Antiviral Success Summaries To Help Others Get A Script-Please Post Your Summary

do you have to monitor your diet, or can you pretty much eat what you want now?

 

I got antiviral prescription from my PCP after showing her the Gacek paper. My ENT was worthless. I have been vertigo free for almost a year now, and dizzy free the past five months. I eat what I want.

 

I tried acyclovir a few years back, it did not make a difference for me, maybe I was taking the wrong dosage. I was unaware of Dr Gacek's publication at the time. I still have the dizzies fairly often, but the vertigo is not near as bad as it use to be, tinnitus and aural fullness are still there. It is great to hear that it working for some of you, and I wish you continued success on it.

 

I'm 68 years old. After having occasional vertigo for several years I was hit with a violent Ménière's attack two years ago. After hearing about Dr Gacek and antivirals I convinced my PCP to write the script for Acyclovir. I started in July 2014 and just recently switched to Famciclovir. Although I still have some dizziness I also have many more days vertigo free. I have tried to stop the antivirals twice during the past year and each time severe vertigo started again within days.
Sharon from Michigan

 

I suffered for about 3-4 years with cluster vertigo attacks (2x week for a month then a period of time with no vertigo). During that time aural fullness and pressure was constant, hearing continued to be lost after attacks. ENT "specialist" told me that there wasn't anything she could offer.

I have been on valtrex (generic) for 20 months now. So far vertigo free that entire time; aural fullness gone for the first time since the start of Meniere's. Hearing has not decreased further in that period either.

I am thankful everyday for the dr who agreed to try the anti-virals to give me a chance at relief.

 

I think that the menieres sufferers who were denied the opportunity of antivirals should also have a say on this subject. I am profoundly deaf in my menieres affected ear, my left ear. Had the arrogant and scared of their own shadow ENT's and GP's agreed to prescribe antivirals when I needed them most i.e. when my hearing was failing I may still have some or all of my hearing in that ear.

Are the ENT's and GP's frightened of litigation or are they that arrogant that a patient suggesting a possible aid in their fight against vertigo, dizziness, vomiting and hearing loss is too much for their medical vanity to cope with.

If they are worried about litigation they need to worry about the consequences of not prescribing antivirals. If it is proven that antivirals can help and there is plenty of evidence to suggest that, I may sue my ENT and numerous GP's if for nothing else but to highlight the possible solution to many menieres sufferers and the fact that the medical profession in their obvious ignorance are denying successful treatment to sufferers.

 

I doubt it ignorance or fright. I think it's greed. They want expensive protocols to line their pockets. The ones who advocate for a laby without trying antivirals are the worst.

 

I would wholeheartedly agree in the likes of america but its a different system in the UK. Most people in the UK do not have private health insurance. Procedures are carried out on the state but I agree where there is an opportunity for a specialist to engineer money from those who are in private health insurance most of them will exploit it.

One of my my customers who at the time was age 55 had health cover through his employer. He had some shoulder problems. Unbelievably he was talked in to an operation to remove his prostate as the specialist/ surgeon maintained that he might have prostate problems in the future. By the way that 55 year old is now 92 so he could have been right but he also could have been wrong. The surgeon / specialist wouldn't get away with it these days

 

My summer of 2012, 3 1/2 years ago, was a summer of vertigo attacks and misery. I started generic Famvir in October of 2012 and have had only one vertigo attack since. The other Menieres symptoms are still there, but not a problem most of the time. I tried stopping the Famvir only once and the symptoms worsened quickly and then retreated when I went back on 3 Famvir per day.

 

I am a 48-year-old woman. I believe my Meniere's began in December 2011. After I got better from a cold my left ear remained stuffed and about a month later loud tinnitus ensued. It was so loud that it was often difficult to sleep. I began to lose hearing in that ear. My hearing tests showed declining hearing, particularly in the lower ranges. I had dizziness and occasional vertigo also, though the vertigo did not follow the pattern of Meniere's vertigo.

I was originally diagnosed as having Eustachian tube dysfunction and fluctuating hearing loss. In the spring of 2014, I switched insurance and started seeing a new ENT with an excellent reputation. She diagnosed me with Meniere's and Migraine Associated Vertigo. My PCP had also mentioned the possibility of BPPV. I was able to alleviate the vertigo through a combination of eliminating migraine triggers and doing the Epley maneuver, but I still often had a feeling of dizziness.

I showed my new ENT Dr. Gacek's study published in the June 21, 2013 ORL. She had heard of the viral theory for Meniere's, but wasn't convinced; however since the anti-virals are very low risk, she was happy to give it a try. She had me take a hearing test first, in July 2014, and the results were: 60 db at 500; 55 db at 1000; 40 db at 2000; 35 db at 4000 and 8000. My speech discrimination in my left ear was 56%-68% (the test was done twice).

I began taking Acyclovir in August of 2014 and then switched to Valacyclovir in September of 2014, in both cases at the dosages described in Dr. Gacek's recommendations in the article. Within days of beginning the antivirals, my tinnitus got consistently quieter with a mellow tone. This has been a huge quality of life improvement. Soon the edge of dizziness I usually had went away, along with that my energy increased. My feeling of aural fullness reduced. My hearing began to improve.

My October 2014 hearing test showed significant improvement: 27 db at 500; 30 at 1000; 25 db at 2000 and above. My speech discrimination in my left ear was 92%. Also a significant quality of life improvement.

Since then my tinnitus remains quieter, sometimes becoming difficult to hear. My hearing fluctuates, but has never been as bad as the worst and usually I can carry on a conversation easily with someone on my left. My ear fullness goes up and down, but on the whole is much better than it was, rarely completely stuffed for any length of time.

I have not been able to achieve the lower dosages of Valacyclovir that Dr. Gacek suggests in the article. Each time I go down to 2 grams per day, the symptoms have returned. My ENT is monitoring my liver numbers and so far they have been fine. I am always sure to take the medication with plenty of water.

I am extremely grateful to Dr. Gacek, my ENT, and menieres.org. I hope my story will help others find relief from this miserable condition.