35 WITH MENIERS

I have been struggling for years with what i thought was sinus trouble although I had no sign of sinus infection and it was all on the right side of my head mostly in my ears.. It was not until I had vertigo so severly that I passed out and remained dizzy for days that i finnally went to the hospital. They refered me to an ENT after doing all the appropriate tests ie.... EKG, MRI, catscan. They ruled out several possible illnesses and suggested I see an ENT for other tests. I did and they were not conclusive. I am struggling more and more with my mystery illness and it seems to get worse and worse. The ENT says it could be Meniers but can not confirm it. He gave me different medications to use and the valiuum seems to be the most affective. Although it barely helps at all. I am very depressed over this situation because I was always healthy now I have this disorder that has not been diagnosed and keeps reaccuring. It seems that every menstral cycle I have an episode and they seem to last longer and longer. I have not lost hearing at al quite the opposite actually, my hearing is very sensitive now and it drives me crazy. Even the most minor of noises are painful to me.
in a house with 5 teenagers and 8 pets being sensitive to noise is just like the icing on the cake with this disorder. I almost think I would rather be deaf. I just wonder if their is anything that I can do to make this better. I drink water, quit caffiene and cut back drastically on salt and still here I sit and spin for the 3rd day. I am very depressed as I mentioned and have come to hate my damn ears.
If you have any suggestions on how to beat this or atleast manage it. Please let me know

[lognum]

Greetings Tara,

Read the entire post of "Vertigo While Sleeping" dated 12/06/07 (see the headings in the ENT forum) and see what you think. Maybe it is not your ears, maybe it's your eyes. Good Luck.

[Wear/a/Jimmy]

You need to seek help for a neuro otologist, I don't think the average ENT can adress your issues.

Just my opinion

[TARA72]

I am not sure what that is and why do you think I should see one? Do they speacialize in meniers?
do you have Meiners? If not, do you know anyone who does? I really think that is what I have only because I seem to have all the symptoms, night sweats, vertigo, heart palpitations, eye floaters, aural fullness,mind fog you name it. the only thing I dont have is hearing loss. Can it be menires without the hearing loss? I am not sure about any of it. i appreciate you taking the time to make suggestions. thanks Tara

[Nancy T]

A neuro-otologist (also spelled neurotologist) is an ENT with years of extra training in the inner ear. They subspecialize in what is usually called "otology/neurotology". You can find lists of them at the American Neurotology Society Web site and also at www.vestibular.org, although the latter site does not have complete lists.

A neurotologist is the BEST doctor to treat Meniere's--IF that is what you have. Meniere's is way overdiagnosed (although I'm not saying you DON'T have it).

Your symptoms could also be something called migraine-associated vertigo. Look it up. Often it's hard to distinguish from Meniere's. Migraine is usually treated by a neurologist. There are a handful of specialists called oto-neurologists who would be most likely to know about migraine-associated vertigo (your sensitivity to sound as well as the association with your monthly cycle make this HIGHLY suspicious, I think!). There is a list of some otoneurologists at www.robbmd.com.

Don't give up--see one (or more, if necessary) of these superspecialists. There is help, you just have to find the right specialist who will work with you to properly diagnose and treat your illness, even though they likely won't be able to cure it. If it's migraine-associated vertigo, there are a large number of migraine medications you can try, as this is a VERY treatable condition and many people get their lives back after finding the right migraine med.

A GREAT site with lots of information about various causes of dizziness, symptoms and treatments, is Dr. Tim Hain's site at www.dizziness-and-balance.com. He is a very highly respected otoneurologist. Please check it out.

Best of luck,
Nancy T.

[Nancy T]

P.S. to Tara--Yahoo groups has a mailing list called Meniere's Discussion Group that has MANY people with Meniere's who are VERY knowledgeable about the disease and its differential diagnosis. If you want to talk to people with lots of experience with Meniere's, sign up for that. They do not archive their posts, but you can ask questions there and get some very knowledgeable answers.

[Nancy T]

Oh, one more thing... It is now well established that many people who assume they've had "sinus headaches" or pressure actually have MIGRAINES instead. I was one of them!