The John of Ohio Regimen --- Updated

[Long post; my apologies.]
Hi John,

I am a long-time grateful user of your regimen, so I wanted to give you some feedback, and I also have a question I'm hoping you can answer.

My wife found your regimen on the internet in 2013 at a time when - out of desperation - I was considering ablation for the Meniere's in my right ear, which was causing frequent vomiting-inducing vertigo attacks. I was about to give up driving and bike riding because my attacks were so sudden and debilitating. In my case, my Meniere's started in 1977 when I was 32, a cycle that lasted on and off for several years before becoming quiescent, until I started a 2nd cycle in 1987. After a few years, this cycle also ended, until 2013 when it came back with a vengeance. In the previous cycles I had gotten relief from Antivert, but this was no longer effective and I was just doping myself up with Valium when a vertigo attack happened. I was guided by an ENT throughout all 3 of these cycles, but the advice had not changed much over those 36 years as I'm sure you're aware.

So I started the 1st med of your regimen in August 2013, and was on the full regimen 6 weeks later. My last vertigo attack was 11/6/2013 a little over a month after I was on all 7 supplements. It has been 11 1/2 years of relief, and for that I will be ever grateful. Thank you!

At this point, unfortunately, I recently experienced Sudden Low Frequency Hearing Loss (SLFHL) in my left ear, which my ENT started treating with Prednisone tabs on the 2nd day of symptoms to try to reverse the hearing loss. Right now it appears to be the cochlear form of Meniere's, as I have no further impairment of my balance; and the Prednisone seems to be helping. So, too soon for a longer-term treatment plan, but I'm researching my options.

I'm not sure what has caused my new cochlear Meniere's, but - as usual - it could presumably be due to either viral inflammation or ischemia. (It could also be allergens, but I'm on a gluten-free diet and being treated for allergies.) In the past, I have generally been on 3 grams of Lysine daily because wooziness or some dizziness has always come back when I decreased the dose too much. But for the last few months I had been on 2 grams daily. And since the new left-ear SLFHR, I have gone back to 3 grams, and I am considering adding Valacyclovir (though that did not help in 2019).

But I am also wondering if there's anything more I can do in case the cause of the new condition is ischemia.

I just read the 2024 update of your paper (thank you!), and have a question about betahistine. You mention you looked at European and other sources for guidance, and you also mention (and I have seen this elsewhere) that betahistine is widely prescribed and considered very effective to increase blood flow to the inner ear in some of these countries. In fact there is a study (Albu S, et al., Treatment of Meniere's disease with intratympanic dexamethazone plus high dosage of betahistine. Am J Otolaryngol. 2016 May-Jun;37(3):225-30) that states that "Betahistine at high doses (such as 144 mg/day) can yield similar vertigo control as intratympanic dexamethasone.", which would be pretty significant. (I don't currently have vertigo, but cochlear Meniere's is also thought to be caused by excess fluid pressure in the inner ear.)

So my question is why you did not choose to add betahistine to your (at-the-time) 6-ingredient cocktail for improving blood flow to the inner ear. It's mode of action seems well documented with Google's AI concluding "betahistine's effects in the inner ear are complex and multi-faceted, involving direct action on histamine receptors, improved blood flow, and potentially enhancing central vestibular compensation mechanisms".

I am thinking of adding it (or perhaps replacing MSM with it since you wrote that the latter did not prove effective), but wondered what your opinion of doing this might be since you have done more investigation than I have in this area.

Thanks very much.
Dennis

P.S. To your note that you removed Lemon Bioflavonoid because it was hard to source, I just want to mention that I have been able to get it from Piping Rock Nutrition Express: Lindberg Lemon Bioflavonoid Complex, 700 mg.

 

Thanks John!

 

Mine was working great! Always does! And then when i get abit slack with dosing the l lysine either forgetting or having too close to food it comes back with avengence

the tinnitus is driving me nuts! Do any of the supps help with that @John of Ohio

i ran out of bionfolds aswell ive got them back now maybe thats another reason

 

Hi John,

Just a follow-up on the betahistine question I asked above in case it should be helpful to anyone: I saw my ENT this week, and found out he routinely uses betahistine in his practice for Meniere's-related dizziness and vertigo. He issued me a prescription on paper to take to my local compounding pharmacy who can provide me with tablets. This legally circumvents the fact that betahistine is not approved in the US (though it is in many other countries).

I'll add that this is more expensive than ordering it from a Canadian online pharmacy, which is another option if someone will be taking betahistine longer-term.

 

Worked for a while this regieme but now hearing is almost at fully deaf and tinnitus roars @John of Ohio

Might have to try beta histamines or anything im at my wits end

 

I was helped for 12 years (no vertigo) in my right ear with John's regimen. Generally had to take 2-3 gm daily to suppress symptoms.

Recently experienced a sudden hearing loss in my left ear (no vertigo at present), and so upped my antiviral intake with valacyclovir and to improve inner ear circulation, betahistine. My ENT was willing to prescribe both. As others have mentioned, these types of treatments can take months to take effect, so I'm starting early to prevent further hearing loss and vertigo in my left ear.

The other treatment I have been getting from my ENT is weekly intratympanic dexamethasone injections to try to restore some hearing. Mixed results so far for me, but the literature shows this as frequently helpful, more so than prednisone.

 

I am two months in on JOH and Valacyclovir. It’s been a roller coaster since I have started. I am looking forward to having my ear/head settle into this and finding a happy spot. I just did the ear injections and I think it helped with the hearing a little bit, but I have still been dizzy and had some vertigo on and off for the last two months. Do to being a pilot I can’t do Betahistine or many of the other meds. I am hoping things settle down with the JOH and Valacyclovir. As long as they do I can go back to flying. Otherwise I will have to look into more aggressive options.

 

Also started anti virals along with the JOH regieme

do they work together or is the anti virals basically just a stronger version of the regieme?

atm the only thing that gives me 100 % releif to the point i dont even know ive got it is diazapam but i know its dangers

 

I get that we can’t take lysine with food. Can we take it with the other supplements? Can it be taken with Valacyclovir? I don’t want to mess up the effectiveness of the Lysine, but I will have less chance of forgetting to take my other pills if I can take them together.

 

I take my lysine with my betahistine 24mg. It has gone well

 

Thank you for the clear reply. This will make things easier.

 

John,
I have recently purchased the 7 items of the regimen and look forward to seeing the results that so many have mentioned. I do have a quick question. You also mentioned taking vitamin D3 (5,000 IU 125mcg) and Vitamin K2 (MK-7 100 mcg). Is this something that should be added along with the original 7 items? If so any specifics on when to take these during the day? Any other suggestions as this is all new and I am ready to give it a try.

 

I just found the updated Regimen (Updated - January 2023). #2 Lemon Bioflavonoid, and #7 MSM has been removed. I have ordered but not yet started taking them. Should this be removed entirely from the regimen that I plan to start taking. If so, was there any specific reason you could share?

 

Hi John where can I find your latest protocol?

 

What betahistine dosage daily are u guys taking please
Thx

 

Hi John,

Thanks so much for all of the research you have done. I started your regimen today. Hoping for some relief. Quick question about the lysine. I have the L-Lysine (from Best Naturals) 500 mg. I plan on taking two of these a day, one in the morning, one in the evening. Other active ingredients include Dicalcium Phosphate, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Croscarmellose Sodium, Stearic Acid, Magnesium Stearate, Silicon Dioxide, and Pharmaceutical Glaze. Is this brand/type/dose of L-Lysine satisfactory, or should I be looking for something purer, more potent? Thank you!