Re: Ménière's Disease.....

[edward_4576]

Martin,
I too have tinnitus and I have an uncle who has Menieres. I know that my uncle was able to get medication to help him. As for me I usually have to keep some background noise to help me sleep. My problems change on some days it's not too bad on others it's worse. I'll keep you in my thoughts..

[RNKaren]

In the hospital we treat the vertigo associated with Meniere's with a drug called meclizine. Very effective. I haven't heard of anything to help with tinnitus, though. That one is a challenge....

Good luck to you. :-/

[wr]

my dad has it and some meds work for some people and not for others. In his case it was extremely severe and he's found great relief from acupuncture and a herbal treatment from his acupuncturist. I have no idea what he's taking and he's not sure either but swears it looks like something swept off the bottom of a birdcage that he makes into a tea. My uncle has had great luck with the ordinary air sickness patches but his is also not as severe as my father. I do wish you well because it is a terrible thing to deal with and encourage you to carry a cell phone or let someone know where you're at. My father's spells were so severe that he had to make some radical changes in his lifestyle. He also tells me that he can't fly on a commercial airplane because the cabin pressure seems to bring on a severe incident.

[Faye]

My neighbor and friend's husband has it. He had some kind of surgery but I think sometimes has problems. He sometimes gets sick at night just by turning over in the bed. He says he is so dizzy it makes him very sick.

[wr]

There is surgery available but it works in some cases (your doctor would be able to advise you) but the surgery is not a permanent cure, if you are a candidate, you need to do some homework, we were told that it would need to be redone ever 3 - 10 years. I do know someone who's had the surgery and she's very happy with it but recovery was a bit difficult and it's been 3 years. Another thing to know about the condition is that some people will have terrible and frequent bouts of dizziness forever and others will have the symptoms leave as abruptly as they showed up. It's a terrible condition for anyone that has it and quite stressful. Try and document the frequency and severity of the spells and see if you can find anything that brings them on. Some have managed to control them by adjusting their diet to eliminate caffeine, nicotine, chocolate and such. The surgery is a reasonable option but in my opinion, should be considered after all else has been explored.

[StephiLou]

AA,

My Aunt has it as well. She was very independent and now is stuck in the house because she cannot drive. :( She is starting to get some relief now. I will e-mail her and ask her what she is one now. She all but gave up "regular" meds and was going homeopathic last I heard. I will post as soon as I hear something.

Will kepp you in our prayers for improved health! :)

Steph

[edward_4576]

Martin,
I've ran across something that may help but you'll want to talk to your Dr. about it:

http://www.drhoffman.com/page.cfm/441

[JakeLeg]

my mother in law has had it for about 7 or 8 years.

i don't know how bad yours is, but she has - in addition to the hearing related problems - equilibrium loss (she has fallen on the steps), car sickness (related to the equilibrium problem)

she tried to have en experimental operation a couple years back, but it did nothing.

she staves it off with a diet with the minimal amount of sodium possible (has something to do with water retention), plus she is on 2 medecations: a diuretic, and another one recently that i don't know the specifics.

plus, she had to get hearing aids.

it's one of those things that i don't think there's a cure for, but it can be made livable with careful lifestyle changes.

[CarolAnn]

Re, Edward's link for lipoflavinoids - I too have tintinus, but it hasn't been diagnosed as anything yet, and I found the same ad while doing internet research. I went to the Walmart pharmacy and requested it, and they sent for it for me. The bottle was $40.

It's a marketing gimic, as all it contained was a well-balanced dose of vitamin B, and vitamin C with bioflavinoids. The two bought together from a good health food store would have been less than $15.

The good news is that after that bottle was gone, I kept taking supplements off the shelf for B vitamins and natural vitamin C and the tintinus has gotten a bit better. When I stop taking the supplements, it comes back - very loud, and very distracting, even waking me up at night like a hundred whistles of different pitches.

Martin, I know you're a whiz at internet research so I hope you'll keep looking for answers! This development has to be really alarming, but don't give up - the vitamins might take away at least some of the problem, and aren't something that would react badly if you get meds from the doc.

[alma]

I am so sorry to learn that you are suffering from this horrible disease. I don't know how you stand it. My heart goes out to you.

It bothered me so much that i checked it out in an old fashioned book of mine and will tell you what it said, just a little from this one book, and will check out other possible things from others later.
"miracle medicine foods" by rex adams.

You have to check with docs with any sudden loss of hearing. It may be caused by infections, clots, or poor circulation, or meniere's disease.

One person was helped with:
low chloresterol, low carbo diet.

One person was helped by this:
Ncotinicacid (a B vitamin). high doses for artery wideing effect,and tendency to reduce chloresteral, low fat diet.
B vitamins include liver, wheat germ and brewers yeast. unsaturated veg oils, two of best are olive oil and soy bean oil which contains important fat disolver, lecithin.

Another was helped with:
low fat diet, lean meats, fresh fruits and veggies, no butter, eggs, cream grravy, starches or processed cheese.

Another:
used lots of soybean lethicin, improves circulation, cleans out fat-encrusted veins and arteries.

Another:
puncture garlic oil tab and put drop in ear with a little cotton swab to hold it in.

Another was helped by a drop of onion juice in ear three times a week. later used only once every week or 10 days.

Will check out other books for any info that may just possibly help, but can only hope at best. love, alma

[alma]

My daughter said she had ringing in her ears years ago and an ear specialist said she would have it all her life.
She went to a regular doc who told here to use benedryl and it worked for her, probably because some kind of moisture must have caused her specific problem.
I guess it depends upon what your unique problem is, but if i had it, i would be grasping at straws and tryng everything until one finally worked, i'd hope. love, alma

[CarolAnn]

Martin,
I had no clue how awful this disease is until my sister was diagnosed with it. It came up suddenly while she was at work and she couldn't even stand up.

The doc gave her a couple of shots before the vertigo and vomiting would stop. Now she knows when it's coming on and takes a pill. She said she gets about 3-4 hours warning of feeling "off" before it gets bad, so she has time to get a pill down and start working. Sometimes she looses 100% of her hearing, but it comes back. Scary, though, not knowing when it will strike, and it's dangerous to drive with it.

Her hearing came back last night after taking a water pill, so some of it seems to be related to water retention.

Stress makes it worse, so that would explain why vitamin B seems to help; B vitamins are used by the body when it's under stress.

I hope you're having a good fight against this condition, Martin! At least you should be exposed to good air and food on your farm, better than if you were in a city! Keep us posted as to what you learn & how you're doing, OK?

[AlchemyAcres]

I've been almost totally incapacitated for the last week.
I don't know what to do about it.

What's really strange is....I can't handle heights any more at all.....not even pictures or videos of heights..... without feeling dizzy.....isn't that weird???


My short term memory gets real bad when I have these spells.

Did I mention that my short term memory sucks? LOL


~Martin ;)

[nhlivefreeordie]

Lynn's cousin that we had dinner with last week in Harrisburg was diagnosed with this many years ago, and they have it under control, I don't know what all was involved for her, but she did stop having adult beverages for one.

[backlash]

I've been almost totally incapacitated for the last week.
I don't know what to do about it.

What's really strange is....I can't handle heights any more at all.....not even pictures or videos of heights..... without feeling dizzy.....isn't that weird???


My short term memory gets real bad when I have these spells.

Did I mention that my short term memory sucks? LOL


~Martin ;)

I have never heard of Ménière's Disease before.
I've had several bouts of vertigo lately. Also one several years ago.
My ears have been ringing for about 40 years and my hearing is really bad.
That is due to my work in the Navy.
Like you I cannot deal with heights at all.
I look away if it's on TV and even pictures of high places give me a weird feeling.
I also cannot lay on my left side for very long at a time.
I get nauseous.
Short term memory is bad.
I sometimes start to read the same comic twice before I realize I just read it.
I have always just chalked it up to getting older.
Maybe if I ever go to the Dr. again I'll bring it up.
If I remember.
Nurse Karen is right about meclizine. I take it if I get the least bit dizzy.

[nhlivefreeordie]

Did I mention that my short term memory sucks? LOL


~Martin ;)

Mine too, but I believe the cause was the 70s.....:D

[neparose]

My BF has it. The first time she had an attack they called the ambulance. She was on the floor in convulsions,{so it appeared] vomiting and gray skinned. The medics thought she was stroking out and almost gave her a heart shot. Thank god they didnt. She said the closest thing she could think of to describe it is spinning around in a swing when you were a kid. You spun it as tight as it would go and let loose. An attack is like the bottom of the spin when the swing is unwound. Only it dont stop spinning. She cant take elevators, ceiling fans or rides at the amusement park. She cant look out the sides of the car windows because of the motion of the telephone posts going past. She had to go to an ear specialist to be diagnosed, and there is medication you can take for it, cant remember the name. She hasnt had an attack for a long time now, about 10 years. The disease is also inherited. She seems to keep hers at bay by not doing anything to trigger an attack. Definately look into that medication and wearing a med. braclet might not be a bad idea either. I will be praying for you to feel better.
rose

[Laura]

My old doc told me I had Ménière's Disease.
Prescribed me all kinds of drugs.

I had allergies.
I was having a reaction to the Cammomile that I was drinking (tea) to help calm me down. I am allergic to cammomile.
I was also having an allergic reaction to the wood burning in my fireplace. There was mold on the wood....and I am allergic to the mold.

I read in several places that honey in the raw, from a hive within 50 miles of your home, is the best medicine. It is made from the flowers / weeds closest to my home, and by eating it, my body built an immunity to these allergies.

I still cannot drink Cammomile (or spell it ha ha) but I can burn a fire in the fire place, and the insane dizziness and ringing went away. It took about 3 weeks, but it was GONE, and has never returned. That was 5 years ago.

[Anon001]

I, too, have Meniere's. However, mine is not bad and never has been as most. A few years back, I went to the ER because I didn't know what was happening. The doctor on call prescribed a medication. I can feel the pressure building in the ears and the ringing and when those symptoms start and happen at the same time, I'm to take one of the pills. It takes it about 20 minutes, but I've never had a full scale problem since then. However, there are the times when I feel as though I'm about to start "spinning", without the pressure and ringing. When it happens like that, it never materializes to a full bout of dizziness. The only time it does is if I feel the pressure and hear the ringing and fail to get my pill.

The way the doc described it to me was that a person can be sitting and their brain gets the message from the inner ear that they are moving,... fast. Or... a person is moving and the brain thinks they are either sitting or standing still.

I do feel the pressure build in my ears fairly often and I hear ringing on a regular basis. Thank goodness for the pills.

Paul

[AlchemyAcres]

Turns out...it was an ear infection that made things so dreadful this time around!!!!

The constant feeling that the earth is not just spinning, but spinning to the LEFT is damn scary!!!! LOL




~Martin

[neparose]

Martin,
Thank goodness! I couldnt imagine having to deal with the disease let alone cranking it up a notch with the infection! Glad your doing better!
rose