etc. I find this easier to deal with.
Thanks again for your time.
From Shirley
Answersince it just tends to occur with flying, it doesn't appear to be inner ear, since those should occur randomly.... if it happens just in response to an event, like flying, then I still think it is panic/anxiety. I would get your doctor to give you a little bit of xanax to take just prior to flying.
