Has anyone had any luck with a Naturopath? This is one avenue I haven’t explored yet to treat my MAV. Am a little sceptical as I haven’t had any success with other alternative/ natural treatments. My Aunty swears by a naturopath who cured her health problems. She mentioned me in her consultation and seems confident that she will be able to help me. What do you think???
Hi Kylie,
You’re right to be skeptical because unless they are simply offering B2, magnesium or CoQ10, you’re wasting your time and money. You could have a crack at butterbur but the evidence is weak. Of course you don’t need to see a naturopath for any of this. See the new guidelines about the evidence based options I posted in the General Discussion forum.
Scott
Hi Scott. I tend to agree with you. I’m just getting to that desperate stage where I don’t want to leave any stone unturned. I know I need something more hard core than a herbal tonic from a naturopath it’s just a battle to find the right med. I already take all three of the vitamins you mentioned which also don’t seem to be helping. Flying to Sydney to visit Dr Granot on 15th May. Hoping he will be my saviour!!
Hi Kylie,
I’m currently being treated by Dr Granot and I see him again on the 18 May. He’s got me on 12mg of Periactin which isn’t really doing anything for me but there’s others who have got great results from it. It’s an over the counter anti histamine - you could give it a try now if you’re comfortable doing so. I started on 4mg and titrated up in 4mg increments.
I look forward to hearing how your appointment with him goes.
Vic
Wow, really…an over the counter medication. I’m heading to chemist to pick some up. I’m sorry it’s not working for you but it’s worth a shot if it’s helping others. Thanks for the tip and I’ll let you know how my appt goes. Fingers crossed. It was a big decision to leave kids for a few days and head to Sydney, but I think it will be worth it to speak to someone so knowledgeable. Are you on any other meds? Thanks again
Vic – I might see Granot again. The Ami is crapola for me and I’m currently coming down off of it. Absolutely getting slayed by the comedown today at work.
DK – that’s the thing with this illness is it makes us desperate and we end up wasting time and cash on lots of junk therapies. I’ve been though all of it myself. :?
Good luck with Granot.
S
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Wow, really…an over the counter medication. I’m heading to chemist to pick some up. I’m sorry it’s not working for you but it’s worth a shot if it’s helping others. Thanks for the tip and I’ll let you know how my appt goes. Fingers crossed. It was a big decision to leave kids for a few days and head to Sydney, but I think it will be worth it to speak to someone so knowledgeable. Are you on any other meds? Thanks again
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Definitely worth a shot. And if it doesn’t work for you you can at least discuss that with him at your appointment.
He had me start at 4mg and every three days go up until I reached 12mg. Not sure how med sensitive you are but of course you can start lower and go slower. Good luck!
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Vic – I might see Granot again. The Ami is crapola for me and I’m currently coming down off of it. Absolutely getting slayed by the comedown today at work.
S
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Oh, what a bugger. Especially as it seemed quite promising for you at the start. 
Yeah, maybe time for you to have another visit with Granot.
I’ve seen a naturopath a few times… Honestly, it was when I was really desperate (pre-MAV diagnosis) and was running out of ideas, kinds of docs to see, and hope. While not having the magic answer, she did help me rule a few things out - and got me pointed (partly) in the right direction. On her suggestion, we looked at dairy issues - none found, celiacs disease - ruled that out, and then confirmed the hormonal component, as she had me try a natural progesterone that really helped some of my symptoms significantly (just not the main one - the vertigo! - unfortunately). Oh, and she was the only one (not my gp or the endocrinologist) who, looking over my blood test results from the endocrinologist, was concerned about the fact that my cortisol level (normal range of 5-19) was 26. (She also had me try a supplement for that which I couldn’t really tell one way or another if it helped or not.) Anyhow, given a diagnosis now, I’m happier sticking with the MDs. That said, I’m holding out hope for my new ob/gyn hormone specialist doc who’s an MD but who also works with natural hormones. (I’m thinking, the best of both worlds…) Oh, and I told her about that cortisol test result, and she was astonished. Said unless I’m a body builder, there’s no way it should be that high. (Ha! Felt vindicated 
Anyhow, she had that retested along with some other things, so we’ll see how that comes out this year… But, I digress… Unless you’re looking for someone good with vitaminy things and have a lot of extra money to throw around, I wouldn’t look to a naturopath for an answer to MAV.
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Oh, and she was the only one (not my gp or the endocrinologist) who, looking over my blood test results from the endocrinologist, was concerned about the fact that my cortisol level (normal range of 5-19) was 26.
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That right there is worth it, if it turns out to be the problem or part of it. I say, dont leave any stone unturned. Even the ones that appear to be “frauds” because you never know. 
K
Hi Tina,
Glad it has worked out for you. You may be the only person I know with MAV who has had success with a naturopath and herbs after 7 years on this forum. Wish it didn’t cost you so much but if it seems to be working then great!
Cheers
Hi Tina - How fantastic that you don’t need to take any of these shocking meds. Every medication I have tried has made me feel instantly fatigued and dizzier. Visiting any natural therapist is such an expensive venture but worth every dollar in your case. You have given me food for thought…thank you. Love the idea of taking the natural approach. Might pay a visit to Dr Granot first and see what he thinks.
Take care
Kylie
Hi Kylie,
Don’t be fooled by the natural approach. I went to hell and back pursuing just that with a migraine program 3 years ago. Taking the bioidentical hormones and the supplements I was supposed to build up to nearly killed me. Molly did the same and nearly had a complete meltdown when they suggested she stop taking Prozac. The bioidenticals were awful for her as well. I also used St John’s Wort and 5-HTP, both of which would be regarded as natural. Coming off SJW was worse than coming off Cipramil. I had weird leg pain for weeks and all of these weird twitches going on in my face.
Adam tried high doses of vit B2 and did his lower gut in. It took him months to recover.
Scott
— Begin quote from “dizzykylie”
Hi Tina - How fantastic that you don’t need to take any of these shocking meds. Every medication I have tried has made me feel instantly fatigued and dizzier. Visiting any natural therapist is such an expensive venture but worth every dollar in your case. You have given me food for thought…thank you. Love the idea of taking the natural approach. Might pay a visit to Dr Granot first and see what he thinks.
Take care
Kylie
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Hi Kylie,
No surprise to our regular forum members but I’m agreeing with Scott on this one. The ‘pharmacology’ vs ‘natural’ thing is a bit of a false dichotomy. If something has a pharmalogical effect it doesn’t really matter whether it comes in a packet marked ‘aspirin’ or as a bunch of leaves marked ‘willow bark’. Have a read of this:
Good article Victoria .Hmmm… doesn’t paint a very good picture of herbal meds. I often wonder about whether the placebo effect has something to do with a patients miraculous recovery when taking these herbal concoctions. I also am hesitant to spend a fortune on therapy that just has not had much in the way of medical research. If there was a simple answer I suppose there wouldn’t be so many of us still searching for answers to our health problems.
By the way Victoria I did try the Periactin (4mg). It totally wiped me out. I took it 2 nights ago and still struggling with after effects. So frustrating… I have a nightmare with meds that cause drowsiness (and most of them do). Does anyone know of any drugs that don’t have a sedating effect?
Kylie