Meniere’s Disease and Anxiety
Posted Under: Meniere's Disease Triggers & Causes,Meniere's Disease Success Stories
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Meniere’s disease, anxiety and panic attacks
With many sufferers, Meniere’s and anxiety go hand in hand. The sheer stress of constant symptoms and the worry that vertigo attacks can strike unexpectedly is enough to bring anyone down to lows they had never experienced before pre-Meniere’s. But if you already suffered from clinical anxiety and you now have Meniere’s it can be a different story. It becomes a chicken and egg scenario and can be too much to take.
If you suffer from both Meniere’s disease and anxiety then you will want to read Sarah’s story below. The links to Meniere’s and stress are perhaps underscored in her story and it is always nice to hear success stories like this to give sufferers hope.
Also see below Sarah’s story the connection between anxiety disorders and gut health, which can be a very important though often overlooked factor.
Sarah’s success story with Meniere’s disease and anxiety
Why My Story Will Shock You…And How After What Seemed To Be An Endless 3 Year Battle, I Eventually Rid Myself Of Anxiety And Panic Attacks Within Days. Soon afterwards my Meniere’s was a thing of the past too.
I am now healthy again and have my life back.
If you’re thinking about using outdated anxiety techniques like deep breathing, supplements, drugs, or any other product to get rid of anxiety, I’m extremely relieved that you’ve found my story because not only will my story shock you, it’ll almost certainly save your health, your money as well as a lot of time and heartache.
I suffered from anxiety disorder and I had the added horror of suffering from Meniere’s disease. The Meniere’s I did mostly control with supplements and diet but it wasn’t until I rid myself of my problems with anxiety that I fully recovered from that too. The anxiety and Meniere’s became a vicious circle and it was impossible to know which was causing which. I thought I would go over the edge crazy with it all. Perhaps I did at times.
Below I will tell you exactly why over a 3 year period I tried but was forced to give up with Paxil, Seredyn and a range of other products and programs……and how I finally managed to get rid of my anxiety and panic attacks completely with a unique program called ‘Panic Away’. It was so simple in the end it is hard to believe it be honest.
My Name is Sarah Martin and like so many other people who suffer from panic attacks and general anxiety, I spent so much time and money desperately trying to find a cure.
Until 3 years ago I’d never had any emotional problems at all. I had always felt I was a pretty easy going balanced person who didn’t really fret over anything. Suddenly a few years ago my husband’s business started to have problems and our income dropped dramatically. I wouldn’t have minded but we had recently bought a house and the loan was just a little more than we could really afford.
My own job started to become increasingly stressful and my whole lifestyle was altered. I was sleeping a lot less and my diet became quite poor, which was very unlike me.
I Started To Feel A Shocking Sense Of Anxiety
My self confidence and confidence in my home situation both began to slip away, and things that had never bothered me before would eat away at me and I started to struggle continuously with anxious thoughts. I couldn’t believe these minor things could have such an effect on me. But even so, I still didn’t really feel I had problems. I still felt generally healthy and always liked to keep fit.
Then It Really Hit Me
My first panic attack really shocked and scared me. I had just gone to bed. I was very tired but couldn’t sleep. I suddenly felt shaky, nauseous and dizzy. I started to physically panic. My heart was beating out of my chest and I couldn’t breathe properly, my throat felt swollen and thought I was going to die. I know it sounds crazy but I really thought I was going to pass out and die. I shook my husband trying to scream but my voice had no power and I started sobbing. He woke up and hugged me and calmed me down. I couldn’t believe what had just happened to me and thought I was really starting to lose my mind.
I started having anxiety attacks like this at the strangest of times and would panic over the slightest little thing. I couldn’t find the sugar or remember someone’s telephone number. I just couldn’t understand what was wrong with me. But I knew I had to get some help and soon. The final straw was not being able to face the idea of looking after my sister’s little daughter, who I absolutely adore.
Soon the first symptoms of Meniere’s appeared, tinnitus and and blocked ear. That is another long story altogether though. I honestly feel this was brought on by the anxiety.
I found it hard to go and see my doctor and felt embarrassed to talk to him about what was happening to me. He said I had “general anxiety disorder” and was suffering from “panic attacks”. Well I think I could have told him the latter.
I Tried Paxil But Had To Stop
The doctor told me if I took Paxil I would probably be okay within 3 weeks. I was very apprehensive about taking an anti-depressant and felt ashamed about it. I was right to feel apprehensive. It didn’t agree with me at all. I began to feel like a zombie. I had always loved exercise and had a “healthy appetite”, I loved cooking and loved eating even more. On Paxil, I felt so weak I could hardly be bothered to get out of bed, let alone get up for my morning jog, forget that. I had no appetite at all and to top this I would break out in sweats and would shake all the time. I had other side effects that I am too embarrassed to even mention and my love life suffered greatly.
I was a totally different person, and my husband was so worried he begged me to come off the Paxil and try something else. I was scared and insisted we wait at least three months. After two months I realized I had to give up on this and try something else. It was not easy coming off it though, so be warned.
Then I Tried Zoloft And Suffered Added Side Effects
I only lasted a month on Zoloft. I suffered more embarrassing female problems and still felt drained all the time, would break out in sweats and had the added problem of feeling more dizzy than before with Meniere’s and my joints would ache all the time, sometimes swelling up. Sometimes I had this really strange feeling, as though electric shocks were shooting through my body. I know it sounds odd, but it is the only way I can explain it. With the help of my husband I quickly got off the these drugs. It wasn’t easy though. Again I felt scared. After quitting I felt like I had a horrible Flu and my body ached. And my Meniere’s was getting worse and worse.
I Tried Seredyn And Failed
After my experiences with Paxil and Zoloft I wanted to get away from the idea of drugs. I found information on the internet about a supplement called Seredyn. It is supposed to be natural so seemed like a much better alternative. I had a few side effects but nothing like as bad as the drugs. I still felt tired all the time and sometimes had headaches and an upset stomach. I could live with these but ultimately it didn’t really help me. I still found myself having attacks and felt pretty anxious all the time. It didn’t help being anxious about about a vertigo attack striking any moment. Ironically while my condition was getting worse, my original worries, financial worries, were getting better! My husband’s business picked up again and my own workload decreased to a sensible level again. You’d think the anxiety and panic attacks would go away with this but it didn’t. I just couldn’t understand it.
I started getting all kinds of health problems and the horrors of Meniere’s disease could fill a book. In fact I am thinking of writing one.
Finally I Tried Therapy But It Just Didn’t Help
Finally I tried a “therapist”, who was suggested to me by a friend. Her “talk therapy” sessions and deep breathing were of absolutely no help at all. She was a very nice lady but unfortunately she couldn’t help me. This was all starting to get me seriously depressed.
Eventually, I Found Something That Worked
Having spent so much time, money and energy desperately trying to succeed with pills, supplements and therapy that ultimately had very little effect except make me feel worse in other ways was a big regret and made me very pessimistic and negative. This negativity only made my Meniere’s worse I am sure. However the next thing I tried was called Panic Away and to my surprise it actually worked.
I had read a little about it before while searching on the internet, but because of my recent experiences, despite all the apparent credibility in the media, I thought it sounded a little dubious. After reading some extremely complimentary reviews though, and learning that the cost was minimal compared to everything else I had tried, I decided to give it a go.
Here’s Why I Recommend It
The reason why I recommend Panic Away is because I followed their instructions for a matter of days and the results were almost unbelievable. The happy go lucky Sarah everyone knew before is back 🙂
Although it did take a little longer for me to feel better than it says on the web site. I did manage to completely rid myself of anxiety and feel better in a few days, which if you suffer like I did, I am sure you’ll agree is pretty astonishing. I am now at a stage where my confidence has fully returned and I can go about my day happily and go to bed without the fear of another panic attack and I no longer have Meniere’s symptoms. I wake up happy and feeling positive and I am back in the gym and running again in the mornings, something I wouldn’t have thought possible just short time ago. And best of all I get to spend quality time with my niece again.
In my opinion, this was safer, easier and far far more effective than the other products I tried. I guess everyone is different but it worked wonders for me. The best part for me is that it is so simple, quick and effective and they even give you other really helpful advice, for example on what to eat and what not to eat with this condition. The exercises are so simple and easy and you don’t even have to order any special pills or drugs from a website or anything like that.
Anyway, I hope you have found this information useful, whatever your situation because if I had known about Panic Away 3 years ago I could have rid myself of the horrible anxiety I was feeling and the panic attacks long ago and without wasting so much of my time and money on these other things I tried.
When Mike Spencer from Meniere’s Help asked me if he could use my story to help others I was very eager to get writing and help.
I read through a lot of the Meniere’s Help website and read Mike’s amazing book, The Need for Balance and I have to say that helped me recover from Meniere’s. It also made me understand the very real links between stress, anxiety and Meniere’s. I wouldn’t want anyone to suffer with Meniere’s or Anxiety disorder like I did. I thought my life was over. But I want you to know you really can get over it. Look at me, here I am now back to the old happy go lucky me. I hope my short story helps others the way other people’s stories helped me find my way.
I wish you every success and happiness.
Sarah
The important connections of gut health and anxiety
The origins of depression and anxiety can often be traced to gut health, or rather the lack of it. Considering gut health has also been linked to Meniere’s disease in at least some people, understanding this and knowing how to keep your gut healthy must be an important factor in keeping both anxiety and Meniere’s out of your life.
As far back as the 1900’s scientists and health professionals emphasized the relationship between gastrointestinal health and mental health. At some point in the following three decades this opinion was flipped upside down and it was thought that mental health influenced gut health.
However, interest and knowledge of the importance of gut health is now at an all time high. The understanding of gut bacteria has increased greatly in recent times. Studies and exploration into gut health has revealed that gut bacteria imbalances are related to mood and behavior issues.
Diet, environment and the state of the immune system are all influential in gut health and therefore mental health and indirectly the health of the ear.
Dr Group of the global healing center explains how the gut is connected to the brain:
“The gut is connected to the brain via the vagus nerve, the enteric nervous system, and the gut-brain axis. The vagus nerve extends from the brain stem down into the neck, thorax, and abdomen. The nerve exits the brain stem through rootlets in the medulla that are caudal to the rootlets for the ninth cranial nerve. The vagus nerve supplies motor parasympathetic fibers to all organs except adrenal glands, all the way from the neck down to the second segment of the transverse colon. It helps regulate heart rate, speech, sweating, and various gastrointestinal functions.
The enteric nervous system connects with the central nervous system. It contains 200-600 million neurons. Local and centrally projecting sensory neurons in the gut wall monitor mechanical conditions in the gut wall. Local circuit neurons, on the other hand, integrate this information. This enables motor neurons to influence the activity of the smooth muscles in the gut wall and glandular secretions such as digestive enzymes, mucus, stomach acid, and bile.
The enteric nervous system has been referred to as a “second brain” because of its ability to operate autonomously and communicate with the central nervous system through the parasympathetic (i.e., via the vagus nerve) and sympathetic nervous systems.
Finally, the gut-brain axis consists of bidirectional communication between the central and the enteric nervous system, linking emotional and cognitive centers of the brain with peripheral intestinal functions. There is strong evidence from animal studies that gut microorganisms can activate the vagus nerve and play a critical role in mediating effects on the brain and behavior.”
Research has shown the gut microbiota influences brain chemistry and behavior. For example, people who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and the associated cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, gas, diarrhea, and constipation, commonly suffer from depression and anxiety as well.
How to help or Restore Your Gut Flora
A healthy diet is one way to encourage a healthy gastrointestinal tract. Base your diet on fruits and vegetables. Add fermented foods, such as kefir and yogurt, to your diet for a good, natural source of probiotics.
If you don’t consume probiotic foods, consider taking a high-strain probiotic supplement.
Ashwagandha for anxiety
The stress hormone cortisol constricts blood vessels and affects blood flow. Impaired blood flow has been connected to the symptoms of Meniere’s disease. The human body is wired so that ‘fight or flight’ stress both shuts down the immune system and send the blood to the legs and arms.
Normally the body is in a constant state of cell regeneration but in times of extreme stress, anxiety and fear the energy is sent to the limbs in order for the escape danger. The energy is taken from regeneration mode to fight or flight mode. This is a mechanism hard wired into us over millions of years of evolution.
In today’s world we have constant drip feeding of stress and anxiety and often this drip feeding turns into a gushing river. This constant state of fear and anxiety is making for a very sick population.
Studies have shown that ashwagandha extract is able to lower levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, in people with chronic stress. The herb also eases self-reported anxiety, depression, and stress.
Clinical studies have shown ashwagandha to be very helpful to calm anxiety.
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By Mike Spencer
Founder of Meniere’s Help – Supporting sufferers since 2004
Researcher and writer of Managing Meniere’s Disease and The Need for Balance – Dealing with the Causes of Meniere’s
Help other Meniere’s Sufferers: What are your experiences with Meniere’s and anxiety, depression or stress. Tell us all about it using the comments boxes below or email Mike at meniereshelp@gmail.com
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