Me Awareness Week- Dizziness

This week is ME awareness week. ME (also known as CFS) is generally categorised as fatigue lasting more than three months and not explained by another diagnosis. But it’s so much more than feeling tired, so this week I will be concentrating on a different symptom each day and how they affect me. For more information on ME see the ME Association website. 

Today I am focusing on ,what is probably the worst symptom for me,dizziness.

Autonomic symptoms are very common in ME/CFS, and orthostatic intolerance refers to an inability to sustain upright activity. Symptoms of orthostatic intolerance occur after standing up from a recumbent or resting position or after prolonged standing. They include lightheadedness, spatial disorientation, feeling faint, sweating, palpitations and fainting.

Its usually worse when standing still and moving around helps. So normally I can stand for just a few minutes before I start to get dizzy but can usually walk for longer without problem. Until I over exert myself and then I'll be hit by a sudden feeling that I am going to faint. But some days I cant even sit up without my heart rate shooting up and feeling like I'm going to faint . At its worst I couldn't walk to the bathroom without leaning on the walls for support.

This for me is more debilitating than any other symptom. I can push through pain or feeling tired (I shouldn't but I can) but there is nothing you can do when your vision starts to go black and the world is spinning. I often refer to it as exploding head because its also accompanied by pressure in my head and tinnitus.