Menieres and Betahistine

Ears, nose and throat
1

Simple question, has Betahistine worked for you?

I have having a rough time at the moment with a flare up of symptoms with Menieres, I used to take Betahistine a couple of years ago 16mg three times a day, but I felt this had very little impact so I gave up with them

The way I am currently feeling I would be prepared to give them another go, in fact if be prepared to try anything 

Thank you 

2

Yes 16mg didn't work 32mg 3 x a day as made me feel normal again,going on 4 months since last attack,need to go to ent to upgrade to 32,gp can only prescribed 16,hope this helps and good luck

3

Thanks Steve I'm going to go back to the doctors tomorrow, as I used to get vertigo very rarely and so far ive had it 4 times in 3 days ...

4

im not sure if mine is wokring or not......mostly i dont think but im only on 8mg 2x per day

5

Increasing the dose of betahistine to 32mg x 3 a day plus 1 diuretic tablet -bendrofluromethazide has kept me vertigo free 3 years. The ENT is the one you need to get you on this level (in UK) and for them to write to your GP to confirm. Self help (books available online, eg Meniere man) low salt, avoid noise, no caffeine and no or reduction in alcohol. Lots of tips to help if you search (you probably have already!). I sympathise as an active phase of menieres is soul destroying I am just praying my own peaceful phase lasts a bit longer, we never know do we. Try and keep your chin up.

6

Thank you for this advice I am going to ask for a high dosage. 

7

Update:

Just been in to see my GP and asked about a high dosage of Betahistine, and he said "no need for a ENT" I'll be quite happy to prescribe 32mg three times a day

So a good result, time to see if this helps...

Fingers crossed 

8

That's good news give it 3 or 4 weeks and you will see the difference,my ent told me you can go higher if needed,but 32mg working for me so staying on it for next 6 months at least,I'm going abroad tomorrow and 4 or 5 months ago couldn't see it happening,trust me you will feel 100% in a few weeks 

9

Sorry to hear about your suffering!  I was on 24 mg twice a day for a few years.  Was still having vertigo attacks.  Was prescribed 48 mg twice a day in April, so double the dose.   Took about 3 weeks to adjust to the increased dosage.  I am happy to report that I feel so much better!  I also do vestibular rehab exercises.  My ENT said he would like to take credit for my improvement but could be that Menieres just got better on its own.  But I really believe it's the Betahistine increase that did it.  My energy level has improved dramatically and I haven't had an attack since January!  I was having approx 2-3 a month.  Hope  you feel better soon!!  Let us know how you do with the increased dose.

10

Yes it works for me but you need to take a high enough dose. 16mg tds is little better than placebo. My consultant tripled that dose saying betahistine takes a month to become effective. I stayed on a high dose till I had been free of attacks for 6 months and then weaned off slowly. After 21 months OK I got warning signs of it coming back so went back on high dose. This time needed to go to even higher dose to regain control and am now in the wean off phase again. This high dose regime is based on the research work of Prof Michael Strup, Munich.