This is the first flare up Iāve had not caused by a cold for a longtime. My recovery takes up to two weeks for all the lightheadedness and tinnitus to calm. It calms to about 95%. I feel fortunate for this compared to others and what it used to be pre meds. Anxiety is my issue. The old āwhat if it doesnāt recover as normal!!ā Does anyone else experience this and if so how what coping mechanisms do you use? My pattern for recovery is always the same. Time, stages, emotions. It still breaks me though!
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I guess Iām looking for reassurance from others who have this dreadful condition āmanagedā that their recovery after a relapse are always pretty similar. My wife has seen me go through this (or us go through this) for 25 years and she doesnāt worry because sheās seen it hundreds (yes!!) of times. I get scared still.
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you will get back to baseline - and strangely it was always about 2 weeks for me too!
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Thanks James.
It sounds as though youāre in good shape and control.
I have been for a good few years but this is a bad year for me.
I was zero last week and a five this week. Working towards my 9.5 baseline.
My fam and work give me the environment to rest and space whilst I recover but my mind is busy searching and asking questions definitely makes this harder. Canāt wait to be back to my baseline and Iām going to be very careful for a few weeks to stop a quick repeat of this.
thanks for the positive words. They are very encouraging which is all I need.
Best.
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At the risk of having my VM Membership Card being cancelled, Iāve never taken more than a couple of days to return to baseline. Of course baseline for me is always a half step away from dizzy. Turn around too fast, sit up too fast, stand up too fast, go down the grocery store aisle too fast (this one never happens anymore since we order our groceries and then have them loaded in our boot. But back to dizzy, my baseline is quick recovery, but Iām always standing on the cliff with my toes hanging off the edge.
As for vertigo, that is a rare treat for me. I canāt remember my last vertigo spell. Vertigo is almost always a bad storm event. When the barometer does whatever it does when a serious super cell envelopes the area, thatās when the ground starts moving like the deck of the HMS Bounty. Recovery is complete bed rest with one of those fancy expensive sublingual migraine meds with the shades drawn and the lights out. Sleep, merciful sleep,
I remember getting vertigo as a kid about 6 or 7. I had no idea what it was then. Mom called it motion sickness because it almost always happened with a car ride. And every car ride brought it on. But, Meclazine (Sp) was like taking a sugar pill, so it couldnāt be motion sickness.
I took 2 cruises a few years back to Alaska. I say 2 because it was my first and my last. Once the ship hit the Pacific Ocean, I was as sick as a dog (why do they blame the dog). I stayed in my stateroom facedown with the lights out for three days. When we entered the inner waterway channel to Juneau, the Vertigo began lifting. The water in the inner waterway is as smooth as glass. On the return trip, I was back in my stateroom facedown for three days. I even missed the Captains Dinner.
So the Doctor tells me I have Vestibular Migraines, but I donāt go through the Hell that some of you folks do, but I do go through dizziness and occasional vertigo. And Iāve completely lost the ability to walk very fast or run. A few years ago, I discovered that when I attempted to run I always fell over. At first I marked it up to being old. But then I saw all these people older than me running and it didnāt make sense that I couldnāt. So I started going from doctor to doctor trying to find out what was wrong with me. Thatās how I got the diagnosis of Vestibular Migraines.
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Hi Lexi! I completely understand what you mean by your mind being busy searching. When a flare-up happens, the brain naturally goes into overdrive trying to find answers, but that hyper-awareness actually feeds the anxiety. It is amazing that you have such a supportive environment at home and work to rest. Youāve reached a ā5ā from a ā0ā in just a week, which is huge progress! Take it day by day, let your mind rest, and you will definitely hit your 9.5 baseline soon. Stay strong!
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Thanks for your kind words and support. Iām just fighting the last few niggles now. Fuzzy head and tinnitus. Iām hoping this will pass over the next few days.
I always think Iāve got this under control, I do have for very long periods, but anything ENT throws me out of kilter.
The anxiety during this period is off the chart. I donāt know how others cope so well. Always the same pattern of is this my new normal in respect of symptoms. Despite a long history of my brain correcting itself.
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We all have our moments. The way I look at it is always draw inspiration from others never comparison. Comparison is the thief of all progress. Iām sure youāre making progress. My anxiety is always at 10 but I just learned to use it as an ally. If my mind can race with so many possible bad things that can happen it has the capacity to race with the good too. I always see it like in Avengers Infinity War when Dr. Strange is running through all the possible futures. I try to do that with ways I can get better methods I can try. Acknowledge the bad, but the let the possible better outcomes drive. As for the tinnitus it is annoying as all hell, but I always make myself laugh thinking Iām being stalked by a ghost CCTV from the 90s. I donāt know what I did to anger itā
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