Meniere's Disease Support Group
Meniere's disease is a balance disorder of the inner ear. The symptoms of Meniere's are variable; not all sufferers experience the same symptoms. However, "classic Meniere's" is considered to comprise the following four symptoms: Periodic episodes of rotary vertigo, hearing loss, tinnitus, and a sensation of fullness or pressure in one or both ears.
For the ten years I have had Meniere's I have read TONS of posts, trying to learn all I can about what is happening to me. There are several support groups and there are a lot of people who have this disease...
Anyway... I had the most severe vertigo attack two Wednesday's ago that took me to my knees, I crawled around trying to find my phone, trying to find a trash can, and puked and spinned over and over and over again...
I started prednisone (20 mg. tapering to 5 mg.) last Friday trying to get control of my ear. It is now one week later and I am still dizzy! It this what my life is gonna be now?
Normally I would lose some hearing, be imbalanced for a while, have some dizziness and giddiness, but my Goodness, I am not feeling like I did before I had the last vertigo attack!!
I have heard of burn out - when you eventually lose your hearing in the diseased ear and become permanently imbalanced and start having drop attacks.. I always thought this was the good thing because my understanding was you quit having vertigo attacks. Am I in burnout? Is my head gonna feel dizzy and sick constantly? I can't even focus!
My goal today, go outside.... I look out the window and wonder why. I can't walk around the yard. I'll fall. Am I gonna feel like I did before my last attack?? What are your thoughts?? Do you guys ever feel normal after an attack or do we consistently get worse and worse??
Anyway... I had the most severe vertigo attack two Wednesday's ago that took me to my knees, I crawled around trying to find my phone, trying to find a trash can, and puked and spinned over and over and over again...
I started prednisone (20 mg. tapering to 5 mg.) last Friday trying to get control of my ear. It is now one week later and I am still dizzy! It this what my life is gonna be now?
Normally I would lose some hearing, be imbalanced for a while, have some dizziness and giddiness, but my Goodness, I am not feeling like I did before I had the last vertigo attack!!
I have heard of burn out - when you eventually lose your hearing in the diseased ear and become permanently imbalanced and start having drop attacks.. I always thought this was the good thing because my understanding was you quit having vertigo attacks. Am I in burnout? Is my head gonna feel dizzy and sick constantly? I can't even focus!
My goal today, go outside.... I look out the window and wonder why. I can't walk around the yard. I'll fall. Am I gonna feel like I did before my last attack?? What are your thoughts?? Do you guys ever feel normal after an attack or do we consistently get worse and worse??
I will give you a few words of encouragement as I have been having full-blown vertigo attacks for 5 years now. And I have actually learned how to lessen the frequency of them, and even improve how I feel in between attacks. Sounds like you have read a lot about the disease, so probably already know all the tips for managing it. I would just say don't give up! It does take me a day or two to recover from a bad episode. Remember, too, that your entire system goes through havoc during that time. I get big adrenal rushes while I'm puking, and sweat profusely and my bowels start to churn. That's from the adrenal. But I digress.
Don't give up. Keep doing all the things and taking all the precautions you know to work for you, and maybe try some new ones. Since you are now getting the "spins", I will share that closing my eyes the instant I feel dizziness helps me greatly. As soon as I peek and see the room spinning, it's straight to puke-ville for me! Hope I've helped some. BTW, if you don't already have valium or meclizine I recommend those at the first sign of feeling "off". And, ondansetron, also know as Phenagren, works great to keep the vomiting at bay. As long as I get it into my system soon enough! Good luck...and I hope you are feeling better today.
Rebecca