11-18-2015, 04:52 PM
I was diagnosed with the same two options in March, but my symptons were much worse-the hearing in one ear sounded like a broken car speaker, and at times I was staggering due to loss of balance. I threw up a couple of times due to vertigo. And today I'm about 95% healed. Some advice based on my experience:
Don't let them give you oral steroids. They will fck up your body. In my case, I started to develop cataracts-a known side effect, but the first doc didn't even say a word about it.
I switched docs. The new doc said "We can give you just a little steroid injection through your eardrum--no systemic problems. And you have to severely limit your intake of sodium--no eating unless you know how much salt is coming in."
I tried the limited salt diet for a while, and it helped a little bit. Then I did some research. Here are my conclusions; your mileage may very.
Nobody knows what's going on with Meniere's-not what causes it, not what cures it. Many folks get relief with a sodium limited diet, so that's worth trying. The second doc also gave me a mild diuretic, and that really helped. I'm still taking it, but not everyday anymore.
I'm convinced that at least for me, and probably for many others, Meniere's is stress-related. Studies show a direct correlation between the stress hormone, cortisol, and incidents of Meniers's. Interestingly, there's no such correlation between high blood pressure and Meniere's.
So I took steps to reduce my stress. First thing was to look at how I was taking on stress, by agreeing to commitments that I really didn't feel were right--i.e., not standing up for mself (again, YMMV-your stress causes may be different). Then I saw a superb acupunturist; not just someone who has the certificate, but someone who is a profound expert--people fly her around the world to teach. After seeing her for about 3 months, I got dramatic improvement.
Summary: No to steroids, yes to diuretics, find out ASAP how you're stressing yourself and fix it, and find the best acupunturist you can. It worked really, really well for me--I feel very fortunate and even blessed. Good luck!
Don't let them give you oral steroids. They will fck up your body. In my case, I started to develop cataracts-a known side effect, but the first doc didn't even say a word about it.
I switched docs. The new doc said "We can give you just a little steroid injection through your eardrum--no systemic problems. And you have to severely limit your intake of sodium--no eating unless you know how much salt is coming in."
I tried the limited salt diet for a while, and it helped a little bit. Then I did some research. Here are my conclusions; your mileage may very.
Nobody knows what's going on with Meniere's-not what causes it, not what cures it. Many folks get relief with a sodium limited diet, so that's worth trying. The second doc also gave me a mild diuretic, and that really helped. I'm still taking it, but not everyday anymore.
I'm convinced that at least for me, and probably for many others, Meniere's is stress-related. Studies show a direct correlation between the stress hormone, cortisol, and incidents of Meniers's. Interestingly, there's no such correlation between high blood pressure and Meniere's.
So I took steps to reduce my stress. First thing was to look at how I was taking on stress, by agreeing to commitments that I really didn't feel were right--i.e., not standing up for mself (again, YMMV-your stress causes may be different). Then I saw a superb acupunturist; not just someone who has the certificate, but someone who is a profound expert--people fly her around the world to teach. After seeing her for about 3 months, I got dramatic improvement.
Summary: No to steroids, yes to diuretics, find out ASAP how you're stressing yourself and fix it, and find the best acupunturist you can. It worked really, really well for me--I feel very fortunate and even blessed. Good luck!