A migraine of the Vestibular kind.

Did you know: There are approximately 10 million migraine sufferers in the Uk alone, and it is estimated that they experience up to 190,000 attacks every day. Of these there are approximately 40% who live with the symptoms of Vestibular migraines.

If a person experiences more than 15 migraines per month they become classed as suffering with chronic migraine, whereas those who experience less than 15 are considered to experience episodic migraine attacks.

Symptoms of a migraine attack include but are not limited to;

• Headache

• Nausea

• Vomiting

• Visual disturbances (aura)

• Photophobia (sensitivity to light)

• Phonophobia (sensitivity to sound)

• Osmophobia (sensitivity to smell)

• Loss of vision

• Brain fog

• Difficulty speaking

• Numbness on one side of the body

• Pins and needles in arms or legs

• Weakness

• Fatigue

Migraine attack can come in four stages:

Prodrome: Irritability, depression, euphoria, food cravings, fatigue, trouble concentrating, difficulty speaking, issues when reading, constipation, excessive urination, insomnia, uncontrolled yawning, neck ache, and muscle stiffness.

Aura: Temporary blindness, blurred vision, blind spots, seeing patterns and colours, tingling in face, arms and legs, involuntary movements, difficulty with speech and language, hearing sounds that aren't there, tinnitus and dissociation.

Attack: Head pain (sharp, throbbing, pounding, pulsating) nausea, vomiting, pale skin, dizziness, sensitivity to sound, light and smell. Symptoms made worse with movement.

Postdrome: Fatigue, brain fog, tiredness, restlessness, confusion, depression or euphoria.

Fast movements might bring back headache symptoms momentarily.

My story:

Personally I was diagnosed with migraine 18 months ago, although I had experienced them for much longer than that. It's interesting, because when I used to hear the word migraine I pictured someone grabbing their head in agonising, unbearable pain, whereas what I experienced was a collection of symptoms that I often mistook for being a variety of different illnesses. Although I experienced some very painful headaches that would leave me bed-bound, there were plenty of days that I struggled through a day of work surviving on painkillers and caffeine, thinking of myself as nothing more than a chronic headache sufferer. Sometimes I felt nauseous and fatigued, struggling to get on with the simplest of tasks and just as I seemed to be recovering from that I would find myself with what felt like a case of the stomach flu, with stomach cramps and aching muscles. I just seemed to go round and round with these symptoms, often feeling run down and generally unwell, with only a matter of weeks or months between them where I felt 'normal' and healthy.

These 'illnesses' really hit a peak at the start of 2019, five months before I got married. What began as a typical common cold, quickly escalated into an extreme vertigo that resulted in me being bedridden for over a month. During this month I felt too dizzy to manage more than stumble to the bathroom and back, with the world constantly spinning. It took two weeks before I was able to stumble from the passenger seat of a car to the GP waiting room to be seen by my local doctor. From this first appointment it took 11 months to be seen by a neurologist who would eventually diagnose me as having suffered from Acute Vestibular Neuritis. This was caused by the cold virus moving into the inner ear. Although the dizziness slowly improved, it never quite faded. These symptoms would eventually develop into what I now know to be called Vestibular Migraine.

Vestibular migraine can feature a lot of the same symptoms as the common migraine, but the sufferer can experience a number of 'added symptoms' which can include the following;

Vestibular migraine symptoms;

• Constant dizziness and vertigo which may or may not get worse with migraine attacks

• Lightheadedness

• Derealism

• Depersonalisation

• Tinnitus

• Hearing loss

• Feeling like rocking on a boat

• Issues with spatial awareness

• Imbalance

It was after a particularly bad week-long 'headache' 18 months ago, that my GP suggested I go to A & E to get checked out, where I finally received a diagnosis of migraine.

As I began to delve deeper into my research about migraine, things suddenly began to make sense. All these various 'illnesses' that I would so often struggle with were actually just different stages of what we all call migraine - The Prodrome - Aura - Headache - Postdrome.

The last 18 months for me have been very up and down as I have spent my time trialling different medications to find the combination that works best for me, and slowly determining my 'triggers'. During this time I have had to take a step back from offering the reiki, energy healing and coaching that I had on offer before, as I turned my attention onto my own healing instead. Something that with the New Year I have vowed to throw myself into much more than I have before. A big part of this is learning my triggers and finding ways to avoid those triggers. This can take time, but with careful attention I have begun to identify the things that worsen my symptoms. There can be a number of things that act as 'triggers' and these include the following -

Migraine Triggers;

• Stress

• Lack of sleep

• Skipped meals

• Loud noises

• Flashing/Bright lights

• Changes in weather or altitude

• Strong smells

• Certain foods including Chocolate, Aged cheese, Citrus fruits (although they can be used as a relief method), 'Red' fruits and vegetables, Processed foods, Refined sugars, Gluten, and Nuts

• Alcohol

• Caffeine (although this can also be used to relieve migraines)

There are probably more triggers than those listed above but they seem to be the most common. Personally I have found lack of sleep to be my main one, which is unfortunate since we can't always control how well we sleep, just as we can't always change the amount of stress that we are under, but what we can do is take a closer look at what we consume each day, not just with food and drink, but other lifestyle choices that might be contributing to our migraines.

Over the coming weeks and months I will personally be taking a closer look at my diet and lifestyle as I begin to eliminate potential triggers that I might not have considered before now. There are two books that I have often seen recommended - ('Migraine Brain' by Elaine McArdle & Carolyn Bernstein, and 'Heal your headache 123' by David Buchholz.) Both have been ordered but are yet to arrive so I wait in anticipation to see what they have to offer, and I will be documenting my journey here as I endeavor to find my way back to wellbeing!

Please do tell me if you have found this blog helpful, and what other symptoms and triggers that you have experienced yourself.

#vestibularmigraine #migraine #vestibular #dizzy #vertigo #headache #healing