VERTIGO and food!

I have vertigo and have been struggling with it for about a year and a half. I finished an array of tests during the last couple of months and the results meant my neurologist said that I have 'central' vertigo. Because I've had migraines in the past he is having me try the drug protocol for Migraine associated vertigo, aka MAV. Still in process and will probably be adjusting my dosage upward next month in the hope of further relief. There's a pretty active MAV group on face book that you should check out.
I've noticed several bad vertigo days after eating multiple high sodium restaurant meals on the previous day (traveling or just by chance eating out several times in one day). Not sure about caffeine as a trigger, I still consume it and haven't noted a relationship. A bad night's sleep makes my symptoms escalate. Good luck

Also, have you seen a physical therapist who can teach you how to do VRT exercises? They are meant to help rebuild nerve pathways and accommodate your body to your vertigo plus exercises to improve your system of proprioception (balance). Those exercises didn't cure me but they really, really kept my constant nausea subdued and improved my balance. Super, super helpful.

I had vertigo once. Since I had no symptoms prior (only feeling dizzy/earth moving) and the treatment exercises worked, my GP said it was the type that's loose calcium deposits shifting. The majority of it went away after the GP diagnosis (she did the Dix-Hallpike test), but I felt off the next day. I haven't had it since, about 3-4 months ago.

For me it's usually when I'm sick and my ears get pressure and then usually related to some movement. The couple of times it happens it was after I rolled over in bed; so more attributed to some calcium deposits shifting. It's the worst feeling in the world! The exercises help me get to feeling back to normal.

I have vertigo a few times a year. It is definitely debilitating for me. I have narrowed my vertigo down to having sensitive ears. Like, being outside in the wind (I now wear ear bags on high windy days when cycling) and swimming/showering without ear plugs. Sorry, I have never connected my vertigo to food. I may have to start journaling it and look for a connection.

I was diagnosed with Meniere's Disease about 9 years ago. I used to smoke, but that was a trigger, so I quit. For me, it seems like there's not one huge trigger, but the combination of at least two or three triggers that would cause an attack. Stress, dehydration, caffeine, highly processed high-sodium foods (fast foods, ramen noodles, lunch meat), and hormones seem to be the main ones. I used to have severe attacks every month, but they have subsided to a minor attack every year or so. Exercise, stress management, and hydration have been incredibly instrumental in managing my Meniere's. I still have coffee every day and I still eat out every now and then, but I am always careful to stay hydrated. Best of luck to you!

I had vertigo for several years. Always in the left ear with pressure building followed by a full blown attack (vomiting, loss of balance). It started around 2008. I woke up one morning by rolling out of bed on my left side and I had a severe attack ending up in the hospital ER. I followed up with a neurologist and had testing done which was all inconclusive but I believe it's Meniere's Disease.

The neuro gave me the VRT exercises which did help when I felt an attack coming on. At first the exercises made the vertigo worse, but continuing them for 15 to 20 minutes eased the pressure in my ear and the vertigo subsided, although I sometimes ended up vomiting anyway. I took meclizine for the symptoms which knocked me out for the day always making me feel lethargic and sleepy.

Over the years the attacks have subsided considerably; in fact, I haven't had one in a couple of years. I've read that the attacks come in cycles with a severe attack initiating the problem then less severe attacks occurring after a period of time then an absence of attacks for a time and then the cycle begins again.

What really worked for me was lowering my sodium intake to 1500 mg or less every day and reducing my stress. No foods are triggers for me except for the sodium. I had a few migraines when I was young (20's,) but haven't even had a headache in about 30 years.

I believe that, in my case, it's fluid, a build up of calcium in the ear, and a particular eye movement which caused the attacks. Around the same time of my first attack I began having Tinnitus. The Vertigo is gone but I still have the Tinnitus.

I hope it never comes back; it's awful and debilitating but doctors have told me there is no cure but that it's not life threatening unless you fall and hit your head like @WickedPineapple related up thread.

My vertigo is migraine related and it comes out of nowhere, no warning. Sometimes it is horrible, knock you to the ground, oh snap, hurry up and pull onto the shoulder, get down before you fall down type stuff. Other times it is mild and lasts for 15-20 seconds and I only have to lean on a wall and be miserable until it passes. I also get lots of visual and sensory auras. Flashing lights, blind spots, double vision, numbness in my lips and fingertips, etc. Not at the same time as the vertigo, but if you also get any visual auras, your vertigo is most certainly migraine related even if you don't get headaches. Headaches are only one of the symptoms of migraine. Just like vertigo is one of the symptom of migraine.

These things bother me trigger-wise for migraines which could then increase the chance for vertigo: I avoid cheese of most any type. Mesquite bbq chips bother me. Strobe lights. Can't do certain rides at theme parks, 3-D stuff, that spatial disorientation is really uncomfortable when you have experienced it so often out of control. I notice spending too much time in front of PC or tablet can bring on issues as well.

I wish you the best.