Hello Hiro. I was wondering what you look for in a chiropractor. You mentioned one in Iidabashi. I would like to find someone in my area.
Bill, I can certainly help. Although I don't have enough information to evaluate good or not-so-good chiropractors there, the following is indeed upper-cervical chiropractor that could be within a driving distance: https://goo.gl/maps/7oPKJKsBZF82 Onedayatatime, thanks for your posting. This site has very encouraging contents that also supports my theory.
Hiro, Thanks for that info. I may be able to visit there. I used to travel to Fukuoka regularly before MM. Bill
Hi It seems that antivirals are not covered for treatment of Meniere's in Japan. Is it worth it to try it in spite of the cost? My doctor told me it would cost about $350/month and he wasn't sure of the dosage and it sounded like he would not prescribe it. I don't really know how I would find someone willing to prescribe it here.
Find another Dr. Your Dr's reluctance is the same as encountered by some folks here. I dumped my ENT over his limited protocol and attitude.
I agree with Onedayatatime. As far as acyclovir is concerned, virtually none of ENT doctors in Japan would prescribe it, given that their academic society officially denies it even though we have a number of clinically successful cases. Yes $350/month is pretty costly even if you find someone who is willing to prescribe it. I can recommend starting from lysine which you can get from online shop - it's just $15 to $20 including international shipping from the U.S. Valtrex (valacyclovir) can be imported from an OTC import shopping sites at $40 - shop like osakado.cc and idrugstore.jp. Dosage is described in Gacek paper: http://www.amjoto.com/article/S0196-0709(14)00072-6/abstract Formal prescription can be found through Dr. Shichinohe's site - it has 10 hospitals which can prescribe acyclovir in Japan. They are mostly physicians, none of them are ENT doctor. One in Kumamoto prefecture. http://shichinohe.web.fc2.com
If I were recovered by antivirals, I would pay cortesy to those who discovered clinical application. At least you can show your job status before asking to be fair.
Hello Hiro, thank you so much for the information. As you know, it is very difficult to find out about doctors in Japan. I am very glad that you have discovered someone who supports this kind of treatment (antivirals). As I mentioned, my doctor, who spent 11 years in the US at very good hospitals and about whom I would say he is very caring, sensitive, kind, and open, did not want to pursue antivirals because it is not recognized by the medical community and so I am super grateful to have the results of your hard work and, I suppose, previous suffering, brought to the forum here. Thank you for pointing out a few sites where I can get antivirals. I used another site before, alldaychemists, for other types of medicines but I am not that comfortable with them now since they changed ownership. I think people outside Japan would not realize the difficulty of finding a doctor in Japan. I don't know if it is particularly because of the fact that I am not from Japan and don't understand the system enough or if it is generally true but I am almost certain that without this site and the participants here I would be much worse off. So thanks!!!
Bill, For me It's not about how caring, sensitive and kind a Dr is. Their kindness is not the issue. It's about resolving my symptoms that affect me and my life, not the Dr's. Too many people have been helped by AV's for the the"medical community" to simply say we don't recognize it. I have heard the same BS from an ENT. Then I found a Dr that admitted the medical community simply does not know. At least he was honest. You need to do what you feel is best for you as in the end, it is you that will recover or suffer. I'm not pursuing AV's right now as I am on the Upper Cervical path. The "medical community" does not recognize that course of treatment either. Nor do they recognize Chiropractic or anything else that is not a paying member of their club. You may be correct about being in a location where you cannot explore your options. I can only imagine the challenge to get specialty medical care in an out of country situation. Depending on how your symptoms progress, you may need to consider relocation.
Thanks and I agree 100 percent. I mentioned the virtues of my doctor to say that even in what would seem a best case scenario, I cannot get this treatment. That is why Hiro's information is so valuable to me. Is your cervical treatment giving you some success? Hiro was kind enough to suggest a cervically oriented chiropractor. It seems that the closest one is about 3 hours drive. But I probably will give her a visit. The treatment is about 2 hours. Most chiropractors here don't pursue strong movement but rather work very gently. It is not like a typical chiro in the US. I have found some relief with JOH. Are you using lysine? I was wondering how lysine compares to antivirals.
Sorry for the confusion. What I am asking is if you work in the medical community (i do not) and if you are affiliated with the doctor you reference (i am not affiliated with Dr. Gacek).
My condition responded well to reduced sodium, extra hydration and JOH. Lysine is part of the regimen. I am thankful for this BB for all the information and encouragement to pursue my path of discovery. Never give up.
I have no affiliation with neither medical community nor particular doctors. I am a technologist of the other part of the world. These references are purely for pursuit of relief and recovery from Meniere's.
Hi All, I spoke to a friend who said they had vertigo and the doctor performed some type of maneuver called the Epley Maneuver. I have been to several ENT doctors here where I live but I don't think any of them suggested this may work for me. Is that something I should try? Thank you.
I have had several Epley's performed for BPPV when it occurs (separate from my MM symptoms). Be aware that it may take more than one (last summer I had about eight rather consecutive treatments) to totally eliminate it and know it can reoccur. Besides the months of August and Sept, I had another occurrences in Dec, then another in Feb. Both those times it only took one treatment to control. Good luck.
Bill, In BPPV, whirling vertigo lasts only five minutes or less while Meniere's lasts more than 20 minutes or hours. BPPV frequently comes with Meniere's on 30% of the case. Doctors cannot precisely distinguish these two at first diagnosis, so they likely end up with "suspecting" Meniere's at first consultation unless you explicitly state that your vertigo lasted hours. Sadly many doctors don't tell much about BPPV treatment because not only Epley's but also simple exercises and time will solve BPPV in most cases, and doctors don't get additional compensation by telling these options. http://www.healthyhearing.com/report/31018-Relationship-between-bppv-and
There are stories of people who lived with BPPV for 30-40 years. And the solution takes 2 minutes. They clearly didn’t seek and/or get the right advice at the right time. It is worthwhile double checking and getting a second opinion. It is a mad world.