Antivirals

There are many herpes viruses and they are ubiquitous in the population. Ever have chicken pox, a cold sore, mono, roseola ? Then you have herpes virus in your body. Everyone does because even if we were not aware of it, most of us have had these viruses. That doesnt mean the virus will go to your inner ear and give you menieres and it doesnt mean it wont. It also doesnt mean that the virus didnt infect some other part of your body and in doing so cause your immune system to act up. In this case, people are trying the antivirals and if they work they work and one can assume a virus is in the mix somewhere. If they dont work, they dont work. This is similar to the way prednisone is used. They try it, sometimes it does the trick, sometimes it doesnt. Fortunately antivirals are much less hard on the body than steroids and many other approaches to menieres. Talk to your doctor, tell them you would liketo try it, you know it works for some and not for others, you dont want to leave any stone unturned.

 

What June said. And if your doctor won't listen, fire his sorry ass and find a doctor who cares about you.

 

I am on prednisone (steriod) and valacyclovir (antiviral) as well as a diuretic (Dyazide). Dyazide for me helped control dizziness but the hearing loss and tinnitus was still full blast all the time (90% of the week). I just started the steriod and antiviral today, fingers crossed for long term help. There is also another drug called Serc but I don't know much about it. Seems that nobody distributes it in the US but it is obtainable online.

 

Gacek has a paper

https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/348710

 

Steroids and antivirals work against each other. Steroids reduce the body's immune system. My doctor explained it all to me once, but i'm not an expert. You should research that before continuing.

 

I guess I didn't really do any research or ask many questions. My first ENT doctor wanted me to go into surgery but before he wanted me to meet with some doctors that only dealt with hearing loss, tinnitus and other hearing/ear problems to get other opinions. I did find a study though that said there were no adverse affects between the two drugs but I will check further with pharmacist tomorrow morning. I guess I should have mentioned I am only on the steriod for approximately 14 days and 60 days for the antiviral. So I won't be taking the two together for an extended period of time.

 

My Dr. started Acyclovir without testing and so far (about 5 wks) I thinks it's helping. I'm trying to wrap my brain around the long range and staying as healthy as I can.

 

Sounds good so far. Keep us updated on your progress. Are you still at max dose?

 

I did confirm with my doctor as well as a pharmacist that prednisone (steriod) and valacyclovir (antiviral) are just fine to take together and will not inhibit the others ability to do what it needs to do.

 

Great!

 

I'm still at max dose but got off track yesterday; awoke at 4am, took meds at 5am, forgot at 2pm and then resumed meds at bedtime.
On a positive note. I went for a job interview and was told that I'll get a call next week. It seemed to go well. The only thing I think I bombed was my bun was falling out when I looked in the mirror when I got back in my car. I'm worried what kind of report that I'll get from my last job where they wanted a meeting with me despite my Dr.'s letter to return to work without restrictions. I didn't comply with going for the meeting and haven't heard from that company since. I was not an employee, just got referrals, thus no need for the "You're fired conversation". Going forward if I have a pre employment physical I'll probably say that I've been diagnosed with Meniere's Disease. I'm uncertain if I'll be able to work. I felt stressed and sick going for an interview but I think after settling into a job it wouldn't be stressful like an interview where I have to sell myself to someone.
Hurray for me. I rode 5 miles on my bike this AM.
Scott, thanks for your interest. I feel better adjusted to these symptoms and feel dizzy and sick less often. I'm thankful but anxious.

 

I know it has only been 10 days since I started my antivirals and steroids but this has been the best 10 days since Feb-Mar of 2016. I have no tinnitus, no dizziness, have slipped a little on sodium intake but not much, maybe by 100 milligrams or so of my 1500mg limit but even the slip didn't change anything. Allergies are killing me at the moment but at least I can hear, I would definitely rather have sinus pressure than 24hours of fullness and ringing. I have 4 more days of steroids left and 50 more days of antivirals at this point, but so far I am pleased with the quickness of symptom relief.

 

That's great news! I hope your success continues, but don't panic if you have a setback or two. That is quite normal during this initial period.

 

I am actually kind of surprised at the dosage I was given compared to some other people. I am taking 1000mg per day.

 

Well I did notice yesterday I had a bit of fullness in my ear. I did over do it on my sodium intake/diet and did a lot of outside work including sanding and some landscaping. There was a bit of mold in the mulch which I probably breathed in a bit so I can say I was exposed to a lot of uncommon things. I am going to take it easy and got me some dust masks. Also got some ear plugs to help with the noise of the power tools I will be using for the next month. Redoing some cabinets.

 

Thanks to the members on this forum antivirals along with the JOH regimen have done wonders for me. I highly recommend it.

 

All my hydrops symptoms started when we were putting an addition on the house and every conceivable noise and material. I have always believed this was a catalyst. Paid a big price for that home i provement. Might want to stay away from that stuff if you can.