Meniett - Some feedback would be great

It helps my fullness and hearing. Today I was in a meeting and my hearing went. I fluffed my way through and did a treatment. I was able to hear better afterwards.

 

Thanks for all the info

I also cant handle the diuretics. They make me blackout from low blood pressure, so thats why im really banking on the meniett giving some kind of relief.

I would have thought that more people on this board would have one, considering the claimed benefits of the device. I suppose its high cost is a massive issue though. Im lucky though, because im getting my tubes put in under general and not in the office, I am able to get it 100% covered/for free. Im not sure if this is now the case in the states, but for the aussies out there ...talk to your ENT about it if you're keen

 

Hi I am new at this but I also have a Meniett Device. I have had the device since August 2002. It took me a while to get everything to stop. As of then I have not had one single vertigo attack or feel dizzyness at all. I do have alot of noice and some balance problems. I take a water pill don't know if it really does anything but I do take it. I also have head pressure alot which is very annoying. Like everything else that goes along with Menieres. I am thankful for alot of things especially for the endurance I get everyday.

 

abra - I take the diuretic Triamterene. Had tried Diazide which has half triamterene and half a potassium depleting variety, but it made me very weak. According to Dr. Pyle at UW Madison, he does have a handful of Meniere's patients who are on Triamterene.

cooner - did you get vestibular rehab to help your balance problems? They really help a lot of people.

 

I love the meniett. It took about 4 weeks for me to have all my symptoms go away. I think the biggest thing it does for me is prevent the room spinning when I have an attack. At first it put me into total remission for a long time...months. Then I have small episodes, but I caught onto the fact that when I was getting worse a lot my tube stopped working, or got blocked. Then as soon as it got fixed I was better. Very direct cause-effect. For a year my tube worked, now I am having constant trouble with the ear tube which the doc said can be typical for some. So I am having a super duper one put in under general anesthesia (spelling?) that he said should hold for a long time. It does not take everything away, but majorly helps my quality of life. I think everyone should try it before considering major surgery. It is a rather new device, so who knows how long it will last? They claim it helps 80% of those who try it. I don't know if that's true, but I was a real skeptic and very surprised it helped me. Good luck, Lisa

 

I asked the neurotologist I saw this week about the Meniett...he said it definitely works for lots of people. Unfortunately, since I'm atypical, he didn't think I'd be one of them.

I'm still curious to hear any head to head comparisons of the Meniett vs the P-100 at 1/6 the cost.

 

Abra - Professor Gibson here in sydney has been trialing the device(P100) with his patients and so far with very good results. He feels that the Principle and "blow" of the devices are just about exactly the same, so he feels they are much the same. He refused to say which was better, probably because he doesnt want to sound like a salesman, but just says that they are very similar and that there should be no real reason why one would eally work better than the other. Prof Gibson really is a world respected expert on meniere's. He pioneeredthe ECOG for diagnosing meniere's and has also developed his own variants of the sac surgery, so if he believes that the P-100 is worthy, I'll take his word for it.

I also called his audiologist last week to ask more about it, and her response was slightly different, saying "the jury is still out" .....and thats not because people arent getting success, it's just that not enough people have been prescribed the device and it's still in it's early stages. Her analogy was, one is a Ferrari, and one is a Ford, but both should get you to the mall.

The meniett was supposed to be covered 100% by my insurance, but after calling the hospital yesterday, that it is looking a little bit doubtful, so i may be getting the P-100 instead. If i do i'll definitely post my thoughts on it.

On another note ....Enttex doesnt offer shipping to the states, but what would happen if an aussie bought the device and then posted it marked as a gift?? could that land either party in trouble?

 

This is the only head2head comparison i could find on the web, apart from the clinical trial shown on the enttex website

It's a quote from www.menieres.org.au from the "personal stories section"

http://www.menieres.org.au/stories_dawn.htm

‘…trialling a small hand held device…’

I also used the Meniett machine (www.meniett.com) for many months but had to return it after the trial period. It appeared to work but not well enough to warrant the $5,000 price tag. I am currently trialling a small hand held device recommended by Mr Franz, which appears to be helping me. This device is currently being developed by ENTTEX (http://www.enttex.com) and I understand that it will be available shortly, for a small fraction of the cost of the Meniett device.



Here is the pubmed article that showed the effectiveness of both devices. Please note that one of the authors was also the inventor, B. Franz

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=16639914&query_hl=5&itool=pubmed_docsum

 

Cheese, I rather doubt either party would get in trouble, but who knows what the laws would be. It's not like you are sending drugs through the mail.

The thing is, doesn't the P-100 have to be prescribed? There's the sticky bit...I have friends in Oz who could send one but could they actually get one?

Thanks for the head to head comparison...I still wonder how you know what speed the pulse should be when you are doing it by hand. If you get one, I'm really interested in hearing how you do with it!

 

Abra i'm just about 110% positve that it doesnt have to be prescribed ......You just go to their online store and click add to cart. Easy as that

I think getting your friends to send you one would be a great idea if you were interested ....but yea, as you said, who knows what laws might be. You'd hate to cop a 10k fine or something like that though ....im sure you could just plead ingnorance though. And say your friends were sending it as a surprise and they had no idea it wasnt FDA approved.

 

hmm ...just thought I'd bump this because I received my meniett today

Im a little bit underwhelmed by how little pressure the device actually blows. I was expecting atleast a decent puff, but instead the device seems to blow baby breaths. I guess the cynic in me wonders how such little pressure could make any difference at all. I guess time will tell.

Did anyone notice any difference in the 1st week? ....or is it the kind of thing that most people notice no difference for the 1st month?

 

Hi :
I've had the Meniett since July and have had 2 full blown attacks since then. Prior to using it I had 2 to 3 full blown attacks per week. I was basically homebound. I also noticed the effect immediately. I use it 3X day. The effects of this last attack seem to have persisted though.
Good luck
Phyllis

 

Cheese, it took a good month to two months for me to notice a difference. But between it and John of Ohio's regimen, I seem to be in some kind of remission for about 6+ months now.
Good luck,
cw

 

Cheese, I see you are in Sydney...if you don't mind my asking, what made you choose the Meniett over the P-100?

 

thanks for the info, filom and cb. It seems everyone takes a different amount of time to notice a difference by the look of it.

abra - Here in Australia ...If you get the grommet put in under a general anasthetic, you are able to claim the meniett under the prosthetics act (or something like that). So in other words, my health cover treated the meniett as part of the operation, so they payed for it 100%.

To be honest though, that is the only reason. Its weird, but the P-100 in this instance was actually the more expensive option. If I notice any difference in my symptoms, I think I am going to buy a P-100 to use when I am not at home. It's the type of thing I could just keep in my pocket .....Whereas because im not a chick, and I dont use a handbag, carting the meniett around everywhere could become a bit of a pain.

 

The first two days I used my meniette I felt-different! I had to lay down, I felt dizzy. I took this as a good sign because I felt at least I could tell it was doing something. After one week I felt better, and continued on to week four to feeling fantastic. Have had GREAT luck with it for a year and a half, now getting the serious tube in because starting to have attacks. I don't regret getting it at all, that has been my experience. Lisa

 

I've been using the Meniett since August, and my symptoms seem to be decreasing week by week, especially in the last 3 to 4 weeks.

 

Thats good hydrops...

Im slowly starting to notice little things that may be improvements aswell. I'm not feeling quite as sick whilst in bed the last couple of nights, and my gaze seems to be marginally more stable. It's to early for me to say it is because of the meniett though.

 

As you've probably heard over and over, the Meniett works for some, and not for others. I was quite skeptical at first, and was really planning just to go through with the trial and return it. However, I did notice some improvement a few weeks after I started using it, and then it really picked up after about 50-55 days of use.

Keep us posted, and best of luck!

 

Can any of you using the Meniett please tell me....are the puffs of air into the ear noticeable or just miniscule?

I have Tullio's and any air pressure in my ear causes vertigo. I've now had an ENT and a neurotologist strongly recommend the device and I'm headed that route - but - 6 mins of air pressure in my ear 3 times a day could send me right out of commission. I'll definitely ask my doctor about this as well when I see him next.

Amethyst