OT - Wife update/diet change

[awp101]

Back in December I posted a prayer request for my wife who'd been in and out of the hospital with some kind of inner ear issue. During the initial ENT visit last month, the ENT (who is also a professor at UT Southwest) was pretty sure she's dealing with a-typical Ménière's disease: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9ni% ... 7s_disease. Today she underwent a 3.5hr battery of diagnostic tests to determine exactly what she's dealing with.

The testing was inconclusive but he still believes it's a-typical Ménière's. There's four parts to "classic Ménière's" and she has three of them. He said the only thing stopping hers from being the classic version is her test shows the fourth part is inverted from what they normally see. There's no cure but the good news is it's not life threatening. The bad news is all they can do is treat the symptoms.

Two of the triggers that makes it flare up are caffeine and sodium and that takes me to the diet change.

She doesn't drink coffee during the week (I drink enough for both of us) but this means my weekends are now decaf. She also has to go on a low (like 2000mg/day) sodium diet. Guess what? That means I'm going on a low sodium diet as well. It's not all bad I suppose. I need to do something like this anyway but don't really want to. Doesn't look like I have a choice now...

I figured I'd bring y'all up to date and let y'all know the prayers worked (hey, it could have been a tumor ). Now I could use a few since she gets real edgy (on top of drama queen) when it flares up....

[Old Ironsights]

Why did I read that title as "Wife Change/Diet update" ?

[Hobie]

Why did I read that title as "Wife Change/Diet update" ?

I did the same thing!

[Old Savage]

AWP - where in Tx?

[awp101]

Why did I read that title as "Wife Change/Diet update" ?

I did the same thing!

Dang it, y'all had me double checking that I didn't actually type that!

OS- DFW area.

[kimwcook]

Good news compared to the alternative. Prayers she gets some relief.

[Sixgun]

Well, well, its a small world. I too was diagnosed with Ménière's syndrome back in 1995. I plum near put a gun to my head. My ears were ringing so bad, they had me on a double dose of Valium. One minute I was standing up and the next I was on the ground, throwing up. What caused it?? drinking. 2 cases of beer a week and a bottle of Jack on the weekend. Took 4 doctors to finally figure it out. Well, thats old news as it all went away after I quit drinking--about a week for the balancing problem and several months for the severe ringing to stop.

Some people have it one ear--I had it in both. They did tell me that as a last resort, they could operate to cut something inside my ear but I would be deaf after that. Big deal, its almost that way now, thanks to the 8K of ammo I shoot a year.

My ears still ring, but thats a "gun problem" The ringing I had with Ménière's was so loud I could not hold a conversation, even with myself. I was close to a nervous breakdown---the valium really helped but my buds were calling me a zombie

They too, like your wife told me to cut the caffein and sodium, but I never did use much, if any of the two. I still have my one cup in the AM--its needed

Just tell your better half to keep calm, (yea, thats easy ) stay positive as I have talked to a dozen people who have had the same problem and they all told me, it eventually goes away as long as you listen to the doctor.

One guy I talked to was a WW2 vet who was an artillery guy in Europe and the loud bangs destroyed his inner ear. he told me one time he was flat on his back in bed for a month. I think he's dead now so I guess his troubles are over.

Good luck to your better half and wish her the best from a fellow patient -----------Sixgun

[Jeff H]

......That means I'm going on a low sodium diet as well.....

Highly admirable. You're a good man.

[Ysabel Kid]

......That means I'm going on a low sodium diet as well.....

Highly admirable. You're a good man.

+1. Good for you, and great support for her!

[AJMD429]

I worked with a physician who had Meniere's and one day she was walking across the room and suddenly was down as if she'd tripped or fallen. She truly couldn't stand back up without assistance, and it would hit like that off and on for a few months. It did totally resolve after treatment, though.

There are maneuvers that sometimes can dislodge and settle particles in the semicircular canals (inner ear) in such a manner as to get them 'out of the way', and for some forms of vertigo they can be a pretty definitive 'cure'.

Of course, sometimes it is just temporary middle-ear pressure pushing on the inner ear, as from congestion/infection/allergies/wax, but the doctors can usually rule that out quickly. The other kind of 'vertigo' to be wary of is a sudden and new onset of it, which could always be a stroke, so never take such symptoms for granted.