Hey all, just wondering if anyone has had med or meds that have helped their MAV (not just the migraine pain or migraines), what meds they were, and how long on them did it take for you to feel the difference? How much of a difference would you say? 50%, all the way? Did you stay on them indefinitely or did you wean off and stay “in remission”? Did you take certain meds to have them not work anymore and have to switch? Just curious and it would be helpful to see all in one place rather than in different med threads. If this is a repeat, forgive me. Head is killing and it’s hard to think straight.
Hi Shelly – I think to be clearer it’s probably better to call them “migraine headaches” because at the end of the day it’s all migraine – the pain, headaches, dizziness, fog, etc.
I don’t have an answer for why some drugs seem to knock out some of the symptoms for some people and not the others. Perhaps left over dizziness requires VRT in those people who mostly have migraine under good control.
S 
I read some posts where some meds helped people’s migraine pain and other symptoms but did nothing for their vertigo/dizziness. That’s what I meant to ask. Sometimes my words don’t come out the way I want them to.
I’ve been told by every doctor I have seen that VRT wouldn’t help someone with migraine. I tried it twice but it didn’t work because I’m not stabilized. I always wondered if I got to the point where I was stabilized if VRT would indeed help.
Topamax (actually generic topiramate) has definitely been helping the vertigo portion of my migraines. I’m still getting head pressure and some numb brain feeling but it is seems less intense and less frequent than before. The rocking sensation has been stopped almost completely. I still have some heavy head feeling from time to time and I’m not 100% right yet, but I’m significantly better. I work in computers and before the Topamax I couldn’t work (without sunglasses)for more than 30-45 minutes without the rocking sensation starting up. Now I work all day without any rocking sensations at all.
I’m currently on 75mg a day and I’ve been on it for a little less than a month. Typically you don’t see results for 2 months and @ 100mg, so I consider this to be an excellent result so far. I will probably titrate up to 100mg as soon as my current project wraps up to see if that gives me better results without increasing side effects.
I am also on 100mg of Nortriptyline, but my suspicion is that it is not really contributing to my improvement much. I am going to ween off of it as soon as I stabalize at 100mg of Topamax and see for sure, but my symptoms did not change at all as I moved from 60mg to 150mg of Nortriptyline, so i suspect that while it has definitely had some mood stabalization effects, it hasn’t done much for my migraines. It may have been of some minor help, but the change when I went on the Topamax was dramatic.
Topiramate (Topamax) took care of the various kinds of dizziness I had (daily wobbliness as well as the moderate to severe dizzy spells and the tunnel vision auras that sometimes accompanied the severe spells). I was lucky in that it was the first medication I was given.
It didn’t seem to stop my headaches, though, which got more frequent in the last few months. I recently discovered that certain fluorescent lights definitely gave me headaches (I had known that I can’t handle bright sunlight during a headache and can’t handle 3-D movies, so I knew I had some visual issues related to migraine). So I got a spare pair of glasses and sent them to the Moran Eye Center in Utah for the FL-41 rose-colored tinting. I have noticed a reduced frequency in my headaches and a reduced severity in the ones I get (for example, I’ve had a couple that were barely there), so this is not a “med” but it’s something that has really helped.
I’m also on topiramate (150 mg) and having great success with control of both dizziness and headaches. I have also had success with Celexa, Prozac and Lexapro, but not nearly as much as with topiramate. Prozac did not help with the headaches, it actually made them worse, but dd help the dizzies.
While the SSRI class of meds has been successful for me with the dizziness, I’m finding overall better relief with topiramate at the moment. I hope this remains the case for a good long while!
— Begin quote from “shelly3257”
I’ve been told by every doctor I have seen that VRT wouldn’t help someone with migraine. I tried it twice but it didn’t work because I’m not stabilized. I always wondered if I got to the point where I was stabilized if VRT would indeed help.
— End quote
Yup, they’re absolutely correct. VRT almost always makes a migrainuer feel worse and is no use until the migraine disease is under control first. VRT has been shown in a few studies to clear up any residual imbalance in some people.
Celexa (generic) has helped me tremendously with the dizziness part of the migraine complex. I don’t know if it was placebo effect, but I felt the change in literally 2-3 days. I have titrated up to 20mg per day. Prior to this, I was on Propranolol (Inderal) for 6 months. While it helped the headache part of my MAV, it did nothing for the dizziness
Hope this helps!
Thanks so much for the replies. I’m glad for those of you who have gotten some help from different medications! That gives me some hope.
Hi,
I’ve never had a problem with actual headaches, just 24/7 dizziness.
I had amazing results from Pizotifen in the early days (almost 100% better - forgot all about the dizziness).
Now I’m on Topamax (80mg) plus Gabapentin (1800mg) and things have been starting to improve again - perhaps 80% on some days (I put this down to the Gabapentin more than the Topamax, since I didn’t really have any success with the Topa, and started seeing a new consultant who added the Gabapentin and will start to wean me off the Topamax soon).
Best wishes,
Tony.
Tony, that’s great news. Did the Pitzo just stop working one day? My daughter takes Periactin which is similar I think and she had to up her dose a couple of times over the past 3 years.
Hi Shelly
After trialing a few meds without success I started on Prothiaden (Dothep) last year & gradually (over a months) upped the dose. At 75mg I noticed an improvement in my migraines but balance, particularly visual vertigo etc. was still bad. At 100mg the migraines were much less frequent and now at 125mg my balance is showing good improvement too.
During this time I have been taking .5mg Ativan which has helped my vertigo. Now I’m titrating the Ativan down & hope that in a couple of weeks I’ll only need it for the ‘stressful’ times when headache/balance recur. Hoping this will continue to work for me.
Barb
Ive been on amitriptyline for about 5wks…it has helped the frequency & severity of migraines. dizzy spells are episodic(sp) im taking half of a 25mg pill.
Lyrica (pregabalin) has all but wiped out both the dizzies and the pain of MAV. I’m on a high dose though - 550mg.
Pizotifen + propranolol worked for my MAV.