Hi to all-
I'm rather new to this board but I've logged a million hours trying to read through everyone's stories & experiences. it's been such a lifesaver finding this board!!

anyway- I think I've started to hit a decompensation period. Towards the end of the day/ early evening i start to get the brain fog, a generalized "off" feeling in my head/ and with this, I start to get anxious, thinking MS and that it's something more serious. **I should know better by now than to go that route but I'm slightly weary of everything simply because they never could come up with a definitive diagnosis for me the first time I presented with dizziness etc. I got the usual labs/ VN diagnosis and the push out the door....

Just wondering how you all get through these decompensation periods without getting anxious and how long your decomps have lasted. I learn from every posting i read on here and thank everyone for sharing their stories.

Best wishes to all!

Hey krissylee try not to be anxious. I've been battling with this thing for three years and whilst a lot better anxiety plays a huge part in my inabilitiy to get back to normal life. I find in periods of intense stress i get really freaked out and it makes it worse and I tend to use others in my life as anchors or crutches which I need to stop doing. It does take time, every individual is different. I know people on here who compensated in days, some in weeks and some years. I keep praying that my time is soon going to be over and I can resume normal activities again. Just do as much as you can and roll with the times that you can't! sending you big hugs...:wave:

I have to join in with Littleone - it's just part of the process. I'm guessing you've read all the information on the Sticky at the top of the page, but one of the items in that accumulated archive of information stood out to me - the video clips by Dr. Rauch. When I heard him say this compensation process could take at least 2 years, I was greatly comforted! (Like you, my drs. weren't any great help to me.) Since you were given the vestibular diagnosis, were you referred to any sort of VRT? What are you doing, activity wise, or more specifically, with vestibular exercises?

Just keep taking that next step - whether you can see it or not, progress is being made!!!!!!

Take care!!!!

Krissylee - I know exactly what you are going through!!!. Had this thing for 18 months...Drs never came up with a def. dx w/me either - "VN, MAV or maybe it's in your head"...YEAH RIGHT. MS is always looming in my mind too since one Dr. mentioned the term and I think the anxiety makes it worse. Hang it there, keep exercising (that helps me) and try to stay positive.
The internet can be a good thing, but also a BAD thing....I find myself dx myself and thinking I have something when I look up the symtoms online.
HANG IN THERE!

Thanks for your replies! It comforts me just knowing that others can relate to the relapses....

Dizzy- funny enough but not surprising I guess, I was not instructed to do any VRT exercises by my ENT, I had only found out about VRT by reading postings on this board. On my own, as far keeping moving & being active, I think do a lot & credit that with my speedy recovery and seemingly symptom free last month. I play tennis, golf and volleyball each at least one night per week and in between those activities I'm busy trying to improve my home via landscaping & huge organization projects that require a lot of movement and exertion. So sometimes I think I'm doing too much but I got to the point where I was sick of dizziness and the brain fog dictating my activity!!!

Awful to hear that decompensation can take up to 2 years but good to know/ remind myself that these blips of decompensation won't kill me and that my dx is consistent with other peoples. I need to remember I can't let it drive me cuckoo (which it has sometimes done!).

and yes Rachel, the internet can drive you crazy if you consistently hunt for different diagnosis but since finding this board, I've let this guide me/ be my main resource and therefore it has limited my self-diagnosing. I figure that my symptoms are almost exactly what many on this board go through and I've gone through all the testing to rule out other things... I need to resign myself to the fact that this is obviously one area that medicinal knowledge is still "gray" and that they don't know everything about the inner ear yet (understatement of the year!) so we're wise to band together and all learn from those who are experiencing similar symptoms!!

Thank you guys again for your replies & the hug! Wishing you all the best as we all recover!!!