It’s now day 4 of my recent attack and I think the severe vertigo with movement is gone but my feel like my eyes won’t keep up with my head, focus still slips off objects that slighly bobble and a lighter swimmy spinny sensation is still there moving too much or looking and laying a certain way. BUT what is really annoying me is particular patterns!! When I look at our carpet, it moves slightly (almost shimmers if I stare) so does our cane basket if I look too long all the sqaures start moving almost buzzing and blurring on edges !! Isn’t that meant to go after an attack? Those issues seem to be constant for me !! Anyone else been told that’s a MAV symptom and can it be all the time?!!! Anyone would think I was eating magic mushrooms or something!!!
I think what you are describing is called visual vertigo and it is very common in people suffering vestibular disorders including MAV. I assume it will improve as you get your symptoms under control with the medication(s) x
My vertigo has improved with meds but not the shimmerring patterns that u describe. I’ve gotten used to it now after suffering for 10months. It sucks but can be ignored if u really try
Hi Jem – visual vertigo is vertigo triggered by visual stuff, like patterns in carpets or computer screens for example. Sounds like just sees shimmering lines on top of the vertigo.
When I look at patterns with parallel lines in the mornings, they shake and jiggle if I stare at them too long. Same happens when I look at the backs of certain cars at a traffic light with lines running through the back side of the car.
Hi Aussiegirl,
Those sensations improved for me over time with medication. I used to feel like I was looking at the world through a fishbowl, and looking at patterns with too many lines (eg metal benches made of linear poles) could make me feel like fainting within seconds of looking at them.
I’m sorry that your carpet is making you feel funny. Is it patterned? Can you cover it with a plain rug?
Hi there glad you through the worst of your attack. Yes I suffer visual vertigo every day with patterns stripes and stuff like that. My family know not to wear stripes in my company especially thin stripes although the other day my boyfriend put on a t shirt with broad stripes and he wks shimmering almost like the stripes left the shirt. Really awful but you train yourself to not look at it but focus on their faces or just tell them to change at work a nightmare because you can’t do that I just find a way of having my back to them or put my hand up over their shirt whilst talking to them. Blinds in kitchen get me especially open ones. Again I pull them up. I don’t know whether over the years I should have just gone with it and tried getting used to it but its hard to when something makes you so ill. Perhaps someone out there could advise whether to avoid or go with it?
Yes I’m another sufferer of visual vertigo especially at the moment. Windy days when the trees are blowing, psychadelic carpets (the casino is a MAV sufferers nightmare- beware!) and patterned clothing drives me crazy!!
It’s difficult to avoid really when the world is full of weird colours, patterns etc. U just need to avoid looking at it if it bothers u and control your anxiety by telling urself that it is just MAV. Eventually u will get used to it and accept it once ur vertigo which I say is the worst symptom of the lot improves on meds. For many the meds take care of the visual crap but for me it hasn’t. But I can live with it as long as long as my vertigo is under control. U will too
I used to get that very badly. The doctors at the Mayo Clinic told me that it was caused by my brain trying to use visual clues to balance my body, but the patterns throw off the brain by not giving you clear lines of sight to balance yourself.
Once I got squared away on ADs, that symptom went away. So keep your head up, it will go away at some point.
at work a nightmare because you can’t do that I just find a way of having my back to them or put my hand up over their shirt whilst talking to them. Blinds in kitchen get me especially open ones. Again I pull them up. I don’t know whether over the years I should have just gone with it and tried getting used to it but its hard to when something makes you so ill. Perhaps someone out there could advise whether to avoid or go with it?