Hello, I only joined today, although I've had MD for over four years now. And I am desperately seeking what triggers it, as it is coming about once a week now, and has been doing so for the last few months. I'm taking Betaserc, which apparently is nothing better than a Placebo, and Tanganil for the attacks, but even though on Friday I felt it coming on, took four Tanganil (I'd already taken two in the morning and two at lunch time so it was a bit of an OD but I was scared of what was coming). I took two Atarax which is just antihistamine I think, although the info says I can take up to 6, but maybe not all in one go. And STILL it hit me hard, although not so badly as it might have done. I was really sick about 2-3 hours in, and the moment I was, I felt alot better, which has never happened before! I am desperately (I've said that twice, but then, I am truly desperate) trying to work out what might be making this happen. I do drink tea, so should I cut that out? I have it very weak and about 4 mugs per day. I don't ever drink coffee. I don't drink ANY alcohol since this started. I eat muesli or porridge for breakfast, with some semi skimmed milk. I have been eating a butter substitute. Should I go back to real butter? I have stopped eating cheese altogether. I eat veg and fruit. I try not to eat processed meats. What is there left? I really love curry and chinese and chili and stuff like that. Do I have to not eat it? Should I stop eating bread? Cut out gluten? Give up milk altogether? I am really confused. I am going to try asking my doctor to try me on acyclovir. When I'm having an attack I feel like I'd rather die than go on. I was just hospitalised last week (the attack before this one) and the ambulance driver thought I was drunk and shook me like mad. Had never heard of Menieres. I was put on Tanganil drips, anti vomiting drips etc and had tests and I am to go for an MRI in December. Please, could some of you wonderful people out there take pityn on me and give me some of your valuable advice? Flicka
Hi Flicka, This is a complex and highly individual topic as different people have different food triggers and do not all react the same to the ingredients/foods you mentioned above. Two points that may help: 1. Generally speaking, you cannot take Betaserc (Serc) with antihistamines. Serc is histamine (the opposite of anti-histamine), so the two medicines cancel each other out. 2. If you want to find out which foods are bothering you, try simplifying your diet so that you are eating things that do not seem to give you any trouble...then gradually introduce new foods to see if they might be a trigger. As of now, do you tend to get sick after meals? If so, this could be an indication that there is something in the food bothering you, but it might be hard to identify the ingredients if you eat a very large variety of food and cannot isolate which specific ingredient is the culprit.
Flicka, I have started a journal of what I eat & if I have an attack, or any kind of reaction, dizzy, nausea, anything. I have been where you are & it is very aggravating. Watch your salt intake, read labels, salt is in alot of things. Also there are some that wheat, chocolate, caffeine just to name a few that can be a trigger.
Hi Flicka, Welcome to the forums, and sorry you're here. You might have food allergies. Some people are allergic to wheat, some to milk, some to eggs, some to fruit, some to vegetables, some to soy, etc. You might want to talk to your doctor or an allergist about an elimination diet so that you eliminate certain foods for a period. It sounds like you're already mostly on an elimination diet, but you've not eliminated wheat or dairy. Your doctor can help you with a systematic way to make sure you're getting nutrition and that you can eliminate the most common things people are allergic to. Keep a journal too, since you might find a food that always causes an attack, either that day, or a day or two later. If you eat prepared foods, be sure to add each ingredient to the journal, as there may be some common food additive that's causing the problem. Most of these things, especially wheat, soy and dairy, are found in much of the processed food these days. An elimination diet will have you eating a lot of rice and fresh veggies and fresh meat. If you do find you're allergic to something, you'll have to change your life style to avoid that food. For instance, wheat or soy allergies mean that oriental food would have to be cut, or you'd have to learn to make it yourself without the offending item. There are more and more companies making foods without specific allergens these days, though you have to look to find them. I recently discovered that I am allergic to wheat. I cut out gluten out of desperation and found that 90% of the symptoms that had caused me to miss a considerable amount of work this year disappeared when I took wheat out of my diet. I go to see an allergist later this month to find out what all I am allergic to. You may or may not have a food allergy, but that is something that's relatively cheap and easy to check, and allergies can cause you tremendous grief and trigger your MM. In fact, in my case, I went from having a bad case of MM to having a mild case of MM and a bad case of allergic reactions. Anti-virals may help you quite a bit too. Anti-virals and allergies are the big topics here recently. Many people have luck with the JOH diet. Spend some time reading the forums and you'll get lots of good advice. But from the severity of your attacks, I'm betting that you've got something going on besides just the virus. Hope this helps, and good luck. Papa Joe
Hi, and thank you for your replies. Damn it I have taken the Betaserc tonight! If I'd known I'd have left it out and just taken the antihistamine. I take them for hayfever anyway in the summer. Yes, my diet is VERY BORING! And I am reading labels like mad. I felt worse when you said you thought I had more going on from the severity of the attacks, than just a virus. I was hoping for a miracle cure. I am being very very careful what I eat, viewing it from the point of view also of what it might feel like coming up again! And I am being careful where I drive, worried I might get an attack and not going far. This is awful. I am REALLY fed up at the moment. Thanks again for the replies. Flicka
Hi Flicka, As far as I know, you have to take Betaserc regularly at the same times each day to get consistent results. I don't think it works as well when you skip a dose or do not take it for some time. When my husband started taking antivirals, he immediately started feeling better, so you might be the same. He is still careful about his diet because he has only been taking antivirals for two months and still doesn't know to what extent the food issue is still an issue for him. He wants to be extra careful not to backslide after making so much progress. I am, however, optimistic that he will soon go back to eating a normal diet, although we will probably never go back to eating the same amount of salt.
Well, very little in life has a miracle cure, but finding out that a wheat allergy is the cause of most of what I thought were MM symptoms (though I do still have MM) is as close to a miracle as I've ever had. From looking at your diet below, you are eating a bland diet, but it still contains some potential allergens, like wheat, fruit, vegetables, and milk. That's why I recommend you talk to a doctor and plan an elimination diet that will help you identify things that you might be allergic to. If you can identify an allergen, you can avoid it and clear up a lot of your symptoms, and if it turns out you don't have a food allergy, there is no reason you can't eat anything you want. Ditto about what Jordan said about the salt. Most people eat way too much salt. You may be able to reduce the amount of sodium you eat without going on a official low-salt diet.
Thank you all again for your messages. Help! If I cut out wheat, fruit, vegetables and milk there'll be practically nothing left. And even on this regime that I described above, I still got an attack on Friday in the early hours. I DO have cold sores though, so am going to ask my doctor to give me the acyclovir. In fact, I am going to insist and not leave his office until he does. I am determined. Does anyone get their front of their face hurting? I get a horrible headache there, if you can call it that when it's in the front of my face down to my nose. It has made my nose super sensitive to my glasses (I have them pushed down to the less sensitive tip as I write this!). I get it a lot of the time even between attacks. It is odd. Flicka
Greetings, You may want to repost this in the Living Room where more people can see it and respond. You've admitted to allergy and headache. Have you and your doctor ruled out allergy and Migraine Associated Vertigo (MAV)? It is possible new allergies or sensitivities to food/environment could be contributing to your symptoms. MAV is a less known variety of Migraine whose symptoms can mimic MM.
It sounds like your also dealing with the herpes virus contributing to your problem. Try to get the antivirals and try taking the l lysine as advised by John Of Ohio. Also load up on food high in the amino acid lysine works wonders for me being it's most likely caused by the herpes virus. Hope you feel better soon!!! When you start the l lysine it will take over 3 months to see results so be patient takes time to balance stuff out. John Of Ohio recommends 3000mg of l lysine daily, things may seem worse but give it time it's the virus fighting back. If you want tea get the decaffeinated kind, for a list of foods high in lysine look it up on google there will be sites that recommend foods to eat when dealing with the herpes virus.
