Hello group, Just wanted to inquire about everybodys first meniere's attack, My first attack I had no idea what was going on, violent rotational vertigo! vomiting, nauseated beyond belief even after the upchucking. Covered in sweat, Pale color to my face and limbs. I felt so lousy and thought I might even be on my way out. It was very scary, Afterwards when the symptoms subsided I was so tired and all I wanted to do is sleep.
Thanks for sharing, Bertman
Thanks Bertman - I was like you on my first attack. My wife and I were going out to eat with another couple who live about 10 miles from us and we were going to pick them up. I hadn't gone 2 miles until the cars started moving all around the road. I pulled over at the first street and my wife wanted to know what I was doing. I told her something is wrong and she'd have to drive. When we got to our friends house,it was getting worse and I stumbled into their house. I told them this trip wasn't going to happened and they agreed I needed to get to Care First. Went there and still getting worse. Looked at my hands that were pale and asked my wife if I looked pale? She said I looked grey. She thought I was having a stroke. Got back in room to see doctor and they took my vitals. My blood pressure is always good. They said it was a little high...which is not me. I am diabetic but not bad. They said my sugar level was over 200! That is extremely high but our friends gave me a little Coke thinking my sugar was low but again, I'm not real bad on my sugar count. Doctor finally came in and I was so bad then I couldn't even talk. He asked me what was wrong and I told my wife to tell him. Then I started vomiting which didn't take the doctor long to leave. He said I had an ear infection but now know it wasn't. My wife got me home, went straight to bed with the room spinning and fell asleep. Slept several hours and like you Bertman, I was very tired. Only had one other attack that took me down and vertigo and nausea again and ended up in bed. I feel for those of you who have to deal with down attacks on a regular basis. Wish they could find a cure for this!!!
It was my second attack that was like your first one. The first one was while we were driving in the mountains in a pickup pulling a trailer, delivering alpacas. I felt so odd, like the world was distorted. I was queasy, so I thought I was car sick due to the winding roads. Ate a couple of saltines to settle my stomach. (Didn't know then, not to eat salt!). Continued to feel really odd, kind of dizzy and sick. When we got to our destination, I immediately asked the folks if I could use the bathroom as I thought I was going to be sick. I wasn't, but dozed all the way home. The second attack came soon after, at home this time, and it was the rotational vertigo with the vomiting. By the time I got to the walk-in center, it was passing, but the staff were so afraid it was a stroke that they took me right in, ahead of everyone else. Nurse Practitioner gave me a few neuro tests, asked me questions. Passed all those tests and told her my ear felt stuffed up like I had water in it. She told me the issue was probably with the inner ear and that if I had another attack they would refer me to an ENT. She gave me Meclizine, which didn't do anything. After I had the third attack, my primary gave me the referral to ENT and the diagnosing began. I had many violent vertigo attacks those first six months, and all were as you describe with the sweating, vomiting and the sleeping afterwards. It was very frightening to me, even when I understood Meniere's better. Inanimate objects like walls and fireplaces and doors are not supposed to fly around you, so no wonder my brain gave me the fear response!! Since the attacks came on suddenly, I was afraid all the time. I can only be thankful that I finally was put on a diuretic and it helped me. I get attacks infrequently now and they are quite mild compared to back in the beginning. It has been 9 years now and Meniere's is my daily companion, though many days I do feel 'normal'. But the tinnitus and the hearing aid remind me that it is there...
Lana
Very similar....sweating like crazy throwing up had to hold wall after my friend called the ambulance and a $7700 ride 1/2 nile to the hospital 2 bags of fluid and some anti nausea medicine I walked back to my car...they thought I was having heart attack I was covered in sweat and gray. Didn't know what was happening to me.....I was dehydrated though as it was June and I was running daily in the heat.....
You have described exactly in detail what my first and subsequent episodes were like. Maybe one difference is that I had developed gradual hearing loss in my right ear about a year before my first attack. I also had had a grommet inserted about a couple of years ago which didn't heal so I have a perforated eardrum which ENT don't want to operate as they said nothing to do with Menieres or my hearing loss. I still wonder if I didn't have the grommet in the first place wherever I would have got Menieres and bad tinnitus. Will never know. My episodes have subsided but still have fullness which makes me nauseated but not vomiting and the crapy tinnitus, but I will never forget that 1st episode. Yes I thought I was having a heart attack. Was hospitalised 2 since first attack due to all the symptoms of M but mostly because of dehydration. I only weigh 50 k so I looked like a skeleton and couldn't walk or do anything. Now when I have an attack I ask for Stemetil injection straight into blood stream. Works but still takes a while. My ENT specialist describes Menieres as the Desease you would not wish on your worst enemy. About right I would say. Sorry this post is so long but makes you feel you're not alone. Thankyou for posting friend.
Sorry Bertman I've relied to Patrick instead of you. Pls read my comments meant for your question. Thanks
Hello Patrick, Thank you for sharing, I agree with you a cure would very nice, Have a great evening. Bertman
Hello Lana, Thank you for sharing your story. We all know way to well how this meniere's is and what it can do without warning. Bertman
Hello Bluesmann, Thank you for sharing with the group. We can learn so much form each other. Have a great evening. Bertman
Hello Maria, Thank you for sharing, Your story is not too long, we welcome the information,
share with us whenever you like. We all belong to a unique group, We need to stick together, We are stronger in numbers. Have a great evening, Bertman
I was sitting on the sofa, TV on & laptop on arm of sofa, suddenly something hit me and I was spinning, crying, on my knees holding onto the sofa. Couldn't speak properly crawled to stairs & climbed up to bathroom. Three hours later I had been so sick my stomach aches & I went to bed. Thinking back over the years there have been half a dozen odd events over that time that bear a resemblance to Menieres events. I suffered a loss of hearing in my right ear after a bad cold thirty years ago & twenty years ago I asked my GP to syringe my ear, he looked & told me the tube was blocked...that was it then, nothing else offered. Menieres was diagnosed two years ago...
Hello Bergman. My first attack was last winter after I had been treated for pneumonia in hospital. I came home with a supply of strong antibiotics to continue treatment and like you had the most violent rotational vertigo and sickness which I put down to the antibiotics. After this continued for a couple of days I stopped taking them. I then had such a bad attack and couldn’t stop vomiting for 7 hours. My husband called an ambulance and I was admitted into hospital again. Pneumonia was back so a further 8 days in and different antibiotics to bring home. The attacks continued so I went to my gp who diagnosed labyrinthitis and prescribed betahistine. I was unstable for months as I was only taking them when I had an attack. Eventually I saw an ent doctor and was diagnosed with Meniere’s. I am now under the care of a neurotologist and still on betahistine. Since taking it regularly I have had no further attacks although still have relatively mild and fluctuating tinnitus but am otherwise normal and continue to play squash although I had to retire from work as it was too stressful. I also didn’t want to put myself at risk of pneumonia again working in a large office with recycled air/germs.
Sorry - Bertman. Stupid predictive text
Do you need a hearing aid for your bad ear. I wonder if a hearing aid would help with tinnitus.
Is your neurotologist helping. If so what does he actually do or prescribe
I have a hearing aid but it makes me more aware of it & noise so prefer to do without it. I only have fullness not ringing in my ear & the degree of fullness depends on the weather.
Yes he has helped enormously. My gp wanted me to cut down the betahistine from 16 x 3 to 8 x 3 and I started having symptoms again. Distorted hearing and extremely loud tinnitus so I contacted this neurotologist privately having previously done research on my best option- qualifications and ease of access. He photographed my eardrums and checked my balance which is compromised on the left side but compensated and I felt that at last someone who knew about Meniere’s was listening. He increased my betahistine 24 x 3 and I have a follow up appointment in March. Fortunately my gp has referred me for this so I won’t have to pay. I have had no attacks of vertigo whilst on betahistine minimum 16 x 3 but since I already had hearing loss I’m concerned about further loss. It’s all about management of symptoms isn’t it. I feel more relaxed now and that’s a good thing too as I sleep better. My neurotologist may do steroid injections if he feels they will help. I’ll post after my next appointment.
What sort of weather affects you? I am in U.K. and as you probably know we have been having storms and blizzards here. My pressure and tinnitus has fluctuated a lot more than usual and wondered if that was caused by the weather as nothing else has changed in my diet etc. Are you in U.K.?
High Bertman,
I remember my first attack as if it was yesterday.
I was trying to fit a carpet for my sister in her bedroom so had been
bent over a lot...when i left my sisters i got 18 yards and it came over
me instantly with no warning..I managed to grab onto a lamp post and
got to the ground i was violently sick with cold sweating vertigo dissorientated
i thought i was having a stroke luckly my two nephews were on there way
home and found me..i dont live far from my sister so my nephews helped
me back to my place all the time throwing up..people must have thought
i was drunk.....
Yes I am in central Scotland and the weather does affect my ear. Today not too bad but the past few days it felt like my ear wanted to pop but couldn't .