I have read several articles online about "Meniere's burnout," where after a period of time the attacks go away, however in my case they seem to be getting worse rather than better. At first I only had attacks once a year and was perfectly fine in between attacks, but this summer I began to have attacks once a month and now about once a week. I really don't want to have shots, much less surgery. I am able to handle the tinnitus pretty well, but the increasing frequency of the attacks bothers me a lot as my attacks are pretty bad. I don't work, so at least they don't interfere with a job. I honestly don't know how people who work can cope. Anyway I was wondering if anyone else has experience increasing rather than decreasing attacks.
Hi Jackie from what I read burn out is no picnic either, http://www.menieresinfo.com/prognosis.html#burnout Progression to "burnout." ◦Some doctors say that Meniere's "burns itself out," leading patients to falsely believe that Meniere's will simply fade away and that they will be "cured." ◦However, "burnout" refers to a condition where Meniere's has progressed to the point where it has finally destroyed, nearly or totally, the vestibular function of the affected ear or ears. ◦When a patient reaches burnout, the patient has little or no vestibular function left the affected ear or ears, and therefore the patient no longer experiences acute attacks of rotational vertigo, although some dizziness may remain if the vestibular function is not totally destroyed. ◦However, with the lack of vestibular function in the affected ear or ears, balance is a problem and the body may or may not compensate in other ways. Any vestibular function remaining in the unaffected, or less affected, ear may take over and/or the patient may learn to balance through visual cues (with difficulty in darkness). In this situation, many patients benefit greatly from vestibular rehabilitation therapy (VRT). ◦But nothing stops the relentless destruction of Meniere's, and it will continue to destroy hearing, produce the sense of fullness, and produce tinnitus -- even in patients who are deaf because of Meniere's or otherwise. ◦Some patients have anecdotally reached burnout after roughly eight years; however, anecdotally, some may take more time, some may take less time, and some patients may never reach burnout. For any one given patient, It is not possible to predict whether burnout will happen at all or, if it does, how long that might take. For those who do progress to burnout, the body may or may not compensate well, and, unfortunately, there is always the possibility of developing bilateral Meniere's. ◦Not all doctors (and not all patients) agree that "burnout" can or will happen. Have you tried antivirals yet? I have MM for 48 years and on my 47th year it got pretty bad and that's why and how I found these forums and started acyclovir Jan 2013, and have been vertigo free ever since. AV's do not work for everyone but they do help many.
You know I really dislike that site menieresinfo.com. They leave no stone unturned to let you know that it can get REALLY bad. It almost feels they want you to have no shred of hope whatsoever. And they write with such authority that one tends to believe every word they write. Back in 2009 when I had my first bout with the disease that was the site that I went to a lot for info initially and that made me extremely depressed. Then I stumbled upon this site (which has its mix of extremely hopeless and extremely hopeful posts). I came across Caribbean's posts on antivirals and tried them. It worked great for me then. I've had a relapse now with cochlear hydrops since early this year and the disease rages on. But I'm trying to stay positive. One needs to. It is easy to conclude from the internet that it will be all hell. But there are many stories and papers I have read that suggest it doesn't have to be horrible for everybody. It is not true that 100% of Meniere's sufferers will end up deaf, disabled and with no vestibular function.