Hello, My 10 year old son was recently diagnosed with Menier's after having a year of scary symptoms (drop attacks, vertigo, auditory hallucinations, nausea, headaches, low energy). We have put him on a low sodium diet, antihistamines and keeping a diary of his attacks to learn his triggers. To be honest, that has been the easier part of this. After doing lots of research I have been seeing that a lot of suffer's of this disease also have secondary symptoms, such as anxiety, depression, inability to concentrate, issues with cognitive abilities, etc. He has been in therapy the last year to deal with these issues. I went from him having to get tested for ADD and ADHD to cognitive therapy for reasons his therapist could not understand. Now we have answers. He is an extremely gifted child. He does science and reads on a high school level. He occasionally has issues with math. He can do the problems in his head, but he can not put them on paper. It is like he can not follow the numbers in sequence. He gets very upset and emotional about it. His lowest grade in school is a 96, except for math, which he has a 76 because he can't seem to finish his work and the teacher will not accept it unless he shows his work. It has become an issue. I have a conference with his school next week and need some advice on how to handle this with his teachers.
I'm so sorry to hear this. If you are looking for specific suggestions or information you may want to post on the livingroom board and read the database board as well. I am not sure we have as many readers on the family board. Good luck. I hope you are able to sort this out and your son can find relief.
I'm adult and have the same symptoms as you son, plus more, and I have severe complicated neurological migraine (MAV - Migraine Associated Vertigo). I have a 10 year old daughter that suffers from it as well. Because there are headaches and other neurological issues, and I don't have much hearing loss, that's how they differentiated between that and Meniere's Disease. You can have all the Meniere's symptoms and not have headaches, so it becomes difficult. Anyway, I wanted to share that my daughter has the same issues with math. I think it has something to do with the "brain fog/confusion" that comes during some of our attacks. She has concentration and focus issues, but math seems to be her worst. The best thing I can suggest is meeting with the school like you're planning, and see if they can accommodate him. For my daughter, they have a special math group where they have time address each student's issues one-on-one. We also study with her daily. And they put her in a quiet room alone and let her have untimed tests. I hope you get things sorted out. Having a child with terrifying symptoms (and believe me, even as an adult I have huge trouble getting through the bad attacks) is very hard. Just be there for him, and when he's having a bad attack, reassure him it will pass. Try to keep his mind occupied. Maybe put on a favorite movie so he can listen to it. Have him focus on one steady object across the room and not move his head until the vertigo subsides.
I'm 72 and have had severe-bilateral Menieres since I was 10. My heart goes out to that brave little boy. I too used to get so frustrated with smilar smptoms. Tell him not to get upset and just take things slowly and do his best. The end result of my Menieres has been Severe Hearing Loss and Destruction of My Balance System. I manage to get around using a waler. On the positive side, I got through grade school, high school college and had a great carer and a great social life with Menieres often causing interruptions. I was fortunate to have great employers and friends who gave me a lot of support. Treat him as normally as possible. That will be hard at times and encourage him to be active socially when he's able. Menieres does have remission periods, sometimes very iong ones. I used to use those times to catch up.
I am sorry you are going through this right now. Do you have a child study team in the school that could help you all cope better. My children had health/learning issues, and the Child Study Teams were always a great help. Good luck to you, I wish you and your family nothing but the best. Luv, Gina
