Hi all. This may be the dumbest question ever, however, I am beginning to see a pattern with myself. My symptoms always seem to worsen in the summer. We have a salt water pool that we set-up 3 years ago. My kids and I are constantly in it. The correlation just dawned on me this morning. Anybody out there have any ideas if the pool could be having any effect on my MAV??? Thanks, Jennifer
That is an interesting question because there is quite a bit of controversy over salt. It is reduced for menieres patients as routine, but not so much so for VM/MAV I don’t think. In fact I often feel the need for salt, it perks me up. In my opinion your worsening symptoms may be due to the extra activity of being in the pool and generally more active during the summer months. If I do too much I pay for it, so pacing ourselves is key. Don’t stop, just take it to a level that you have energy in reserve for your brain. Messing about in a pool is a brilliant natural form of VRT, just bear in mind it uses lots of energy to compensate for the balance problems your brain is trying to deal with.
Back when I could drive and function a lot better than I can now I used to hit a gym that had 90 degree F saltwater pools for muscle and pain therapy. They were extremely helpful for me. A lot of my muscles (basically from my waist on up) get tight from holding my body so rigid from being dizzy. And my legs also hurt a lot, so perhaps I hold my whole body tight. And I believe the tight neck muscles definitely contribute to my dizziness. Anyway, I usually felt better after being in the salt water pool. I’m pretty sure the warnings of sodium in the diet are purely “diet” oriented and based on what we consume. (although salt doesn’t seem to bother me in my diet and I too seem to crave it at times like Margaret does). I don’t see how salt from the saltwater could get into our digestive system. That being said, I rarely went underwater as that bothered my ears immensely, but that can happen with any water.
Maybe you feel worse in the summer due to any possible summer allergies? For me my symptoms flair up in the heat, and I have a very difficult time being outside in the summer months, but I live where summers are usually in the upper 80s to upper 90s and HUMID. I am most comfortable and even feel a little better when the temps are below freezing. I hope this helps!