Riding in the car has always made me feel better. I have noticed the last few times I have been in the car for several hours when I get out my balance is much worse then usual. I almost feel like I am buzzing in addition to the rocking. Has anyone felt this also?
Kat
Interesting. Iāve been the oppositeā¦ riding in the car has made me worse, even short trips. Itās only been recently since taking meds, modifying my diet, and taking supplements, that the dizziness is abating. Car rides, boat rides and movement in general exacerbate the off-balance and dizziness for me.
Cat
Riding in the car whilst it was moving was ok for me, but every time I stopped it made me feel terrible and like I was still moving for a few minutes. I remember getting out of the car at work and feeling like I was staggering for the first 50 yards! But the feeling did subside after Iād walked around for a while.
I also often felt like the car was slipping backwards if I had to stop in a traffic jam.
But it eventually stopped as I recovered, although I have to admit it was one of the last things to overcome in my recovery. I donāt know if this is because Iāve always suffered from bad motion sickness, so have always had a lot of sensitivity to motion.
Kat,
My experience is just like yours. I feel almost 100% normal when I am driving on the freeway. Itās almost as if I never want to stop driving because I feel good. However, when I stop and get out of the car, I feel off balance and my symptoms seem to be exacerbated especially after driving a few hours. I really donāt understand why I feel fine while I am driving. Intuitively I would think that I would feel worse while I am driving. It is bizarreā¦
Ryan
Your symptoms of feeling good while in motion are similar to mal de debarquement syndrome. People who have that say the rocking, bouncing sensation occurs when they stop moving. A few months ago, I couldnāt travel any distance in a car without throwing upā¦ thatās how bad it makes me feel. I still cannot drive.
Cat
MAV is weird because some patients feel better riding in the car, while others feel worse. I would think that most MAV patients feel bad after the car stops because their body starts recalibrating to the movement. And once the car stops moving, their brain has to recalibrate to being on a stable surface. Like what Dr. Rauch says, the brain of a MAV patient is constantly learning a new language of balance.
It just bums me out because the car has always been the only place that I could feel somewhat close to normal. I always want to go for a ride in the carā¦like a dog with its head hanging out the window. As long as the car was moving, I felt better. I guess the car is still good for me but there is a limit. If I surpass that there is hell to pay.
Kat
ā Begin quote from āKooKooā
Kat,
My experience is just like yours. I feel almost 100% normal when I am driving on the freeway. Itās almost as if I never want to stop driving because I feel good. However, when I stop and get out of the car, I feel off balance and my symptoms seem to be exacerbated especially after driving a few hours. I really donāt understand why I feel fine while I am driving. Intuitively I would think that I would feel worse while I am driving. It is bizarreā¦
Ryan
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Me too!
me three 
Me four!!!
Me five! I donāt feel as bad as I once did, thanks to meds, but I always used to feel much better driving - the sense of false movement and motion just seemed to fall awayā¦
Tony.
sleeping and driving are my only reliefs. iāve joked to my husband about changing careers and becoming a trucker lol (iām a tv reporter part-time)
we just took a trip from san diego to utah and when i got out of the car after 5 hours in las vegas i was shocked at how uneasy i didnāt feel. i felt like i was still moving at 80 mph (i do have mal de debarquement) so it was probably my brain just recalibrating. but the rest of the road trip was me having anxiety about how i was going to feel after getting out of the car.
short trips are fine- road trips iām afraid are going to be more difficultā¦i still have yet to fly in a plane after this mav bang hit and am freaked out about that one 