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Severe vertigo colonoscopy prep

Discussion in 'Your Living Room' started by Jenski, Jul 16, 2020.

  1. Jenski

    Jenski New Member

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    Apr 5, 2020
    Hi everyone,
    I know this topic was covered a little bit in some older posts but I was wondering if anyone has anything new to say about their experience with colonoscopy preps.
    I get episodes of very severe vertigo, the attacks come in clusters with a month or a few months of remission between episodes. My vertigo lasts for 17+ hours at a time and the cluster of attacks can last for many weeks to months, my longest being 7 months with out leaving my house. They're so bad that I can't move a millimeter during an attack, I vomit every 3-5 minutes and I have to wear Depends because I'm unable to move to use the restroom, the whole experience is traumatizing to say the least, Valium and Zofran don't do much for me.
    I am supposed to get a colonoscopy next week and I'm terrified to take the prep solution before the procedure. I cook all my meals from scratch and do not add any salt in any of my meals ever, the only sodium I get is from the liter of coconut water I drink a day and any salts that are naturally in vegetables and organic meats. The colonoscopy prep solution that the Dr is prescribing is called GoLytely (4 liters of fluid) and contains about 30,000mg of salt that I'm supposed to drink in 2 sessions that are a few hours apart.
    My Dr can't recommend anything else better for my meniere's and I was wondering if anyone had a Dr prescribe a special prep for their meniere's that's maybe low in sodium? Or I'd love to hear anyone's experience with the colon preps. Thank you for your time!
     
  2. Mopje

    Mopje New Member

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    Jun 30, 2019
    I would call and ask for a different prep as there are other options. I ended up taking Miralax.
     
    • Agree Agree x 2
  3. IvanA

    IvanA Active Member

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    Apr 30, 2020
    Ask a doctor, maybe you can take a vestibular sedative before and after the colonoscopy. (diazepam for example) When I take diazepam for a 4-7 days I am really fine, like before the meniere. But no one can live with daily diazepam dosage haha.

    Anyway my dosage was 5mg before sleep and 2.5mg in the mornings. Ask if that can affect your test, if not try it!
     
  4. Jenski

    Jenski New Member

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    Apr 5, 2020
    Thanks Mpoje, I asked about taking Miralax and the dr didn't seem to think it would do anything. I may need to get a second opinion.
     
  5. Jenski

    Jenski New Member

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    Apr 5, 2020
    Thanks IvanA! That's a great suggestion, I'll see what the dr says.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  6. Mopje

    Mopje New Member

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    Jun 30, 2019
    I’m sorry to hear the doctor doesn’t think it’ll work as it definitely does work. I had to take most of the contents of the bottle the day before the colonoscopy and 2 Dulcolax at bedtime. Finished the rest of the Miralax 2 hours before colonoscopy.
     
  7. IvanA

    IvanA Active Member

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    Jenksi are you sure that salt is the trigger for your vertigo attacks? Maybe you're worrying a lot about it and it's not your trigger. I have been doing tests and I have not noticed a great improvement when I spent three months eating practically without salt, nor have I noticed a worsening now that as things with salt, I try not to abuse or take high amounts of salt (but this I already did before my meniere for taking care of my general health). To date I buy low salt products when they are available and use low sodium salt (60% potassium chloride 40% sodium chloride), but bread, cheese, nachos, etc. I eat them with normal salt and no problem.

    I've read other testimonials from people who have been trying to give up certain foods for a while and then go back to them in high amounts to make sure what their trigger might be. And there is a bit of everything, there are many people who do not notice changes with salt, others do not notice anything with sugar, alcohol, etc. Everything is to find and make sure which is the trigger of each one

    And it seems that pharmacies pay me to promote it, but I ask you the question I ask everyone. Have you tried taking betahistine? How long and what dose?
     
  8. Jenski

    Jenski New Member

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    Apr 5, 2020
    Hi IvanA,
    I'm not totally sure if sodium alone is a trigger. I do know that when my electrolytes are off balance I have severe attacks, I've had attacks when I've been dehydrated and once when I tried Smooth Move senna tea which cleared my colon out but threw my electrolytes off which put me into the worse attacks of my life. Stress is another definitive trigger. A few months ago I tried to add saltier foods to my diet but ended up having attacks, there were also other variables involved, stress for one, so it's hard to say if it was the salt that triggered the attacks. I'll need to try testing my sodium tolerances again.
    I was diagnosed with meniere's 3 years ago, with my first cluster of attacks was after going freediving in the ocean.
    I have 2 neuro-otologists, one at UCLA and one at the House Clinic in CA. I'm taking 16mg of Betahistine 3x/day for 2 years and I'm following the JOH supplement regimen. I tried diuretics for a year but they didn't seem to do much. I'm also avoiding some foods that I was slightly allergic to (I did allergy testing at the House Clinic), I'm on a very low salt diet and I'm also avoiding foods high in lectins which can cause inflammation. Cutting the foods high in lectins and the foods that I showed an allergy have made a difference I believe, next I need to test adding more sodium to be sure of how it affects me.
    If I can keep my stress levels down, electrolytes in balance and get plenty of exercise I can go a few months without attacks. But when I have one, they come in clusters and are very severe. I'm getting a second opinion on the colonoscopy prep tomorrow, fingers crossed they can offer something more mild.
    I'm really appreciate the time everyone took to respond to my post, thank you.
     
  9. IvanA

    IvanA Active Member

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    From what you explain the first trigger you have is stress, salt is not very clear that it is your cause. Now there is no time for you to do tests at home, but after the clonoscopy try to have your electrolytes and your stress well by eating salt normally, but without exaggeration to be sure.

    For your test, insist if you can take a vestibular sedative as I told you, if you can take a week diazepam as I told you, you should have no problem.

    By the way, a curious fact if you also want to try it, betahistine made me better by taking 24mg every 12h and not 16mg every 8h; and that at the end of the day is the same dose.
     
  10. California Sun

    California Sun Active Member

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    May 23, 2019

    I had a severe reaction to the colonoscopy prep. I had severe tinnitus, lost all my hearing, and then became dizzy--all of this by the time I finished half of that poison. I spent the night on the bathroom floor with my head in the toilet. I was to too sick to go for the procedure. Dietary salt isn't a trigger for me but ingesting that much salt in a short period of time did cause severe problems. I made a post about that last year. Maybe you can find it.
     

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