Lindy, have you looked into trying SERC chemical name betahistine? It is a vestibular suppressant with minimal side effects. Some get relief from high doses, its a common drug used for MM in other countries. You can get it in the USA, if that is where you are from, from Walgreens compound pharmacy. If you do a forum search it will bring up posts about it. here is a link about it on Dr Hains site http://www.dizziness-and-balance.com/treatment/drug/serc.html
my insurance(aetna) stopped paying for my serc went from $50 to $170 bummer don't know if it was helping or not but i won't be refilling it for that price
I'm taking SERC. Started out at 8 mg twice a day, got my Dr. to up it to 16 mg twice a day, then asked him to up it to at least 20 mg twice a day. He wasn't comfortable with that. I see him next month for a checkup and will discuss it with him then. I started out slowly as I have difficulty with some meds. Don't know for sure if the SERC is helping, and most who take SERC are taking it at much higher doses. I have no idea how high I'm willing to go, or how willing my otoneurologist is to go along with it.
Santa, My face got very red and burning feeling, my lips felt swollen an weird. My whole head and face felt like it was burning. Felt like I had a sun burn on my face chest and arms. Vickie let me know about a thing called SJS which is a bad reaction to medications. If you read about it. Seems worse then just an allergic reaction. I looked it up and read about it. Did a you tube search on it. I did not have the severe reaction some of those people have had. There are 3 levels of this type of reaction. It basically when a medication or illness make the body burn from the inside out. If you want to look it up its very scary. I think doctor should tell everyone about this. I destroys the mucus membrane and the skin. The scariest part to me it that people can go blind in the worst level. My balance if visually dependent so would be horrible to have happen. There are some medications more likely to cause it but any medication can. Motrin, anti epileptics, antibiotics are some of the main ones. If this had been the only time it happened from a medication I would probably shrug it off. But have had a slighter problem with Macrodantin a few years back. It does say the first time can be less intense. People who have Autoimmune diseases seem to be more likely. I have Rh we have a lot of autoimmune illness in our family. It might not have been SJS Stevens Johnson Syndrome but not worth taking a chance. I had been on Doxycycline a couple months ago for a bad case of bronchitis and didn't have a problem. It was so depressing to have this happen. Was hoping antivirals would help. I felt the first few days like the brain fog wasn't as bad. Whether it was from the antiviral medicine helping or feeling hopeful that I would be better I am not sure.
Re: Tagament bioflavonoids Vickie, a few years back my ear doctor discussed Serc with me. Since I haven't been given an absolute MM didn't know if it would help. I didn't know Walmart would do compounding. At that time I was going to have to order it from a out of town pharmacy and it wasn't covered by insurance. I was having less balance problem then so didn't pursue it. I bought some l-Lysine today. I have taken it before but a long time ago. It gave me more tinnitus like the Acyclovir did. The tinnitus got better after taking a couple days when taking the Acyclovir. So hoping maybe I didn't give Lysine enough time for the tinnitus to go away. Also bought some lemon bioflavonoids with Rutin and bioflavinoids. Don't know if its the best kind with the correct stuff in it. But it was there on the Walmart shelf and figure what the heck. Also some Zinc reading about the herpes virus some study says Zinc helps with the immune system. If it is a virus giving a problem figure why not try it. Also Biotin not for ear but just because I hope it helps with my fingernails. I am not going to take these all at once but will start with the lysine and take it from there. I see my ear doctor in Feb and might talk to him about the Serc.
Is it really that expensive here? When I get it in Europe, it costs me about $18 for a bottle of 24 pills. Would it be cheaper for you to get it at a compounding pharmacy?
I don't know if just compounding pharmacy is the only place to get Serc. Back when my ear doctor discussed it with me. I was going to have to get it from an out of town pharmacy that was a compounding pharmacy. Don't know if it's still that way. My doctor didn't call it Serc but betahistine.
my insurance(Aetna) just stopped paying for betahistine my last prescription don't know about the other carriers was getting it at my walgreen's
If your MM is viral then lysine should help it, it takes longer but I believe you get the same results. The fact it is making your tinnitus worse is a sign it is doing something, which is a good sign that it is viral. Many get worse before better taking av's and lysine. Fingers crossed!