I have finished Vestibular Rehab. Therapy and I must say that I was happy with the results. Usually MM patients don't have this type of therapy because what triggers this illness isn't motion. Vertigo patients show the best results with VRT because vertigo is caused by motion or sense of motion.
I went to 5 sessions and each session was dedicated to working on an area of balance that I showed weakness in. Some of the tests at the beginning were very hard and I scored poorly on them. But as I progressed through exercise my scores at the last session were almost normal.
Probably the most important thing that I learned through all these sessions is that balance comes from three areas. The inner ear is probably the most important and the one that is affected the most with vertigo and Meniere's disease. The eyes that sends signals to the brain and the feet that also lets the brain know if there is a problem occurring with balance.
After my gentamicin injections this summer I had a lot of problems driving. I think the problem was that I relied too much on my visual balance and not enough in my inner ear balance. After all the problems that I had over the past five years I just didn't trust the signals that my inner ear was sending to my brain. But now I trying to let my eyes and my ears work in tandem and it seems to be working, so far.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
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2 comments:
I also had the gentamicin injections. I've suffered with Menieres for over 30yrs, and finally Kaiser established a clinic just for diseases of the inner ear. Great doctors, but I was disappointed that they under estimated my reaction to the injections. Like not telling me my driving would be affected, and my eyesite, and that I would be off work 6-12 weeks. So for anyone thinking about the treatment, realize you more than likely won't be able to function for a while. I actually decided not to have the 3rd injection (my doctor agreed) because my reaction after two was so severe. Its been 3 weeks since the second injection, I'm now on temporary disability, still can't drive, but walk pretty well in familiar surroundings. My vision is still a problem too. After some research, I found some hospitals are recommending lesser doses, spaced a month apart, instead of a week apart. It gives the patient more time to adjust between shots, the side effects aren't as severe, and there is usually no additional hearing loss. I would have elected this treatment if I had know about it. The tinnitus has gotten much worse, so be prepared for that too.
There is a great website that describes the lower dosage of gent injections
http://www.tchain.com/otoneurology/treatment/ttg.html
thanks for commenting!
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