This is a bit repetitive of posts I made in the past but here is my basic backstory for anyone who doesn't know: -December 2005/ January 2006- Bell's Palsy on the left side of my face -July-September 2009- Bell's Palsy on the left side of my face -February 2013- left sided cochlear hydrops started for me a couple weeks after stopping birth control pills (I still feel like there is a connection there) and it was the same week my Grandma passed away -September 2013- symptoms were virtually eliminated when I got pregnant -April 2014/ May 2014- all of my symptoms (fullness, ringing/ roaring, hearing loss) came back a couple weeks after having my son and stayed pretty much constant for a year -June 2015- I felt much better a couple weeks after staring Prozac (not sure if it was a coincidence or not) -October 2015- got pregnant again and continued to feel great -May 2016/ June 2016- I had my daughter and again within a couple weeks of her birth my symptoms all started back up and are still here, bad as ever I have now had constant bad fullness, ringing/roaring with muffled hearing for the past 4 months straight. I only had one random week in there where I felt better. I recently decided to up my dosage of Prozac to see if that helps at all (trying this with MAV in mind) but so far I have been on the increased dose for 2 and a half weeks with no improvement. Back in July 2013 I convinced my GP to prescribe me antivirals after my neurotologist said he would not. I was on Acyclovir for a month and then stopped taking it because I got pregnant. I didn't really have any improvement but I realize that was most likely not enough time to really know if it was going to help me. I am currently trying to get an appointment set up with another neurotologist for a second opinion and to see if he would let me try antivirals for an extended length of time. My cochlear hydrops is in my left ear and my two episodes of Bell's Palsy (which is thought to be caused by the herpes virus) were on my left side. That's got to be related right?
It certainly could be related! I would try valacyclovir if you can get it. It seems to work better than acyclovir. Furthermore, if your insurance will pay for name brand, get Valtrex.
Thanks, Scott! I will ask about valacyclovir. I have been jumping through hoops getting my original doctor to get my medical records sent over to the new doctor. And they won't schedule me until they get the records since I am coming in for a second opinion. And before all that I had to get a referral from my GP for this new doctor because my new insurance required a referral. Its frustrating how long the whole process is taking. Hopefully when I finally do get an appointment it is not 6 months from now.