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Betahistine! Eureka?

Discussion in 'Your Living Room' started by david, Apr 18, 2019.

  1. david

    david New Member

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    Apr 18, 2019
    Hello fellow spinners!

    My name is david. I have been dealing with seasonal bouts of Meniere's for the last 7 years. They come hard for 1-2 weeks, (drop spells every two days), then taper off. I'm affected roughly 10 weeks out of the year.

    How do I know I have Meniere's? My father told me. He, and my brother, experience the same thing. Regularly.

    After an especially hard round of spells this month, I finally decided to see an ENT. She prescribed pretty much everything y'all have been taking. Diuretics, steroids, and anti-nausea stuff. I tried these for a few days, and HATED how I felt.

    Then, I noticed a 4th prescription for something called Betahistine. I've been taking 16mg a day for the last three days, and feel normal again. Is this common experience; or, is it like everything else I have thought fixed this problem, (B5/B6, antihistamines, etc)? Something that seems to work, but fails at some point?

    PS: the ENT says this condition is thought to be caused by an enlarged ear canal?!? Have you heard this before?
     
  2. Melc

    Melc Member

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    Seeing several red flags with this post but I’ll bite.

    16 mg of Serc for three days would not touch intractable vertigo attacks. Ask me how I know.
     
  3. Cheryl

    Cheryl Active Member

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    Enlarged ear canal? No. Meniere's is an inner ear disorder. Inner ear as way in there, close to the brain and encased in bone. Are you sure the doctor you saw was an ENT?
     
  4. david

    david New Member

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    Apr 18, 2019
    Hi Meic,

    Thanks for the reply, (despite my red flags). Sounds like this treatment didn't work for you? Out of curiosity, have you found something that does help? I only ask because I'm pessimistic this treatment is going to work for every attack I have in the future. Thanks
     
  5. david

    david New Member

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    Apr 18, 2019
    LOL, yes I reasonably believe she's an ENT. That's what her business card says.

    I may have misunderstood what she was expressing. This morning I found this article:

    "In Meniere’s disease, the endolymphatic space is ballooned outward, and is therefore much larger than it should be. This is called endolymphatic hydrops. In histologic studies (where the inner ear is examined under a
    microscope), all patients with Meniere’s disease symptoms have endolymphatic hydrops. This means that it is a very consistent finding, and is certainly related to Meniere’s disease. We don’t know if the enlarged space causes Meniere’s disease, is caused by Meniere’s disease, or is otherwise tangentially related to Meniere’s disease. Also, there are some patients with endolymphatic hydrops, who don’t have the symptoms of Meniere’s disease."

    https://ohns.ucsf.edu/sites/ohns.ucsf.edu/files/menieres_guide_v4.pdf
     
  6. Melc

    Melc Member

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    I’m not a doctor so it’s not for me to tell you what dosage of Serc to take. From my experience 16 mg/day for 3 days is not efficacious. I was taking 48mgs/day for years; at times it was upped to 60 mg. I still had 12+ Hour long vertigo episodes. Did the Serc help me? I don’t know. I may have had more frequent and more violent attacks if I weren’t on it, but who knows?

    My point was I think your dosage is very small and you haven’t been taking it long enough to know if that’s your magic bullet.

    I agree with Cheryl regarding an enlarged ear canal. That’s a bizarre thing for an ENT to tell a patient who is suffering from an inner ear disorder.

    The only thing that helped me was time. That and I quit stressing about when and where I was going to get smote. I realized I wasn’t going to die from it and that it would eventually pass. I acknowledge that’s not the way everyone can handle this condition but I did help me.

    I hope you find relief, David.
    Mel
     
  7. zotjen

    zotjen Member

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    David, the one thing that strikes me is that you say you have seasonal bouts of Meniere's only 10 weeks out of the year. I don't think I've ever heard of such a thing. Are you sure your symptoms aren't allergy related? What other symptoms do you have other than drop spells? Also, did your ENT give you any tests or did she just take your word for it that you have Meniere's? The enlarged ear canal comment is highly suspicious that she might not be the best doctor to diagnose and treat Meniere's.
     
  8. david

    david New Member

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    Apr 18, 2019
    Thanks Mel. I deeply appreciate your perspective. The worst part of the last 5 weeks was the stress in my body - worrying if I would drop at any time, and paying close attention to every bodily movement lest I fall over. I felt like the tin-man ALL THE TIME. I feel normal today, and much, much more relaxed. A blessed respite.

    We'll see if the Serc helps during my next expected bout in November.
     
  9. david

    david New Member

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    Apr 18, 2019
    Symptoms:

    1. 50 years old <--- Joke, but statistically relevant
    2. Severe loss of hearing in my left ear, verified by a (possible) ENT
    3. Severe tinnitus, periodically, for 4-5 weeks
    4. Fullness in the left ear before, during, and after dizzy spells
    5. Moderate to severe vertigo episodes lasting 2-4 hours
    6. 4-6 weeks of moderate physical imbalance
    7. Family history

    Going in for an MRI next week. Wish me luck!
     
  10. Fisherman42

    Fisherman42 Active Member

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    Tried it and no change in my symptoms eventually got on antivirals and I am now much, much better.
     

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