The benefits of valuum

Hey all,

Been reading for a while an note that quite a few mmers take valuum. Wondering what the benefits are? Does it help with vertigo attacks? Does it cut down on the dizzy "crooked" feeling? Does it help at all with tinnitis or hearing loss? When is the best time to take it? What are the side effects? Should it replace serc? or diuretics?

Thanks to anyone who can help. Had a doozer of a vertigo attack on Sunday and afterwards, was wondering if something like valuum would help get through the worst of it.

Cheers! Terri-Lee

 

Hi Terri-Lee, for me, valium could and would cut off an attack. I got so I could feel one coming on, I'd pop a valium, and most times 20 minutes later felt fine. It would cut off vertigo, nausea, and the dizzies. It works differently for some, but that's why it is prescribed. Few things help tinnitus or hearing loss. Prednisone can improve hearing at times. Lisa

 

It calms down your vestibular system. It helps you sleep which helps your body heal.
I take Clonazapam, 1mg, generic for Klonapin.

 

Thanks Lisa - I was wondering if it might help with the attacks.

Thanks amberini - being fatigued is almost always a trigger for me!

 

it really helps.

 

Remember, for every benefit of drugs such as valium, there are many more detrimental/harmful effects....

 

That is not true Nassman. I never experienced one detrimental effect of valium. You are known to be very anti valium, but then by your own admission here you don't have menieres. I think those who have tried valium and seen its benefits are those this is addressed to. Don't scare people off valium when you have never had the experience of the amazing help it can bring. At one point in this disease I don't know what I would have done without it. Lisa

 

Yeah, for those poor people who have to take chemo drugs to control autoimmune problems, gee, what are those side effects? Do the side effects outweigh the benefits? What is quality of life? Maybe they should just learn to live with it?


Life isn't just black and white, there are many shades of gray in between.

To the best of my limited knowledge, not one of us has chosen to have this disease in our life.
Most of us chose to live life as best we can on any given day. If ANY medication helps us get through a day with some degree of productivity, who can rightfully question the course of action that person has taken?

...walk a mile in their shoes, then you might know what it is to really have to chose.

Teri,
This is a decision between you and your doctor. Both of you will decide on what is in your best interests.

 

Hi Terri Lee

see recent discussion for my opinion and others

http://www.menieres.org/forum/index.php?topic=14857.0

unless you are prone to addictive behaviors and as long as you are using the drug (or just about any med) for the designated purpose, the dangers aren't too great---tolerance can occur over time and people can become dependent (I have read studies almost 40 years old about this) but the dosages that MMers take to mitigate the effects of an attack are small relative to those that historically have been prescribed for anxiety and it takes longer to build up tolerance or dependency if your dosage is lower and less frequent--ask your doc about this and see if she/he is willing to give it a try--it does help many people by sedating the CNS and causing the attack to be less severe (coincidentally, just got off the phone with my pharmacist--we were comparing the effects/half life, etc of valium and xanax)

 

Terri-Lee--

Valium for me (and most of us, I believe) is used to stop an attack in its tracks, or minimize its effects. You don't want to take it every day if you don't have to, and it does not replace diuretics or SERC. Ideally, it's a take as needed med, not a take every day med (though there are some people who need to take it every day). It has addictive properties and you do build up a tolerance over time, but if taken in low doses, and only as needed, it can be a life saver.

It's important to note that doctors will often prescribe a higher dosage than you need, so you really have to experiment, using the lowest possible dosage to start, and increasing only if the lower dosage doesn't work. My doctor prescribed 5 mg and I can almost always get by with a quarter of that, or a half if it's really bad. Always start small.

Most people I know consider valium one tool in their arsenal against MM symptoms, not an all-purpose panacea. I might use six pills a year, but having valium with me gives me greater freedom and security, knowing I can prevent an attack from crippling me in the middle of someplace where it's not convenient to have an attack. But it's still wise to pursue other treatments.

Diuretics can reduce pressure in the ear, which can prevent both attacks and hearing loss. SERC can prevent attacks from occurring in the first place in many people, and has fewer side effects and is less dangerous than valium.

Unless your condition doesn't allow for this option, always use valium as needed only, to be taken at the first sign of an attack.

 

this is what scares me,I have been having to take it every day for quite some time due to daily dizziness.I think I would like to try and come off it because I don't see much improvement with daily dizzies...vertigo yes,but dizziness no.I guess I should wean off it.I take anywhere from 2-6 mgs a day which my Dr says is low,but I think my body is requiring more and I refuse to go higher using it every day.

 

+1 on all counts, Lisa. Excellent response.

I would only add the following:

-I debated nass about this same issue in a thread when I joined.
-I disagree with nass and will not bother repeating myself. If interested, do a search for valium and look for the long thread(s).
-valium, at various times, helped me greatly.
-I am not now taking valium, but probably will in the future. I actually found xanax to be faster working for me. I'm not taking it or any thing like it right now.
-I've taken an anti-depressant for years because of this stuff. That usually keeps the lid on my id.
-I have taken valium or xanax numerous times over the past 9 years of this beast.
-In addition to hearing loss and mm problems (although dizziness has been minor for me), I have frequent fluctuating hearing loss attacks and heavy duty tinnitus attacks.
-I have a very high pressure, big boy job. I worry lots about losing my job and thus my means to support my family. Ergo, I have tremedous anxiety attacks, replete with raging heart beat, sweating, shakes, etc. Sometimes, my mind has a mind of it's own and I have to calm me down.
-Some posters here see these drugs as evil. I myself have not had a problem stopping and starting. For years at a time, I have not taken them, due to how good I was doing.
-Don't let someone, be they poster or doctor, shame you about something you find works for you, either short or long term.
-Know the risks, know yourself, but in heaven's name dont suffer needlessly. Both are highly addictive for most people, but even though I have an addictive personality, I have not had a problem stopping for long periods. Again, your milage may vary.

I find that many times my minor hearing loss attacks recede if I can get relaxed. And benzo's help me big time.

It also helps when the major attacks hit, although not as fast.

It also helps me keep my sanity when hope is gone and when I wonder what tommorow will bring.

All this works for me, but milage may vary.

 

Hi Everyone,
FIRST, this is so coincidental with this post because before this post, I sent a personal message to Utalledo asking how often and how long she has taken valium. I was prescribed it in July after having nasty attacks in May and when I went to my specialist, I told him of my off balance feeling ever since my attacks and was, of course, so nervous to go too far from home for fear of more attacks not to mention the daily dizzies that had lingered since May. I know that I had read previously in posts that Utalledo takes valium and I also know that some people talk down valium so I didn't want to cause an argument with anyone in their views on valium so that is why I pm'd her. For me, it is a lifesaver. I take a VERY low dose - 1 mg in the morning and 1 mg. at night. I am a small built person and I don't usually handle medications too well and don't like to take them! I am one of those also whose meniere's is autoimmune related as I have Lupus. I took a chemo drug - methotrexate - for over six months from last September until this past March. That drug wore me out and I am not sure that it helped much at the time but I was closely monitored for any "major" side effects that it could have caused and other than extreme fatigue, I had no other side effect. I was also put on a high dose of folic acid so I would not lose my hair or get mouth sores which are common with methotrexate. In my case the pros out weighed the cons. I wanted to mention this for the post a few back from me mentioning the chemo drugs for autoimmune disease causing the Meniere's. I do know that with my diuretic and low sodium diet and John of Ohio's regimen and now the help of valium, I no longer have ear fullness and my tinnitus has calmed down so much that I have to listen for it!! I know that triggers for me is stress and fatigue and the stress amd fatigue gets both my Lupus and Meniere's going so I try to eliminate stress as much as possible and stay well rested. So, to kinda answer this post and her questions . . . I have been on valium for two months now daily and it is a lifesaver and I have no side effects and my dosage is so small I don't think I will become an "addict" especially since my rheumatologist for my Lupus told me it is a pediatric dose that I have been prescribed!! When I go back to my ENT in October, I am going to see if taking it on occasion when needed might be a option for me instead of daily since I am doing pretty well lately. If anything, it has given me back some confidence to go out shopping and on family outings without the fear of a vertigo attack!!

 

I take it when I feel an impending attack and it usually stops it or slows down the vertigo within about 20 minutes. Sometimes it does nothing depending on the severity of the attack. It's a long explanation but basically I think what Valium does is just numb your vestibular system so that you don't get any signals too your brain to spin around. Don't quote me on that because sometimes I take the Valium and it doesn't do a darn thing. I just have to sleep the attack off.

David.

 

I really appreciate everyone sharing their knowledge and experience ... including Nassman. Hey, I take drugs now for the menieres (serc and diuretic as well as self prescribed gravol for nausia - when I can keep it down), and was especially concerned about taking a diuretic - as I know it flushes the body of important minerals etc. Before being diagnosed with menieres, I asked my doctor to prescribe me a diuretic for fluid retention and she refused. After having it prescribed by my specialist, I asked my doctor why it was OK to have it now and not before. She said it was about weighing the benefits against the effects of menieres.

My doctor is really, really, really, cautious about prescribing anything to me... so I think I will go armed with whatever info I can find via research, talk to her about what many of you have shared and see if it is something I can put "in my arsenal" for fending off and/or dealing with attacks ... cause I gotta say, I think I definitely need some help in that regard!!

 

Luckyswife have you consider SERC? or john's regimen?

 

Good luck, Terri-Lee! Lisa

 

Well, you have confirmed exactly what I feel the dangers of these drugs are. Thus, we are in agreement.

 

They are addictive if taken in big amounts I guess, I've been taking Valium for a while and I'm not addicted to it so I can speak for myself here. I only take it when I have vertigo or dizziness.

And ok lets say a couple persons say it's addictive and it's a sin to take valium, will that make you stop taking it even if you know it can help the nasty dizziness?? I mean C'MON. It's ok to take it.

 

There is a HUGE difference between psychological addiction and physiological addiction. As with any drug (legal or illegal), even if the person is not psychologically addicted to it, if they have been taking it for months or years on a regular basis, the body becomes accostomed to it and actually needs it to function normally. Once the person tries to stop using the drug, their body goes through hellacious and wretched withdrawal symptoms that are so bad, they make the person feel much worse than what they were feeling when they started to take the drug in the first place.