Hi all… I know that many of us deal with anxiety along with MAV… I know with me it has been a lovely side effect… Of course it makes absolute sense that when you feel "off balance " to begin with, then add an anxiety provoking situation such as a medical test, driving or even a dental visit, our anxiety can skyrocket… My question is, how do you deal with it without benzos? I have Ativan, but I really am trying not to take it…but I do find that my anxiety sometimes just ramps up in certain situations… Any comments or advice would be appreciated! Dee
Hi Dee
I had terrible anxiety & panic attacks when first trying to cope with MAV & not knowing what was wrong. Looking back, I can see that anyone going through this crap would be relly anxious, especially with all the tests, multiple visits to docs who couldn’t give a diagnosis and even a doc who said “Not everyone who has vertigo suffers anxiety you know”. That really made me feel I was making a lot of fuss about a small symptom.
However, since finding this forum & realising that many of us do feel high anxiety when faced with a difficult situation I have accepted that to get on with my life I need to take meds without feeling guilty - & if that includes taking Ativan when necessary then so be it. I still have ‘visual vertigo’ & have discussed this with my local GP (General Practitioner) and she is quite comfortable with my taking Ativan when I feel I need to. I take .5mg at those times & I’m probably the hardest critic of my drug usage.
Barb