BOOK: Victory Over Vestibular Migraine: The ACTION Plan for Healing & Getting Your Life Back

Not sure that I have seen this new book discussed yet and thought I would link for everyone. It’s just been published recently and I’m really looking forward to reading it. I’ve read a bit about this Dr, who seems to have such a great understanding of VM.

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Good book. Bought it and skimmed through sections that caught my interest.

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Renee,

Let us know if you come across anything new.

Em

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I’ll ditto that if I may though I’ve a strange feeling it’s probably about somewhere between 5 and 15 years too late for me and similarly for others here. Be surprised to come across much that’s new these day. Could be useful for the newbies though and if it’s good would be great to be able to make it compulsory reading for primary care doctors. … In my dreams maybe.

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thanks for sharing @Naejohn

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Absolutely will let you all know what I find! I bought the paperback so I could easily make notes.
I don’t expect to find any “breaking news” in the book for those of us who’ve had this for a while but what I would have given to have had a VM specific book 2 1/2 years ago!

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I read the book. I learned a bit - mostly the medical terms for stuff. It’s a good reference book.

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That was fast! :raised_hands:t2:

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Underemployed.

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For some reason I’m stuck on something in the book. Maybe it’s because Botox is failing this time and I’m kinda feeling desperate. Maybe it’s because I’m again flat on my back. (What in the phrase ‘I feel carsick’ at the start of a journey inspired my husband to turn a 1.5 hour trip into Gilligan’s 3 hour tour?! I love that man but he is so damned oblivious. Waiting out the tail end of a compazine.) Anyway, in an attempt to be positive the author discounts disability claims for MAV because it is ‘so easy to successfully treat’. I can barely work part time. I try to extend it but end up right back here - in bed, mid-day. I can’t decide if that makes me feel weak and a failure or if I’m just that statistical outlier I always am. Either way, I found it extremely disheartening, which is ironic as he was aiming for the opposite.

Also he insists venlafaxine is weight neutral, which is BS and bummed me out - for the same reasons.

And his mindfulness meditation on ‘feeling your nausea and dizziness and let them flow through and out of you so you will no longer feel them’ is pretty horrible advice in a moving car.

Other than those quibbles, it’s a great book, especially for the newly diagnosed.

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None of us would be here if that were the case!

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Oh I’ve seen that written up so many times. I Wish.

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exactly, it is the opposite of easy to treat,… and takes a lot of time.
@flutters venlafaxine, I gained 20 pound, and have only been able to shed 8. And disability, I think this should totally qualify for disability if you have exhausted all the possible treatments. The stress not having an income is a huge one. And last, meditation is good for acceptance but not to disappear symptoms. I hope your recent flare up passes Emily.

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Maybe it’s easy to get us to successfully give up and wander off.

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Wow… that may be “inspirational” for someone who is new / naive to VM but not based in reality.
I mean… you know me Em, I like to be the “cheerleader” and all… but I think to minimize the difficulty of treating VM is dangerous to the emotional well being of the patient.

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It certainly put a dent in mine. :confused:

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Agree entirety. Reading it’s so easy to successfully treat needs quantifying at the very least. Of course ‘we on here’ for the most part are the rough end of the wedge, the most sensitive and complicated of an already complicated lot. Only last year a friend of mine, a life long classic migraineur, suddenly added persistent dizziness within her migraine attacks and because that meant she had to take time out from work she visited her doctor who put her on Propranolol immediate release 120mg. All gone. She hasn’t had a migraine either with or without dizziness since. So she was certainly ‘easy to successfully treat’. No other interventions whatsoever.

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Does anyone else hear Natalie Merchant’s voice crooning jealousy in the background of their minds?

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That is my experience with mindfullness and MAV. Mindfulness comes automatically with MAV - it’s in your face. And the more I’m “aware” of the symptoms the worse it gets. Not to say mindfullness is bad, I just prefer a different type. For example if I’m mindful of how I’m feeling today with MAV (bad vs really bad), then I might be better at taking care of myself. I could go on a walk when my head pressure is starting up, or lounge in the sun and rest (like today!), or watch endless youtube videos. But sitting still and concentrating on the worst symptoms of MAV (i.e. awareness) as a method to alleviate my suffering doesn’t work for me. Of course as my MAV is better these days I’m able to meditate fairly regularly and it feels “normal” and productive.

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The only mindfulness i practice is being aware of my train of thoughts. Sometime if i am going down the path of self-blaming and shaming then i become aware and dial it back in. I still meditate in my recliner gently rocking and focusing on my breath. The rocking of the recliner masks the 50 shades of dizziness depending on the flavor of the day :slight_smile: .

I was trying to be a stickler with erect spine and sitting on floor meditation but very soon i was like “f*** this, lets do what works”. I will take the recliner meditation over no meditation.

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