Anyone else have a double diagnosis of mental health and MAV? I’m constantly panicking over my symptoms even though I’ve been checked for various illnesses I cannot accept that I have MAV. I continually believe something else is seriously wrong, OR I accept I have MAV and panic because I don’t know when these 24/7 symptoms will end. I have been on and off of various meds for anxiety because the doctors kept saying that is my main issue. finally started a migraine preventative plus switched to another SSRI and also taking Ativan when needed so hoping maybe that’ll help but it has been a hellish 8 months. I wonder
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Point to me anyone who doesn’t go even just a little crazy after a little while of MAV escalating!
Don’t overthink this or start believing you are among the worst of the sufferers. The fact is that unfortunately for most this is part of the same condition. Doctors can choose to formalise it with a separate, additional diagnosis, but I think that’s risky and can potentially worsen the situation by freaking out the patient further!
You need to get the anxiety and panic under control, but often that happens of its own accord when start to find a protocol that begins to work for you. You start to see the hope and your anxiety wanes. As ever, good luck!
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Agree with @turnitaround. Not many people who suffer the MAV experience get through it without some albeit temporary interference in their mental health in fact an ex airline pilot who now works as a psychologist and who suffers himself once told me he felt life would never quite seem the same after his first really severe bout of true rotary vertigo. It does get to you. As I see it there are several options. Ask the medics if they can treat both with the same class of drug or learn relaxation techniques and just fight your way through it as best you can knowing, if the anxiety stems purely from the MAV, it will reduce as symptoms decrease. If you thoroughly think it through You should find your own MAV history and timings should give you some idea of origin of both issues. Helen
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I’m going to stick my neck out here and admit that I do think all of this could be classed as a semi-‘mental’ problem simply because whatever triggers our problem in the first place, be it pressure in the ears or pressure from stress or an injury causing inflammation and therefore pressure - - - our symptoms seem to be caused by scrambled message reaching the brain! The problem remains in finding your own personal ‘triggers’ to stop the scrambled messages being sent!
Personally, I have never had proof that stress CAUSES a flare up for me - but the symptoms themselves, and fear of (the vertigo) happening does cause me stress/anxiety.
I agree with Helen @Onandon03, that it would be helpfull for you to be able to treat your problems as one entity which should limit the side effects of meds and perhaps help you cope better. As always - just my opinion, and I am not a medical professional - just a long time suffererl!
My first diagnosis was panic/anxiety, so yeah. I think with MAV it just goes hand in hand - it’s really rough to accept MAV with all the crazy things you feel.
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