3 ms·

I also have Meniere's disease. About a year ago I found this study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16885753 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16885753 Th

I also have Meniere's disease. About a year ago I found this study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16885753 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16885753 The study (while incredibly small and perhaps statistically insignificant) suggests that drinking excess water may alter the production of vasopressin, essentially downregulating the body's retention of water. I have tried to follow the recommendation (essentially drinking 100oz of extra water a day) and can anecdotally say that it seems to reduce my symptoms and is more effective in doing so than low salt diets, diuretics, and caffeine reduction. Plus it's more or less free. I'm not optimistic on getting my hearing back though, at least in the near term. Best of luck.

andrewstuart2 12y ago
Yeah, the most effective control for me has been consistent workouts. I've interestingly found that cardio seems to be best at keeping my symptoms at bay. My hypothesis there is that it's actually the extra sweat over strength training, and shedding of electrolytes thus lowering of my water retention that may lower pressure in the middle ear, keeping the membrane from rupturing. This is also anecdotal -- I'm not super keen on deliberately allowing the symptoms to return in order to experiment, and I don't exactly have a control group. I'll have to try increasing my water intake as well and see how much that helps. Thanks for the advice, and best of luck to you as well :-)
chockablock 12y ago
Another Meniere's sufferer here. Triggers for me are the typical ones: alcohol, caffeine, high stress, sleep dep. Dietary salt doesn't seem to be a big one for me. I had steroids after my first attack, and have also tried various prescription diuretics and low-sodium diets, all to little effect. Learning about and avoiding my triggers (and, like the GP, getting regular exercise) has been the best bet for me. I had a breakthrough a couple years ago when I was prescribed diazepam (Valium) to deal with acute attacks. Apart from its anxiolytic effects, it's a powerful vestibular suppressant, and works far better than anything I'd tried before (e.g. anticholinergics) to control vertigo and tinnitus. In fact, since I usually get a 'prodrome' (symptoms build over a few days before a full-blown attack), I can get on the diazepam right away, and head off the attack before it gets out of hand (starting at 5mg/day, fairly low dose). This seems to also prevent the prolonged temporary hearing loss phase of a couple months after each attack. Thanks for the link to the water cure, that's a new one, and pretty interesting. Best of luck to you!

andrewstuart2 12y ago

Yeah, the most effective control for me has been consistent workouts. I've interestingly found that cardio seems to be best at keeping my symptoms at bay. My hypothesis there is that it's actually the extra sweat over strength training, and shedding of electrolytes thus lowering of my water retention that may lower pressure in the middle ear, keeping the membrane from rupturing. This is also anecdotal -- I'm not super keen on deliberately allowing the symptoms to return in order to experiment, and I don't exactly have a control group. I'll have to try increasing my water intake as well and see how much that helps. Thanks for the advice, and best of luck to you as well :-)

chockablock 12y ago

Another Meniere's sufferer here. Triggers for me are the typical ones: alcohol, caffeine, high stress, sleep dep. Dietary salt doesn't seem to be a big one for me. I had steroids after my first attack, and have also tried various prescription diuretics and low-sodium diets, all to little effect. Learning about and avoiding my triggers (and, like the GP, getting regular exercise) has been the best bet for me. I had a breakthrough a couple years ago when I was prescribed diazepam (Valium) to deal with acute attacks. Apart from its anxiolytic effects, it's a powerful vestibular suppressant, and works far better than anything I'd tried before (e.g. anticholinergics) to control vertigo and tinnitus. In fact, since I usually get a 'prodrome' (symptoms build over a few days before a full-blown attack), I can get on the diazepam right away, and head off the attack before it gets out of hand (starting at 5mg/day, fairly low dose). This seems to also prevent the prolonged temporary hearing loss phase of a couple months after each attack. Thanks for the link to the water cure, that's a new one, and pretty interesting. Best of luck to you!