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What Causes Sudden Vertigo And Heart Palpitations?

Posted on Mon, 19 Oct 2015

Question: 4 wks ago i had dizziness that sent my heart racing and spiked my BP. Cleared of any cardiac problems. Ct of head normal. Passed dizzy test. Could it be anxiety

Answered by Dr. Alexander H. Sheppe (5 minutes later)

Yes, this could be a panic attack. This responds well to SSRI antidepressants.

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Alexander H. Sheppe (0 minute later)

did CT of sinus that said chronic appearing mucoperiisteal thickening along the infandibula. ENT dr wants to do balloon sinusplasty to open up area of thickening . He believes that is why i am always dizzy. Do you agree with that? I was also told by GP that i have anxiety and need to start on anxiety meds. Do you think the dizziness is coming from sinus issue or anxiety?

Answered by Dr. Alexander H. Sheppe (9 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Follow-up

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for the follow-up question.

I do not believe at all that the sinus issue is causing this. Sinus thickening does not cause dizziness, heart rate increase, or blood pressure spikes. Panic/anxiety attacks do. I would start treatment with an SSRI such as sertraline or escitalopram, and increase the dose until your anxiety is improved.

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T

Follow up: Dr. Alexander H. Sheppe (1 hour later)

I agree. Just wasnt sure if i was getting anxious from being dizzy and that was making me have a oanic attack.

Answered by Dr. Alexander H. Sheppe (12 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Follow-up

Detailed Answer:
Yes, that's certainly a reasonable concern. It's more likely that you experience dizziness as a somatic (bodily) symptom of panic itself. This is common in panic disorder.

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T

Follow up: Dr. Alexander H. Sheppe (2 hours later)

I just took 5mg of lexapro. I feel very strange and "fuzzy" in the head. Can i expect to feel this way all day?

Answered by Dr. Alexander H. Sheppe (2 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Follow-up

Detailed Answer:
When starting an antidepressant, many people feel an initial anxiety, which is likely the cause of the sensation you're describing. This effect subsides after a few days, and as the dose increases your anxiety will begin to fade. Be patient with the process. It is effective.

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T

Follow up: Dr. Alexander H. Sheppe (3 hours later)

I know this medication will probably help me, but i would really like to know if i wanted to stop this medication after taking a 5 mg dose for the first time, would that hurt me ? Im leaning more towards bot taking it again and if i choose to do that, i wanted to be sure i would be ok

Answered by Dr. Alexander H. Sheppe (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Follow-up

Detailed Answer:
I would strongly urge you to continue taking the medication. If you can tolerate it for a short time, it will help you tremendously. However, to answer your question, there would be no physical harm from stopping the medicine itself if you wanted to.

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T

Follow up: Dr. Alexander H. Sheppe (5 hours later)

I am scarred because I havent had much of an appetite lately. After taking this medicine today, i wasnt able to eat all day. . Im not sure if its because of my anxiety or because of the the medicine. I am also taking Floradix for iron deficiency. My Hgb is 12 .iron deopped from 28 (sept 12) to 22 (tonight) and ferreitin level is 5.2. Not sure why my iron dropped that much in 2 weeks. I just want to be my normal 44 year old self. I am a xray tech and have been in the medical field for 14 years. Ive been out of work for 4 weeks because of the dizziness, heart palpations and blood pressure, that brought on all the other symptoms of nausea, fatigue. So thats my main reason for asking about getting off the lexapro. Im tired of all the symptoms and not being able to do anything about it.

Answered by Dr. Alexander H. Sheppe (9 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Follow-up

Detailed Answer:
The symptoms you describe are related to anxiety, not the Lexapro. I can say this with confidence. Sticking with the Lexapro will actually help these symptoms resolve, not make them worse.

As a side note, you should definitely be on iron supplementation, as a ferritin of 5.2 indicates you are very iron-depleted.

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vaishalee Punj