So for the past year I have had pressure headaches, floor dropping dizziness, nausea, and I’m always tired. In January I was given meclizne and it only helped with the nausea. Doctors have no answers for me. I’m only 19 and its really starting to get hard to concentrate at school and work because of all of this. I need answers. I’m almost ready to just give up. After seeing doctor after doctor and still havening no answer I almost feel like I’m going crazy. anyone else in the same boat as me?:confused:

Dont give up.....you might have migraines and not know it. I just posted a reply to peacesoul.....please read it.

Hi Jen,

I am wondering if you might have Migraine syndrome or Migraine associated Vertigo (MAV). I had the same issues and after about 2 years of going from doc to doc and have test after test and MRI's run, Came to the conclusion that I have MAV. I am now on a Migraine Preventative and on the road to recovery. Just something to think about . Maybe you could get the book "Heal Your Headache" By Dr. David Buchholz

Good Luck,

pam 3

Pam, are you on antidepressants? I am curious because the specialist that just diagnosed me with migraines suggested Paxil.

Yes, to my understanding, the MAV has something to do with our seratonin. My doc put me on 25mg of Nortriptalyne and I have since gone up to 75mg. This one doesn't make more seratonin, but does something with what you already have. I have often wondered about needing to increase my seratonin levels with a SSRI (paxil etc) because although I am MUCH better, still not there yet. I see my doc today and was going to ask him about adding in Paxil. I'll let you know what he says. he may just increase what I am already on. I think the cieling for this med is 100-200 mg a day? Anyway let me know how the paxil works for you.

Pam 3

I am not sure if I want to go on Paxil because of the side effects listed. I am going to try to avoid the "triggers" and take some vitamins I researched. Apparently Co-Q10 and B-2 are supposed to help with migraines, so I will try them out. Good luck and keep us posted.

capvic--

Hi! Just thought I'd pop in to say that my neurotologist also thinks I have mav and has prescribed Paxil, and I am also resisting it! I've been taking lots of supplements (coq10, fish oil, b vitamins, gingko, magnesium, and 5htp) and they have helped with mood and also reducing my headaches, but I am still dizzy. If this continues for many more months, I will have to use the Paxil. I believe the dose they give for mav is very very low and less likely to cause side effects. I've also read that Paxil is the most prescribed ssri for mav.

By the way, what kinds of symptoms have you had? I had sudden onset of dizziness 4 months ago. I did have horizontal nystagmus and nausea, but no vomiting or spinning; experienced weird perceptions/depersonalization. I still have dizziness 24/7, but it has gotten better. The whole thing has been very debilitating for me. I've had headaches throughout, also the blues.

Keep me posted on how you do & take care,
Violet

Hi Violet, lucky you! I have been suffering for 6 years. It all started one Sunday morning when I knew something was wrong before I opened my eyes in the morning. When I awoke, the whole house was spinning very violently. I barely could walk to the bathroom. This lasted for 3 days without relief from medication. I went to numerous doctors who all gave me the same diganosis...."your tests are normal". I experience a rocking motion mostly on a daily basis. Along with the rocking I have headaches, my eyelids feel very heavy and I feel like I need to sleep. I have sensitivity to light (especially flourescent). Here is the past 6 years in a nutshell:

I had a MRI done which was normal
Numerous ENT visits, no one can tell me anything different than the other, except one genius tole me I have Menier's Disease and I will eventually become deaf and my symptoms will get worse with time.
Counless blood tests.
I was referred to an allergist because I had so many sinus headaches. After poking my arms counless times I found out I do have airborne allergies. I went on weekly allergy shots for a year and the only thing it did was make my childhood astma return. YUK!
I also knew I had TMJ so I went to a specialist for that because the symptoms are somewhat the same.
After spending $4000.00 on TMJ treatmenst, My "new" family doctor suggested I see Dr. Baloh at UCLA. Finally a diagnosis!!!!!!!

I have been researching MAV for a little while but hearing a diagnosis that made sense was so refreshing. I have also had 4 migraines in the past so this did not come as a surprise. He recommended Paxil but urged me to avoid the "triggers" first and see how I do before going on the meds. I now have an appointment on Tuesday with my doc to discuss the consultation. I will keep you posted here to let you know.

By the way, I started taking supplements yesterday that help with my sistuation containing feverfew, b-2 and magnesium.

Capvic

capvic--

Wow..it sure sounds like MAV in your case, and maybe mine as well. We'll see...I haven't had all the tests yet. I have heard of feverfew helping...also butterbur. I've been thinking about trying those out too.

I guess I'm lucky to have someone diagnose me, if that is indeed what I have. The doc barely listened to me and certainly didn't do any tests, but he feels he knows his stuff. I still wonder if I had vestibular neuritis that has been complicated by migraine, but maybe it's all the same at this point.

6 years! I'm very glad you now have a diagnosis that makes sense and that you can move into finding the best treatment for you.

Let me know if you take the paxil and like it/hate it, and I'll do the same!

--violet

I too have been suffering with something similar for the past three years, and had even given up driving until recently. It is now getting a little better, but I'm still having a lot of rough days. My symptoms are excruciating headaches, with squeezing. It feels like someone is squeezing my brain. I also have extreme lightheadedness/disconnected feelings. Not really vertigo, because nothing is spinning. My eyes hurt and have a lot of pressure behind them. I feel as if I could take my eyeballs out, and it would relieve the pressure. I'm extremely fatigued most of the time, and my eyelids are super heavy. ALso my face goes numb a lot. I can't stand to be around a crowd, because all of the stimulus makes my head hurt worse. My teeth and nose hurt a lot when they headaches are really bad. Very scary. I have had 2 brain mri's, an mra, brain cath, ct scans, heart scans, heart cath, back mri's, etc. More bloodwork than I can remember. I've seen heart doctors, ent's, lyme docs, neurologists, neurosurgeon, dentist, oral surgeon, etc. Noone can give me a diagnosis for this. Also I've taken sooooooo many meds and nothing helps. I notice it gets worse around the time of my period. Most doctors are now saying I'm just super stressed, and that there is nothing they can do. Right now, my eyes feel super heavy, and pressurized. Not fun. Hope you all feel better soon. I too am about to give up.

NEVER accept stress as a diagnosis unless:
1 - your headaches ONLY come at times when you are stressed
2 - any other symptoms also only occur at times when you stressed, ie: not ongoing
3 - headaches can't be relieved by things like exercise, sex, something you enjoy etc

I was told consisntaly for a year that i was suffering from stress headaches - suddenly, while doing epilepsy tests, they discovered I had a malformed brain and needed surgery! So, the moral of that tale is to never accept a diagnosis of stress unless you actually are stressed.

Unfortunately, despite successful surgery, I now have another condition that causes headaches, numbness, disorientation and even some paralysis. I say keep pushing, take any test the offer, try any drugs they offer, see any doctor they send you to. Always be prepared for appointments, write a list of symptoms, medication, questions and previous tests and make sure you get a chance to mention everything on the list. Don't be rude to a doctor but do be assertive, make sure they listen to and accpet what you say, especially when it come to severity of symptoms and diagnosis such a stress or other psychosymatic disorders. And never give up. It may take years, you may never get an answer but theres always something else to try and medicine is alwasy making great advances. also, find someobody you trust you cna vent to, cry on or just chat to and search for local support networks.

Finally, be careful with your painkillers. They cna be damaging to your body so useage should be limited. Its also proven that you cna be up a resistance to painkillers so don;t take them for relatively mild headaches, only very bad ones, or they will stop working on the really bad ones. Take a range, paracetamol, non steroidal anit inflammatories and codeine are person favourites and use a rotation system to ensure that your not taking too mcuh of one drug to limit the damage to your body and the chance to build up a tolerance.

I'm also only 19 so can sympathise - I foten joke that with the way I'm forced to live I'm 19 going on 90! But seriously, I know its tough but at the end of the day you've just got to fight to retain how ever much of your life you can still enjoy and just make sure to surround yourself with friends and family who can help you enjoy your life and keep busy - headaches only get worse if you stay in bed all day.

Good luck guys, i hope you get answers soon!