Hiya,
sorry to bother you was wondering if you could help! I have just been diagnosed with mav after 19 months wrong diagnosis of vestibular neuritis. I started the excluson diet 8 days ago and am actually feeling worse! More light sensitive, strange if you know what i mean, cant think light headed at times just like im not on this planet. Did you experience this? Does this get better? Love Lara x

I'm not hbep, but I've experienced this with both dietary trigger avoidance, and with medication. I've been ready to give up and then suddenly my head has cleared.

Stick it out if you can - you might be seeing the last of a bad period of symptoms.

Adam

Thank you so much you have made my day. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx hope your well

Thank you so much you have made my day. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx hope your well

Adam, hope you dont mind me asking you but did the diet work for you? And how long till you started to feel better? Are you well now? Lara x

Hello there,

Sorry you are going through this, I know how horrible it is. I notice you're in Bristol, just curious where you got your diagnosis. I was diagnosed in London at the neurotology department there.

I have experienced a worsening of symptoms with medication but not with diet changes. I have never managed the full exclusion diet but do exclude a lot of foods I have noticed to be triggers. This is a weird condition. For me, once I am in a relapse (I was well for a long time on medication) the symptoms can wildly oscillate from ok to very bad with little rhyme or reason. Sometimes I think this is random and not necessarily anything to do with something you are doing. You might have felt worse for a bit even if you hadn't started excluding foods. Having said that if you are a caffeine drinker and are now excluding caffeine that may be playing a big role, as you are effectively withdrawing from it. Obviously even people without MAV get a worsening of headaches initially when they stop caffeine, but as Adam says, they will benefit in the long term, so stick with it. Adam has had this condition a lot longer than I have, so if he has had a worsening of symptoms with restricting his diet and then felt better in the long term, you may well do as well.

Did your doctor discuss preventative medication with you? If the diet doesn't work that's the next step. So don't despair, it can be really effective. I also go for acupuncture which has proved really helpful at times. There are studies which show acupuncture has proved very helpful for migraine.

By the way I get all the symptoms you describe, you're not alone.

best,

Please bring your attention to the posting policy.

Please read the posting rules which explain that offering or asking off board contact is not permitted. The boards are to be used for on board sharing, only. The email and private message features are turned off so that use of the message boards remain anonymous. The only contact you may make with members is to post on the board.