As some of you know, I have been out on a medical leave due to MAV for six long and painful months. I wasn’t diagnosed until feb of this year and started Effexor at the end of March with great results. I am still not all the way there and driving is still pretty hard. It’s a lot better but still needs to improve. Some days are better than others, but overall, I would say I’m at 75-80% better. I was going to wait till I was 100% before returning but really need to at least try. I need to approach this with the same warrior attitude I approached the meds with but hasn’t worked yet.
I am wondering if any of you had a lot of time off due to MAV, got better and eventually returned to work? I am a bit fearful as my job consists of a lot of sitting and working on a computer which at my worst was impossible. I do plan on working minimal hours for awhile until I feel completely better but I’m scared that I won’t even be able to manage that. I’m dying to get my hands on a pair of those glasses that block all the yucky MAV triggers out but haven’t gotten any yet.
I am just looking for support for Tommorrow. Why am I so scared? I should be celebrating but of all days, I’m dizzy with headache. Ugh :twisted:
Also, I am waiting to hear back from my dr because I either need to up my dose or try something in addition to the fex so I can be closer to 100% or at least 90%. Do you guys know if anyone has had success with anything over 75mg of Effexor? I’m thinking that just a little more will get me closer!!!
Good luck tomorrow Mary. I admire you for going back to work. I haven’t worked in years, not bc of MAV but bc I’ve been a stay at home mom but I’m not sure how I’d be able to handle working. You may find that work will take your mind off the vertigo. After you get to work in the a.m. sit in your car for a few minutes, take deep breaths to relax and let your vertigo calm down. That seems to help me a lot.
I’d go for upping the dose of Fex vs. adding something else.
I appreciate the advice. You are right. That is exactly what I will do. I just hope I’m not jumping the gun too quickly. I have to keep reminding myself how much better I am and that less than two months ago, I was pretty much bed ridden and in really bad shape. Now, I can function but just not sure how much. I guess I’ll find out Tommorrow.
I think of you and really hope you find the right drug. I too was a stay at home mom for the first two years of my sons life and it was hard work and that was before I had MAV. Now he is 4 and goes to preschool so I get a little bit of a break. Not now though. Ugh.
So do you think I should up the effexor? I took a half of a pill today with my regular 75mg and got a headache and a little shaky. But I’m sure my body will adjust. Just scared of doing that Tommorrow since I need to try and drive. Maybe I’ll wait for Saturday to do it again. Still waiting for Dr Fife to call me back. My GP told me to go up to 150 but she doesn’t know anything about MAV.
Mary,
I returned to work after 12 wks leave. I wasn’t sure if I could do it but I had to or my job could’ve been in jeopardy. Try and stay calm, don’t let little setbacks on the way get you down or nervous. After my first several days I thought I would never be able to do it, but I stuck with it and ended up doing better and better, almost to the point of near normal. Being at work definiTley kept my mind off of the dizziness as I found when I got involved in my work, i thought less about how I felt. Take it day by day, and don’t be too hard on yourself. There is never any harm in trying! Best of luck tomorrow!
Hi, MP. I don’t have any advice re: meds, but want to offer my support and a suggestion. Does your employer offer any flexibility, i.e. can you work from home some hours or even some days? I work for a big corporation but work solely from a home office. There have been many days that I would never have been able to drive, let alone be functional in an office–those are the days I work lying on the couch with my laptop. And I thank heavens for that flexibility. I don’t know what your job is, but it might be worth it to flesh out any options for working from home. Best of luck to you tomorrow. Try not to stress or worry about all the “what-if’s.”
Good luck, Im sure its going to be scary! I wish you the best, and hopefully it turns out to be what you needed; a break from thinking about all of this.
Maybe adding something to the Effexor would help…? Im not sure there.
Thanks you guys for all the support. It really helped me to read your words of encouragement. I just don’t know what I would do if I never found this forum. I would still be lost thinking I was the only person suffering from this hell.
I did pretty good today but not great. All the lights, noise and computers made it hard to drive home. Well see how it goes next week. I can’t imagine going back to that long drive everyday. I can shorten my hours, but not my drive. One day at a time.
Dizzyrunner: I don’t have the option to work from home, but I know that’s the direction I need to look in. I love the company I work for but I really need to look for something that I can do a majority of work from home. Does your company hire people from all over? Do you happen to know of other companies that have employees that work from home?
Mary, I’m with you on having a hard time driving home b/c of your head being messed up from the computer, etc. all day… I know this may be a silly question, but is there a set way you have to drive to and from work or a set time you need to be there, or can you flex it a bit? I’ve found that during my 30 minute drive each way to and from work that I do better if I don’t have as much traffic around me (so I go in at 9 instead of 8) and also if I can do more of a straight shot with fewer lights, rather than zigzaggy (lots of turns) with lots of lights. Fortunately, there are multiple routes I can take to and from work, so I take the one that is more expresswayish and less neighborhoody… (Don’t know if that helps, but figured I’d share, just in case.)