After a good year or more with this MAV, and keeping a daily diary, doing the diet and taking MEDS (currently 40mg nort), i think my main triggers are all work related -
flourescent lighting
using the PC
Stress (to some degree)
and also hormonal (so monthly issues with this one!)
I work 4 days a week in quite a demanding, senior manager role, but when i am out the office for extended periods of time i.e 3 or more days in a row, i feel much much better, then first day back in the office, headache by the end of the day and/or dizzies…almost guaranteed.
Trouble is, cant afford not to work, have 2 small children so have to work around them, and most jobs are office and/or computer based.,…
Trying to manage it at the mo with working from home a bit more, using a monitor rather than a laptop,. better lighting at my desk (in an office of over 100 people…) - not sure what else i can do?
any other tips (apart from the …‘get a new job’)
thanks
i have seen people on here post about special migraine sunglasses that you can wear indoors and people have said they really help- hopefully someone on here who has them can chime in on this.
I feel 95% at home and most places I go to. As soon as I get to work I feel that rocky boat feeling with all of the florescent lights. I work at a hospital and have to go to the main building each day to pick up everyones paperwork, My job gets stressful at times which I’m sure doesn’t help but for the most part I am ok. The rocky boat has gotten a lot better, but it still annoying to go there and feel really off. I don’t get why just the lighting can throw us off. it’s frustrating. Not sure whether to add another med or switch. I can live with it the way I feel, but would love to feel better at work. Wish I had tips to give you regarding work and not sure why it makes us feel so different. Just doesn’t make sense. Be insterested to hear others responses. Hope things get better for you
Right now I feel if it were not for my job I would be close to 98-100 percent. Have 100 percent computer based job and find it very difficult to do. I’m still hanging in here but have actully been on the verge of being fired. As part of my performace I am timed on how fast I use the computer and the faster the screens go the more they bother me. I leave work exhausted every day and I’m so tired of fighting it. If I get fired from this job it will the first time I’ve ever been fired from any job. I managed to improve my performance I believe in Dec a little so I don’t believe I’ll advane to a written warning this month but the cost was I felt 3 times worse all month. I really need to leave this job and stop putting my self through this.
I am really sorry to hear about your job- that is so frustrating that you are judged on how fast you go on the computer??? that sounds so stressful, even for someone WITHOUT MAV!!! What kind of job is this? have you tried special migraine glasses when at work? What meds are you taking and how long have you been on them?
I am really sorry to hear about your job- that is so frustrating that you are judged on how fast you go on the computer??? that sounds so stressful, even for someone WITHOUT MAV!!! What kind of job is this? have you tried special migraine glasses when at work? What meds are you taking and how long have you been on them?
I’m a teacher and feel almost normal at the beginning of school holidays but it all comes back as soon as I go back on my laptop tostart planning lessons. Worst things for me are computers, stress and tiredness. Most difficult situations are playgound duty, taking assemblies, reading around the table, standing in glare of prjector while pointing at/ reading from whiteboard, standing all day with little people moving all around me. In fact most of it! I work full time and am an assistant head so also do tons of paperwork and data analysis to help run the school. Can’t afford to give it up but struggle through every day.
I feel so sorry for anyone else who has to deal with serious stress and responsiblity whilst suffering with this. Sometimes I don’t feel I can properly look after myself, let alone 30 kids. And even more sympathy to anyone struggling to keep up for performance- related pay.Wish workplaces could be forced to accomodate people with chronic illnesses as well as disabilities.
I’m also interested in the magic glasses! Do they work if you’re already seriously short sighted?
i was wondering for you guys- do you immediately feel worse once you get to work, and then immediately feel better once you leave? just curious how you were able to identify things like the lighting and computers as triggers- was it obvious?
I pretty much notice it right away. At my worst I only made it 30 minutes at work at a time and then ended up going on medical leave. Now I can make it all day but at a slow pace as the fast pace screens really bother my eyes and I leave exhausted every day. I do have prizm computer glasses I wear. I wouldn’t make it 10 minutes without those. After work, I’m tired rest of the night. When I went on vacation a couple months ago and got completly away from work. I was symptom free. Felt normal again. It was Great.
You should post about the migraine glasses- look at maryalice’s profile I think she uses them- I just did a quick search about these- FL-41 tinted lenses
I notice the difference right away too. My building has florescent lights everywhere… uggg. hate it. I had them take the two lights out above my desk. That was almost a year ago and they are still out. I like it better that way. I think what bothers me most is the long hallways with lights going down the center. It kinda feels weird, like when I step down with my left foot the hoizon goes up to the right and vice versa with stepping with my other foot. Not sure if I’m explaining that too good… not good with descriptions lol… As soon as I get out of work I feel much better. I also start feeling weird in the cafeteria . It’s a huge room and it is all bricks so I’m not sure if its the bricks that make me feel weird or what. very weird…
my office is full of lights too and i notice it fairly straight away.
On most days i am in the office (perhaps 3 out of 5 a week) i come home with a headache - a sure sign it affects my MAV.
I can spend fri to mon (off workl) fairly MAV free.
I keep a diary so can see that the MAV is triggered much more when i am at work
I was only diagnosed with MAV in December so we are currently trying to narrow down my triggers. I have been keeping a diary of all my symptoms and it does appear that work makes it worse. I work in a call center, so I am attached to a phone and computer all day. I have to navigate thru multiple screen while talking on the phone and at the same time I can hear the other dozens of conversations going on around me. I modified my schedule so I only work 3 days per week now but I have missed more than 20 days in 2012.
It is definitely hard in an office, my nystagmus made it really difficult for me to read on my PC properly.
I’m sure you’ve done this already, but ask for a larger monitor, mine is 24inch and made an immediate difference to my PC Use, less headache & wobble straightaway. Also turn the brightness down to the very minimum and the contrast up to the highest. It will take some getting used to but it makes the letters stand out without the glare of the screen or having to strain your eyes.
Try to get a seat by a window if possible and ask for the flourescents to be removed from above your desk.
Markmindo, just so you are aware Chronic Migraine (that is any kind of migraine that effects you frequently) is covered under the Equality Act (if you are in the UK) and your company has an obligation to put in place reasonable adjustments before progressing through their formal processes. Any adjustment is what is reasonable for that business so could include providing specialist equipment, modifying lighting, or accepting a slightly lower rate of delivery. I must stress this is only what is reasonable, it wouldn’t be reasonable if you were say only 50% productive, but if you were performing at say 90% that may.
Speak to your line manager, ask if they can provide a larger screen and a slightly lower rate of performance, or your Union Rep. If not there are some good support groups that can advise on rights for those with disability.
I am in the states and honestly not sure what the laws are here. I’ve had three doctors write letters that I should not work more than four hours a day and my employer refuses to acknowedlge them. Instead they just write me up for not making my performance standards. They just tell me my options are full time or unpaid medical leave which I can’t aford and honestly I don’t feel I need to be on full fledge medical leave at this point. There was a time I was bad enough for that but not now.
Sunglasses with antiglare coating on both sides of the lens helps me with fluorescent lights. Have not been diagnosed with migraine associated vertigo but have the problem with lighting.
Work=constant vertigo. Not at work, I am 75-100% normal.
I do data entry, so like many of you, I am attached to the computer all night (yes, I work evenings, which doesn’t help this I’m sure), large corporate building, fluorescent lights, weird carpet patterns. Actually job-hunting as we speak, but goodness only knows how long that will take. :roll:
