Meneirs disease, help! my mom is sick

[binny]

Can anyone give me any ideas to help her?

She is really sick with this. She will be fine for a few days and then it hits her and she gets VERY dizzy and sick. Im worried that it will hit her while she is driving or working or whatever.


What can I do? I feel so bad for her! and Im so far away

 

[Dan Murphy]

No ideas, binny, but wishing her the best, hope she gets well soon.

ETA...I did a search and looks like there is a LOT on the Net.

 

[binny]

Thanks Dan.

 

[tiggersmom2]

So sorry sweetie...just wanted to give you a hug. Praying your Mom stays safe and can find some effective medicine.

 

[lucky978]

I don't know anything about this disease, but if it's possible that your mom doesn't drive while she has this, that may be the best thing to put your mind at ease and keep her safe.

Hugs to you and your family.

 

[snowwite]

Can anyone give me any ideas to help her?

She is really sick with this. She will be fine for a few days and then it hits her and she gets VERY dizzy and sick. Im worried that it will hit her while she is driving or working or whatever.


What can I do? I feel so bad for her! and Im so far away

Has her doc got her on Antivert(meclizine) or similar drug? I was on it when I had labirynthitis years ago and it really works.It made me kinda sleepy becauee it is an antihistamine but they make low dose that is safe for driving,working etc. She should see her doc or at least give him a call if she doesnt feel well.
Best of luck

 

[OceanAnnie]

I'm sorry to hear about your mom, Binny. Here are a couple of websites that might be helpful:

http://www.menieres.org/
http://www.stripersonline.com/cgi-bin/ubb_547C/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=038412;p=0

I hope you find some useful information. I'll keep her in my thoughts and prayers. Keep us posted!

 

[rascalmom]

I have lived with this for about 20 years. Tell your Mom to try to stay calm & not panic. It took them years to diagnose my problem, but it has been very manageable since I have had the proper Dx & treatment. Sounds like she is having a bad flare-up, but for me - with medication & knowing my triggers - are very rare.

For immediate relief of the dizzyiness & nausea, my doctor has given me Rx's for meclizine & phenergan. Decongestants (otc) help some too.

My otologist has me control my salt intake. This is hard for me, because I love carbonated soft drinks. I can tell when I am getting too close to a flare & I reduce my salt intake & drink lots of water. I can tell that a flare-up is coming on by a "full" and "hummy" feeling in my ears. At one time I also had a prescription for a water pill (lasiks (sp), I think). I rarely used it & haven't used it at all in about 5 years.

The hardest thing for me was when I had a flare-up when I was pregnant with my youngest dd. At that time, I had not been diagnosed. They did some testing on me, but some things they would not do because of my pregnancy. I was dizzy for literally four months. There were days when I felt I could not even get myself to the bathroom without someone/something to support me. It was so miserable & the hardest part was worrying that the symptoms might not ever end.

I would recommend that your Mom try not to drive while she is dizzy. I know there are days when my symptoms can go from "light" to "severe" very quickly. She would not want to be behind the wheel of a car if that happens to her. I don't drive when I'm dizzy - but like I said, it has been a long time since I had an extended episode.

I did do a lot of research on Menuire's when I was first diagnosed. Some of the stories were so depressing. Please try to help your Mom not focus on those. I live quite comfortably with this disease & I have an uncle who does also. Have her talk to her doctor about medication and diet changes that she can make to help keep things under control.

Best thing you can do is support her - it is a very scary & depressing thing to go through a flare-up. You do need some assistance at that time. If you can be there for your Mom, I'm sure she would be so grateful.

Good luck to her! Sorry this so long. If you have any questions, I would be happy to try to answer.

 

[Big V]

Sorry about your Mom Binny. I hope she feels better soon.

 

[LiteBrite]

My mom also has Meneir's. It used to be really, really bad - she would have an attack and be lying on the bathroom floor for hours, unable to move because every time she lifted her head she would vomit again. It was so awful.

It's under much better control now. I'm not sure what her meds are, but I know she takes a potassium supplement and eats a severely salt restricted diet. It also helped a great deal when she retired - her job was stressful for her and stress made it much worse. (She was in her 60s at the time, she's 72 now.)

Your mom needs to find a good doctor who's knowledgeable about Menier's and find a regimen that works for her. Hope she's able to find it without too much trouble!

 

[binny]

thank you all for the well wishes and advice, I will pass all on to her.



She is on Meclazine (sp?) and they have her on a low salt diet as well as several other restrictions. She has had this for a while but they missed the diagnosis I guess.


Im hoping she can get this under control she is so far away and I hate not being there for her.

 

[helenabear]

Awww, Bin... no help here, just wanted to give you a and say I'll keep y'all in my prayers!

 

[Kama89]

Binny, unfortunately I don't have a speck of advice but want to leave a huge hug here for you. I have a family member that suffers with this. I really don't know how she treats it, but know she's had a terrible time with it the last couple of years. Sigh.

 

[NorgeKathrine]

Hi Binny,
You've gotten very good responses so far so I will just chime in with my own experience. I was diagnosed with meniere's about 13 years ago. The hardest thing for my family is that when I have an attack there is really very little they can do for me. Especially if you live in another state which your post indicates you might.

For me, I've had to learn that if I'm feeling like I may have an attack then I get my butt in bed. I don't go to work, I don't drive. Period. I learned this the hard way by having a violent attack while driving. Luckily no one was hurt and I learned my lesson.

I don't know what your mom does at work but I work as a cook in a restaurant. My employers know that if I have an attack I have to get to a chair right away or I will fall down. I'm fortunate to have good co-workers and good friends so someone is always available to get me home. Usually though I can feel an attack coming on and I don't even go to work when I feel bad.

Does it sound like I miss a lot of work? Well I do. I was able to get approved for FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) so my job is protected. You may want your mom to look into that.

Definitely check out the menieres.org site that someone else posted. It has a great message board where you will get tons of information and advice on how to help your mom deal with this.

Just having my family be understanding and supportive has helped me a lot. They keep me from getting too depressed about it. One of my dad's favorite jokes is that people pay money to ride the teacup ride at Disney and I get to do it for free. Yeah, he's hilarious.

Other than that, there's really not much they can do. When I'm having an attack I just want to be in the dark and quiet. I don't like to be touched because even the slightest movement makes it feel worse. When I feel it coming on I get a couple damp washcloths, a garbage can and a bottle of water and I go to bed. I also have a cell phone charger on my nightstand and I plug my phone in and turn the ringer off. For my out of state parents who I am very close to, I will usually call and let them know I am going to be unreachable and I will call them when it's over. This way they don't worry if they can't get hold of me for a day or so.

I think it's great that you want to do something for your mom. Don't underestimate the power of emotional support. It may not feel like you're doing much, but it really does make a difference.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[WHIT1]

thank you all for the well wishes and advice, I will pass all on to her.



She is on Meclazine (sp?) and they have her on a low salt diet as well as several other restrictions. She has had this for a while but they missed the diagnosis I guess.


Im hoping she can get this under control she is so far away and I hate not being there for her.

Hope this will help some. I have had menieres for 2 yrs now and it takes alot of hit and miss to get it under control. My doctor told me I had it and to go unline and walked out on me,telling me nothing. The nurse did tell me I had to keep the salt intake below 2000mg and thats not hard cause I don't like salt. I am unable to take the pee pills I call them to remove the extra fluid. I just drink alot of water and so far that helps. Stress is a big factor for me ,that causes attacks. I am now on disability because I am unable to work under the bright lights,they cause me to walk sideways and I get nauseaed. I am unable to talk on the telephone long ,it causes the fluid to build up in my ear and causes earaches. I use the hairdryer to help relax the ear and then it will start to itch and fluid is released. Has she experienced wet ears? The most helpful thing I do is i sleep sitting up on lots of pillows,this helps with the nausea and dizzeiness in the am. If I lay flat I get real sick, so keeping the fluid down helps. Also if she is going up on a mountain or airplane she needs to use the airplanes the whole time . I just got back from Pa and its up and down the mountains and I got real sick and the fluid built up. Had to wear airplanes the whole 4 hours while in Pa and I was fine. It makes it very hard to go out to eat but hey you save money.lol. But if I do go out I am very selective. I also have anxiety and panic attacks and the menieres is another cause of my anxiety so I fight everyday to master this disease. But with love and understanding and patience she will get a routine that will let her gain control of her life again.

 

[BeckyEsq]

My father has Meniere's Disease (and strangely, my maternal grandmother had it as well). I really sympathize with anyone who suffers from this disease. He has been on medication for years that is basically a diuretic, and he has to watch his salt intake very carefully. He has managed to control it pretty well and now he only has an attack every three years or so.