I have finally seven months down the line been diagnosed with meneires disease, anyone else out there have this and how do you cope and what medication do you have to help with the symptoms it would be nice to have some support.
My next door neighbor and I were commiserating about Vertigo just after my last attack. At that point I wasn't sure of what I had. He has Meniere's and has had for a long time. He uses the Scopolamine patch, keeps anti-nausea suppositories on hand, and watches salt intake--takes some diuretic pills for it. But those are prescribed for him, as are the supps. The disease doesn't hold him back from living a normal (?) life. He races cars and climbs up on top of houses in his construction job.
Menieres disease is when the individual has attacks of vertigo and dizziness which can last for days, weeks and months, sometimes years, but then there is complete recovery til the next attack. Hearing loss is a main symptom of menieres and thats how they usually diagnose it. My friends mother HAD it, she hasnt had a vertigo attack in over 6 years and is completey symptom free, besides hearing loss. She had went to a naturalpath doc and helped her with this disease.
Cathybe, do you have any hearing loss? What symptoms do you have that lead your doctor to diagnose you with menieres....
Yes I do have hearing loss in my left ear v bad tinnitus all the time and ear pressure and fullness before each attack I was diagnosed with vertigo 7 years ago and tinnitus 2 years ago
Awe so sorry, I was hoping you were miss diagnosed!! Cathybe try a natural approach, I am the type of person to try anything for a cure. As I said before, my friends mom was dx with this disease and went to a natural path doc and is totally fine today!! It took a while for it to go, but it did.
I was diagnosed with Meniere's Disease in February of this year by my general doctor. He referred me to a head and neck surgeon and I finally saw him on May 23rd. He immediately put me on a low salt/sodium diet. No more than 1500mg of salt a day which is a little less than 3/4 teaspoon. He also scheduled me for a balance test on July 30th and an audiogram test. Since I have been on this very low salt diet, I have gone 51 days sympton free. However, this morning I awoke and was dizzy while still in bed. I just closed my eyes and laid there very still for a couple of minutes and it went away and I have been fine all day. Being on a low sodium/salt diet is a lot of work, but well worth it. The positive side of this low sodium/salt diet is being able to control the severity of these vertigo attacks which seems to be working for me. I have also lost 10 lbs. and feel so much better. I have to cook everything from scratch, constantly read labels, but I have come to the conclusion that if the food is in paper, plastic, cardboard, glass or styrofoam....I cannot eat it. Also, eating out at restaurants is out of the question. After reading labels and checking foods for almost two months now, I am very amazed at how much salt is in foods...even something simple like canned beans or ketchup or tomato sauce. But, I am used to this new way of eating now and I know what I can have and what I have to stay away from. I enjoy cooking, thank goodness, so this hasn't been so difficult for me to do. I wish you well.
I have Menieres. I don't really do anything for it. My symptoms have cooled off a little. It seems that a good month has gone by without any severe vertigo or dizziness. I just deal with it day by day.
I was diagnosed with Meniere's Disease in February of this year by my general doctor. He referred me to a head and neck surgeon and I finally saw him on May 23rd. He immediately put me on a low salt/sodium diet. No more than 1500mg of salt a day which is a little less than 3/4 teaspoon. He also scheduled me for a balance test on July 30th and an audiogram test. Since I have been on this very low salt diet, I have gone 51 days sympton free. However, this morning I awoke and was dizzy while still in bed. I just closed my eyes and laid there very still for a couple of minutes and it went away and I have been fine all day. Being on a low sodium/salt diet is a lot of work, but well worth it. The positive side of this low sodium/salt diet is being able to control the severity of these vertigo attacks which seems to be working for me. I have also lost 10 lbs. and feel so much better. I have to cook everything from scratch, constantly read labels, but I have come to the conclusion that if the food is in paper, plastic, cardboard, glass or styrofoam....I cannot eat it. Also, eating out at restaurants is out of the question. After reading labels and checking foods for almost two months now, I am very amazed at how much salt is in foods...even something simple like canned beans or ketchup or tomato sauce. But, I am used to this new way of eating now and I know what I can have and what I have to stay away from. I enjoy cooking, thank goodness, so this hasn't been so difficult for me to do. I wish you well.
my neurotologist told me that he thought i had meniere's, but wasn't 100% positive. so, he told me to cut down on salt and gave me diuretic pills--that i am supposed to begin tomorrow. i was curious, do you have certain things that you can eat, or some ideas that you can share as far as the low salt diet?? i'm willing to try this, but i have no clue as where to begin...he didn't really stress it that much--can you give me any ideas?
i'm due back in 3 weeks, and if this steps don't help, he wants to do a c/t scan on my inner ear for another possible problem. he also told me there are quite a few surgeries for this as well, anyone heard of that?
thanks a bunch if you can give me some recipe or food ideas...or what to look for
My doctor started me out by having me purchase a book "The Complete Book of Food Counts" by Corinne T. Netzer. It gives information on all foods fresh, canned, or prepared in a restaurant in regard to calories, fat, fiber, and SODIUM. If you do not want to spend the money for this book, you can find just about the same information on the web probably by googling "no salt foods" or something like that. You have to read labels for sodium content in the foods you are going to eat. All canned foods have sodium in them and they are very high in sodium. I was able to find tomato sauce, canned tomatoes, and canned tuna fish with no salt added to them which helps me in my cooking. Morton salt makes a no sodium salt substitute you can buy in the spice isle of your grocery store next to real salt. I went to a health food store and found no sodium baking powder. I have had no problem limiting my sodium intake to less than 1500mg per day......usually below 1000mg per day. Here is what I will eat on one particular day....Breakfast, cooked oatmeal with raisens and walnuts with 1/2 cup homemade applesauce and honey on top. All of this was about 6mg of sodium. Lunch, one can of tunafish (No salt added) including liquid, 1/2 cup frozen peas (look for no salt added) and 1/3 cup water, add Morton no salt to taste, pepper, and any spices you want with no sodium in them. Bring to a simmering boil, add 1/4 cup wheat cous cous (from Trader Joes), stir to mix, turn off heat, cover with lid and let rest for 5 minutes. Then fluff with fork. This is a delicious lunch and very filling and only 125mg of sodium (tunafish) I eat fresh fruit for dessert. Dinner, I might make a spagetti sauce with ground lean turkey which only has 80 mg of sodium per 4 oz serving, onions, garlic, red and green bell peppers, mushrooms no salt added canned tomato sauce and no salt added canned diced tomatoes. I add dried oregano, dried Italian seasonings, Morton no salt, pepper....any spices you like. Simmer for at least an hour. I usually make a big pot of this sauce and then freeze portions in small containers for future meals. I pour my sauce over wheat pasta (Trader Joes) There is no salt in pasta, but always check the labels. I couldn't find my sodium count on this recipe, but it is probably around 150mg. For dessert, I put 1/2 block of firm tofu into a blender, add 1 cup of soy milk, 2 frozen bananas, 2 or 3 hand fulls of frozen strawberries, and 1/2 of a small container of berry flavored Crystal Light. Whirl this up in your blender...pushing down the frozen fruit to get blended. This has been such a special treat for me. It makes about 3 servings and I eat one and and freeze the other two in small containers for future. Each serving has about 55mg of sodium. So you can see from this one day menu, I was able to get my sodium intake way down. I have also made myself soups, pancakes, chili, other pasta dishes, tortilla wraps, different cereals, polenta with a chicken sauce over it, pizza.....so I really don't feel deprived. However, eating out is another story because all the food in restaurants are highly salted. I am able to go to Subway and get a veggie sandwich because I can control what goes into it. I hope this all helps you get started on your low/sodium diet. I do not take any medications and prefer not to. If I can control this Meniere's Disease by diet alone, I would rather do that. Please let me know if this works for you or if I can give you any other information.
he wants to do a c/t scan on my inner ear for another possible problem.
He is looking for a superior canal dehiscence. It's basically a missing or thinned portion of the temporal bone surrounding the inner ear. It usually causes pressure and sound-induced vertigo. Even those who have it quite severely sometimes choose not to have surgery, as the brain needs to be moved to do the repair. Not necessarily high risk, but hopefully they will find a better way soon without moving the brain.
thank you so much earthangel, that definitely gives me more insight! did you never take any diuretics? this is my second day, and i don't know if it's doing anything. he said give it around 1-2 weeks for some people. i just hate taking more medicine!
adamw...i definitley don't have the funds or like the sound of doing that type of surgery...sounds pretty frightening. let's hope everyone will find an answer they need!
well, the dr wasn't 100% sure it was meniere's at this point. i dont have insurance, so he told me to try the diuretics first until my follow-up in 3 weeks--then he wants to do a ct scan of my inner ear. unfortunately, in my case, they are still unsure if it's meniere's, and if that's the case, i have no clue how i would have gotten it. sorry i cant be of more help
anyone else been given a diuretic to try to help this, or heard of that?????
Last edited by alexiwildchild; 07-19-2007 at 06:17 PM.
Yes, I know of two people with Meniere's who take a diuretic. One takes it every day..... from all I've read on the subject, a diuretic is not that uncommon.
When I thought I had M's, that person told me he takes hydrochlorat 12.5mg a day. He also said HCTZ 50-Triamerene was too strong for him at 75 mg.
[QUOTE=alexiwildchild;3108510] thank you so much earthangel, that definitely gives me more insight! did you never take any diuretics? this is my second day, and i don't know if it's doing anything. he said give it around 1-2 weeks for some people. i just hate taking more medicine!
Alexiwildchild: No, my doctor never mentioned any medication/diuretics to me at all. He wanted to see first if I could control the severity of the vertigo attacks with a low sodium diet. So far I am 59 days and it is working for me with this low sodium diet. I prefer not to take any medication at all. I would highly recommend to all who suffer from Menieres Disease to give a low sodium diet a chance for at least a couple of months to see if the severity of your attacks decreases. This low sodium diet is not supposed to "cure" Menieres Disease, it is supposed to decrease the severity of the attacks. I wish you all the best.
ok....i'm a little confused. the dr said he thought i have meniere's disease, but wasn't fore sure. i noticed you talk about attacks. i feel like i wake up and am constantly unsteady/dizzy for the entire day---no relief. is that more like vertigo/labrynthitis or vestibular neurontis???? i've been trying to research, but i haven't quite got the answers yet. noticed many people here with just vertigo sound more like what i'm experiencing, with it being all the time-not just attacks.
alexi,
do you have hearing loss? an audiogram would determine any hearing loss very quickly (and you'd notice it - its often in the speech range to start with).
menieres cannot be diagnosed without hearing loss. that does not mean it can be excluded, since your hearing might start to decline over the next few months... but until there is documented hearing loss (and it comes very quickly after the vertigo starts, if not immediately), menieres is out of the question completely.
alexi,
do you have hearing loss? an audiogram would determine any hearing loss very quickly (and you'd notice it - its often in the speech range to start with).
menieres cannot be diagnosed without hearing loss. that does not mean it can be excluded, since your hearing might start to decline over the next few months... but until there is documented hearing loss (and it comes very quickly after the vertigo starts, if not immediately), menieres is out of the question completely.
Adam
I get episodal attacks of dizziness (not true spinning vertigo), and it knocks me down for 4-5 days. Can't get out of bed. These attacks usually happen in the late fall...winter...and spring months. Starting last October and running through this past April I had 6 attacks. They come on very slowly usually over a period of several hours...during which time I can function but I know w/in a few hours I'll have to lie down in a dark room and I get very nauseas and in most cases throw up. Once it finally sets in, I'm out for several days...just stay in a dark room and wait it out...no food and only small sips of water...that's all I can do. This started about 7 years ago or so and my hearing actually has not gotten worse. I just had another hearing test at work done in early June and my hearing has gotten slightly better than 2 years ago. I'm assuming Meniere's can be ruled out for me?? I saw a Neuroto a few years ago and he was completely worthless...just prescribed me Valium and sent me on my way...he called it recurring labs????
alexi,
do you have hearing loss? an audiogram would determine any hearing loss very quickly (and you'd notice it - its often in the speech range to start with).
menieres cannot be diagnosed without hearing loss. that does not mean it can be excluded, since your hearing might start to decline over the next few months... but until there is documented hearing loss (and it comes very quickly after the vertigo starts, if not immediately), menieres is out of the question completely.
Adam
i've had two hearing tests done since this started going on 6 weeks ago. first ent said my hearing was great. the neuroto did one as well, but didn't tell me much about the results. i don't feel like i've lost any hearing, but more like my ears are full and they have air blocked (like when you are on a plane and can't pop your ears). i figured at this point, if it were meniere's, i would have had some sort of hearing loss as well (from what i've read). my ears are sometimes more sensitive to loud noises right now though, but that has eased in the last few weeks as my anxiety is getting more under control.
i think it's more along the lines of labyrinthitis myself...but what do i know
This started about 7 years ago or so and my hearing actually has not gotten worse. I just had another hearing test at work done in early June and my hearing has gotten slightly better than 2 years ago. I'm assuming Meniere's can be ruled out for me?? I saw a Neuroto a few years ago and he was completely worthless...just prescribed me Valium and sent me on my way...he called it recurring labs????
Yep, definitely not consistent with Menieres - not diagnosable as such anyway according to the American Academy of Otolaryngology criteria anyway.
Have you tried to see another neurotologist since? May be worthwhile. If it's been going on for 7 years, it might be migraine-related. Do you have anything else that would be consistent with migraine? (like visual snow/spots/flashing lights etc., light sensitivity, headaches/head pressure?)
Menieres Disease 
thanks again
