“How Can My Dizziness Be Migraine?”

Joyce looked at Dr. Teixido with profound skepticism. She had been sent to him for an evaluation of vertigo attacks which had become more frequent and which now prevent her from driving. She does not get headaches to speak of; her mother, brother and sister have very severe migraine problems and she has never had anything like theirs, only dull pressure in the back of her head that doesn’t stop her from doing anything and which goes away with ibuprofen. Her dull head pressure never even occurs at the time of her episodes of dizziness. Dr. Teixido placed Joyce on a safe low-dose medication.  Six weeks later she was beaming, astonished her dizziness and head pressure had disappeared. She now realizes she was having migraine symptoms without the severe headache and that her symptoms were responding to a medication commonly used for migraine headache.

oyce’s story is typical: She does not have severe migraine headache, she has Migrainous Vertigo.  Michael Teixido MD is the Director of The Balance and Mobility Center of Christiana Care and sees patients like Joyce every day. “Migrainous Vertigo is the primary cause of dizziness in over half of the cases I see at the center.” says Teixido. “It sometimes takes time for patients to accept their balance problems could be related to migraine because they have all heard of or know someone with severe migraine headache and they cannot relate their dizziness to severe headaches. What I help them to understand is there are many forms of migraine they have never heard of that are not necessarily associated with severe head pain.  These migraineurs get only the vertigo; their headaches may be absent, mild, or years in the past. Fortunately all can be helped with proven migraine therapies that decrease abnormal migraine activity in the brain.”

“40% of migraine headache sufferers do get vertigo at some time but it is not always caused by abnormal activity in the brain. The migraine process in and around the brain is also capable of injuring the inner ear itself.  This is why vertigo problems from the inner ear like Meniere’s Disease and BPPV (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo) are three to four times more common in persons with migraine. Meniere’s disease is an injury associated with swelling in the inner ear and BPPV is a kind of injury that causes crystals in the inner ear to become loose. Patients with chronic forms of these inner ear disorders often improve with migraine therapy because the treatment prevents recurring injury to the inner ear.”

“Once a diagnosis of Migrainous Vertigo is made my patients work with Mark Landis MSN, RN, FNP. Mark is a Nurse Practitioner with a special interest in migraine therapy. He is very good at helping each patient find a treatment plan that will work for them.”

“Our treatment usually involves educating our patients about migraine and migraine triggers first.” says Mark. “This education helps them to work together with us most effectively. I take a careful look at each patient to figure out where to concentrate our energies. One patient may need to improve their diet, another their sleep patterns, another needs stress reduction, others need the right medication or allergy treatment. Usually a combination of therapies is necessary and that combination is unique to each patient.”

“It has been really gratifying to see so many patients doing better,” says Mark “especially since so many had searched so long for a solution. It has also been great to treat our patient’s family members who have severe headaches, and to help them too!”

Testimonials

“I am so grateful for Dr. Michael Teixido’s headache clinic. In January, 2013, I was having a lot of dizziness.  I went to my family doctor and had many tests done to determine the cause of this dizziness. I even went as far as an MRI of my brain, and everything came out fine. My family doctor referred me to Dr. Teixido. After a short visit, I was diagnosed with migraines. Never experiencing a headache, I was surprised to hear migraines. I responded very well to the medication with no dizziness for six months.

I worked closely with the nurse practitioner in Dr Teixido’s office, Mark Landis, to find treatment options that worked for me. Dr. Teixido’s treatment went above and beyond basic medical care. They listened and cared about me. The staff also contributed to the warm environment, and I felt good to be treated here.”

Dr. Teixido is a Delaware native and practices at ENT & Allergy of Delaware.  He is the director of the Balance and Mobility Center of Christiana Care, the Cochlear Implant Program of Christiana Care and of the Delaware Otologic Medicine and Surgery Fellowship training program. He teaches ear medicine and surgery regularly at Thomas Jefferson University where he is Assistant Professor, at the University of Pennsylvania, and at Drexel  University, as well as nationally and internationally.

Mark Landis MSN, RN, FNP practices at ENT & Allergy of Delaware. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing in 1997 and his Master’s Degree and Family Nurse Practitioner certification in 2005 from University of Delaware. Mark regularly attends national conferences on headache. He is a member of the American Headache Society and the American Academy
of Nurse Practitioners.

For more information about migraine simply Google: Teixido  Migraine.

Dr. Teixido, MD, and Mark Landis MSN, RN, FNP  see patients at ENT & Allergy of Delaware, Suite 210, 1941 Limestone Road, Wilmington, Delaware. Call 302 998-0300 for an evaluation.

Mark Landis MSN, RN, FNP also sees patients at ENT & Allergy of Delaware’s other locations

• Glasgow Medical Center, 2600 Glasgow Ave. suit 101 Newark , DE 19702

• Foulkstone Plaza, 1401 Foulk Road. Suite 205 Wilmington, DE 19803