Saw a new ENT yesterday

A while back I had sent my PCP the article that Dr. Gacek wrote in the hopes that I could try that. She didn't go for it and referred me back to ENT. This time I saw a different doctor than last time, and this one was a 180 from the one I saw last year. Young, seemed a lot more open-minded and seemed to know something about Meniere's. He listened to what I had to say and treated me like a human being. I was hoping he would prescribe the antivirals, but didn't. He has heard of the treatment but doesn't use it because it isn't a generally accepted treatment for Meniere's. That seems to be the general philosophy in the Kaiser organization. OK, whatever. He did tell me that the Maxide I am currently taking needs to be at a higher dose and he prescribed that, and also put me on a daily Claritin and explained that histamine in the body can exacerbate Meniere's and why. He did seem optimistic that my symptoms can at least be brought down to a consistent low level so it doesn't interfere with my life so much. We can only hope.... Anyway, I need to get blood work done in 3-4 weeks to make sure the higher dose of Maxide isn't messing with my kidneys. And he said that once he got the results would check in with me to see how I am doing.

Meanwhile, I will be having a hearing test at the end of the month and have a consult set up to get hearing aids. I just hope that I will be able to afford them.

 

I already tried. The answer was "no".

 

I am in the Conejo Valley area of Southern California, about an hour or so north of Los Angeles. Problem is, I have Kaiser so am limited as to who I can see unless I pay out of pocket, and that is something I simply cannot afford to do.

 

I'm not sure what happened by my whole message didn't post. The whole explanation about the histamines in the body exacerbating Meniere's kind of went over my head, but I think it had something to do with histamines causing inflammation in the body. This isn't a new theory at all--when I was dx'd at the House Clinic in the early 1970s I was told something similar. At that time I was prescribed 50 mg Benedryl to be taken at bedtime--nondrowsy antihistamines didn't exist back then. Thankfully they do now. If nothing else, the Claritin will probably help with the seasonal allergies I sometimes get at this time of year. (But haven't had so far!) Maybe this is behind the allergy shots helping some people?

 

This is the first I've ever heard of that. Antihistamines are not a new treatment for Meniere's, so I can't imagine why they would still be prescribed if they are ototoxic or without warning the patient about the possibilty of ototoxicity. I am at least going to try this for a while and see how it goes. I feel more comfortable with trying the antihistamines than I do with some of the other things mentioned on the forum.

All I can say is if you are not comfortable with antihistamines, it's probably best you don't take them. There are things mentioned on this board that I am not comfortable trying, so I do understand your feelings. We all make our choices about what we will/will not try. We all have our reasons for that, those reasons should always be respected, but unfortunately sometimes they are not.

 

Way back when I was first dx'd at House, I was prescribed something that I think was similar to betahistine. I had to get it at a compounding pharmacy. It was taken as drops under the tongue, and also as injections. I took it for a while but it did not help, so I stopped.

I know someone who has taken Claritin long term for allergy issues. She hasn't mentioned any side effects. My dad took it long term for sinus/allergy issues. At that time it was still prescription only. He said it helped a lot and he didn't have any side effects.

As far as going to another Dr. where I have to pay out of pocket, I will cross that bridge if and when I come to it. But in all fairness, I am going to see if this Dr. can do anything first. It's only been three days since my meds were changed. If nothing else, he seems kind and sympathetic to what I am dealing with, and that's a lot more than I've gotten from many doctors--especially the one I saw before seeing this one.