Hi again,
Sorry no one is responding yet. There are many people on this site who can give you information. I was hoping they would get back to you. They will respond.
I wasn't "diagnosed" with MD because I didn't know what to talk to the ENT about. My MRI showed nothing. I thought I hadn't had vertigo because I was imagining Hitchcock's movie without understanding that's what happened to me. I thought I had food poisoning. The room would spin slowly quite often after that sudden vertigo attack. That's when I went in for "dizziness". After the ENT couldn't find anything he started talking about MD. "See you in 3 months". I had the choice of medication or changing my lifestyle. I opted for the latter. "You're doing well. See you in 6 months."
Looking back now, I should have gone in much sooner, but I blamed overworking and being stressed and tired. I also didn't want to hear what the doctor said. It seems for me the doctor's I have seen think there is nothing to complain about if I am not sick with vertigo.
I am and have been on an extremely low sodium diet.(500mg) I exercise daily. I avoid stress (don't have that job anymore) as much as possible. Symptoms come and go. Nope, no other health issues. In fact, my cholesterol and blood pressure have gone down because of the low sodium diet and exercise. I also take a few of the supplements from John of Ohio's regimen. I've had the full blown vertigo only twice since that first time. I do have the constant full pressure, tinnitus, nystagmus, rapid heartbeat, reaction to loud noises, dizziness, pains in my head and ears, etc. But I am coping with them. One day at a time.

I hope this helps you.

thank you RachelT for the reply; greatly appreciated and helpful! I just need to know how others have handled this disease and I'm hoping we could all benefit from others' experiences. Thanks for sharing yours. Right now I can say I have more 'good days' than 'bad' and part of it is managing the meds (I am now taking my triamterene every other day to hold off some side effects) but if there was something I have every day it's the light headedness that feels my head isn't completely attached to my body. Like you, I have fast heartbeat and some headache, but I've never had any hearing loss and maybe ringing once or twice but for only a few minutes. I also had the nystagmus early on and true vertigo once or twice and again, only lasting a few minutes and happened at home, so I was able to lay down safely. Overall, this disease seems to affect people differently and there's a menu of symptoms available to us. It's a weird disease because all the specialists I've been to (cardiologist, neurologist) chiropractor, etc., have all said I was 'healthy' and couldn't find anything wrong, but yet I feel all these physical symptoms that let me know there's something definitely going on! My MRIs have shown nothing 'remarkable' and my chest x-rays are 'normal' and my blood pressure has always been good whenever it's been taken. What a roller coaster of a ride for all of us, huh!?

For me I thought I had an inner ear infection. The vertigo started with the airplane jet engine in my right ear. When it first started it came on full blown. I was dizzy all the time could barely walk, my family MD sent me to an ENT that figured I had it and sent me to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor to see a specialist. (the funny thing it was the same Doctor that treated my son earlier in the year.) They did a full work with testing. I had a diagnosis before I walked out that day, it did help that I was having a full blown attack during the testing. Its been about 3 years for me I do low sodium diet. Take a water pill and antihistamine and one herbal supplement vinpocitine daily, I still have small attacks but they are manageable .
Just have to get use to the swings in hearing.

I woke up March 15, 2007 with an incredible roar in my ear. It was a 10 out of 10. I went to my doctor, saw his PA and he gave me meds for sinus or something. After an entire week of the roar I went back to see my doctor and he gave me a steroid. Within a couple of hours it stopped! Of course it returned but not quite as bad. I also had a very bad pain in my neck, same side, and my doctor said it wasn't related! I'm not so sure. I got an MRI, saw the allergist and finally after about 8 months saw and ENT dr. I told him I had a couple of episodes of nystagmus. He diagnosed me on the spot. He put me on a low sodium diet and Dyaside. I've only had 2 periods of vertigo and vomiting, one because I over did the sodium and one because of too much caffeine. Both times I was given a steroid and both times it took about 3 weeks to pass. During those times I would have attacks lasting 3 or 4 to 15 hours. Also one time early on, I had several weeks of dizziness too. I'm very careful with my diet. My ringing was pretty low after meds and diet adjustment, like 2-4 out of 10, but after vertigo attacks the noise in my ear got worse. It is currently about 6 out of 10. The ringing is 24/7, never let's up. I've just learned to focus on anything other than the noise. I have lost a lot of hearing in my effected ear. Normally, I have no other symptoms except for occasional minor lightheadedness. My MD hasn't caused any other health issues. Diet is so important. I googled sodium levels on all the foods I eat and kept a daily record of what I ate. I even got a food scale. I don't normally need to do that anymore, I can calculate in my head. I check nutritional info on the web before I go to a restaurants. I'm very careful because I know if I'm not it means vertigo, vomiting and even worse an increase in the volume of the noise in my head and more hearing loss. Great motivation to be careful! My life is very normal now, thank God. It may be hard to imagine but many people are able to deal with this disease.
I wish you the best.

BTW, I tried going to an upper cervical chiropractor earlier this year. I did see a slight temporary improvement in my hearing. After a couple of months I developed Guillain-Barr Syndrome and spent 5 days in the hospital stroke ward for IV infusion treatments. There is a very slight risk of stroke with the neck adjustments and I just decided I had enough problems and I wasn't going to risk it, so I stopped. Now I'm taking pycnogenol which has showed to improved MD symptoms in a recent study. I've been on it for about 3 weeks so it's too early to tell.

thanks for your reply! Today (Saturday) is a pretty good day so far; no headaches or pressures but just the 'floaty' feeling as if my head is higher than my body or just disconnected....I read when people mention their 'attacks'. I assume when these attacks happen various things happen? for me it's been an EVERY DAY thing since Sept. 2013 but with a variety of symptoms on and off....it seems to be a give and take kind of disease; if I have a good day without pain or pressure I have the fast heart rate and uneasiness and what could probably be described as nervousness or anxiety, and days when I feel confident and want to get things done I have the pain behind the eye or on one side of my head, etc. Today I just have a jittery empty feeling as if I haven't eaten anything. And in my case, I've never lost hearing (other than the time I tried to clean my ears out and clogged them up overnight--scary!) had high tone in my left ear once and it lasted for a few minutes, but I don't have any ear issues and before I was ever tested my hearing was said to be normal. I understand you don't always have to have hearing loss or issues to be diagnosed with Meniere's. I'm not due to go back to my ENT for a follow up until January, which to me seems like a loooooong way off! He said if I have any issues or need to come in sooner I could but right now I'm on triamterene every other day, trying my best to watch what I eat, and when feeling well, try to remain active or at least busy. Mt ENT did tell me on one of my last visits that I didn't 'have it as bad' as some others, so in that regard, I feel a little better about this but I wish I could get my life back when I was a healthier, heavier, active person who didn't lay around on the couch so much! (by heavier I mean my previous weight of 150 which I know I'm not near that with all the weight I've lost)

hi thought I would take the time to answer your questions the best I can.
1. I was diagnosed by my nuroligist after having a vng test, coloric test
2.suddenly,
3.was in a car as the passage and it was a rainy night the wipers were going and I thought we were hydroplying everything started spinning around me, got sick within a 5 minute period.
4.meziline, verapilmil, Zoloft, no they didn't help me
5.since 2004
6.i have good days and really bad days when I have a full blown attack.
7. yes my vestibular nerve is severly compromised only 5% working now. was told it was damaged due to my hearing nerve that runs along side of the vestibular nerve. I started losing my hearing before the diagonisious of meniers. 1995 started to lose my hearing.
verstibular nerve is what keeps us balanced and mine is not working so I am now off balance and cant bend over with out falling over cant look up with out losing my balance. was just diaonised with the vestibular damage in may of this yr. was put out of work permittly now and am waiting on S.S.D. to see if I am approved since I can no longer work with meniers, vestibular nerve damage and m.a.v.
hope this helps with your questions?
Tracey

I don't frequent this site all the time so thought I would respond, since I'm on today.
1) how were you diagnosed with MD? I had sinus issues, had a cold, ear problem with the cold and had my first vertigo attack. A month later I had a major vertigo attack and lost hearing. When I went to see the ENT specialist, they didn't diagnose it at Meniere's right away, but I knew that's what it was, from the description. I had sinus surgery first and with infrequent, continued vertigo was sent to another Meniere's specialist. The original hearing test and having all four symptoms, prompted the diagnosis immediately from him.
2) how did your symptoms come on, suddenly or gradually? see above. I had sinus surgery 5 years earlier and it went badly, I knew I'd have to have it again. The cold/vertigo was my first sign of Meniere's 3 years ago.
3) what were the first signs/symptoms? vertigo and hearing loss
4) what medications or treatments work or do not work for you? I have been on triamterene for 1 yr. 8 mos. and didn't like it from the start but stayed on it until this last week, when I was tired of feeling listless, leg cramps, constant urination (3-4 times at night too), recent side pain and lower back discomfort.
5) how long have you had MD?
6) do you suffer symptoms every day? no - months in between attacks
7) have you experienced other health issues as a result of MD? none as a result but I have severe environmental allergies. I recently developed a cough but that could be the triamterene - I am scheduled to see my ENT specialist next week

I've had MD since my mid 30s and now am 68. At first I had a few random bouts of vertigo but did not see a doctor. Took OTC motion sickness tablets. Then I had about 30 years before I had any further problems. At first, I started losing hearing in left ear. Saw a couple of ENTs who did nothing and could not explain why. The hearing loss continued and then vertigo returned with a vengeance about 3 years ago. My ENT put me through all the tests, VNG, Caloric, Imaging with/without contrast and more I cannot recall now. The result was Meniere's Disease. I tried low salt, no caffeine diet, the usual meds including valium. Valium helped for a while but I required more of it to do the job. Saw neurotologist who recommended either antibiotic injections in inner ear which helps temporarily but usually vertigo returns and more injections required. The labyrinthectomy provides complete relief from vertigo so I opted for that last November. I am not one year vertigo free. Still working on regaining better balance, but so far, so good. This is a debilitating disease and nothing is perfect when it comes to treatment. But the labyrinthectomy was my choice and I'm happy with the results. I am in vestibular rehab therapy for the 2nd time and doing great. Cooked Thanksgiving Dinner for the family this year which is huge. Kitchen duty has always caused severe vertigo in the past. Hope this helps.

I am now one year vertigo free. Oops!