What is really going on?

No one knows what is actually going on the cellular level other than a virus (if your case is viral) is attacking your healthy cells and causing mayhem.

You should stop driving if you're having unexpected attacks. If you drive and hurt someone, and they find out that you've been diagnosed with MM, then you're setting yourself up for serious criminal and civil action against you.

 

Ken,
Spend some time reading threads. Pay attention to the symptoms, the treatments and the successes. I have learned that conventional therapy is seriously lacking in understanding the MM condition. I am holding mine at bay with low sodium and JOH. Others experience success with antivirals. Others turn to surgical alternatives. There is no silver bullet because there are multiple triggers with not allot of motivation for advanced research. This site provides vast case studies of real people engaging in battle with this crappy condition. The downside of MM treatment is there are many failures. But, there are also successes so never give-up.

My opinion with regards to driving dizzy is, you know when it is time to pull over and call a cab or a friend, so do it.

K

 

Very good advice. And JOH is an antiviral regimen.

 

Ken, you asked a very good question. I have been told six different stories by doctors. One says it is a salt imbalance in the inner ear, another told me it is because a virus I had killed hair follicles in the inner ear, and possibly damaged other structures, another doctor told me the condition occurs because of too much fluid in the inner ear. It is frustrating to hear all of this, while they (the doctors) treat symptoms they seem to focus on. I have heard about crystals, allergies, diabetes, salt, high blood pressure, stress, psychiatric issues, and medications as triggers for the illness. My current ENT-Neuro-Otologist told me she is terrible at headaches and I would have to see another neurologist. There doesn't seem to be consensus on much at all. I am not driving yet due to having dizzy spells throughout the day. I can't tell you how this kills me, not being able to drive....Tonight I got horrifically dizzy just sitting down on the floor...I was pissed! It lasted only five minutes. What was this?

 

I just saw my ENT yesterday to get the tube taken out of my right ear ( I used a Meniette device for a couple years) and told him I started seeing a Naturopath and he told me to do whatever I thought helped and to keep him informed because if I find something that works he wants to be able to tell his other MM patients. I love my Dr and he is very open to trying whatever I ask and knows what a bitch this disease is. I hope you find some relief soon... actually, all of us.

 

Amen!

 

In my 40 year history with MM I have asked the same question many times. Here is the best recap explaination iMO. Best to hear it from a professional vs my feeble attempt: http://www.dizziness-and-balance.com/disorders/menieres/menieres.html

One of the most basic layman's explaination I have hear from two different good docs was pretty simple and easy to understand. First they reminded me that a vertigo attack is simply misinformation data going from the ear to the brain....making your eyes jerk back and forth....normally in the direction of the offending ear. And if you are a believer that somehow it relates to plumbing in the ear its an dilation and subsequent rupture of the vestibular sac that holds that fluid which has a certain ph. When it ruptures and that ph fluid mixes with the hearing sac fluid bedlam occurs. Like mixing milk and oj. The balance cells (little receptor hairs) go nuts since they are not used to swimming in acid. So your brain goes nuts and jerks yours eyes....and the room feels like it spinning (but we all know the room is really not spinning) The hearing cells are also impacted and are more fragile than the balance receptors. That is why MM patients lose hearing over time in a predictable loss pattern as they die more quickly. The vestibular cells are more robust and hang around giving grief for a little longer. Eventually they too begin to die (some call it burnout) but the truth is that by clinical criteria very few actually achieve full burn out. But often its dumbed down enough for the spins to go away for life. But hearing is often shot by then resulting in no aidable hearing in that ear. But a candidate for a CI with caution that its a well known pathological fact that the balance sacs have deformed and are often in the way of the electrode for the CI. So that can cause havoc when that wire is inserted and hits the balance system (sacs)....yikes....sort of like the old Cody tac which is no longer used....you don't want to rupture that vestibular sac by accident. Eventually that leads to some required destructive procedure to kill off a damaged vestibular sac by just killing the rector cells with gent or strep or surgically. Many docs go ahead and do combo Labys and CIs since the risk of tearing up the balance sac is high in a MM patient. New work is being done to be able to visualize those sacs and dilated location pre surgery on a CI and determine an entry point in a place for the electrode to do less damage. Very good progress on that. Some docs pay attention to it....some just drill the hole in the wall and stick the coat hanger in. Yikes. Hope this helps explain what is going on with an attack.