Bridgie
08-06-2008, 04:48 AM
I had a member who was having tourble posting, so I posted this for him.
Hi All,
I've been working on the panic/agor issue on you tube in the agoraphobia and panic attacks videos. Anyone who writes me on you tube regarding this issue gets the "canned message" I will post below. What I've found there on you tube was that so many of the people on there with panic videos have links to money-making sites hawking one cure or another, all for financial gain. After having panic attacks myself and knowing how dreadfully damaging they can be to one's psyche, I couldn't imagine any previous sufferer making money off other sufferers. The thought makes me ill. I'm not hawking anything here except help. If what I post here doesn't help you, or if you disagree with it, just ignore it. My goal here is to help. I HAVE to. The attacks (even though they stopped over 16 years ago due to focusing on the cause and taking a med related to that cause) have driven me to do so.
I am not a doctor but I have studied the panic attack/anxiety connection to vestibular (inner-ear) disturbances for 16 years. First off, this was discovered by Harold N. Levinson and he wrote a book on it called "Phobia Free." For an explanation on how all this is connected, this is the best source. You can get it for cheap if you buy used on amazon or at most larger libraries. I have no financial interest in Levinson's work so get your hands on it any way you can if this interests you. The best way to show this connection between vestibular problems and panic/agor/anxiety is to send you the links that show this connection is real. Before that however, I'd like to say that I had panic attacks, anxiety and borderline agoraphobia before I found an answer. Officially diagnosed by one of the leading anxiety specialists in the SF bay area (Dr. Brauer in Palo Alto, Ca). I was also diagnosed with an inner ear condition called "endolymphatic hydrops", also by one of the best, F. Owen Black, here in Portland, OR. This is not a coincidence. One reason I know that, is because my attacks were stopped cold by meclizine, a simple over the counter inner ear med. It strictly targets the vestibular system. Not one attack in 16 years and anxiety reduced 95%. Here are the links:
http://www.vestibular.org/vestibular-di ... mptoms.php (http://www.vestibular.org/vestibular-disorders/symptoms.php)
(Look at all the symptoms at the above link, but please take special note of the Cognitive and psychological section which clearly lists panic and anxiety as possible symptoms of vestibular dysfunction)
Here are the professionals responsible for the above list:
http://www.vestibular.org/about-veda/bo ... visors.php (http://www.vestibular.org/about-veda/board...i.-advisors.php)
(my ear doc is the first name on the above list)
And below are medical studies again showing links between inner ear dysfunction and panic/agoraphobia and anxiety. Copy and paste these links into your browser if they aren't clickable. Also, make sure the "reader" on pubmed is set to read "abstract plus" by clicking on the dropdown box near the top left:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17538210
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17045776
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16570379
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15814159
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11591430
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11388356
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9669539
(although I disapprove of the SSRI recommendation at the end of the above abstract. They are not the best and first line of treatment in my opinion if your anxiety disorder is vestibular based)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9416586
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8599398
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7755529
(60% with panic/agro in the above study had vestibular problems)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2240177
(71% in that study)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2928069
(and this study from Levinson himself)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2928066
(and another by Levinson showing a 94% correlation)
Here is one I found recently that had 19 out of 19 panic patients showing signs of vestibular problems. Right in the abstract at the following link, it states that the patients were not pre-selected for dizziness. The only criteria for inclusion was panic disorder. Here is the link.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8134136
I have 2 others studies as well and I'm sure there are more since my search was not exhaustive. But I think I have included enough here though to convince any skeptic that there is a connection. I'm not going to say that everyone that has anxiety issues has an ear problem. I've been accused of that before in several forums even though I never said it. But I will say this, the connection is more prevalent than most may think. You can prove this to yourself by just scanning the messages here for symptoms of dizziness, ear noises and pain or even motion sickness symptoms like weak knees, jelly legs and nausea.
I guess the bottom line here is that if you feel this information may apply to you, (full feeling in the ears, ear ringing or noises, or dizziness or maybe you might not have any of these but what I've said here just makes plain old sense) you may want to get a thorough vestibular work-up from a specialist in the field which would be an ENT doctor. I would ask them to be treated on the basis of a vestibular/panic connection and that any vestibular meds, or vestibular re-hab should be aimed at greatly reducing or eliminating the symptoms of both the anxiety and the vestibular symptoms (dizziness). Most importantly though, get your hands on a copy of "Phobia Free." I got my first copy at the library which is generally free unless you don't return it on time. I have since bought 4 or 5 for cheap at amazon and they are all on loan to friends. I'll have to get more I guess, at a buck 17 a copy used, no real pain. Please write back with any further questions. Feel free to use my e-mail addy as I don't come on here very often.
Sincerely,
Paul C. Hanson ([email protected])
P.S. If your doctor needs convincing to get a referral to an ENT, print out the abstracts at the above links and the symptoms page at the very first link above. The ENT should "get it" when it comes to this connection since panic and anxiety are listed on their official website. Also feel free to use my case history (the meclizine "cure") or anything I've written on the web to help you get the help you need.
Hi All,
I've been working on the panic/agor issue on you tube in the agoraphobia and panic attacks videos. Anyone who writes me on you tube regarding this issue gets the "canned message" I will post below. What I've found there on you tube was that so many of the people on there with panic videos have links to money-making sites hawking one cure or another, all for financial gain. After having panic attacks myself and knowing how dreadfully damaging they can be to one's psyche, I couldn't imagine any previous sufferer making money off other sufferers. The thought makes me ill. I'm not hawking anything here except help. If what I post here doesn't help you, or if you disagree with it, just ignore it. My goal here is to help. I HAVE to. The attacks (even though they stopped over 16 years ago due to focusing on the cause and taking a med related to that cause) have driven me to do so.
I am not a doctor but I have studied the panic attack/anxiety connection to vestibular (inner-ear) disturbances for 16 years. First off, this was discovered by Harold N. Levinson and he wrote a book on it called "Phobia Free." For an explanation on how all this is connected, this is the best source. You can get it for cheap if you buy used on amazon or at most larger libraries. I have no financial interest in Levinson's work so get your hands on it any way you can if this interests you. The best way to show this connection between vestibular problems and panic/agor/anxiety is to send you the links that show this connection is real. Before that however, I'd like to say that I had panic attacks, anxiety and borderline agoraphobia before I found an answer. Officially diagnosed by one of the leading anxiety specialists in the SF bay area (Dr. Brauer in Palo Alto, Ca). I was also diagnosed with an inner ear condition called "endolymphatic hydrops", also by one of the best, F. Owen Black, here in Portland, OR. This is not a coincidence. One reason I know that, is because my attacks were stopped cold by meclizine, a simple over the counter inner ear med. It strictly targets the vestibular system. Not one attack in 16 years and anxiety reduced 95%. Here are the links:
http://www.vestibular.org/vestibular-di ... mptoms.php (http://www.vestibular.org/vestibular-disorders/symptoms.php)
(Look at all the symptoms at the above link, but please take special note of the Cognitive and psychological section which clearly lists panic and anxiety as possible symptoms of vestibular dysfunction)
Here are the professionals responsible for the above list:
http://www.vestibular.org/about-veda/bo ... visors.php (http://www.vestibular.org/about-veda/board...i.-advisors.php)
(my ear doc is the first name on the above list)
And below are medical studies again showing links between inner ear dysfunction and panic/agoraphobia and anxiety. Copy and paste these links into your browser if they aren't clickable. Also, make sure the "reader" on pubmed is set to read "abstract plus" by clicking on the dropdown box near the top left:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17538210
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17045776
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16570379
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15814159
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11591430
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11388356
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9669539
(although I disapprove of the SSRI recommendation at the end of the above abstract. They are not the best and first line of treatment in my opinion if your anxiety disorder is vestibular based)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9416586
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8599398
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7755529
(60% with panic/agro in the above study had vestibular problems)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2240177
(71% in that study)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2928069
(and this study from Levinson himself)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2928066
(and another by Levinson showing a 94% correlation)
Here is one I found recently that had 19 out of 19 panic patients showing signs of vestibular problems. Right in the abstract at the following link, it states that the patients were not pre-selected for dizziness. The only criteria for inclusion was panic disorder. Here is the link.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8134136
I have 2 others studies as well and I'm sure there are more since my search was not exhaustive. But I think I have included enough here though to convince any skeptic that there is a connection. I'm not going to say that everyone that has anxiety issues has an ear problem. I've been accused of that before in several forums even though I never said it. But I will say this, the connection is more prevalent than most may think. You can prove this to yourself by just scanning the messages here for symptoms of dizziness, ear noises and pain or even motion sickness symptoms like weak knees, jelly legs and nausea.
I guess the bottom line here is that if you feel this information may apply to you, (full feeling in the ears, ear ringing or noises, or dizziness or maybe you might not have any of these but what I've said here just makes plain old sense) you may want to get a thorough vestibular work-up from a specialist in the field which would be an ENT doctor. I would ask them to be treated on the basis of a vestibular/panic connection and that any vestibular meds, or vestibular re-hab should be aimed at greatly reducing or eliminating the symptoms of both the anxiety and the vestibular symptoms (dizziness). Most importantly though, get your hands on a copy of "Phobia Free." I got my first copy at the library which is generally free unless you don't return it on time. I have since bought 4 or 5 for cheap at amazon and they are all on loan to friends. I'll have to get more I guess, at a buck 17 a copy used, no real pain. Please write back with any further questions. Feel free to use my e-mail addy as I don't come on here very often.
Sincerely,
Paul C. Hanson ([email protected])
P.S. If your doctor needs convincing to get a referral to an ENT, print out the abstracts at the above links and the symptoms page at the very first link above. The ENT should "get it" when it comes to this connection since panic and anxiety are listed on their official website. Also feel free to use my case history (the meclizine "cure") or anything I've written on the web to help you get the help you need.