Meniere's and Hydromorphone

[neet1]

Brief background: I've had Meniere's for about 8 years now with various treatments/surgeries/etc.  Because my hearing loss is slower, my ENT is not willing to do the nerve resection, but you name the treatment, therapy, drug, surgery, I've tried it all.  It's been quite tenancious and I've had to come to accept the "incurable" part of the disease description.  

Here's my question.   Is there any research relating the use of Dilaudid to relieve vertigo in Meneire's?   I had a vertigo attack in the stairwell which caused me to fall and break my foot.  I ran out of pain meds on the weekend and my husband who is on Dilaudid gave me one of his pills.  I took it for the pain, but was coincidentally having a meniere's attack attack at the same time.  The pressure was building in my hear resulting in tinnitus, followed by the feeling of being out of my body and I knew vertigo and throwing up would be next but it didn't happen. The Dilaudid seemed to stop the Meniere's attack.  Obvisouly it could have been a fluke, but the next time a Meniere's attack started happening I asked my husband for a Dilaudid and sure enough within 15 - 20 minutes the symptoms subsided completely.   I don't even have the after symptoms of lethargy for 10 - 12 hours.   Additionally, I was having attacks 3-4 times a week and the frequency is way down.

Now I know it is wrong and even illegal to take a non-prescribed drug.  Plus it is a controlled substance and my husband can't share his meds with me because he needs them.  But I have to tell you out of 8 years of various treatments, this has been the best ANY med has ever worked.
Could it be the analgesic properties?  Is there another drug in the same class that is not as strong?  Have you or your colleagues heard of this at all?  

[Wear/a/Jimmy]

The most frequently observed adverse effects are sedation, nausea, vomiting, constipation, lightheadedness, dizziness and sweating.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydromorphone

The devil is in the details. It looks like this drug is a synthetic opiod, sounds a lot like Oxy Contin, which is not a toy by all means.

I think valium is commonly used for vertigo etc, and it also supresses the CNS system as well as the Hydrormorphone.  Apparently the Hydro is fast acting and that is why you like it.  Ambein is too, and it will supress the CNS system within minutes, but you will be a walking zombie.

There are no easy answer in this situation. Valium stays in the system for a long time and can show up in urine test out to 6 months.....  I know that may not matter for a lot of folks, but for some it would be difficult to explain away without getting some sort of problems.

[Nancy T]

I know very little about Meniere's, but I think that narcotics (is that what Dilaudid is?) strongly suppress vestibular signals.

I had ear surgery for a presumed perilymph fistula, and right after the surgery (before leaving the hospital) I was quite dizzy. They gave me a Darvocet for the (mild) pain, and that really quashed the dizziness.

Of course, taking narcotics regularly for dizziness wouldn't be a good thing, but why not talk to your ear specialist about the effect of the Dilaudid? Maybe you can both learn something from it and find something that works for you.

Best of luck,
Nancy