Last Saturday was the second instance of the fullness in my ear and tinnitus. Sunday, the vertigo started. Everything got worse from there. The tinnitus and what sounds like a helicopter in my ear with low-pitched bass sounds. The dizziness was/is horrible. I walk like I'm drunk. The walls spin and the floor and ceiling undulate. I went to the ER on Tuesday because I couldn't take it any more. He said it's probably Meniere's disease, but would require further testing, which will be set up. He gave me a prescription for Hydroxyzine and Microzide (a diuretic). He told me to call my PCP if things didn't get noticeably better. However, he didn't give me a time frame of when it should get better. So, my question to anyone here is: How long does an episode usually last? How soon should the medication work? Am I being impatient for the dizzies to stop? I've put a call in to my Doctor, but thought I might get some quick answers here. This is terrifying, to say the least. I honestly give props to all of you for being able to do this every day. Any advice on what I should be asking my doctor? Thank you all so much!
Welcome Ginger, glad you found us but sorry as to the reason why. As a newbie you'll have a million questions, we all did. I recommend you spend a lot of time in the database section. Tons of good stuff in there. Answering your specific questions is a bit harder as this thing does something differently to all of us. When I suffered from attacks they were completely 100% disabling, I could not walk, talk, chew gum, or watch TV. Nothing but lie flat and keep my eyes closed. or kneeling in front of the toilet. My only relief was Dramamine (sea sickness medication) and all that did was prevent me from vomiting. It did nothing to stop the vertigo. I know that some folks found that Valium helped with Vertigo but it never worked for me. You have a long road ahead of you, identifying triggers, altering your diet, finding the right treatment. But remember there are solutions, just finding what works for you will be the hard part. Good luck.
I echo what Chris said. Add to that, the specialist most familiar with this is a neurOTOlogist, which is an inner ear specialist. What helped me was antivirals. You may want to read about them in the archived database section.
I've been reading the database as much as I can today. I am having a hard time wrapping my head around this. For most people, is the vertigo the only thing that comes and goes? The dizziness and tinnitus are always going to be there??!! I will go absolutely bonkers if that's the case. I can deal with the tinnitus and loss of hearing. It will suck, but I can deal. But this state of continuous drunkenness, I cannot deal with. How am I supposed to be able to function like this? For those of you that have this all the time? What do you do? I'm going to ask my doctor about the antivirals whenever I get to see her, which looks to be late next week at the soonest. I'm also going to look further into the high dose Vitamin C. I also plan on digging further into the JOH regimen.
For me, the tinnitus went away as did fluctuating hearing loss and distortion. I did not have vertigo or constant dizzyyyness.
Hi Gingerschnapps. You sound so much like me (and I'm sure many others here) when I was first diagnosed 16 years ago. Terrified is a very good way to put it. Once you've had all the testing done and you get a proper diagnosis then can really begin to sort of 'experiment' with different treatments to find what works best for you. It takes a lot of patience but don't ever stop trying find what's best for you. Keep educating yourself and find a good Neurotologist in your area like Chris and June suggested. I know it must all feel very overwhelming to you right now but it really can get better. The constant tinnitus nearly drove me crazy in the beginning but now I hardly notice it. Mild to moderate dizziness that used to send me off to bed is not so much a problem anymore. I can still function when I have it. You'll have those days when you'll feel very discouraged but please just know that there are many, many members here who lead very productive lives and were every bit as frightened and had all the same thoughts as you're having right now. It really is possible to lead an active life with MM. It may not be exactly as it was before but it can still be very rewarding. Wishing you all my best, Lulu
Gingerschnapps - last month for the entire month I was off balance 24/7, dizzy (not vertigo), and nauseated. I forgot for 3 weeks to try the Meclizine that I have. That helped a lot. (Now I forgot because the Meclizine does not help me at all for vertigo - room spinning crazy for long periods of time.....but it did help with the dizzy/off balance/nausea last month.) Meclizine is basically Dramamine. You can find it over the counter - looked for the generic Meclizine as it is significantly less expensive. It was also the first thing that my doctor initially "prescribed" when I was diagnosed. Take care
So sorry all of this is happening to you. It is a scary situation. I agree with the posts above. This is a great place to ask questions and sort through what hopefully will work for you. I experienced the dizzies 24/7 for about a year and a half. I found that 2 - 4 mg of valium a day made life tolerable. Tinnitus will always be my friend. I am fortunate because for me tinnitus is very mild and does not interfere with my daily life. I hope you find a way to calm your symptoms. But if you don't please know that there are ways out of this hell. Some folks have had great success with AVs, JOH and with surgical intervention. I am one of them. I live a vertigo, dizzy free life. You will find your way out. Get yourself to the best OTO in your area, ask as many questions as you need to. Wishing you the best.
So sorry you are experiencing this. I dealt with this for 2 years..always taking Meclizine, Valium and then Zofran (that you could put under your tongue) I had MANY MANY episodes and a single mom with 2 little girls. All of things are bandaids I did them all as well as the Menitte divice (3500 dollars) I was in medical sales. I almost lost my job. When I tried everything, I said that is it. I want my life back. I had VNS surgery, 3 days in hospital and covered by almost all insurances and my life is amazing. I was so scared by posts about VNS surgery..is better than a LABY..because it is medically IMPOSSIBLE for you to ever suffer again because they cut your balance nerve. Wish I would have done it sooner. But you are at the beginning so try all you can....but Meclizine is the less drowsy Dramamine...make sure you have dissolvable ZOFRAN with you at all times, this will stop the vomiting and I took Clonopin...grandfather drug to Valium...you can crunch it up and will help stop the episode. I had episodes on xmas eve in our church, at my clients/physicians presentations, there was never a "why" that I could match it to. I was on blood pressure medicine, medicine that helped climbers going up Kilamanjaro, Meniette, many injections..after 7 years I was sick of the bandaids....and the VNS was amazing. NOt saying to do it...try what you can now..but yes I had DROP attacks for no reason, time, season..and just got to the point of 100 mg of steroids for 30 days was not healthy and needed a permanent fix. For me, life is grand..but suffered for 6 years before making that decision. the attacks SUCK and you never know when. With VNS it impossible to have an attack and almost a yr and a half living a wonderful life. Try all you can. I was scared by those on this site...but a surgery by the best surgeon, gave me my life back. So know there are other means. Best of luck, 632NIC Florids