Hello - thanks for being here - I had an ENT apt today and he diagnosed me with Hydrops, have had several episodes of radical vertigo lasting 4-6 hours, the first was in August the rest were in December and already this month- total of five. Tinnitus I've had since spring 2010. I had one episode of short hearing loss in one ear, that only lasted an hour. My hearing at the test today was unimpaired - I've had pain in the affected ear, that seemed to respond to sudafed / advil he said I have about a 50/50 chance of developing full meniers or it going away without bother. I have systemic lupus, which he says is not the cause of the hydrops but I'm not sure he's fully correct on that. he wants me to give up salt and caffeine. He talked about a diuretic but that sounds like such a bad idea (I have kidney involvement with my lupus) it sounds like treatment options are limited and barely effective. so annoying I really don't know how successful I will be at changing my diet to comply. so annoying. Feeling annoyed by a new diagnosis. thanks for listening.
I would try to get agreement for the doctor to prescribe anti-virals for you. If they work, they can help to reduce the impact on the ears long term. For those that it works, it is my understanding that the sooner you start the med more likely it is to be effective. Also, my doctor has given me a prescrition for lorazapam that I take if the vertigo hits. It is placed under the tongue and for me it reduces the attack to under 2 hrs (whereas before it was 4-6 hrs each).
I also would try to get the doctor to prescribe the anti-virals. They have a low incidence of side effects--so the potential benefit next to potential cost seems very high for you. Several of us have found that showing the doctor the following article has helped them get on board: http://www.mm3admin.co.za/documents/docmanager/6e64f7e1-715e-4fd6-8315-424683839664/00056616.pdf. The treatment recommendations begin at the bottom of p. 103. When this started for me, before I had a correct diagnosis, my hearing test showed no hearing loss in my affected ear. But my hearing got worse and worse to the point that it has really impacted my life. Much of it has reversed since I've been on the anti-viral, but I don't know if it ever will totally come back, and I sure wish I'd gotten started with the anti-virals sooner.