Micdoc, I also suffer from vertigo but mine is due to an inner ear problem. Just wanted to commiserate with you as I know how debilitating vertigo and dizziness can be. You can't do anything without your balance! I've had episodes of the room swinging about me and it is terrifying. Also been so nauseous with it - only benefit is all the weight you can lose!
I have been to Dr Norton about other ailments and she really is a great doctor and a wonderful person and I'm sure she will do her best to help you. I hope you can find some solutions. Have you tried exercises to help with balance and there's also medication which helps some people (didn't help me unfortunately) such as Serc. Dizzinil can also help but makes you drowsy. A tiny dose of valium can also help if you feel an attack coming on.
Wishing you all the best.
I really feel for you micdoc.
Our DD1 suffers from POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) with an associated permanent headache - it is awful for her.
This was finally diagnosed by a fabulous doctor we found - Dr Susan Norton - she is Canadian, works from Dubai Physiotherapy and Family Medicine Clinic in the small Town Centre shopping mall on the Beach Road, down by Mercato.
Before this we had done the rounds of neuros and cardios here and they had all lost interest. We have unfortunately been unable to find relevant specialists here for our DD and take her back to London which was at Dr Norton's suggestion. Please go and try her - she was a huge help to us.
My heart goes out to you. I struggled with seemingly undiagnosable dizziness in graduate school and was miserable. MAV was one of the illnesses I worked with my docs to rule out. Took forever to get somewhere and have a diagnosis.
I'd suggest trying a neurologist again if you're suspecting MAV, maybe just not one of the ones who dismissed you in the past. Given how long you've been ill, hopefully someone is willing to treat you as if you have chronic migraines despite the pain and see if it addresses your symptoms. That's kind of what we had to do in order to determine the cause of my dizziness, too.
Sorry, I'm just moving to Dubai this summer, so I can't recommend anyone.
Thanks for your replies.
The thing is I have no headache pain with this , only the problem of feeling unbalanced. Have had 2 ENT doctors who looked at me and told me nothing was wrong. My MRI was fine and I did look down the root of menopause because of my age at the time and have done so in the last few weeks and my ovaries are fit to go again, so I was told at the ripe of age of 45!
The Migraine with Vertigo was something I came across only yesterday but it fits all my symptoms, that is why I was asking about this. Will keep trying though and will try the website that I came across. There is , I'm sure a reasonable explanation , just not found a doctor in Dubai willing to do a little research for me, so will try myself.
Hi there, sorry you are going through this. I started to suffer something similiar migraines but with balance problems. I would feel as though I was walking on a boat or as I was walking the floor would suddenly drop , it hadn't and I knew it hadn't it was just my perception. After MRI and CAT scan they told me I had migraines that not only affected my head but my body and balance. They then tried different prescriptions and the best one was Topomax.
However I also had symptoms of tingling in my hands and feet and restless legs syndrome and blood tests revealed B12 deficiency which I now take injections for. I can't recommend any one in Dubai but I am sure one of the other ladies may be able to point you in the right direction. If you don't mind traveling Dr Khaldoon in the American Centre of Psycology and Neurology in Abu Dhabi is the one I see.
Good luck and I hope you get some answers.
Sorry, can't be of help, though have, since perimenopause, started suffering from nasty migraines and understand how you feel. Has anyone looked at your inner ear? May sound daft, bu my own migraines start on the right side of my head, with the outside of the ear feeling most affected. I have to lie down in a darkened room for a day or so, asleep, to get rid of them and driving is really worrying.
I wish you well and hope you find a doctor who can help you.
For a few years now, I have suffered from a dizzy like illness.
Yesterday , I read an article about the above, Migraine associated Vertigo. Finally , I felt like I had made a break through.
When I first started feeling these weird symptoms of which I put down to dizziness, I of course went to a doctor and spent the next 6 months going to see various medics.
My symptoms are weird to explain but here goes, my head feels like the weight of a bowling ball and when I make sudden movements, I feel as if the room will just rush around passed me. If I bend down at times, I feel as if my head will crash onto the floor or table. When walking I feel as though I am veering off to one side but my body never does nor does my head ever fall down but it feels like it will. I have also on bad days feel like I am walking on a trampoline.
I hope whoever reads this does not think that I am not some lunatic, although at times I feel like it.
I have had this for nearly 3 years and it is ruining my life. I am 45 years old and before this all happened , I led quite a 'normal' life.
I have gained nearly 2 and 1/2 stone over this period as I rarely go out as I used to.
My good friends and family know all about this and are understanding to a point.
I have been to a doctor of Internal Medicine, 2 ENT doctors, had a couple of MRI's and even been to a neurologist. All tests came back fine and no one could offer me any explanation but on a few occasions I was told, "you are medically fit and I should get on with my life". Great advice , but then the next day you wake up , think "ok, lets go" and this stupid feeling comes again.
I dread going to coffee mornings, meeting new people, enjoying a drink with the girls, parents night as I always feel woozy and off balance.
I have tried to deal with it but to be frank , I am tired of trying.
Yesterday, I read an article in a newspaper and finally I felt like I have found the problem, I may suffer from the above mentioned MAV. So I made an appointment to see my doctor. (Not any of the previous ones but this man I have seen in the past for my kids and the odd time when I have had a 'normal' infection) The article I read , led me to various websites and forums and I think I may have found what is wrong with me. The forums were full of people like me, suffering with these symptoms and how they dealt with it. I was so pleased , that finally I could relate my symptoms with others, although I did not engage in the forum.
So I went to the doctor today with some of the information and he basically said that he had never heard of the term and after about a 15 minute consultation, told me that he was sorry but having no knowledge of MAV, he couldn't help me.
So, I am back to square one. I have the information from the US and UK migraine sites and will try and get more knowledge of the subject.
If , however, there is someone out there on Expatwoman who has heard of this or who knows of the condition, I would be so grateful for a reply on the subject.
TIA
M