My husband and I spent a few months of 2020 looking for a new house. Like many millenials post-COVID, we ran out of reasons to live in the city (no longer needed to commute to work, needed two home offices, many businesses were closed or had limited hours, no longer spending our time in restaurantsContinue reading “Living Quarters: My House Hunting Experience”
Author Archives: Sandy Brunner
Pregnant Without Land Legs: The First Trimester
If you missed my last post, I’m pregnant with my first baby! My husband and I are so grateful and excited for our little girl! I was dying to know and read anything I could about what pregnancy would be like with mal de debarquement syndrome (MdDS) and/or vestibular migraine (VM), so I’m sharing withContinue reading “Pregnant Without Land Legs: The First Trimester”
Pregnant Without Land Legs: Facts and Fears
On the second anniversary of losing my land legs, my life changed forever again. This time for the better. I found out…. I’m pregnant with my first baby! My husband Ian and I are so excited and grateful. It seems poetic somehow that these events happened on the same day, exactly two years apart. IContinue reading “Pregnant Without Land Legs: Facts and Fears”
Symptom Lists for VM and MdDS
“What are your symptoms?” “Um… where do I even begin?!? I feel like I’m on a boat all the time. I get migraines… and by migraines I mean headaches. Sometimes I get dizzy, like a spinning feeling. I also feel numbness or tingling sometimes. Oh yeah! I used to be really sensitive to light, butContinue reading “Symptom Lists for VM and MdDS”
Unfixed: A Documentary About MdDS and Other Chronic Conditions
I am so excited about this documentary! It was created by Kimberly Warner, a filmmaker with Mal de Debarquement Syndrome. Not only does it feature her story, but also the stories of others with MdDS and Vestibular Migraine! The description and visuals at the beginning are dead on, and worth showing to friends and familyContinue reading “Unfixed: A Documentary About MdDS and Other Chronic Conditions”
Two Years Without Land Legs
Two years without land legs, and this is what I’ve learned: Treatment for vestibular migraines has helped my MdDS symptoms. I was diagnosed this year with vestibular migraines (in addition to Mal de Debarquement Syndrome), and I’m really thankful I sought out another opinion. Being labeled with the official diagnosis motivated me to do moreContinue reading “Two Years Without Land Legs”
A Break in the Waves: The Cefaly
After trying the Timolol Maleate eye drops for 6 weeks, I was feeling a lot better, but I was still getting migraines (in addition to the sensation of constant rocking/bobbing/swaying, of course). For me, “migraines” mean head pain, brain fog, vertigo, visual auras, bursts of tinnitus, and numbness. I was still experiencing constant light sensitivity,Continue reading “A Break in the Waves: The Cefaly”
New Treatment and New Gig
New Treatment For the past 3 months, I’ve been using Timolol Maleate 0.5% eye drops, which are prescribed to treat Vestibular Migraine (VM). My neurologist prescribed them with the hope that by reducing my VM symptoms, my MdDS symptoms would also decrease. He recommended using one drop in each eye twice daily for symptom prevention,Continue reading “New Treatment and New Gig”
My Top 3 Coping Strategies Right Now
These coping strategies have been helping me lately and guiding my quarantine self-care: I make my exhales longer than my inhales. It’s super simple. I can do it anywhere at any time! It helps keep my stress levels down and helps me relax and fall asleep when symptoms spike. I ask myself: If I wasContinue reading “My Top 3 Coping Strategies Right Now”
Adjusting the Sails
Mal de Debarquement Syndrome creates a lot of daily challenges. The “boat sensations” are constant, and I’ll get caught off guard by random spins or pulls, a flare-up of symptoms, dizziness with head movements, or head pain. I decided to stop taking any and all prescriptions for a while, which has made the seas lessContinue reading “Adjusting the Sails”
