Agoraphobia Support Group

Hi Everyone, I am happy to be here and would like to tell you my story. I am in the process of writing a book about it for my children and grandchildren. I am going to try and condense my story to save space.

When I was twenty eight I was laid flat with Agoraphobia. I am now 73. Most of that time I have been home bound. I got by on anxiety medecine when I had to. Because I have a horrible fear of becomming addicted to those meds. I have taken very little over the years.

One day when I was about 67 years old I was taking a shower and after turning quickly I went into one of my severe dizzy spells. My symptoms at home are not so bad but this was a bad one. By this time I have been convinced I have a very bad mental problem that I have to overcome somehow. But after this incident a brand new thought came to my mind. This could be related to my eyes!!! I went directly to the computer where by now Like a lot of you I live. I looked up agoraphobia and the eyes. I came accross a site that listed all my symptoms and said it was a condition called hyperphoria. This condition is caused by one eye being higher than the other eye. This condition is usually not found by opthamologists because they are told in school that the other eye will compensate for the condition. A pilot cannot fly a plane if he is one diopter off in his vision.To make the eys right a prism has to be put in the glasses. This is not as easy as it sounds. There are only two doctors in the country that are doing this work. One is in California and one in Michigan. I live in Illinois so I went to the one in Michigan. I spent eight hours that first day at the eye doctors. Where I was diagnosed with severe hyperphoria. Healing came very slowley over a period of three years. I am still experienceing healing and it has been over five years. Looking at me you would never know that one eye was higher than the other. You can look in a mirror at the little lines over the top of your eyes and if you have that you will see one line is higher than the other. This is a disability and is like any other disability it will never go away but can be helped. In the case of a cripple they are helped by a wheelchair in this case it is a pair of glasses with prisims. I can't say everyone with agoraphobia has this condition but quite a few have.

For the first time in forty years I can stand in a open space and not be dizzy. Two years ago I flew to California with my husband. The first time ever in a airplane. I have done that twice. Are all my symptoms gone no but I am 98% improved. Since most people don't understand and can't comprehend what agoraphobics are going through they won't get the significense of this cure. Even a lot of you here probably won't be able to conmprhend it. It seems like such a simple thing but believe me it is very significant. I don't know if my book will ever make the New York Times best seller list but I will do every thing I can to tell my story.

I went to Vision Specialists of Michigan for my problem. I hope and pray that this information will help someone else live their life the way God intedned them to live it.

Hugs to you all, Yolanda

Post edited by: upintheair, at: 04/28/2012 08:52 AM

I have never heard of this condition. I don't get dizzy or anything, so I am pretty sure I don't have it. I a so glad you have found freedom after 45 years and Welcome to the group!!! Cheryl v.

This is the first week I'm here, so I hope I'm using this format correctly.

Congratulations for overcoming these conditions. I had panic attacks for several years--had to pull over to the side of the road while driving just to find enough air to breathe. Getting married helped, but I also got angry enough to fight this condition--and won. It's a miserable condition.

Oh my goodness i wonder about this.

I often get triggered when i turn my head.

Can i ask if you always noticed this or if it became more of an issue at a certain age.

Certain things i really have trouble with.

There was this ride at a park and there was a rotating platform you had to walk on to get into the cart and out of the cart. I can not walk on this without getting extremely disoriented,

Another question noticing this more lately.

When i look at written print it appears to be slanting downward instead of straight.

This past year i have developed difficulty wearing my contacts.

My vision seems affected becausw they gave me contacts for astigmatism.

In the past that part of my vision was not corrected.

I didn't see perfectly with the plain lenses but now my lenses distort my vision after time wearing them and make my symptoms worse.

Post edited by: damselndistress, at: 04/28/2012 09:16 AM

Welcome to the group Yolanda! And thank you for sharing your story with us!

Hi, thank you for your reply. Dizzyness is just part of it. I didn't go into all the symptoms. But along with dizzyness is face ache confused with sinus problems, migraines, neck ache, upper back pain due to a head tilt sometimes confused with spinal misalignment issues. Motion sickness, nausea, poor depth perception. Reading difficulty like skipping lines while reading, losing one's place while reading. Light sensitivity. Feeling overwhelmed or anxious when in large contained spaces like malls or big box stores like Wal Mart, feeling overwhelmed or anzious in crowds (sometimes confused with anxiety or agoraphobia.) This tends to run in families.Inner ear imbalance is also the symptom of hperphoria. The list can go on. People are effected diferently by this. I didn't know I was dizzy until it was pointed out to me. I didn't associate my problem with dizzyness because it didn't feel like that. The dizzy I felt was for example if you are in your car and sitting in a space in a parking lot. Then the car next to you pulls out and you think for a split second your are moveing. That is the kind of dizzyness I had. It was like a pitching forth. Everyone is different.

Hugs

Oh when i am in an elevator and it stops I have to pause because i am still moving.

I have trouble with escalators.

I had to ride one at Cleveland Clinic and i struggled with my landing.

Like i get propelled off of it-leap kind of fall lurch forward can't get my bearings.

It's very difficult.

Yes a lot of sinus pain, pain behind right eye.

I also focus with the opposite eye that most people do so when I'm close to someone and talking I have trouble focusing and almost feel like I am looking cross eyed.

I wonder if it does get worse with aging or even as you get tired at night.

I was trying to read a paper my daughter brought home from school and the words were literally jumping all over the page.

It took me forever to read the entire thing,

I kept having to stop and find my place and resume reading again.

Can i ask if you ever see halos around lights because this is one of the neuro type symptoms I've had that I wasn't quite sure fit in with anxiety/panic.

Also just really fuzzy vision murky in the morning that just takes a while to clear up after you've gotten up.

Interesting find here that i could relate to a bit.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1326897/pdf/ taos00109-0165.pdf