Any ideas/opinions about this?

Specific Illnesses & Conditions VM/MAV
#1

Hi! I am new here and I am hoping you all may have some insight on what is happening to me. I’ll try to keep this short!

History - I started getting migraine with aura when I was in 8th grade. I got them several times a year until I went on the birth control pill, then I got them daily. Needless to say, I no longer will take the pill! Anyway, during all three of my pregnancies, the migraines came about 1-2 times a month. The rest of the time I have 1-2 a year and that is my main pattern. I have had two episodes of “atypical” migraine, one of which greatly resembled a stroke in that my arm fell into my lap paralyzed and I couldn’t speak. The other one was nothing more than a visual aura that lasted over a week. I have aways been very sensitive to motion and have gotten motion sickness since I was small. I have been on a very low daily dose of Inderal for 20 years. I am almost 39 years old.

I have been lightheaded for years now, since I had my second child. Every so often I would have a very short lived vertigo spell. I went to an ENT about 5 years ago and had testing done. They found the vestibular system in one of my ears was partially paralyzed. They found that I had above normal hearing. They had no idea what was going on but gave me a diagnosis of Atypical Menieres since I don’t have any hearing loss. They did not seem confident of that diagnosis and only gave it to me because they, too, were at a loss.

Fast forward to last month - on two occasions I woke up from a sound sleep at 4 am to find the room spinning around me. These attacks were 4 weeks apart. I was extremely nauseated. Meclizine took the edge off, but the vertigo continued for most of the next day and the next night I was simply exhausted and slept a long time. I saw two doctors about this. One had no idea what would cause these spells. The other thinks it is my TMJ acting up. I have a very slight ringing in my ears, almost unnoticeable. Plus I have been getting wicked bad frequent headaches (for about 7 years now), ear aches, neck and jaw pain (since my TMJ really started acting up over the summer).

Reading all the wonderful information here leads me to believe that MAV may be what these vertigo attacks are. It makes sense. It also makes sense that it could be TMJ.

Does my pattern sound familiar to any of you? These vertigo attacks are very unsettling to say the least!!

Thank you!!! :slight_smile:

#2

The vertigo attacks that you describe sound very similiar to a meneire’s desease attack instead of a MAV attack. You don’t mention any other symptom (except for the ringing) that would match meneire’s. How is your hearing? This may not be much help, but I thought I thought that I would mention this.

#3

Brian - My hearing is really good, no loss at all, and that’s what makes me think it isn’t Menieres even though other things seem to fit. Hearing loss seems to be a major hallmark of that disease.

#4

No hearing loss especially after such a long time means there is zero chance it is Menieres disease. Hearing loss is absolutely required for diagnosis of Menieres.

Your story is very common - its a pity you have only seen an ENT and not a neurotologist. MAV would be immediately suspected based on the change when you went on the birth control pill and also what sounds like an episode of hemiplegic migraine.

If you can see a neurotologist it is very likely you can get the problem under control with the right migraine preventative medication.

Adam