Why your dizzy attacks feel random

The unpredictable nature of vestibular migraine and migraine in general…

I get tons of patients asking why their dizziness attacks feel so random. They seem to be doing fine for a few days, weeks, months, or even years then all of a sudden they get hit with an attack. 

They tell me they didn’t do anything different or eat any suspicious foods yet they still experienced an attack.

Here is the thing with vestibular migraine: it's not just one or two triggers that cause an attack. It's an accumulation of different variables that build up to your attack. 

What are these variables? Your sleep, stress levels, food triggers, hormones, exercise, weather changes, supplements, meds, and genetics… all play a role when you experience an attack. 

So for example, if your sleep has been off or you have recently been stressed from work, planning a party, trip, or just life events, your ability to experience an attack will happen much quicker than other periods in your life. These variables are always changing and moving you closer or further away from an attack.

The things that help move you away from experiencing an attack include good/quality sleep, low stress, some cardio exercise, supplements, avoiding common trigger foods, and medications if you need them. 

But because life is just life and you realistically can’t live in a static state, it's especially important to pay attention to these variables the next time you experience an attack. 

So ask yourself if you happen to be close to menstruation, had a particularly stressful event, consumed a food trigger, or didn’t sleep well. 

If your attacks are constantly all over the place, your brain has not had any time to recover and return to a normal environment. Focus on creating a safe environment with those diet and lifestyle changes. 

-Dr. Moshtaghi