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MD attack after three months

Posted , 6 users are following.

maria77273
maria77273

Last night had a very severe MD attack after 3 months. It had all the bells and whistles and hubby had to call dr in. Had a 20m Stemitil injection after already taking 10 before he came. Do not know what bought it on. Has anyone in the group just experienced this out of the blue not knowing what's caused it to such a degree. I thought the symptoms subside a little after so many episodes. I've had MD now for 18 mths. Take all the necessary precautions associated with it. Any ideas group. Still recovering from it now more than 24 hours since attack. Thanks everyone for any input. 

0 likes, 17 replies

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  • christine_35821
    christine_35821 maria77273

    Edited

    Hello Maria. Are you on any medication apart from Stemitil?  I take betahistine 24mg x 3 per day and am symptom free. I follow the obligatory low salt diet but don’t take any anti-emetics as I no longer have vertigo. I was diagnosed las July but was unhappy with the advice the ent doctor gave me which was to take betahistine when an attack is starting. I learned very quickly from this forum and my experience that you need to take it daily as it can take up to a month to stabilise attacks. I then sought out a specialist in Meniere’s and am now happily following his more knowledgeable advice with 3 monthly checks. Hopefully one day I will go into remission. The worst trigger for me last year was stress although it is hard not to be!  Even now I’m stable if I get stressed I feel the pressure rise in my ear and the tinnitus starts that irritating pulsing. Maybe you could see I different ent? I know how debilitating and depressing vertigo is. I wobbled out of the office to vomit on countless occasions and eventually retired. Good luck. Normality is possible!
    • maria77273
      maria77273 christine_35821

      Posted

      Hi Christine thanks for your info. Yes on Betahistine but have only taken 16x3 from the beginning. Am going back to ent in 6 weeks. Will ask him if I can up the dose and yes I have taken it religiously every day since then. I follow a very low salt diet and drink decaf coffee only occasionally. Wasn't even stressed at the time. So yes it was just out of the blue and of course the small amount of hearing seems to have diminished even more. Oh dear not sure. I would like to ask you what other precautions your ent suggested. Thanks again for replying. Great help. 

    • maria77273
      maria77273

      Posted

      Sorry Christine just checked my post. I meant to say I took 2 before dr came (not 10). 
    • christine_35821
      christine_35821 maria77273

      Posted

      Hi Maria. The other lifesaver for me is exercise. I’ve always been a fitness freak and have played squash 3 or 4 times a week all my adult life along with riding. Since being forced to retire from my job 8 have taken up hiking. I also do a Pilates class as I’m paranoid about my balance being compromised. I relax by reading and if there is anything that crops up that might cause me stress I deal with it straight away. For instance I was worrying about breaking some unpleasant news to a friend and this was sufficient to cause the wriggling worm feeling in my ear and louder tinnitus. I obviously don’t handle stress well. Mental de cluttering is what works for me. 
    • maria77273
      maria77273 christine_35821

      Posted

      Wow thanks Christine. The only exercise I do is some walking as I have arthritis. Not too bad. I did do Pilates last year for 6 weeks but gave it up as it was causing me all sorts of pain. I think perhaps the instructor was a bit aggressive. I should give it another go. If you don't mind me asking how old you are. You certainly are very healthy in exercising. I'm 65 but feel like 75 with this M and other health issues. 

    • christine_35821
      christine_35821 maria77273

      Posted

      Hi Maria. I will be 73 in 5 weeks time. Yes Pilates can be hard but a good instructor will always give alternative levels to perform to take into account age and health issues. My class has all ages and abilities and they return faithfully each week so must enjoy it. I’ve done it for 20 years. Arthritis is hard to deal with - my husband is severely afflicted and has had a new hip and knee. Perhaps a yoga class would be more appropriate?  There are many different types. 
    • christine_35821
      christine_35821 maria77273

      Posted

      Hi Maria. Just read your post about sleeping so a quick reply. I am a terrible sleeper and lay awake for hours with stupid irrelevant thoughts hence all the exercise!  It helps most times. 
    • maria77273
      maria77273 christine_35821

      Edited

      Congrats on being so fit at your age. I wish I could be that agile. Yes my sleeping is not great at all. Where do you live Christine. Do you have reasonable summers. I'm in Australia in Adelaide. 

    • christine_35821
      christine_35821 maria77273

      Posted

      I’m in Chelmsford Essex U.K.  Summers? Hmmm. Not sure about the reasonable. I visit oz every few years. Sister and loads of family in Lismore and Brisbane. I love it but so hot!
    • maria77273
      maria77273 christine_35821

      Posted

      Love the heat. My daughter has lived and works in London now for 8 years. Comes back nearly every year for holidays. She so misses the weather here. Know Brisbane through passing by and haven't been to Lismore but have done a fair bit of Qld. 

    • annie99600
      annie99600 maria77273

      Posted

      Hi Maria I also live in Adelaide and have been living with MD for 30 years.

  • Willow4
    Willow4 maria77273

    Posted

    That’s MD it just hits you out of the blue unfortunately.  May I ask what the injection you take is for? 
    • maria77273
      maria77273 Willow4

      Posted

      Hi Willow just out of the blue indeed. The injection is what I have when the Stemetil doesn't work. I've had it quite a few times now, twice when admitted to hospital with this dreadful MD. the injection is also Stemetil but at a much higher dose which this time was 20m. The injection works incredibly fast compared with the oral tablets which are only 5m each. I took 2 am hour before he came and he saw the state I was in and no hesitation giving me that dose. Did the trick along with the Valium. I was vomiting and vertigo in front of him so he certainly could see what I was up against. I trusted him completely with such a high dose as he said his father also had it for 10 years and is in remission. Wish he hadn't mentioned 10 years though. Will see how I go just wondering if its happened to anyone else with no apparent reason. Thanks for reply. 

  • NeddyO
    NeddyO maria77273

    Posted

    You do not say what, if any, medication you are on for MD control and prevention. I developed MD c5yrs ago and was put on high dose Betahistine - 48mg tds - which completely arrested the acute symptoms, calmed down the tinnitus and brought about a slight improvement in my hearing loss. After 6 months without an attack I was able to slowly wean off the betahistine and had a total of 21 months remission. Then the warning signs re-appeared, ear fullness, unstable tinnitus, some vertigo so straight back on high dose betahistine which seemed to work but after 6 weeks I had a vertigo attack whilst walking from car to shop which nearly led to a fall. It passed off quite quickly with the help of Buccastem. As a consequence I raised the betahistine dose to 64mg tds (consultant approved), weaned off once no attacks for 6 months and have had no more trouble to date.

    The statistics show that 75% of sufferers get better eventually so hold that thought.

    • maria77273
      maria77273 NeddyO

      Posted

      Hi Neddy thought you would read my reply to Christine. I've been on Betahistine 16x3 since being diagnosed 15 mths ago. Asking ent if I can up the dose. I think that's my only hope as I don't have any other triggers. Have addressed all eating habits and stress. Thanks for input. 

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