Meniere's Disease Support Group

My son was diagnosed with an ear problem possibly Meniere's. His attacks were violent and debilitating causing him to lose work for days. He underwent treatment for several years with prednisone and various other forms of treatment that did no good. His ENT prescribed Valtrex. One Month's worth. That was two years ago. He has not had an attack since. The problem is a virus related to the herpes zoster virus, that is shingles and chicken pox. New discoveries are being made constantly.

wow,,,thats great!
why havent i heard of this?...hmmmm

I have an appt. with another specialist for the inner ear on oct. 13th. I will definitely ask her about this and post what she has to say.

Now I am on my 3 week of using Valtrex. The doctor even said I could have coffee and salt in moderation ! It feels like I'm getting my life back. I have been on Diability from work sine the 1st of July. The doctor said he would write a note for me to go back to work after my appointment on the 21st of October. This is my third Specialist. He seems to go the complete opposite of everyone else. So far so good !

That is awesome!! Congratulations and I hope things continue to be great for you. Thanks for sharing your experience.

I had an appt. with a new specialist and she is having me have blood work done to see if I am carrying the herpes virus. If so, she will prescribe the valtrex. It takes 1 -2 weeks for the results of the blood work to come in.

It just stuns me as I've read that that's the first thing doctors should test for and yet even the one I saw recently who's supposedly a "specialist" said I didnt' need one! DUH!! The doctors need to start taking our symptoms more seriously in the beginning to save our hearing!
John's of Ohio regimen even mentions this and prescribes something natural to take for it!

I agree. The doctors never brought it up and it was me that brought Valtrex up at my recent appt. Why a doctor would refuse to do the test on you is beyond me. It is no money out of their pocket.

It's becoming common knowledge that Meniere's is caused by a viral infection and can be cured in 85%~90% of cases by taking Valtrex 1000mg three times a day or Zovirex 800mg five times a day for 4~6 weeks. These drugs are not even mentioned by most ENTs could lead many a reader to consider drastic, ineffective and irreversible surgical management which is still being pushed bymany lagging doctors. Sources above:

"Effectiveness of Acyclovir on Meniere's Syndrome III Observation of Clinical Symptoms in 301 cases," Mitsuo Shichinohe, M.D., Ph.D., The Sapporo Medical Journal, Vol. 68, No. 4-6, Cases of 301 MD patients treated with antiviral meds The results were: In 82.5% of cases diagnosed as Meniere's Disease, 85% of cases diagnosed as Meniere's Syndrome, and 89.1% of cases diagnosed as vestibular dysfunction, vertigo disappeared, and tinnitus and hearing were improved.

Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Massachusetts Medical School,
Morphological and clinical evidence supports a viral neuropathy in Ménière's disease (MD). Quantitative examination with transmission electron microscopy of vestibular ganglion cells excised from a patient with MD revealed viral particles enclosed in transport vesicles. Antiviral treatment controlled vertigo in 32 of 35 patients with MD (91%). PMID: 19142031 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]