I’ve been recently diagnosed with MAV which does not seem to let go. Have started taking meds and hopefully they will start working soon. Will find out with time I guess.
I need an opinion about neck cracking. I used to be a chronic neck cracker during my stressful days at work. Scott knows my story but initially when I started my own business I was stressed all the time as the business was initially not doing too well. So I used to always always always crack the left side of my neck by turning my head side ways to the left and it would give me a release of tension in there for a split second. Next thing you know, I would crack it again and continue cracking the whole day. This neck cracking lasted about 2 years non stop. I have reduced reduced my neck cracking substantially since my business has improved and is doing well so I guess I am no longer as stressed as I used to be. But I still continue to crack it when tension builds up for whatever reason.
My question is, do you think the blood vessels in my neck have been constricted due to my constant neck cracking and hence blood is not flowing properly to my brain leading me to believe its MAV? I have read on the internet that neck cracking is not good for you as it can lead to a stroke. I have also read the chiropractors can adjust your neck wildly which can also lead to a stroke. What do you all think?
I used to crack my neck too, though I don’t think I did it quite to the degree you did. I stopped doing it because I heard it wasn’t good for you; later I heard about the chiropractors/stroke connection. I’ve given in and done it maybe once or twice a year in the last 10 years or so. You’ve already cut back; you can cut back even more if you work at it.
I don’t think it could have caused anything that resembles MAV. Neck cracking shouldn’t narrow your blood vessels like eating red meat every day can (from high cholesterol). So don’t worry about having done this dizziness thing to yourself.
Just protect yourself going forward. One of the Senators for the state of Illinois recently had one of those strokes that’s due to tearing of the carotid artery in the neck.
Hope your MAV meds work. Keep us posted, OK? Best of luck.
I’m a neck cracker, too;
In the book Heal Your Headache, he states that migraineurs are big on cracking necks and doesn’t know what the connection is.
Just fyi
Kelley
Put me in the neck cracker catagory, have been for many years…I have often wondered, am I cracking due to having a MAV personality or a result of true nervousness…all I can tell you is, I have always had to do something, bite my cheeks, bite my nails, eye twich, crack my lower back…I believe the anxiety/nervous feelings are part of my make-up which also is just another element of having MAV. There are so many fun sides to this, I have started to try to roll my shoulders when I feel the tightness in the neck and I have stopped the neck cracking quite a bit!
I am guilty also of cracking my neck…but I won’t let a chiropractor do it. I feel like if I am just turning my neck and it cracks then it was meant to crack…lol. My neck muscles usually feel tight and it gives me a release feeling. I have a history of disc problems too in my cervical area. I don’t do it compulsively, but just when my neck feels like it is “stuck”.
Hello folks
My question is, do you think the blood vessels in my neck have been constricted due to my constant neck cracking and hence blood is not flowing properly to my brain leading me to believe its MAV? Nabeel
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Just to clarify - are you questioning the MAV diagnosis, i.e. thinking your symptoms may instead be related to your neck, or are you thinking that your neck issues may be a symptom and/or trigger for migraine?
maryalice I keep wondering that maybe I have brought on this dizziness to myself by cracking my neck so much and it has damaged my artery or blood vessel?
Victoria I am questioning the MAV diagnosis, thinking my symptoms may instead be related to my neck i.e. I have damaged an artery or blood vessel on my neck that is connected to my eyes and brain which is why I have visual disturbances and 24/7 dizziness (off balance, foggy head feeling). Reason why I feel this way is because in the forums I have noticed some people who felt relieved from their dizziness when they went for for neck physiotherapy sessions or neck chiropratic adjustments or neck massages. What do you think?
I am no Doctor and I could be making all these things up and blaming myself for it. So just wanted to get an idea whether its me who has done this to myself or is it really some form of MAV?
Victoria I am questioning the MAV diagnosis, thinking my symptoms may instead be related to my neck i.e. I have damaged an artery or blood vessel on my neck that is connected to my eyes and brain which is why I have visual disturbances and 24/7 dizziness (off balance, foggy head feeling). Reason why I feel this way is because in the forums I have noticed some people who felt relieved from their dizziness when they went for for neck physiotherapy sessions or neck chiropratic adjustments or neck massages. What do you think?
I am no Doctor and I could be making all these things up and blaming myself for it. So just wanted to get an idea whether its me who has done this to myself or is it really some form of MAV?
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Hi Nabeel,
I’ve searched your posts I can’t find anywhere where you’ve described your symptoms or how you came to be diagnosed with migraine. If you could do so that would be helpful for forum members to give you some meaningful feedback. In the absence of that my advice to you at this point would be to trust the doctor (was it a doctor?) who diagnosed you. Migraine is extremely common - a damaged blood vessel causing the symptoms of migraine would be less likely I would think.
I crack my neck as I stated above and have had MRI’s and there was no damage to any blood vessels noted and the circulation was just fine. I know that some people have cervicogenic dizziness and the VRT folks where I went take an electrical massager and put it on the persons neck area. If it induces dizziness then there is a very high probability the dizziness is coming from the neck. Neck therapy exercises can be helpful in getting rid of muscle problems that cause neck pain and weakness. Most of the stories I have read about damage to the vessels come from violent “adjustments” with great twisting that have almost immediate results of stroke (within a day), etc.
I would see what your doctor says. I just don’t believe you brought this on by cracking your neck. I don’t believe I brought it on myself by cracking my neck because it doesn’t make sense to me and MAV does.
I don’t think many people on THIS forum get relief from dizziness by getting anything done to their neck. People who are posting on other forums who may be telling about how much relief they got from such treatment may not be actual patients - it’s possible that they’re posing as patients but they’re really trying to sell something. A lot of us here are very skeptical.
As for your symptoms - visual disturbances, off balance, foggy head feeling - that’s very typical of MAV, though some don’t get the visual stuff (I was one of the “lucky” ones who did).
Like teddypan says, I think it might be a good idea to talk to your doctor about your fears re having done this to yourself. It really seems highly unlikely, but I’m not convinced we’re going to be able to reassure you. I think a medical professional’s input may be needed. Did you have an MRI? There may even be evidence that the doctor could refer to.
Do you have an appointment coming up soon? If not, maybe a phone call would be in order, to put your mind at ease.
I’ve cracked my neck for years, and it’s still constantly tight and tense. Maybe that’s a result of MAV, but I don’t believe the act of cracking it is related.
You are all probably right and my symptoms must be related to MAV only and not caused by my neck cracking.
maryalice, teddypan, Victoria and adrir - I am sure you are all right and my symptoms must be related to MAV only, independent of the neck cracking. I did get an MRI of the brain and my sinusitis checked out through a CT Scan and endoscopy. It was clear. I don’t have an appointment with anyone at the moment. The top neurologists of Sydney Dr Granot, Halmagyi and the North Shore Vertigo and Neurology Clinic are giving me appointments in the month of May. I visit Sydney regularly, but I live in Singapore for most part of the year. The Doctor who diagnosed me with MAV was professor Paul Fagan a neurotrologist based in Darlinghurst. He says he cannot cure me but is 100% sure of my diagnoses. Anybody heard of him?
Basically to cut a long story short, in June last year I started noticing that I was feeling a little off balance. It was getting worst every day and came to a point where I couldn’t move. The common symptoms heavy and foggy head, off balance, disequilibrium. At that point I did not face any spinning vertigo attacks, or headaches or visual disturbances. The off balance, foggy head and disequilibrium started getting better on its own and the ENT I visited in Singapore diagnosed me with Vestibular Neuritis presumed to be related to my sinus. I do have some sinus problem which comes up in my MRI but nothing major. I took the medicines which the ENT prescribed and the symptoms vanished in one month
I had similar attack again in August with all the above symptoms except this time I would get a sharp recurring headache through out the day on the right side of my forehead which would last for 1 or 2 seconds. Again the ENT told me to continue the same medicines. I went for a second opinion from a Neurologist in Singapore and he said “it could be vestibular migraine” due to the headaches. He prescribed me Lyrica. I continued taking Lyrica (without knowing what this drug was all about and trusted the neurologists judgement) with the other sinus medicines which the ENT prescribed. I started getting better after a couple of weeks but this time it took longer maybe 2 months to be symptom free. I stopped the medicines once the symptoms were gone.
From October to January the dizziness would come and go but not as fierce as the August and June attacks so I didn’t do anything about it and thought all this time that its Vestibular Neuritis and my brain was probably compensating with the balance problem.
Beginning of February, BANG, another massive attack. All the above symptoms re-occured but this time with visual disturbances and it has stayed with me ever since. I happened to be in Sydney at that time and I still am for now until the end of April. Once again no spinning vertigo but the rest of the symptoms are existent including the sharp 1-2 second headaches in different parts of my forehead. Sounds definately like MAV right?
I got in touch with the great Scott in Sydney who also believes its MAV and suggested that I start on pizotifen. The various GPs I have visited all around Sydney believe the dizziness is stress related and do not understand vestibular migraine. They think vestibular migraine is the same as the normal migraine (headaches only) and think I am crazy to be thinking that this is a long term illness. One GP referred me to a psychiatrist but Scott suggested not to waste my time with a psychiatrist as this is not his field. So now I am on the pizotifen by pushing one GP to prescribe it to me for the past one week with no noticeable effect for now.