Please advice

Hi all
So after I had my baby last year in January I experienced some PPA, which I was managing with therapy, last summer I started getting off balance which I attributed to hormone changes and then a month after full blown vertigo, my PCP chalked it up to my anxiety and started Zoloft, also through this time I had a MRI tins of blood work that all came out normal. Zoloft helped me a lot and all my symptoms were gone, but every time my period came I would get very slightly dizzy so I saw a ENT, he ruled out any hearing balance issues. So I continued with my life, I was feeling very good about my anxiety and I weaned off Zoloft in Jan, my symptoms were nil and felt really really good in a very long time, But in March I had a exhausting week at work and I was also on my period and my symptoms returned with a vengeance, in addition to dizziness I have severe brain fog, neck pain, occipital pressure, tinnitus, light sound sensitivity, my GO wants me to go back on Zoloft because he thinks my anxiety relapsed but truly I was not anxious one bit until I started getting dizzy again this month. Any advice how to proceed with this issue, what Dr to see? I reached out to the ENT and he prescribed me VNG and VEMP which I’m getting next week I’m also seeing a endocrinologist next week to check for thyroid issues. I’m at a loss and don’t know what to do, it’s definitely has me all depressed and I have a full time job as a ER nurse and a toddler to care of. Please anyone who has been in my situation help me I’m very desperate and loosing hope I need to take command of my life for my family’s sake. Also it would really help to know if someone had been in this situation and successfully felt better with meds and life modification and be able to do your job well, I can’t quit my job cause I need to feed my family, I’m in tears and desperately hoping to get better so that I can get back with my job and be able to feed my family and take care of them, please please respond if anyone knows what’s going on with me :disappointed_relieved:

Hi Dizzy Mummy. You have all my sympathies. Sorry you have been so unwell you ended up here. We can offer support and understanding but not diagnosis. Just hang in there and see the specialists lined up. They may be able to give you a diagnosis. If, as I’d suspect, it proves to be a vestibular disorder here’s the place to search your symptoms to find support and share experiences. VM/MAV very commonly start post partum. It’s an ongoing chronic condition that can usually be controlled after a period of time by lifestyle changes, diet, medication, etc etc all very individualised to suit depending. One of the major obstacles to finding that control is anxiety. So you need to fight that now. As with most conditions those with a positive pro-active attitude tend to progress best however best bear in mind vestibular stuff does usually take longer to settle so don’t be disappointed to find there’s no quick fix because there rarely, if ever, is. Don’t beat yourself up about being at a lose end not knowing what to do. You’ve already done it. Enough for first steps. You have the specialists lined up. Be kind to yourself, try to relax, and don’t keep worrying about tomorrow. One Day At a Time, just for now. With all the help you have lined up it’s bound to improve although you do need to allow time for some healing first. Could well be you will need to press the Pause button somewhere along the line for a while.

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It’s good you are getting tests. You could ask your ENT about vestibular issues and migraine variants. If that’s not his thing then seek out a Neurologist or Neuro-otologist with an interest in VM/MAV. Obviously we can’t diagnose but in the meantime if YOU think the dizziness is VM but your GP maintains it’s anxiety then perhaps he could prescribe a med that used to treat anxiety but also used for MAV/VM such as amitriptyline, propranolol , Effexor XR rather than the Zoloft until you get a diagnosis. There is a #success-stories-positivity section on this site. I think a lot of people who get better stop posting as they just want to put it all behind them.

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This is interesting. What a great forum indeed.