Going to Germany- Orthokine

Well, first day in Germany and Dr. Hartmann is great. Met with him, discussed symptoms, and had my blood drawn. I will be getting injections every day starting today (Monday), and then every day including Friday, and they will be in my neck on the affected side (right). They do acupuncture in conjunction with the treatment, and he is also is referring me to an ENT colleague of his as there is apparently some drug here in Germany (not allowed in US) that he thinks might be of benefit. I figure why not- I've seen so many American ENT/neurotologists, I don't see why not see one more in Germany for a 2nd (or 38th) opinion.

The Dr. has treated quite a few MM patients from what I gather, although it's a relatively new off-label use. Nearly all of them experience relief, although apparently the time before relief differs from patient to patient. Some feel better in two days (Dana White), and another he spoke of it took a second round of shots 2 months later, after which their symptoms went away. Anyway, will report back after injections. So far though, a good experience.

 

wow great to hear from you! How exciting. I wish you great success with this treatment. Keep us posted!

 

Thanks for posting!!!Hope it works for you.

 

Really hope it works for you. Where exactly do you get your treatment? (German Girl speaking here).
What exact treatment is it that you get?
Just curious. Have been traveling around the whole country to see doctors and never came across that name.
All my best

 

Hi Oljanna- the procedure is in Dusseldorf:

Dr. med. Jens Hartmann
Stadttor 1 • 40219 Düsseldorf

The treatment is called Orthokine (or Regenokine in the US). You can Google it and/or search this forum for a lot more information about it. I would tell you exactly what it is, but I know little more than the Wiki page, in all honestly. All the Dr. has said is it seems to work on quite a few different ailments (he even mentioned the Pope and his Parkinsons disease improving), but they don't know why. However, I'm just interested in the results right now, and they can go about figuring out the why later on.

 

Hey there - thanks a lot.
I really hope it goes well for you. I had to make bad experiences with treatments that i did not fully understand - and had to find out the hard way that it would have been better to know.
But that's just me. Big fingers crossed!
And keep updated on how it's going.

 

Thanks for getting back to us so soon! I hope everything goes well for you. If the results are what you expect I'll book my trip.

 

Just got back from first injection. 4 shots into the back of my neck, and then acupuncture on my head for about 15-20 mins. Now out until shots tomorrow morning. I'm partially expecting miracles, even though I've been warned that it could take anywhere from 2 days to 2 months. I will report more and answer questions as best I can as I go through this, but obviously don't want to endorse anything until if/when I see some results. So way too early to tell at this point, but rest assured I'll update with any changes.

 

Awesome, we are all praying that it goes well for you.

There is some logic to why this would work. If I read correctly, it basically gets rid of toxins in your blood that causes inflammations in the body. Since Meniere's is basically inflammation of the inner ear, the endolymph (sp?), causing the fluids to imbalance, getting rid of inflammations in the body should help with that as well.

Please keep us updated!

 

*Bump*

 

Don't the liver and kidneys get rid of toxins in our blood already? What toxins are you talking about?

 

am so excited someone on the board is doing this in the states last time i checked they gave the shots in the back or knee you are getting yours in the neck? thanks so much for keeping us posted God bless you!! good luck have fun over there!!

 

Bump,

Good luck! Does this act like an extra strength, long lasting steroid?
I know they have clinics in California and New York as well.

Keep us posted

 

best of luck gfsound..! I hope you slay the Beast. or at least give it a good kick in the nuts...

 

bump!!

 

Well, about to go in for day 3 of shots and acupuncture. Not much to report, really, other than the Dr., clinic, and staff here are all very kind and helpful. Started out having a bad ear day yesterday, but after shots and treatment it settled down some and I was able to get out and enjoy Dusseldorf a bit. Who knows if it settled down because of the shots or was just the natural ebb and flow of MM. Again, I'm not calling this treatment a cure yet by any means.

Couple important things to note that I think people on the forum are wondering. One, the clinic in Germany WILL treat patients without a joint/osteoarthritic condition or complaint- this is what separates them from the clinics in the US. As far as the technology goes, however, the Dr. said it is exactly the same. When I asked why so many people come here instead of the US clinics, he said probably because they are the original facility that started this, and obviously have more referrals (Dana, Kobe, A-Rod, Pope, etc) and/or success stories. He did not say or suggest that the US facilities would in any way be inferior, but I'm still glad I'm here since this Dr. is the one that treated Dana. Also, I don't have an osteoarthritic condition so I wouldn't be able to go to the US clinic even if I wanted to.

With regard to getting an appointment, if this is something you want to do (caveat emptor, of course), remember this is an off label use. Therefore, the clinic and Dr. will be sure to tell you that they do NOT treat MM. They, understandably, do not want the public of the medical community to think that they are advertising, advocating, or otherwise encouraging people to get Orthokine for Meniere's. So even if they tell you that they cannot help you because you have no underlying condition, you can say "Got it, thank you, can I still make an appointment to see the Dr. please?" This is essentially how I went about it.

Another thing. Some may be wondering why Dana came back for more shots. I asked about that, and the Dr. said it is patient specific. Some people come in once, get their shots, and are done, some come back in 2 months, some in 6. The serum in the clinic can be stored for 6 months.

Anyway, that's the latest. There really isn't anything more to report on since now I just get my shots until Friday, and then hope/wait/pray that the results are as good for me as they apparently were for Dana. Let me know if you have any questions, either here on the thread or via PM if you prefer.

 

Thanks again for the update and info.That's great to know that there is a way around the osteoarthritic requirement. Great info.

 

hello GF, thanks for the detailed update. Any hope or new treatment for this terrible disease is good news. i do have a few questions:

1) Have you asked the doctor why exactly they think it helps with Meniere's or inner ear issues? Is it simply by reducing inflammatory agents in the body? Would love to hear more details.

2) Do you know, or can you ask the doctor, if this procedure helps with just the vertigo or also with hearing loss and tinnitus?

3) Seems like they have more than several patients who go there for Menieres / inner ear problems. How are those people doing now?

Thanks!

 

This is an excellent post and the reason this web site exists. Thank you so much for keeping us up to date and learning something new. I had a Swiss physician for a few years and it was good to get some insight outside of FDA/US Med protocol. The #1 prescribed drug in the world for MM is not offered in the US. I am very hopeful you will keep up the thread to the end….hopefully a success story…but in any regard allowing us to hear your experience in full. I am also impressed that you are fully proactive on your approach vs taking a wait and see. Also the faster you can treat….sometimes (often?) before damage becomes physically permanent is also warranted. So good job and good luck. Sid.

 

Thank you so much for the detailed update. I hope you get the relief you are seeking and I really appreciate hearing an objective, first person account of the treatment!