Hello fellow sufferers
I am a 71 year old lady who has just been diagnosed with Meniere's Disease and it has really hit me for six. I was happily going along with my life, had been dieting and lost three stone, feeling very pleased with myself and looking forward to our annual trip to Cyprus in October. WHAM!! I awoke one morning with the most horrendous bout of vertigo, nausea, incontinence, the lot. It was so bad that my husband called the paramedics out and a very nice chap said he thought I might have an ear infection and to see my Doctor the next day. The attack lasted 6 hours, during which time I was ok as long as I lay quite still. I did notice at the time that there were strange noises in my ears, but to be honest I didnt pay that much attention.
Visited the GP the next day and she said she could see a bit of fluid behind my eardrum and advised me to take Ibuprofen to reduce the inflammation. She didnt seem too concerned so I wasnt either. During the next couple of days, the tinnitus started to get steadily worse. It was like a very loud engine running in one ear and a high pitched ringing in the other. I made yet another GP appointment and saw a different doctor. Again she was sympathetic but did not offer any diagnosis nor really any help, just said it would take time to clear. I asked if I could be referred privately to an ENT Consultant and I subsequently made an appointment and saw him three days later. He did a hearing test, said that for my age I had excellent hearing, took my history and pronounced that he thought I had MD. To say I was shocked was an understatement. He prescribed Serc and ordered some balance tests (which to date I have not had) so that he could be sure of his diagnosis but he was 99pc sure he was right.
Not knowing much about MD I immediately googled everything I could and what I found out truly frightened me. By this time the tinnitus was unbearable, it was with me 24/7.
Back I went to the GP and this time saw a doctor who obviously doesnt care much for his patients. To quote, 'yes, I agree, I think its Menieres too. Afraid its just something you'll have to live with. Pills? What pille? Think Mr S only gave you those as a placebo, dont bother to take any more, they wont help. I suggest you try to mask the noise and you will eventually get used to it' The whole consultation took around 4 minutes and I came out feeling truly hopeless. Needless to say I am now in the process of changing my surgery in the hope that I can find someone who will at least listen to my problems.
Since then the tinnitus has fluctuated slightly, some days its louder than others and I have had periods where it has appeared to disappear, only to surface again louder than ever. I am now sleeping upright in a chair as I find lieing down makes it so much worse. I cry, I rage, I have periods of acceptance and periods of why me. I really cannot imagine living what life I have left if this is what I have to look forward to. Life has lost any joy it had, I limp from one day to the next, hoping for a miracle I guess.
So sorry for feeling so sorry for myself, I realise I have to pull myself out of this trough but its so hard. Dont think my husband understands just how awful I feel, he tries to be sympathetic but I find it difficult to explain things to him. Luckily he doesnt suffer from anything major.
I really dont know which way to turn, do I visit the GP yet again and ask for drugs which might help to reduce the noise level, do I go down the sleeping pill route (I cant remember the last time I had more than a couple of hours sleep in a night), do I ask to see ENT again and request maskers, is it too early for any of this? I am at my wits end and verging on suicidal at the moment, any help any of you can give me will be greatly appreciated.
I am a 71 year old lady who has just been diagnosed with Meniere's Disease and it has really hit me for six. I was happily going along with my life, had been dieting and lost three stone, feeling very pleased with myself and looking forward to our annual trip to Cyprus in October. WHAM!! I awoke one morning with the most horrendous bout of vertigo, nausea, incontinence, the lot. It was so bad that my husband called the paramedics out and a very nice chap said he thought I might have an ear infection and to see my Doctor the next day. The attack lasted 6 hours, during which time I was ok as long as I lay quite still. I did notice at the time that there were strange noises in my ears, but to be honest I didnt pay that much attention.
Visited the GP the next day and she said she could see a bit of fluid behind my eardrum and advised me to take Ibuprofen to reduce the inflammation. She didnt seem too concerned so I wasnt either. During the next couple of days, the tinnitus started to get steadily worse. It was like a very loud engine running in one ear and a high pitched ringing in the other. I made yet another GP appointment and saw a different doctor. Again she was sympathetic but did not offer any diagnosis nor really any help, just said it would take time to clear. I asked if I could be referred privately to an ENT Consultant and I subsequently made an appointment and saw him three days later. He did a hearing test, said that for my age I had excellent hearing, took my history and pronounced that he thought I had MD. To say I was shocked was an understatement. He prescribed Serc and ordered some balance tests (which to date I have not had) so that he could be sure of his diagnosis but he was 99pc sure he was right.
Not knowing much about MD I immediately googled everything I could and what I found out truly frightened me. By this time the tinnitus was unbearable, it was with me 24/7.
Back I went to the GP and this time saw a doctor who obviously doesnt care much for his patients. To quote, 'yes, I agree, I think its Menieres too. Afraid its just something you'll have to live with. Pills? What pille? Think Mr S only gave you those as a placebo, dont bother to take any more, they wont help. I suggest you try to mask the noise and you will eventually get used to it' The whole consultation took around 4 minutes and I came out feeling truly hopeless. Needless to say I am now in the process of changing my surgery in the hope that I can find someone who will at least listen to my problems.
Since then the tinnitus has fluctuated slightly, some days its louder than others and I have had periods where it has appeared to disappear, only to surface again louder than ever. I am now sleeping upright in a chair as I find lieing down makes it so much worse. I cry, I rage, I have periods of acceptance and periods of why me. I really cannot imagine living what life I have left if this is what I have to look forward to. Life has lost any joy it had, I limp from one day to the next, hoping for a miracle I guess.
So sorry for feeling so sorry for myself, I realise I have to pull myself out of this trough but its so hard. Dont think my husband understands just how awful I feel, he tries to be sympathetic but I find it difficult to explain things to him. Luckily he doesnt suffer from anything major.
I really dont know which way to turn, do I visit the GP yet again and ask for drugs which might help to reduce the noise level, do I go down the sleeping pill route (I cant remember the last time I had more than a couple of hours sleep in a night), do I ask to see ENT again and request maskers, is it too early for any of this? I am at my wits end and verging on suicidal at the moment, any help any of you can give me will be greatly appreciated.
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