New Treatment for hearing loss and maybe MM?

Discussion in 'Your Living Room' started by HeadNoise, Apr 2, 2008.

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  1. June

    June New Member

    All good thoughts Rick. I am stuck on ' ... there must be a reason ' that I have been so susceptible to bad viral infections the last couple years and I am working on the get healthy all over approach to try to avoid the next viral assault who knows where in my body. But needless to say I consider the antivirals that seem like they knocked this thing way back for me (knock on wood) a miracle. I just want to make the landscape a little less
    fertile for these bugs which is kind of along the lines of what you are saying I think.
     
  2. Aladdin

    Aladdin Guest

    i take adrenal gland medication (natural)

    it did / does improve my quality of life and I do feel more energized and over all in better health - but has not affected my mm or it's symptoms other than my health is better and I can deal with it easier
     
  3. Aladdin

    Aladdin Guest

    sorry - I have noticed a major decline in the ringing of the ears and until I read this didn't realize it coorelates (sp) with the intake of the adrenal gland medication - when an attack is near and or coming I still have tinnitus and it's overwhelming but I can say on a daily basis I can see a decline in the severity and the frequency --

    hugs/prayers
     
  4. Rick

    Rick New Member

    ...I think you went a little more global than I was, but that's ok and better. The vertigo i was getting from hypoglycemia was only 10% of the total vertigo that I got. The major trigger I had was the food allergies. So be eliminating allergies and eating right, I have been able togain control (for now) of my Meniere's.

    ...So basically what you said is true, by bringing my total health under control, I got better control over my meniere's. One difference in this example and yours is that taking Corticosteroids will improve symptoms but long term use of them suppresses the adrenal gland thus we make less of our own.

    ...I'm a big fan of the antivirals also but I don't think taking them suppresses your body's ability to fight viruses on it's own, it just aids. Now if you can find a diet or lifestyle change that inhances your ability to fight viruses, then that's even better.
    Rick
     
  5. oaktree8

    oaktree8 New Member

    Hi all, some questions and comments--

    Aladdin--what adrenal medication do you take, and how much?

    Trinity--thanks for the info again

    Rick--I'm not tired about hearing about the GI issue--I've just noticed that when I'm hungry, or when I've eaten too many carbs, my tinnitus gets higher and faster. What I mean is that I keep noticing how much it applies to me.

    And I agree about the adrenal insufficiency--I think I used to get vertigo when I was fatigued, and I was so fatigued because of adrenal depletion. As I've reduced stress and made changes in my life I'm feeling less fatigued, and having less vertigo. So I definitely agree that addressing whole body health makes a difference.

    Thanks all
     
  6. rich904

    rich904 New Member

    Honestly folks, I think we are as close to the heart of the matter here as you can get without having the puzzle figured out. It seems that we may be tending to treat the symptom, which is at the end of the branch (the twig) whereas the real problem is further down the branch and affecting other systems. This adrenal system link may just be a key part of the link.

    I hope to have my aldosterone levels checked soon by my ENT. I also have a regular appointment with my family doc for a scheduled physical later this month. I plan to ask him if he can verify my adrenal system is ok on all fronts. If all checks out, then oh, well. If we find something, then we have something to go on. It well may lead to something like the hypoglycemia that Rick has had such good luck with. Rick, you may be much closer to the root of this thing than anyone suspects, though as always, there is likely not a one size fits all solution here. Keep the ideas flowing. We may get onto a trail that the medical folks can tie together sooner rather than later!
     
  7. sandra

    sandra New Member

    This is very interresting. Thanks for the article. I will be checking for more info on this. Thanks again.
    Sandra
     
  8. Rick

    Rick New Member

    ....I believe the biggest mistake a person can make in dealing with this disease is believing there is only one trigger or one source for their symptoms. We are conditioned all of our lives to believe that "one disease=one cure". I now believe that most (not all) are dealing with a damaged inner ear that can be effected by a multitude of things.

    ....Back when I was in the One disease/one cure frame of mind, had I tried the glycemic index before I had discovered my food allergies, I would have been arguing on this board that the GI didn't help. I was in a mode to where I would try something, I thought it might help, but as soon as I got another vertigo attack, I would abandone that treatment. Now I try something, if I think it works even a little, I stick with it even if some of my symptoms come back. That way I'm always adding to and not constantly stopping and starting. Later on I might try experiment by stopping a treatment and starting again to see if there's any change in symptoms.

    ...I think your tree analogy is a good one, we should look for the "root" cause sorry for the pun. If I remember correctly the three biggest stressors of the adrenal gland are allergies, carb/blood sugar metabolism, annd stress. So even though I tend to look at my food allergy triggers as seperate from my adrenal system, it still could have been related.

    ...Severe allergic reactions could be caused by the person's lack of adrenal function when subjected to an allergen, after all, the drug they give for the most severe allergic reactions (anaphalactic shock) is adrenaline.

    Rick
     
  9. Aladdin

    Aladdin Guest

    adrenamin (once daily)
     
  10. rich904

    rich904 New Member

    Update on my situation. After work tonight my ENT called. He had done some research and said he wants to not only do a urine test for aldersterone, but also a blood test for sodium/potassium and a full adrenal workup. I am glad of that. I had sort of hoped he would. He obviously has done some research the last few days, and has also talked to the pathologist. He says if any of this comes back odd, he will probably send me to an endocrinologist. So, tomorrow AM I go by the office to get the prescription, then to the hospital to get the blood test and the pee bottle. I'll let you all know in a few days how everything comes out (pun intended). Rich
     
  11. Trinity

    Trinity Bilateral Menieres 20 years, 24-7 symptoms,

    Great News Rich. I am going to see about scheduling an appointment with my ENT. I did address this issue last time I saw him and he seemed interested, but was so busy that he wanted me to get him more information. Keep in touch Carole
     
  12. vertigo247

    vertigo247 One cannot think crooked and walk straight.

    Very interesting! It would be so wonderful to get closer to a cure for MM.
     
  13. rich904

    rich904 New Member

    It's been a bit since I was on. Other things happening. Here is my interesting news. I got the results back on my aldosterone. Normal range is like 2.2-40 or so, and mine is 5.5 (doing this off memory, papers are not in front of me right now). Anyway, very close to the low end. I am waiting to hear back from the ENT on a referral to an endocrinologist. DHEA was also at the low end of the scale. Don't know what all of this means as of yet, but it does still leave an interesting path to investigate. Also had a follow up to my last perfusion at Shea. Doc was not familiar with the aldosterone link. I left him copies of the papers I had, along with my test results. We will see what my local ENT says. He indicated he would refer me, I'll keep you posted.

    Rich
     
  14. rich904

    rich904 New Member

    Have been off for a while. I do have news re' aldosterone and me. I should receive my prescription tomorrow (Wednesday, May 14). I have been up and down with overall hearing and tinnitus. Generally not up though. I am anxious to begin tomorrow. My ENT wants 2 weeks at 2 doses a day (125 mcg), then do blood work to check sodium, potassium, etc. Then another cycle and then a check of aldosterone again. I'll keep you all updated on the good and bad. Does anyone else have any further info on this? I may try to contact Dr. Wright in the next week or so. Pray for good results!
     
  15. momcmb

    momcmb New Member

    Is this treatment only for men?

    Christina
     
  16. Trinity

    Trinity Bilateral Menieres 20 years, 24-7 symptoms,

    Thats my question Christina. I have not seen any reports on what happens when a woman receives the hormone. Rich, please keep me posted. My hearing has been so awful and I am on the very low end of aldosterone. I guess I need to see my ENT again.
     
  17. amberini

    amberini New Member

    This is a facinating missing link.
    I noticed someone mentioned the AI connection and someone else mentioned the Glycemic Index diet helping curb symptoms. That helped me recall whe I went to a Holistic MD. He found my Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which is an autoimmune disease. He explained that my system was attacking that gland and when it had sufficiently killed it, the disease would move on and he mentioned my adrenals which were already stressed. He had me take a sublingual raw glandular adrenal support, came from cows, and changed my thyroid med. He had me on many supplements referenced in these sites.

    Anyway, this thread reminded me of sites I used to frequent to help me understand the connection between thyroid, adremals, stress, fatigue, so I have linked them for everyone.

    Yes, there is a reason to feel better on a low glycemic diet. Yes, there is a reason you could constantly have viral infections. There is good descriptions of what these hormones are and how they work and even a good explanation for women, yes, you can take the hormones, but testing times are important.
    And it really explaines the salt connection. Here were are limiting salt intake and it could be the opposite of what we need to do!!

    Anyway, this might help answer some questions people have asked. You can also google aldestrone hypothyroid to find more articals and information. Hope it is a little helpful, Janine

    http://www.endfatigue.com/health_articles_a-b/Adrenal-the_adrenal_gland.html

    http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/aldosterone/
     
  18. LisaB

    LisaB New Member

    Wishing you great luck! Keep us posted!!! Lisa :)
     
  19. Terri-Lee

    Terri-Lee New Member

    This is good to know. Would be concerned about taking hormones w/o fully understanding the possible side-effects. Does the study outline any side-effects?
     
  20. rich904

    rich904 New Member

    Thanks for the notes. Meds will not be here till Friday. Thanks for the links amberini. I have looked at both of those sites previously, and my symptoms seem to track. I also seem to have a similar symptom pattern to the fellow in the study (Tom).

    Terri-Lee. Thanks for your caution. You are indeed correct that there are some unknowns here. Here is sort of a summary of why I am giving this a go. If nothing happens in a short-short, I will drop it. Also, I am getting set up with an endocrinologist who can take this a step further and warn of any pitfalls.
    Aldosterone is a natural hormone-the body produces it. This is not an artificial hormone (fluorinex is). We will start low and build up, and sodium and potassium will be watched early, then a follow-on to check aldosterone soon after. After reading the information about the aldosterone/hearing link, it seems there may be reason to perk up if you are bilateral or may be affected due to autoimmune problems, or what is thought to be autoimmune. How many folks have had blood tests done for sodium or potassium levels before being put on a diuretic? If sodium is high, water retention would be up correspondingly. My absolute sodium checks right in the middle of normal, and when I take any diuretic, I almost immediately become weak, and twice have been hospitalized for dehydration. Two plus two is not four here folks. Something else is going on....but the sodium thing is certainly smack in the middle of the problem. Blood pressure would tend to be on the high side of normal with high sodium levels as well--mine is always very low..another indication of low adrenal function. My hearing loss is episodic--to the point of varying over a period of a few hours. Gets bad for days on end, but changes from good to bad or bad to good in just a short time--consistent with hormone changes...Other things line up as well, but you can see a pattern emerging. Since it is a natural hormone and has been demonstrated to improve hearing, my level is low, other non ear related symptoms I experience are consistent with low aldosterone, and I have a doc who sees the pattern as well and will monitor me closely, I am ready to give it a try.

    My thinking is that the sodium/potassium channels are not controlled properly when aldosterone is low, and that is causing the imbalance within the inner ear.

    This is fairly new. The direct link seems to have hit the literature several years ago, and it takes some time for the major research folks to note the link, develop a plan, get the funding, do the trials, etc, etc, etc. There is some material in the literature from some years back, but it does not look like it was studied to the point that a clear reationship was found to or not to exist. Plus, if Meniere's is a collection of problems with similar symptoms, this may be the causative factor in a subset of cases, my thinking being bi-lateral and supposed autoimmune first. By the way, my vertigo is a secondary problem to the hearing. I have been almost vertigo free for quite some time, still have unsteadiness, which may be the result of the streptomycin perfusions and the balance nerves being affected.

    Nothing else has done the trick. I am a guinea pig (actually, I think the hormone IS obtained from pigs...). One concern is heart issues if the level gets too high. We will start slow and monitor. So, here we go. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I am trying to be careful, but not reckless.

    Another interesting tidbit...I live across the street from a doc (gasteroenterologist) who lost much of his hearing within the past year. After coming up on this link, I told him about it. He gave me a funny look and told me that his doc has him on a blood pressure medicine (I am not sure what it is) and one of the side effects is a reduction of aldosterone levels. He said he was going to talk to his doc about changing that med and see what happens to his hearing...sort of interesting.
     

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