I had a fantastic day yesterday. I have had several good weeks/going on months since beginning avs. This morning I woke up and when I sat up I was dizzy. I laid bac down and tried again several times to get up. Dizzy every time. I finally got up to see what the heck was going on. When I was brushing my teeth I was looking at the drain and it started to spin. It was a short spinning sensation. I moved around the house a bit more then realized I needed to go lay back down. My sister and I were gonna take our children to the zoo today. I cancelled. I took an Ativan and slept for 2-3 hrs. By this evening I do not feel as bad but I am not nearly as functional or "able" as I was even 24 hrs ago. I am on the 3G/day dose of valtrex. I can't go up. I am not sick or stressed (well I am now ). Has this happened to anyone on avs. A random setback? Did you get better again? This little episode has really brought back some fear and uncertainty. I have heard that avs sometimes help ppl for a while and then stop (I have read that one here for 2 ppl). I certainly hope that's not what's happening here. I had such a taste of freedom. May 17 was my last bad attack. I had a trip planned for this weekend and I am not sure whether or not to keep the plans. I didn't see this coming.
you might have the beginnings of an ear infection? or a sinus infection about to come out? or have you been avoiding trigger foods? I am sorry this happened but I don't believe attacks are random, there is something that set it off, the hard part is to figure out what that was and I sure hope the av's did not stop working for you. I hope you feel better very soon, I know how frightening and discouraging this is HUGS
Is it possible you're having some problems with positional vertigo? Sounds like that's maybe what it was, since you got dizzy going from lying down to sitting up and looking down at the drain.
Cheryl - I have had BPPV a few times. The spinning wasn't that fast. It was/is more of an imbalance. I don't think it was BPPV. Vicki - I guess time will tell if I am getting sick. I don't feel anything right now (except the MM stuff). I was at my parents house this weekend so I drank a couple dr peppers and ate junk food. I do not eat like that at my house but I do get tempted to eat terribly when I am there. I still feel like I avoided the high arginine foods. I was talking with my husband and we were trying to come up with the "why." The only thing I can think (and it may be too small of a thing to matter) was that I am out of pycogenol for 3-4 days (waiting on OPC to arrive) and I am also waiting on my new canister of Lauricidin so I have been taking half doses of that for 3-4 days to spread out what I have left. I also forgot my middle of the day dose of Valtrex on Thursday. Maybe that could have made for a rough day.
3000 mg of Valtrex should be enough to suppress the virus w/o the pycogenol and the lauricidn but if you have a stubborn virus maybe taking those two along with the Valtrex was keeping ti suppressed better, I am not sure but you will know once you start taking them again as you have been. also are you saying now your spinning isn't fast? more of an imbalance now? or when you had BPPV? If that's what you are experiencing now do you think you have MAV as well? because that sounds more like MAV than MM and triggered it with foods that put you over your threshold?
My spinning this morning was not as fast as when I have had bppv in the past. The spin was short but the imbalance has been severe and lasted all day. I did read the MAV info today and feel confused as to whether or not it affects me and also, if it does, how to tackle it. I eat a lot of bananas. One or two a day. That is a trigger for MAV. I guess I need to read more about it.
I was never fortunate enough to get hold of Antivirals but I had the two steps forward one step back experience that is happening to you ( several times ) before I got it right. The culprit was the wrong food, well wrong for someone who had MAV as well as menieres. I agree with Vicki there is a reason why or reasons why an attack happens and I believe that food and drink triggers are underrated. The only sure way of discovering whether you have triggers is to start from scratch. Jordan a lovely lady from the previous forum helped her husband who was suffering with menieres/mav and together they discovered his triggers through trial and error. They started with something simple like egg on toast for each meal, each day for several days and then started to add one additional food item each day thereby identifying any rogue food and drink items along the way. Its laborious but worth it. I followed the same formula and I have been well since 2009. As Vicki mentioned threshold plays a big part in attacks. Food or drink that is not a culprit one day can be a culprit another day simply because of your accumulated triggers and where your threshold of triggers is at any given point. By the way David Buchholz author of " Heal your Headache " believes that menieres is in fact MAV. Jordan, a lady named Burd, who is so knowledgable both from the forum and David Buchholz's book played a big part in me leading a normal life again. Wishing you well Frank
(some might be duplicated) Common food MAV triggers: ▪ Aged or ripened cheeses (examples: Cheddar, Gruyère, Emmenthaler, Stilton, Brie, Gouda, Romano, Parmesan, feta, bleu, Camembert) ▪ Foods containing large amounts of monosodium glutamate (MSG). Chinese foods often have large amounts of MSG. ▪ Smoked, cured, or processed meats such as bacon, sausage, ham, salami, pepperoni, pickled herring, bologna, chicken livers, and hot dogs ▪ Food prepared with meat tenderizer, soy sauce, vinegar (except white vinegar), or yeast extract; and food that has been fermented, pickled, or marinated ▪ Pea pods and pods of broad beans such as lima and navy beans ▪ Onions, olives, pickles ▪ Alcohol (especially red wine, port, sherry, Scotch, gin, and bourbon) ▪ Sour cream, yogurt, buttermilk ▪ Hot fresh bread, raised coffee cake, doughnuts ▪ Excessive aspartame (artificial sweetener) ▪ Chocolate, cocoa, carob ▪ Nuts, peanut butter ▪ Certain fruits, including figs, avocados, raisins, red plums, passion fruit, papaya, banana, and citrus fruit ▪ Excessive tea, coffee, cola Other triggers ▪ Hormonal fluctuations ▪ Barometric-pressure variations ▪ Sleep disturbance ▪ Stress ▪ Medications Typical food triggers include aged cheeses and processed meats (particularly pepperoni and hot dogs); peanuts; bread and crackers containing cheese as well as any strong-flavored cheeses; broad beans, peas, and lentils; and beverages containing caffeine and chocolate. Wine is another culprit (red is usually more problematic than white). Fermented foods including soy sauce and miso have been implicated, as have some fish including sardines, anchovies, and pickled herring. Other foods that have been linked to migraines include avocados, bananas, citrus fruits, figs, raisins, red plums, and raspberries. Food additives that may play a role include nitrates and nitrites (in processed meats), yellow food coloring, and monosodium glutamate (MSG) used in some canned or processed foods, as well as in Chinese foods and in soy sauce. In addition, watch out for non-food triggers such as fatigue, lack of sleep (or sleeping too much), missing meals, changes in barometric pressure, and changes in altitude. Strong smells, such as those of paint, gasoline or heavy perfumes, and bright flashing lights can also trigger migraine symptoms. Aged, canned, cured, smoked or processed meats • Meats prepared with meat tenderizer, soy sauce (often used in Asian cooking), brewer’s yeast • Meats containing nitrates, nitrites or tyramine. (Examples include: bacon, hot dogs, corned beef, bologna, sausage, salami, pepperoni, pastrami, summer sausage, liverwurst, liver, chicken liver, smoked fish, pickled fish, herring, lox, canned or smoked, anchovies, sardines, caviar.) • Peanuts, nuts, seeds, and their "butters" • Certain beans (broad, fava, garbanzo, Italian, lima, navy, pinto, pole and string beans) • Soy burgers, miso soup/paste, tempeh Cultured dairy products (yogurt, kefir), buttermilk, sour cream, chocolate milk • Aged cheeses: blue, brick, gouda, Gruyere, mozzarella, Parmesan, provolone, Romano Roquefort, Cheddar, Swiss, Brie, Camembert • Soy cheese and yogurt Figs, citrus fruits, raisins, papayas, red plums, raspberries, bananas • Overripe, moldy or spoiled fruit Fermented vegetables (sauerkraut, kimchi), raw garlic, snow peas, avocados, olives, onions, string beans, pickles, pea pods • Overripe, moldy or spoiled vegetables Freshly baked yeast bread • Fresh yeast coffee cake, doughnuts, sourdough bread • Breads and grains containing cheese, chocolate, nuts and/or seeds Chocolate and cocoa beverages • Alcoholic beverages (especially red wine, beer, and sherry) • Beverages containing aspartame and/or caffeine (energy drinks, diet drinks, diet colas, coffee, tea) Desserts made with chocolate or nuts or cultured dairy (including ice cream, frozen yogurt, pudding, cookies, cakes or pies) • Mincemeat pie • Freshly baked yeast-containing pastries Aspartame (Nutra-sweet, Equal) • Monosodium glutamate (MSG), yeast/yeast extract, meat tenderizer, seasoned salt, soy sauce • Pizza, cheese sauces, macaroni and cheese, lasagna, frozen dinners • Fermented, pickled and marinated foods • Canned soup, bouillon or broth (liquid, dry or cubes), soup base with autolytic yeast or MSG • Sauces and gravies containing meat extracts
I have to avoid MM trigger foods, MAV trigger foods, high carb foods (glucose intolerant), foods with fat(I have high cholesterol), shellfish and any fish(seafood allergy) eggs (gallstones) milk products (lactose intolerant) Just feed me thru a tube LOL
I feel your pain Vicki. I KNOW that my triggers are not getting enough sleep & not strictly watching my daily sodium intake. I must stay betweeb 1200-1400 mg a day - and i DO get tempted by candy cuz Hey - Skittles have no sodium - nor do gummy lifesavers.... etc ... LOL - but then i have too much sugar... so it really is for me a daily diligence thing....even when I go on vacation I make sure to pack a cooler with fruit and trail mix, bananas, no salt Utz chips ( for those cravings that even though they are no salt and suck - you still want something crunchy)....I don't drink alcohol because I have Interstital Cystitis ( another chronic disease with no known cause and no cure - yay mee!) LOL - so at least I don't have to worry about that. And I use my Meniette Device 3 or 4 times a day - sometimes when i am feeling really good I forget to use that - or I will only use it once - and then i def notice a day or two later if I haven't used it.... So - as much of a PITA as it is - try and keep a diary of what you are eating and drinking - taking for vitamins ( I take 6 Lipoflavanoids a day and 2000 mg of vitamin B-12 - 1000 in the am and 1000 in the afternoon to battle the fatigue that comes with Meniere's). Good Luck - I do hope you feel better...... I know how disheartening it is when you go thru a great spell and then suddenly feel like you are on a backslide....
since your spins were short and sweet, I would lean towards an ear or sinus infection. Did you try meclizine for the balance issues? Meclizine does not work for me for full vertigo attacks but when I have had a stretch (month long) of slight dizzy but pure imbalance 24/7 I remembered (after 3 wks of suffering) about meclizine. It worked for me.