Rather than edit my entire post below. I’ll just add this for you to read before you read it. Below, is my THEORY into the fundamental cause of MAV based on the books recommended here, my knowledge about brain chemistry, the information provided by the great people of this forum, and my own observations. The information below may appear to come across as “fact”. But surfise it to say that below is just my opinion, and I welcome ALL comments, weather people agree or disagree. I am not looking to “lead” anyone or become an expert on anything. I am simply trying to bring a larger picture to the plate, and I welcome a discussion on it.
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Rich,
I was considered by every one around me a very care free, easy going person before this all started. I always had people telling me that I was so much so that it was annoying. I have always had a lot of the underlying sysmptoms but the inner ear like symptoms did not start until I thought that both my wife and my unborn child were going to pass away in the hospital. It took about a month for everything to escolate to the point that I was almost deaf in one ear, and another month or two for the dizzies to hit.
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Sorry to hear of your stress, but I am not at all suprised by this anymore, and I think it’s confirmed by what others here are saying as well (weather they are making the connection or not). I think this shows, in at least YOUR case, that it doesn’t necessarily take a life time of stress and anxiety to put our brain chemistry over the edge. It just takes one really stressful event to alter our brain chemistry, or put whatever cascade of events into motion that end up in this set of symptoms we refer to as MAV.
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Kim, thanks for mentioning anxiety disorder in the forum. I believe that MVA and anxiety disorder can run in tandem, but it can be frustrating if, like in my case, you are dismissed as being “just anxious” when feeling phisically dizzy.
I stopped looking for treatment was when a neurologist, after examining all my ‘normal’ result, said that “it’s all in your head - you are just anxious and stressed out” and suggested that I see a psychologist instead (doesn’t help that I told him I got more dizzy on supermarket aisles and nearly passed out in a library - he said I may be claustrophobic…). My sister happens to be a psychologist, so I asked her and was convinced that it is not psychological, but I’ve given up seeing doctors by then and decided just to live with it. However, the dizziness keep getting worse so I trawl the net looking for some kind of explanation, and came across this forum when I realised that it may be related to migraine.
About the “chicken and egg” thing - I remembered that although being stressed out make me feel worse, the worst I felt was after I started worrying about being dizzy. Once I decided that I can just try to live with it, it gets a little bit easier (still dizzy, though)…
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I decided to also quote this post above, because I think this is may be a major reason why people end up suffering needlessly for longer than they have to. The fact that this person stopped looking for treatment after being told it was “all in your head” does not surprise me. In a way (phyiscal, not psychological), it IS in your head, but not in the way these neurologists are describing it. These doctors are unfortunately not educated in the relationship between stress, anxiety, depression, how it relates to brain chemistry overall, and how that develops into MAV. Or, they DO understand, but instead of explaining this, they just tell people they are stressed out, and to go home. That’s the wrong approach. These doctors should be explaining how stress/anxiety/depression/trauma CAUSES MAV, and how stress/anxiety/depression/trauma in turn WORSENS MAV. Before the MAV hit, the person might have not considered themselves depressed or very anxious, but continued low grade stress and anxiety was present. Then, one stressful event put that person over the edge, and WHAM!! MAV!! After the symptoms hit, that’s usually when the depression and anxiety really become noticeable. At that point, they seek help and are told they are anxious and depressed. The person may argue that they were not depressed or anxious before the MAV hit, and it was the MAV that made them depressed/anxious. That may be somewhat true, but its probably that these triggers were there all along, and once symptoms developed, the anxiety/depression worsened or became more apparent. That confuses the person as well, because they don’t realize what came first, the anxiety/depression or the condition, when in fact, the brain chemistry imabalance is what’s responsible for the onset of symptoms to begin with. The physician may not be aware that anxiety/depression can manifest itself as MAV, or any other number of neurological disorders (or they do, but they believe that the resulting symptoms are “psychological”, instead of “phyiscal”). So when the patient is told it’s “all in their heads”, they are insulted, as they should be, but the connection is never made that the anxiety/depression actually causes a pathway of chemical changes in the brain, resulting in the condition. In other words, people are led to believe that stress/anxiety/depression is merely “pscyhological”, when in fact it is PHYISCAL. I’d even go as far as to say that bad thinking patterns, the racing thoughts people have, and the nervousness, are all an early RESULT of the chemical reactions caused by low-grade every day stress and anxiety that slowly changes brain chemistry, and not the CAUSE. People will try and tell others will stress and anxiety to “relax”, or “try and calm down”. “Take some deep breaths” they say. The problem is, they CAN’T relax, because the anxiety itself is caused by changes in brain chemistry, which can’t simply be turned on and off by “chilling out”.
Here’s another problem that I think makes people doubt some of the anxiety/stress link with MAV. Once their condition hits, initially, their anxiety is increased because of the symptoms. But, after dealing with the symptoms for many months or years, that hightened state of anxiety eventually diminishes back to a “low grade” anxiety, that is, anxiety that is constantly below a detectible level consciously, or in other words, “pre-MAV” anxiety levels. Since the person no longer feels very anxious and stressed, and may in fact also be doing what they consider to be “stress reduction”, they dismiss the connection. “I’m quite relaxed. I haven’t felt any anxiety since bottoming out about a year ago. In fact, I feel a little BETTER emotionally. So why do I still have symptoms? Something else must be going on!” The reason is two-fold, and it’s a cycle…First, the brain chemistry imbalance is quite severe at the point where symptoms first appear. Without treatment, or with the WRONG treatment, brain chemistry continues to be severely imbalanced, or actually worsens as a result of some treatments. The second reason is because the “low-grade” anxiety that was “pre-MAV” is still there, continuing to keep brain chemistry from rebounding and correcting itself over time. I think it’s worth repeating this. If there were little to no connection between anxiety/stress/depression, and MAV, anti-anxiety drugs and anti-depressants would have no effects on the symptoms but they do. And I think people are smart enough and intelligent enough to know the difference between a drug making them feel better “emotionally”, or “physically”. For example, I have heard of people with chronic dizziness complain that their anti-depressant makes them just “not care” about the dizziness, but the dizziness is still there. Then I have heard others say that the drug completely took away their dizziness. I think most people are capable of making the distinction. I am saying this, because I do not believe that the results obtained from anti-anxiety drugs and anti-depressants are purely “psychological”. These drugs have the ablility to correct brain chemistry and reverse the events causing the MAV. However, finding the drug or drug combination is the difficult part.
Anyway, my whole point to this explaination, is to try and get people to understand that just because we are dealing with brain chemistry imbalance largely caused by anxiety/stress and depression (which have causes themselves, such as traumatic life experiences, not sleeping well, stressing over finances. It all adds up, and it all puts a load on the chemistry of the brain until it can’t handle it anymore.), it doesn’t mean that it’s “all in our heads”. These situations cause REAL symptoms by changing chemical balance in the brain. So, the next time your doctor tells you it’s your anxiety, ask them to refer you to someone who understand the relationship between the anxiety and your MAV, and help get you started on meds and other interventions that can restore brain chemistry, and alleviate your symptoms.
Just a little summary of the actions that lead to MAV…
Not enough sleep, worrying about finances, job stress, eating poorly (especially lots of sugar, carbs, and refined foods), traumatic experiences,…these all cause low-grade chemical imbalances in your brain. At first, symptoms are as mild as waking up tired sometimes, or getting a cold easily. Nothing a little extra sleep can’t cure. Over time, these stressors start to cause a low-grade daily anxiety that may or may not be felt by the person. They may have tight muscles, or sit firmly, or constantly crack their necks and other joints, or develop facial ticks. As time moves on, the low-grade anxiety and other life stressors eventually worsen brain chemistry enough to cause the person to display more noticeable symptoms such as “panic”, or constant "racing thoughts. Sometimes people don’t get this far. Sometimes, a specific trauma is all it takes to push brain chemistry beyond a level that the brain can’t rebound. Once brain chemistry is worsened enough, the symptoms can manifest as MAV or any other number of neurological manifestations. These are not seen as true “diseases” because despite the horrible symptoms, the brain chemical imbalance is just that,…an imbalance. The body can go on living quite healthy from a biochemical standpoint, even in the face of this imbalance causing so many horrible symptoms. To show causative relationship here, 99.9% of the time, all testing will be normal. If anything, testing causes more anxiety and worry as most times, nothing is found, or other problems not related to this condition are found, leading the person in the wrong direction of treatment.
To me, all this is GOOD news. Why? Because people can normalize their brain chemistries, even after 20+ years of suffering chemical imbalance. in other words, there is ALWAYS ability to recover imbalanced brain chemistry!! Unfortnately, people with true disease stats of the brain such as MS, Parkinsons’s, and others, have REAL degenerative changes taking place in their brains that are not so easily reversed. With brain/chemical imbalance with no disease states, reversal is ALWAYS possible. Here are some proven ways to help bring your brain chemistry back towards the direction of normality. We still may need the help of medications, but less might be needed to get the desired effect, if we are helping to balance brain chemistry with other means as well:
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eliminate all sugar and high-glycemic carbohydrates from your diet. Here is why…these foods elicite a huge insulin response in your body. What is used to counteract the insulin??? CORTISOL!! Cortisol is a stress-hormone. That means, every time you are eating sugar and simple carbs that raise your insulin, you are dumping massive amounts of stress hormones into your blood stream. Cortisol depletes levels of your neurotransmitters, especially dopamine and serotonin. It also depletes estrogen, testosterone, and DHEA, major hormones in your body that help balance your brain chemistry as well.
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skipping meals. Skipping meals will cause the same situation.
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Imbalanced meals (again, meals too high in high glyemic carbs) - focus around protein, healthy fats, and non-starchy vegetables. They release sugar slowly into your blood stream, which evens out your bodily activities, and ultimately brain chemistry
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Go to sleep at the same time every night, and wake up at the same time every day. This balances brain chemistry via the hormormal system.
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Get regular exercise that you can tolerate. Find a form that gets your heart-rate up, but doesn’t make you dizzy. Stationary bike, swimming, brisk walking, whatever you can tolerate. Yes, it may make you a bit dizzier, but exercise improves your brain chemistry, and releases endorphins, which help improve your mood on a physical level.
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Check your vitamin D level - 25(OHD) is the test that your doctor needs to perform. Vitamin D acts like a hormone in the body. It’s a precurser to serotonin in your brain, and causes a cascade of important events in the body. If you are low, and many people are (including myself), bringing your levels up and improve brain chemistry. My level is so low (nearing zero), that I have to take 5,000IU’s of vitamin D every day and 50,000IU’s once a month. That could be dangerous for people who have high levels or normal levels so testing is necessary. This could be one of the most important tools you take to heal your brain chemistry
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If you are woman, balance your hormones!!! You have a great advantage if you are a woman with MAV. Balancing your hormones could cure you!! Your brain chemistry is affected by your hormones more than men and balancing hormones is PROVEN to eliminate migrainous conditions in females.
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Re-ogranize your life. This is the part least likely to work, but if you can manage to do it, you can help bring your brain chemistry into balance faster. If you can eliminate the factors that are causing you worry and stress, you are far better off. See professionals for help. For example, if you are having financial problems, see a financial planner or one who can help you get back on track. Anything you can do to reduce or eliminate your burden will be of help. I know this is easier said than done. I have two 17 month old twins, one with a severe medical disability, and so I know all about stresses at home. But it’s important to try.
If you can manage to do all of the above, I guarantee you will be feeling better. I’m already feeling better, although I have a long way to go. Brain chemistry can take years to normalize, but it can and will happen if you persist. I am going to be trying a technique that is perported to naturally return brain chemistry to normal, by changing the distribution of neurotransmitters in the brain. The good news is, it’s not necessary to know what your levels are. It happens naturally. I’m going to create a new post on this as I think this treatment may be of major importance to us. I guess only time will tell. In the meantime, I hope this post helps. 
Rich
P.S I would like to mention that these ideas are already helping ME. I am still dizzy of course, but I am not getting dizzy with every turn of my head like before. I’m even running around the yard with my kids again, although it’s still somewhat difficult and I have to watch how much I do this. I am back to taking care of both my twins all day, going to teach piano, then coming home and helping my wife put them to bed, then making my wife dinner, and going to sleep. 1 month ago, I could not even get through 1 piano lesson without being incredibly exhausted. As long as I eat perfectly every day, Sleep 9-10 hours a night, work “through” my triggers to gain even more compensation, I am doing much better, and I am not even on any meds yet. I was prescribed Elavil, and it’s sitting here, but I am trying to get as far as I can without it first, and then use it when I can make no more gains without. So I wanted to definitely make sure that I told you all that I am getting results. The light sensitivity is still very bad, as well as the feeling that my world is moving around me, BUT, I am FUNCTIONING better with this. Soon, I predict that the symptoms themselves will begin to diminish, then discipate all together. I really hope this post is of help to anyone not sure of the stress/anxiety connection and the symptoms of MAV. If you don’t have a brain chemical imbalance, you can’t have MAV. I think of it like this…if you don’t have cartilage loss, you can’t have arthritis. If you don’t have bone loss, you can’t have osteoporosis. Well, if you don’t have a brain chemical imbalance, you can’t have MAV. I hope this helps