What to do next?
Posted , 4 users are following.
Hi all, I've been diagnosed with Menieres Disease which has been confirmed by balance tests. My consultant has put me on oral steroids as a high dose of Betahistine along with high dose Cinnarazine and Prochlorperazine has failed to control it. The trouble is the oral steroids has made the vertigo aspect of the disease much worse, I already get daily attacks, but I'm now getting attacks much stronger and earlier in the day and resting doesn't ease them. I have been told by my own GP to curtail the oral steroids and informed the consultant's secretary, she has brought my appointment with my consultant forward so I see him before I should've done, but I'm now worried that he will want to inject steroids directly into the ear via the eardrum, I'm terrified of needles and of anything near my ears. Should I just "Man Up" and get used to the idea, that it's going to happen? or is there an alternative?
0 likes, 5 replies
tanney terri-ann28375
Posted
Intratympanice steriod injections are usually the next step in trying to control the vertigo and ear fullness and minimize additional hearing loss when conservative measures fail. You can often tell very soon after one injection if the proceedure is working....with a decline in above symptoms. Based on your relief, the doctor will determine if additional injections (same or higher dose of dexamethazone) is warranted.
Obviously you need to have the vertigo eliminated or at least minimized. If the injection(s) do not provide sufficient relief there are other treatment options that will work. A gentamicin injection (I had this done 40 years ago) will most likely end the vertigo. There are side effects to this proceedure, however, so it is used a little later in the treatment process.
Try your best not to fear the steroid injection. Maybe taking a sedative like Ativan for a few days prior to the proceedure will calm you enough to proceed. The proceedure itself is very benign and takes the doctor about 2 minutes to do. You will be on your way a half hour or so later.
Good luck and please let us know how you are doing. We care!
terri-ann28375 tanney
Posted
Hi Tanner, I have a very low salt, caffeine free, alcohol free diet, I also don't drink fizzy drinks. I take 16mg Betahistine 4 times a days, 45 mg Cinnarizine 3 times a day and Prochlorperazine 5mg 3 times a day. I only eat a very low salt diet as you need some salt in your diet otherwise your electrolytes go haywire, but I don't eat very salty foods such as bacon or commercially prepared pies or sausage products as I find them very salty. I tend to use lo-salt as an alternative to regular salt in cooking and if I use it on food but use it sparingly. I drink fruit tea if I have hot beverages and water with a small amount of no added sugar cordial added to it if I want a cold drink, but I drink plenty during the day. I don't drink any alcohol due to being on medication. I hate getting the vertigo attacks and do have marked hearing loss in the affected ear, so much so I require the use of a hearing aid at the moment. The ear constantly feels full, as if I've had my head under water and there's water in it, but I know I haven't. I don't know if steroid injections would help if oral steroids made it worse? Or if gentamicin would be better, I guess though that it will be injections next. I'll just have to be brave.
tanney terri-ann28375
Posted
sounds like you are doing everything you can....that's quite an accomplishment. 60 mg betahistine is a significant amount. Since it did not work it appears you are ready for next step....the injection. You may not have the same reaction to a steroid injection to the ear as you did with the oral steroid. Hopefully you agree that it's worth a try. Since you have lost much hearing already in the affected ear....and I presume your good ear is working normally, a gentamicin injection seems like a good idea if the steroid injection(s) fail. As I said earlier, I had the gentamicin injection 40 years ago when it was a relatively new proceedure. In my case the vertigo ceased immediately! I lost a little more hearing but I can still hear in this ear today. Think positive....you will survive this. There are things that can be done that are solutions to the symptoms of MD. Let us know what you decide.
GOOD LUCK!
jo89804 terri-ann28375
Posted
Hi just read your post .. I have had same as you with vertigo daily it's hell.. just had injection and so glad I did as it's stopped and now I am spin free .. please go for it ...it takes 2 minutes and you be so glad after .. I speak from experience trust me just to be able to go out the house is wonderful. Keep us posted .. good luck .. x
JMJ terri-ann28375
Posted
Hi Terri-Ann,
I'm writing to encourage you to consider the steroid injections. I'm not crazy about needles either, but I AM crazy about how well I feel after going through a series of intratympanic steroid injections! I was completely disabled by MD, and the steroid injections brought me back to life. I look at it this way: I have a chronic disease that requires these injections to keep it under control. But I'm very lucky because I couldn't been a diabetic and required daily injections!
The first step of the procedure is to numb your ear drum. The doctor will squirt a blob of numbing cream right onto your ear drum and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Then s/he will vacuum the excess cream out of the ear and perform the injection. You absolutely can NOT feel that needle. What you might feel is a very warm liquid sensation in your ear, and sometimes it feels like it's dripping down your throat. However, that's not really happening...It's just that certain nerves can get stimulated by the injection. That sensation will calm down in a matter of minutes. I have occasionally felt dizzy right after the injection, but it passes after about 2 seconds. You lay on your side with the affected ear up, for about 10 minutes after the injection, and you're good to go!