Is meniere’s making you depressed?
If Meniere’s disease doesn’t get you down and depressed I don’t know what would. The spinning and the throwing up and the bad timing of the attacks sure gets me down. And from what I have read others feel the same way.
Years ago way before I had Meniere’s disease I had a rough period in my life. Like many people I went to a doctor for counseling. He combined counseling and prescription drugs for depression (something that I had since I was a teenager). At first I was reluctant because I worried about becoming addicted and the harmful side effects. The medicine and the counseling for me at least was a big success.
When I was first diagnosed with Meniere’s disease, my doctor and I never really discussed what this disorder was doing to me emotionally. We talked about the physical aspects but never how it harmed my overall mood and feelings of deep depression. I can’t help to think that the emotional problems of meniere’s are sometimes ignored, when they should be just as important as relieving the spinning and the nausea.
Over the past year that I have written this blog I have received quite a few comments from people just like me who feel that their world has been turned upside down and nothing will make it right again.
As a matter of fact from one of my most recent posts I received this comment...
"I am very lucky that I have overcome many of the worst symptoms of Meniere's. I was diagnosed 3 years ago and I am now 24 years old.
Unfortunately my only remaining symptoms affect my deep passions and hobbies the most - gradual hearing loss and tinnitus along with "tinnitus attacks" is what I like to call them. My hearing is slowly dimishing in my left ear. My passion and hobbies include audio engineering, recording, musicianship, acoustic design, etc. There is no other hobby or industry that depends on your hearing more than mine. I have to really get creative when trying to balance and fine tune audio when I only have 1 good ear. I'm starting to question all of the time and money I'm investing, and have invested, in this passion of mine - I probably won't be able to continue at the rate of my deafness. Not to sound to depressing but it's quite dream shattering.
I wish you and all the commenters the best."
Very sad indeed to hear how something that is a part of your life is taken away because of this or any disorder.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Meniere’s disease and dental problems
About 2 months ago I had a problem with a wisdom tooth. It was strange because I’m 52 years old and I have never had any problems with my wisdom teeth. Anyway, like a lot of health issues that I have there seems to be a connection between Meniere ’s disease and dental problems.
It started out as just a regular toothache, whenever I tried to eat anything my teeth and my gums would ache to the point that I didn’t want to eat anything. Unfortunately the pain went from my mouth to the side of my face and this lead to an earache. And an earache is the last thing that I need with my meniere’s disease. I went to a oral surgeon who was recommended by my dentist. He had no problem pulling the tooth; it only took 20 minutes to get the tooth out. I thought my dental troubles were over, but I was wrong.
After the initial gum bleeding during the next couple of days, everything seemed to be going fine. Then a piece of the bone cut through my gum, no problem I worked it loose and it eventually fell out. a few days later another piece of bone cut through my gum. Once again I worked it out. this kept happening over and over again for about a month after the wisdom tooth was pulled. All the while my jaw, my gums and my ear were hurting.
The past few weeks I haven’t had any problems with my teeth until yesterday when I bite down on something and I felt the familiar pain of a toothache again. I will be making another appointment to the dentist on Monday hopefully I won’t have to have another tooth pulled.
All during this time of my dental turmoil my meniere’s has really been acting up. Maybe it was the stress or maybe it was the earache, I’m not sure. Although I did find something on the web about a link between meniere’s and dental problems, it’s pretty interesting you might want to check it out.
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It started out as just a regular toothache, whenever I tried to eat anything my teeth and my gums would ache to the point that I didn’t want to eat anything. Unfortunately the pain went from my mouth to the side of my face and this lead to an earache. And an earache is the last thing that I need with my meniere’s disease. I went to a oral surgeon who was recommended by my dentist. He had no problem pulling the tooth; it only took 20 minutes to get the tooth out. I thought my dental troubles were over, but I was wrong.
After the initial gum bleeding during the next couple of days, everything seemed to be going fine. Then a piece of the bone cut through my gum, no problem I worked it loose and it eventually fell out. a few days later another piece of bone cut through my gum. Once again I worked it out. this kept happening over and over again for about a month after the wisdom tooth was pulled. All the while my jaw, my gums and my ear were hurting.
The past few weeks I haven’t had any problems with my teeth until yesterday when I bite down on something and I felt the familiar pain of a toothache again. I will be making another appointment to the dentist on Monday hopefully I won’t have to have another tooth pulled.
All during this time of my dental turmoil my meniere’s has really been acting up. Maybe it was the stress or maybe it was the earache, I’m not sure. Although I did find something on the web about a link between meniere’s and dental problems, it’s pretty interesting you might want to check it out.
Feel free to comment and please subscribe to my RSS Feed
Thanks
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
The stages of Meniere’s disease
There are many disorders and diseases that seem to go through stages, unfortunately most go from bad to worse. Early warning signs in the early stages are sometimes key to your treatments. Are there stages of Meniere’s disease?
Over the past year since I have started this blog I have given a lot of thought to why I have Meniere’s disease. At first I thought it was just the car accident that I was in. But I am not so sure now. In an earlier post I wrote about my problems with being car sick as a child. Maybe this was the first stage of my meniere’s disease. I can’t say for sure. Also as a child I had what seemed like a lot of problems with earaches. I went to the doctor’s repeatedly to get drops for my ears to relieve the pain. Was this somehow a sign that I was moving closer to meniere’s?
About twenty years ago I had headaches that were attributed to my high blood pressure. I started on medication and my blood pressure went from too high to too low. When it was too low I would get very light headed, similar to the feeling I would have before a meniere’s attack I went off the blood pressure medication for a few years only to get back on it a last year. Of course the mix up in my blood pressure might also have something to do with me taking a diuretic, which I still take.
So after the car sickness and earaches during my youth, and the headaches during my thirties and forties, the car accident came along and then came the Meniere’s disease. Of course whether all this things tie in together I’m not sure but it seems more than a coincidence.
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Over the past year since I have started this blog I have given a lot of thought to why I have Meniere’s disease. At first I thought it was just the car accident that I was in. But I am not so sure now. In an earlier post I wrote about my problems with being car sick as a child. Maybe this was the first stage of my meniere’s disease. I can’t say for sure. Also as a child I had what seemed like a lot of problems with earaches. I went to the doctor’s repeatedly to get drops for my ears to relieve the pain. Was this somehow a sign that I was moving closer to meniere’s?
About twenty years ago I had headaches that were attributed to my high blood pressure. I started on medication and my blood pressure went from too high to too low. When it was too low I would get very light headed, similar to the feeling I would have before a meniere’s attack I went off the blood pressure medication for a few years only to get back on it a last year. Of course the mix up in my blood pressure might also have something to do with me taking a diuretic, which I still take.
So after the car sickness and earaches during my youth, and the headaches during my thirties and forties, the car accident came along and then came the Meniere’s disease. Of course whether all this things tie in together I’m not sure but it seems more than a coincidence.
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Thanks
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Betahistine and Meniere’s disease in the USA
I thought that it would be important to continue on about the effectiveness of betahistine (Serc, betaserc) and why it isn’t considered as an option to treating Meniere’s disease in the USA.
First I found an interesting article from PubMed Central pertaining to betahistine and Meniere’s disease. It really isn’t a surprise but the article states that 94% of the Doctor’s in the UK prescribe betahistine for Meniere’s disease. That is amazing! In the USA betahistine is not considered effective by most doctors. Serc can be obtained through compounding pharmacies (with a prescription) and obtained from other countries especially Canada as I found out from a comment from one of my readers.
Dr. Tim Hains, an authority on vertigo and meniere’s, wrote an excellent article on betahistine in this country. It seems that serc was approved at one time in the US but for only 5 years. Apparently a lack of evidence that it was effective was the reason that it lost its approval. After reading Dr. Hain’s website it seems that he has also prescribed it to patients.
It really seems inexplicable to me why a drug that is used through out Europe to help relieve Meniere’s disease isn’t even approved by the FDA in the USA. It just makes sense that if 94% of the doctors in the UK think that it is okay why isn’t it okay over here (USA).
I am really puzzled by this.
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First I found an interesting article from PubMed Central pertaining to betahistine and Meniere’s disease. It really isn’t a surprise but the article states that 94% of the Doctor’s in the UK prescribe betahistine for Meniere’s disease. That is amazing! In the USA betahistine is not considered effective by most doctors. Serc can be obtained through compounding pharmacies (with a prescription) and obtained from other countries especially Canada as I found out from a comment from one of my readers.
Dr. Tim Hains, an authority on vertigo and meniere’s, wrote an excellent article on betahistine in this country. It seems that serc was approved at one time in the US but for only 5 years. Apparently a lack of evidence that it was effective was the reason that it lost its approval. After reading Dr. Hain’s website it seems that he has also prescribed it to patients.
It really seems inexplicable to me why a drug that is used through out Europe to help relieve Meniere’s disease isn’t even approved by the FDA in the USA. It just makes sense that if 94% of the doctors in the UK think that it is okay why isn’t it okay over here (USA).
I am really puzzled by this.
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Thanks
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Meniere's disease and eye movement
Recently I received an email from one of my readers, Jeff, about nystagmus, which is an involuntary eye movement. He makes some excellent observations drawing on his own experiences with Meniere’s disease and the movement of his eyes.
I'm still not sure I've got a handle on what nystagmus really is and what is means (isn't it just a complex description of a symptom?), but I get two different types of eye effects depending on the severity of an attack.
With a bigger attack (less frequent for me now, thankfully) the main symptom is the 'washing machine' effect where the world appears to be spinning around me. (Occasionally it's not as strong and instead of rotation is a shift from one side to the other.) Naturally my eyes try to sort out the mess by tracking the movement for a second, until either I blink or my eyes snap back to the centre and start tracking again. I wouldn't describe this as completely involuntary, though, more of an instinctive response; if I want to I can stop my eyes tracking in which case they would drift to one side and lose focus. A relatively big attack is gone in an hour.
With a lesser attack, I get what feels like a slight side-to-side shaking of what I see, which results in a slightly blurry picture and difficulty focusing closely. Now I *would* describe this as involuntary as there doesn't seem to be anything I can do to affect it. In fact, I'm not sure that my eyes are moving at all and that this isn't something that's just happening in my brain! After about 20mins the shaking has usually gone.
These lesser attacks are a more recent development. I think they're probably less severe versions of the bigger attacks, but they do feel like something slightly different at the same time.
My own attacks have changed over the past year. When an attack occurs my eyes tend to ‘jerk” to one side as though someone had pushed my head to one side. There is a little spinning after that and I do feel very tired after the experience.
Thanks Jeff for the great comment!
I'm still not sure I've got a handle on what nystagmus really is and what is means (isn't it just a complex description of a symptom?), but I get two different types of eye effects depending on the severity of an attack.
With a bigger attack (less frequent for me now, thankfully) the main symptom is the 'washing machine' effect where the world appears to be spinning around me. (Occasionally it's not as strong and instead of rotation is a shift from one side to the other.) Naturally my eyes try to sort out the mess by tracking the movement for a second, until either I blink or my eyes snap back to the centre and start tracking again. I wouldn't describe this as completely involuntary, though, more of an instinctive response; if I want to I can stop my eyes tracking in which case they would drift to one side and lose focus. A relatively big attack is gone in an hour.
With a lesser attack, I get what feels like a slight side-to-side shaking of what I see, which results in a slightly blurry picture and difficulty focusing closely. Now I *would* describe this as involuntary as there doesn't seem to be anything I can do to affect it. In fact, I'm not sure that my eyes are moving at all and that this isn't something that's just happening in my brain! After about 20mins the shaking has usually gone.
These lesser attacks are a more recent development. I think they're probably less severe versions of the bigger attacks, but they do feel like something slightly different at the same time.
My own attacks have changed over the past year. When an attack occurs my eyes tend to ‘jerk” to one side as though someone had pushed my head to one side. There is a little spinning after that and I do feel very tired after the experience.
Thanks Jeff for the great comment!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
What gives you relief from Meniere’s disease?
Although there isn’t a cure for Meniere’s disease, there are many things that help with the symptoms of it. Some of those are accepted by the medical industry and some aren’t. I would like to know what gives you relief from Meniere’s disease.
As soon as you are diagnosed with meniere’s your doctor will probably talk about sodium and how it affects your meniere’s. In my case the doctor gave me extensive paperwork on what to eat and especially what not to eat to keep my sodium (salt) level low. From what I have read it does help many people to lower their sodium level but unfortunately not me. Too much salt is usually lumped into the group called CATS; caffeine, alcohol, tobacco and salt. Cutting back on all these things is probably a good idea whether you have meniere’s or not.
After the sodium comes the medicine. The one that works the best for me is antivert. Whenever I feel an attack come on I take an antivert and most of the times (not always) it works. The medicine that I take every day is valium, which helps the blood circulation. I also take a supplement that contains ginkgo, niacin, Bioflavonoids, ascorbic acid (vitamin c), ginger root and a few other things. As I have posted about before the medical community for the most part doesn’t put much store in these types of supplements but I think they help.
Betaserc or betahistine, is recommended in other countries, usually not in the USA. The opinion of what works in this country seems to differ from what other countries see as effective options for meniere’s.
If the pills and the supplements don’t help, then it is time to consider the procedures. The procedure that I had was the gent injections as I wrote in the last post it seemed to help in my case.
Of course last but not least is surgery, from the least evasive to the total destruction of the inner ear. I would give any kind of surgery much thought and deliberation. I would definitely get at least another doctor’s opinion before going under the knife. At one point last year I considered surgery but I backed down and in my case I was glad I did. It bears repeating, get another doctor’s opinion.
I am sure that I missed some of things that can be done with meniere’s. I would appreciate any comments on things that have helped you with your meniere’s treatment. Please feel free to let me know.
Thanks
As soon as you are diagnosed with meniere’s your doctor will probably talk about sodium and how it affects your meniere’s. In my case the doctor gave me extensive paperwork on what to eat and especially what not to eat to keep my sodium (salt) level low. From what I have read it does help many people to lower their sodium level but unfortunately not me. Too much salt is usually lumped into the group called CATS; caffeine, alcohol, tobacco and salt. Cutting back on all these things is probably a good idea whether you have meniere’s or not.
After the sodium comes the medicine. The one that works the best for me is antivert. Whenever I feel an attack come on I take an antivert and most of the times (not always) it works. The medicine that I take every day is valium, which helps the blood circulation. I also take a supplement that contains ginkgo, niacin, Bioflavonoids, ascorbic acid (vitamin c), ginger root and a few other things. As I have posted about before the medical community for the most part doesn’t put much store in these types of supplements but I think they help.
Betaserc or betahistine, is recommended in other countries, usually not in the USA. The opinion of what works in this country seems to differ from what other countries see as effective options for meniere’s.
If the pills and the supplements don’t help, then it is time to consider the procedures. The procedure that I had was the gent injections as I wrote in the last post it seemed to help in my case.
Of course last but not least is surgery, from the least evasive to the total destruction of the inner ear. I would give any kind of surgery much thought and deliberation. I would definitely get at least another doctor’s opinion before going under the knife. At one point last year I considered surgery but I backed down and in my case I was glad I did. It bears repeating, get another doctor’s opinion.
I am sure that I missed some of things that can be done with meniere’s. I would appreciate any comments on things that have helped you with your meniere’s treatment. Please feel free to let me know.
Thanks
Saturday, November 21, 2009
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If you require any more information or have any questions about our privacy policy, please feel free to contact us by email at davidstllwgn@gmail.com.
At http://www.mylifeandmenieresdisease.com/, the privacy of our visitors is of extreme importance to us. This privacy policy document outlines the types of personal information is received and collected by http://www.mylifeandmenieresdisease.com/ and how it is used.
Log Files
Like many other Web sites, http://www.mylifeandmenieresdisease.com/ makes use of log files. The information inside the log files includes internet protocol ( IP ) addresses, type of browser, Internet Service Provider ( ISP ), date/time stamp, referring/exit pages, and number of clicks to analyze trends, administer the site, track user’s movement around the site, and gather demographic information. IP addresses, and other such information are not linked to any information that is personally identifiable.
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http://www.mylifeandmenieresdisease.com/ does use cookies to store information about visitors preferences, record user-specific information on which pages the user access or visit, customize Web page content based on visitors browser type or other information that the visitor sends via their browser.
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.:: Google, as a third party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on http://www.mylifeandmenieresdisease.com/.
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