Serotonin and MAV

Hi Everyone,

I’m new to this forum. I’m glad that I’m not alone but sorry to hear so many people are afflicted with vestibular migraines.

I started having dizziness/nausea about 8 weeks ago, often it lasts the whole day. I thought I had an inner-ear infection because I had been flying and had a lot of pain in my ears. That resolved but the vertigo symptoms persisted. I have been to my primary doctor, an ENT, and a physical therapist… The ENT said it could be MAV. Going with that, I started looking around and found all of you and see that some of you have taken antidepressants for symptoms of MAV. I used to take an SSRI for postpartum depression. I have been off for about a year. A month or two after I went off, I started getting “brain shakes”, which are common for SSRI withdrawal. They went away, but now I have vertigo and I wonder if it’s somehow related to the serotonin. I would love your feedback if you have had a similar experience, or if you have used an SSRI to treat vertigo. I’m wondering if maybe I should go back on…

Thanks!

I’ve often wondered that. There is paper I read that claims SSRI’s can even stop Menieres attacks. Does lack of Seritonin make you more susceptible to migraines? Id say yes based on the use of SSRI’s as an effective migraine prophylactic, though I can’t vouch for that personally. There’s a great thread called ‘med poll’.

Best of luck with your chosen med. But don’t forget the efficacy of supplements like Magnesium.

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Thank you, Turn! I am going to try the magnesium since I figure it cannot hurt. Also going check my recent blood work to see if they tested that parameter. Thank you for your suggestions.

According to this (http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/kc/serotonin-facts-232248#what_does_serotonin_do) serotonin is involved when you feel nauseated. Personally, I tend to have bowel symptoms (I know, sorry) on the same days I have my typical MAV symptoms, and serotonin is also involved in bowel stuff. I also have a history of being on and off antidepressants (and part of me wonders if I didn’t screw up the balance of serotonin in my brain with all that on-again off-again stuff, perhaps leading to the MAV symptoms). So it’s all definitely related!

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I’ve also read that it may be involved in the process to filter out tinnitus.