My Doctor Warned Me!

Discussion in 'Your Living Room' started by Andrew, Dec 2, 2006.

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  1. Andrew

    Andrew New Member

    Thought I'd bump it up!

    It's called the Illusory Correlation. Well, he didn't call it by that name but I think it's what he meant. It's when the brain makes up statistical results that aren't there. Now I quote from the book I'm reading called, a mind of its own; how your brain distorts and deceives, by Cordelia Fine: "With a deceptively convincing hypothesis embedded in your skull, it's only one short step for your brain to start seeing evidence for that hypothesis. Your poor, deluded gray matter sees what it expects to see, not what is actually there."

    Have I tried low-salt diets, diuretics, no-starch, vinnpocetine, lemon bioflavinoids, among other things? Of course. Did some of those things help? Who knows? I think some might have. Is there harm in trying these? I don't think so. What's my point, or more useful, what was the point of my doctor?

    To try not to attribute any specific attack with any specific trigger because the statistical odds that you can figure out what the trigger was, if there was one at all, are nil. It's the nature of the disease to be episodic. My ENT was afraid if I attributed one thing or another to an attack, I'd begin to limit myself and my activities until I was reduced to sitting on the couch, afraid to move or leave the house.

    His advice: just live your life as normally as you can. As much as you can manage do everything you always did.

    First step? Not to feel sorry for yourself. Stop dwelling on things you can't change or do anything about. Second step? Stay focused on things you love, need, want. Relish the good stuff. Be happy MM is not fatal.

    The book I mentioned is not a self-help book. There really isn't anything to "apply" while reading it. It's more just informative on how our brains work, how we protect the ego at all costs, form opinions on very little evidence, then ignore evidence to the contrary to protect our initial impressions to the point that we will even alter our memories or make things up to protect our self-image. I find this stuff fascinating.

    The ENT who told me to be careful not to attribute vertigo to anything specific (he was talking mostly about physical activities I believe but this was five years ago and I've changed insurance companies so many times I no longer even have an ENT) also give me an EAR VIBRATOR! No kidding. I tried it out. I placed this vibrating thing behind my ear held down by an elastic band twice a day for 20 minutes. It didn't end up working but this Dr. would have me try anything if he thought it would help. The second thing he did for me was prescribe Valium. That's really what gave me my life back, broke the cycle of panic and vertigo that gripped my life.

    So while he gave me advice I could live with, he also prescribed drugs and gave me a vibrator. Pretty good doctor, huh? All kidding aside, if he had just said, "Go about your daily life as if nothing was wrong," and showed me the door, I wouldn't have posted this topic and I probably would be confined to a bed.

    For those who have found their triggers I think that's more than fantastic. And I certainly don't want to persuade others from searching for theirs. I'm following Rick's lead and watching my Glycemic Index and I think that's helped me immensely.

    Andrew

    Here is a photo I took in December of '06 after a big windstorm passed through last night:
    [​IMG]
    And no, it's still not Fall in the Catskills. All that yellow and orange is just the sunlight...
     
  2. dmac

    dmac my sweet Holly

    ;D That is all very accurate. I have built up, psychologically, an agoraphobia problem. I have no problem in large places full of people that are FAMILIAR, but if I go into a large UNFAMILIAR place i may get spins.
     
  3. tucker

    tucker The Meniere's DVD Guy!

    His advice: just live your life as normally as you can. As much as you can manage do everything you always did.

    "First step? Not to feel sorry for yourself. Stop dwelling on things you can't change or do anything about. Second step? Stay focused on things you love, need, want. Relish the good stuff. Be happy MM is not fatal.

    That's my pep talk for the day. Go out and live your life. Rejoice in the beauty of Mother Earth."

    Andrew
    I love it! Thanks for the post and a fresh perspective for all.

    Take Care
    Tuck
     
  4. blessed

    blessed New Member

    What a refreshing post to start the day with. Thank you, Andrew, for that and a positively beautiful photo.

    Blessed.
     
  5. ToniG

    ToniG Guest

    AMEN to that, Andrew! Thanks for sharing and giving the entire board a pep talk!

     
  6. nave alta

    nave alta Guest

    I am a firm believer in the "don't believe everything you hear and/or read" school of thought.  At least don't take it as absolute gospel.  While I believe that there is no doubt some validity to what your doctor is suggesting, I also think that it is going to be more true for some people than others.  I know that the mind can do funny things and play tricks on you, I have dealt with that myself.  Some people are quite easily swayed, led, or duped, the same people that are easily fooled by a placebo effect.  Others, like myself, are more cynical, questioning, and look at everything through suspicious eyes.  I guess what I'm getting at is that everyone is different and that while your Illusionary Correlation might affect some to a large degree, others it will not.  I believe that everyone owes it to themselves to try to figure out what their triggers are, by paying close attention to what they eat, what they are exposed to, and so on.  You can do this, while at the same time continuing to live your life, just be observant.  Especially those who have reason to believe that their meniere's syptoms are brought on by allergic reaction.  These do have specific triggers and they can be identified through perseverance.  Those that don't have allergy issues may not have specific triggers and their attacks could well be completly random.  But even so, these people can identify the things that may aggrevate the problem, such as caffiene, alcohol stress, and so on.  Personally, I don't believe these things are triggers, per se, but instead merely things that make matters worse for some.
    Terry's Meniere's is most definitely brought on by allergic reaction.  We are lucky because we have been able to identify what they are.  It wasn't easy, we really had to put our heads together, but we did it.  Terry goes out and braves the world away from her "safe" home environment, she has to.  She isn't going to let this disease stop her.  But she goes out there armed with the knowledge of what her triggers are, and with the experience of how to recognize when she is threatened by them, and therefore when to remove herself from a situation.  That is exactly why you need to understand any triggers you may have.  Self preservation without self isolation.
    Sorry to ramble on so.  Please understand  that these are just my thoughts and that I certainly don't claim to be an expert.
    BTW Andrew, that is one GORGEOUS photo!
     
  7. Andrew

    Andrew New Member

    Nava, all opinions on this topic welcome! of course. And I agree with what you said about people with allergies: their triggers are real. My post is merely intended to start up a dialog, which it has, of our tendencies to limit ourselves too much. And again I'll mention this book I'm reading, which just came out this year. Very interesting stuff about the tricks our brains can pull on us. Experiment after experiment are cited to illustrate how untrustworthy our evaluations of events are and how careful our brains are to protect our own ego to the extent that we fudge memory and end up judging others too harshly.

    Andrew
     
  8. GinaMc

    GinaMc Me and my friend Sally :)

    Andrew.... so very true... especially for myself coming off this surgery, when my Physical Therapist suggested outpatient therapy I looked at him like he had two heads thinking..."I can't go outside..." that was my FIRST thought, only because I hadn't been out in almost 6 weeks but once or twice and I was letting myself accept that I can. But since I have been getting out and going to PT 3 days a week, I have gone to Walmart twice and have tried to get out more to see friends, etc. It's crazy what your brain/mind will tell you but what you really can do.

    Thank you for the inspiring post! I will remember that even the next time I'm having a not so good moment and still do what I want to do...

    Take care.
    Gina
     
  9. Rick

    Rick New Member

    ...My personality style is one such that I carry the label of being analytical. So no matter what challenges I have in life, I tend to analyze them and try to solve them. Drives my wife crazy. But if I was to give one bit of advice to any one with this disease, it would be to monitor and chart your symptoms. If a symtom is ever present, then I tend to believe the trigger for that symptom is ever present. If a symptom is sporadic, then I believe the trigger is sporadic.
    ...It took many years and help from an article by Dr Derebery to finally see the correlation between wheat and oats and my vertigo attacks. But the trigger (gluten) is not the point of this reply. It's the symptom. Most of my posts are in regards to the eposodic symptom of vertigo attacks. I will be going on 4 years without a vertigo attack at the end of December. For me that is a major (get my life back) experiance.
    ...But manytimes I have responded to posts and not realized that the person was seeking help with the "other" symptoms of this disease. And I remember when I first started getting this disease, the tinnitus and fullness drove me abosutely crazy. I still have tinnitus and fullness and they are constant and ever present, but they are minor to me now. After having 2 vertigo attacks per week, a person will get a whole new perspective on things.
    ...So really all I'm saying is that all things are relative and I've used both principles posted so far in my own experiance. I have learned tofunction with some of my symptoms and I've figured out my triggers on the others.
    Rick
     
  10. annegina

    annegina New Member

    Andrew---
    What food for thought! I like you can not relate my episodes to much except hormonal shifts--but theres not too much I can do about that at my time of life.
    What I definitely could relate to is the limiting yourself out of fear. About 2 months ago when I was a mess, my husband said"do you want to go to my office Christmas party?". The poor man was expecting me to say no--I had hyperacusis, fear of an attack, depression and anxiety, pain and fullness in
    my ear--how could I go? I recklessly said "sure Ill go"-- and had an anxiety attack right after!
    Well, last night was the party. I just so happen to be in a remission of sorts--
    long story short I had a blast and dnaced and ate anything and felt perfectly normal. My ear buzzed a little louder after the party because of the DJ music
    but otherwise I was OK. My husband who has been thru all this with me was thrilled to have me by his side.
    The holidays have had me fearful and I still dont know if my luck will continue
    with my better days but I wont refuse anything. My psychologist also said not to start refusing to do things because it might spiral out of control--I dont spin much so I can understand those who have more frequent attacks just
    CANT sometimes! But as much as possible I want to live life.
    Also I have been on an antidepressant which might be helping my gray matter
    a little too. Great post Andrew and so timely for me--
    and I concur-- what a photo!
    Carol
     
  11. paris 48

    paris 48 New Member

    Andrew,one of the best Posts I have read here in a long time! :)
     
  12. Andrew

    Andrew New Member

    Rick, thanks to you I'm watching my Glycemic Index and think watching my blood sugar levels has helped me ALOT! So even though I believe in the Illusory Correlation, I too end up attributing attacks to certain things...at the same time, if I want a slice of pizza I go for it!
     
  13. deercharmer1

    deercharmer1 Somewhere in the forest....

    Excellent post, Andrew!!!

    (And a GORGEOUS picture, as well!)
     
  14. cdedie

    cdedie Designed by DizzyNBlue

    What a great pep talk and gorgeous picture Andrew! What is the name of the book you are reading?
     
  15. Andrew

    Andrew New Member

    a mind of its own - how your brain distorts and deceives, by Cordelia Fine.
     
  16. OnTheBorder

    OnTheBorder New Member

    Thanks Andrew! I have a tendancy to over-analyze life in general. I'm going to start my day with your post in mind and see how it goes. Out of all the suggestions, this makes a lot of sense.

    What a great way to start my day! :)
     
  17. burd

    burd New Member

    I don't want to play down the validity of your post Andrew.  There is much to think about and that I agree with.  But many of us do have proven triggers that will set an attack in motion.  If I would have ingored that I'd be such a spinning, vomiting mess, like I was before I understood what was going on.  Figuring it out and changing what I could, and yes, avoiding as best I can, the things that will set it all in motion, is the key to getting what measure of life I can, back.
    I understand the affects of the thought processes, as I have experienced serious symptoms from stress alone.  But I think any doctor that makes a blanket statement about not worrying about what might be making you ill, so as not to even investigate the possibility, is like sticking your head in the sand.  There needs to be balance in what is reality and what we perceive because of fears and insecurities.

    What this book says can be dangerous for those new ones that could be helped by paying attention to what they eat or what they are exposed to.
     
  18. Linda1002

    Linda1002 New Member

    I'm one of the lucky ones who doesn't have allergy issues. From that perspective, Andrew makes some great points. I know that in the beginning I made myself sicker with my negative thinking. I learned just how powerful the mind is.

    The interesting thing is, I've met several on this forum with allergy issues. Even with that hurdle, they are some of the most positive, amazing friends I've ever had.

    To all of you -- stay happy and don't forget to live your life :)!
     
  19. dizzysheba01

    dizzysheba01 New Member

    Andrew, great post. I've had severe-bilateral MM since I was a very young child. I lived a very active and normal life with a great career and wondeful social life. There were tough times but I just took it easy during those times.
     
  20. Officecat

    Officecat New Member

    I know that stress is a trigger for me. Example: One day at the office my mother called with a family emergency. I hung up the phone and immediately, my hearing went out in my right ear with loud tinnitus. It was brief, but still disturbing and a little scary.

    I think if I have too much caffeine that doesn't help.

    However, I can be "careful" and just be bopping along happy as a lark and bam! the pressure changes or hearing goes out, etc.
     

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