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One coffee might be ok ....

#1

… but don’t have THREE! :coffee: :coffee: :coffee: :fire: :grimacing:

A quick one guys, which shows there is indeed merit in the diet:

I’ve been feeling good lately and my balance had returned. I’m med free and optimistic about the future.

Then on Saturday afternoon I let things go :partying_face: & I had 3 coffees. And not just your weak rubbish either, oh no! :muscle:

Saturday night that caused me to hardly sleep and my ear dumped fluid, more than usual.

Needless to say I woke up Sunday totally imbalanced again. I was freaked out :scream: to be honest and bitterly disappointed :frowning_face: , but I knew why.

The great news is that imbalance was gone by evening :up: and the following morning I was fine.

So it seems not only does one get better, but setbacks last far less long as you improve!

Just goes to show though, one is on knife-edge with this thing half the time …

PS I know a lot of you are suffering far worse at the moment, so this is nothing but I thought it might be good to demonstrate a ‘clear trigger’.

#2

Yeah, everything in moderation including moderation. This is the main reason I don’t have coffee at all - after the first cup I just start reaching for the second…

#3

Actually the result was quite shocking … I’ve been having two coffees daily for quite some time without an issue … but this time … oh boy!

#4

I could only tolerate 1 cup of coffee a day initially, after having no caffeine at all for a couple of years. But slowly as I have got better my tolerance has increased and I can get away with a bit more now, 2-3 cups during the day but not at bedtime!

#5

It’s worth bearing in mind these were barrista-strength americanos too, not your average cuppa’.

#6

Yes me too, not the instant stuff but freshly ground beans, brewed and espresso type coffee! All good so long as I don’t have it too late in the day!

#7

that’s excellent Lorri, you must definitely be getting better! :slight_smile:

#8

Thank you James, yes I’m really good. No imbalance nor dizziness. I’m still coming off meds, so hopefully I can report back again once I’m completely off it all.

But boy what a difference even from this time last year - to think I can post about drinking good coffee! Even managed two busy short breaks recently via planes!

#9

Haha, awesome! Wooo!

#10

You know, i’m wondering if coffee acts like a diuretic on the ear.

The reason you feel crap might be that it’s changed the balance of fluids in the ear sufficiently enough to confuse the brain that got used to the previous set-up.

What’s interesting about that is it highlights something I’ve been thinking for a while:

Vestibular imbalance is caused by lack of compensation … for those with Hydrops as you get better, the Hydrops might well reduce but THAT will make you feel worse if it reduces too quickly as it will change the response of the ear too much and give you symptoms … so you think you are getting worse … but actually you are getting better - just too quickly!! Your vestibular symptoms, then, are more governed by the instability and the delta than the actual fixed amount of fluid imbalance.

#11

I’ll throw spanner into the works here. Propranolol works as a diuretic too. I was surprised to read recently though come to think of it don’t know why. I could have told them that after 2 years on the stuff. Helen

#12

That’s no spanner. That’s very interesting. Do you have a reference? (Had a quick look, couldn’t find one)

#13

I’ve looked into coffee as a diuretic before and it looks like a myth. I know everyone says it dehydrates the body but it doesn’t appear to be true. After all, coffee is mostly water (-:

But evidence does seem to suggest coffee is a vasoconstrictor.

#14

But it makes you go to the bathroom more often, no? (which suggests it has diuretic properties?)

#15

I don’t think it does so any more than plain water does. James, perhaps you need to conduct an experiment… :slight_smile:

#16

Yup, in moderate quantities it doesn’t, only in ‘overdose’:

“Researchers measured the men’s urine output over a 24-hour period and other hydration markers in their blood, and concluded moderate coffee intake provides similar hydrating qualities to water.”

““If you have to have more than four cups of coffee a day you may see a diuretic effect from that, but if your intake is less, then from a dehydration view you’re going to be okay,” says Renn.”

http://www.abc.net.au/health/talkinghealth/factbuster/stories/2014/02/27/3951831.htm

… but I reckon I had about 6 shots in those 3 cups so this could still completely explain my experience.

As you say, other effects might also be at work …

#17

Actually, it looks like there could be an acute effect. So, if you drink a lot more than usual one day it may act as a diuretic, but after a few days your body adjusts and it no longer has that effect.

#18

That makes sense … part of the body’s natural executive processes that aim to maintain homeostasis.

Oh well, perhaps all I need to do is up my general coffee intake. Then I can have loads of cups every day :wink: :smiley: :cowboy_hat_face:

#19

I knew a guy that would do 12 shots in his coffees. He was a very religious guy - against drugs and alcohol. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that he might have a drug problem…

All this talk of coffee, I’m gonna need to have one this morning I think. :grinning:

#20

Afraid not. Couldn’t find it again. From exp I wouldn’t be surprised although it would seem strange (a) they can’t be very effective because heart patients are often given straight diuretics alongside betablockers it seems and (b) betablockers do work for MAV which would seem contrary. From personal experience Propranolol gave me Dry Eyes almost from the start which is common, and they certainly mean far more trips to the bathroom.

With regard to coffee drinking I remember one eminent UK MAV specialist writing one should treat coffee like a medicine, take the same amount every day or leave it alone completely. Any help? Seemed odd thing to say I thought at the time but there. Helen