Vestibular Migraines/Vertigo
A 33 year old patient presents with vestibular migraines where the current bout of vertigo has been going on for 3 weeks. The symptoms have been on and off for a year.
Main Signs/Symptoms:
Rocking side to side, like they are on a boat
Dizziness
Headaches 50% of the time, frontal
Trouble focusing
Nausea
Anxiety
Patient also presented with:
History of chronic ear infections as a child and an adult
Low energy
Dates of treatment:
2nd appointment: felt some relief in rocking side to side over the weekend, sensation changed to feeling like they are on a slight tilt.
The rocking feeling came back this morning.
3rd appointment: Mornings have the fewest symptoms normally - gets worse as day goes on.
Now has some moments of relief throughout the day. Has trouble eating when nausea accompanies the attacks.
Has the rocking feeling right now.
4th appointment: Rocking went away days following the last treatment and was replaced by the body feeling tilted. The rocking came back yesterday, but today it’s less intense.
Symptoms are fluctuating more and more, where they used to stay consistent.
Was wearing ear seeds this week.
5th appointment: Mornings have been symptom-free. Time without symptoms is lasting longer into the afternoon.
Gentle rocking today, barely there.
No nausea in the past week.
6th appointment: Symptoms continue to subside. Had the tilt feeling the week - rocking is sporadic and not nearly as bad as when they first came in. The tilt feeling also feels less intense. No nausea in the past week.
Had headaches for a few days this week.
7th & 8th appointments: vertigo continues to improve. Exercise and the end of the day are when they feel it now, vs being constant. It dissipates quickly post-exercise.
10th appointment: was on a trip and did a ton of walking, 7-8 miles everyday, which wouldn’t have been doable before coming. Today there’s a frontal and back of neck HA - 5/10 - but no vertigo.
Moving forward we will be working on keeping the vertigo away and reducing the frequency of headaches further.
Key takeaways:
Vertigo can change the way it manifests before resolving. This is the natural progression of the body finding its new normal.
Acupuncture can also be useful for the secondary signs and symptoms that accompany vertigo, such as nausea.
Ear seeds can be a great additive therapy to carry progress between acupuncture treatments.
A custom herbal formula would’ve been helpful here. At-home ear seeds, acupressure, lifestyle changes, and an herbal formula can make a huge difference if you’re not able to make in-person appointments.