After two weeks of hell and a few sad dismal posts here I thought I would report a little improvement to my situation. We all need a little sunlight, right. I've had five days with no symptoms, and my hearing has returned to almost "normal". My left ear will always be damaged and will probably just keep getting worse but for now it has returned to how it was over a month ago before my most recent symptoms. After my second severe vertigo attack I was suspended from my job until "I got the vertigo under control". I just got back from the ENT and he has cleared me to go back to work. I can't say for sure this is the reason for my improvement, it could of course just be the usual pattern of bad then good then bad again, but 5 days ago I started a regime of lysine diuretics lemon bioflavinoids Inner-ear Balance (a product with Chinese herbs) Clear Sinus and Ears (more herbs) MSM Vitamin C Vitamin E Are any of these responsible? No proof but I think so. As I've commented on other posts the only sure connection for everyone suffering from this crappy illness is a full inner ear (the endolymph). Causes are a mystery but most likely many and varied depending on the sufferer. Solutions handed out by the docs are mostly for the symptoms, not the causes. (My ENT just prescribed valium... and gave me the usual "pep talk". Pep talk is mostly "No idea how to cure you". I would never let him know about all the self help I've prescribed.) It seems to me that it all basically comes down to us and what we discover amongst ourselves that help. I'm seeing an acupuncturist later today. I'm willing to try anything to keep that debilitating vertigo at bay. Anyway, my goal is to reduce the fluid buildup. So far I think it's working. I'm not going to get my hopes up too high. It's a lifetime illness. But for now, I have been cleared to work again, my symptoms are mostly gone and life does not seem so bad. Fingers crossed.
I tried acupuncture 3 times a week for 3 months. He tried to tell me my problems were kidney related and put the needles in my ankle. No such luck as vertigo continued. Might work for some but every case is different. Good luck. I take a diuretic, Vitamins B5, B6, C, D, E, lemon bioflavinoids, ginkgo biloba.
The idea that Meniere's is caused by kidney insufficiency has been going around for years and years. Having dealt with this for decades, I have heard any number of theories, that to my knowledge have never been proven one way or another. Maybe some of these theories have some validity for some people, who knows. But the fact is that at this point, nobody really knows.
The acupuncturist was very efficent. She is very much into nutrition and would like me to cut out glutton and dairy to see how that works. She took my list of herbs that I'm taking and will do some research and possibly tweek it a bit. Other than that, she made no promises. Who knows, but it's worth a try. (Didn't mention kidneys... )