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.

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Today's ENT Visit

georgiapeachy
georgiapeachy
Today's appointment was very beneficial. First of all my doc encouraged me to continue with the Diazepam treatment. He wrote a prescription for 90 days of treatment and then I will see him again.

In the event that the vertigo returns, the next course of treatment will be the gentamycin injection (s). He explained the procedure, the risks, and the percentage of success with this treatment. As usual, the vertigo will temporarily worsen following this procedure. It takes some time for the good ear to adapt to the changes from the procedure. A tube will be left in the ear following the procedure in case a 2nd injection is needed. Sometimes it takes 2 injections spaced about one month apart.

If the gentamycin injection still doesn't stop the vertigo, then a surgical procedure would be next. A shunt would be placed to drain off the excess fluid.

So . . . first it is Diazepam and the hope that this will control the vertigo. So far, so good. This is day 4 on the med and I have felt very well. I am now one week since my last episode of vertigo (last Thursday).

As for the pulsatile tinnitus, it is the sound of blood rushing through the veins.. He did say if it worsens I should have an ultrasound of the carotid arteries to be sure there are no blockages. The coffee ground vomiting was due to excessive vomiting over the past 2 months. This will heal once the vertigo and vomiting is stopped.. I have had no further problems with my esophagus or throat.
deleted_user
deleted_user
By all means try the steroid shots first I was going to get the gentamicin shots till I talked to a few members on this site .Glad I did most have told me the results were not as good as they were told or wished for and there is no turning back once the damage is done. The e. n. t. for the most part wants to improve you and move on to the next case he knows there is no cure and the best he can do is get you to a comfort level and maybe you can sustain some sort or quality of life. If you are on valium the rest of your life so be it it's better than being deaf and constantly off balance the rest of your life.
georgiapeachy
georgiapeachy
Thanks for the comments and tips.. I do limit salt intake . . . ENT says below 2000 mgs. I figure 1500 would be safe. I will ask about the steroid shot on my next visit. Thanks! Don't mind Valium/Diazepam the rest of my life it controls this. If not . . .
deleted_user
deleted_user
Georgia

Simple question, do you have any ringing Tinnitus in your non Meniere's ear, doesn't have to be all the time, perhaps even once or twice a year or more often?

God bless!

Rich
georgiapeachy
georgiapeachy
Moonpie, I have no tinnitus at all in my "good" ear.

jojo: I have a congenital defect on the right rear carotid artery. The ENT said the body corrects itself by sending more blood flow through the left carotid, probably why I have so much of the heart beat/sound of blood flow in that ear.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Of course in my last post I was trying to bring up the possibility of having bilateral MD which it sounds like you do not. I have had surgery for acoustic neuroma in my left ear that cut the nerve so no balance or hearing on that side. This was 8 years before I got MD on the other side. It is not a 100% that the other side will adapt completely to normal in terms of balance. I went through a lot of vestibular rehab and would say the best I got was 85% normal which still made me "high risk to fall". Another factor is that as we age the hair inside the inner ear which detects hearing and below that chamber hair also determines balance, begin to reduce in number, that is why older folks naturally loose hearing and some balance. I am not trying to be negative or spin away from gentamicin, it dose work, but I feel it is important to understand how come it works and what are the benefit/risk involved.

God bless!

Rich
georgiapeachy
georgiapeachy
Thanks so much, Rich. I'm still hoping and praying that the Diazepam will control this and I won't need anything else. None of the options offered by my doc were very appealing. Time will tell just how well the Diazepam works!
deleted_user
deleted_user
I absolutely agree with jojo and troxman. A doctor should never go directly to a destructive procedure like gentamicin before trying the steroids first! Please, please be careful and research this procedure. I had it a few years ago and it destroyed the balance function totally, but my "good side" did not compensate for it as expected. That has left me with permanent damage--no balance on that side and 30% hearing loss. Having the gentamicin injections was the worst decision I ever made--and it was done by a doctor who trained at Shea Clinic. He never warned me about the possibility of the good side not compensating--otherwise I wouldn't have agreed to it. Also, he did do the steroid injections first, but they didn't help. I changed doctors and have recently had the steroids again and they helped a lot. I beg you to reconsider the gentamicin and question the doctor as to why he went directly to a destructive procedure. Sorry for the rant; I'm on a mission to save people from gentamicin. God bless and keep us posted.
georgiapeachy
georgiapeachy
Thanks to all for the warning about the Gentamycin. I will definitely ask about the steroids first. I'm not rushing into any procedure until I've given Diazepam a good trial run first. I have gone 10 days without vertigo up until yesteday.. Had a bout of vertigo that started out much more slowly than usual, so I was able to use both Diazepam and Phenergan. It stopped the vertigo within an hour and I slept for 4 hours. Woke up and still felt "off" the rest of the afternoon and evening. No vomiting though, which is really good! I want to continue with Diazepam 2 mgs 3 X daily for a while and see how much benefit I get from that before doing any kind of procedure. Thanks to all. You provide really good information.
georgiapeachy
georgiapeachy
Rich, I do not have any tinnitus in my good ear. My hearing in that ear is great and so far, no problems at all on the right side. Just hope and pray it stays that way. I lost a lot of hearing on the left side first before I had any vertigo. It was about 5 years later when the vertigo began and it hasn't stopped . .. . yet . . . HOPE! LOL

Best to you. It sounds like you've had a very hard battle with MD. Hang in there . . .
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