Sorry that you are feeling so bad.
No neurological exam is complete without checking B12. It is important to get a copy of the report because "normal" is far from "optimal". Here is a link to the symptoms of B12 deficiency from OBT. I could not find this on BT2.
http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cache...s&ct=clnk&cd=4
Rose is our B12 expert and there is information on the Vitamin forum of BT2. Her website is under construction:
http://roseannster.googlepages.com/home
Have you had your heart checked? Apparently a hole that should have closed at birth can be related to migraine aura.
High prevalence of patent foramen ovale in migraine with aura
Were you or are you a SCUBA diver - apparently those with PFO can get inner ear problems.
Dizziness does not seem to be a symptoms of this PFO but it can be a symptom of atrial fibrillation.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/e...cle/000184.htm
Keeping a food diary is a good idea but it is difficult. One problem is most people eat some foods every day. Examples are dairy, corn, wheat, caffeine, soy...oh yeah, and chocolate
. If we eat something everyday it is impossible to tell if it is causing a reaction. If you want to explore food triggers, it is better to totally eliminate the more common ones and then add them back in verrrrry slooowly. You not only need to eliminate the foods that obviously contain the possible allergen, but you will also have to read every label and be sure it is not a hidden ingredient.
If you are interested in how to do an elimination diet, I am sure that Kim on the Gluten Sensitivity/Celiac Disease forum would be happy to help you. She has lots of experience with elimination diets.
Here is one article that lists some of the common food triggers. It would not surprise me if soy would be added to this list if this article was written today. I doubt that food processors were using as much soy as they are now.
Quote:
Lancet. 1979 May 5;1(8123):966-9.
Food allergies and migraine.
Grant EC.
60 migraine patients completed elimination diets after a 5-day period of withdrawal from their normal diet. 52 (87%) of these patients had been using oral contraceptive steroids, tobacco, and/or ergotamine for an average of 3 years, 22 years, and 7.4 years respectively. The commonest foods causing reactions were wheat (78%), orange (65%), eggs (45%), tea and coffee (40% each), chocolate and milk (37%) each), beef (35%), and corn, cane sugar, and yeast (33% each). When an average of ten common foods were avoided there was a dramatic fall in the number of headaches per month, 85% of patients becoming headache-free. The 25% of patients with hypertension became normotensive. Chemicals in the home environment can make this testing difficult for outpatients. Both immunological and non-immunological mechanisms may play a part in the pathogenesis of migraine caused by food intolerance.
PMID: 87628 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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I do hope you get to feeling better.
Anne