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I have had this going back 6 or 7 years. I notice a slight dizziness or lack of balance when I walk into a store, like a grocery store. I will really notice it when I start walking down aisles in a store or walking in a mall. There is almost a fogginess, for lack of a better term, along with it. It usually passes or at least decreases when I am outside but it has been increasing in frequency over the years. I have tried researching this but have found nothing on it.
Anyone ever heard of this bizarre symptom?
I am sometimes (not too often) dizzy for many minutes at a time, going back since I broke my back and neck 4 years ago. Going up and down grocery aisles definitely aggravates the problem. Everything looks like it is washing downward before me and I can hardly see. Walking down the sidewalk can have the same effect. So can driving,unfortunately. I recently got into a small accident because of this, because I was I was in a rush to go home (I lived just across the street) and didn't stop to rest long enough. Resting (lying down, eyes shut) definitely helps. Dizziness is a pain in the neck and can be dangerous. My doctor just gave me some exercises to do and I'd better do them!
I don't recall having those symptoms in a grocery store, but I do have them when I spend too much time in a mall, or sometimes when I am walking across a parking lot or across a street. Anxiety meds helped me a lot with the latter two. I have a detox book that talks about toxins such as formaldehyde in clothing, outgassing, and other stresses. The book said that some people are like "canaries", referring back to when people used to use canaries, for their sensitivity to toxic gases, to determine whether or not it was safe to work in the mines.
Thank goodness that other people experience these things. Makes me feel less like a weirdo.
Wow -- I can't believe all of you have the same problem. My mom and I both used to get dizziness in the supermarket starting back in the late 70s, and we had no idea why. Over time I figured it had to be something about the lighting, especially since it gets worse when I'm standing in line near the cash register, and there's often extra lighting there. I still occasionally get a loss of balance in a couple of stores, but it's only happened 3 or 4 times in the past 20 years. I have had no head injuries, am in great health, and can go for months or even years without having this problem and then all of the sudden it occurs... but in just 2 stores (my local Trader Joe's and Whole Foods) and not in others. I thought maybe the uneven floor in the TJ's had something to do with it, but 99% of the time I am perfectly fine in there.
A couple of times lately I've gotten dizzy when I've been outdoors for concerts. It usually happens when I first get there. I keep thinking it has to do with adjusting to the sunlight, but it happens more often on cloudy days, so I give up.
Grocery stores sometimes aggravate dizziness for me - they don't cause it in the first place. I know that fatigue and stress can trigger my dizziness - it was obvious, for example, when I had to cancel a job interview because I was dizzy (and then ran into a pole when I tried to drive, hoping it wasn't THAT bad). (My mind is now made up that I will NOT drive, period, if there is any question.) I rescheduled the interview, and had no problem the next time (well, not with the dizziness; the interview was another thing).
I've had an MRI for dizziness, which found nothing and cost an arm and a leg. I also saw an audiologist and a head and neck surgeon (no surgery). They did rule out vertigo, because things don't spin around when I'm dizzy; instead they come down in a continuous wash. I've run out of ideas of things to check. I'm thinking maybe I'll try my ophthalmologist, since the dizziness affects my vision. The only other thing I can think of now (and a good idea anyway) is to work on my stress level.
I've been dizzy a handful of times but almost always I overheat. It doesn't matter if it's freezing outside, I start to sweat in department stores and malls. Not grocery stores though, I'm fine there and drugstores too. It's where the clothing is mostly. I'm having a reaction to something but I don't know what.
Commercial fluorescent lights flicker at a high rate. Most people don't notice it but some are bothered by it. It can trigger seizures in some, just like strobe lights do. It may also be that only certain ones in a store are flickering at just the right speed to make you dizzy.
To most of the people responding here and certainly the poster and NKBETH please look into dysautonomia. I have POTS a subtype I suppose of Dysautonomia and I plus many others I have communicated with in support groups suffer from these symptoms. Lights in stores can actually trigger tachycardia for me and some times threaten my ability to stay conscious. I suggest googling dysautonomia, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia, and check out facebook for many groups sharing info about it like the Dysautonomia Connection. MVP diagnosis these days often means dysauto instead.
I notice it sometimes when I go in warehouse type places with high ceilings (Home Depot, Wal-Mart, etc). I wouldn't really say I get "dizzy", but I do feel kinda zoned out, maybe what they call "derealization".
I notice it sometimes when I go in warehouse type places with high ceilings (Home Depot, Wal-Mart, etc). I wouldn't really say I get "dizzy", but I do feel kinda zoned out, maybe what they call "derealization".
That's exactly how I feel. I can be ok in a place with normal height ceilings, but in a place with high ceilings I feel off balance. There's really no cure for it, I've been all over. they just run up a bill, give you various meds, then tell you to "go to counseling" Well, ok, as long as I don't have to walk down a hallway with high ceilings to go to the counselor////
I also feel the same way in some stores, especially wal-mart, I keep sunglasses on it helps alittle. I also get shocked if My hands are on the metal of the shopping cart.
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Dizziness update
