How many more bloody kicks in the teeth???

[Spacecadet]

To cut a long story short, I have4 kids, youngest is 8 months, after the youngest I had a life threatening health scare, then delveloped ptsd as a result, then just as I was on the road to recovery I started suffering awful dizzy spells, then found out I was preg again, then lost my baby at 16 weeks on weds, then as If that isnt enough today I was daignosed with menieres desease which is an incurable inner ear desease which causes horrifying spells of rotaional vertigo which put me in bed for days on end and are completely unpredictable, and I will eventually lose my balance all together and my hearing, my life feels like its over, I cant bear to go on never knowing when I will have an acute attack and feeling chronically dizzy day in aday out, how can I be agood mother to my children?Dh will prob have pack in work to look after me, its not fair.

[Evesmama]

i used to work with someone with menieres disease, yes, he found life difficult but he did come to work and although was really down sometimes, just tried to keep on going, what im trying to say is that im sure you'll somehow manage to 'keep going' as he only had to come to work, youve got you lovely kids who im sure will help you through it as well as your dh.good luck

[beansprout]

Oh, SC, I'm so sorry for your loss and now this as well.
I know someone with menieres, and he has good days and not so good days, but he does find it manageable. That's probably no help to you at all, sorry.

I hope you can get the support you need to come to terms with all of this. xx

[ThomCat]

Oh baby girl, what can I say. I suffer from vertigo, and am having dizzy spealls at the moment, for no reason, I just take sea sickness tablets and hope they go away. Can't imagine how you must be feeling. All I can say to you is that you have to stay poitive, count your blessings and keep trying to look for the silver lining, cliched but true. You must be strong and keep your head above water. Try thinking that there are people worse off than you and life could be worse? It helps me when I feel blue and it's advice given to me by my nana. HYH. Lots of love to you and I am so sorry, TC xxxxxx

[Spacecadet]

I never know when the next attack is coming, its awful, dont see how I can live a normal life, I had an attack after coming out of hospital last week, lasted 2 days, wish I was dead right now.

[Spacecadet]

the docshave prescribed betahistine tablets and diruetics, dont know if they will help, the ayttacks are so severe that I can walk, stand, or even siyt up in bed.

[Spacecadet]

or type properly it seems

[beansprout]

SC - are you getting support (as well as medication)? Are there any organisations your GP can put you in touch with? Is that something you feel might help?

[beansprout]

What about this ?

[ThomCat]

Oi, come on, no more I wish I was dead talk from you please younf lady.
You can deal with this. It's shit and rubbish and no bloody fair, but you can cope, you will cope, life will and must go on. come on babes.

[JanH]

Oh, SC, you poor love, what a lot to bear. So sorry about you losing your baby and no, it's not fair.

I also know someone with menieres, and although he started off having acute attacks of vertigo as you describe, he functions pretty well day-to-day now. He has tinnitus and almost no hearing in one ear but manages OK with the other (always inclines his head towards the speaker if they're sitting the wrong side of him); he is Principal of a huge Higher Ed college, is always whizzing around meeting people and does fine. I hope very much you will be the same.

It sounds like a horrible condition to live with and it must be such a shock when you are first diagnosed, but it may not stay that bad. Good luck. XXX

[Jaysmum]

Spacecadet.....my dear old pop had menieres...he used a herbal remedy which helped so much when he had a bad attack....I'll phone my mom in the morning and find out what it was that he used....I just know that he said it helped and he wouldnt be able to cope with out it.

Thinking of you and sending hugs.

[Spacecadet]

thanksbeansprout i have checked out that site and added it to my favourites.

[Spacecadet]

woke this morning feeling suicidal, told my dh im leaving him, who wants a wife who cant get out of bed, he better off without me.

[Titania]

please dont say that hun. you DH and your kids need you. Isnt that what you told me?? I know things are really difficult right now. I cant wave a magic wand and make them better overnight. But you are stronger than you think. You have come this far. I know it doesn't feel as though you are very strong at the moment but believe me....you are. Time will heal. I know you will never forget baby Eve. Nobody would expect you to. Please hun, take care of yourself. Don't leave your DH. He needs you more than you think he does. And I am sure you need him. You know where I am if you need me. Probably not able to talk on the phone too well at the moment cos ds2 is having a massive screaming fit. {{{HUGS}}}

[Cadbury]

Spacecadet, I'm so sorry you are having such a shitty time. I had wondered if it might be menieres when I read about your balance problems. My dad has menieres. He was diagnosed a year ago. They told him to cut out salt and caffine in his diet as that affects the fluid levels in the inner ear making attacks more likely. Stress can also affect it.
I hope you can find a way out of this dark time. My thoughts are with you and your family. Be kind to yourself.
{{{{{{{{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

[mummytosteven]

i'm so sorry. i never realised how bad your problems with the dizziness were. i hope now you've got a proper diagnosis, and some meds that thing can improve.

you're still in shock at the moment from losing Eve, and your hormone levels will be plummeting as a final whammy making you feel even worse atm. It's no time for you to make any life changing decisions; you need to rest and heal.

you would tell anyone else; there's no way their family would be better off without him. if you continue to feel like this, you should see your GP tho.

[karenanne]

so sorry your going thro all this now spacecadet.esp the miscarrage.

my mum has menieres disease shes had it for about 15 years now,when she was first diagnosed she had it really bad ,as you have described not being able to get out of bed etc.once she had an attack whilst driving i had to grab the wheel and steer .that was scary.lol.it seemed she had bursts of it iykwim.shed had lots of attacks then none for a while.she was also prescribed travel sickness pills and they cleared it very quickily.

luckily it does seem to ease off after awhile,well in my mums case,she hasnt had an attack for along while now.i hope the same goes for you and life in general starts picking up too.

hugs to you its an awful thing to have .

[Lonelymum]

Oh Spacecadet, I am so sorry to hear about this latest development. Losing the baby would be enough for anyone for years, but to get this diagnosis on top of it must be unbearable. I don't know anything about menieres disease but I have just googled it and there seem to be a lot of support groups you could join. Also, although it says it is not curable as yet, it is treatable. You need to focus on that: there are things that can be done. So don't give up hope. Of course you feel depressed about this now - for heaven's sake, you were already depressed before you knew about this! But don't give up. There are plenty of stories here about people managing with menieres and you really should get in contact with a support group. What has your GP done about this? (the mental adjustment rather than the treatment of the physical condition I mean).

[Cadbury]

Spacecadet, if you wanted to chat to someone who has Meniere's to find out more or just to chat, cat me, I can put you in touch with someone.

[milward]

Spacecadet - I have an incurable medical condition - not the same as you - but without taking meds 2-3 times per day would have me house bound. Is there anything your doc can try for you? - can someone check the internet if you're not upto it to see what the latest info is? Keep on at your doc until something is sorted. Sending you loads of good wishes xxx

[Arabica]

Spacecadet, sorry to hear about the Menieres disease. Although I'm not saying my experience is as upsetting as yours, I can empathise as shortly before my miscarriage I was in hospital with acute asthma which, after years of being trouble-free, now seems to flare up alarmingly for no reason whatsoever.

Coming out of hospital I felt really angry and frustrated that I seemed to have no control over my fertility or my asthma, and that on top of grieving for the lost baby too.

I found it really helpful to research on the internet as much info as I could about managing asthma, I also spoke to my GP to sort out my ongoing medication to cover the gap between discharge from hospital and my hospital clinic appt and saw a homeopath. Now I feel I have gained a little control back.

I hope things get better for you soon. Sometimes people find it comforting that at least their worrying symptoms have been taken seriously and have a name and recognised course of management--is that how it feels for you?

[jabberwocky]

SC, we have a good friend who had this. She went through a really terrible year, couln't work, etc. Then she had some type of surgery. As far as I know, she hasn't had any problems since. I think they wanted to wait on the surgery to see how severe she was but then decided to go ahead with it as she was getting progressively worse.

[Dior]

Message withdrawn

[Spacecadet]

had another attack tues horrific, room span violently, i screamed for help, frightened my kids, can only just walk unadid now can hardly look at any thing, phoned gp he said stress makes it worse, thinks recent events might have triggered it, feel so frightened and alone, dd1 had to have yesterday off scholl to look after dd2 feel so pathetic and useless...and scared of the next one...2 attacks in 5 days

[pinotgrigio]

Spacecadet. You poor, poor thing. I was diagnosed with menieres when pg with DD. It's a really awful, scary thing to have, and nobody understands quite what its like do they? When you say dizzy people just don't see that you have the whole room spinning round and round, with nausea and staggering.

I started off with very bad attacks like you describe, and now, 2.5 years later I very rarely get them. I'm careful with my diet, but stopped taking the meds I was prescribed ages ago.

The only thing I can't do now is spin around (for example I can't shake my head!) or go on any rides at theme parks etc. A shame, but my god I'd rather have that than the attacks!

I know there is an option for an operation to stop the dizziness, it results in deafness in one ear, but it does stop the dizziness and would help you lead a normal life. Perhaps you could have a word with your doctor?

Also, probably hard to do for you, but try to avoid stress. It does make it worse. Have you got a hope in hell of getting a relaxing treatment like massage? Also try to cut out junk/processed food, especially salt.

Don't feel worthless - it will get better, honestly.