Why do I have to have this?

Posting for Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Why do I have to have Meniere's disease?  If I haven't mentioned it before now, here is a definition:

Definition

By Mayo Clinic staff
Meniere's disease is a disorder of the inner ear that causes spontaneous episodes of vertigo — a sensation of a spinning motion — along with fluctuating hearing loss, ringing in the ear (tinnitus), and sometimes a feeling of fullness or pressure in your ear. In many cases, Meniere's disease affects only one ear.
People in their 40s and 50s are more likely than people in other age groups to develop Meniere's disease, but it can occur in anyone, even children.
Although Meniere's disease is considered a chronic condition, various treatment strategies can help relieve symptoms and minimize the disease's long-term impact on your life.

Symptoms

Causes

Complications

Preparing for your appointment

Tests and diagnosis

Treatments and drugs

Lifestyle and home remedies

Coping and support

 

Symptoms

By Mayo Clinic staff

The primary signs and symptoms of Meniere's disease are:

• Recurring episodes of vertigo. Vertigo is similar to the sensation you experience if you spin around quickly several times and suddenly stop. You feel as if the room is still spinning, and you lose your balance. Episodes of vertigo occur without warning and usually last 20 minutes to two hours or more, up to 24 hours. Severe vertigo can cause nausea and vomiting.
• Hearing loss. Hearing loss in Meniere's disease may fluctuate, particularly early in the course of the disease. Eventually, most people experience some degree of permanent hearing loss.
• Ringing in the ear (tinnitus). Tinnitus is the perception of a ringing, buzzing, roaring, whistling or hissing sound in your ear.
• Feeling of fullness in the ear. People with Meniere's disease often feel aural fullness or increased pressure in the ear.

A typical episode might start with a feeling of fullness in your ear, increasing tinnitus and decreasing hearing followed by severe vertigo, often accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Such an episode might last 20 minutes to four hours, after which signs and symptoms improve. Episodes often occur in clusters, with long periods of mild or no symptoms (remission) between.
Still, the severity, frequency and duration of each of these sensory perception problems vary, especially early in the disease. For example, you could have frequent episodes with severe vertigo and only mild disturbances in other sensations. Or you may experience mild vertigo and hearing loss infrequently but have frequent tinnitus that disturbs your sleep.
When to see a doctor
See your doctor if you experience any signs or symptoms of Meniere's disease. Because any one of these problems may be the result of other illnesses, it's important to get an accurate diagnosis as soon as possible.
Vertigo is an uncommon but possible sign of other disorders, such as stroke, brain tumor, multiple sclerosis, or diseases of your heart or blood vessels (cardiovascular disease). See your primary care doctor immediately if vertigo is accompanied by any of the following signs or symptoms:

• Headache that is unusual or severe for you
• Double vision or loss of vision
• Speech impairment
• Leg or arm weakness
• Loss of consciousness
• Falling or difficulty walking
• Numbness or tingling
• Chest pain

**Luckily I haven't experienced a lot of these symptoms, but it appears it could happen at any time anywhere.  What scares me the most, personally, is that I could be driving when this happens.  If I had to give up driving I would lose my mind.  No doubt. 

I have had some vertigo experiences here and there, sometimes they cause me to have to lie down and very still sometimes they only last a few moments.  The one thing that I have noticed and some family members have noticed is my memory is scattered, I mean more than normal.  It worries me but hopefully with some testing we can get some answers and some meds or whatever it takes to bring me back to where I feel comfortable and dont repeat the same things over and over and over.  If I do, please bear with me.  This is not easy for me to be going through and I tend to shut down at times when I am scared.  I know my friends want to help, and I love and appreciate their efforts, this is just my protective mode I guess. 

I talked to a nice gentleman at work because he suffers from this too and said he had terrible episodes for about 1.5 years where he would be on the phone talking to a customer and all of a sudden he would hit the floor passed out.  I hope and pray that never happens to me. 

With this diet, and cutting back on my salt intake I am hoping it will help with this disease.  It couldn't hurt is what I am thinking.    Please keep me in your prayers through this journey that has no cure.