Hello All, I am 34 years old male ... 75% hearing loss in my left ear. Vertigo started 2 Years ago started becoming regular over the last 7 months or so . With at least 2 attacks a week. I was recently ( sept 30th) to be specific with Menieres and am in serious need of assistance. I have been reading up on the illness for some time now after self diagnosing myself, thanks too the good old internet. After reading online I have made several changes in my life. I went from drinking on average 6 cans of Pepsi a day or more to none. I went from smoking a pack of cigs in a day to none. IM taking water pills (Hydrochlorothiazide 50Mg) one time a day and potassium ( 3 times a day). I was prescribed this by my Otolaryngologist ( I hope that's how its spelled). Im also taking 240Mg of gingko baloba daily . and ginger root daily. I was told being in California I benefit from having the Top experts in the field here is Los Angeles. Here is my problem ... The low sodium diet. Prior to learning I had to reduce my sodium my diet consist of double quarter pounder cheeseburgers from McDonalds. and other like junk foods. I have no idea what to eat now. I was told I have to keep under 2000mg of sodium a day and I have no idea what to eat... if other have any diet tips please help me... Thank you all ... Hope your day is spin free,....
It's very helpful to me to keep my sodium intake below 2000 milligrams per day. I suggest eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Avoid fast food, salty snacks and canned products, such as canned soup. I eat grilled chicken (some sodium in chicken but not too much) but without any barbecue sauce (barbecue sauce and condiments like ketchup and mustard are loaded with sodium). I suggest you become a real label reader -- products like cereal, milk, yogurt, etc. will indicate how much sodium is contained in each serving. I have cornflakes with skim milk nearly every morning for breakfast, and a cup of low-fat yogurt every afternoon as a snack. I also drink plenty of bottled water with electrolytes (Smartwater is my favorite brand). I drink at least two liters of water per day. I never drink alcohol or any beverages containing caffeine, such as coffee and coke. I minimize my intake of bread and rolls as they contain relatively large amounts of sodium. I avoid other baked goods such as cookies, pies, etc. (these usually contain butter, which I avoid). You might ask your doctor if Betahistine would be an appropriate medication for you. I take 32 mg. of betahistine per day and it's made a big difference for me. It's not FDA approved so you have to get it at a compound pharmacy (google compound pharmacies in your area) and it's expensive. It costs me about $100 per month as my insurance company won't pay for it as it's not FDA approved. However, it's well worth it to me -- it's made a big difference in reducing the number and severity of vertigo attacks. Betahistine has been prescribed for Meniere's Disease in Europe for many years, especially in the United Kingdom. I started out on 16 mg. per day and gradually increased to 32 mg. per day. I have never experienced any side effects from Betahistine (I have been taking it daily for more than a year). I hope this is helpful. Good luck!! Vince
My advice, do it slowly. I started by just reading labels on the things that I ate regularly. Making a mental note, and trying to figure out if there was a way I could reduce the amount of sodium (low sodium options, different but similar products, etc) It can feel really overwhelming at first, and frustrating, but it gets easier. Do it slow, and cheat when you want to. I ate a whole lot of pizza tonight and I know I will feel like garbage tomorrow, but hey, you gotta live right? Good luck!
I went very low sodium in the beginning for about 3 years only to learn through much sacrifice and effort that it really wasn't the problem after all. The ways many foods are processed and a plethora of food additives really mess alot of people up but the blame often ends up in the wrong places. It gets confusing at times when one doesn't really know why a particular food makes them feel awful, it might be higher in sodium but the real culprit may be that it contains an additive that is to blame, not the sodium. Check this out, it was most helpful to me and what I learned was that there are many foods I can have as long as they don't contain some of these things, there's lots of good and yummy alternatives to what we have been use to all our lives... http://www.truthinlabeling.org/hiddensources.html Not everything on this list will make people feel awful, it's very individual and some can have foods with some of these things in small amounts at times when they are feeling a bit better. Also watch for nitrites, nitrates (used mostly in processed deli meats, sausage and bacon) and sulfur (most often used to keep dried fruits looking pretty). I went years without all kinds of good stuff until I understood that it wasn't the product itself but how it was processed. I found alternatives to most everything and food got good again. There are still some things that I had to give up forever, but I got back most all that I loved.
Antivirals and allergy shots both prescribed by Dr Derebery at House Ear Clinic in LA took my hydrops from relentless distortion and tinnitus and significant hearing loss in my only hearing ear as well as the beginnings of tulios and balance symptoms to lessed normal hearing and remission of balance issues. I recommend Dr Derebery and antivirals very highly based on my experience.