As I have written in the past, Meniere’s disease has an effect not only on your physical well-being but also on your emotional well-being. It is hard to say which one is more difficult when dealing with Meniere’s disease.
Since I have started this blog in January, I have read quite a few comments not only on my blog and my lens at squidoo but also on Meniere’s forums. It seems that the major problem, and probably my worst problem, is trying to stay positive when you know that an attack might be around the corner. And doesn’t it always seem that the attack happens at the worst time. As you know the stress level can be very high when you have to deal with that on a constant basis.
Another thing that beats you down emotionally is all the possible cures and treatments that are out there today. Unfortunately not all the treatments work for everyone. And when you are first diagnosed your ENT probably told you that there is no cure, which I am sure made you feel just great! If you are like me, you went through different medications and different doctors and maybe a procedure or two (gent injections) and had to find out the hard way what worked and what didn’t.
Here is the thing to remember, you can’t let this Meniere’s disease or disorder get you down not matter how difficult it may seem. Go through all the procedure and go through more than one doctor if you have to, find out what works for you. Just don’t give up! And read as much as possible on the subject there is a lot of great websites and forums that have a wealth of information.
Please don’t give up.
Feel free to comment and please subscribe to my RSS Feed.
Thanks
Sunday, October 4, 2009
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8 comments:
Hi David,
My name is Bas de Groot, husband of Jikke de Groot who replied to your post in September on dealing with M & your son.
What did your wife tell you when you were ready to give up? What can I do to help my wife not give up?
I know that you don't have all the answers, but am really keen on first-hand info, as you may imagine....
Thanks in advance and heartfelt wishes,
Bas
Dear Mr. de Groot:
My name is Melissa Stillwagon and I am David Stillwagon's wife whom you know has Meniere's Disease. During one particular episode when David was so incredibly sick he wanted to give up and quit. I remember telling him that quiting was simply not an option and that together we were going to fight this horrible affliction. I said that if one particular treatment was not successful,or a certain doctor not helpful we would seek out another treatment option or another doctor until we found the right one or a particular drug or combination of drugs that would help alleviate the symptoms he was experiencing. I reminded him to of our young son and how much he loved his Dad and always wanted him to be here to be a part of his life, and for this reason above all others we must keep pressing on and try to remain positive.
As a spouse of a Meniere's patient I understand the sheer frustration you experience. I know what an emotional rollacoster ride it is not knowing when the next attack might strike or when I will receive that dreaded call that he is sick or in the process of being transported to the hospital. The fear is always present and when he does get sick there is that overwhelming helplessness that engulfs you because you know there is nothing that you can do but stand by and wait until the attack subsides or he receives medical attention and is subsequently stabilized. I remind Dave to try hard to focus on the positive things in his life and look to the future in hopes that one day there will be a cure or at the very least an effective drug to minimize the severity of the disease.
I hope this helps.
Melissa Stillwagon
Thank you Melissa...
For what it's worth: your blog does help...
Thank you...
Bas
Bas,
Your welcome and I hope that your wife finds some relief from meniere's
keep in touch
Melissa
I have had meniere's for about six years now and had been seeing a specialist(until he retired). It took a painfully long time to diagnose and a few years of different medications to see what would work. Having meniere's is very stressful and i urge anyone who has it not to give up. The last medication i tried was chlorthalidone 50 mg, and actually started out on 25 mg. Iw as told by the specialist to try playing around with the medications and see if something would work for me. When i was first diagnosed,i was having episodes up to three times a day and lasting for about two to three hours followed by a one to two hour nap,which made it very difficult to carry on with just about anything,including work. I had been taking the chlorthalidone for about one year at this point,and then started trying different things with it. I was convinced that this not the drug for me because although it had greatly reduced the episodes to about three times a week from three times a day,i still felt it wasn't doing enough,as even three times a week was too much. I was taking the medication in the morrnings(after breakfast) and it was still resulting in numerous dizzy spell during the day and some of them turning into full blown vertigo,making it hard to cope. I ended up switching the medication to the evening and within ten days was experiencing far less episodes. I have been doing this for two years now and have not had one severe meniere's episode since then. I usually get dizzy spells,maybe once evry three months now lasting less than fifteen seconds, a huge improvement. I urge everyone who has meniere's to discuss with a specialist if there would be any advantage to try something like i have tried,and good luck to all. Although a disease that can destroy anyone's quality of life quickly,you can see that asimple thing like changing the timing of taking medications can sometimes have a huge impact.
Good luck to all!
thanks Rick,
It is definitely good advice to work closely with your doctor to see what might work and what might not. You can't give up or get discouraged with meniere's disease, althought it is easy to do so. I know that I have felt that way many times but you have to keep on going.
You never really know what to expect from meniere's disease.
I certainly appreciate the comment and advice. Please stay in touch
David
Clydex,
Me too i have meniers disease which started feb. 30, 2010 til present, im having the pain and suffered it for almost 2 months now. My VNG test result is abnormal which is gaze nystagmus, my ear always get ringing, and my head always spinning like yaw and also roll position..pls advice me on what to do about this disease's. pls email me or add me at facebook cly_042@yahoo.com, i really i need counselling on this matter. im just a newbies of this disease's. im 26yo. Here in the philippines.Hope that there is a cure for it.
Thanks
Unfortunately there isn't a cure for Meniere's but there are things that can be done. the first thing that I would do is find a good Doctor(ent) who has dealt with meniere's before.
As for support besides my site there is an excellent forum http://www.menieres.org/forum/
the folks there really know what you are going through.
Stay in touch
David
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