I gave up caffeine by making my coffee at home. Graually I changed the coffee grounds from all regular to all decaf. Every 2 or 3 days I increased the amount of decaf and ecreased the amount of regular til it was all decaf after about 10 days. I had no headache or withdrawal. It was a long time though that i didnt miss that kick my morning coffee gave me. Now I look forward to my morning decaf.
June, that's how I'm doing it. I'm down to 1/4 strength, 2 cups a day. I've been through a bad bout of vertigo episodes (before reducing). I'm tired, dysequilibrated, mildly migrain-ish most days - not sure what is the usual vertigo hangover, migraine from summer thunderclouds building every day, or adjusting to de-caff.
I was a huge coffee drinker before getting MM. Since getting it, caffeine is one of the few triggers I have been able to identify, but only in excess. So I limit myself to one mug in the morning, with a Splenda and some milk or half and half. The rest of the day it is green day, alone or with other things (ginger, acai, blueberry, pomegranate), which I have grown to prefer and which has a number of health benefits besides. My main trigger has always been stress, though. And living in our world, it is pretty much unavoidable. I minimize it as much as I can. Ironic, since my profession before MM was essentially stress on steroids, and I loved it. Always fascinating to read the experiences of others here. And frustrating, as this disease is such a complicated and diabolical mess.
BR I agree.....our triggers are so unique that I have to wonder how they all manage to produce similar results in terms of symptoms.
I saw Dr. Lange today. She was dismissive of my efforts to get off caffeine ("If it worked, everyone would do it.") Sigh. We don't say that about exercise and nutrition for heart attack prevention - we know it works, but not everyone does it! What a non-answer. I wish she would just say "I don't know" or there are no studies or whatever. I think that was her way of saying "you're time is up, stop asking questions."
What? I don't think she understands the contributory aspect of MM. Most people find success with several simultaneous changes not a single silver bullet. I think it takes a perfect storm to get MM and a concerted effort peeling the onion with several ways to take the load off the immune system. It's sort of old fashioned doctoring more than the computerized approach.
I would be interested in knowing whether caffeine and other ingested triggers are more severe when the herpes virus activity is at its peak as opposed to after the viral activity has ceased or lessened. Are people who take antivirals less likely to suffer from triggers.
Yes for me. Weather and barometric changes used to make my CH symptoms (which were constant) even worse. Post antivirals weather is not an issue for me, ditto air travel, music, other sounds etc. I do not think food was ever an issue. Sadly, caffeine still does cause my hearing to degrade a little so I avoid it.
I have one small, but fully caffeinated slug of coffee a day after dinner. It is a treat. And absence definitely makes the heart grow fonder. A proven link and cause and effect continues to elude me. But that is Meniere’s for you. It is veritably a head fecker of a syndrome!
While Dr. Lange dismisses caffeine, for the vestibular testing she orders, you are not to have any caffeine that day because it is a vestibular stimulant! Down to 1/6 strength coffee twice a day. Head feeling clearer, less headachey.
4 years later! I did get off caffeine totally- I can’t remember but I think I was vertigo free then. But then I joined AA to get off alcohol and started drinking coffee again. I’m 2 years sober from booze, off nicotine and have switched from 2-3 cups of coffee to 2 cups of green tea. I don’t know if I’ll get off caffeine completely...
Update. After my first acupuncture treatment with someone who has helped other Ménière ians, I walked out of there (not stumbling!!) with a deep sense “no more coffee, no more antidepressants”. I switched immediately to green tea, and gradually reduced the strength over the last couple months. Today I’d say 1 with no caffeine at all. Wish me luck!
I have no choice but to agree, as much as I like coffee, when I stop, I feel a little better. Been drinking Green tea now for over a week. When I had my two big vertigo attacks two months ago, I was drinking several cups of coffee a day, and eating more salt than I usually do. I also cut out seasoning my food with salt completely. I am still tempted to drink a cup a day with two teaspoons of sugar. I wonder what that will do. I cannot quit the sugar in my tea either. I ate no candy, cake, cookies, chips,soda pop, or any kind of snack food for a long a long time now. Coffee was my last guilty drinking pleasure. I am thankful to this forum for giving me this knowledge.
I made it through Day 1 with no caffeine. I had a couple brief vertigo feelings, and a neck ache but that’s all expected during a crazy chinook barometric adventure day... so I think I did ok, physically. Now it’s the mental game. I’m stocked with Rooibos tea. If I get desperate for sipping coffee... I guess decaf coffee still has some caffeine. I guess I should try to stay pure for 3 months like Dr Buchholz recommends?
I have had no coffee or green tea for probably 8 years now. But I still have chocolate. Decaf coffee or a latte was hard enough - can't give up chocolate. I also wanted to say that I have started acupuncture and herbal medicine with someone that specializes in vertigo. Between switching from Betahistine to Histamine SL and the acupuncture, i think I'm doing better. I have had only 1 episode in 12 days and started the acupuncture after the last episode. I have had 3 sessions. I don't want to jinx it but the fact of the matter is - I was having multiple episodes per week for a couple of months to where I am now. Trying to avoid the shunt surgery and the Gent injection. This is my last try - trying to be hopeful but so far something seems to be working better.
Hello, I too gave up everything caffinated except chocolate. Chocolate has never bothered me. I once had a cup of caffinated coffee by mistake and vertigo was almost instantaneous. I hope things are working out for you with some of the alternatives you have chosen.
Interesting to my old post pop up. Well its 4 and a half years later now and I have found caffeine to have no effect on my symptoms. I have tried several periods being caffeine free and it made no difference. I am sad to say that my Cochlear Hydrops eventually did progress to full blown Meniere's though.