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I may have Menieres, can you help...??

Posted , 11 users are following.

patrice56477
patrice56477

My GP and I think I may have Meniere's, but I'm still undergoing tests to verify. Can you good folks tell me if my symptoms sound familiar?

I've been experiencing short and infrequent dizzy spells for a few years now. If I'm driving, I stop to the side for a few mintutes until the spinning stops and I carry on. If I'm walking I drift to the left and struggle to keep from tripping, but the episodes are short. 

When it happens I tell myself I'll get checked out for tumours or something, but I return to normal and decide to not follow up on the checkup. 

In december an episode of vertigo brought me down to the washroom floor and I was unable to get up. Vomiting was part of this too. My wife called the EMTs who administered intravenous Gravol and took me to emerge. The emerge nurses asked me to rate my headache on a scale from 1 to 10, but I couldn't. Not because I was so disorientated I couldn't field questions, although I was very disorientated and didn't feel like fielding questions; but because it wasn't pain I was experiencing. It was sensation, a swelling, an I-don't-know-what.But it was accompanied by fear.

The worst, most awful part is the anxiety. Mild panic. I can't tell you which comes first, the dizzyness or the fear. It doesn't appear that the vertigo comes first and produce anxiety or that the anxiety causes the dizzyness. They seem to come on together and suddenly. I think the anxiety is a symptom as opposed to a byproduct.

 I've had tinnitus for several yrs but did nothing about it because nothing can be done about it anyways. But tomorrow I'm going for audio tests. I've had ECGs , bloodwork, ect. and am hoping to nail down whatever malady this is.

Does any of this sound familiar to anybody??

0 likes, 30 replies

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  • lana56327
    lana56327 patrice56477

    Posted

    Sounds like Meniere's to me.  The fear part I had as well.  The vertigo attacks were so violent for me, plus the vomiting.  My heart pounded, I sweat and I was so afraid at a gut level.  The after affects were similar too.  And no, you are not crazy.  Menieres is a sick inner ear.  Too much fluid in the inner ear that affects the nerves.  But since the inner ear and eyes work together to orient you and the brain is the one that tells you where you are in space, it does often feel like a mental and visual problem!!  The tests will rule out other issues and once they feel they can diagnose it definitely, you'll get more help with dealing with it.  Breathe!  And know that the symptoms most likely will ease over time.

    • patrice56477
      patrice56477 lana56327

      Posted

      Thnx all. I appreciate all your info and advice. When my GP suggested Meniere's I thought it sounded ominous, but now I'm thinking maybe if this is the worst affliction I'm ever going to get, I'll be fine. I expect a battery of tests are in store for me. When we have something concrete, I'll let y'all know. 

  • eleftherio33095
    eleftherio33095 patrice56477

    Posted

    If your audiogram shows frequency loss below 2,000 Hz, then it is possible that you have Meniere's disease.

    Eleftherios S. Papathanasiou, PhD, FEAN

    Clinical Neurophysiologist

    Fellow of the European Academy of Neurology

    • veronica20125
      veronica20125 eleftherio33095

      Posted

      I was diagnosed with Menieres after 3 esposides of vertigo and one hearing test in September 2016. By October 2016 after one try of a water pill then ending up in the hospital. I went back to my ENT and was referred to House Clinic. Appointment on 10/17 and surgery on scheduled on 10/24. My life has forever changed. I feel sick on a daily bases. Nauseous every daily, feeling of spinning daily, fatigue, lost of appetite (lost 40 lbs), blurred vision. Are these all symptoms of Menieres? Or a surgery gone all wrong. It's been 5 months of living hell. Doctor that performed the surgery will not see me anymore. I get headaches now and now first doctor refers me to see a doctor in the same off for headaches.

      I have 2 friends with MD and they both suggested I get attorney. That there was not enough testing done or attempts of treatment before surgery. I regret the surgery. Can you please help me to getting help for what happened to me

  • patrice56477
    patrice56477

    Posted

    Audiologist says my hearing "is within normal range" 

    When I told him I was there due to suspected Menieres he said there was "nothing of note" in my low frequencies. Hmmm.

    He also mentioned that early stages of Menieres may cause a fluctuation in hearing before settling on a significant hearing loss. Maybe I was on a good day.

    • patrick45945
      patrick45945 patrice56477

      Posted

      I went to my first ENT appt. recently and had the audio and air pressure tests and am scheduled for the balance test next, and then will follow up with ENT. 

      While I'm waiting, just had my second acupuncture treatment after reading of it's merits on this thread. While I think my hearing in the affected ear has improved, it wasn't the quick fix referenced in this thread.

      When I ask the acupuncturist how long and how many treatments will be needed, she says "everyone is different". Can't argue with that.

      I'd be interested in other's experiences with acupuncture to treat symptoms of MD.

    • patrice56477
      patrice56477 patrick45945

      Posted

      My one and only experience with acupuncture was during my most severe episode, the one where my wife found me on the floor and called the EMTs. Intrveneous gravol had already taken the edge off my vertigo but the acupunture administered by the attending emerge doctor also helped a lot. 

      This is in a different context than what you are asking, but i'm curious about the proactive treatment context you're talking about too.

    • patrick45945
      patrick45945 patrice56477

      Posted

      Proactive treatment context? You mean treating MD symptoms before being diagnosed with MD? Why not?
    • eleftherio33095
      eleftherio33095 patrice56477

      Posted

      True, the normal hearing in the low frequencies tends to argue against Meniere's disease.  Do you have seperate episodes of migraine?

      Eleftherios S. Papathanasiou, PhD, FEAN

      Clinical Neurophysiologist

      Fellow of the European Academy of Neurolog

    • patrice56477
      patrice56477 patrick45945

      Posted

      Sorry, I tought you were asking about acupuncture while the seas were calm and would it prevent future storms. I'm curious to this as well. My exposer to acupuncture was different. It was during high winds.

    • eleftherio33095
      eleftherio33095 patrice56477

      Posted

      It is therefore possible that you have Vestibular Migraine and not Meniere's disease.  Have you done calorics as well? (warm/cold water/air into each ear with eye movement recording).

      Eleftherios S. Papathanasiou, PhD, FEAN

      Clinical Neurophysiologist

      Fellow of the European Academy of Neurology

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