Hello all! I was recently diagnosed with migraine associated vertigo last spring. I’ve had Vertigo every spring (anywhere from march-June) for the past 5 years. I finally saw an ent last year. He had me do a hearing test and several other vestibular tests (warmer in the ear, etc). Everything same back normal so he was able to conclude my inner ear was not the cause of my symptoms. Based on my symptoms (unbalanced, dizzy, feeling like I was on a boat all the time, sensitivities to light/sounds, and the occassional splitting headache to boot) he diagnosed me and provided me with an article about migraine associated vertigo. My initial thought was ‘I don’t get migraines that often, that’s impossible’. However after reading the article and doing more research it started to make more sense and ‘fit’ what I was going through.
Prior to last year, the vertigo was manageable and I could get by. However this year and last year have been significantly more intense. BUT I only experience the symptoms in the spring. Judging from some of the comments I’ve read, I should probably consider myself lucky. However, it still makes for a few miserable months of the year.
I’ve come to accept that this will likely happen every spring. My questions are:
Is there anyone else out there who only gets this seasonally? (I’m assuming Weather has a lot to do with it)
What do you find your triggers are?
How do you manage your symptoms? (I’ve been given serc every year and my family doctor now wants to try treating with migraine wafers…anyone else taken this route?)
How do you cope at work? (do you provide your work with details/education of your condition… my boss is understanding and supportive but isn’t familiar with MAV and seems to think there’s a ‘cure’ so to say)
I was so happy to see a whole forum for people who go through this horrible ailment!
Sounds like MAV. Very interesting it hits you so seasonally. There could be a role for atmospheric pressure in this, but I’m no expert.
I would recommend you try the stock MAV drugs first, Dr. Hain has a very good flowchart at the bottom of this page:
Essentially you should explore Propanolol or Amitriptyline/Noritriptyline first, but discuss with you doctor what is most suitable for your body. Ami & Nori are particularly effective because they are vestibular suppressants. Amitriptyline also makes you drowsy so its very good for helping you sleep which is critical to stave off migraine attacks.
I’m taking a career break at the moment, in large part because of this illness, but also because I can. However, once on Amitriptyline I found no issue working for hours on end and indeed I have various personal projects at home that I’m able to focus on unless very symptomatic (rare).
Wow. I’m shocked to find that someone else only experiences this dizziness in the Spring! Last year was my first year experiencing it and it only last 4 weeks (thank God!), but like clockwork is back this year. It’s been 2.5 weeks now and I have not actually been diagnosed with anything yet, but I’m thinking this fits pretty well.
I kind of just chalked last year up to being an undiagnosed ear infection or something because it just went away completely. I guess that’s not the case unfortunalty. I, also, do not normally get headaches/migraines, but I do notice them more when the dizziness is there.
I’m wondering … could it be a winter of no sweating lead you to have excess of salt, retained water?! … just a thought … so by Spring this effect is at its worst …
I had vertigo 5 years ago and also thought it was an ear infection gone wrong! Last year was my worst year. This year lasted around 3 weeks. I’m a little worried once the weather starts to change again in another week or so, it will reemerge. We’ve been getting very mixed weather in Ontario this spring! I’m hesitant to try treating it with anything other than serc because it’s only seasonal so so far I’ve just suffered and taken time off as needed every spring (usually a week). I would say definitely see an ent! Even though it’s likely migraine associated vertigo, they can still rule out that it’s not caused by a deficiency in your middle ear