Wanting to see who out there has been on Betahistine for awhile. I left the House Clinic yesterday with a 30 day supply costing $98. Perhaps there is another source? My health care coverage is at Kaiser and so will not cover it since it is no longer FDA approved. My biggest complaints with MM are fullness, then tinnitus then hearing loss. She thought Betahistine was the best medicine for these concerns. I took my first dose this morning and it made me feel quite weird. Groggy, not thinking straight, a bit woozy and bad headache came on. I am supposed to take it three times a day since that is the dose, according to the pharmacist, that is required to impact MM. I am relectant to take another dose until bed time and maybe titrating more slowly. Thoughts? Has anyone else had these side effects and how long they lasted before they dissipated? How long did anyone need to discover if the benefits are there? Thanks!
I started on Betahistine about 2-3 months ago. Also in the U.S. so my insurance won't cover it... I got my first month locally and it cost about $200!! My dr had me slowly ramping up from 8mg, 3xday gradually to 24mg, 3xday. That's where I'm at now. I now order generic form online via CanadaDrug.com and they ship from the UK (free shipping) so it takes a while. At my 24mgx3/day dose it costs about $99. I did the math just now and they ship me a 37 day supply. I did get afternoon headaches almost every day for about a week (naybe 2 weeks in?) but they've mostly subsided. So far so good, as the vertigo has stayed away and I was in a bad stretch before starting the betahistine. The fullness still comes and goes but doesn't get AS full. Tinnitus meanwhile has worsened but I'll take it over the other crud.
I never had any side effects while beginning Betahistine eight years ago. I take 16 mg 3 times a day. I think it helps me. I pay $94 a month from a compounding pharmacy, as insurance won't cover it. Hope it helps you, as well. Margie
I'm sure Hollyflo has tried the JOH regimen but hopefully PND you have given it a go. It's a lot less expensive and the only side effects are positive ones. For years it arrested all of my symptoms except the irrepressible tinnitus, but even that was not as bad. The last couple years I have had a resurgence of the symptoms but I'm not sure if that was because I became less disciplined about following the regimen. I have now been back on them religiously and have added Acyclovir and have been symptom free (except tinnutis) for almost two months. It's a different life.
Yes, I took the lysine, lemon bios, and vinpocitine for about 18 months. At this point I only still take the lemon bio's.
I didn't realize it until just now but I take Advil PM and it has 200 mg Diphenhydramine in it. I've noticed lately that I have almost no tinnitus, no pressure, no clogged feeling. Anybody else take nighttime meds with Diphenhydramine in it experience the same?
I tried Betahistine - and felt worse than before. Didn't do the trick for me, sadly. Wished it had. I felt more drowsy, tired and wobbly and nauseous.
I was on betahistine for over two years. It took about a month for it to start working. Betahistine is a preventative. I also had buccastem for emergencies, which I think is very much like valium. My problems went away when my left ear hearing disappeared altogether but also when I got to grips with the MAV that I also had ( and still potentially have ) I have been well since 2009 through avoiding certain food and drink triggers. I would persevere with the serc ( betahistine) unless of course it makes you ill. I was told by the consultant that the dosage should be 3 x 16mg per day and that increasing the dosage will not have any additional effect, and it didn't, because during bad times I was taking 6 tablets with no improvement. I told the consultant who then introduced the buccastem for the attacks of vertigo and vomiting. Betahistine is the first medication used when menieres is diagnosed in the UK.
Sorry to hear that increasing the SERC dosage had no effect. Many people are now being treated successfully with High-Dosage SERC. http://www.mediafire.com/view/lpb0v991ew69v66/High-dosage_betahistine.pdf My regimen for Meniere’s (and Tinnitus) "started" at 224mg of Betahistine a day and ,is now, 96mg/day. Oddly enough, but not surprisingly, knowing the unpredictability of Tinnitus, the noise level has, for the most part, disappeared, even with the Betahistine dosage being lowered by more than half. A couple of times I've noticed the Tinnitus trying to make a comeback. Jacking up the dosage from 2 tabs to 6 tabs (for a day, or so) takes care of it. Remember, most doc's and pharmacists in North America are unaware of High-Dosage SERC (betahistine) treatment, so bring documentation & JPEG print-outs (included in another of my posts) with you when you see your MD. I had to educate my otologist/neurotologist and pharmacist about this so, you may have some explaining to do. peace/out
Everybody is different. I was not disappointed that the higher dosage of betahistine did not have a positive effect because I was concerned with the possible side effects of the drug such as nausea, headaches and stomach pain. In fact I did develop two stomach ulcers during the period I was taking betahistine. Whether they contributed to the ulcers forming I don't know. The good thing for me though was that I was able to ditch all medications and supplements and rely upon diet and trigger avoidance to help me back to good health. I would recommend trying betahistine as a possible answer to menieres control but as I say everybody is different and it is up to the individual. I would never have gone to a very high dosage.
Thanks everyone. I have been taking the one 16 mg tab at night before bed. Once I get back to my own place, I will do a slow titration up to the 3x16mg/day and hope for the best. I recovered pretty well later that day after taking one tab in the morning.
Hi All, Been titrating slowly with betahistine and today will be the full prescribed dose. The rains came in over the last few days and there has been far less MM setback than I expected so am thinking it is the betahistine. I am however getting migraine aura's and using arrest meds to prevent the crushing headaches which seems to be working. I wonder if the betahistine is contributng to this? Today laying low but noticing what feels like an ear ache. Feel it most when I swallow. Anyone have this experience with MM or betahistine?
Hollyflo: When I first upped my dosage to 64mg 3x/day plus 32mg at bedtime, I got a wicked-ass headache that Ibuprofen (2x 400mg liquid caps) could only, partially, tame. Tylenol 3’s did pretty much nothing. I can’t imagine what your migraine auras feel like and I don’t actually want to know, first hand. Yes, I believe it was triggered by the (relatively) high-dosage SERC, however, since then, only slight headaches ‘may’ appear when I jack my dosage up to that level again. These things too shall pass. peace/out
Has anyone who has used betahistine used the generic version? I was looking at Canadian Pharmacy and it was about half price. Now on a low dose beta blocker for migraine prevention. I feel the headache coming up but it doesn't really catch even in less than 24 hours!
Did you notice any less effect on the generic than the name brand? How are you on verapimil? It is the last of 4 for me to try….
I was only on the name brand for 3 weeks which I got formulated at a local compounding pharm. here in the U.S. Actually I'm not sure if that makes it officially Serc since it was made here. Regardless, my current generic seems to work well. No vertigo, knock wood. And fullness is not as often or severe. On the flip side, tinnitus has really worsened -- like an attack goes there instead of vertigo etc. I'll take it in a heartbeat. Still mild to moderately dizzy a lot of the time but not every day. No ill effects from the Verapimil that I am aware of. I was put on another migraine med that I couldn't tolerate - the hand tremors were awful. I don't have traditional migraine issues but one of the Otos I saw thinks MM is linked.