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High dose Betahistine and Diazide

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julie05708
julie05708

My son was diagnosed about 5 years ago with this horrible disease.  However, after endless tests they finally said that it was Menieres as apparently they kept telling us he was too young, he was 15 at the time. He's had a rough few years with this illness and he went bilateral with it about 18 months ago. The consultant at the last visit told him to increase his dose of Betahistine to 96mg three times a day to get control of his symptoms. Although he still had awful tinnitus and his hearing was bad, he generally was fairly stable for 7 months on this dose. Just after Christmas he had a sinus infection and although he seems to have cleared that, the Menieres has come back with avengence. His hearing is really bad and the tinnitus is driving him crazy, but also the dreaded dizzy spells have returned. 

The consultant told my son, if he couldn't control with the high dose of Betahistine, to try taking Diazide. My son is reluctant to come off the Betahistine as he says to some extent he has it reasonably controlled with this. What we are wondering is, can he add the Diazide to such a high dose of Betahistine and has anyone on here had success with this combination? ( Well as successful as can be with Menieres). We are going back to the doctors next week to discuss this, but wondered what other sufferers have experience with these meds. Thanks in advance. 

0 likes, 6 replies

6 Replies

  • donna16710
    donna16710 julie05708

    Posted

    I am hazarding a guess here knowing how both medications work. Your son should be able to start taking the dyazide with the betahistine and he may even be able to slowly drop the dosage of the betahistine. Has your doc ever discussed the steroid injections in the ear? From what I have picked up from others, most peopel have good results. There are a few who, sadly, do not respond. I hope for the best for your son.
    • julie05708
      julie05708 donna16710

      Posted

      Thank you for the reply. I thought maybe he could do that too, so we will talk to the doctor about that one. When we saw the consultant last time, he said that as he's still young and they like to go down the medicine route first. However, I've read about the injections in the ear but unfortunately he's had a really bad reaction to steroids so we are avoiding using them. I believe there is an alternative to steroids though Gentamicin but I'm not sure what the success rate is with that one. Unfortunately it's trail and error with this horrible illness isn't it and just when you think you've got it under control, it rears its horrible head again. My son gets so fed up with it, especially at the moment because his hearing is so bad, but he's coming around to the idea of hearing aids now, so fingers crossed they might help. There's mixed reviews on hearing aids too though so we shall see. Thanks once again for your message and good luck to you for the future. 

    • donna16710
      donna16710 julie05708

      Posted

      The steroids will stay very local when injected in the ear, steroids given orally do tend to cause problems. Gentamycin is a very toxic drug to the ears, for me, I would rather preserve what hearing I have. I am not sure about hearing aids either. Some people use them to help suppress the tinnitis-it is just background noise for me as I had it long before I developed meiniers. I initially was started on dyazide as betahistine is not readily available here in the US. It has worked well for me. Has he ever done any kind of vestibular rehab therapy. Most people have good results, it trains the brain to adjust to all the changes associated with the meiniers. Hopefully you will get he answers you both need to make a decisions that will work for your son.
    • julie05708
      julie05708 donna16710

      Posted

      That's interesting to know Donna, as he had a very bad reaction to oral steroids and if it helps to preserve the little hearing he has it might be worth discussing it with the consultant. Yes, he had vestibular rehab training quite a few years ago when he was going through a really bad time and his balance was poor, due to continuous vertigo attacks. He found this helped quite a lot so we got the exercises out yesterday to do again, to see if that helps this time. I'm glad to hear you had good results also with the Diazide as that's the next route the consultant wanted him to try. 

      Thanks for getting back to me and best wishes to you on your Menieres journey

       

  • JMJ
    JMJ julie05708

    Posted

    Hi. Julie,

    I'm so sorry to hear about your son.  That's a terribly young age to be suffering so, with this disease.  It can't be easy for either of you.

    Dyazide is a diuretic that works by dumping a certain amount of salt from the body.  Typically, that's one of the first drugs given in the conservative treatment of MD, along with a recommendation of a low sodium diet. 

    I'm honestly not sure how betahistine and Dyazide interract, or if there are any issues to consider, while being on both.  They work very differently, so I'm guessing that there wouldn't be a problem.  But always check with your doc if you have any question at all. 

    Also, I agree with Donna...It might be a good time to investigate inner ear injections with steroids.  I have experienced much success with them, but no success whatsoever with medications, alone.  Also, if there's any chance of preventing future hearing loss with your son, it might provide him with a better chance — The amount of damage to the hearing is directly related to the number of incidences of "hydrops"...or Meniere's Episodes where the inner ear is overloaded with fluid. They injections calm the inflamed inner ear, and prevent the recurrence of hydrops.  It takes a while to kick in, but for me, it has been worth it.  They don't work for everyone, but if you can be patient with the process, it might be worth a try.

    Meniere's is a progressive disease, so it's no surprise that it would return after some months of relief.  But upper respiratory infections are also, for some reason, a big trigger.  After 3 months of complete relief from all symptoms (after a course of steroid injections) I came down with the flu and sinusitus, and then pneumonia....and my MD episodes returned with a vengeance.  I'm just getting back into the game after a second series of injections.   

    I wish you and your son the very best of luck.

    Sincerely,

    J-

     

    • julie05708
      julie05708 JMJ

      Posted

      Thank you for getting back to me. I'm so sorry you've been so poorly, especially when you were doing so well and hope you are feeling better now. My son has the same problem as soon as he picks up an infection the Menieres kicks in. Thank you also for explaining to me about how the injections can help, as that all makes sense now because with every episode his hearing gets worse. We will definitely discuss that with the consultant when we see him. I think the Gentamicin is an antibiotic I believe, so I'm not sure of the success rate of that procedure. 

      It has been a difficult time for him especially having to go through it so young and its horrible for us, as parents seeing him having to go through this and so many of his plans get cancelled because he's not well. 

      I've spent hours researching Menieres, looking for success stories so it's  good to hear from people who have had some positive results. 

      Many, many thanks for the advice and I wish you well for the future and I hope you remain well for a very long while. 

      J 

       

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