Hi,
I have had whatever this is since July.
main symptoms
Target, Supermarkets and lighting is a nightmare. The aisles look like blobs .
Tried Vrt , everything. What has helped you with visual vertigo?
Amitriptyline!
James, has ami helped you with imbalance at all? I still have imbalance at 15 mg and i know minimal relief is at 20mg. Yesterday i didnt take ami because i have a vng and ecog tomorrow and i feel no different. I wont be taking it tonight either. Only thing that ami helped me so far is sleep and only side effect i have is dehydration in the morning even though i drink ton of water through out the day and groginess which goes away after few hours which i can manage. Maybe I need to give it more time since it’s only been about 3.5 weeks while being on it.
I had very severe symptoms which worsened for my first 6 months of MAV and Ami helped hugely to begin with once I started taking it at around the 6 month mark. It reduced a whole host of them but took 20mg to fully work for me. It DEFININTELY eliminated the visual vertigo, nausea, lightheadedness, dizziness, rocking, marshmallow floor, reduced migraines, allowed me to use computers and watch TV again and helped me get my sanity back.
Imbalance, however, is one of the few it didn’t help with much directly in the short term. I think this is something your brain compensates for over time and Ami would help with that by stopping the migraines which will block compensation. Perhaps there is also healing and fluid balancing going on too.
Imbalance is almost the only vestibular issue I have at the moment (all attacks have ceased for the time being but I still get the odd blip of motion intolerance here and there) and it’s still not gone but much improved. As you know I dropped Ami a few months ago as soon as I felt I was well enough to cope without. Imbalance worsened a little on stopping it so maybe it was helping a little but since then it’s better than ever (but still not great especially indoors). Here’s hoping it keeps on diminishing …
Thank you for your input. Its interesting that imbalance is the only thing that did not improve while on ami. Now that i think about it, i think ami helped me reduce pressure on my forehead and the right side of my head. Im beggining to feel little bit more pressure on the right side of my head while not being on ami for 2nd night now. I do sure miss it for the help it gotten me for sleep though. Cant wait to take it again tomorrow after the test.
Also maybe im using the term imbalance incorrectly? For me, its the rocking back and forth sensation and sometimes needing the wall for brief sec to guide you because you get that you put your foot into ditch sensation even though the floor is evenly leveled. For example at work, When im using the bathroom stall doing my business, i get s rocking sensation and at home, i dont usually get that. I have a theory that the bathroom stall at work has a wall right in front of you so eyes are fixated to that wall so closely sonit causes that sensation whereas at home, the toilet seat has enough space between you and the wall so your eyes dont have to focus as much.
To me ‘imbalance’ is a kind of double sensation of insecurity when stepping and a sort of subtle ‘lob-sidedness’ of the experience of moving. Like your centre of gravity is off?
I find that the tighter the space the worse the sensation. When I’m going for a walk outside I can almost completely forget any imbalance.
Also it’s often worse in AM. By afternoon I’m often feeling a bit better.
Yes exactly. Thats i how i feel and the strange thing is i have none of those sensations when im driving. Driving lets me feel normal again somewhat.
Yes me too and I’ve said the same thing to my wife.
James,
Was your visual vertigo with stores, supermarkets,computer screens? Did you have any light issues? Dim lights/ bright lights? At Night I am a lot better .
All of the above and visual hallucinations of world rocking when at its worst.
Migraine rumbles in mixed lighting eg cafe in daytime.
Hi there James,
I see you mentioned Amitriptyline helps your symptoms. I was prescribed notriptyline but haven’t been taking it. Have you ever tried nortriptyline, and are there any differences between the 2 that you have experienced?
I also feel worse in the morning and better by afternoon/evening. I feel hopeful reading your posts because for a while I felt like doctors thought I was nuts, especially when I told them that people laughing causes a swooshing sound in my right ear :-/
Thanks and hope you’re feeling better!
Please see post
Yonge, please check your Hgb A1c to make sure you are not diabetic as you are thirsty. It is one of the sign, could be Amy too. I did during this process
Thank you gmathew. I will keep that in mind. I will need to revist my gp in a few month anyway to check my cholesterol and trigly which was at 271 for cholesterol and 474 for trigly.
Hi Sara, thank you. Still soldiering on!
No I havent taken Nori, but there are plenty on here who have and have had great success with it. It’s in the same family as Ami. The main difference I understand is the level of drowsiness you get which is higher with Ami but this can be helpful in that it may help you sleep. But either is a mainstay med for MAV.
I very much recommend that if you are having significantly uncomfortable symptoms you go ahead and try it and see if it helps. Many who take Ami and Nori say how they’ve managed to get their lives back.
Gmathew, i had to google what agb a1c test was and the images show something that you prick your finger for blood and lay it on a strip? If so, i had that device and tried it this morning without having any food for 14 hours and it came out to 86.
I had all this. Pizotifen has helped a lot. I’m not 100% but I’m able to go to stores, work at a computer, and do most normal stuff most of the time now.?
Hope this helps!
Hgb A1c is performed by a lab.