I went back to my migraine doctor for another visit today. Things have been pretty good. But I've been concerned about the amount of time I spend working through the dizziness. So I mentioned that.

So we decided that I needed a refresher course of the vestibular and
I started back in Physical Therapy today. But the neat thing is
he now has it in his office too. So I got to start right there with the
original girl that did the first testing.

She even remembered me somewhat.

Donna

is that to correct a visual dependency type issue?

i am glad you have a solution though.

~ waves ~

Not exactly sure what your phrase means.

I'll try to explain it how I see it.

I have always had a balance and dizziness problem.

So my doctor did some testing and found that I had a Imbalance
in my brain. So he sent me for vestibular physical therapy.

It technically retrains my brain in how to see.

I do things like put a A on a post it, hang it on a wall. Walk three feet
approximately back from it. Make sure I'm close to something I can
grab if I get to dizzy. And I do a head from left to right or the other
way. For 30 or 60 seconds. At varying speeds. Its according to
dizziness. If I can't handle standing I can sit down in a chair.

I then do it head up and down. Now this one I don't last 30 seconds
before I'm really dizzy. This one is very hard for me.


I also do one at home right now, that I stand in a corner, and have
a chair in front of me. Then I close my eyes, and try to stand
still. I start to move around immediately. And then come close to
falling immediately. Thats why the chair to grab ahold of.

So this one shows why the darkness is so bad for me. Up and down
makes me really dizzy no matter what I'm doing.

My eyes are unstable which sounds like a odd word. But I don't know
what else to use.

Donna

Dear Donna,

visual dependency means that one's brain relies too much on visual input (as opposed to other sensory input). when visual input becomes unreliable for whatever reason - it can for some people during migraine - we need to rely on vestibular input that much more. those with visual dependency have trouble doing this and the result is dizziness. although i don't know because i am not a doctor, what you describe does sound consistent with visual dependency, as does the therapy you are being given - training the brain to rely on vestibular signals more.

i didn't know they could actually treat this... i am glad for you. i don't get dizzy normally, and only very occasionally during migraine, but it is a feeling that i despise when it happens. i can't for instance handle spinning around or doing any sorts of rotational type coaster rides. some people love this stuff - not me - then i do get dizzy very quickly, and feel sick blechh.

good luck with the treatment i hope it helps soon!



~ waves ~

Donna, I think you are amazing!
bizi

I have to admit, that before I found out that there was a reason for
all the falling, dizziness and some of the other symtoms I had that lead
me to look into this doctor when I saw his ad. I felt like a complete
failure.

Its part of the reason I still have a very low self esteem in many times
and ways. I still let many people run over me. Its a lot of the reason
I let my husband be the way he is with me. I've come a long way with
him, but I really don't want to divorce him. Or not be married, with
is all that is left, I still love him and if he could get over the fact that
he is so depressed and not happy too at times he would be less stressed
and could enjoy life more.

Anyway, When I first started I couldn't do the things that they tried.
But I wouldn't stop trying, even though they took my blood pressure,
checked my finger for a pulse, and my heart beat a lot. I really wanted
to get better. So they just did the routine that we needed to do at
a slower speed. I got to were I could do it faster with less problems.

I then asked if we could start also working on walking outside too. See
I couldn't walk outside without falling every few minutes some days.
And they had already told me that we could learn some ways to figure
out how to now textures and hopefully find holes you couldn't see.

That is the one amazing thing they did. I usually found every hole in
the ground. And then the ground found me. Now I usually catch my
balance and the ground doesn't see me. I just figured that out the
other day. It was a amazing moment for me.

I still a couple of years ago fell in my house. I don't honestly think I wont again. But I've noticed lately I've been catching myself. Which is one of
the reason's I noticed the dizziness was back.
Before I'd have been on the ground or thrown myself hard into a chair.

Its such a improvement. Its a change in my life, some wont think so but
I am not the klutz I was. So I have lost that name, and I have lost the
name of groundkeeper, when you were always on it you kind of owned it.
And I still am scared of stairs, But I don't want to zinks myself so I'm going
to print the sentences with out one word.


I DO NOT _______ ________ stairs any more.

Opps its two words. Now to explain, I used to do this at least 3 times a week. As both a child, teen, and adult.

It was so bad, that when my now husband and a friend of his the night
they meet me teasingly (And I knew they were teasing)
Said, we are going to throw you down these stairs. I went hysterical
on them. They had no clue why. My husband has never teased
me about stairs again.

Donna

Dear Donna,

this is a fabulous success story. you have much to be proud of. while i don't know what it is like, i can appreciate the difficulty and distress of going through what you have described - and that it could damage your self-esteem. i am glad you see it though, because then it can improve.

i hope your husband appreciates what a fine person you are.

thank you for this thread... it somehow gives a message of hope.

~ waves ~

Okay, I went to my regular doctor today. I've been working on the dizziness.
And I'm beginning to wonder if its connected to my diabetes. I've been trying to figure out if it was. What it would be causing, if that makes sense.

So if you can help me I would appreciate it:

THese are the specific things I'm trying to figure out:

1. Why my head feels like its got a strong (for lack of word) dizzy swirl
in the back of my head. Sometimes its there all the time, sometimes its
there only part of the day.

2. I have just developed the add of a cough that does definately seem
to be allergies. And I do seem to have a nose that wont stop running.

But I have been upset and crying at times a lot. So this one was hard
to figure out. Because my husband's unemployment just ran out. And
he is really taking it hard.

a. To the (But) we just upped my cymbalta last week, just as soon,
as I get to the doctor's office to get the prescription.


b He also (My Pain Doctor) upped my Neurotin, Zanaflex prescriptions.


Can you think on this and see if you can help me.

Could this be a headache that doesn't finish coming completely.
Because I do seem to feel a small one, but usually tylenol will take
it away. But leaves this other. So would it be smart to maybe
take the generic imitrex for me.

Donna

Dear Donna,

if you mean could it be migraine the answer is yes, it could. migraine is a spectrum... and you already know you are a sufferer, so, having a 'lesser' attack could definitely produce fewer symptoms.

but another plausible explanation is more mechanical and not neurological:
crying -> fluid drainage in multiple areas -> multiple symptoms.

---------- neuro (migraine) possibility

technically, (per IHS classification system) if is migraine, you will also have

nausea
phonophobia AND photophobia.

if you have all three of those, it is almost surely migraine.

it's possible to have migraine without headache. or not all three of nausea and photo+phonophobia are present.

sinus symptoms are common with migraine.

since there are the balance problems, hard to tell (for me at least) whether any nausea is primary or whether it is secondary to dizziness.

---------- mechanical possibility

frequent crying will dump a lot of fluid into your sinuses, resulting in runny nose.
fluid from the sinuses can drain into the eustachian tubes causing balance problems (+ dizziness).
balance problems and dizziness can cause nausea.

post-nasal drainage would also cause cough.

allergies can directly contribute both to the sinus activity and cough.

crying itself can bring on a mild headache.

if this is the case, you should not have photo- or phonophobia.

You could easily have an alteration in hearing (like being underwater, or sensation of plugged ear/ears)


~ waves ~

Thanks Waves

I didn't think of lots of those things.

Donna