Is There a Missing New Factor in Meniere's Treatment? Something to Consider.

Hydrops,

I'm not trying to quibble. There is no doubt that the food and supplement sources you listed do provide vitamin D. But only the cod liver oil provides anything closely to sufficient amounts. To get the 2000 IUs regarded now as the minimum effective daily dose, one would have to consume about two teaspoons of the cod liver oil, and who knows how many serviings of each of the others.

The Vitamin D Council and many others are now recommending 4000 IUs during the fall, winter, and spring, when sunlight isn't sufficient. To get therapeutic doses of vitamin D, one will have to take an adequate dosage of the stuff in the form of a vitamin D pill, capsule, or softgel.

--John of Ohio

 

Thanks JOH I must have misunderstood about the beta glucans. I get so mixed up with all this immune stuff. Because I have an overactive immune system and am on immune supressants I get frightened when I see anything that mentions hyping it up. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed by all I have read it makes me cry to think I have missed out on so much I could have been trying instead of letting it damage me more.

 

Jilly, we can't beat ourselves up, just be as proactive as possible and look forward, not back.
Lisa

 

Great information John and Rick! Good on you both for continually trying to share what you know.

Jilly I know what you mean!
Our doctors don't seem to understand that the BASICS of good health can make all the difference to Meniere's sufferers. As John & Rick point out, adequate sunshine is one of these, as is diet, sleep, relaxation, stress release, posture and exercise. These things are free. And they don't just make a little difference. The potential is there for some to heal completely, as I did.

 

Update on Anti-virals:
About 3 weeks ago I was prescribed anti-virals (2000mg, for 2 weeks) and now I'm on a maintenance dose of 400mg/day that I plan to stay on for several months minimum. Along with this I take 2000 mg of L-Linsine and 1 tablet of Lemon Bioflavinoids. I have noticed an improvement in my speech recognition now that I attribute to the above regime. Because I also also have another auto-immune issue (Grave's Disease) I have just started taking 4,000 mg of Vitamin D because of these posts that make a lot of sense. I hope this also helps with further improvements of reducing meniere's symptoms. John and Rick, you both are offering us such a great service, I applaud you both for your perseverance to help us all along with your selves. I have my fingers crossed the vitamin D will also help others along with my self to put this beast into remission. Keep up the great work!!

 

Up in Alaska we metabolize almost no D from sunlight so its a big issue. One doctor said knowing your blood level of D3 is as important as knowing your cholesterol level. Mine was 23 on a 23-125 scale after 6 months of supplementing 12000iu a day. Because the optimal range is above 55 and one article last week said 75 is the optimal number, and because D is associated with everything from cancer to parkinson's disease to depression, it might be worth testing. Our health fairs now include D3 testing. My naturopath then gave me a 50000iu shot and another 6 months of 12000iu before I was around 75mg. Now I'm on 6000iu a day and will be tested yearly. Long story to point out that even 3000iu a day may not be enough if you live in the northern states. And the naturopath doesn't seem to care which D supplement I take as long as it is D3.

Interesting article but probably too low D supplementation but interesting that it links to diabetes-another autoimmune disease.

http://www.adn.com/life/alaskana/story/469768.html

 

Good post Lesliean. I live in Washington state and this time of year you can't ever find the sun. Always cloudy with rain, snow etc. I'm sure I'm deficient along with most people in the state in vitamin D but should also have this checked. Anyway as posted above I'm starting at 4,000 i.u. of it per day.

 

What a great post. Thank you John and everyone else. I'm with Jilly, doctors in general have missed the boat. I am going to make sure that every doctor that sees me reads these articles BEFORE I go to there office and pay them money. I'm not on a warpath here, but really believe that this is valid information and the medical community needs to know.

Cheers!

 

Endoquest,

Here's the information you need to get into your doctor's hands. It's a PDF entitled, "Diagnosis and treatment of vitamin D deficiency." It's for doctors, telling them what they now need to know about this. This is perhaps the most important paper on the subject. It should be read by every practicing physician.

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/PDFs/diagnosis-and-treatment-of-vit-d-deficiency.pdf

--John of Ohio

 

JOH, Thank you so much for the paper on the subject of Vitamin D. I have read it and it is real comprehensive. Perhaps this may be part of a silver bullet along with your regime that really helps many of us suffering from Meniere's!

 

What are SBDs?
MaryJo

 

John, we had sun for the first time in two weeks today and it was so nice outside, I sat out there with plenty of exposed skin for half an hour just due to this post. I'm so fair complexioned that I glow in the dark so I can't stay out for long (and the freckles on my arms have popped out all dark again just from today's half a hour of sun!) but it felt so, so good.

Anyone else know the old saying, "Every child needs the January sun"?

 

Silent, But Deadly.

(actually some kind person told me after I got a bit deaf that they are Silent to me, but others can hear them. Darn.)

 

I won a Whitest Legs contest. ;D

 

...Just wanted to let y'all know I'm still around. I still haven'r got my vitamin D yet, but I excited about trying it. I'm hoping it helps with a lot of little ailments I have. I've been out of town for Christmas and just got back today. I thought it looked kind of bad that John has done all the talking, mentioned me, and then I haven't said anything LOL. Just a case of bad timing on my part I guess. Very good thread and look forward to hearing the results when everyone tries Vitamin D.
Rick

 

I'm always a bit wary about taking supplements above and beyond the recommended dosage.

I once consulted with a gp who had left the nhs and started his own alternative therapy clinic.
He prescribed me 2000mg tablets of Ginkgo, far beyond the recommended dose.
After taking only one tablet, I had the worse nose bleed ever!..never had one in my life before.

My own gp was furious that I had gone behind his back on this. He wont prescribe vitamins or minerals unless your blood test shows you are deficient.

I think I'll sit this one out.

 

Trish,

Anyone who would prescribe 2000 mgs of ginkgo should be prosecuted for gross and dangerous medical practice. Anyone with the slightest knowledge of ginkgo dosages would find this grossly and unsafely out of bounds.

And you are welcome to refrain from taking any supplemental vitamin D. But in a year or two, your physican will come around. The evidence on the safety (not toxic in any manner at less than 10,000 IUs per day --your body makes 20,000 IUs in less than an hour in full summer sun) is recognized by the vitamin D experts (see the Vitamin D Council postings at http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/vitaminDToxicity.shtml ).

Mainstream medicine, as much as it would like, putatively from safety concerns, will soon be confronted with the tremendous health-giving effects of proper vitamin D supplementation.

Soon, American tort law will force reluctant doctors to get on the vitamin D bandwagon. Positive evidence, both anecdotal and clinical, is accumulating so fast that a doctor who fails to tell his patients to take adequate vitamin D will be open to medical negligence lawsuits.

We aren't there yet, but things are rapidly changing. The professional pediatrics association just came out with a complete revision of their vitamin D recommendations for nursing mothers.

The old recommendations -- that a lot of physicians still adhere to -- that everyone just needs 400 IUs of vitamin D each day to keep from getting soft bones, rickets, is so "last century."

In medicine, 2009 will be the The Year of Vitamin D.

--John of Ohio

 

Is there any reason that we cannot add the Vit D3 to the John's regimen? Any concern with any interaction?

 

China mom,

From all that I know about both the elements in my regimen, and the massive amount of emerging data and information on vitamin D, there is no conflict at all.

I continue to take the entire regimen, except because the herpes virus that caused my Meniere's is suppressed, I take only a 500 mgs daily maintenance dose of lysine, and I don't need the Vertigoheel because I no longer have any dizziness.

At the same time I take 4000 IUs of vitamin D3 each day. No problems whatsoever.

And I really think, because elevated vitamin D levels are known now to hike the body's immunity against pathogens such as herpes, the adding of vitamin D can only enhance the regimen's effectiveness against Meniere's.

That's exactly why I posted this new thread, to encourage people to personally investigate this possibility.

--John of Ohio

 

Linus Pauling was vilified for his recommended mega-dosage of vitamin C. Ironically, he lived to age 93, and over the years, some docs and studies have jumped on the bandwagon, especially as it relates to intraveneous use of vitamin C on cancer patients.

http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/vitamin-c.htm

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16567755