Sorry to see you are still struggling, Agnes. Hope the meds soon get into the helping phase! If your doc says you can use vallium - give it a go. A good night’s rest can do wonders for your general health - which in turn gives you the will to stay strong!
Yes, this too will pass…eventually!
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Great that you made it through your first days. The tears were probably relief as well as tiredness! Now you know you can do the nest day…!!
I get anxious about going to work incase I get a real bad dizzy spell but it has never got worse but I still carnt help thinking it might, positivity is the key do you live in the uk mazzy?
I hear you on that anxiety, Mellybob. Fortunately, I do not have a ‘job’ - but have to drive some 40k Monday’s to Thursdays as I am ‘delivery service’ for my home based husband’s business as a Dental Technician. He had to do the trip a couple of times and it caused a huge disruption all round… Last year was a nightmare for me!! So far this year I’m pretty much under control - just holding thumbs that it stays that way!
No, I’m in South Africa 
…not as up-to-date on matters of MAV etc as far as I can find out!
oh yes I remember you saying you were in south Africa now, MAV brain DUH! remind me again of your experience and if you have any dietary triggers and what medication your on please!
Mellybob, you will find my whole (long!) story in the category 'Information vault" - “alternative treatments” - "My experience with Supplements and Natural/alternative Medicine ".
I have pretty much proved to myself over the last week that the weather (drops in the barometer) are the biggest trigger for me - and then I have to lay off all coffee and chocolate 
(i.e. caffeine!) until it stabilizes. I have not tried my favorite tipple- red wine - since before Christmas…just did’nt want to take the chance, but had a couple of (good quality) brandies with no side effects. Otherwise, I have found no evidence of any other foods affecting me…I must add that I hardly ever eat out or have ‘take-aways’, everything is cooked from scratch. Must also say that until this last round with the beast…I have been enjoying all of the above …especially the chocolate … far too much!
Wishing you luck with your battle, - it sounds as if it is retreating a bit…just keep on hanging in there.
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Hi James! I have never once thought it could be my ear at play until now. You know I have a strong family history of migraines. Lately when I drive up and down the hills in Austin my affected side where I always get the migraines, the ear will not open on that side normally with the pressure change like the other ear. I have to yawn to get it to do that. Also, I have been getting what may be pulsatile tinnitus on occasion after sleeping all night only on the affected ear. I am seeing my neuro on Monday and can’t wait to hear his opinion on this!
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I am just curious as to your diet in general! I’d love some ideas as to your favorite foods. Do you have that in your blog?
Let us know how you get on!
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For sure! I’m certain he will say, “It’s nothing to do with the ear and all to do with migraine :)”
Yeah, and my name is James BOND! 
Honestly, I’m so disappointed with ENT medicine. I come from a high tech engineering background and ENT medicine just seems to be at a very naive stage. The symptom management is pretty good, the psychological management seems to be pretty good, but gosh, the inability to tell you what’s REALLY going on is quite surprising. Or maybe they do this deliberately to prevent us getting anxious, but that can come across as condescending.
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I have a shopping list on my blog but it is just for the Migraine diet - includes histamine items because I have only recently reduced those items in my own diet. Vertigo Tales and Tastes: (6) Lost and Found - WHAT TO EAT (USA). I have also shown a comparison and overlap of the migraine, low histamine and low tannin diets. You might be interested in this. Vertigo Tales and Tastes: S G Blog Post: COMPARE THE DIETS
I tend to eat, for breakfast: oatmeal and oat-based cereals (Puffins Original, Sunrise Crunchy, Oat Bran Flakes, Natures Path Pumpkin Flax Granola, etc), melons/mango/a few blueberries/one Sunsweet D’Noir Prune (preservative/sulfite free), an egg once or twice a week, GF toast with Sunflower Seed Butter, maybe a tsp. of Apricot jam), Mestermacher Natural Pumpernickel Bread (toasted - yum) or maybe a small piece of regular toast with one ounce of cheese every 3-4 days. For lunch and dinner I eat chicken, lamb chops, chicken, occasional steak, chicken, once a month some canned tuna (Nothing but tuna and water), chicken, the allowed vegetables, salad and maybe rice or quinoa or small amount of pasta. I make my own pesto so I can reduce the Parmesan. In the summer we get fresh wild salmon and I can eat 3 ozs. once a week or so - No leftovers though. I make my own salad dressings. For snacks: I make my own cookies, Honey Pretzels from Trader Joes, a few potato chips, green apples, popcorn, Skinny Pop, TJ organic chocolate chip chewy granola bars (very little chocolate) andmost corn chips are okay, Once in a while I have ice cream. Once every two weeks I may have 1/2 an orange. For candy I do okay with: Coffee Rio, Original ChocoMints, and Werther’s Original. I drink Rooibus Tea ( not chai) with a little Agave sweetener and Mount Hagen Organic Decaf Instant Coffee (co2 processed, not chemically processed). If I have a brewed decaf out once in a while I survive. Never regular coffee. Never alcohol. Never Asian food unless I make it. Never caffeine drinks. Maybe one bad nitrite item once a year: No. 19 sandwich at Langer’s deli (pastrami, coleslaw on fresh rye) or or a Pinks Chili dog If the family is eating out and celebrating we share desserts so my portion is not very big. I keep bad things at the condiment size and I do much rotation of tyramine and histamine foods through the week. Hope this helps. (vertigotalesandtastes.blogspot.com)
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Lee, just wanted to say ‘Snap!’. I seem get worse ear symptoms when I’ve spent the night sleeping on my bad side.
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Hey there, how’s your day so far?
I did not try Nort…just Effexor to start with. It is nice to know that there are more options to try if Effexor is not working. I have always been a bad sleeper so I think it would have been wiser to start with Ami…but that’s looking back.
Thank you for your kind words again :-).
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Just to agree with both you (James) and Lee, lying on the affected side spell trouble! From way back with Menieres, I always found flat on the back best, and as part of my determined effort to beat this thing, I resolved some 4 months ago to only sleep on my back - generally not too onerous as back problems force me to do it mostly anyway. I only started testing the ‘good’ side a few weeks ago. That was fine - but even now, about half an hour on the left (bad) side and the tinnitus kicks up a few notches and head fullness…and then I turn back on my back!! Unlike you, I do not welcome any spins - I always fear that they may be the beginning of something bad!
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James and Mazzy so weird! Glad to know I’m not alone. I toss and turn all night so I never know what side I’ll end up in!
Spinninggirl LOVE the food recommendations! I’m still trying to figure out all my triggers there. I’ve been eating a ton of blueberries each morning in my smoothie and am sad to possibly give that up…
Maybe try giving up JUST the blueberries for a week or so and see if it makes a difference??? Or maybe that’s a stupid remark, as the offending substance in the blueberries seems to be in a LOT of food… Fortunately for me, it seems to be only medium to large quantities of caffeine containing stuff that affects me.
I am excited to hear what your neurologist says. And, did you know that Austin has a very good migraine support group. I found them online a few years ago when I was researching my issues - before I received the helpful diagnosis from an oto-neurologist. Austin Migraine Support Group / Migraine Triggers I found them (a very helpful site) and TC Hain at the Chicago Dizziness and Balance Clinic and another physician in Florida and then I realized the ENT’s in Southern California were not informed on this problem. I knew then that there were better answers and solutions and one needs to hook up with someone who has a neurology background. And do much research on their own. It is not easy and it takes a while to wrap your head around all of it and believe it. You have to come to understand the cumulative and additive nature of offending foods, as well as many other possible triggers. For many of us, it’s tyramine and histamine and tannins. Funny about the sleeping thing - I have to sleep on two pillows (making sure my neck is also supported), at a 45 degree angle, and then I can sleep on my bad ear, or back, or other ear. I never can lay flat for sleeping or exercise or at the dentist,etc. Good luck at your appointment. (www.vertigotalesandtastes.blogspot.com)
hi agnes ive been at work today and it was such a stuggle it was worse than my first day back on Wednesday but I will try and keep plodding I think I may need to up my nortriptyline a little bit more up to 45mg and see if that helps,are you noticing any effects from the Effexor yet? x