I posted this on another thread but felt it was important to let people know just in case they want to try it. It was posted by a Dr Hain in 2010 so I am hoping it still holds true, and on another page of his site he says most insurances cover it. http://www.dizziness-and-balance.com/treatment/drug/SERC%20sources.htm AVAILABILITY OF BETAHISTINE (SERC) Timothy C. Hain, MD Page last modified: December 31, 2010 Betahistine is a treatment for dizziness and hearing problems. It has a strange history and in the United States, Serc is in the possibly unique position of being a substance categorized as a placebo by the FDA, that nevertheless is generally obtained by taking an ordinary prescription to the pharmacy and getting it filled. See the main Betahstine page if you are wondering what this is all about. Serc is available at Walgreens While in the past it was somewhat difficult to obtain betahistine, now it can be purchased easily at Walgreen's pharmacies. The cost at Walgreens is very reasonable, and in our experience, roughly 1/3 of the price at the compounding pharmacies where one used to have to go. The process at Walgreens is that you take in your prescription to the pharmacy. When the technician at the front desk says that they don't carry it, ask for it to be special ordered through the Walgreens compounding service. This usually works very well. Sometimes Walgreens clerks or pharmacists will claim that they have "never heard of Serc". This does not mean that Walgreen's doesn't carry Serc -- it means that the clerk is uninformed. Here, we suggest that you politely ask for the "compounding pharmacist", and suggest to them that if they can't figure it out, to call a Walgreens branch that knows how to do this.
Very interesting! Thanks for posting. I know people take Serc to relieve vertigo, but I was wondering if it helps with fullness and the other synptoms too? Would someone with Cochlear Hydrops possibly benefit from it?
I don't know but in Europe they prescribe it to treat MM and it helps many people but then again it doesn't help others, like all MM treatments. There studies about it on pubmed, might be worth searching to get an answer.
That's good to know, Vicki. I used Vertiserc when I lived in Europe and it stopped the bad rotational type vertigo. I am happy to know it is now available here as well.
This drug is the first thing prescribed in Europe, Canada, etc. I find it hard to believe that it is a placebo. If there is one thing that I have learned since being diagnosed is that EVERY person reacts differently to the different potential protocols - be it anti virals, diet, serc, vitamins, etc.. There are many individuals that experience relief with Serc. With that in mind, (in my opinion), any and every possible treatment could and should be shared here without the person that negates the option that someone may have. It removes the potential of hope and to me that is not acceptable. Everyone here reacts differently to different medications. We should be helping each other! I appreciate the information about Serc - I was not aware that it was available thru Walgreens. Great update. Like anything though with these potential options that researchers/doctors here in the US have not embraced, it can be difficult to get your doctor to write a script for the Serc. Keep pushing if you think it will help you!
I agree with nicmger and just because the FDA says its a placebo doesn't mean that is so, since most of the rest of the world's doctors prescribe it for MM. The FDA is flawed in many ways IMO.
I think 'the placebo effect' is a construct to help scientists and doctors explain and discount what they do not understand. I remember a doctor saying to me she would like to have a lot of that placebo to hand out to her patients! There are some things we just do not understand but some people simply cannot coexist with unknowns. That said, there is also healing that takes place regardless of whether we take anything so not every improvement that coincides with a treatment is caused by the treatment and most likely will not be able to be replicated.
To presume that the effects of SERC are a mere placebo effect is to castigate the professional expertise and experience of litterally tens of thousands of physicians in Canada, Europe, and the rest of the world outside of the USA. Are the physicians making "placebo" renderings at the FDA simple orders of magnitude more competent than Meniere's clinicians in the rest of the world? Or, are they merely human, of reasonable competencies; whereby the physicians in the rest of the world are utterly incompetent, untrained, and incapable of detecting the differences between placebo effects and authentic, enduring symptomatic relief following the administration of SERC? How, per chance, does the FDA have only the smart physicians looking out for our welfare, and Canada and Germany have dummies prescribing (almost universally upon Meniere's presentations) the useless substance SERC? If this is the case --- as it must be if SERC is merely a placebo --- be anxious if you ever need medical care in parts of the world (the rest of it) where SERC is known to actually reduce or control Meniere's symptoms. Who know what other ineffective or placebo substances a Canadian or German doctor might then prescribe for other medical conditions? If SERC is merely a placebo, why is it the initial drug of choice in the rest of the world for Meniere's? --John of Ohio
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2655085/ Ménière’s is a relatively common and debilitating otological condition. Whilst many drug therapies are employed, the great majority hamper vestibular adaptation and, whilst reducing the distressing symptoms of vertigo, may hinder long-term recovery. Betahistine has been a staple of the treatment of Ménière’s disease and other disorders that include vertigo as a cardinal symptom. Until recently however, evidence for its efficacy has not been available to modern standards of proof. The past 10 years have seen significant advances, not only in clarifying the efficacy of betahistine, but also in our understanding of its mechanism of action – a remarkable situation for a drug that has been in routine clinical use for more than 40 years.