Hi folks, I went to the House Clinic in LA to see Dr. Derebery this past Tuesday. Southwest Airlines had very inexpensive airfares and it was easy to make an appointment. The audiologist was terrific and very supportive. Results were similar to previous tests. Then I saw Dr. Derebery. I told her I was there for a second opinion and asked if she knew my doctor, Hinrich Staecker, which she did by reputation. She listened to my story-looked at the audiograms-and agreed that I have Cochlear Hydrops since I do not have vertigo. She said I may never develop it-just as Dr. Staecker said. She agreed with taking Dyazide and Serc (Betahistine.) She said that the reason Betahistine has not received more trials or attention in the US is that there is no $ in it for the drug companies. She believes it is helpful. She also suggested that I adopt a 1500 mg sodium diet instead of 1800 mg as Staecker recommended. I forgot to ask about alcohol, caffeine and chocolate. I had a CT that initially showed some possible otosclerosis. Staecker sent it out for secondary review by his mentor at Harvard and the consensus is I do not have it. Derebery still wants to review the CT. She also wrote a script for an MRI as I have not had one yet. Staecker has wanted to wait until KU gets the new head coil that allows cochlear hydrops to actually be seen upon review. Has anyone here found anything upon MRI testing? She did examine me including using a microscope in both ears. She described what she saw as we watched on a screen. Dr. Derebery thought I should wait to use an anti-viral until letting the Serc and Dyazide do their thing before introducing another drug into my system. She recommended Famvir (Famciclovir) over Valtrex (Valacyclovir) as she believes it cross the blood brain faster. While I have read here that Valtrex works better for many does anyone have an opinion or research as to why one may be better than the other? (Valacyclovir and Famciclovir) Many thanks for your thoughts!
I'm happy for you. I did have an MRI and discovered I have a brain. Who knew!? Everything looked normal. MRI's are not fun. Good Health to You
The MRI is ued to rule out other things which may have similar symptoms like an acoustic neuroma and possibly ms i think. I had an acoustic neuroma and they are not as rare as once thought. On the off chance that you did have one, it would need immediate attention as they can be life threatening if let go.
An MRI was one of the first tests that were done on me. June is correct in that they want to rule out other conditions that may cause the same symptoms.