Meet our #WarriorOfTheWeek, April! Hear her #VSS story. ?
Spotlight on: April G. ♥️
“My name’s April & I developed VSS at 26 years old coming up on a year in June. It started the same time as other health issues & I wasn’t aware it wasn’t all related to the VS since there’s so little known about it, especially by the doctors I was seeing. I found a FB group & others like me, & started putting the pieces together. I’ve spent all of my time in & out of hospitals & specialists. I officially got a diagnosis in September of 2019 via neuro-ophthalmologist.
My health has declined or a new symptom has popped up every month since. I haven’t gone a day without intense pain & pressure in my head & neck for a year. I developed tmj, POTS-like symptoms, chronic fatigue, chest pains, tinnitus, light sensitivity, & IBS at the same time. It’s been the hardest year of my life & still don’t have a diagnosis besides VS, but now I’m on the road to seeing a neurosurgeon. It’s been overwhelming to have this all hit at once.
I take it ten seconds at a time. I spent a lot of time researching & talking to others trying to find answers & relief. I went from terror & derealization when I first developed it, constant panic attacks, too afraid to leave my house or drive, to hardly thinking about it at all (except right when I wake up & it’s extra awful…haha). CBD helped me a ton & kept me off anxiety medications. I recommend practicing mindfulness, meditation, going to therapy if you can, holding yourself to a routine, massage, breathing exercises, chanting to ground yourself. Also sunglasses & light blocking computer glasses are a must! I hold on tight to my loved ones, my cat, do things I love when I can, like doing makeup, cooking, flipping furniture, sewing, macrame & playing video games. I still work full time for a software company doing medical data entry. If you’re new to VS & feel like your world is crumbling, please know you won’t feel like this forever. Sending you all love.”
