I don’t have many close friends that suffer from Meniere’s disease. When I hear of one of my acquaintances getting diagnosed with Meniere’s, my heart sinks. I hope that their first year with the disease is nothing like mine.
I was diagnosed with Meniere’s 23 years ago. I don’t know if the general public is more educated now but when I mentioned it back then, I was met with blank stares. I felt so alone as the only ones who seemed to know about it was my ENT and my family who got to witness it first hand. Any attempts to explain to people what I was going through was a disaster and I quickly stopped trying. I didn’t leave the house much as I never knew when the next time “it” was going to hit. It was an awful, awful experience that I don’t wish on anyone. All I could think of at that time was that I could not go on living like that.
If you are brand new to this site and have been recently been diagnosed with Meniere’s, let me point out a few things
- There is hope. Many people including myself have figured out how to manage this and lead normal productive lives.
- Learning how to manage Meniere’s is possible but not always easy. You may need to go through several doctors and try many things to figure out what your triggers are. You may need to try alternative treatments or things that don’t always make sense to you.
- Meniere’s seems to affect everyone a little differently. I personally think that Meniere’s disease is an umbrella term to cover many inner ear disorders that doctors do not understand. Because of that, what works well for one individual, may or may not work well for others. Back when doctors determined that scurvy was caused by a lack of vitamin C, the cure was simple. Give all who suffer from scurvy some citrus fruit and the symptoms went away. Meniere’s disease is no where near that simple.
- You will need to become you own best doctor. Treat doctors as tools you can use to help you get better but understand that there is no one on earth as motivated at getting you better than yourself. Take full responsibility for your own health.
To all my Meniere’s friends, if you do not already have this condition under control, I hope that 2017 is the year you conquer this beast. I wish you the best.
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