Over on Hearing Health and Technology Matters’ Dizziness Depot, Alan Desmond has been discussing Meniere’s Disease. He published a 10 part series in 2012 on this subject but decided it was time for an update. No it’s not going to take 10 parts. Maybe half as many. 🙂
The first part discusses the use of Betahistine as a treatment. Meniere’s Update #1 Betahistine. Betahistine is frequently used in the UK but is not approved by the FDA for use in the US. There has been one important study that has shown that while harmless Betahistine it probably does little to treat Meniere’s.
The second part of the series focuses on Diet and Diuretics. There is a lot of good information in this section. In the summary Desmond states “it appears the general sentiment is that it (a low sodium diet and diuretics) might help and it will do no harm.”
Part 3 discusses the use of the Meniette Device. I had a guest write about her experience with the Meniette device, you can read about it here. Desmond summarizes his write up saying, “the evidence keeps building that the Meniett device is a plausible idea, with little evidence of clinical effectiveness.”
Part 4 focuses on Endolymphatic Sac Surgery. I had Endolymphatic Sac Decompression surgery, you can read about my experience here. I was unfamiliar with some of what Desmond discusses in this section. I found it very interesting. I wish I had read it before I had my surgery. As he said in the last paragraph, “All of the procedures discussed have similar impact on control of vertigo symptoms, and that effect is not terribly different than the natural course of Meniere’s disease in patients that do not undergo any of the mentioned procedures.”
Part 4.5 Middle Ear Muscles and Meniere’s. This part talks about something I’ve never heard of before. It was mentioned in part 4, and it is expanded on here. There is a procedure where you sever certain muscles in the middle ear to control Meniere’s symptoms. You must read this part of the update to get a clear view of this procedure. It’s very interesting.
Part 5, discusses the Natural Course of Meniere’s Disease. So does it help to do destructive surgeries or would it be the same as the natural course of the disease? If you look at percentages it’s about the same. However, if you are having vertigo on a regular basis you are pretty desperate to do anything to stop it, so when a doctor tells you that a surgery may help, well you jump on it. I know I did. But I also know, in my case, that it didn’t really help in the long run. If you have Meniere’s in one ear, the chances are your symptoms will greatly reduce in 2 years and will mostly go away in 8 years. There is a small percentage where this is not the case, these people will continue to be symptomatic. This does not include patients who are bilateral.
Meniere’s Update Finale – In the finale Desmond discusses the proposed causes of Meniere’s, and goes into detail on the migraine variant.
I also read a new study comparing steroid injections to gentamicin injections in controlling attacks of severe dizziness, and preserving hearing loss. It found that steroid injections are equal in controlling vertigo without causing the hearing loss that gentamicin does. I found this study interesting. The study doesn’t mention that you may lose your balance function with gentamicin injections, it only mentions hearing loss as the destructive measure. Regardless, if intratympanic steroid injection are equal in controlling vertigo, then one would not need to resort to gentamicin injections. This is good news for me, as the next step we planned to take is steroid injections, if it didn’t work we were going to talk about gentamicin (again, if you’ve been reading this blog, you know we’ve discussed it before). This study changes that thought process. I do not see the need to even discuss gentamicin if it will not control vertigo any better than steroid injections.
I think I’m caught up on all things Meniere’s for today. I do think now might be a good time to give an update on me. Recently I’ve been having a lot more vertigo and over all dizziness. As the Summer went away so did my reprieve. I may be talking to my doctor about steroid injections soon, but right now I’m handling things okay. As I carry on, I’ll talk more about it.
How is everyone out there doing lately? Check in with me. 🙂
I wrote my last post with just joy in my heart and feeling better than I had in as long as I can remember.
Then I crashed.
That evening I had a bout of vertigo, but I would not let it put a damper on my day. It was a glorious day, and I will hold it in my heart.
But it’s over, at least for now. Forgive me if this post doesn’t make as much sense as it should, I’m writing it as I watch the screen dance before my eyes. This is incredibly difficult, but I felt the need to tell everyone I’m not doing that well and I wanted to talk about it.
For nearly 3 days now I’ve had vertigo almost constantly. It may be slow at times where I just barely see the world moving, other times I can still handle it, it’s very hard to focus on anything and I can’t hear very well. Then I have times like I did last night. I was so sick. I didn’t sleep until 4am. I fought then nausea and vomiting. I had severe stomach cramps and feel like I threw up all night, but I’m happy to say I didn’t. (thank you to all my medications, and my darling husband who stayed by my side and chanted with me for hours).
I’m amazed at how much this has changed over the years. When I first started getting vertigo, and when it only came around a few times a year, I would have been throwing up for most of the last 3 days. I think the biggest thing that has changed is that I rarely freak out from it now. I don’t fight it. I know what’s happening. I try to just go with the flow. That doesn’t mean I don’t panic and that it doesn’t get to me, after a few hours I’m freaking out a bit. What if it never ends.
This makes me not want to live. I’m stuck in this chair, I can’t walk by myself, I can’t even use my walker most of the time without falling. Stuart and I have to walk in tandem to take me to the bathroom. I have my head on his chest and he walks backward to get me there. This is not a life.
I can’t communicate well. I can barely understand anything that is being said. I can’t focus on anything most of the time. Literally, right now I am typing on a computer that is swaying on my lap. If I didn’t type by touch, you wouldn’t be reading this.
Last night I went to sleep hoping to not wake up. Don’t worry I’m not suicidal, I just want live like this to end. The only way I can see this stopping is to not be here anymore. The risk with the gentamicin is so scary. I just don’t know what to do. Plus finding a doctor who would actually do it, well that’s a whole other thing.
My new doctor has mentioned steroid injections. I’m not sure it will do anything, but it can’t hurt to try. If I can hold it together long enough to get it done. And handle the side effects that are sure to follow for a while.
If I can get through more days like this. Days where the world spins at what ever speed it wants. Days where I can do nothing but sit here and wish for it to stop. Days where the steroids are making me so hungry, but I’m so nauseous at the same time. Unfortunately, the hunger wins most of the time. So I guess I’ll sit here and eat and just pray that this there is something that stops this. Something inside me that can slow this down enough that my eyes and brain aren’t so tired from trying to make sense of it all.
What do I do. I try to remember that is will not always be this way. It will end. I will have some relief. I have to believe. I will admit that is my biggest fear, that it will never end.
If you walked in my house right now I’d look perfectly fine, minus the few tears on my face. I’m sitting in a chair, staring at the computer, the TV is on in the background, hubby is sitting in another chair munching away. I look like I’m perfectly fine. But I’m fighting like hell just to hold it together.
This moment. I can get through this moment. I know I can. The next moment isn’t here, things will change. I know it will. That is the constant in the universe, everything changes. I will be in this moment, as crappy as it is, but I know it will change.
Sometimes that isn’t a good thought, I know this change could be worse. I’m not good with worse right now.
When people who have never had vertigo here me say, I’m having an attack, they have no idea what I’m talking about. However, I think when those of us who have vertigo mention, we had an attack, or we are having an attack. We don’t think about how bad it really is, until it is happening to us again. And we don’t think about how different vertigo can be for different people. I have found myself thinking, “If you are having an attack, how could you possibly be typing?” Yet here I am. When I only had the most horrific vertigo attacks and I heard someone say they had vertigo and it wasn’t like mine, I wondered, “Do they really know what vertigo is like?” Now, I can’t judge. I understand. Vertigo can manifest itself differently. You can see the world rotate, at different speeds, it doesn’t always have to be so fast that the world is a complete blur, it can mean that the world is slowly rotating, I see things they simply will not be still. Both are vertigo, I can just handle one better than the other.
Then I’ve found you can have vertigo where you feel you are moving but you don’t see anything moving. Most people say they feel like they are on a boat or something similar. I do have this kind of vertigo too, for me this is not as bad at the visual vertigo, for others this could be much more dramatic. I was rushed to the hospital once because the vertigo made me feel like I was being tossed around the room and I was completely still. I threw up a lot during that one, unfortunately I don’t think the ambulance attendant got out of the way of that once. I knew something was wrong, I thought I might be dying. I remmeber telling Stuart if I died I was happy everyone I love knows it.
When we got to the ER, they couldn’t do anything. Pumped me full of more of the meds I already have at home and told me that vertigo can make you feel like that. Inside I freaked out thinking, “I could feel like this again?” Now I have this recurring vertigo where I’ll suddenly feel like I’ve stepped into an open elevator shaft and I just keep falling. Stuart will hold me so tight and tell me I’m not falling, but I am. I know I am. I see the world rush by, I feel my body dropping. It has happened once without him here and I thought there was no way I could get through it. I did. But I never want to do that alone again. I never want to do it again at all, but that is kind of unrealistic.
Again, I want to assure everyone I’m not suicidal. I do believe this will stop. If it doesn’t there has to be someway that I can learn to live with it.
I didn’t post this when I finished because I started having much worse vertigo and I couldn’t see the publish button anyway. I might be able to type by touch but I can’t see that dang little cursor. This morning things are better. I’m still swaying, things are still a tad off, but it’s better. In this moment. that’s the only time I can count on.
He walked in the room with his too big smile, shook my hand and told me something about the test…that didn’t make a lot of sense. He said that it showed that I had reduced cochlea function in both ears. That at my age he would expect it to be a 21, but my right ear is a 4 and my left is a 13. I asked…”What does this mean?” He said that it meant that my cochlea wasn’t working as it should in my ears…well duh. I repeated, “Yes, but what does that cause?” “It means you have vertigo. And you might have this thing called Meniere’s”
WHAT?? I MIGHT HAVE WHAT? DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? YOU DON’T REMEMBER ME? YOU DIDN’T LOOK AT MY CHART BEFORE YOU CAME IN THE ROOM?
Okay, another reason that whole thing was weird….cochlea function refers to hearing. My cochlea is not going to show up working on any test, I have cochlear implants, I have a device in my head that is coiled around my cochlea that vibrates so I can hear. It doesn’t work on it’s own. And the tests I were given doesn’t even test that. But the numbers he gave me do correspond to the main test that I was given. That was just so weird.
He also talked about a hearing test I had last February, I told him I didn’t have a hearing test last year. He argued with me and pointed to the computer and said, that it said the tests showed my right ear had severe to profound hearing loss. I looked at him and took off my Cochlear Implants and showed him and said, “I have Cochlear Implants, why would I get a hearing test? However, I do have some residual hearing in my right ear, but…” and he interrupted me and said….”That’s impossible, if you have Cochlear Implants, you can’t have any hearing…blah, blah.” Stuart tried to explain to him that with the newest CI’s you often keep any hearing you had…he still argued. Dang-it, I think I know if I can hear or not! When I told him that I wouldn’t need a hearing test I saw the nurse point out to him that the date on the hearing test was not from 2015. It was 2014, shortly after my CI surgery….of course he didn’t put that together, that I can hear out of my right ear, a little bit. And he did not admit to us that he got the date wrong. It’s also very sad that the audiologist that gave me the test knew that the new CI’s are often allowing people to keep some of their residual hearing, she was not surprised that I can hear a little out of my right ear. (I want to explain, I can only hear a certain frequency, I can’t hear much. For example, I was sleeping through the fire alarm at the hotel in December, yet Stuart said it was hurting his ears. So it isn’t much hearing, but there is some there.)
Finally, I got tired of dealing with him. I asked him a couple of questions, which I don’t really trust the answers to now, then I said, “So the plan is, I start Vestibular Rehab, I keep working with my migraine doc to get the migraines under control, keep up the low sodium diet, and taking the Valium twice a day. After I go through the Vestibular rehab we will talk about the gentimiacin injections. That’s the plan.” Then I stuck out my hand to shake his. In my mind he was dismissed. He just had that plastered on smile like he had the whole time, and shook my hand and said, “That’s the plan.”
I saw no reason to spend any more time with that man. It was obvious he did not review my chart before he came in the room. I do not understand how he could not remember me. He told me when I saw him last time that I am the most advanced case he has seen, and how many other patients do you think he has that have been to Duke and John Hopkins? Plus, Stuart and me together are pretty darn memorable. I have NEVER had a doctor make me feel like they didn’t remember me. I “might have this thing called Meniere’s”…geez…are you kidding me? He said a number of other things that just didn’t make sense…like, “I thought you had gentimiacin and it didn’t work.” He just said that I might have Meniere’s and then he said he thought I had gentimiacin injections? dodododo
About the tests….well he only gave me the numbers for the biggest test they did. The Caloric Stimulation Test. (click on the link if you want to learn about the test) This is used to for damage to the acoustic nerve (hearing and balance) and it test the brain stem. It is the only test that test the ears separately. The numbers he gave me fit right in on this test. 21 is normal. He kind of dismissed the 13, I really didn’t understand that. Of course, the one that is really out of wack is the right ear coming in at only a 4. So, I’m thinking when we get to the point of killing off the balance center we will do the right ear first and see if it straightens things out, or makes it so much better I don’t feel I have to do the left.
Now for the big decision, what do I do about this doctor? I really don’t trust him enough now to let him give me a shot in my ear that will kill my balance center. Heck I don’t trust him enough to give me a B-12 shot.
What do I do? I can’t find another ear doctor in this whole city that knows anything about Meniere’s except for the other guy I went to who thinks he is a god. He doesn’t listen to his patients…at least not to me, and according to his ratings on-line and on Angie’s list, he doesn’t listen to most people…he didn’t believe I have vertigo as often as I do. Really? Does he think I use a walker just for fun? Ugh…..I hear stories like this from so many people with chronic illnesses, we have such a hard time finding doctors who are compassionate. I’m lucky, most of my doctors are wonderful, but I’m having a heck of a time finding a good ear doctor since we moved.
I found an ear clinic I would like to go and check out that is close to 2 hours away from here. I have a list of questions for Stuart to ask them on the phone before I even think about making an appointment. If they treat people like it appears they do on their website, I think this would be a very good place to go. They are very well versed in advanced Meniere’s, and they aren’t afraid to treat it.
As you can see, I do believe in being an advocate for myself, but I know when I can’t burn my bridges just yet. I’m also not afraid to fire an incompetent doctor and as soon as I find a new one, I promise this doctor will know why he is being fired and I will write a review on him letting others know what I think. The group does have a good support staff, too bad he is the only one in that group that (supposedly) knows anything about Meniere’s.
A couple of months ago I applied to be seen at the vestibular clinic at John Hopkins Hospital. My records were sent, and an appointment was set up for December 27th, then it was moved up to December 11th. I must say, that was just fine with me.
I was scheduled to have a hearing test, and an Electonystagmography (ENG) test before seeing the doctor, but the doctor had to leave at 2pm (before my original appointment time) so he wouldn’t see the test before he left, so we asked if I could take the test at home. You see, I had to stop any medication that might help with vertigo attacks before the Electonystagmography (ENG) test, if I didn’t have to stop these medications while out-of-town, I sure didn’t want to. They said no problem, and I sure was glad. I spent all of Thursday with vertigo, it was slow but it was there, I can’t imagine what it would have been like if I hadn’t been able to take my meds. I also had an attack right before my appointment on Friday. I had very little balance when I saw the doctor and my vision still wasn’t clear. So he saw me when I was not doing well. I think that’s a good thing. How many times have you been to the doctor and all of your symptoms just magically disappear right when you get there? That is so frustrating.
When we walked into the Outpatient Clinic it was like walking into an airport. You checked into the front desk, we both got arm bands to prove we belonged there. There were all kinds of signs and lines and directions, it was a bit to take in all at once. Stuart said we were told where the elevators were (no I couldn’t hear much in there) and off we went. When we got where we were supposed to be, I was very impressed that the check in and out areas were looped. If you don’t have hearing aids of CI’s you won’t understand that. If your hearing aid or CI has a telecoil setting, then the hearing loop provides a magnetic, wireless signal that is picked up by the hearing aid or CI when it is set to ‘T’ (Telecoil) setting, and the person using that setting can hear the voice right in their ear, no background noise or anything…it is really cool. So, we checked in and were told to go to the little waiting room in the back….that’s when it started to look like just a normal hospital setting. The little waiting room, wasn’t all that little, but it wasn’t all that big either. We were early, because I HATE to be late. My first appointment was to get a hearing test…(snicker). But soon a very soft spoken woman came out and said the doctor wanted to see me first, at least that is what Stuart told me she said, I had no idea. She took my vitals, she asked for my weight and height…I got it mixed up as to which one she asked for first, because I couldn’t hear her and I was guessing. Soon the doctor came in…..
We talked a bit about my history and he gave me some tests while in his office. A bit of touching my finger to my nose and then to his hand, turning my hand over and over….ect. Some I could do okay, some I had trouble with. Then he said he was sorry but needed to shake my head a bit. I did not do well with that one. I had to look at his nose while he shook my head. One time when he shook my head Stuart said he saw my eyes jerk, he said it was “kinda freaky”. The doctor asked me to stand up and I staggered a bit, he said never mind, sit down, be careful. I guess that answered that test.
He then said he wanted me to have the hearing test and come back in to see him. So I went out. I still thought it was kind of funny getting a hearing test because I’m deaf. I can hear a tiny bit in my right ear, but it is so little you may as well say, I can’t hear anything. Soon the doctor comes to the waiting room and said, the Audiologist said that since I have cochlear implants she couldn’t give me a hearing test. Yes, I kind of giggled inside. Stuart told them over on the phone that I had CI’s and a hearing test was kind of unnecessary, but they said it was ordered. Then the doctor said they could do the ENG test that I was originally scheduled for now, so he could see it. Well, I had just taken meds to help me, since I was really sick after the test he performed. I told him, that and how it said I wasn’t supposed to take any meds for like that for 48 hours before the test, and I’d already taken it twice that day. He agreed the test might not be accurate under those circumstances. Oops, kinda wish I hadn’t taken my meds, but then again, I really don’t want to be so far from home when I have that test done. I just know I’m going to be sick.
The ENG will show how much vestibular function I have left in each ear. That’s pretty important right now…..because here’s what he thinks and the plan……
He said, it is obvious I have damaged vestibular function, it is just a question of how much, and how much in each ear. He said he believes that, yes I have Meniere’s Disease, and Vestibular Migraines, and he said I have balance issues caused from getting my Cochlear Implants. I noticed before, my vertigo got worse after getting my CI’s, but no one ever said that they could have caused some of it.
He said we have to treat these in different ways. One is to get my migraines under control. He likes that I’m seeing a Neurologist that specializes in headaches, so I’ll continue to see her and try to get the migraines more under control. If we can’t do this, I may be taking another trip to John Hopkins to the Headache Clinic for evaluation. The next thing he said was, I need to have vestibular rehabilitation to train my body and brain to balance without my ears. He also said, we need to kill my balance system in my ears. We plan on doing this with gentamicin shots in both ears. How much I need to have depends on the results of the test, one ear may already be dead, who knows…we just don’t know how damaged they are yet.
I will be seeing a new otolaryngolgist here in Charlotte on Wednesday, the 16th, and we will discuss all of this, and set up getting the test that the doctor at John Hopkins wants. They will confer with each other on a treatment plan. I guess, It will also be good getting a 3rd opinion. The one from my doctor at Duke, the one from John Hopkins, and now let’s see what this doctor thinks. This doctor knows I have been to John Hopkins and they will be conferring with each other.
There are a few questions I forgot to ask. I know many of you are thinking….”You should have written them down.” I did, really, I did. But I wrote it on the paperwork they gave me, and I gave it to them…I didn’t have it after that….duh. So I’m going to ask the new doctor. It’s only a couple of things. Nothing that would really change the plan I think. I just want to know if they think my Meniere’s could be autoimmune, since it reacts so well when I am on steroids; and I’d like to know if they can answer why when I breathe in through my mouth, or drink anything cold or hot I feel it in my right ear. That’s just weird.
I know I forgot to ask him these things because he was telling me things that had been thinking for a long time. I actually asked for this treatment from my doctor. But he wouldn’t do it. He said it was too destructive and I could be so disabled I wouldn’t be able to do anything….ect. The doctor at John Hopkins looked at me and said, “more disabled than you are now?” He then asked if I had been given vestibular rehabilitation, and we told him no, that I asked for it, but my doctor had said that things fluctuated so much he didn’t think it would help. He frowned, and said, he thought I could benefit a lot from vestibular rehab….so as I said before, we plan to do that first. I went into the appointment with no expectations. Actually, I expected them to tell me there was nothing they could do. I had no real hope. I told the doctor this, he said….No, don’t give up hope. I explained, if I came in there thinking he was going to fix me and then he couldn’t do anything I would have fallen apart, if I came in there with no expectations, I would be thrilled if he could do anything. He liked that. We talked a bit more, and he insured me he would consult with my doctor here and answer any questions, and if I came back up there he would be happy to see me. Then when I left he shook my hand and told me that it was a true honor to meet me. That shocked me. I told him it was so very good to meet him and thanked him profusely. and went on my way.
A little about the trip itself…….The trip up to John Hopkins was pretty uneventful. We stopped by Duke to pick up films that I’ve had done….you know, MRI’s, and such. When we went through Washington, I saw the White House, the Jefferson Memorial and the National Monument in the distance. I’ve been to Washington before and have seen those things up close, but it is still kind of magical to me. I don’t know why. Driving into Baltimore, it seemed so BIG. The GPS told us to go straight when we should have gone to the right to get to our hotel and we ended up in a very sad part of town. The buildings were mostly boarded up, yet there were a few businesses here and there. I can’t imagine how they would ever do any business. One place we passed there were a lot of nice cars parked on the road, and one burnt out car right in the middle of them. Soon we made it back to our hotel. It was just a very sad detour.
On Wednesday night…well I guess it was Thursday morning…Stuart shook me awake at 5am. I thought, we don’t have to be anywhere, why is he waking me up. I read his lips… FIRE! I was awake then!! He pointed to the alarm. The Fire Alarm was going off. I jumped up and put on enough to get out of the hotel…it was very hard for me to go down 3 flights of stairs!! We were all out on the street and almost immediately there were 2 fire trucks on the scene. No fire. I never found out what happened. I could not climb back up those stairs, and it took a while for them to turn the elevator back on so we had a bit of a wait. That was fine with me. I was very impressed that the fire department got there so fast. The scariest part for me, if Stuart had not been in the room I never would have known there was a fire alarm going off. I would have slept right through it.
Well, we had an adventure! I told Stuart when we got back to the room, that with all this stress, I still hadn’t had a vertigo attack…that was amazing….so, we were moving to Baltimore. But I spoke too soon. Of course, I woke up with one the next day….and it lasted all day….but I spoke about that earlier in this post.
I was a bit disappointed that we didn’t get to do anything while we were there. The one day I felt good, we wasted because 2 of my shirts didn’t get packed so I didn’t have enough clothes. Curses. The next day if I had felt well, we were going to do something. We planned to go to the Aquarium, it wasn’t far from where we were staying. However, of all the sites in Baltimore that there are to see…..after all it is home to one of my favorite poets, Edgar Allen Poe…I really wanted to see Charm City Cakes. Yes, I wanted to go see a Bakery! I didn’t even care if I went inside, I just wanted to see the building. It is the bakery from the show Ace of Cakes….that isn’t on any more.
Duff Goldman – photo courtesy of Food Network
Duff Goldman started it..still owns it, has a second one in LA now. He is often on the Food Network. They do spectacular work, and I was just a huge fan of that show, and I just love Duff. I could just eat him up. I love the story behind his life, and I love his personality. I regret that we didn’t at least drive by Charm City Cakes. Yes, I am a goof. I was sick, had a migraine, couldn’t focus worth a toot, had about 8 hours on the road ahead of me…and I regret that I didn’t stop by and see a bakery. But hey, what is life without the little things?
Picnic with Ants 