I got VM symptoms last April, one day after having what I thought was a regular classic migraine. Like you I’m in my 50’s on HRT. But I’ve been on HRT long before the balance and dizziness issues started. Do you have any history of migraines or family history of them?
My understanding of Menieres is it causes attacks of dizziness, hearing loss tinnitus etc but not continuous symptoms. My father in law has it and I swapped notes with him when I was waiting to see the ENT. They ruled it out in my case anyway as I dont have hearing loss or tinnitus.
I’m on Venlafaxine for VM, if in the UK its not often used for migraine prevention but I’d tried all the more commonly prescribed drugs (Propranolol, Amytriptyline/ Nortriptyline). Its much more common now in the US .
Antidepressants are commonly precribed, in low doses to prevent migraines as doctors believe low serotonin levels in the brain cause them. So treating them with Anti D’s makes sense. Other types of migraine preventatives include blood pressure meds or anti Epileptics like Topirmate.
Unfortunately its trial and error or you might be really lucky and get on famously with the first one you try. I tried 5 before going on Venlafaxine. Its been a struggle finding one I can tolerate and which helps.
Its very individual, a lot of us migraine sufferers are very sensitive to medication. I couldn’t tolerate Amytriptyline, Nortriptyline is similar but less sedating and has fewer side effects, a lot of members have tried it and found it helpful. Sometimes starting low and slow is the key.
You could half your Amytriptyline to 5mg or even start on 2.5mg and gradually increase. And try increasing every fortnight or even monthly. It’ll take longer to get on a theraputic dose but its not a race. With this sort of chronic condition its often frustrating and progress can be slow.
Sometimes you can feel like you’re going backwards. Or plateauing. Fortunately there are a lot of medications you can try. If you read members posts we’re nearly all on different drugs. So if Amytriptyline doesnt suit then there are lots of options. If you do get diagnosed with VM its worth asking for a Neurology consult as Neurologists can access NHS treatments not available to GP’s, if you’re in the UK. Migraine is a neurological condition.
One caveat is that if you can try and give any medication a fair chance, usually 3 months as some are slow to get into your system. Unless the side effects are intolerable of course. As I said it took me 5 attempts
There are just so many possible causes for dizziness! Do you think your symptoms could be related to your routine obgyn op? Is it possible you have an infection from the procedure? You may need to report back to your ob-gyn. Also to answer your question, I have read many articles that say hormones can be a factor in dizziness and migraines (and vestibular migraines), so I would not rule out your HRT as a possible factor.
