Has anyone found that if they step away from a trigger situation they are able to reduce the chance of symptoms?
I guess it’s hard to judge but if anyone has some insights I’d love to hear them.
Today I had a meeting in the middle of the night as I am abroad and after one hour I could feel my brain beginning to grumble. A combination of strange sleep pattern and screen time. I was not stressed, not particularly tired (have not adjusted to local time) and actually enjoying the meeting.
I soon left the call and felt ok and have not experienced an attack, but I did feel one brewing.
Immediately after I went out for a walk and had breakfast in a local cafe. Felt fine considering the timezone.
This is going to sound silly, but I have problems turning my head to the left to see my alarm clock. Last night I moved the clock to the nightstand on my right side. I don’t fear turning my head now! No dizziness or bouncing sensations this morning. It only took me 5 years to figure this out!!!
I can if I immediately retreat to a very dark quiet room and totally black out my vision with a mask or fabric to block light. not always possible though
i should add that my biggest trigger now is visual stimuli, like odd perceptions of objects based on positioning or camera work/point of view warping on screens
My whole chronic period started with a DLP projector displaying a scrolling document.
I sometimes wonder had I not made that meeting or had my company used a different type of projector that doesn’t have that stupid spinning colour wheel, would this condition have come on at all?
I, too, try to interrupt an attack by resting in a dark, quiet room. Of course that’s not always possible, and it’s not always successful. But it seems to me that if I ignore early symptoms they tend to accelerate and I risk a total blowout. I also take a walk as soon as I feel stable enough to handle it – the rhythm of walking seems to help my brain settle down. Sometimes, though, the best I can do is walk around my house a bit. Of course at the same time I’m resting and/or walking I’m taking rescue meds. That’s my reality.
Not sure. I’m not a particularly anxious person and I’ve never found anxiety to be trigger for me. I’ve been dealing with this for so many years that I’ve learned that I will survive each attack and don’t panic during attacks like I did in the early days. But there’s no denying bad VM attacks are huge stressors.
I’ve read or been advised (don’t remember the source) that it’s important to get up and move as soon as possible during/after an attack, that it helps the brain/body reorient itself in space (probably not the correct medical theory). That seems true for me.
Yes, without a doubt; I definitely found/find thst stepping away from a trigger situation reduces the chance of symptoms developing//worsening. Different triggers require different strategies for me when I remove myself from each situation.
I still have a fear of rolling over to my left side. I’ve had many vertigo attacks doing this, and then I feel ill the rest of the day. When I avoid rolling to the left, I have a much better day. So, I guess avoiding those triggers is a good thing.
This is going to sound stupid, but I remember eating pink whipped Jello was I was little. Well, I threw up and was in bed for the next day. My mother kept telling me I had the flu, and it wasn’t the Jello. To this day, I avoid pink whipped anything!!!
I’m not having vertigo since the Epley maneuvers, but I still have that weird feeling like it’s going to happen when I roll to the left. It feels like waves and things are moving, but only for a few seconds. I prefer not to feel any of that weird motion sickness!!!
This is all so interesting to me. For the first 4 years of terrible vertigo attacks I would sit in a chair and literally not move and wait until the spinning stopped. It would sometimes take hours though. I finally figured out that moving/walking would actually speed up the process of kicking it to the curb so to speak. I still fear walking outside when I’m spinning of course but as long as I can stay close to a wall or furniture to help me balance I do okay.
Lack of sleep, a constant struggle for me, seems to be a major trigger along with rolling over in bed. The medication I’m on now (4th in this experiment) seems to have rid me of most dizzy and spinning spells although I still have balance issues and lack of sleep can cause some mild dizziness.
When I feel a headache coming on I generally feel it first behind my eyes and screen time/reading ends immediately and I try to find a quiet dark place and close my eyes if possible. It’s been several months since I’ve had a full blown migraine/vertigo episode. I remain hopeful!
My recent relapse began after one very poor night of sleep (and too much caffeine the prior day) - I was drinking the cheap free coffee at the hospital - pretty stupid!