1. Community
  2. Ears, nose, throat and mouth
  3. Meniere's Disease

Can the symptoms of vertigo be triggered off with food or drink?

Posted , 6 users are following.

Joyheywood
Joyheywood

Hi, I have been suffering with fullness in my right ear on and off for the last several years which at first, didn't give me any real problems other than a lack of earing and constant ringing on that side.

I then started to get the rush on my chest, (the feeling you get from a roller coaster) every time I looked up. After a couple of weeks of this, I was hit without any warning on my way home after dropping the kids off at school. I was sick, which is rare for me. And my vision was all over the place like I was drunk. I left the car and walked home. It took a day for me to recover.

After a good few years with no incidents though still having the fullness in the ear on an off I have big problems early this year. The symptoms of vertigo along with the sickness had been triggers off after a slice of cake. This happened twice while at work. I had not problem prior to eating the cake but within 1 min of having it my vision became disorientated and I felt sick. This also happen on two occasions after a swig of Lucozade. Is this just coincidence?

P.s my problems seem to start after getting a cold. I've been struggling now since September.

Thanks for any advice.

0 likes, 16 replies

16 Replies

  • melody08508
    melody08508 Joyheywood

    Posted

    Hey! Have u been diagnosed with meniers? The reason I ask is that sounds like vestibular migraine to me
    • Joyheywood
      Joyheywood melody08508

      Posted

      Hi, The doctor/consultant sugested I had meniers based on the description I gave for the symptoms I was having. Vestibular Migraine was never mentioned and un heard of to me until you menitioned it. You are correct, the symptoms this describes is every bit the same as what I am getting but with out the head aches. Head aches I have never suffered from.

      ​I am now confused, what is the difference between Meniers and Vestibular migraine the symptoms seem the same?

      ​Thanks

    • Hayhue
      Hayhue Joyheywood

      Posted

      I agree with Melody. Smart thinking on her end! You can have migraines without the pain and they are called silent migraines. Most migraines can be triggered by food.

      MAV is what they like to call it which is migraine induced vertigo.

      Migraines and Menieres can go hand in hand, so I'm told. I'm not quite sure what the difference is medically other than symptom wise.

    • melody08508
      melody08508 Joyheywood

      Posted

      U can have silent migraines which makes diagnosis even harder but the food triggers sound more like VM to me. If ur on FB look up the migraine brain and Ul find a stack of info and support. I don't really know the difference but tinnitus and vertigo/dizziness is super common in Vestibular migraines too so maybe u have had that all along

    • carol04816
      carol04816 Hayhue

      Posted

      I do have ocular migraines. However, I have kept food diaries to see if something I eat causes the vertigo. I have not found any patterns so far. I have attacks so far apart that it is hard to keep track. I have a constant unsteadiness, one wrong step can make me trip.
    • carol04816
      carol04816 Joyheywood

      Posted

      I looked up vestibular migraines. Just like Meniers, I have some but not all the symptoms. That's why it's hard to accept my diagnosis. Also I did not mention that because of my ear,(right) that if I look to the left, I will walk to the left. So I usually have to walk on other people's left side. Otherwise, I keep running into them.

  • Bluesmann
    Bluesmann Joyheywood

    Posted

    Sure would be interested to hear more on this.....was it the sugar in the cake do you think?
    • Joyheywood
      Joyheywood Bluesmann

      Posted

      When I have had a bad episode due to consumption it has only been after sugary items like the following:

      cake (victoria slice & cinamon swirl)

      piece of fudge

      piece of shortbread biscuit

      isotonic Lucozade

      I also has an incident on the way home from work. Other than the fullness in my rigtht ear if felt fine. During my jurney home I had a couple of mouth fulls of an isotonic drink and with a minute my vision became destorted of which was sensitive movement and changes in distance. This feeling took about 2 hours to pass.

      The above items i mentioned, I can consume at a different time without any issues.

  • carol04816
    carol04816 Joyheywood

    Posted

    Joyhey,

    For me it's MSG. You have to really look at ingredients. Chips, onion soup, instant foods have msg. Also I am sensitive to sulfites. Many dried fruits and wines have sulfites. I get nauseous and start feeling dizzy within hours.

    • Joyheywood
      Joyheywood carol04816

      Posted

      Sorry Carol, what is MSG?

      Does your vision get effected as well?

  • naomi68931
    naomi68931 Joyheywood

    Posted

    Hello.  Yes, I have found that food (especially food high in sodium (salt) content or even very high in sugar can trigger an attack.  Also, caffeine and alcohol.  I have had good success with avoiding attacks by being very (and I mean very) strict with my diet.  I limit my sodium consumption to no more than 1500 mg./day and try to have even less.  I don’t drink any alcohol and I have almost no caffeine (only the caffeine in dark…72% chocolate).  I don’t have coffee and only decaffeinated tea.  It seems to be the only thing that works for me…this strict diet.  I wish you good luck with this and encourage you to try to control it with diet.
    • Joyheywood
      Joyheywood naomi68931

      Posted

      Thanks for your responce Naomi. I can see that managing this conditions is going to be a life style change.

      Managing the diet, does this reduce the attacks or does it also clear your head? mine constantly feels foggy, if that makws sence.

    • naomi68931
      naomi68931 Joyheywood

      Posted

      Are you referring to a sense of fullness in the ears?  I'm not sure what you mean by fogginess.  I try to keep my sinuses clear...that seems to help.  Perhaps you can tell me more what you mean so I can better answer you.

    • Joyheywood
      Joyheywood naomi68931

      Posted

      No, I have the fullness in the ear but my head oftern feel cloudy. maybe this is the migrain without the headache.
  • fil39169
    fil39169 Joyheywood

    Posted

    I am sure I react to foods.  Once went in Burger King and had a drink of their orange fizz and within half an hour I had a really bad attack.  Likewise boiled sweets or anything with bright orange colouring seems to effect me.  I steer clear of all that stuff nowadays.

    Fil

    • Joyheywood
      Joyheywood fil39169

      Posted

      I can get a reaction within a couple of minutes of eating/drinking. The next day I can have the same thing that cause the reaction and have no problems.
Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.