I don't believe that Dr. Gacek's license was revoked. In my opinion when a doctor is affiliated with such a large well-recognized hospital there is a lot of scrutiny and oversight. Most likely the word about Gacek's beliefs and success within his own practice became too high profile. Just my opinion. There are many other doctors/practices across the country that have experienced similar success. Now "why" it works for some and not others? Believe if one were to figure that out perhaps it would help doctors to finally start to narrow down WHY Meniere's hits some, not others, WHY the disease impacts some worse than others, WHY this disease can be active and then "go away" the next day to suddenly reappear. So many variables. No answers. Even the surgery options while it may eliminate the feeling/attack does not really answer or explain the why. My opinion - whatever works for a person that can help them regain their life...Go for it.
Scott i think the reason antivirals work to a degree for some and not others is there are so many different causes for menieres . In my case there is a strong possibility a blow to the head caused my menieres . Of course everyone should exhaust all options , but dont chase the cure for years . Time is precious . On the subject of bi-lateral menieres , if I go bilateral I would have gone bi-lateral anyway plus I have now had going on 6 years of 98 % normal life . Good Luck to everyone !
I think the problem is with the label 'menieres'. Because people are given this diagnosis it can imply a standard set of symptoms and therefore this is the treatment. It has been said many times before that 'menieres' is a bucket diagnosis. You have these symptoms that vary between people, vertigo, dizziness, imbalance, hearing loss, tinnitus etc and we cannot identify any reason why you have these symptoms so we are going to say you have menieres. Maybe the really good doctors should stop trying to classify 'menieres' and start calling it something else. Your vestibular system has gone haywire and we need to try different lines of treatment to try and find one that will reduce or eliminate your symptoms. I don't know what they could change it to. 'malfunctioning inner ear' isn't very catchy!!
I agree. Meniere’s is not so much a diagnosis, as a non-diagnosis to give a name or label to a common set of symptoms. Those symptoms are not all caused by the same things. And that is where this condition becomes tricky and we each have to work out what triggers our own unique blend. If you can find a good doctor to work with you on a learning experience then that is half the battle. And that is why there is not a one size fits all cure. AVs work for some and not for others, JOH brings relief to some and leaves some of us just frustrated and lighter in the wallet. Some are helped by dietary changes etc etc. The mistake that some posters make is to assume that what worked for them must work for everyone. They then pursue this belief with an almost religious fervour, ignoring any other facts that get in the way of their own success story. And in so doing they can raise false hopes and expectations for others.
What he said. I went the laby route. My meniere's started slowly, but then reached a point where it rapidly spiraled out of control. I then quickly got to a point where I couldn't leave the house, let alone work. I have a great career that let's me travel the world, and didn't want to give it up. I felt I was rapidly reaching a point where I would a)lose my job, and b) lose my career. It would have been great to keep throwing treatments at the disease and see if I could manage it. But it was out of control and time was ticking by. I tried several alternatives to surgery but saw no improvements. I had the surgery, and was back on my feet within a few months. It preserved my job and career. I wouldn't do anything different. I also question the likelihood of going bi-lateral. Like hurricanone, I'm convinced my vestibular issues were related to an "incident" many years prior to developing meniere's. It affected my hearing at the time in my disease ear (yep, low frequency hearing loss), but it took another 25 years before the vestibular issues cropped up. I realize that's probably not the case with many who frequent this forum so for them, it might be a real and legitimate concern.