New to MAV

I have recently been dx’ed with MAV after an allergy attack in April that turned into a sinus infection that I thought I had gotten rid of but left me with the worst case of vertigo I have ever had but only in my right ear. To make a long story short, that vertigo did go away but things kept changing on me. Got rid of the vertigo, replaced with a dizziness in my head and loss of balance. I had suffered ongoing nausea for about 4 to 5 years and a lifelong history of symptoms that I now realize was building up into this. I’d had migraines in my 20s for about a year that went away on their own and had no problems with them since.

I have been going to doctors and been on disability since mid July because of this. My short term disability has run out and now I am on long term and have been termininated from the job. My ENT kept telling me all my tests came back “normal” but sent me to physical therapy and a dizzy/balance doctor. However, it took months to get in to see that doctor and things kept changing…more and more was added to the list of problems this had brought on. I became so sensitive to light that I just about had to run into the stores, grab what I needed and get out before I got sick. My eye sight has been a disaster, caught in a black out one night after dark was a REAL eye opening experience for me and set me back everything I had gained in physical therapy for the past 6 weeks. While I never fell down, just maintaining my balance wore me out every single day. I have been having mild headaches that come and go for several months but they are building in pain and lasting longer.

I went for a lot of tests at the dizzy/balance doctor in November and saw him Dec. 8 to get the results and find out what he found (if anything). I was surprised with the MAV dx but it put together a lot of pieces to a life long puzzle and I now made sense of it all. He put me on Clonazepam 0.5 mg. 1/2 a pill for 7 days, then a whole pill. Overnight my life changed with that 1/2 a pill. When it came time to up it, after 4 days on the whole pill, I had to cut back on it. I was in so much pain all over, joints hurt muscles hurt, I was dizzier than ever and simply just couldn’t even walk. I have a history of arthritis and this stuff magnified the pain 100 times. I am so sensitive to anything I take that I always get the worst of the worst side effects. My doctor is only in town one day a week so I haven’t bothered calling to report this. I don’t even know if there is anyone there to answer the phones and I am not scheduled to see him until Feb. 2011!

This has stolen my life as I knew it…

Lulubelle,

Welcome to the forum, sorry to hear your diagnoses. You have found a place with others who understand ALL of the confusing things about MAV. Don’t panic about losing your life, with some life style changes and the proper medication, you can gain most of it back.

I’m so sorry you have gotten a diagnosis of MaV. I hope you find something to help you. Like you i am super drug sensitive. Only thing that has helped me that i can handle is valium. I tried all the other benzos and they either didn’t work or made me feel awful.

I recently tried celexa an antidepressant and couldnt handle baby dosages of that. I hate that i am so drug sensitive. I’m prob going to find another route to help my issues.

good group of people on here that understand.

Take care of yourself and keep writing in.

Chris

Lulubelle,

Welcome to mvertigo but sorry it has to be because of this. You certainly sound like a classic case of MAV with migraine symptoms edging along from your younger days to the full blown stuff now. And a real drag that you have to wait so long to see a professional about it.

Please have a read of the MAV Survival Guide above and make sure you’ve done all you can to remove potential triggers. This alone can make a huge impact on relieving symptoms or at least reducing them to something much more manageable. I’m surprised to hear clonazepam made you feel worse. I wonder if valium would work out better for you? I cannot tolerate Ativan for example but do very well on valium – both are benzodiazepenes.

Best … Scott :slight_smile: