Hi Everyone,
So grateful to have found this site! It is very comforting to know that you aren’t the only one. I have never had headaches, and whenever a friend asked if I ever got them I’d laugh and say, “No but I just get dizzy!” Having no clue that something like MAV existed.
I actually have experienced vertigo since I was in 6th grade and the ENT never could diagnose me with anything and told me to take meclizine when needed which worked for me back then because the dizziness would go away after about an hour or so. I battled this maybe 4-6 times a year (mainly if I didn’t eat, not enough sleep or overslept, before my period- hormonal?) It always ended and I’d go on with life. I was VERY motion sick prone and would get sick on amusement rides, airplanes, etc.
Fast forward to the present where I have been dizzy for over 1 month. I had my baby 1 month ago and 3 days later when my milk came in, BAM! I was so dizzy. Being that I just underwent a c-section and was on pain medications, it was easy to blame it on that, but I knew this was something inner-ear related.
My symptoms-
Dizzy/rocky 24/7
Ears plugged- hard to “pop”
Had neck pain in beginning on both sides
Right ear hurt for 1 day but Dr. said no ear infection
No nausea
Vision is slightly blurry?? Let’s just say it’s not 20/20 like it usually is
I’m the biggest air head right now! It’s hard to concentrate and pretty forgetful
Being in the car is the only time I feel normal again.
Overall, no headaches but have noticed some light head pain recently.
Short ringing in the ear recently, maybe twice a day lasting only 5-10 seconds, this is a new symptom, didn’t have this in my other attacks.
MRI, ultrasound on neck, blood testing- clear
I went to see a nuerologist, Dr. Ian Purcell, (have to pay out of pocket! $$$) who is also known as the dizzy doctor here in California. He didn’t give me a diagnosis but strongly believed it was MAV and ruled out BPPV because my eyes didn’t move. I then went to an ENT through my insurance and he told me that my case is way above his “practice of medicine,” great, that’s comforting and sent me to a Otolaryngologist who did a hearing test and came to the conclusion that I had MAV as well and sent me to another nuerologist since that wasn’t his field of study.
This new nuerologist came to that conclusion as well and put me on medrol (steroids) which I started today and inderol (beta blocker) started yesterday.
This entire time I have had bronchitis and a sinus infection and were on 2 rounds of antibiotics. None of them seem to think I had an inner ear virus as well as MAV, is this possible??
Is vestibular nueritis an inner ear virus? Can they test to see if you have this?
Are migraines hormonal? I’m still breast-feeding but wondering if this is making it worse?
Any information would be so helpful and look forward to hearing from your own experience. I am in dizzy hell like the rest of you and would like to be able to hold and enjoy my newborn! Thanks!