Menieres treatment

[stevenf]

Hello, pretty new here. I spend a lot of time reading posts on a menieres forum and a lot of people are getting results by treating their menieres as a herpes virus. I was wondering if anyone here has tried to treat their MAV this way, using antivirals such as acyclovir or valtrax, or using the "John of Ohio regimen " from Menieres.org. Some people have also had success seeing a NUCCA Chiro. I find many people get diagnosed with both conditions or one doctor will say Menieres and another will say Migraine, perhaps their is a connection between both conditions for some people. Just curious if anyone has gone this route.

[Timeless]

That is an interesting thought I wonder if anyone has explored this possibility...I had herpes many years ago but have not had problems with it in years knock on wood.

[stevenf]

Thanks for responding. On the Menieres forum many people are getting great results from Antivirals and natural supplements that surpress herpes. Anyone who has ever had the chicken pox, shingles or a cold sore has had herpes. The reason I refer to Menieres is that many people believe there is a connection between the two conditions in some cases. Maybe not. I was just curious if anyone who has tried and failed at the traditional MAV treatments has perhaps gone a different root. I am going to start seeing a NUCCA chiro, what do I have to lose? If this doesn't work I'll try something else. I'm also trying the diet from "Heal Your Headache" but it is so hard. By the way, thank you Timeless for taking the time to E-mail me when I first joined this forum. Everyone here is so helpful and we all know what we are all going through. Hopefully there is an answer to this dreaded condition, in fact all vestibular conditions because they all suck. Steve.

[scott]

Hi Steve,

I have the dreaded herpes (which can sometimes aggravate MAV depending on how bad the OB is) and have tried using daily Valtrex in the past. It made no impact on my baseline symptoms and, in fact, made things worse. The daily Valtrex really screwed up my gut for quite some time. I do use lysine though, but even that can irritate my gut if I take more than 500 mg daily during an OB. A doctor I saw back then told me it was not worth taking a daily dose of these antivirals – that the SEs outweighed the benefits. They're good to knock out an OB at a given time but not recommended (so he said) for daily use. I find lysine is not bad and given it's just an amino acid, I'm happier using that.

Interesting that some people seem to do better with MD on the antivirals.

Thanks for the post ... Scott

edit: I saw a chrio for years for neck pain that was the product of migraine and nothing else. When I finally realised this and made the necessary dietary/lifestyle changes the neck pain basically became a non-problem despite the chiro telling me about "subluxations" etc. He gave me temporary relief with manipulation but it was certainly no cure. There's no evidence that these subluxations even exist ... frankly, I don't believe any of it.

[robbi]

Hi Stevenf. I routinely view the Menieres web site too. I wonder if there are other others here doing the same. Anyhow, I was originally diagnosed with bilateral hydrops, (after 6 months of lots of doctors, Rx's and different dr.'s opinions!), and went on the Zone Diet. Very similar to the migraine diet guidelines I've seen. I had a dramatic improvement right away on the Zone Diet, but after a short 4 weeks I had a huge migraine and was just as worse as before with my symptoms. My neurotologist then put me on Valtrax 500 mg 2xday because I had had shingles when I was 23. I was on Valtrax for about 6 months with no changes what so ever. A new doctor I'm seeing was trying to reduce all the meds I was on and took me off the Valtrax. I wonder if it was too soon? Well, I'd be interested to know how the chiro works out for you.
Cheers

[MSDXD]

There is a very close relationship between MAV and MM.
It is possible to have both.

[laser125]

hey steve,

I was just at the ent today. I have been diagnosed with both menieres and mav. I attend both forums because of it. I don't have tinnitus, but do have low freq. hearing loss. I do have more MAV symptoms though. Constant dizziness and visual problems with flourescent lighting. I have been doing the "John of Ohio" regimen. I have also been dieting avoing possible triggers ex. gluten, sodium, wheat etc.
The ent did say that sometimes these things will burn themselves out. I sure hope so. This seems like an epidemic with so many affected. There has got to be some connection somewhere. I have been asking the doctors why this is so hard to diagnose and treat. Apparently,they just can't go in and see things inside the ear. Well, good luck at the chiro and keep us posted. This site is great for compiling information and getting good feedback.

[Victoria]

Hi Laser125,

Have you had any success with the John of Ohio programme? Call me a skeptic (that would be fair, I am) but I had a look at what he proposes and it seems like there's a lot of untested, unproven and unmeasured (ie dosage, interactions etc) stuff in it, not to mention known placebos such as homeopathy. He also claims that "conventional" medicine (ie, medicine) don't accept the regimen but then cautions people to only do the programme with their doctor's consent. So, does he think that doctors do know their business or not?

It may well be that there's something in elements of what he proposes and that the evidence just hasn't caught up to it yet. The down side is of course that by trialling it you are doing just that - trialling it. There may be good effects but there may also be serious side effects. You just don't know.

Just my two cents' worth.

Victoria

[laser125]

Hi Victoria,

I have been on the regimen for about 3 months. Probably not long enough to determine yet or not. I started with 4 or 5 of the supplements listed and am only taking 3 of them now. Lemon bioflavonoids, vinpocetine and ginko biloba. In addition, I am watching my diet. I have had some relief, but never suffered the tinnitus many have. Thank god! I figured since the supplements promote brain circulation and function I would try them. But, like anything else check with your physician first.
I still am searching for that Eureka moment where I am completely dizzy-free. That is why I check in on this website and the Menieres website daily. Many on the Menieres website are on the "John of Ohio" regimen and would probably be able to give you more feedback on your question. Do you have more symptoms Mav or Menieres related?
Good luck,
laser125

[Victoria]

Hi again Laser125,

I'm MAV rather than Meniere's. As for the Eureka moment - that has never been my experience. It's more that things get less and less bad and then I'm pretty much OK again. The time frame is months, very gradual.

Good luck
Victoria