I know caffeine is supposedly a trigger for Menieres. I was wondering how many of you find that caffeine makes your symptoms worse. I never really noticed it having an effect before, but I used to have caffeine once every couple days. Now that I have a 5 week old baby I drink 1-2 cups of coffee a day. I had one 2 week stretch at the end of my pregnancy where my Cochlear Hydrops flared up but improved shortly after birth. Before that Lemon Bios have me great relief for 7 months. I am currently in another bout for the past 9 days and I am feeling discouraged. I am starting to wonder if my pretty significant increase in caffeine is causing my symptoms . Thinking about trying to stop or at least majorly cut back but the idea of it sucks. The caffeine is keeping me going right now. I have been going on 4-6 hours of sleep a night for the past month. I used to get at least 8 a night. Then again, maybe the lack of sleep is causing nu flare up. Maybe a combo. I don't know. Don't you just love how confusing this all is. Anyway, I say all that just to ask you all if you find caffeine to be a problem for you.
I have cochlear hydrops. Caffeine is a problem for me. I only drink decaf beverages. My hearing almost always degrades with caffeine. Salt does not bother me.
I agree that lack of sleep/fatigue is a big trigger for many with MM, and possibly adding more caffeine on top of your fatigue might be the cause. Have you tried antivirals yet or L-Lysine? I don't drink coffee but I eat a lot of chocolate (I love that stuff) and I do not find it bothers my MM but I know it is a trigger for many with MM. I hope you feel better quickly!
Thanks for all of the quick replies! I did try antivirals and l-lysine for about a month with no luck, the only reason I stopped though was because I found out I was pregnant. I know I didn't give it enough time. I would like to try again buy I am currently breastfeeding. I want to breastfeed for as long as possible but I also kind of wonder if the hormones from that are affecting me... Anyway I think I will try to cut out coffee or at least do decaf for a little while and see if I get improvements. I look forward to my coffee every day but my hearing is more important.
I dont have any known caffeine issues now. Possibly in my early MD days I may have...hard to say. There may be periods of this disease where some things trigger and then later dont. Lack of sleep/stress was always a big trigger for me though and may still slightly be. Im drinking coffee as I type this........
I was found allergic to coffee via food allergy testing (& rice, oranges, and chocolate). So I have stopped all coffee. Can't say too much but my symptoms, while still there, have been milder ever since I went off of the above foods. I never imagined I would be allergic to rice but had a nagging suspicion. Until the allergy test I would never have believed it.
My Doc said he thought caffeine made no difference. Then he told me to go off it when I had a bout of sudden hearing loss. I am back to one 20 oz. diet cola a day. I find it makes no difference. Same with chocolate. I am not going to push it, but if one helps with my day, then I will do it. RedBird: However, I definitely find that lack of sleep makes things worse and worrying about it makes things worse.
Caffeine doesn't bother me, but diet sodas do. I see a definite connection between artificial sweeteners and an aggravation of my MM.
Hi Redbird. Caffeine was a problem for me even before I was diagnosed with MM. I can have a very small amount of regular soda, tea etc but anything more than that and I can really start to feel it. I hope today finds you feeling better. A 9 day bout is rough enough but having to go through it while caring for your precious little baby must be so difficult. Sending good thoughts to you. Take care, Lulu
Caffeine definitely made my symptoms worse when I've had a flare up. My ear feels much more plugged up after drinking coffee in the morning. When this happens I go to drinking decaf but usually have to stop drinking coffee altogether until things are under control again. For me the caffeine in coffee has an absolute impact.
I'm gradually, very slowly decreasing my caffeine, (down to about 1/3 strength, 2 cups a day). I have Meniere's and migraine - "The Headache Cure" really stresses the importance of getting off caffeine for headache control. When my migraines are frequent, that seems to be when the vertigo attacks also come, so I'm motivated! Anyone have taper speed strategies for success?
Well I didn't drink any coffee on Tuesday (which was difficult because coffee is one of my favorite parts of the day, kinda sad) and didn't notice a difference really but that was just one day. Yesterday I gave in and had a cup of iced coffee in there morning (I had a coupon for a free one it was hard to resist) and in the evening I thought "what the heck, I already had one... How about another
Oops, I hit post too soon. Anyway, last night was awful. My ear is just as full as ever and I kept feeling like I was going to fall out of bed. I felt very uneasy and almost like I was trying to sleep on a boat. I was having bad anxiety which was just making it worse. It took me hours to fall asleep. I have told myself that I am going to have absolutely NO coffee today and actually I am going to try to give it at least 3 days to see what happens. I'm not sure how much of my feeling bad last night was in my head or if caffeine really does make my symptoms worse.
The coffee I had in the evening I put a little less than a teaspoon of sugar and a teaspoon of powdered creamer. The iced coffee was from McDonalds so I didn't control how much milk and sugar was in there. I imagine it was a lot.