Top MAV doctors in United States

Here is a list of the top MAV doctors in United States. Please note that if your doctor is not on this list that does not mean he or she is not good or able to treat MAV effectively. This list is for those of you who are still suffering or may want a second opinion.This list of vestibular experts was put together by Dr. Terry Fife of Barrows Neurological Institute in Phoenix AZ and many thanks are in order!

Medical and Neurologically Trained Neuro-Otology Experts (Vestibular)

Robert W. Baloh – UCLA 310-825-5910
Joseph M.P. Furman, MD, PhD – University of Pittsburgh
John G Oas, MD – Ohio Head & Neck Institute; Ohio State University 440-498-9576
Terry D Fife, MD – Barrow Neurological Institute, University of Arizona 602-406-7808(My Doctor)
Jeffrey J Brown, MD, PhD – Portland, OR
Erik Viire, MD, PhD – San Diego, CA
Joanna G Jen, MD, PhD – UCLA
Greg Whitman, MD – Massachusetts General Hospital 617-573-6700
Gail Ishiyama, MD – UCLA
Robert W Jensen, MD, JD – University of Kansas
Sarah H Ying, MD – Johns Hopkins University 410-955-3319
Neil Cherian, MD – Cleveland Clinic
Kevin A Kerber, MD – University of Michigan
Ian M Purcell, MD, PhD – San Diego, CA
Yoon-Hee K Cha, MD – UCLA
Marcello Cherchi, MD – Chicago Dizziness & Hearing 312-274-0197
Timothy Hain, MD – Chicago Dizziness & Hearing 312-274-0197
Adrian Priesol, MD – Boston, MA
Sharon Hartman, MD, PhD – Emory University
Ronald Tusa, MD, PhD – Emory University
Scott Eggers, MD – Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
David Newman-Toker, MD – Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
David Soloman, MD, PhD – Johns Hopkins Unviersity, Baltimore, MD
Mark F Walker, MD – Case Western Reserve, Cleveland, OH
Martin Gizzi, MD – NJ Neuroscience Insitute at the JFK Medical Center NJ 732-321-7010
Michael J A Robb, MD – Phoenix, AZ 480-303-1133
Richard F Lewis, Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary
Robert B Daroff, MD – Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland OH
R. John Leight, MD – Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland OH
Jorge Kattah, MD – Illinois Neurological Institute 309-655-2630

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Thanks for the list Silverpen.

I would also add:

Steven D Rauch – MD, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston

Scott

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For diagnosis or possible second opinion, I’ll add the doc who diagnosed me:

Robert A Battista, MD, FACS - Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology, Northwestern University Medical School; Physician, Ear Institute of Chicago, LLC

He is co-author of the emedicine article on MAV (link can be found on this website in “Information Vault” under “Science Based Research”). He also sees patients in the Chicago suburbs.

But for ongoing treatment, he prefers patients connect with a neurologist.

To be more specific these are doctors that are “Medical and Neurologically Trained Neuro-Otology Experts (Vestibular)"
At one time I was told there are 43 in the US. But the list is shorter than that.
Ideally if you can find a doc with 3 of the 4 specialties (Internist, Neurologist, Otolaryngologist & Neurotologist) they should be well versed in MAV.
Being an Internist is just an extra my Dr.Terry Fife has. Don’t know if there are any others in the country with 4 specialties.
But any good Neurologist should know to refer you to someone with multiple specialties.

If anyone knows of others out of the country I would appreciate it as I am an admin on a small facebook MAV forum with sufferers in Ireland, Canada and other faraway places.

Thanks-Adam

Hi Adam,

Where is the Facebook page? Do you feel like sharing the link?

Cheers

It’s called the “Migraine Associated Vertigo (dizziness)”
Just do a search and one of us can add you. We only have 140 people. But some of us are long timers that have been diagnosed years ago.
Much of it is people asking if they should take drugs or does acupuncture work? Or my chiro says he can cure me. Many of the people find it because they have headache and eventually leave, but some of us have good experience and have been through major episodes together. We post links to your site all the time when people need specifics and real facts.
Your site is like being in majors and we aren’t even t-ball!

facebook.com/#!/groups/52537205047/

.

Thanks for the info…good for people to know.

However, I have my own little take on this as I have been going through this journey.

No matter who you see…it all comes down to trial and error with different medications (in my humble opinion)

I saw Dr. Baloh, he prescribed Celexa (which everyone told me he was going to prescribe) and it didn’t do shit for me.

Every doc is going to have their favorite…it is just a matter of finding out what cocktail of meds is going to work for you.

That being said…I haven’t found it yet and hope to hell I find it soon :?

Just started Lamictal this am per my last visit down to see a physician in Cali last week. We shall see…

You are absolutely right! Some of the “top drs” see it only one way … theirs! And with all due respect…we are all different and will do differently on different cocktails. I wish there was a magic bullet. Unfortunately that is not the case…yet! Hopefully websites sucg,h as this one which is filled with both scientific and anecdotal cases eill help! I know it helps me. Good luck with lamictel. My sister takes that (along with a host of other meds) for epilepsy. Please keep us posted on your progress

This is a great list! I think the closest to me would be in Arizona, Im in New Mexico. I have another appt. with a different Neuro this week .Tired of the run around with different doctors but the one Im currently seeing doesnt really have me on a plan, and seems more concerned with weaning me off medicines…when Im better, which he said could be in 6 weeks…yea right! I truly dont think he gets this illness. Im on Depakote ER right now, it has helped, but the last 2 days I have been symptomatic. He hasnt mentioned going up or adding anything else. I hope the Lamictal works for you Go Gonzaga, Kelly suggested that if Depakote fails me.

— Begin quote from “mommyrebecca919”

Tired of the run around with different doctors but the one Im currently seeing doesnt really have me on a plan, and seems more concerned with weaning me off medicines…when Im better, which he said could be in 6 weeks…yea right! I truly dont think he gets this illness.

— End quote

I printed out a copy of the MAV survival guide and gave it to my doctor along with a link to this website. It’s one way of testing your doctor to see how open minded they are to a lot of things… :slight_smile: Mine seemed to appreciate getting information that he wasn’t familiar with, which of course included the suggested drugs to try for treatment and links to scientific papers. If he/she’s not receptive to learning new things, another doctor would be a better choice. (Just my opinion)
Cat

— Begin quote from “mommyrebecca919”

This is a great list! I think the closest to me would be in Arizona, Im in New Mexico. I have another appt. with a different Neuro this week .Tired of the run around with different doctors but the one Im currently seeing doesnt really have me on a plan, and seems more concerned with weaning me off medicines…when Im better, which he said could be in 6 weeks…yea right! I truly dont think he gets this illness. Im on Depakote ER right now, it has helped, but the last 2 days I have been symptomatic. He hasnt mentioned going up or adding anything else. I hope the Lamictal works for you Go Gonzaga, Kelly suggested that if Depakote fails me.

— End quote

If you can get to Phoenix make an appointment with Dr Fife. He can be 6 months out sometimes. He is the head of Barrows in AZ a top Neuro Hospital. I have been told, and also know, that he is one of the best. thank god I live here because he saved my life!

Dr Lawrence Newman - NY - St Luke Roosevelt - Headache Institute

Dr. Kevin Kerber from University of Michigan is my Neurologist. I showed him the forum and he does check it out from time to time. I’ve never seen him chime in on it yet, but he does check it out. He was really glad that I showed him this forum so he can see how people respond to certain treatments and how we all cope.
He surprisingly wasn’t a big fan of managing this particular condition with meds right away. He does however agree with preventative meds for the chronic headache migraineurs.

His advice to me was to eat healthier and exercise consistently for a few months to see how well I improved. He also set me up with the vestibular therapist to do certain exercises to challenge my balance and I guess sort of retrain my brain to balance normal again.

He said that if I’m still not satisfied after a few months, he would start me on something. And I think he was leaning more towards Celexa for people like me. Not really any headache but constant off balance.

Greg

Greg-

Vestibular therapy- made my condition 50% worse. It is effective for certain types of vertigo (BPPV) is one and is great when your symptoms are almost nonexistent. But I didn’t follow that path. I jumped in right as I was at my worse and had 3 extra months of fun!
It may do wonders for you, but I ‘wonder’ what the rest of the MAV sufferers think about therapy for MAV?

Greg – if you read the info I picked up from Steve Rauch, he will tell you that when VRT makes someone worse in a really bad way who complains of chronic dizziness that it’s “practically diagnostic” for MAV.

There’s a study I’ve put on here somewhere (no time to look right now) that shows people with MAV did improve with VRT but the best improvement was overwhelmingly for those who were medicated first. In other words, if you have a brain that’s migraining its ass off and then you throw VRT at it as well, it may throw you into a tail spin (as happened to you). Your case exemplifies this well.

I too did VRT in the early days of this disaster and it would leave me feeling VERY ill for 2 weeks at it’s worst. If I just work on lifestyle and drop the triggers from my food, I always feel 100X better and the dizziness stops every time, though sometimes it may take weeks to get there.

Scott 8)

— Begin quote from “beatles909”

Dr. Kevin Kerber from University of Michigan is my Neurologist. I showed him the forum and he does check it out from time to time. I’ve never seen him chime in on it yet, but he does check it out. He was really glad that I showed him this forum so he can see how people respond to certain treatments and how we all cope.

— End quote

Thanks for telling me that. Good to know so many physicians are using the site and take it seriously to aid them in getting their patients out of the MAV hell hole. :smiley:

When I did Vrt, it didn’t make me feel a whole lot better. Usually made things worse.

When I saw Dr. Kerber, he may have thought that my MAV wasn’t that bad and maybe I could knock it out lifestyle changes alone. I was actually in a great mood when I saw him and there were no signs of me being ill at all as far as he could see. I did tell him that I had dizziness everday and while I was sitting in his office. He went over my scans with me and all the other tests with me (which all came out normal), and basically said, this will go away for you. I said how long roughly. He said, I don’t know, but I know it’s going to go away, you may have some slight dizziness the rest of your life but nothing that you’ll even be bothered about. He just said don’t worry about it anymore, live your life, clean up the diet and get in better shape and over time it’ll go. It could be months or it could be a year and some months, maybe even longer, but it isn’t here forever. You’ll eventually adjust and that’ll be the end of it.

When I talked to him about meds, he said if I’m not satisfied with lifestyle change alone, then we may try one. I believe Celexa was his choice med. He did make a point to tell me that if I were to try a med, I’d still have to eat better and exercise cause it would be more important not to stop the lifestyle change. It kind of sounded like the lifestyle change is what would be doing the job more than anything else as far as recovery goes and a med would just kind of help a little bit. Kind of like steroids for bodybuilder’s, if you take steroids and don’t lift weights, you don’t get that massive strength, but the two together and you become the Hulk. If you lift weights and don’t do steroids, you can still get massive strength, but just takes longer. (I’m in no way endorsing steroids here by the way, just an example. :lol: )

Greg

— Begin quote from “beatles909”

Kind of like steroids for bodybuilder’s, if you take steroids and don’t lift weights, you don’t get that massive strength, but the two together and you become the Hulk. If you lift weights and don’t do steroids, you can still get massive strength, but just takes longer. (I’m in no way endorsing steroids here by the way, just an example. :lol:
Greg

— End quote

Greg, what a great analogy. Love it!

Off to do some weights now :wink:

Dizzy Lizzy x

Thats a good point Scott. I wasnt yet on the right meds and my therapist swore he could help me and shook my head for 5 minutes rolled me around for 20 minutes. Just doing his job, but it was a nightmare. I think that once you are under control with meds and time it may help.

Thanks Liz! :smiley: