It can be any compound pharmacy that is willing to fill your prescription for Serc. But I mentioned Walgreens because deadeye got his there and Dr Hains mentions it on his site.
Vicki, a pharmacy that compounds drugs is a "compounding pharamacy." All pharamacies are "compound pharmacies," as they have a wide variety of "compounds." An Internet search of compounding pharmacies will turn up a large number in the US. (A former student of mine is a very successful and highly-regarded Ohio compounding pharmacist.) --John of Ohio
drugs are compounded, made from scratch, but you are correct, the proper way to call it is a compounding pharmacy.
I've been searching the board for info on Serc prescriptions in the U.S.... this thread helps a lot, thanks. I am seeing my dr on Fri and I know he wants to get me back on a diuretic, which my GP (and I) am very hesitant about because after 3 years on them, it did a number on my kidneys, with elevated creatinine levels. Things have been going generally downhill for me though, and I need to do something. Trying to postpone the shunt surgery as well, but need relief. Going to see what he says about betahistine.
If a physician persists in prescribing diuretics as a first-line and primary Meniere's treatment in the US, it is highly unlikely the guy has even ever heard of betahistine (SERC); or how the rest of the medical world in virtually all other countries (such as Canada) knows the efficacy and safety of this drug for Meniere's. In no other country is a diuretic and/or a low salt diet the preferred treatment for Meniere's. Compared to betahistine and other agents (several of which are in my regimen, below), diuretics simply fail to provide continuing and adequate symptomatic relief. Meniere's is not caused by a deficiency of diuretics, nor directly a result of excess water in the body. Have you also tried lysine and the other elements in my Meniere's regimen? No need for a prescription, but together they have an exceptional efficacy rate (>85%): http://www.zoominternet.net/~kcshop/JOH.pdf (And what is the basis of your presumption that shunt surgery must be the next, best, and only therapy for you?) Keep us posted on how things go, whichever therapy you choose or are able to take. --John of Ohio
I agree. Out of desperation and before I found the good folks here, I started taking diuretics as it was the only thing the MD's would offer besides endless prendisone. I feel much better now off them for over a month.
John, in my experience just because the doctor has "heard" about Serc does not mean they recognize, support it or agree with efficacy to prescribe it. Early on after my diagnosis I was seeing a specialist in Meniere's around the Seattle area (where I lived at the time), I asked him (and my ENT prior) for the Serc but he said it was not proven and would not prescribe. When I moved cross country I asked the question of my new ENT and she also was not supportive of prescribing it. So my learnings have been that there are doctors out there who have an open mind, and others who will not try or support new things because they cant be proven. Sad but that has been my experience.
which is exactly why I think it is so hard to prove efficacy of drugs (be it Serc, anti viral, etc). This thing can randomly turn on and off and it makes the medical community doubt that the treatment worked for "you" vs it simply being "just because". And in my short time with this thing of 3 yrs (but 3 years too long!) I have learned that each person reacts so differently it is a constantly moving target. I am sure that has to be frustrating for a medical community that prefers absolutes or at the very least strong documentation.
The treatment to relief ratio is questionable, at best. Every time I see someone post about their success, with any regimen, my first thought is, “How do you know the change in your Meniere’s condition is simply not a result of the disease going into a state of natural remission?”. I’ve been fortunate, so far, as I do believe my Meniere’s has been in such a state of remission since March 17. I’ve lowered my daily dosage of SERC from 224mg to 96mg. A bonus for me is that my Tinnitus noise level has remained almost non-existent and my hearing, in the affected ear, is back to (whatever is my) normal. Great post, nicmger.
From the majority of posts and from my own experience, most of the symptom relief is not from remission, reason I say this is most people psot how they are experience vertigo and other symptoms frequently I was on a daily basis 2 years ago, but within a relatively short time after starting antivirals, I stopped having vertigo attacks and dizzy spells for the first time in 49 years, and same with others for whatever period they were experiencing it. It is too far fetched IMO that with never have been in a natural remission, then one starts an antiviral and now MM is in a natural remission. IMO its the AV's. BTW there still is interest in the research community of doing a double blind placebo controlled antiviral study and Meniere's. It is a work in progress atm getting things together, money, contacts etc to make it happen, might be awhile though but I was excited to hear that some Meniere's researchers note the relief people are getting from antivirals and are pursuing a clinical trial and hopefully they will use the higher doses as Dr Gacek recommends and hopefully not in the too distant future.
And there's the problem with so many "double-blind clinical trials." The researchers don't want to test something too far "out on the edge," so they use a "safe, conservative dosage level" --- which in the case of a clinical trial with antiherpetics will "prove" that they simply don't work. Once such a "study"gets published, it will be the gold standard negation of antiherpetic Meniere's study. It's the one study so many physicians (because of the stuff they learn from their insurance company lawyers) will latch on to. "Nope, sir, sorry, but a new study just shows that acyclovir simply doesn't work against Meniere's, just like I told at your last visit. Have you been taking your diuretic and avoiding all that salt?" --John of Ohio
This Meniere's researcher is aware of the relief many people are getting from antivirals and is also familiar with Dr Gacek's papers and recommended doses. and is also aware of previous studies that fell short in results in favor of antivirals for Meniere's and made mention that those studies did not use higher doses. We shall see.. but it was good to know that the success with antivirals is being noted by researchers.
The first study may be dismissed but i think momenetum will gather with further studies and they will be accepted. It is to the benefit of insurance companies and certainly the companies who make the drugs. Only the surgeons lose and that is probably where the foot dragging is because most oto's are surgeons.
Your quote below, reminds me of my last visit 2 weeks to the hospital, that is what they told me. And to add more injury to their words, they said this, "Your hearing will get worse and worse, just go for operation". That is what irritates me for not giving me the AV, they are simply too proud to learn new things. Now AV is stabilising my hearing in my latest post in my Valtrex journey thread.