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.
So my ENT is insisting that this will help doesn't matter if I have Menieres or Vestibular Migraine. I am not so sure it will and I don't have the money for it. I get floating, dizzy spells, walk into walls, and vertigo. Example today I was walking in the store and started feeling nauseated and I could barely stand up. My friend said she watched the color drain from my face and thought I was going to fall over. So how will vestibular rehab help this?
The theory is that your sense of balance is from your inner ear, your vision and your peripheral (arms and legs) sensory system. So if your inner ear is damaged, your brain could be receiving mixed messages. For example, your vision tells your brain that a wall is directly in front of you, but your inner ear is sensing that the wall is 20 degrees to the right. So your brain can't process this conflicting information, and you get dizzy/have vertigo. Vestibular rehab helps to retrain your brain to process information when one of the sensory systems is damaged.
So if you decide to try it, I wouldn't go into it thinking vestibular therapy will be a cure, but it might make the dizziness and balance issues more manageable.
I went into the Upper Cervical with an open mind and it didn't do much for me unfortunately. I wasn't able to give it too much time due to some other issues and not sure I'll go back and that's after several hundred dollars out of pocket. However, if it would have worked for me..... it would have been worth every penny. Everything we do is a risk and an investment.
If I recall correctly didn't you just start with the Upper Cervical a month ago? Did the doctor find you had a misalignment? If so, from what I have read, it's is a slow process and you wouldn't be better in such a short time. I did have a misalignment and I've been going for about 3 months. Since I have my vertigo and dizzy spells pretty much under control it's hard for me to know at this point if I've improved. But I am getting more balanced in my posture and starting to reduce my meds, so I am hopeful. If you're out of balance you should consider sticking with it for a longer period of time. I wish you well.
However, the reason I might not go back is for several reasons I wonder if they are all like this????. First, is the establishment and the way they insisted on payment in advance BEFORE I had a chance to even know if it was going to work. I'm not talking about one or two visits either. They were very pushy about their "pay in advance" payment plan and I refused. They were not happy with me (not that I cared). The second reason is that they are only open 3x a week which is very difficult for my work schedule. The third reason is that I could go in for an appt, they could decide that I didn't need an adjustment that day.....and still charge me full price (kind of like seeing a doctor and being charged an office visit). I understood their concept to a degree, but my wallet wasn't happy about it and I've NEVER run into that at any other chiropractors before. They also insist on progress xrays after 3 or 4 months which is more money...... they don't deal with insurance at all.......I could go on :(
I wanted to be positive, wanted to see it if would work, but felt like they were smiling and laughing an evil laugh each time they ran my credit card! And of course, they are the only Upper Cervical in my area. There is one other, but they don't take xrays at all and clearly that's a little scary (even with the potential for saving money on all the xrays!)