Hi all!
My name is AnnaMarie, I am 46 years old and I am from the Netherlands ( so my English is not perfect, sorry !).
I am very happy that I have found this forum 3 months ago; since then I was able to gather so much information about what is happening in my head ! So thank you very much for that !
In Dec. 2012 I woke up with a sudden hearing loss in one ear, a very loud hum and pressure in the ear. Two days later I had a vertigo attack, nausea, vomitting etc.
GP thought it might be Meniere’s. I tried to recover in the next two months but I stayed dizzy, a bit off balance, and had a continous ringing in both ears, earpressure on and off. In February I had the same kind of attack once again and I had an appointment with an ENT specialist. Hearing tests were o.k. , ENG test showed that my organs of balance were functioning but in a slightly a- symmetrical way.
At the beginning of April ENT specialist suggested Vestibular Migraine and wanted me to trial Propranolol. I had never heard of this form of migraine and I was not ready for this medication ( was afraid my bloodpressure would lower too much, since I have quite low bloodpressure already). Then I found this forum and learned a lot about all these symptoms that can be associated with migraine ! I also bought the book ‘Heal your Headache’ and started with the diet, step by step.
Since I was 15 years old I started having headaches, but they were never recognized as ‘migraine headaches’ : I never had distinct attacks for 24-72 hours, never was nauseous or light sensitive ! My headaches were related to hormonal changes for the biggest part of it, and in the last few years I started having very irregular periods and other menopausal symptoms. So I guess hormones are a big trigger for me !
Since 15 years I have CFS, and have not been able to work or do much physical exercise. So I am used to being partly housebound. But this last 6 or 7 months has been so hard, not being able to do simple things. I can walk outside for max. 20 minutes, but it is not relaxing with this dizzy, weird feeling in my head !
Last week I had an appointment with a neurologist, specialized in vertigo and dizziness, and he confirmed the diagnosis VM being most likely. Although he was not sure about the ear pressure and pain, and the continous ringing as being part of VM. But on this forum I read that these symptoms ARE a part of VM, aren’t they?
So now I started with Valproic Acid 150 mg. since 3 days ,and I am gong to increase it very slowly in the next 6 weeks. I didn’t have any headaches since starting, which is nice, but I am feeling much more drowsy and tired in my head , wow ! And I am only taking 150 mg ! I hope this will subside with time, just have to be very patient I guess. I have always been very anxious about taking medication, but now I feel I have to ‘risk’ it.
It seems that not many people here are taking Valproic Acid, but Topamax ? Why ?
Thanks all, for being here and giving information !
AnnaMarie