LIFE-ISMS

Category

COPING WITH COVID-19 AND MY UPCOMING DELIVERY

I have known for a few months that my delivery wouldn’t be how I expected. I was diagnosed with a complete placenta previa (CPP) in November, and after a scary bleed and trip to the hospital at 28 weeks, I’ve been on moderate bed rest. I had accepted that the only way for our sweet boy to enter this world would be by a cesarean, and that was fine. The doctors have told me multiple times the risks I face...

How I Am Adjusting To Pregnancy With Vestibular Migraine

At 27-years-old I was diagnosed with a vestibular disorder, and while that was life-changing enough, it put my plans for pregnancy on hold. So many women in my vestibular migraine groups had talked about how they were diagnosed with VM during or after their pregnancy, and if they already had VM it was HORRIBLE during those long 9 months. The last thing I wanted to do was take this brand-new chronic condition I had just been experiencing and mix it...

Thirty, Flirty And Thriving: 30 Ways The Last Decade Shaped Me

Well, world, I am officially coming to terms with the fact I will be 30 in a few days. It’s crazy because when I look back I can’t help but question if I’ve done everything I wanted in the last decade. As a woman turning 30 it’s easy to compare yourself to others, especially when society puts so much pressure on us to be at a certain point in our lives. Shoot, my mom had three kids by the time...

The Scary Symptoms of Vestibular Migraine: Alice In Wonderland Syndrome

One of the scariest things about vestibular migraine is when an attack comes out of nowhere. You could be reading a book, combing your hair or just lying on the couch and a sudden wave of dizziness can abruptly take over your body leaving you in a state of panic. I have dizziness daily, but when I experience bad attacks, it can make me feel as scared as I did on the first day coming down with this illness. Anyone...

Fitness and Vestibular Migraine: 3 Exercises That Helped Me Find My Balance

If you’re an active person like me, getting diagnosed with a vestibular disorder can make walking difficult, let alone hitting the gym. For the first 6 months of my newly diagnosed condition, I was unable to do much in terms of working out. Running has always been my therapy, and I could hardly make it .25 miles before wanting to fall over. If I wasn’t running, I was taking boot camp classes at my gym, and all of a sudden,...

6 Vestibular Migraine Triggers And How To Manage Them

One question I tend to get a lot on social media is, “what are your vestibular migraine triggers?” “Do you have dizziness daily or just with migraine?” While most of us may have vestibular migraine (or VM,) I would venture to argue that all of our stories on how we first came down with this disease is specifically unique to you. Whether you were on a plane that caused your first inner ear problem or if you came down with...

5 Ways To Cope With A Vestibular Disorder

Yesterday was normal. You woke up, drove to work, had a few drinks with friends during happy hour, cooked dinner, watched your favorite TV show and then went to sleep. Never in a million years would you think that a “normal day” would be something that could be taken for granted until you lose the ability to function, well, normally. Anyone who has been diagnosed with a vestibular disorder, or frankly any chronic illness, has mourned for their old life...

How To Live A Normal-“ish” Life With Vestibular Migraines

As an ambassador for VEDA, I receive a lot of emails from other vestibular disorder sufferers about my diet, fitness, and how I live a normal life. Unfortunately, experiencing the beginnings of a vestibular diagnosis tends to take most of us down the same dark road. It’s easy to lose hope and hard for a lot of us to imagine our “new normal” aside from being a prisoner of your house. So many people, like me, find themselves in the...

Managing Your Vestibular Migraine During The Holidays

The holidays can be a fun, yet stressful time, especially if you’ve been recently diagnosed with vestibular migraines. It can be hard to want to go to a party when you’re fearful the food, lights, noise and overall environment are going to cause you to spin into a dizzy spell. While I wish I could tell you I had all of the perfected tips to make company parties, family/friend’s holiday parties and traveling home a breeze, I can give you...

Scared Dizzy: How I’ve Adjusted To A Vestibular Disorder Two Years Later

Since I can remember, Halloween has always been something I look forward to each year. I love dressing up, the decorations, haunted houses, and scary movies.  And while I patiently wait for October 31st each year, it now has a new significance to me. You see, two years ago on Halloween night, an evening at home watching a scary movie with my husband, turned into a horror well beyond the two-hour rental.  What felt like a stroke mixed with a...