Feeling unbalance on high places?

[JasonBlue07]

Hi guys, everytime I'm on high places like on top of a tower, mountain, buildings and etc i feel unbalance, like I'm gonna fall down. One day I'm on top of a mountain at some kind of platform and I feel like I'm gonna fall down every second, I could barely move so I have to keep hanging on on something to move.

I'm going to Grand Canyon in a few weeks and I'm afraid that I'm gonna feel like this again and not being able to enjoy myself. Anyone know what it is?

 

[snarlingcoyote]

That's height vertigo. I get it in high places too and have to be careful, but I can get just normal vertigo by standing up too fast or taking a hot shower, so I already know I'm prone to it. A lot of people think it's fear of heights, but they're different things (although I could see how being prone to height vertigo could lead to fear of heights). I'm not scared of heights, in fact, I scale 40 foot dirt/loess rock cliffs for fun by myself and I've gone to the tops of mountains in the Rockies, Sangre de Christo mountains and the White Mountains, but I get height vertigo so I have to be careful. Go figure.

 

[MrsDuck]

Hi guys, everytime I'm on high places like on top of a tower, mountain, buildings and etc i feel unbalance, like I'm gonna fall down. One day I'm on top of a mountain at some kind of platform and I feel like I'm gonna fall down every second, I could barely move so I have to keep hanging on on something to move.

I'm going to Grand Canyon in a few weeks and I'm afraid that I'm gonna feel like this again and not being able to enjoy myself. Anyone know what it is?

Ditto the PP - sounds like height vertigo. I have both height vertigo and a fear of heights. Just thinking about tall places makes my palms sweat. I am very unbalanced on high places and always steer clear!

 

[Acklander]

Ditto on the height vertigo. A few years ago I had a bad ear infection that left me with occasional vertigo just from moving my head and a consistent height vertigo. It's not a fear of heights (I've sky dived for over 25 years) just the feeling that I'm going to fall.

 

[SleepyMom]

Huh, this actually explains a lot to me! Sometimes I am terrified of heights and other times it is not so bad, but as I think back to the really bad times I did feel as though I could fall easily.

When I am having that feeling I can actually see myself falling, and even though I am being very careful I feel like I could be pushed or bumped from behind or hit by a gust of wind, etc...

I recently walked across the Golden Gate Bridge and was afraid to do so, because of my "fear of heights". As I was doing it though I wasn't really bothered by the height, but was worried terribly that a gust of wind would sway the bridge and cause me to lose my footing so I would fall.

So glad I saw this, hopefully it will help me in the future!

 

[Wishing on a star]

I have a pretty good case of Vertigo.
It is an inherent physiological condition that you really can't do much for.
I am definitely not 'scared of heights'. That's not it.

I went to the Grand Canyon, and was fine.
On that trip, however, we did the Pink Jeep Tour at Sedona, where the souped up Jeep with huge all-terrain tires, actually goes out on a rock outcropping, suspended over the canyon there, and stops for the view, photos, etc... and turns around right there on the rock... THAT was when I found out just how bad my Vertigo could be!!!

If you avoid any real cliff-hanging activities (the main overlooks and views there at GCNP were def.. Okay for me) you should be fine.

PS: one really hasn't experienced the grandeur of the area until you have experienced a sunset at a nice overlook.

 

[jgh]

Interesting. Apparently I have height vertigo. I never had a name for how I felt, just thought it was normal. I always feel like this when I'm somewhere high, but I'm not afraid of heights.

 

[JasonBlue07]

That's height vertigo. I get it in high places too and have to be careful, but I can get just normal vertigo by standing up too fast or taking a hot shower, so I already know I'm prone to it. A lot of people think it's fear of heights, but they're different things (although I could see how being prone to height vertigo could lead to fear of heights). I'm not scared of heights, in fact, I scale 40 foot dirt/loess rock cliffs for fun by myself and I've gone to the tops of mountains in the Rockies, Sangre de Christo mountains and the White Mountains, but I get height vertigo so I have to be careful. Go figure.

But I don't feel dizzy or sick, it feel like you are having trouble keeping balance, like walking on ice for example.

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

I have this too. I never knew it had a name and I always thought it was just a fear of heights so this has been very enlightening!

I even get it walking down the stairs sometimes! Have to grab the hand rail and watch my feet due to the dizziness.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

But I don't feel dizzy or sick, it feel like you are having trouble keeping balance, like walking on ice for example.

That still sounds like height vertigo to me. Height vertigo is caused, unless I'm mistaken, by the same mechanism that causes sea sickness. What your inner ear feels and what your eyes see are two totally different things when you're looking out over a high vista or are rocking on a boat. Your eyes and your inner ear give conflicting accounts of what should be done to keep you in balance and you feel weird.

Most of us PPs have bodies that interpret this disconnect between our inner ear and our vision as dizziness. You experience it more as not being able to keep your balance.

 

[Auntie Sherry]

I had this for years found out my vitamin b12 was way too low. I got shots and now I take pills and this is gone. I couldn't even stand on a chair to change a lightbulb. It is so much better now. Could be the problem for some people.