Rescue meds

Okay, will keep this in mind, thanks. Will start with aspirin thoughā€¦ as itā€™s safer than diclofenac.

Diazepam/Valium is the only drug I have found to help during an attack and to help stave off an attack I feel is coming. I always carry some (in a contact lense case under cotton) with me religiously. I also carry Zofran which will dissolve under your tongue and helps stop you from vomiting which would keep you from keeping the Valium down.

I havenā€™t had an attack for a year and a half which I credit to a lower salt diet and Triampterine/hctz which is a Diuretic often used for people with MD symptoms. But I still often feel an attack is immenent and taking Valium and drinking more water while relaxing has worked.

I follow your thoughts on the forum and agree with you in most topics. Another engineer, i am often not happy with the way doctors treat these conditions. Iā€™m pretty sure something is broken and it makes every day bad but the attacks are horrendous and I my steady state is always worse after an attack. So I try to avoid attacks at all cost.

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Yeah, as an engineer too I find the explanations very wishy-washy. In their defence it is quite clear that the technology hasnā€™t got to a point yet where they can provide clear answers to many things. Quite astonishing given the progress with so many other disciplines!

Very glad youā€™ve been avoiding attacks so long, good for you, and thanks for your suggestion!

Ativan works great for me when I flare up. I take 0.5 mg too. For ladies, Prometrium (natural progesterone) works like a benzo. It has the same calming anti anxiety effect that takes care of the flare.

Last thingā€¦ a good old glass of wine if the flare starts at night. Wine is amazing, one of the best I would say. The flare just stops.

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Now thatā€™s interesting! Thanks!

My doctors are pretty useless despite getting a diagnosis from 2 Neurologists of VM.

If I do have headaches/head pressure with my VM episodes I usually take paracetamol.

Not been prescribed Triptains yet, whether they are suitable for VM or not?

Sometimes CBD oil(SimplyCBD green)which helps relax me, although thatā€™s not meant to be used for acute issues.
Have tried it for weeks on end as a anxiety reducer but was pretty hopeless when it wore off 4 hours later.

For the dizziness all I got prescribed is prochlorperazine
I get muscle ridgity/twitches/the shakes on that so only take it when Iā€™m desperate if I got bad vertigo.

Recently got prescribed Serc(Betahistine) but says use in caution with asthma. So quite scared to try it, incase it flares up my asthma.

The stupid doctors wonā€™t prescribe me any benzos which I read can be used for vertigo attacks.
Nor will they prescribe me meclizine which I know is used for vertigo. Maybe that canā€™t be used with asthma?

So Iā€™m greatly suffering and the doctors are useless.
Usually fob me off too and look at me like Iā€™m crazy.

UK doctors avoid benzos because they are so highly addictive. I donā€™t think Meclizine is a available in UK these days. Sea Legs which were really good for motion sickness were withdrawn some time ago. These drugs were used as rescue meds - rather than preventatives, and these days triptans are much more highly favoured it seems. If you are taking preventatives already thereā€™s usually strict limits on how many and what type painkillers you can add in.

Donā€™t know how much you know/might have read about the condition but Iā€™ve always found it useful to read around the subject if only to see where the doctors are coming from.

https://www.thewaltoncentre.nhs.uk/uploadedfiles/leaflets/Migraine%20-%20A%20Comprehensive%20Guide.pdf

You can get cinnarazine OTC in the UK, sold as Stugeron for travel sickness. Itā€™s not mecalizine but there does seem to be some evidence to suggest it dampens down vestibular reactions. I got precribed some cinnarazine over a year ago for dizziness by my GP and Iā€™m pretty sure they were a bit stronger than Stugeron. My old ENT who (mis)diagnosed me with Menieres said Stugeron were good fto take temporarily for a bad bout of vertigo and a lot less scary than Stemetil (prochlorparazine, Buccastem). Perhaps see a different GP to get them prescribed? They are only intended to be used occasionally (as an abortive) not as an everyday treatment. (preventative).

This is what Dr Hain thinks about Cinnarazine:
https://www.dizziness-and-balance.com/treatment/drug/cinnarizine.html

I was (mis) diagnosed with Menieres for many years so trialled Serc many times at great length as it was the only preventative available. I think it actually made me more dizzy. My ENT consultant said it needed to be taken for at least 3 months to see any consistent effect and was quite irate at GPā€™s for prescribing it as an abortive. Serc doesnā€™t work for most people even those who have Menieres is the opinion the consultants I have seen have concluded.

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Darkdream could you get a referral back to the speicialist/s who diagnosed you and get some proper treatment plan from them? In my experience GPā€™s arenā€™t great at prescribing for MAV, they usually know about migraine preventatives but not about dosage and time periods to prescribe for.

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I went thru three anti-emetics before I settled on the one with the least side effects for me - compazine. I donā€™t think triptans are particularly useful for vestibular symptoms. All the ones I tried made me worse.

I used to take triptans for chronic migraine. They did zap the headache a bit but all the peripheral symptoms of dizziness, yawning, fatigue, aura etc still remained or were heightened They also made me feel like I was totally wiped out and had been through a hangover from hell feeling for the day or so after taking them.

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They gave me a list of what preventive meds to try but not much alse for meds.
Will have to contact them again as still waiting to have VRT and an upright MRI done(Iā€™m extremely claustrophobic and cannot lay flat on my back due to GERD and BPPV).
Lucky found a place that does upright MRI just waiting for funding for that. As the Neuro originally agreed to an open MRI scanner when I told him my issues with a normal MRI.

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Bit off Topic but just a point you might find worth checking out. Before you have the MRI make sure the neurologist is made aware of the resolution of the ā€˜open scannerā€™ and agrees to accept it. Depends on what resolution he needs but the open type donā€™t always have as high a resolution.

Itā€™s probably for the best, those benzos can be addictive. Neither my neurologist or psychiatrist will prescribe them. CBD with a bit of THC can help. Propanolol can calm the adrenaline response down, which Iā€™m sure your doctors wonā€™t hesitate to prescribe as a rescue. I use propanolol for anxiety/rescue. You can also try Valerian root, as its sort of the ā€œnaturalā€ benzo.

The THC content in CBD oil has to be under 0.2% to be legal.

Thatā€™s the law is it? In the UK? On here it pays to qualify these things because we have posters from all over The World and there are many differences between countries with many things including medications availability, laws ie driving regs etc.

Yep, all forms of cannabis are legal here in Washington state. Itā€™s sold in storefronts. The only qualifier is you need to be over 18 years old to buy it. (Or was it 21? Idk, Iā€™m 46 so I donā€™t care.)

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Yeah Iā€™m in the UK.

Unmedicated the symphony can destroy me. Last time I walked in with Fioricet (barbiturates/acetaminophen/caffeine). That worked ok. Yesterday I tried the THC approach. I failed to account for the fact that THC completely alters my sense of time. So, the Romeo and Juliet ballet took maybe 50 years. I think I liked it.

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As I ride out my latest attack, I decided to browse though some topics to amuse and distract myself.

This was a fun and informative topic to read - thanks everyone!

Iā€™m prescribed 75mg 2Ɨday for neck pain. It falls in the NSAID category, can upset stomach and you must remain in an upright position for 10 minutes after taking it. I take it with 200mcg of misoprostol to protect my stomach. I rarely take it for two reasons: I have a head injury so Iā€™m not sure how much of this pain is ā€œperceivedā€ due to damaged neural networks (Iā€™m an engineer too) and neck pain is a migraine symptom.

My orthopaedic surgeon has informed me that I have radiculopathy, my injury is dangerously close to my spinal cord so I may develop myopathy and recommends surgery.
Iā€™m letting the head doctors go first, will retry neck physical therapy at the hospital when we are not in the middle of a global pandemic once pain management has other conditions under control. The surgeon begrudgingly agreed with the plan. Sorry doc, you wonā€™t get all that $$$ from my insurance company just yet.

I also bought this in the US in Salt Lake City about 10 years ago. I donā€™t remember the brand, but the pharmacist kept it behind the counter (although it was non-prescription) and it was labeled for altitude sickness. It worked well for altitude sickness that I had at the time. I would imagine it would help with MAV symptoms. I wish I still had that bottle, but I tossed it as it was passed itā€™s expiration date.

Agreed! How about Honorary Mention for Physician Management?

Thank you Lisa for reminding me about that bag of taurine powder I have! I will be adding that to my next anti-inflammatory smoothie from the dizzy cook found here:
https://thedizzycook.com/anti-inflammatory-pear-smoothie/

Good health to all and to James who started the topic, I hope you found something to help.

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