can i get an āamenā from the congregation! go get 'em kelley 8)
Hi Donna,
I donāt have a whole lot more to add than what has already been said. I totally agree with everyone, DONāT GIVE UP! These āguruāsā donāt have a magic wand. I know there have been times that I have gone to see a highly respected MAV Dr. with the hopes that they were going to fix me and then the horrible let down when the med they prescribed did not work. With that said I have found that my GP is the most helpful of all the other Dr.'s Iāve seen. I hardly ever go to my Duke Neuro anymore as my GP can prescribe the same meds. My best advice is to print out the copy of meds that Scott posted regarding the best migraine meds for 2012 and take it to your Dr. Start at the top and try med, after med until you find āthe oneā.
I also wholeheartedly agree with Lisa about the driving. I think it is ludicrous that he would tell you to drive when you told him that you are worried about it.
Good luck, I hope you get some relief soon!
Elisha
hey donna- you want to try effexor together lol? i have to get my px filled and was thinking about starting next week. iām nervous about it but excited for the āwhat ifā possibility! definitely going with the brand name too. where in so cal do you live? i live in san diego. i visited dr. cha at the same office and was pleased with the results although i wish there was a magic wand to make us better.
at least you got a diagnosis and i think the driving thing is CRAZY! if he told you to stop vrt because it wasnāt helping, then why would driving in a car help your dizziness- hello? that is just plain scary! i also have mdds so driving makes me feel better.
hang in there and keep me posted about the effexor start date! if you do it, iāll do it lol!
Just chiming in to say, if you are dizzy and you feel you cannot drive, please donāt! My primary doc said if you have a DX of vertigo, some states can even take away your driverās license. And never ever drive if you are too dizzy. I know for me, I get so motion sick and dizzy (even as a passenger) if I were to try and drive, Iād drive off the road or into someone else, and so I donāt drive. I was told not to. Itās not worth my life or someone elseās just ānot to give into the dizzinessā.
Have you tried any supplements? I had a little help with 400 mg. a day of Riboflavin (B2). My doctor also said to take Magnesium and Butterbur. There are some studies out there that show Feverfew and COQ10 have helped some, but the things I have read (and my neurologist too) said Butterbur has had better results than both those. She is big on exercise, yoga or some type of relaxation, and the migraine diet. I read that up to 80 percent or some number around there have food triggers. I know I absolutely do. It takes a lot of work but if you can figure some food triggers, you may find some help. At one point I was eating swiss cheese every day and was horribly sick for months and couldnāt figure out why and when I started the elimination diet, I nixed the swiss and felt a lot better. She also suggested bio feedback and accupuncture.
Two books I highly suggest for general reading is The Migraine Brain by Carolyn Bernstein (she is my neuro and she is wonderful) and Heal Your Headache by David Buchholz. There is a lot of good info in those books.
Unfortunately some people, myself included are very limited to what drugs they can take because of multiple meds they take, drug allergies, other health problems where certain meds are constrained, and past reactions or the few left just didnāt work. Iām on the last 2 I can possibly try. My doctor said that sometimes all you can do if the meds donāt work if you canāt take or tolerate them is the lifestyle changes, supplements, stress reduction, migraine diet, and treat the worst attacks as they come with benzos, anti-nausea meds, or whatever works for you. It really sucks because if these 2 meds donāt work for me, Iām stuck being dizzy and sick every day like I have been for 8 years. However, Iāve been told Iām one of the worst the drs. have seen and NOT the norm and if you can take the drugs in the categories mentioned (and there are some that are not in those categories, Iām taking Periactin right now which is an old antihistamine that my daughter had GREAT success with for her migraines) then hang in there because your right medication or combo could be right around the corner. I wish you the best of luck, truly.
Hey Donna,
I was so disappointed to read your post. Iām on vacation, but wanted to tell you how sorry I am that you had such a terrible experience with a doctor that is supposed to know about this stuff. I got angry when I read your post. But at least he ruled out other things and gave you the proper dx! And thank goodness you have a pcp that is willing to stick with you and write prescriptions.
I am also angry that he told you to drive. Trust me when I tell you that driving every day does NOT make it better. In fact, for me, it makes it worse. It is dangerous for you and for others around you. It makes me question whether he knows anything about vertigo and dizziness.
Anyway, it sounds like youāve received some great advice here and you are not going to quit. We will never let you give up hope. We all will just keep on searching for an answer until we find what works. Its frustrating, but at least weāre all in this together.
Hang in there. You will find something eventually.
Mary
Thanks for all the replies and advice everyone. I let my husband read everything and he was surprised by the support here on this board. I have been telling him about this for months and now he knows why I am on here all the time. Most of you have more answers than the actual doctors 
I havenāt tried driving yet, and if I decide to my husband will be in the car and I will only try it around my neighborhood.
ilovesalem ~ I am definitely going to start the brand name Effexor next week. Let me know if you are going to also and we can be Effexor buddies I live in Whittier right on the North Orange County border (Fullerton, Buena Park). If I ever get down to San Diego maybe we could have lunch and chat about our misery together.
Mary ~ thanks for taking the time to reply while you are on vacation. That was very sweet of you
I so hope that you find your med, and that you dont give your hopes upā¦
I live in a land were there is a great infrastructure. And I have a bike to take me anywhere (without dizzy-probs!?) And I have no driving license. So maybe I just donāt get it. But I really thinks: :?: when you tell a doktor you get dizzy from driving, and he just says; go for itā¦!?
sounds good to me! i work monday and tuesday so was thinking about starting wednesday? you start though whenever works for you! iām going to start at a super low dose and get the capsules so i can open them up and literally count them out and out them and put them on applesauce. I canāt remember what the dosage is off the top of my head but around 12.5mg?? dr. cha said to take it in the morning since itās very energizing but i kind of want to take them at night because my biggest fear is the nauseau and i want to sleep through that if i can.
we have disney annual passes and my kids are in the modeling industry so we are back and forth to la a lot so let me know if youād ever like to meet for lunch! my husband did the same thing one time and read the posts on something i posted and was very impressed with the outreach. i have never met someone that has what i have so that would be really neat. it might have to be after we both get adjusted to this new drug or we can go celebrate because hopefully it will work for the both of us! (fingers crossed!)
Ilovesalem,
I am planning on starting the Effexor tomorrow morning. I know the brand name worked for me years ago when I took it for depression (I was going through infertility treatments at the time), so I am hoping it will work for this too
Let me know when you start yours and we will keep each other company along the way.
I would love to meet up sometime and live about 20 minutes from Disneyland. I will have to find a ride though, unless the Effexor starts relieving my dizziness. Just let me know when you will be around the area and we can make a plan for lunch or something.
Take care and good luck with the Effexor.
Donna
As the others have said, donāt give up. It really might take a totally unexpected combo of drugs to help you.
Also, unless you have a particular sensitivity, there is no reason not to throw the kitchen sink of vitamins and supplements at this: magnesium, butterbur, vitamin B-2, feverfew and CoQ10.
You are very lucky to have a GP that is willing to start trying the drugs. The GPs are a lots easier to reach than these superstar neurologists anyway!!
Good luck!
ilovesalem,
I would highly recommend taking them in the morning on a full stomach. The first day, I took Effexor around 4pm and it was a nightmare as I think I maybe slept 2 hours which made my MAV 100 times worse. The next day, I took it in the morning than took a Tylenol pm that night and have been doing that ever since.
In the beginning, I would take the pill after breakfast than take the pill and just go lay down with some saltine crackers in case I got nauseous.
Good luck to both of you and hang in there.
Mary
Mary,
Thanks for wishing me luck with the Effexor. I havenāt started taking it yet. I am going to start it tomorrow morning and will take it with my breakfast.
I, too, want to add to the other posts about not giving up! It is a shame that these physicians have so much power and donāt think about the effects their words have on people. People that wait months, pay a lot of money, and just want to be given some hope. This is not a terminal disease (even though it can feel awful and life robbing). Just want you to know that there are many more things you can tryā¦if it means doing that with your GPā¦then so be it 
Iām wishing the best for you.
I want to let everyone know that Dr. Baloh was nice enough and kind, but he just didnāt have much to offer me, which was frustrating.
I am definitely not afraid to drive and really miss it because it has taken away my indepence, but I havenāt taken his advice to go ahead and start driving. I may try with my husband in the car around the neighborhood to see how I do.
Please let me know how you do driving. I do better with the Effexor, but not nearly enough. The bright sun makes it worse but sunglasses increase my dizziness.
Good luck trying. I donāt recommend it but itās good to at least try now and try after taking the Effexor for a few weeks.
Mary
Donna-
I edited my post. :oops: I am glad he was kind to you. I just felt badly that you had waited for the appt and thought you were really going to have some options after seeing this expert. To walk out feeling so awful when we know there are other docs that would never say what he did just pushes a button for me.
I think trying to drive with your husband in the car-in the neighborhood-is a safe bet. You can always tell him you feel badly and he can take over. I am assuming you wonāt have the high volume traffic-unless of course you live in a high rise in a downtown area.
I am hoping the Effexor works really well for you. It certainly is worth a good try. Looking forward to hearing about your progress.
Hi Donna!
I was soooooo sad to read your doc visit post!! Gosh, I wouldnāt drive either until your head has settled down! Also, you are correct about name brand Effexor. The generic was actually causing my horrible side effects. I am also one of those that needed more than 1 daily preventative. I have been taking 3 dailys for the last 5 years and I would say that I function at about 98% daily. This is a miracle considering how very sick I was with this MAV.
Hang in there and keep us posted.
Pam
I just took my 1st dose of Effexor. Hoping it works for me.
Mary ~ havenāt tried the driving as of yet, but will probably do it this weekend.
teddypan ~ He was kind and did give me the MAV diagnosis, but the appt. was extremely disappointing for me. I thought seeing him would be the answer for me, and when it wasnāt, I cried and cried. Now I know not to get my hopes up, like I did that day. I tried to get in to see him since last October.
I am going to keep everyone posted about the Effexor.
Pam ~ I took the generic Effexor for 7 weeks and had horrible side effects (nausea, vomiting, increased depression, nightmares). I am hoping the brand name will be a whole lot better I have my primary doc working with me right now and she is willing to try anything I want to, which is a good thing. I might have to take more than one medication like you do.
Itās good to know that you are at 98%. I hope to be there soon too
Donna
Hello Donna,
Just discovered this site and aware the thread stopped in May. Hope you have found answers and are doing better.
Wanted to share my story just in case you are still searching and need a dizziness dr. Dizziness is terrible and made worse when dr canāt seem to find answers.
I have been dealing with dizziness for the past 5.5 years. It has now become debilitating. Light sensitivy is bad (the flicker of candlelight makes me lose balance) and supermarkets make me really sick. Driving is out of the question and being a passenger makes me sick (extreme nausea and vomitting and brain fog dizziness) as well as many other symptoms/triggers.
You are not alone in your experience with dr Baloh.
l went to dr Baloh during the first year and had a terribly disappointing experience as well. He looked at my responses to the new patient questionnaire and when he saw light-headed as a symptom, he said eat more. Maybe he was having a bad day. He was very uncaring and not helpful at all. His diagnosis was migraines, which is his āspecialtyā. My primary dr had already ruled that out. He is the only dr who diagnosed me with thatā. 3 other professionals said it was Cervicogenic dizziness. All my tests were normal, including VNG. None of the meds were helping (tried almost all listed in posts). Have seen (too) many specialists ( neurologist, rheumatologist, endocrinologist, etc, etc). My symptoms fit a little bit of this and a little bit of that illness but nothing fut 100% and there were no answers. Seeing a neuro-optometrist for the light sensitivity. Began seeing a psychiatrist. All dr and psychiatrist assure me they see the symptoms and it is physical but no one knows how to fix it. After 5 years, it was not improving.
To keep a long 5 year story short, this year people at my non-dizziness dr told my husband they knew someone who had dizziness that dr could not solve, went to the House Clinic, and they are now fine. Went to the House Clinic (they have a location in LA and the OC) and I finally have an answer, one that fits me 100%.
If you are still searching for answers, maybe they can help. Worth checking out their website, particularly the ābalanceā tab.
Dizzygirl5
Ultimately, what was the diagnoses ?