Hello

I used to post here quite a bit. It REALLY helped me get threw a difficult time with this inner ear stuff. I see there are quite a few new members and I sympathize with you all and hope your journey leads you to a complete resolution. Keep asking the questions and finding what works for you.

Myself I have been trying homeopathy for the anxiety and florecent light issues. Have not found the right remedy yet.

But now I find that all lights bother me indoor and outdoor, even in my home, gray days and small light shifts I seem to react to. I was in a resteraunt and a car at a stop light outisde was reflecting sun and I was sensitive to it. STRANGE. Anyone else have this sort of extreme light sensitvity?? My guess is over time my eyes have over compensated? Even when I am walking I can feel multiple PA attacks coming on as the lights shift. I have started some VRT again and am going to try walking at night, any other suggestions?

Also anyone tried the LOG roll? The horizontal cancal exercise looks new, I saw it on Haine's web site.

Subs, I see you are still on the boards offering your expertise!!
Scottsman: How are you doing? Nice post on the 24 hour flight. It is great to know you are out there living your life.

Thanks for any feedback on the light issue!
Jade:angel:

Hi there,

I also haven't been on the boards for the while but remember you from before. I was well for a long time and am having a relapse so am back here a fair bit at the mo.

I just had a quick scoot through some of your old posts to see your diagnosis. I notice one doctor mentioned MAV.Although people with VN can be sensitive to flourescent lighting, VN/labs doesn't cause light sensitivity in the way you describe. It is, however, a very well known migraine symptom.

I got ill with this dizzy rubbish 5 years ago and only developed light sensitivity 3 yrs in. At that point it became clear I was dealing with MAV not VN and was diagnosed as having vestibular migraine. It's also possible for someone with VN to develop migraine as a consequence of having VN. It's possible that's what happened to me - but now it is clear that I only get dizzy symptoms when I am also light sensitive. In my case at this point the problem is MAV.

I went on a preventative medication and it cleared almost everything up for about 18 months. I am still susceptible to migraine triggers and was thrown in to a relapse by having a panic attack about flying in a plane.

Anyway, just to reiterate the kind of sensitivity to sunlight/daylight is a migraine symptom not a VN symptom.

best,

Hello

I used to post here quite a bit. It REALLY helped me get threw a difficult time with this inner ear stuff. I see there are quite a few new members and I sympathize with you all and hope your journey leads you to a complete resolution. Keep asking the questions and finding what works for you.

Myself I have been trying homeopathy for the anxiety and florecent light issues. Have not found the right remedy yet.

But now I find that all lights bother me indoor and outdoor, even in my home, gray days and small light shifts I seem to react to. I was in a resteraunt and a car at a stop light outisde was reflecting sun and I was sensitive to it. STRANGE. Anyone else have this sort of extreme light sensitvity?? My guess is over time my eyes have over compensated? Even when I am walking I can feel multiple PA attacks coming on as the lights shift. I have started some VRT again and am going to try walking at night, any other suggestions?

Also anyone tried the LOG roll? The horizontal cancal exercise looks new, I saw it on Haine's web site.

Subs, I see you are still on the boards offering your expertise!!
Scottsman: How are you doing? Nice post on the 24 hour flight. It is great to know you are out there living your life.

Thanks for any feedback on the light issue!
Jade:angel:

Hi there. I was doing homeopathy for a while too. It helped a lot pulling me out of a really rough patch. It actually increased my light sensitivity really bad for a while. I hadn't had that (not significantly at least) since the beginning of the VN and this was 10 months later. I think the remedy made it worse and then got rid of it. Hope that happns for you too!

Joni

Yep - the light sensitivity is definitely a migraine thing. I have experienced it all of this year when this whole mess started. I am also sensitive to noise and smell. :rolleyes:

Thanks for your response. MAV hu? I will have to look into that. Had not considered it.

Joni, do you remember what remedy you went on? My light sensitivity seemed to increase again when I started taking aconite. Switched remedies since and have not been able to reduce it.

Hpeb, I remember you. Sorry to hear you are still ahving difficulty as well. Sounds like your doing better other then the PA? What type of doctor helped you with the migraine issues?

[QUOTE=jadeearth;3252975]
Joni, do you remember what remedy you went on? My light sensitivity seemed to increase again when I started taking aconite. Switched remedies since and have not been able to reduce it.
QUOTE]

Unfortunately I have no idea what I was taking. The homeopath never told me what things were. sorry! FYI, my diagnosis is vestibular neuritis.

The past 5 years I have been getting really sensitive to sunlight. Even if it's overcast, if I walk outside, sometimes it is if there's a spotlight shining right in my face and I have to squint. If I don't have sunglasses on me, I end up squinting and end up what my wife and I call a 'sun headache'. Sometimes I don't even notice I'm doing it, but if I'm in the car, I'll look in the rear-view mirror and if I have a crease between my eyes from squinting, then I recognize it and try to stop or I know a headache will soon follow.

Needless to say, I have purchased several pair of sunglasses and try not to leave the house without them.

I have blue eyes and have heard that people with lighter colored eyes are more suseptable to light sensitivity...I don't know if that is true, but I've heard it on more than one occasion.

All of this being said, I do believe that I have MAV or migraine with something else going on, but I haven't had an official diagnosis.

WhyamIDizzy: I have light green/blue eyes and have heard the same thing. My light sensitivity is so extreme that the change in light from sunglasses effects me as well. I start to feel spacey.

Has anything helped anyone's light sensitivity

I guess I am going to look into this MAV thing. Don't really understand the mechanism and how the drugs work. I will do some more research.

thanks for the feedback. ...

jade

Yes- I have had exteme sensitivity to light- so much so that I had become a creature of the night and cloudiy dark days..... it was explained to me that the visual system uses, typically 2 of the 3 types of vision---- central and peripheral,,,,, well- for me the eyes are unable to turn off the one that I am not concentrating on--- so that all 3 are in use all the time- so the images are overwhelming and too bright. As I have become able to compensate this has gradually improved- so that now I am nearly normal. It has taken months, however and VRT and some drugs to help out when things are too much.
sb

Susan

thanks for your reply. Did you have MAV ir BPPV? Was the light sensetivity like being in the technocolor version of the wizard of oz? Feels extreme? So the VRT helped the light sensetivity?

I just got a book that contains vision improvement exercises. He talks about light sensetivity I am going to try some of the exercises as well.

Thanks for the feedback!!
Jade:angel:

They never did figure out what triggered it- just decompensation from inner ear damage.
My sensitivity was to too much- colors, contrasts, clothing ( my own and others) people standing outside my central vision and too close to me, trees full of leaves made me faint and on and on for a while......

Just want to stress again that light sensitivity - also known as photophobia, is not a symptom of vestibular neuritis or labyrinthitis. People with VN may experience sensitive to lots of visual stimulus but not to light. The only exception to this would be flourescent lighting which I believe can cause some people with VN to get dizzier. I think that has something specific to do with the quality of flourescent light.

If you are very sensitive to light in the manner you describe - namely in an extreme way (which I am too, I am a migraineur) then the chances are that you have MAV. VRT is not going to make the slightest bit of difference to your light sensitivity. It would be like treating a broken leg by putting a bandage on your hand. Try putting light vestibular neuritis and/or labyrinthitis and photophobia (the medical name for light sensitivity) in to a search engine - it will bring up next to nothing. Do the same with photophobia and migraine and you will be inundated with information.

Many, many doctors do not know much about MAV, which is why when a dizzy patient turns up complaining of light sensitivity with their dizziness, they might pass it off as part of their 'VN/labs diagnosis. If they knew their stuff they would know it is a tell tale sign that someone's dizzy problems are due to migraine not VN.

In your shoes I would go back to the doctor who once mentioned migraine to you (I seem to recall you mentioning this in a post a long while back) and ask to try a migraine preventative.



best,

Hpeb, I am still going to do the Migraine diet. I no longer have a DR so no access to meds and I also do not do well on western medications. (I recently lost my job and my insurance). But this book I am reading on vision is very interesting and has some great excercises. It is called the Self Improvement Vision kit, the guy who developed it did so as on off shoot of the Bates system. he was blind and resolved this with these exercises. He has dedicated his life to studying eye health and has helped people with migraines, catarcats, glacoma, ect. it is all about relaxing your eyes and using different muscles. Much of his focus is on light sensetivity and how it relates to the optic nerve/brain connection as well as the retina and pupil's ability to hold light. I'll let you know how it goes.;)

Hi Jade,

It's amazing how all of us "old timers" on this board who still put up with symptoms are realising that it's migraine. Seems to be much more common than any of us would have thought initially.

Have to agree with hbep. Light sensitivity is pretty much a dead ringer for MAV. Interestingly I don't have that going on and never have. I get hit by sound sensitivity - ipods, headphones, guitar-playing - are the killers for me.

Hope you find some relief soon.

Best ... Scott :cool:

I am sitting here feeling overwhelmed by the brightness of the sky ,
I got told years ago i have photophobia but I didnt realise it was related to mav (which is my diagnosis)......also I have brown eyes ?