Vertigo and dizziness are more common in migraine sufferers than in people without migraines. A patient I am treating for migraines emailed me a few days ago complaining of vertigo. Dizziness is a term which can mean unsteadiness, lightheadedness, or vertigo. Vertigo is a sensation of spinning, which is most often caused by a disturbance of the inner ear. One type of vertigo is called benign positional vertigo (BPV). BPV usually causes very severe vertigo. One patients told me that while lying on the floor he felt as if he was falling off the floor. BPV is caused by a loose crystal in the inner ear. As the name implies, this type of vertigo occurs only when turning to one side, but not the other. If turning in bed to the right causes vertigo, then the problem is in the right inner ear. A simple (Epley) maneuver can quickly cure this problem by stopping this loose crystal from rolling around and causing havoc. I emailed my patient a link to a YouTube video showing how to do the Epley maneuver and half an hour later she emailed back saying that the vertigo was gone. Sometimes this maneuver needs to be repeated a few times before vertigo completely disappears. Here is the link to the Epley maneuver https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llvUbxEoadQ&authuser=0
