r/pppdizziness

Hey All, im finding it hard to return back to my current job, even know its a desk job. Has anyone else had to make such choices?

Ive been in my current job for 15 years, they are not allowing me to WFH anymore unfortunately, which was only 2 days per week out of the 5. Having those days was super helpful for recovery, but am now considering changing jobs.

I'd love to hear your story,

Tia 😊

Considering getting back on an antidepressant after being off of citalopram for over a year. Also hoping it can help my daily dizzy. I need some positive stories please. 💖

Has anyone else experienced symptoms like this, and what could be causing them? I’ve had a constant (24/7) sense of unreality, fatigue, head pressure/aching, and pain in my neck and shoulders for over two months. I’ve tried massage and physiotherapy, but neither helped. I also tried muscle relaxants, but they didn't work either. I had been unemployed for one year and then i got highly physical job which i did for two months and in the very last few days my symptoms started. I liked doing the job and the work environment/friends were nice. I’ve been unemployed for a couple of months now, so I don’t think it could be burnout or exhaustion. My thyroid levels are fine, too and other blood tests have been ok.

I'm 16 years old and I have severe health anxiety.
Everything started when I had two surgeries for pilonidal cysts. I got highly anxious and started searching around the internet about what it was, what could happen, etc. It took a long time to heal, but it's okay now and I hope I will not have this problem in the future.

After those events, I started having episodes of searching the internet about different illnesses.
Sometimes I stopped for a week and lived normally, but then I'd start again and have panic attacks. This lasted for about 4 or 5 months, and then 3 months ago my anxiety went over the roof. I've felt completely different ever since.

In school, I had random panic attacks where I got high blood pressure and a fast heart rate. While I had them, I felt like I was walking on clouds and thought I could fall at any second. Then they started becoming worse, ano the symptoms became constant.
Now I experience almost:

24/7 panic
***A "walking on clouds" feeling***
***Feeling like I could fall at any second***
***Tremors in my hands***
***Sometimes my vision feels "slower" (I don't know how to explain it***
Depersonalisation
Feeling like i could pass out.
Sometimes can’t focus at all

While I had the high blood pressure, I went to a
cardiologist and took a low dose of beta-blockers (bisoprolol, 1.25 mg) for two months, along with anxiety supplements the doctors recommended. My blood tests came back completely normal, and the neurologist I saw said everything was normal too. I also went to an ENT who diagnosed me with PPPD, and I have seen a psychologist and it doesn't seem to have helped even a little.

Now I'm stuck in a constant, never-ending cycle. I feel terrified to go outside because I think something might happen. I spend the whole day sitting in my chair or laying on my bed. The main problem is that the moment I stand up to walk, all of my symptoms appear. I'm completely exhausted and genuinely don't know what to do anymore.

I just want my normal life back. I want this panic to stop taking over because I feel like I can't do anything at all.
Every second I think something is wrong with me and jump to the worst-case scenario. I mostly worry about my heart and brain, and recently I've been fixating on my thyroid, kidneys, and many other things.

The people who try to help me can be counted on one hand. Everyone else tells me I'm exaggerating or doing this for attention, and it feels like no one cares.

If anyone has gone through this or has tips on how to handle PPPD and this level of panic, I would be so incredibly grateful. Thank you so much for reading this!

Not sure but I feel tired and dizzy all the time after perimenopause ….. is it just me or does anyone else feel the same…… I think I have eustatian tube dysfunction as well so it’s harder for the balance part and get worse with allergies….. anyone else have any advice that can help. Thanks

Hi everyone,
I’ve been dealing with something really confusing and scary for a while now and I’m trying to see if anyone has experienced similar.
My main symptoms are:
Feeling dizzy / floaty / off balance
Feeling like I’m swaying or being pulled when walking
Feeling like my feet aren’t properly on the ground
Symptoms get worse when I:
stand up
walk
look up or down
move my head or arms
My heart feels like it races or I become very aware of it, especially when I feel unsteady or anxious
Sometimes I feel shaky / jittery
I feel much better when I lie down
I’ve had my:
blood pressure checked → normal
blood sugar checked → normal
heart rate checked → usually normal (around 70–90 at rest, sometimes ~100+ when walking or anxious)
My GP thinks it may be a balance/vestibular issue and has started me on:
Betahistine dihydrochloride (8mg, Milpharm) – 3 times a day (trial for 1 week)
I’ve started it and I do feel a bit better sometimes, but I still get episodes where I feel really unsteady and my heart feels like it’s racing when I move.
What’s confusing me is:
It feels worse in the morning
Sometimes food seems to help
Sitting/lying down makes it better
But standing or moving can bring it back quickly
I’m really anxious about it because it feels like my heart is involved, but tests so far have been normal.
Has anyone had similar symptoms and what was your outcome?
Any advice or reassurance would really help.

I’m 19 and I’ve had derealization non-stop for 4 years. Every waking second, like I’m behind glass, not really present in the room or my own body, watching life instead of living it just staring, impossible to focus. Feels like I don’t even know what’s going on. It never lifts, not even for a moment. It’s the symptom I’d give anything to get rid of. And it gets so much worse when watching tv or in public areas with much people or just me walking alone in the forest. Every movement makes it worse.
And for example when watching tv I doesn’t even know what’s going on. It’s like my brain doesn’t pick anything up at all, I can watch a whole movie without barely understanding what it is about.

Some context: it comes alongside constant mild dizziness/brain fog (likely PPPD and/or vestibular migraine barely any spinning, no headaches). I thinks this all started after and because of my brain surgery (everything went well and all mri scans look good bloods test is normal. I’m currently on venlafaxine 150g but not far enough in to know if it’ll help yet (1month on 150g)

If you’ve had constant derealization like this, I really want to hear:

**1.**	Did it ever actually go away or get significantly better for you?  
**2.**	What helped a specific medication? Which one?  
**3.**	How long did it take before you noticed a change?  
**4.**	If it was tied to a vestibular/migraine issue, did treating that help the derealization too?

Any tips or anything would be appreciated!
(Sorry for bad English not my native language)

Has anyone recovered after 3+ years of PPPD? I’m starting to lose hope.
Hi everyone,
I’m a 24-year-old woman, and I’ve been living with what has been diagnosed as Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness (PPPD) for over three years. It all started after an extremely stressful day when I got very angry. I suddenly became dizzy and went to the ER. Since then, my life has completely changed.
I’ve seen multiple ENTs, neurologists, and two neuro-otologists, and they all agreed on the diagnosis of PPPD. I’ve had a brain MRI, videonystagmography (VNG), somatosensory evoked potentials, neurological exams, and everything has come back normal.
The symptom that completely disables me is a constant feeling of being drunk 24/7. It’s hard to describe unless you’ve experienced it. I don’t feel like the room is spinning—I feel intoxicated, disconnected from reality, like I’m living in a dream. I also experience frequent derealization, brain fog, difficulty concentrating, and I constantly forget words or what I was about to do. It never goes away. Not for a minute. I’ve felt this way every single day for more than three years.
I’ve tried so many treatments that I’ve honestly lost count. I’ve been prescribed paroxetine, clonazepam, flunarizine, sertraline (currently 100 mg with plans to increase), and even modafinil because ADHD was suspected. I’ve also seen psychologists, neuropsychologists, psychiatrists, and even tried neurofeedback. Nothing has changed the constant “drunk” feeling.
Over the past couple of years, I’ve also developed several other health issues, and I don’t know whether they’re connected or just bad luck. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism after suddenly gaining a lot of weight despite eating healthy and exercising consistently. I also developed persistent gastrointestinal problems, including gastritis, daily nausea, the sensation of food getting stuck in my throat, and exercise now makes me feel like I’m going to vomit. My endoscopy was essentially normal except for mild gastritis, but I still feel terrible.
Earlier this year I was also diagnosed with POTS/dysautonomia after developing severe fatigue, exercise intolerance, near-fainting episodes, and blacking out when standing up too quickly. Walking upstairs leaves me exhausted, and sometimes I feel like I’m going to pass out while working out.
I also have joint hypermobility, chronic neck pain, tingling in my feet from time to time, and chronic nasal obstruction that makes it difficult to breathe through my nose. At one point I became convinced that my breast implants were causing all of this and spent months researching Breast Implant Illness, but I was too afraid to undergo surgery without any guarantee that it would actually help.
At this point, I honestly don’t know where to go from here. I feel like I’ve spent the last three years going from one doctor to another, researching symptoms every single day, trying to find answers while watching my quality of life disappear.
I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I eat well, and I exercise as much as my body allows because I genuinely want to get better.
Has anyone here had a case as severe as mine—with the constant “drunk” feeling 24/7 for years—and actually recovered or improved significantly?
I’m also curious if anyone with PPPD also has POTS/dysautonomia, hypothyroidism, GI issues, or hypermobility, and whether treating those conditions made any difference in your dizziness.
I’m starting to lose hope, but I would really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s been through something similar.

How do you all manage anxiety or that unpeaceful feeling. From a week, I am feeling lots of uneasy feeling, after my symptoms returned, and it stays the whole day. I was doing 90% better before. I am taking Zoloft 37.5mg.

My life changed on February 7, 2026. After a few seconds of vertigo, PPPD developed. I haven't been able to work since. I rebuilt my life very nicely, I was already using public transportation, going to the mall, doing physical therapy, and was active for 3 or even 4 hours a day. I walked a lot, up to 4-7 km a day. However, a week ago I had a bad relapse. I don't know what happened. I'm still dizzy at home, which was already safe territory for me. What happened? How long does it take? When can I recover? Is recovery without a real relapse? Did you have replases during your heal journey? I need success stories, who recovered in how many months. I don't take medication and I don't want to.

I was diagnosed with both of the above and vestibular neuritis. I was never sick with anything when this started, but I was in my third trimester. It started with my eyes, I thought it was from my past cataract surgeries + had a YAG done and it got worse. The doctors thought it was pregnancy related and baby on a blood vessel, brushed it off. It was so debilitating I’ve been basically in the bed and slowly getting back to normal life for the last 9 months. I couldn’t even sit on the toilet or shower, major triggers. Riding in the car, it would go away. Most days now, I feel almost 85% back to normal and almost forget about it until my baby doesn’t sleep much and I’m awake or don’t drink enough water. They also thought preeclampsia or POTS, but I don’t have either.

We’re going to the beach in 2.5 weeks and I’m super nervous. As I said, most days are good, maybe still a small baseline of off balance, but mostly gone unless I only get 2 hrs of sleep with baby. I’m scared looking at the ocean and swimming will trigger it. Sometimes I feel like I’m on a boat in the bath. Anyone have experience with this? I just feel like all of my providers are guessing.

fyi, burner account for privacy.

Since now almost a full year I have been dealing with serious dizziness. 22yo, male. It is seriously impacting my daily life and on some days I cannot walk even short distances. My GP is somewhat dismissive and doesn't seem to take the impact it has serious. Please help me with your recommendations and how to proceed...

My history:

- Middle of Summer 2025, I was at an outdoor sport event. Sun was pretty extreme and I didn't feel well. I drank a lot of water and went back home but has serious dizziness.

- A few days later I go check blood pressure. Nothing unusual, but high pulse. They recommend to eat salty and drink more.

- I continue to feel bad and call my GP. Waiting time is long so I get an appointment 2 weeks later.

- I go to work and some events in the meantime, but have to abort or cancel them because I have fear of falling.

- GP finds nothing concerning, sends me home with some tips for nutrition. An MRI is made of my skull with no findings.

- 5 days later, I attempt to buy groceries and feel very bad. I have high pulse (185bpm) and have to drop to the ground to not fall. I feel like blacking out.

- I call GP, another appointment scheduled. I have some major headaches on the weekend and the 24/7 medical hotline asks me to go to hospital. Hospital finds nothing and sends me back home

- I visit GP again, high blood pressure and pulse, cannot walk. They send me to stationary hospital. Blood work shows nothing unusual, B12 is a bit low. Ultrasound of heart shows nothing. Rhythm normal. No further exams are made. After a few days I am sent back.

- A few months pass. I don't go to work for months. I can luckily work from home but it is daily torture, even while sitting.

- GP schedules me for ear exam. They find major over sensitivity on both ears but no problems with inner ear.

- GP schedules me 4 months later for neurology. Both neurologists find nothing unusual but diagnose me with PPPD and possible anxiety.

- GP schedules me for psychotherapy in summer 2026

During the whole timeline, I also went to physio weekly with no to only minor results. I recently switched to a better physiologist experienced with vestibular therapy. She is helping me the most of everyone. I left out details for privacy and not giving out identification.

So with another appointment finally discussing medication and SSRIs, here are my questions:

- I feel like I have a bit of chest pressure and always have anxiety on wide flat squares. I was never afraid of heights but now I am. Do my symptoms line up with PPPD?

- What can I do about my GP? Switching is nearly impossible since I have no nearby doctor and waiting times are >4 months.

- This whole thing has been going on for so long, because waiting times for appointments are usually 3 weeks - 6 months. What can I do? I already wasted thousands and my insurance is constantly maxed out. I could afford private care but am not willing to do that unless someone really can help me. Until now most attempts were fruitless.

- What SSRIs should I consider? I've seen Zoloft.

- My family is against all medication. They are supportive otherwise. What should I do?

- I have fear of fainting and also sometimes blacking out or worse. What can I do?

- Walking up makes my symptoms worse. What can I do to avoid that?

I am at an all time emotional low and I need help. I should soon have a psychiatrist. But I still fear that my symptoms will stay. Please comment on your advice... Thank you all 🙏

I need help. It’s been the worst year of my life. I was initially diagnosed with vestibular neuritis but now I’m being told is pppd and i need to start Zoloft. I need all stories and advice bc i NEED to get better. I’m hanging on by a thread at this point. 🥺🙏

Very severe rare case

I have long Covid and ME so I have nervous system over hyper activity to things

I had what I think was bppv in February I was tossing my head left to right all night on my pillow as I couldn’t sleep. Woke up with my head on the left and turned my head to the center then sort of turned it to the right and the right side of my room started to turn and my eyes were going with it (nystagmus) there was no panic or anything weirdly enough. I then sat up and it continued and then stopped lasted around 1 minute.

As soon as it stopped I was hit with sensory overload nausea couldn’t even move my eyes or look at a screen, derealisation, constant weirdness of the room. Tried to rest in bed closing my eyes my eyes would be rolling around and going crazy, my sleep completely stopped like no sleep at all. Laying down on my right or left side or even central or propped up didn’t matter I felt motion and movement in my head but weirdly no room spinning anymore more like I was moving instead now

I tried testing to see if I could get any room spinning but no position triggered it

A few times I tried to sleep and my brain would try to drop and I would get a fast head spin rush and wake up this happened 3 times and then my brain just stopped even trying.

Tried sleeping pills and they didn’t even work My gp kept telling me it would settle I went to the hospital brain scan was normal. I was literally getting micro minutes of sleep my brain would literally refuse to sleep this went on for a month the motion settled into a more of a brain motion feeling pattern which was the exact same thing as the original room rotation but like not the room doing it it was like me my brain was turning around if I laid on my right side I would feel like I was turning and then the same if I laid on my left side and even laying down or propped up was this turning sensation so everyone thought this can’t be bppv still as it’s happening in all positions

I was bedbound February and March and April

I still couldn’t sleep I was surviving on micro minutes of sleep and my gp was trying different meds and tried Daridorexant which made the motion react so badly it turn into fast spinning ( I’ve come to find out this drug works on the sleep wake transition) which is why my brain won’t drop into sleep this transition seems to trigger this spin head thing and my brain refuses to sleep

After this it was like my brain had been shocked again with a vertigo attack from this drug causing fast spinning my eyes were going everywhere and the sleep deprivation was so bad I ended up hospitalized a few days after taking that med that caused worsening spinning in my head. They had to put me on a benzo as I was so agitated and my heart rate was high I was going psychotic from no sleep from all of this

Anyway the benzo calmed my brain down, and gave me some light sleep. No one knows what to do with me I’m on this benzo which I don’t want to be on, it’s losing its effectiveness. I’m still experiencing sensory overload and still bedridden even writing this is hard using my eyes etc . Started to feel the motion feeling coming through too. My brain hasn’t slept normal since the vertigo attack happened to me in February. The benzo is only giving some partial light sleep to keep me going at this point

I really am at a lost with all of this it’s effected my mental health so bad I’ve even tried to … my life because of the suffering.

There is something going on with the vestibular system and sensory system where my brain refuses to drop into sleep because it thinks I’m moving or spinning or something I don’t know. It’s treating it as a threat I think

The problem I have is i have long Covid and ME and nervous system hyper excitability so I can’t do normal exercises and stuff as it makes my condition worst but it’s like the vertigo attack as triggered a sort of on going motion spinning in my head and sensory over load and my brain refuses to sleep cause of it .

Or I still have active bppv but I’m thinking this is unlikely.

The problem is I can’t sleep so me doing more like using my eyes makes everything worst. If I could sleep I wouldn’t have a problem

Please I need your wisdom to what is going on

I can’t function, I was already housebound due to my long Covid but now Bedbound in a dark room and having to rest my brain eyes and have nausea I’m suffering terribly

I’m so sleep deprived even with the benzo because my brain just won’t go into normal sleep. When the vertigo attack happened and the motion afterwards etc I wasn’t panicked or anxious I just let it be but it didn’t matter cause my brain wouldn’t cross over to sleep. This is a huge serious problem

Hello people I haven’t been diagnosed with PPPD but from everything I’ve read it seems to line up perfectly.

I have been experiencing this condition dizziness all of the time I have good days and bad days.

I have been to the hospital several times and they say all is good

I’ve tried all of the stretches and movements that I’ve seen others recommend on here and they help to an extent

Often times I will feel worse later that day or the next day with tight muscles

My question is what helped you the most with your recovery

I am hopeful that I will get better but it is very very hard

I’m at the point where I have trouble doing the things I enjoy in life and I don’t know what to do.

Please let me know thanks for your help

Curious - I still do in small amounts

But then again I still have debilitating pppd

So ive had this for 19 month . 24/7 swaying feeling fishbowl feeling when i turn. I feel like im in a veil. Sometime im just sitting there and then boom i feel a head rush and then the room starts to sway and warp . As if i was on a boat in a storm. I could be eating and boom out of no where. I use to never get these "flares" early on in this. Does any one else experience those? Idk how to explain this to dr or people. Im just sitting and doing bothing then head starts to rush and then pulls heavy. Longest episode was like 5 mins. I have been to ent early on. Had cvemp and caloric test . 10% weakness on right from caloric and no response in cvemp on my left. Idk what to do. I also did vrt for 8 months once a week early on. Not to mention the visuals when i look at bookcases or books in a row or picture frames they vibrate or "glitch" it only happens when both eyes are open though. Ive had my eyes checked by my eye dr and a Neuro-Ophthalmologist both said my eyes are fine.

I am feeling sick, like a cough, flu... and I am feeling more unstable, and dizzy. Do you have the same?

Hello again. :D It turns out I have a major hormonal imbalance; I have ovarian cysts and was prescribed birth control pills, but I'm just starting the treatment. Has anyone else experienced this and can tell me if any of these treatments have helped control PPPD? Or if they actually worsen PPPD?

I’ve been struggling with something that’s really worrying me and wondered if anyone else has experienced it.
Today I went into a shopping centre and within a few minutes I started feeling really weird. I became very dizzy, my legs felt like jelly, and I had this swaying/rocking feeling like I couldn’t stand properly. My whole back, from the back of my head down my spine, felt really stiff and tense. I felt so overstimulated by all the people, lights, and noise that I thought I was going to pass out.
I got so scared that people were going to see me faint that I had to leave straight away. As soon as I got back to the car and sat down, I started feeling much better within a few minutes.
The strange thing is I’ve been to the same shopping centre recently and felt completely fine. Some days I can go out with no problems at all, and other days I feel awful.
I also get episodes where after eating (especially in the morning) I become shaky, dizzy, my heart races, and I feel like I’m going to faint, especially if I get up and start doing things.
I’ve never actually fainted, but the feeling is so convincing that it really scares me.
Has anyone experienced anything similar? If so, did you ever find out what was causing it?