managing lightheadedness & balance issues

I sympathize with you! I only suffered with anxiety once before, when I went through menopause. I now have daily anxiety attacks that are absolutely crippling due to the prednisone. I am hesitant to take prescription meds for it as I am responsible for driving my granddaughter to and from school, and I hate taking pills. I have started painting again during the anxiety attacks, usually in the mornings when the prednisone kicks in but have extreme fatigue in the afternoon, sounds similar to what you are going through. My Rhuematologist said this is all normal. I hope you find a solution; know you are not alone, there are more going through this also.

Prednisone can affect BP, heart rate and in some cases cause rhythm issues. Anxiety can also do the same.

I think you need to tell all this to a doctor because it’s a delicate balance of the state your body is in and all the medication’s. You’re taking and none of us here can diagnose properly without a lot more information. It could be the crystals in your ear, it could be glucose and insulin resistance, or pre-diabetes it could be so many things. But I can say that if you are relaxing and lying down too much as an older person, the crystals in your ears get out of balance and then you can be lightheaded and dizzy. So I really think some of your medicines may need to be adjusted and that can only come from a professional. Also, the professional you may be seeing may not be adequate so don’t hesitate to advocate for yourself and get different doctors and go to specialists to get that all under control. We need to be up and around active and staying strong, not under threat of imbalance and falling down that is crucial and when we get older all these things go out of balance so much more easily. My anxiety is much better controlled when I get up in the morning and I can go outside and walk the dog breathe fresh air, and move my body. I suffer a lot when the weather is not conducive to getting outside and taking deep breaths and exercising with gentle walks. Taking too much medicine begins to feed on itself when all that may be needed is to rethink how we incorporate breathing and moving in our day. We have to tire ourselves out to have rest otherwise anxiety builds in our body.

You are totally correct, and I have been misdiagnosed as having a heart attack before when it was an anxiety attack. After an EEG during which the tech told me I had had an attack and many many hours of cooling my heels in the ER while I became totally dehydrated and was refused liquid, which the DOCTOR had said I could have, the doctor finally came in and said everything was OK and I could leave. Combined with my recent experience of nocturnal high heart rate due to SAI which long story but got mislabeled by a NURSE over the phone triggering my being labeled as a cardiac patient by my new never seen doctor, I am very very leery of the ability of the medical profession to diagnose me correctly. Gray hair = heart attack or stroke in the ER. I saw my husband suffer for hours from his already diagnosed amyloidosis attacking his GI tract and causing swallowing difficulties while an off-site team kept telling the resident on duty that it HAD to be a stroke, so keep testing. And this is at a major teaching medical facility in Chapel Hill NC.

@loriesco i am waiting for my appointment . Since the nurse where i saw my now retired doctor for over a decade set my new one up to see me as a cardiac patient, I have elected to actually do what the former one recommended when she left and establish myself with one of the geriatricians where I live. My old doctor was great at helping me navigate my complex condition, and I have specialists I trust . This was not the first time this nurse, who doesn’t even have a BSN, has presumed to diagnose me and recommend treatment, and my old doctor trusted her judgment more than once. Last year, this mismanagement landed me in the hospital. Once earlier the nurse’s diagnosis of my cough as something that could be managed with cough medicine landed me in urgent care with bronchitis . Yes, you have to have doctors, but the days of blindly thinking doctor knows best are long over. And my medical problems would be a lot simpler were it not for medical mistakes and would conversely be a lot worse if I hadn’t diagnosed myself with benign parathyroid tumor and with PMR — both confirmed with bloodwork. The first would have led to kidney failure and dialysis, which after having given my husband home hemodialysis for 18 months, was a no-go for me, so we had already had the end-of-life decision making discussion. That was 4 and a half years ago. Still here, thanks to ME!

I've had horrible balance issues on the lower doses along with the room spinning and a drop in blood pressure. Fatigue and trouble getting out of bed and doing anything productive. It was worse at 6 mgs so went back up to 6 1/2 where I had balance issues but the room doesn't spin. Amazing what a 1/2 mg does. My PCP suspects it's my adrenal glands. Gave me a referral to endoctrinologist. I am careful when standing up, I do it slowly and that's about all I can say. I am currently at 6 1/4 mgs and will stay at that for a couple of months. I wish I had some solutions other than telling you to move slow. Wishing you all the best.

It sounds like secondary adrenal insufficiency. My endocrinologist tested my adrenal glands and I fell within normal range but he had required skipping only a single dose of prednisone. The treatment for SAI is to increase your prednisone.