Worst trigger so far....

Sitting in the backseat while my husband teaches our son how to park the truck - over and over. Driver’s permits should come with a MAV warning label. :frowning_with_open_mouth:

Ha, ha!

Or sitting in the back seat while the driver drives around and around, up and down through the different levels of a parking garage, looking for an open space.

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They do ask you if you have a condition that impacts driving :slight_smile:

Or, just sitting in the back seat

Cannot travel in the back seat. Never could. Strange come to think of it. During my middle years when MAV was non-active I suppose (my pattern is bad until menarche, then completely clear til menopause). I was a wonderful sailor, crossed the English Channel in many a gale, went off West Wales in a Force 7 in an ex-lifeboat (flat bottomed) in the open strapped to something stable supposedly. Didn’t even blink. Handing out the sick bags, but still couldn’t travel in the back of the car! And if it started manoeuvring, oh dear! Even worse. My MAV vertigo would always kick in sitting in the front passenger seat whilst fuel was pumped into the tank or sitting in a stationery car with the dog panting in the back.

Or wearing a different pair of shoes. I could go on. Won’t like to have to vote on which was worse though. As @flutters said elsewhere MAV is never dull. Golly inconvenient though still educational really. I always enjoy working out the ‘why’s’. Keeps my brain occupied for hours sometimes.

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Absolutely agree with the change of shoes!!! How bizzare is that…

Jo xx

Hi JoJo

Nothing bizarre about it at all really when you think about it but it does take you by surprise first time it happens and until you understand why. Bit of oversimplification here for brevity’s sake but here goes.

MAV is a vestibular condition. They affect your balance. To maintain balance you must have (2 out of 3 at any one time) fully functioning ears, eyes and/or a bag of other bits, referred to as Proprioception. The latter is all the other bits that give information to your brain as it can keep you upright. It includes messages from your skin, hands and feet. Your feet take most of their info from the surface below them. That amount of info will vary depending on how broad a base of support you have underfoot and that will vary dependent on the type of shoes you are wearing.

Helen

Helen…is that why we are worse walking on uneven ground? Cos i am
Jo xx

You got it in one, girl! And up/down slopes. Sand. Any out of the norm surface. Owing to some mismatch brain relies too much on one division for info and gets confused. If it relies too much on vision you’ll get dizzy in supermarkets, walking against a crowd in shopping centre. Keep on taking the pills! Helen

Dont get me started on supermarkets Helen!!! My BIGGEST trigger…then bus journeys then computers😣
Jo xx>

I got new hikers with thicker soles. Had to take Meclizine, fell over twice - on a sidewalk.

Ahh no…its awful isnt it…my colleagues say i walk on the tilt when i go to make a cuppa (decaf!) And its true my shoes are proof the soles are worn in the same places…terrible

Jo xxx

Supermarkets (and public transport too) are sensory overload PLUS SOME. Originally 10 minutes IN with dark wraparound sunglasses specs and a hat resulted in 8 days in bed, no balance at all every time in the end. Thank heaven for internet shopping and Him Indoors. Lift at hospital visiting elderly parent, escalator trying to reach underwear section of department store (there are some things my other half will not shop for, even now!). … all too much for the balance system.

If these are your triggers for the time being you need to AVOID them to give the meds any chance. Psychologically avoidance carries it’s own problems but from experience there’s no other way. People will avoid food triggers quite willingly but if the computer’s the trigger that has to stop too. Restaurants was my main trigger long before supermarkets, in fact long before I knew it was migraine and what role triggers played at all and I still haven’t been in a restaurant. Not since December 2014. If I’d known it was to be that momentous I;d have recorded the exact date for posterity.

Ha ha…you are so right…tesco’s escalator and instantly become a drunk!!!
Jo xx

Here you’ve got the double whammy. Tescos and the escalator. Tescos is notorious for its lighting causing headaches/vertigo symptoms and was always the worst I found. I’ve a friend who supposedly isn’t a MAVer (long story, she once had labs.) who can tie hers down to a particular aisle, the Veg AIsle and she’s ended up lying on the floor there several times. Best thing is to Keep Out. Helen

Ohhh…and i forgot stress…how could i forget that…i immeadiately go into a spin with ANY type of stress…

Jo xxx

Ha ha…you are so funny Helen xx

I dread my faithful old walking boots wearing out for that reason. We’ve been through thick and thin together. They’ve even been in the MRI room with me. Found I could wear them better than anything else. They’ve very thick soles but my brain seems to like them! Read somewhere worse thing you can do for your balance is to keep wearing the same footwear and that was written for people without MAV.

That’s exactly what happened. My beloved Keens ran out of rubber. I bought the same kind, but with 2 inches and three years’ worth of new rubber. Fell down my stairs, too, but caught the rail. Chiropractor had to fix my shoulder. Only spilled a little of my drink, though, so that was lucky. Apparently you only need to hold a beer for MAV to make you look drunk. I hadn’t tasted it yet.

Must be strong beer then? You don’t need to drink it, just inhale it obviously. It’s a bit like my tea and the hot flushes. I make the tea so strong I have the hot flush before I pour it out the teapot into the mug. No need to drink it first.

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:joy: