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.
Hey all - it's been a while since I was last on here and I have been doing a lot of research regarding Meniere's and how it may be a derivative of autoimmune disease or a specific autoimmune disease in itself.
What I am curious about is, have any of you tried an elimination diet or the "autoimmune diet" and if so, what results have you had?
About a week ago I completely cut out all sugar, caffeine, dairy and all grains. It has not been easy but really, it's not as difficult as I thought it would be either. I think I am feeling better. I don't know if I actually feel better or if I am just trying to make myself feel better because I want to believe this can work.
I do know that I am down 9 pounds already which has to be water weight. My theory so far is if I was retaining nine pounds of water, some of that fluid had to be in my ears making me feel bad, right? It could be why I feel better now!? Maybe???
At this point, I would rather go the route that our food is our medicine. It seems to make more sense than having more chemicals and toxins put in to my body. The pills and shots (chemicals and toxins) aren't fixing anything, they're just putting a band-aid over the problem and the side effects are usually as bad or worse than the problem they are supposed to be helping.
I am very interested in your thoughts, concerns and experiences with using your diet as your medication. What do you think?
Thanks!
What I am curious about is, have any of you tried an elimination diet or the "autoimmune diet" and if so, what results have you had?
About a week ago I completely cut out all sugar, caffeine, dairy and all grains. It has not been easy but really, it's not as difficult as I thought it would be either. I think I am feeling better. I don't know if I actually feel better or if I am just trying to make myself feel better because I want to believe this can work.
I do know that I am down 9 pounds already which has to be water weight. My theory so far is if I was retaining nine pounds of water, some of that fluid had to be in my ears making me feel bad, right? It could be why I feel better now!? Maybe???
At this point, I would rather go the route that our food is our medicine. It seems to make more sense than having more chemicals and toxins put in to my body. The pills and shots (chemicals and toxins) aren't fixing anything, they're just putting a band-aid over the problem and the side effects are usually as bad or worse than the problem they are supposed to be helping.
I am very interested in your thoughts, concerns and experiences with using your diet as your medication. What do you think?
Thanks!
I, as well have been doing extensive research on Meniere's. I have more bad days than good. I do believe diet has a lot to do with trying to combat this thing. For the past two years my diet was pretty decent. Drinking a gallon of water was something that I did everyday along with exercise, however sometimes my food was high in sodium. I managed to lose 83 pounds, then to find out I have Meniere's, and the doctor tells me a low salt diet and drink a gallon of water. I've tried steroids, it made matters worse. I switched to using sea salt, very little. What I do find is that juicing my greens and fruits helps me. My goal is to be a vegan one day. This journey is not easy at all. I've had some slip ups with my eating. I do believe it is a derivative of an autoimmune disease and "leaky gut".
I have not been able to get back to my workouts, because I'm scared of this whole I'm about to pass out feeling.
My triggers are salt and caffeine. have found recently that sugar is also a trigger. Within the last year I have been having some slight dizziness and finally connected it to when I was eating more cookies and cake (which of course I love). When I cut that out the symptom when away. Now I'm more careful to not have too much.
I have not had an episode of vertigo or sever dizziness in over 5 years and that time it was because I increased my caffeine intake (thinking I had it all figured out, wrong). I personally have no issues with grains or dairy or even alcohol taken in moderate amounts. However,from everything I have read, salt seems to be the biggest issue for Meniere's. Everyone with Meniere's should be strictly following a low-salt diet. Also, any improvement with your symptoms from adjusting your diet will not happen overnight. Any changes you make will usually take weeks or even months to improve your symptoms.
I do continue to take Dyazide because when I have tried to cut down I begin to have symptoms. I sometime attempt to reduce my dose to every other day, without an issue, but if I skip too many days, my head tells me to cut it out!
I have to comment on Nancy's post regarding the sodium. I too have been on the no salt/low salt diet for the past 12 years and it has helped significantly, but recently a friend got me started using the Himalayan salt and honestly, I don't think it bothers me nearly as much as regular old salt or sea salt. I don't know why! I use it when I cook - not much, but enough to add some flavor. I put a little salt on my eggs in the morning and it doesn't seem to bother me. Yay!!!!
A "migraine cure" going around FB is to combine lemon juice with Himalayan salt. I have not tried it yet because, truthfully, it's a lot of salt and I just don't want to risk it.
I also didn't think I had a problem with dairy or grains, but within 24 hours of not consuming any I could already tell a difference. I can definitely tell when I steal a bite of my husband's toast or eat a spoon of rice or put cream in my coffee. Even a little amount makes a huge impact. I have since stopped sneaking a bite here and there. It does help.
Misha - It's so hard to workout, isn't it! I think many of us struggle with it everyday. Hang in there and don't give up! :)
I don't know if a gallon of water a day is helpful or not. I've heard this too, but then a very old doctor who is also a family friend told me that it was "rubbish". He said you shouldn't have so much water because it is not only flushing out the bad stuff, but also the good stuff in our bodies and there is such a thing as water poisoning. Our paleo ancestors certainly didn't drink that much water every day. I don't know what to think about it all.
Any advice or words of wisdom are appreciated. Unfortunately, we're all in the same boat. At the same time, it's comforting to know there are others who understand exactly what we're going through. Thanks!
I have also found salt-free bread, nuts, butter, potato chips and a few other items that may or may not take some getting used to, but so what? Giving in to salt is one of the worst things you can do. Sugar may be next, but there are substitutes for that, also. Good luck.