What to ask at ENT?

The first question to ask is “Are you familiar with and have you treated others with Menieres?” If not, your first line of treatment will be water pills and low salt diet. Asked my GP last week for anti virals and he wouldn’t do it but he would give a script for Valium for the vertigo. So I guess he would rather me get addicted to Valium then try me on anti virals. Then the doctors wonder why we Menierians self medicate.

 

Rich, it’s funny you say this-well more sad then funny but you get me. My PCP offered me kalonopin over anti-virals. I fully believe he thinks I’m making all of my symptoms up. I guess bc it can’t physically be seen it must not be real. Ugh frustrating!

 

Hi David, definitely ask for a hearing test, I wish I had one sooner to compare. I agree with asking how familiar they are with Menieres especially to start antivirals. I have learned so much more from the forum then any doctor! Good luck.

 

Ask for a referral to a neurotologist.
Even my neurotologist wanted me on Ativan. I said no thank you.
I agree with Rich's view on things.

Jim

 

As someone who's seen a LOT of doctors in the almost 3 decades since I was diagnosed, here's my $.02:

1) Make sure this ENT truly understands the inner ear. Ask how many Meniere's patients they're currently treating & if they are up to date on current research, etc. Not all ENT's are equal! Ideally, you'll find someone who specializes in hearing and balance. No disrespect to GP's or "regular" ENT's, but finding someone who truly understands the inner ear is crucial. In my opinion, GP's tend to use Meniere's as a catch all diagnosis for any inner ear issue they don't immediately understand. This could have a simpler, and easier to treat, cause.

2) If the ENT doesn't give you an audiogram before your appointment, ask why - this is standard operating practice. One of the ways Meniere's is usually diagnosed is by seeing if your hearing matches a certain pattern.

3) Don't write off Valium. The docs aren't trying to make you an addict - it can help, or at least it helps me. I'm pretty obviously not a doctor - but unless you have issues with substance abuse, I'd think about following your docs advice on this. They aren't prescribing it for anxiety - it acts as a vestibular suppressant and can really help calm a vertigo episode. My doc gives me 5 mg tablets, but I always break them in half & start with 2.5 mg and then take more if/as I need, up to 10 mg a day. Any more than that and I'm such a zombie that I'd honestly rather be dizzy.

4) Start watching your sodium intake now. It's pretty standard advice. I was told to have no more than 500 mg of sodium a day, which is damn near impossible, but I try to get as close as I can. In between episodes, I go right back to pizza and canned soup, but until you're there, lay off the processed foods & salt!

5) If they don't start you on diuretics, again, ask why. This is Meniere's 101 - diuretics & low sodium.

6) Go in with a complete health history. My docs figured out pretty quickly that my severe allergies were a big trigger for me based on my health history. Your triggers, if this is even Meniere's, may be different.

Good luck!

 

I like the way you beat around bush, KaSchu. Lol

 

For years I had what I labeled 3 hour flu illnesses which occurred every 6 month to a year. In reality, they were vertigo events. As time progressed, symptoms became much worse. You might want to look for a new GP. My GP was my only source for AV's. After I spent 30 minutes with him laying out what was going on he agreed that AV's were non invasive compared to other options and signed the script. None of my ENT's would prescribe AV's. Unfortunately, AV's did not provide any relief for me.

Make sure you take the time to read David Buchholz's "Heal Your Headache". Even though I never experience what I would call headaches, my vertigo is being successfully treated as a migraine issue. The dietary triggers are huge and represent another non-invasive approach. The book cost me lees than $10 for my kindle.