hi - just wondered how many of you suffer from real vertigo? or whether you would class it as dizziness or off-balanceness? - i find it hard to describe my symptoms, but would say so far, that i dont think i have had real spinning vertigo - do some people with MAV not suffer from real spinning vertigo?
thanks
Hi Brian
For me it is usually dizzy/off balance feelings and it was until this summer (3.5 yrs in) when I have had some spinning vertigo attacks. They are horrendous and for me have usually occurred at night and woken me in my sleep. I have only just been diagnosed with MAV but I don’t think you have to have spinning to have MAV. The spinning is the worst thing so be happy if you don’t have it. I am not sure what others think…x
In the beginning for me it was true vertigo. I am mostly better except for some vision problems I’m having but after the vertigo for a long time it was a chronic imbalance/disequeliebrium feeling.
Teri.
Hi,
I’ve never had spinning vertigo, just constant dizziness that I describe like being in the belly of a boat on rough seas which includes being off balance.
Judy
For me, it has mostly been a hard to explain type of being off balance. Sometimes I’m dizzy, sometimes I’m lightheaded or feel like I’m going to faint, but often it’s not a simple as that. Sometimes the world just isn’t oriented the way it ought to be and I have to reach out for something to get my balance. I often have the most trouble when I have been moving and then am still; for example, when I was doing more driving, driving for awhile and then being at a stop light was awful. If I am busy in my classroom and then am in the back of the room watching student presentations, it makes me feel very sick. Being in a small room with lots of straight walls or a long hallway is disorienting. Being on the computer can make me feel pretty bad. Only In the last 6 months of so have I experienced some true spinning vertigo, and once from that, actually fell. That’s when I went back to the doctor and started more tests and medications.
I’ve been on Topamax about a month (moving slowly up to 100, now at 37.5) and I’ve changed my diet significantly, I think I’m seeing some signs of improvement, but it’s really too early to tell.
Mary Lee
never had true roational/spinning vertigo ever
always dizzy/off balance, lightheaded, disequilibrium
I feel a little off balance, and when i turn my head, i feel like its still moving when i know its stopped.
Foggy boat feelings,never a true spinning .
Had one vertigo episode about 15 years ago, and two last year; even felt it laying down, couldn’t sit up, and forget about getting up. Each lasted about 8-12 hours and then just went away. It’s very different and more severe than the daily dizziness.
Before I started topamax I had episodes of true spinning vertigo that would last 12+ hours sometimes. Now with the meds the severity is greatly reduced and they don’t last as long. I also get occasional dizziness here and there too.
Hi
Long before Mav, I had 2 episodes of true Vertigo. Looking back they both happened in the morning after having red wine the night before. They cleared up easily with Phenergan. Once I got this, the feeling is so different…and reading everyones posts makes me realize how much trouble we all have identifying the feeling. It’s just weird, not right…lightheaded…“off”…high…patterns don’t seem clear…my vision seems off…
It’s a real pain in the butt to describe
I had another episode last week of true vertigo that lasted seconds, and I had a glass of wine that night.
You think I’d learn.
Kelley