How many MAV'ers Have GI probs or IBS constipation etc:

yup, I have been diagnosed with it in the past. Before I got pregnant I had very bad IBS. I am Ok now, I followed the diet, which is pretty similar to the migraine diet.

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Many of the MAV drugs affect the function of the bowel. Amitriptyline is just one example. Constipation for me was its biggest and most annoying lasting side effect. It was for this reason, despite the additional symptoms I was so relieved to get off it when I was able. It’s always a balancing act (ahem) to optimise your quality of life. At some point I felt the medication was no longer providing the optimal quality.

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Yes, it’s interesting. I’m glad you revived the thread, as I’m very new here.

I have a hiatus hernia and GERD. I sometimes have minor stomach discomfort at the same time as MAV symptoms. I’m still learning things about MAV, although I’ve probably had it for about 20 years.

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Hi. I have ulcerative colitis a severe gut condition, but have had migraines for most of my life, they are in my family. Not sure if mine are linked. Maybe its just a coincidence. R.

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Despite not having been very active here for a while, I am just going to put this out there in case it can help someone.
About 4 months ago I started taking Bio-Curcumin which is a highly concentrated form of Tumeric, which is supposed to clear up internal inflammation throughout the body. Since then I have found that my stomach issues seem to have settled and I no longer have that ‘just on the point of nauseous’ feeling that had been my companion for probably as long as a year. I must in all honesty add that around the same time I had a ‘food resistance’ test and have also cut out (or at least drastically reduced my intake) of the foods that showed up as unsuitable for my system. Which is actually responsible for my improvement, or whether it is a combination of the two, or just one of those times when it seems to clear on it’s own, I cannot say for sure.
I might just add that I have been spin free for over 3 weeks now - a ‘remission’ such as I have not seen since 2017. Experience with this beast (Meniere’s - and in the past 3 years the addition of all things MAV - like ) which has been with me for 50 years now, tells me that this is probably not a complete success story and that it will return sometime - be it days, weeks, or years! In the meantime, I am basking in my remission and am hoping that if I stay on the same track, perhaps I will stay relatively free!!
I would be interested to hear if anyone else has tried the Tumeric way. I did try making the ‘golden milk’ that enjoyed some space on FB for a while, but I think the super concentrated capsule is the way to go!

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Interesting Mazzy. I’ve not really had success with probiotics. We aren’t meantt to have fermented foods eg Kefir, Saukrauet, Kimchi etc on the MAV diet which are often recommended for gut issues.
I suspect I had abdomonal migraines as a child, one doctor did say I had “migraines of the stomach nerves”. I threw up a lot and had headaches after when my siblings and parents were fine, despite my mother’s assertion it was “a stomach bug”. Ibs started about five years after Menieres diagnosis (about 23 years ago now). Like Turnitaround I had constipation as a side effect of Ami and am also having it now I’m on a higher dose of Pizotifen. Had dreadful stomach and gut issues in the summer when I had a really bad flare up of dizziness which left me bedbound. I’m sure it is all linked to inflammation and part of a syndrome of misfiring neurons/messages from the brain

A lot of research is being done into the effects of inflammation in the body, big topic on my daughter’s biochem degree and on her Masters in cancer cell biology. The gut is now recognised as a “second brain” as someone mentioned up thread.

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Since knowing that what I was suffering from was MAV I have read that IBS like symptoms can appear as part of the same complaint. Retrospectively in a way my history seems to support that. After I’d had episodic MAV, which at that time constituted totally disabling attacks of 72 hours of spinning vertigo attacks a couple of times a year, about five years I developed what was diagnosed as gall bladder problems (admitted to hospital - severe pain upper right quadrant). After months of pain, and a scan this diagnosis was withdrawn and I was told to ‘eat sensibly’ and removed from the operation waiting lists. A year or so later I suddenly developed IBS type symptoms (quite different from the previous ‘gall bladder’ that wasn’t symptoms) and this went on a couple of years. It subsequently resolved itself as did the GERD I was later tested for as being ‘of unknown origin’. Then I developed Chronic MAV. No way of proving it but now I think the ‘gall bladder’ episode could well have been abdominal migraine. So far it hasn’t returned since chronic MAV started although with acute MAV attacks I’ve always had digestive/IBS symptoms and constipation which I always blamed on the Buccastem tablets which I took to counter the accompanying violent vomiting. That cannot be correct because I subsequently proved it still happened without the pills so must be part of my version of MAV. Helen

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Hi @mazzy ,
I just started a week or so ago on Turmeric, which is supposed to really help with inflammation throughout the body. It may be a little early for me to say whether it is helping or not, but I can say for sure that it is not hurting! I always worry that supplementation will cause more dizziness. This has not =been the case so far with Turmeric. Congratulations on 3 spin free weeks! Long may it continue! Please do keep us updated and best wishes Beth!:sparkling_heart:
@turnitaround: May be link to this product, which is what I have been taking for about a week.

(NB from admin: this image links to a product this member has found helpful and at the same time helps fund the site: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. More recommended products here. Thanks for your support!)

“Turmeric Strength”
More recommended supplements here.
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Hi Beth. I love tumeric and tried it in all forms. At the moment I buy it raw and munch it up. They say you have to be careful as it is a blood thinner but I really think its good for the gut.Don’t think its helped with the migraines unfortunately.R.

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I was researching online and guess it’s not breaking news or a secret that us MAV’ers are highly sensitive folks. What nonone seems to know (online anyway) is whether the migraine causes the intestinal issues or if the intestinal issues cause the migraine or neither / either. Such mysteries! I can say that I have had IBS for many years and maybe have had migraine for many years as well…although the migraine had not turned into something chronic until a year ago.

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I guess that is because nobody really knows. There’s many hypotheses about alot of ‘migraine’ issues but that’s all they are. Dr Silver, Walton Centre Patient Info (my preferred hypothesis source! Cos much of it seems to make sense to me) mentions having IBS symptoms may indicate a predisposition to ‘migraine’/MAV in later life. I can post you the link if you’ve not already had it. Helen

As I said, oak17, I have no idea if the Tumeric has been instrumental in my current ‘remission’ or not, but I have had other good effects from it, so will be continuing! I am aware of the blood thinning properties, as with several ‘natural’ products…I also take Ginko which offers the same warning. However, at my age (70), blood thinning is a good thing. I just thought that, as no-one seems to know what causes either Meniere;s or MAV, reducing inflammation could’nt be bad thing!!
Just to mention, that the brand I take claims to be 7x stronger than normal(??) I also enjoyed the tumeric drink with ginger, pepper and cinnemon, especially in Winter, But I must say I never noticed any actual benefit from it.

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Naejohn, sadly just about all research seems to offer different conclusions depending on the researcher’s view. Certainly, Mav’ers seem to be much more sensitive to a lot of things - so by my reckoning , reducing inflammation can only be good.
In hindsight, around the time I started with the vertigo I also suffered a couple of ‘attacks’ of what was then called spastic colon - I think that is now what is called IBS. The most incredible pain comparable to giving birth (as I later discovered!). It was certainly never put together with the vertigo - as no one could tell me the cause of that!! Mostly it was intimated that I was a neurotic female. I’ve also suffered other sundry stomach problems over the years, but never put it together till this latest round of old and totally new symptoms appeared just over 3 years ago. I was gobsmacked to learn when I tried to research on line that little new was known about it all since the 70’s!!!
I have never suffered from classic migraine headaches - or any headaches for that matter - so yes, maybe it started in the stomach??? So many questions!! I hope you find something to help you.

Hi
It’s very interesting that this thread has just popped up now…as you know i’ve been battling MAV for over 2 years now. On and off for many many years I have suffered with acid reflux flare ups and a constant feeling of a lump in my throat. Have been told the lump is not a lump but rather it’s “globus sensation” aka stress! had an endoscopy 12yrs ago and was told a minor hiatal hernia and just to watch what I ate as certain foods would cause flare ups. Over the past 2 yrs I have had a lot of flare ups and discomfort - was told this was due to migraine. The last few weeks I have had pretty bad reflux and none of my usual otc meds were working, I had been on 2 x antibiotics before Xmas and so thought these were the culprit. I was with my GP last week on an unrelated matter and happened to mention to him that I couldn’t shift the reflux and so he ran some blood tests and called me this evening to say that I have Helicobacter Pylori bacterial infection in my stomach which will require heavy duty dual therapy antibiotics and gastro meds for 7 days to shift it. I have done a bit of research today in particular on the extragastric effects of this bacteria and I am shocked to learn that it can effect every system in your body - aside from the obvious gastric and IBS type symptoms you would expect it can cause fatigue, dizziness, nausea, anemia, B12 deficiency, dry mouth, dry eyes, periodontitis, coated tongue, brain fog, Migraines, low blood pressure, ear issues the list is endless…
It will be interesting to see if any of my symptoms which have been attributed to migraine for the last 2yrs will disappear with the treatment for this bacteria.

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Wow Karen! It is such an interesting subject really… I just started a heavy duty probiotic and hope for some relief. Always amazes me how all of our systems must be in sync to allow us to thrive. Please keep us updated on your progress with the treatment. I wonder if your GP did a specific blood test for the flora imbalance or does that show on a typical blood test? I know very little quite honestly on blood tests. Never had them before I came down with MAV just over a year ago when I thought I was dying! :pleading_face: GP said the results were all clear, except slightly high cholesterol. Wouldn’t it just be wonderful if your symptoms improve! :raised_hands:t2:

Hi
It’s a special blood test specifically for H Pylori…i am due to start the treatment tomorrow for 7 days so I will keep you posted
Karen

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Hello Mav. I had H Pylori but refused the antibiotics as I have a real problem with them so I treated mine with herbs under the guidance of Dave Hempes. It took a while to clear but subsequent tests showed that the herbs worked. Sadly I still have VM/MA V but the symptoms are similar in a lot of ways. I am not trying to upset you but it is possible to have both problems at the same time. H Pylori makes you lose your appetite and lose a lot of weight as a result which is a bit different from VM which does make you feel sick but not to the same degree. The very sight of food when I had HP made me vomit. I hope the antibiotics work for you and you have a speedy recovery.

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Thanks for the info Revolving, I started the antibiotics today for 7 days so I should know within the next few weeks if any “MAV” symptoms disappear. The only typical h Pylori symptom I am having is really bad reflux and if only that goes with the antibiotics it will be an improvement…
Then I can restart Venlafaxine to see if it helps with the vestibular symptoms I am still having - particularly the drunk head inflated feeling while walking outdoors and in artificial light situations such as shops and supermarkets. I had sinus surgery recently which greatly helped with facial pain and head pressure but the vestibular piece remains.
Are you on any meds for MAV?

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I was diagnosed with IBS before being diagnosed with MAV. The IBS constipation got worse when the MAV got worse. I am on Miralax along with citrucel daily and I could still use something more. :flushed:

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Well, my ‘IBS’ kicked in about halfways between the start of episodic MAV and it turning chronic. Mine started after a gall bladder scare which retrospectively I think could have been abdominal migraine cos the gall bladder was fine and is still in situ. I’ve not experienced IBS symptoms since chronic MAV (now in my fifth year) so in my case I think it could well all be part of the same complex. Be interesting to see if your ‘IBS’ dies down when the MAV does. Helen

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