Hi all
I've been reading your posts for the past few weeks, trying to figure out what it is that I myself am going through. I must say, I can certainly relate to the majority of the symptoms/feelings you have all expressed. But does this mean that I (or perhaps others) necessarily have DP/DR? Please bear with me, and understand that I am certainly not trying to tell anyone what they may or may not have.
My "condition" started shortly after experiencing pain and fullness in both ears following a bout with the flu. Thus in addition to this board I have been reading the posts on several inner/middle ear disorder boards, and I must say the similarities are striking and "too good" to turn a blind eye to.
Every inner ear disorder board I have been to has posts describing virtually identical symptoms to those I have seen on this (and other) DP/DR boards. Most notably, the "unreal", detached, spacey, fog feeling. Most of the people who *believe* they have an inner ear disorder complain of the fogged/spacey feeling. Keep looking and and you'll also see a number complaining of feeling "unreal" or detached. In addition, inner ear disorders can account for many of the noted visual and sensual disturbances: poor or nonexistant depth perception, sensitivity to light, "floaters", difficulty focusing, reduced field of view, poor sense of the surrounding area/space or other forms of disorientation. Many claim they feel the "floor is moving", or that they have difficulty looking at "busy" visuals (patterns, carpets) or at constants such as a uniformly painted wall. Headaches, neck and shoulder tension, head "fullness" is also a regular occurance. On an emotional/mental level, sufferers complain of an inability to concentrate, extreme anxiety, depression, memory issues and so on.
As most here are aware, extreme anxiety and internal self-focusing can cause a host of problems, in particular the emotional blunting. Could it be possible that an inner ear disorder, with the natural perceptual shifts that come with it, coupled with the anxiety it produces leads to an state of extreme anxiety, further manifesting the feelings of unreality and detachment (along the lines of DP/DR)?
The numbers of people posting/viewing on the ear disorder boards far outweights those who use the DP/DR boards. Why do these people on the ear disorder boards, for some reason, not consider the fact that they may actually be primarily suffering from a psychological condition? Or conversely, when the anxiety has become so bad, how many people originally assume they have a psycholigical condition (as I have done), not knowing that these ear problems can cause these strange sensations?
This all being said, those who have found relief on the ear disorders board noted near immediate relief from the spacey, detached feelings when their ears were allowed to drain or a infecting bacteria was destroyed.
I notice many people here complain of ear fullness/plugging whereas many others do not. What results/feedback have those with the ear problems received from their doctors? I, for quite some time now, have been sent on my merry way with a prescription for expensive nasal sprays or a recommendation to buy decongestants. But these techniques, upon further research, clearly do not work for many. All the while, I continually suffer with these symptoms that could potentially be all attributable to an ear disorder and the accompanying anxiety disorder.
Regardless of whether the ear condition is primary or secondary, I think huge relief could be found by those who would pursue sorting this issue out to completion. I'm sure many of you know the majority of this information already, but hopefully I've given some additional insight to others.
What I had mainly hoped to get out of this post is responses that in any way pertain to this. If anyone has this condition, has beaten this condition, been told that it is definitely not the cause of their more major problems etc., I would be most pleased if you would share it. I am trying to eliminate any "possibles" on my road to recovery, and this seems like a major one.
Thanks! Sorry my first post and introduction had to be so massive.
Magneto
I've been reading your posts for the past few weeks, trying to figure out what it is that I myself am going through. I must say, I can certainly relate to the majority of the symptoms/feelings you have all expressed. But does this mean that I (or perhaps others) necessarily have DP/DR? Please bear with me, and understand that I am certainly not trying to tell anyone what they may or may not have.
My "condition" started shortly after experiencing pain and fullness in both ears following a bout with the flu. Thus in addition to this board I have been reading the posts on several inner/middle ear disorder boards, and I must say the similarities are striking and "too good" to turn a blind eye to.
Every inner ear disorder board I have been to has posts describing virtually identical symptoms to those I have seen on this (and other) DP/DR boards. Most notably, the "unreal", detached, spacey, fog feeling. Most of the people who *believe* they have an inner ear disorder complain of the fogged/spacey feeling. Keep looking and and you'll also see a number complaining of feeling "unreal" or detached. In addition, inner ear disorders can account for many of the noted visual and sensual disturbances: poor or nonexistant depth perception, sensitivity to light, "floaters", difficulty focusing, reduced field of view, poor sense of the surrounding area/space or other forms of disorientation. Many claim they feel the "floor is moving", or that they have difficulty looking at "busy" visuals (patterns, carpets) or at constants such as a uniformly painted wall. Headaches, neck and shoulder tension, head "fullness" is also a regular occurance. On an emotional/mental level, sufferers complain of an inability to concentrate, extreme anxiety, depression, memory issues and so on.
As most here are aware, extreme anxiety and internal self-focusing can cause a host of problems, in particular the emotional blunting. Could it be possible that an inner ear disorder, with the natural perceptual shifts that come with it, coupled with the anxiety it produces leads to an state of extreme anxiety, further manifesting the feelings of unreality and detachment (along the lines of DP/DR)?
The numbers of people posting/viewing on the ear disorder boards far outweights those who use the DP/DR boards. Why do these people on the ear disorder boards, for some reason, not consider the fact that they may actually be primarily suffering from a psychological condition? Or conversely, when the anxiety has become so bad, how many people originally assume they have a psycholigical condition (as I have done), not knowing that these ear problems can cause these strange sensations?
This all being said, those who have found relief on the ear disorders board noted near immediate relief from the spacey, detached feelings when their ears were allowed to drain or a infecting bacteria was destroyed.
I notice many people here complain of ear fullness/plugging whereas many others do not. What results/feedback have those with the ear problems received from their doctors? I, for quite some time now, have been sent on my merry way with a prescription for expensive nasal sprays or a recommendation to buy decongestants. But these techniques, upon further research, clearly do not work for many. All the while, I continually suffer with these symptoms that could potentially be all attributable to an ear disorder and the accompanying anxiety disorder.
Regardless of whether the ear condition is primary or secondary, I think huge relief could be found by those who would pursue sorting this issue out to completion. I'm sure many of you know the majority of this information already, but hopefully I've given some additional insight to others.
What I had mainly hoped to get out of this post is responses that in any way pertain to this. If anyone has this condition, has beaten this condition, been told that it is definitely not the cause of their more major problems etc., I would be most pleased if you would share it. I am trying to eliminate any "possibles" on my road to recovery, and this seems like a major one.
Thanks! Sorry my first post and introduction had to be so massive.
Magneto
