Xanax or Valerian?

And don't let anyone on this board tell you different...................If it ain't broke don't fix it!

Keep on keepen on!

 

I use Zanax .25mg twice a day for the ringing in my ears, makes a big difference, doesn't goe away but it sure lessens the intensity of it!

Hang in there!

Danny

 

THANKS LARRY! OFF THE SUBJECT A BIT. Just living in the Carribean would cure my Menieres!! ?? I loveeeeeeeee :-* the Carribean, it's been way too long since i've been. I can feel it now...... see it now......i've been 3 times, time for another trip. It was 5 degrees Friday morning as i walked into work, with -10 wind chill, haaaaaaa....good ole New England weather! Enjoy the sun and warm waters! ;D

 

I guess at this point you could try waiting before you pop a pill the next time you feel "it" coming on.
Just wait. My guess is it might get a bit more intense and then die down. That's when you know it's anxiety.
If it doesn't die down and just gets worse then perhaps it's your vestibular system.
I suppose you could take some risks and try waiting it out.

I don't know about being addicted to pills or not because I don't take any but if I had to deal with the rotational vertigo
and the constant leaping, jumping, twirling, dancing of things and myself, heck I'd take anything everyday to not feel that way again!

Still you might want to make sure you understand where your sensations are coming from. If they are from anticipatory anxiety then you can learn so many ways to control and eliminate that. Use your meds wisely.

Valerian root did zero for me.

 

This may be totally off topic here, and I'm not going to imply bashing, BUT....
This comment seems slightly more than sarcastic. I just want to reiterate that Acyclovir IS a miracle drug. It DOES "save people" such as Carribean and my husband. Just because you or anyone else does not believe that to be so, doesn't make it true.
It DOES work.


Laura

 

I would like to present a different side to valium. This is my personal experience with it. I have no scientific data to back it up with, just my reaction to it. I'm not trying to tell anyone what to do. But if you don't know that valium can do things like this you won't be looking for them.

Early in the process of trying to figure out what was wrong with me a doc prescribed valium (diazapham) 2.5mg twice a day. Not knowing any different I took it. After about 6 months I began to notice that my memory had been severly affected. I went from being able to remember conversations word for word 1 year after the fact to not having any memory at all of what happened today. At about the 8 month mark I realized I was becoming seriously depressed. At the 10 month mark I spoke with my husband about committing myself to a psychiatric hospital.

Not only was I depressed and constantly dizzy, but that tape of all the mean things people said to me as a kid started running in my head again. Suddenly I was constantly calling myself clumsy and stupid and ugly. I slowly came to the realization that it was the valium doing this to me.

About that time I realized I needed to find a doctor that would help me. I searched the web and found a doc here locally. When I went to my allergist I asked about the doc and was informed he had a really good reputation. I also mentioned the problems I was having with the valium and that I planned to go off it cold turkey as I would rather be dizzy and love myself then be dizzy and hate myself. He prescribed me an anti-depressant for 2 months so I could get off the valium.

When I finally got into see the specialist I had found on the internet he told me that taking the valium had prolonged my suffering. That suppressing my vestibular symptoms had caused my brain to never adjust to the dizziness. He also told me it would take up to 10 weeks to get the valium completely out of my system. After the 10 weeks were up he sent me to vestibular rehab therapy where I learned to teach my brain to adjust.

That was 18 months ago. My long term memory has never returned. My short term memory is slightly better. I have very few memories from that 10 months. Even when prompted I can't remember things.

I have stated and still feel this way today. If a doctor came up to me and handed me valium and said take this or you will die tomorrow. I would have to think about it. I would probably take it, but I would have to think about it.

Tracy

 

Tracy, I am glad you made the point that benzos inhibit the brain's compensatory mechanism when it comes to vertigo. Years ago I was prescribed a valium every night--as I recall it didn't really stop the attacks, I still had them pretty frequently, and I didn't realize I was addicted to it until I ran out and didn't have one to take one evening....I was up all night shaking and thinking that if I only had a pill I could sleep......so I stopped cold turkey. Somewhere along the way I read about benzos helping in the short term, but making vertigo worse in the long run. My new doctor confirmed this.

That said, I wouldn't hesitate to pop one if I were spinning big time, but luckily for me I have only had 2 huge spin attacks since November. I will say that the Cocculus Comp stuff that John of Ohio recommends works well for me on those days when I just feel "carsick."

The fear of having an attack is pretty anxiety provoking, though, that is the truth!

God help us all.

 

I too believe the benzo's can be addicitive and many are.. I wish I could say with certainty that the Valium is causing my brain fog problems, but before I ever even tried them I was having problems with the memory thing.. I always thought it was all the tinnitus making it hard to concentrate...Before the MM I worked in a bank and was on my game all the time, very clear headed, never searched for words etc.. So I know the MM has caused me some sort of road block with the memory.....The fullness in the ear, vertigo and dizziness all still very active... I also think the benzo's do suppress the vestibular system therefore not allowing the brain to compensate for the balance issues but when you feel so darn sick all the time and those help what is one to do?? This is a really ugly disease, I have lost much due to all of this, friendships have fallen by the way side, my independence blah, blah, blah... Still hoping and praying for a cure....
Leanne