Hello everyone,
This is my first time ever on a computer chat room. I am 41 years old and have had chronic dizziness for the past two years. I have not officially been diagnosed with MAV however my neurologist did say that he thought that migraine was the cause of my chronic dizziness. I was wondering whether anyone has had a similar experience. My dizziness began very gradually (over the course of several months), was escelated by a tramatic event (SOB lasting several months due to a reflux condition), peaked for several months, then gradually decrease to a moderate level. I have never had migraines nor have I had a problem with headaches in general. My latest MRI revealed “a single punctate focus of nonenhancing T2 hyperintensity in the white matter of the left frontal lobe” (whatever that means). Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Welcome to the forums. It does seem to be a regular theme (although not unanimous) that migraine is initially triggered by some sort of traumatic even (physical or emotional). The susceptibility is probably always there, but then gets revealed by an event. There is some literature out there about depression that indicates a similar thing - a gene mutation that lies dormant but major depression is then revealed by a number of major life events (deaths in the familiy etc).
Anyway, I suspect what they are talking about regarding your MRI films is white matter hyperintensities (WMIs). If you do a Google search you will find a lot about these. They are often found in migraineurs, especially those with more complicated forms of migraine such as MAV or migraine with aura. They don’t have any diagnostic meaning (for now, in any case).
I would have responded earlier but, as I mentioned, this is my 1st time using any type of forum and I did not realize that you had responded so quickly. I really appreciate your input as well as your setting up this site. It is a real comfort to me.