I was refered to this board from another message board that I belong to: menieres.org. Anyways I posted on here once before and have now a diagnosis of MAV and not of Meniere’s disease from one of the best neurotologists here in the States. I’ve been misdiagnosed for 4 years now and I turn 20 in February. The neurotologist wouldn’t prescribe anything and I went to see just my GP who I’ve been seeing for years who specializes in migraines. He put me on 120 mg of Verapamil, 2 mg Valium 3X daily, and Imitrex as needed. I’m also taking 5-HTP as I recently stopped my BC pills for my migraines but I have PMDD so my moods are everywhere which is making me miserable.
I’ve eliminated some diet triggers: like MSG, sulfates, and citrus fruits. My migraines are pretty bad and I get them 2-3 times a week. It’s the week before finals and I’ve had a migraine since yesterday morning and to stop it I had to take a huge cocktail of drugs therefore I haven’t been to school and had to miss a test today. I hate living like this and I don’t know what to do anymore. I miss a lot of school and can’t attend full time, I can’t hang out with my friends, I can’t really do much and it’s causing me to feel very down in the dumps. If anybody has any advice that would be appreciated. Thanks so much.
You’re just 20 and you’ve had this for four years?? That sucks! I’ve had classical (aura, no headache) migraines since I was about 14 but they were relatively infrequent and I’ve had MAV off and on since about 30. I appear pretty lucky (compared to others on this board) that while bad MAV episodes have left me housebound for weeks I’ve had lots of breaks in between. I’m currently very well controlled (about 95% well 95% of the time) on Prothiaden (aka Dothep).
It sounds like your GP is pretty switched on re the medications and dietry/lifestyle changes. What you’ll see from this board is that we all respond differently to different triggers and medications/lifestyle changes. I hope you can take some comfort that you’ll find the right mix to help you. Meanwhile - deepest sympathy to you. I hope things pick up.
I cannot believe you’ve been dealing with MM/MAV since you were 16. My heart goes out to you. To have to learn at such an early age to deal with this stuff!! Hang in there.
From what I understand the Meniere’s and MAV can have a pretty close relationship.
Welcome to the board, I’m new myself. This site has been not only a comfort, but a great source of practical information.