Pregnancy and VM

I am 12 weeks pregnant. 3 weeks ago I woke up to the room spinning. It only happened for a few seconds. Throughout the day I got more and more dizzy which progressed to true vertigo I and began vomiting. This lasted about 3 days. I saw OB doc,ER doc,primary care dr,ENT and Neurotologist. MRI was ordered of inner ears and brain and came back clear. Neuro said he suspects VM but can’t be sure. None of the drs think that my dizziness is pregnancy related. I’m literally going crazy. I have not gone back to normal since the episode of vertigo. I’m dizzy everyday without relief. The vertigo has stopped but not the dizziness. I can’t try any meds except meclazine which does nothing because I’m pregnant. Is this going to be my life from now on? Does compensation ever happen? I’m seeing a chiropractor and it doesn’t seem to be doing anything yet. I’m so discouraged and depressed. Anyone have any info they can share with me?

Im sorry you are going through this. I got vm during my first pregnancy and ended up having a second baby with it because it took 3.5 years to be diagnosed, so i went all that time with no meds, but i did improve during my pregnancy a after the first 3 months and it did get worse for the births but once breastfeeding settled down i further improved enough to do VRT and i was doing well for a while. My symptoms would go up and down but never disappeared completely. You are onto a great thing being diagnosed so early. I have read ppl taking low doses of nort during pregnancy but that was a med they were already on so knew how their body reacted to it. Your brain does compensate and exercises help that, i found pregnancy and breastfeeding helped stabilise the attacks, i think if the condition is more stable then the vet can work. i have found low GI diet good and not eating migraine trigger foods helps with exercise or balance exercises. Im sorry i cant be of anymore help, but what i do know my symptoms go up and down i havent felt normal but i have gotten to a point where i could live life without thinking about it that much. Congrats on the bub :slight_smile:

Thanks for your reply. I can walk around but I can’t drive or work (I’m a nurse) because of the disequilibrium. The neuro that gave me this diagnosis basically told me nothing about it! I have been having daily anxiety attacks because I just want this dizziness to end! Does the fact that I’m still dizzy mean that the migraine is still happening or this is just what I’m left with? Is dizziness worse in certain positions? I’m okay laying down and definitely more off balance turning right.

I get daily panick attacks when my mav is bad, for me the extreme dizzy/ vertigo, vision problems are things i will never be able to be okay about when its extreme, but i always know im improving when my panick attacks stop. Usually when i start realises wow im anxious its usually because i havent noticed how bad my vertigo has gotten and its my body reacting.
I think its because it takes weeks for the vestibular system to settle down, so if your having frequent attacks everyday to every two weeks the vestibular system never gets a chance to compensate before its attacked again. For me it use to be more positional, my left side for me is bad. Since my second big relapse last oct it stopped being positional and started being bad both sides. I go through stages of cant leave the house or drive, like right now, but a few weeks ago i was stuck in bed for a few weeks so im ok with being housebound at the moment. I find trying to do the basic chores around the home and doing other things that i find tough great to help my mind and it improves my mav too. The idea is to prevent the attacks from occurring or from them occurring too frequently. This can be really tough but you will get there :).

I’ve only had the one initial “attack” of vertigo. Since then I’ve just never returned to baseline. I’m constantly dizzy/disequilibrium. Does this sound like MAV? It’s been almost 3 weeks and no relief. Will this rocking ever stop? I really think I’m losing my mind. My OB doctor has never seen this and I feel like none of my docs knows what’s going on. When I google things it just makes me more anxious and hopeless. When will this end? Is there such thing as “normal” anymore?

I asked my specialist the same thing and he said he doesn’t know if i will ever be symptom free even with meds, there’s a lot they just don’t know, i guess because all our brains are so different. he said 80% of people do well with meds and do well with their life, 20% struggle. he said he hoped to get rid of my vertigo and migraine, thats what his goal is. i should mention my migraines started 3.5 yesrs after the first vertigo attack. My spec is one of the top specialists and even he can’t give me those answers. It sounds exactly like how my mav started out. I can get mav attacks without typical vertigo, it can come on as rocking or as lightheaded. I have never had more then a quick spin of vertigo and that has only happen a few times in the whole time i have had it. I do though feel like im spinning when i lay down, although this was a symptom that later developed. Goodluck and i wish you all the best. I believe i can get back to normal again because i nearly got their on my own without meds.

Oh and yes for me the rocking does stop, takes the right med or a good stretch, but for me it has gone for long periods of time, same with a lot of the lightheaded feeling or dizzy.