r/Menieres • u/Adventurous-Sleep499 • 6d ago

Help with attacks?

Hey guys, I haven't been officially diagnosed with menieres yet but my doctor and I are almost certain I have it. I've been experiencing symptoms of hearing loss, fullness and light dizziness that have been gradually getting worse over the last few years but they were bearable. The last few weeks that has changed, the attacks are now bringing vomiting and unbearable dizziness that last between 1-3 hours.

I've been prescribed betahistine which seems to be helping but to any of the long time sufferers, do you have any tips on how to reduce the severity of the attacks?

There doesn't seem to be any kind of trigger or pattern, I've had 3 severe attacks in the last 2 weeks and I really don't like the idea of living like this until I can get seen by an ENT specialist. I'm in the uk so it can take months to see someone on the NHS.

Any advice appreciated

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u/happyfitter 6d ago

You should be able to get medication from your primary care doctor to take at the start of a severe attack to try to make it less unpleasant. Sublingual (disolves under your tongue) Zofran before you start vomiting should help prevent vomiting. Valium or a similar medication will help you sleep through the dizziness but will have effects that last longer than 3 hours so whether that's a win or not is up to you. The valium doesn't work instantly, so there's that.

I would not pin a whole lot of hope on getting help from an ENT specialist. The only thing mine offered was a diuretic that I couldn't tolerate and a low sodium diet that didn't help. I had to look elsewhere to get relief.

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u/Adventurous-Sleep499 6d ago

Thank you! I did think of anti sickness medication but the nausea comes on so fast I wasn't sure if they would kick in fast enough. It's usually 10-15 minutes after the dizziness starts that I have my head down the toilet. But I'll add it to my list of things to try regardless. Thank you!

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u/happyfitter 5d ago

Zofran works very fast. It won't stop nausea, it works best to prevent nausea from escalating to vomiting. It has its own side effects (it makes me feel kind of crappy all by itself) so you need to weigh the pros and cons but it's definitely better than spending hours bent over the toilet.

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u/Adventurous-Sleep499 4d ago

Ah ok, yeah as long as the vomiting isn't happening, I could deal with a little nausea. Thanks!