My first step would be to get a new doctor that you feel comfortable with if possible. You should have a doctor that will openly discuss your best options and how treatment should be approached.

hello
I have been diagnosed with chronic migraines since last april which spun me into dep/anxiety that I have been treating since september with med's. I totally know what your going through mine is the fear of the next headache! Migraines and dep/anxiety are very linked. I hope your are seeing a headache specialist, they are the best in treating migraines and can also treat the dep/anxity too! Like brytif01 said I feel your first step is to seek a new doc that you are totally comfortable. Remember they are working for you! Just google headache specialist in your area and see what comes up. Where do you live?
Keep in touch.
p.s.
I used to be afraid of med's too first thing is to find what works best for u! There are quite a few anit dep that work somewhat on prevention of migraines too.
Best
Anthony

I am also in a similar situation. Did your doc have you do things like an MRI, EEG, and blood work? I will agree that neurologists tend to have their own language and tend not to go into in-depth explanations. The only thing I really understood were the terms "You're in a bad cycle now."

In Sept, my neurologist put me on several medications. I feel great and no more migraines, I need to keep working on the anxiety stuff...

It's good that your exploring your options and discussing w/other people. Anthony and I even have similar treatment plans. I'd say go after both at the same time, but good luck with whatever you decide to do.

The ear nose and throat doctor gave me nortriptyline (anti-depressant) but other than that nothing else. She offered me a MRI but i chickened out from it and the meds she prescribed. As far as blood work it concerned my iron was low but now I'm low in vitamin D. Actually I've never seen a neurologists the doctor i was speaking of was my GP. So I guess I the search is still on.

I think if you've been diagnosed with vestibular migraines than consulting w a neurologist is very reasonable. Also since u dont have a great relationship with your PMD, the neurologist might be a better person for you to talk to about your concerns. Are you anxious that there is something bad causing the headaches? If so an MRI will put your mind at ease as far as that is concerned and they really aren't that bad. You can do an open MRI if you are worried about feeling claustrophobic.
I went thru a terrible phase about 8 hrs ago where I had a headache daily for 18 months. It was terrible. And I had very bad dizziness with them. I did not want to take medication but finally tried a low dose of zoloft bc SSRIs had been shown to help with chronic pain. Anyway, my headaches completely resolved after about 4 weeks on the medication, so maybe you should consider trying something just to break out of your cycle.
Good luck, Josie

The MRI will conclusively show that there are no biological disorders, things like a brain tumor etc... The Pamelor you take is well known to sorta "even out" your head, with lower side effects than other tricyclics. Basically I'm saying it seems like your doc was listening to your concern of side effects. There are other meds that can help you as well.

It sounds like you have the opportunity to stop them. I would relate the situation to allergies. If there's a med that stops your suffering, then why not? In the end it comes down to if the benefits outweigh the side effects.

All the best.

I know you guys posted your comments back in 2010 but I just recently got diagnosed with the condition. How are you guys doing? What were the things you did to manage the three illnesses (anxiety, depression and vestibular migraine)

Ive had migraine for years now. It just became a full blown attack last Dec 2012 after xmas. Unaware of what my body was going i went thru anxiety and depression. Last yar 2013 I tried managing my illness. There were times I was able to get off my meds but i wasnt able to go back to that tpositive thinking mode ever again. Last month Jan 6 I got a really bad dizzy spell which triggered my dizziness daily. It got worse days after when i started feeling losing my balance, feeling like falling. I feel so frustrated because i dont know was happening to me.
Last week I decided to seek another neurologst and finally after all these years I was given a concrete diagnosis. I have vestibular migraine. I was asked to take 4 days ago 5mg of Sibelium (FLUNARIZINE) a calcium channel blocker with ZESCITA (ESCITALOPRAM - anti depressant). So far Im not feeling good at all with my meds. Im scared of stopping my intake of sibelium because i have to take rivtotril (CLONAZEPAM-anti anxiety meds) to get sleep.

I want to let go of my meds intake but with the sudden attack of my vestibular migraine its hard to come back to my center to find calm amidst all these illnesses.

Need your advise and guidance.

I have similar problems to you, I've suffered from migraines since I was six but I had a really serious episode in December, I thought I'd die from pain alone. I also get dizziness etc. My GP doesn't really take my problems seriously. I think you are lucky to have found someone who does! I also have anxiety problems.