Mini relapse? What's happening? Confused!

Specific Illnesses & Conditions VM/MAV
1

Hi guys,
:?

This time last week I was really happy and thought ‘I must get round to writing my success story on the mvertigo forum’… I’d been back to work for 1 week, working 3 hours a day and feeling on top of the world that I had managed to get back to a sense of normality, working, going out with friends, drinking and dancing in a club! (Ok, getting massively carried away there prob didn’t help but a girl has got to knock back the vino before subjecting her friends to her dodgy dancing.) :stuck_out_tongue: I even went to the gym on Monday for the first time in 5 months. I genuinely felt like I’d conquered the world!

Unfortunately, today, I have come on here after feeling increasingly symptomatic throughout the week, in terms of feeling knackered, feeling a lot more increase in pain in the face and nose, and generally describing my vision as ‘as though I’m about to have a migraine aura at any second’. And then this afternoon, while eating lunch in a pub garden before my shift, I had a really strange funny turn, which I havent felt like since this whole thing started on the very first day of feeling suddenly dizzy. :shock: I suddenly felt hot and cold and sweaty all at once, my legs and arms felt really heavy and tingly, as though ants were crawling over me, my heart was racing, and I felt spaced out and on another planet. I instantly freaked out big time. My mind started racing with thoughts that this can only mean this MAV thing has started another cycle, just like when it first started. I have also been stressing out as my work who offer an amazing sick pay scheme, have since withdrawn this benefit from me and I’m back to SSP only if I take another day off ever.

After an hour of sitting on a sofa, drinking water, and presuming my life was over again and picturing the baliffs coming round when I run out of money… I started to feel a little better. The tingly and heavyness went away gradually and by the end of the day, I’m left with the fuzzy/spaced out head, just a little less harsh, the vision feeling like I’m gonna get an aura in a second, and increased tinnitus which seems to be causing my whole brain to feel like it’s buzzing and pulsating.

My question is… what was this mini relapse? What’s happening to my bloody migraine brain?! :frowning: My meds haven’t changed. The only thing thats changed is that I’m working 3-4 hours a day in an office, and admittedly I have had 1 day a week where I got drunk enough to cause me a hangover the next day. Oh, and of course those 2 nights, I only had about 6 hrs sleep. Is this, being a bit naughty, enough to cause me to feel increasingly crap and culminate in provoking a kind of relapse? And what is happened for those couple of hours to make me feel all weird and hot/cold/heavy/out of it etc?

I am praying that I go to bed tonight, and wake up feeling ok. I’m stressing out, and I know that doesn’t help. :cry:

Has anyone experienced anything like this? I am so confused. I thought I had a handle on this stuff. Now I’m scared that I’m never going to be able to work full time or in an office again. I can’t take this again. And a lottery win isn’t guaranteed to occur, in able to help if I can’t work.

So confused and disheartened. :frowning:

God, sorry, I feel like all I do is ‘me me me me’ on here. I’m sorry. I hate being so self indulgent, but it’s hard not to be when you feel so uncontrol of your body. SIGH

I hope all you guys have had an ‘ok’ week… Bloody brains…

Lou x :oops:

2

I bet you just indulged too much and that’s it. Get some good sleep, lay off the alcohol for a bit and I bet you’ll be feeling better. I think when we’re dealing with what we’re dealing with, we have to give ourselves enough time of truly feeling well before we go back to our old “ways” and expect to not feel any consequences. I think it’s just your body saying it’s not ready yet for you to party like a rock star :slight_smile:

3

Hi Lou,

Just a quick note as I just had a crapola sleep and have to get more otherwise this Saturday will really be a write-off.

Just wanted to say DON’T SWEAT. All this is happening is because you’ve increased your trigger load too much too fast and the water is flowing over the edges of your cup. Rein things in, chill out and don’t catastrophise, and you’ll come good again. I’ve been in your state many times where things feel almost normal again. Of course you think you can do everything again as before and slowly things creep in again (I never learn this lesson btw). Sudden dizziness happens as you described and just feeling tired and shit house. It can last for days or even 2 weeks but if I go back to a migraine lifestyle it goes away.

Scott. 8)

4

I would have to echo Scott. I think we believe we are going to get “over” this, and I liken it to being a recovering alcoholic…take it a day at a time. Be thankful for the good days, and try to mind the 12 step program (in this case, the migraine handbook of avoiding triggers and abiding by the lifestyle recommendations)…when you get a bad day, cut yourself some slack and take care of yourself. Before you know it, you will be back on your feet. The meds aren’t supposed to, and really can’t, make migraine disappear…they can only give you a few tools in your belt to deal with it (aka raising your threshold)…
this too shall pass…
Hugs,
Kelley

5

I can relate! I’ve been doing so well of late - still getting mild symptoms but probably about 75% functional. Last night I had a great sleep then about 10 am this morning I get hit with one of my “normal” migraines - scotomas, dizzy, spaced out, nausea, horrible neck pain! I havent had one of these in a long, long time! I dont know what caused it which is the frustrating part. I journal every day trying to find a pattern but no luck!

I keep telling myself that one bad day out of a few good ones is still positive but it still depresses me! It was around this time last year that the big MAV rollercoaster started for me - left me homebound and on disability. If I have to go through this again I dont know what I’ll do!!

6

Lou,

It sounds to me like you tried to do too much and then pushed the limit too hard. The symptoms are just your body and brain telling you that you need to scale back.

Try to take comfort in the progress you have made just before the mini-relapse, which is significant progress. Take heart in that, and just take it easy.

I think that most of us have been in the situation where we feel good and then try to do too much because we want to get back all the experiences that we have lost due to this frickin’ illness.

A couple nights of taking it easy, relax, watch some TV, veg out – and I bet your brain will reset itself.

7

Thank you so much everyone for taking the time to reply, sympathising and advising… I really appreciate it. :oops:

On your advise, I’m reining things in and waiting to feel better…The only thing I’m worried about is if I rein everything in, lead the migraine lifestyle, but find that working is the trigger, messing everything up… I have to work, or I can’t pay the rent! But I feel so much more symptomatic in the office, it’s horrendous. :cry:

I’m worried that I’m never goign to be able to have a normal life again- it seems that even going to the gym one eve, and going to the cinema one ngiht could be ‘too much’ for my migraine brain to handle… :? My boyfriend is going to get bored with the Worlds Most Boring Girlfriend who has to stay home all the time… ARGH.

Tamsha- it’s so weird when you get a ‘normal’ migraine out of nowehere isnt it? I also write in a diary every day and can I find a pattern? Nope!

Thank you everyone again… I;m gonna take it easy, sit tight, and hope I feel better. I’ve also upped the Ami…

It’s so good to know there are people on here that can identify and really relate to how I feel… I wish you all couldn’t as that would mean you don’t have this bloody illness! … but it really helps, thanks guys :smiley:

XX

8

Hey there!I felt the absolute same way as you on my return to work…actually a few days I feared that I was never going to be able to work again. Since then, and pushin through I have had some wonderfully blissful days where I feel so close to 100%…and then BAM…I go in reverse & start feeling that awful weirdness in my head and just general dizziness. I just try to continue on and move forward. Hang in there! You may have overdone it. As much as we want to believe that we are beyond this and doing so well, we are living with this constantly and just need to figure ways to keep it at bay. I found sleep is a big issue for me (lack of). Dietary items don’t seem to affect me at all. I have pretty much gone back to my usual diet. I can have some beverages too without any major issues.
Just take care of yourself and try not to do so, so much. Things at work will get better. Maybe you get a little anxious thinking about how work is affecting you and that actually makes it worse. When I started back I had lots of fears and anxiety… definitely made me feel worse!

Wish you all the best! You will be able to work (and pay rent), and you wont be the most boring girlfriend ever!!! Hang in there and don’t give up!
Take 5 steps forward, 2 steps back, and another 3 steps forward…etc. etc… Definitely stinks, but this is what we have to live with, so might as well try!
Jen