Remission

what dose of betahistine are you taking?  Betahistine in the correct dosage is very effective for controlling MD vertigo.  I take 16mg/4X/day and have not had a vertigo attack in 8 months.  I have bilateral MD now but have had MD for 40 years in my left ear.

Great news for you!  I've had MD for almost 10 years.  After 8 months of hell, I was put on a diuretic (I'm in US).  I didn't have another vertigo attack for seven years, though I had days that I was woozy, felt crappy and off-balance.  Vertigo attacks did come back after 7 years, but the vertigo was milder.  I then had a series of 3 steroid injections (thru a hole that was already in my ear drum) and that helped.  I do get mild vertigo every once in awhile, but it is much less violent.  I'm 67 now.  Like some of you mentioned, I never have really determined what sets it off.  In addition to the diuretic, I do low salt, have gone to decaf tea, then back to caffienated and it didn't make any difference.  Got off alcohol for the most part.  I really think MD just does what it wants, when it wants.  But it is definitely easier to live with now than it was in the beginning.  I hope your remission lasts!!  Get good sleep and avoid stress.

I was put on diuretics last year but they had a bad affect on me and I was having terrible attacks, so I had to come off them.

It's great to be attack free.  However, as you said Meniere's is so unpredictable.  I was attack free for a year after my steroid injection in my ear.  The vertigo did come back then so I had another injection.  That one didn't do anything.  So we can't really say if that helped or not.  So frustrating.  Now my ENT says my Meniere's is "burning itself out"  (whatever that means) because I only have mini-vertigo attacks that last maybe a minute.  But this is after having it for 21 years.  Dr seems to believe that once my hearing is totally gone in my Meniere's ear that will take care of it.  Such good news!  Hang in there and I hope your remission lasts a long time.

 

You have had lots of replies so I will try to be brief!

I have looked at some of your replies and it seems that a common factor is the relatively low dose of betahistine some are taking. Also it needs time to work - a month or more.

My consultant, having confirmed the diagnosis, and noting that I was not fully controlled tripled my dose from 16mg to 48 mg three times daily, and told me if I remained attack free for 6 months I should then wean myself off.  That strategy worked and I had a full remission period of 21 months.

His advice was also that if the warning signs of MD returning (Ear fullness, unstable tinnitus, dizzy spells) occurred to not wait for a full blown attack but go straight back on the high dose and increase it further if necessary. The reasoning for this is that each major attack is very likely to cause further hearing loss which is not reversible.

I got the warning signs again so did as advised. The signs subsided over 2 or 3 days which was good but about 6 weeks later I had a sudden vertigo attack for a couple of minutes which left me feeling unsteady and unwell. I always carry buccastem and took one straight away – fortunately that worked OK. As a result I increased my dosage to 64mg tds while waiting for a review with the consultant. That was effective and I am again in remission - 21 months - and off betahistine - 15 months, but prepared to start again at first sign of trouble!

If your symptoms return I suggest you ask your consultant to review your dosage. Good luck.