I have been taking Valtrex (valacyclovir) since last Feb. I found relief from vertigo within weeks, but i had no idea that i would find so much more relief after 6-7 months. List of symptoms that have been eliminated: No vertigo No dizziness Not even off balance anymore Complete restoration of hearing No hyperacusis No tinnitus No fullness No weather affects me anymore In short, i have NO symptoms anymore. Total recovery. I can now do the following activities: Skydiving (can you imagine??) ATVs Running, swimming, karate, cycling I am even allowed to fly my airplane again (can you imagine??) I can eat what i want. No dietary restrictions other than common sense. Bottom line. Before you consider surgery, supplements, diets, etc., consider taking antivirals. But if you do, following these guidelines: Take 3000 mg per day for at least 6 months before you give up Slowly taper down to your maintenance dose. You may find that you need to take a higher maintenance dose than Gacek mentions. Don't worry about it. Check kidney and liver functions twice a year. If your doctor won't listen or try it, fire his ass. Find a doctor who cares about you, and not about getting another Mercedes. I wish everyone the best!
fantastic! Scott. Do you mind telling us what your maintenance dose is? and are there times you feel the need to temporarily increase? like when you are sick or fatigued, allergies etc etc? Valtrex does seem to work better than acyclovir but unfortunately I got side effects from it, due to me being so medication sensitive. I found the longer I was on acyclovir the better it worked and it stopped my dizzy spells besides vertigo, and my off balance feelings are gone too. My hearing loss is moderate but not due to Meniere's.
I love these success stories, always gives me hope! I have been on Valacyclovir for 18 months (1200 to 1600mg). Tried Valcyclovir but had stomach issues quickly. Recently tried Famciclovir with no additional improvement and much higher ins co-pay so went back to Acyclovir. I'm one who can't seem to get the wonderful relief of so many others but I feel it definitely has cut down on the number and severity of attacks so plan to stay on it while I pursue possible MAV or other causes of my daily dizziness. Everything I've learned about Meniere's came from this group. All I've really gotten from the Dr's is loso and learn to live with it.....although some of them said it in a much kinder way than others!
I've been on valacyclovir for 14 months. It took three months before my big day of relief. So, the 23rd of this month will be twelve months without vertigo, brain fog and aural fulness. Still have occasional dizzies. I still have very loud tiniitis. I did end up with very slight hearing loss in left ear, but this could also be because of the loud tinnitis. I took 3,000 mg per day for about six months before tapering to 2,000. After awhile on 2,000 I wanted to go to 1,000 but, I was scared. I fried it for a couple of days but it seemed like my conditions got a little worse so I went back to two. There have been some days when allergies were very bad and I would take three.
I am on maintenance dose of valacyclovir. Started April 2014. No vertigo attacks, minimal ringing or ear fullness. Getting rid of the constant ear pressure was such a HUGE thing for me. That constant pressure was so "draining" to me mentally. At some rare times, sick/stressed/sinus issues/major weather changes I start to feel "off" and take an extra dose. But so far, so good. The information here was such a blessing to me. This is the longest I have gone without vertigo attack. More than 1 day without the constant ear pressure was already more than what I had before.
Oddly, I took no antivirals after the horrendous vertigo attack. Recovery began at about 3 months with no meds. Not sure that anything really helps but time.
if you had just 1 attack and you have no more symptoms for along period of time then it most likely wasn't Meniere's, it could have been Labyrinthitis or something else.
I had vertigo 1 1/2 years ago (knock on wood) but I have fullness for days/weeks at a time, tinnitus, and feeling off balance and occasional dizziness. Sounds and lights bother me. The vertigo stopped after getting my neck adjusted by a chiropractor. Could I also have Labyrinthitis? I'm still not sure about my diagnosis of Meniere's. I've been on antiviral for five days, but only 1000 mg/day. I've been feeling pretty good the last two.
to me it sounds like you have vestibular migraines, which are also called silent migraines or MAV. You don't need a headache to have vestibular migraines, the most common form is w/o a headache. daily dizziness, off balance, light and sound sensitivity, neck pain are all symptoms of vestibular migraines. I suggest you look in the forums databse for threads on MAV, there are a few.It might be helpful for you.
Don't mean to scare you vikx. The first year I had vertigo I only had it twice. The next year three times. Each episode was was about 6 weeks apart. The next year after the first vertigo I got aural fullness and brain fog for the first time. The brain fog and aurAl fullness were driving me nuts. That's when I found my way here to this forum and I started taking acyclovir to get rid of the brain fog and aural fullness. About the same time as I started the acyclovir I started having vertigo every or every other day. This went in on for four months. I still had the BF and AF too Then I started valacyclovir and three months later I had clear ear , no brain fog and no vertigo. It's been so much better for almost a year. I celebrate one year on February 23
Re: 1 year on Valtrex (antivirals Hi, I am new to this forum, actually any MD forum. I have suffered with this disease since 2009. Vertigo was very random at first, I actually went 6 years between severe, violent vertigo attacks. However I suffered most of the other symptoms during this time.....brain fog, dizzy feeling, tinnitus, anxiety, etc. I took different meds, Serc, nothing really helped. I saw ENTs, specialists and a battery of tests over the years. Then last Feb, 2015 the symptoms got progressively worse and then I had 4 vertigo attacks in a matter of a month. It was hell. During this time I spent hours online researching and began JOH regime in May of 2015, along with 1000 valtrex a day, and sturgeon, vertigoheel, and a bunch of other regular vitamins, and the Serc that took all along. Within a month I was much better. The tinnitus went away after years. The ringing did come back in the fall but was manageable. This lasted until 2 weeks when the brain fog came back and worse tinnitus. Then 3 days ago I walked in house and had a violent vertigo attack fall. I broke my wrist and suffered a bad concussion. To say I was terrified is an understatement. I had to call my ex wife to come take to the hospital. I do not know why this happened when I wa doing well. The only thing different in my regime is lowered the lysine from 3000mg a day to a 1000 2 months ago. I have amped that back up to 4500mg a day, beginning yesterday. I am wondering if I should also be taking more than 1000 mg a day of Valtrex. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Travis
I would get on the max dose of Valtrex (3000 mg per day) asap and stay there until i felt better. Then cut slowly back to 2000 mg, 1000 mg. You may just need more now because you're fighting another viral attack.
