Tag: stress

Categories
General Information on Meniere's Disease / Syndrome Meniere's Disease Triggers & Causes

Can Meniere’s Disease be caused by Autoimmunity?

By Mike Spencer

Founder of Meniere’s Help

Researcher and author of Managing Meniere’s Disease and The Need for Balance – Dealing with the Causes of Meniere’s

Meniere’s Disease and Autoimmunity

Can Meniere’s Disease be caused by Autoimmunity? And if so what can you do about it?

In October 2014 a study paper on autoimmunity and Meniere’s was published from the University of South Florida: ‘Autoimmunity as a candidate for the epiopathogenesis of Meniere’s Disease’

The study concluded:

“The findings of this study suggest that autoimmunity could be one of the pathologic mechanisms behind Meniere’s disease. Multiple autoantibodies and antigens may be involved in the autoimmune reaction.

Specific antigens that caused immune reactions with patient’s serum in Protoarray analysis can be candidates for the diagnostic biomarkers of Meniere’s disease.

Further studies with mass screening using candidate antigen-antibody reactions are needed to identify future treatment modalities and to determine the true prevalence of autoimmune pathologic mechanisms underlying Meniere’s disease.”

For a long time autoimmunity was often overlooked as a possible cause of Meniere’s symptoms in some cases. That said, it seems in recent years there is more awareness both among treating doctors and many sufferers that this may be the case, at least in a significant number of people.

In a different study it has been claimed that 6% of patients with unilateral Meniere’s disease and 16% of patients with bilateral Meniere’s disease show signs of autoimmunity.

Are the symptoms of Meniere’s a result of an autoimmune response?

It is certainly a possibility to consider for at least some sufferers.

Have you been checked for this possibility?

If not, ask your doctor for a “Functional Immune System Evaluation” . You can present the studies linked from this blog as evidence that you need to be checked.

You may think that if only 6 – 16% of sufferers show signs of autoimmunity this doesn’t prove it is the definitive cause of your symptoms. Herein lies one of the problems in finding the causes of idiopathic conditions such as Meniere’s.

Tests and studies may focus on trying to find the causative factors when we now know without doubt that there are several root causes and it can be very different in each case. Therefore such studies will always have inconclusive results. Nevertheless these findings prove useful in creating a list of possible root causes to tackle in your own particular case.

There is no one size fits all with Meniere’s and nothing is written in stone, but with knowledge and a process of elimination you can find your cause or causes and deal with them. Autoimmune factors should be on your list of possibilities to consider.

This may well lead you to other factors that are causing autoimmunity and therefore the symptoms of Meniere’s. These causes may seem to have no obvious link to Meniere’s unless you are aware of how everything is connected and how the knock on effect can mean the resulting symptoms may, at first glance, seem far removed from the initial problem.

What causes autoimmunity in Meniere’s sufferers?

Autoimmune diseases refer to problems with the acquired immune system’s reactions. In an autoimmune reaction, antibodies and immune cells target the body’s own healthy tissues by mistake and attack them. This is part of the reason irregular T-cell activity is also a suspected cause. In both cases, this has to be a result of something else triggering this response, something else at root cause making the immune system act in such a way.

When unwelcome material or an ‘intruder’ invades your body your immune system protects you. It tries to identify, kill and eliminate these unwelcome invaders . But sometimes problems with your immune system cause it to mistake your body’s own healthy cells as invaders and then repeatedly attacks them. This is called an autoimmune disease. (‘Autoimmune’ literally means immunity against the self.)

The classic sign of an autoimmune disease is inflammation or swelling. How an autoimmune disease affects you depends on what part of the body is targeted. If your immune system is attacking your inner ear then the resulting swelling is causing the symptoms you feel.

For you the sufferer, it is a matter identifying the cause or causes in your individual case and correcting it or eliminating it from your life. (see below). It is generally accepted that it is unknown what causes autoimmune diseases.

In most cases, a combination of factors is probably at work. For example, you might have a genetic predisposition to develop a disease and then, under the right conditions, an outside invader like a virus might trigger it. Below you will read how the gut is the vital link to all of this and what you can do to correct it.

Regardless, you can re-balance your immune system naturally by getting to the root cause of the autoimmune response that is ultimately resulting in your Meniere’s symptoms. Drugs are aimed at suppressing your immune response and this can result in all kinds of side effects and more poor health.

Medical doctor and New York best seller with her book ‘The Thyroid Connection’ Amy Myers, herself a ‘former‘ sufferer of autoimmune disease, generally agrees with the above statement. She says,

“There is a huge disconnect between what actually causes autoimmunity and how conventional medicine treats it. The first thing to understand about autoimmune diseases is that they are a disease of the immune system. No matter what part of your body is under siege, the culprit is your immune system. This means that in order to treat, prevent, and reverse autoimmune disease you’ll need to get your immune system back under control.

However, under our current medical system, autoimmune diseases are not recognized as diseases of the immune system as a whole. Instead they are treated as diseases of particular organs. If you have multiple autoimmune conditions, as many people do, you will see several different specialists, each of whom will likely prescribe a different medication. And, there is a good chance that none of these specialists will look at how to strengthen and support your immune system, which leads me to my next point.

In conventional medicine, the belief is that once you have an autoimmune condition, there’s nothing you can do to reverse it, only ways to manage the symptoms. While medications can be effective at reducing some of the symptoms of the disease, since they suppress the entire immune system.

In contrast, functional medicine sees the body as a whole and works on the principle that the health of one system impacts the health and function of the others. Instead of focusing on disease symptom management, we focus on supporting and strengthening the immune system by getting to the root of why the immune system went rogue in the first place.

I have been able to successfully help hundreds of patients lower and reverse antibodies, get off their harsh medications, and become symptom free.”

Doctor Myers believes there are 5 underlying causes of autoimmune disease. All five of which can be linked to Meniere’s disease and are written about elsewhere on this website and discussed at length in the book The Need for Balance – Dealing with Causes of Meniere’s

  1. Leaky Gut      80% of your immune system originates in the gut, and you can’t have a healthy immune system without a healthy gut.  See more on gut issues and Meniere’s disease here and here
  2. Gluten            Gluten contributes to autoimmune disease in three key ways:  it is the primary cause of leaky gut, it is highly inflammatory, meaning it stresses your immune system and the gluten protein has a similar chemical structure to some of your body’s tissues (specifically your thyroid). See more on gluten and Meniere’s from the two links above.
  3. Toxins            Toxic molds (mycotoxins) and heavy metals such as mercury are the two main toxins Dr Myers sees in those with autoimmune conditions.  You will see many articles on this blog and on the main website regarding toxins and Meniere’s. Read more on mercury and Meniere’s disease here and also in an article on thyroid and Meniere’s disease here.
  4. Infections      There are now a number of infections, including Epstein Barr, Herpes Simplex 1 and 2, E. coli, that have been linked to autoimmune diseases.
  5. Stress               Dr Myers says, “Levels of stress-related illnesses are on the rise, and stress, both of the emotional and the physical variety, has been shown to trigger and intensify autoimmune disorders. Stress disrupts immune function through several distinct pathways.  Stress is the body’s response to a threat–a wound, injury, or infection. Chronic stress (the kind we face in this day and age) leads to long term inflammation that never really shuts off, creating autoimmune disease. Once the autoimmune response is in place, immediate stress only exacerbates it.” The links between stress and Meniere’s are well known and well documented on this site and in the book ‘The Need for Balance’.

All of the above are correctable.

Having spent many years hammering the fact on this website, in emails, conversations and having written two books on the subject, that getting to the root cause or causes of Meniere’s and correcting or eliminating that cause from your life can allow you to overcome this condition completely it is nice to have such a prominent health professional singing the same tune. It is all about “root causes“.

If you’re looking to calm down an overactive immune system that continually attacks healthy body tissue, then you must address the underlying causes for cellular inflammation. Ask your doctor about tests for hidden infections like yeast, viruses or Lyme disease. Have you been checked for any food allergies and heavy metal toxicity? You may be surprised at what you find.

As mentioned above when autoimmune factors are suspected, immune suppressing drugs are usually prescribed. Apart from the fact that suppressing the immune system can obviously lead to more poor health, many come with undesirable and even dangerous side effects.

The steroid Prednisone is often used in treating Meniere’s disease.

The possible known side effects of this drug is too extensive to list in this article. But among them are: dizziness, nausea, vomiting, headache and pounding in the ears. All of which would be totally counter to what the Meniere’s patient would want. A decrease in urine, another side effect, would also be the opposite of what the Meniere’s patient needs.

Other listed possible side effects of Prednisone that could be directly damaging to a Meniere’s sufferer are:

  • Decreased carbohydrate and glucose tolerance
  • Increased requirements for insulin
  • Potassium loss
  • Sodium retention with resulting edema
  • Hypertriglyceridemia
  • Hypercholesterolemia
  • Adrenal insufficiency
  • Hyperthyroidism
  • Hypothyroidism
  • Allergic reactions
  • Candidiasis
  • Sensory disturbance
  • Anxiety

Prednisone is also what is known as a glucocorticoid because of the effects on glucose metabolism.  Glucocorticoids  can cause increases in blood glucose. Long term use of these steroids can result in type 2 diabetes. See more on Meniere’s and diabetes here.

Dr Myers talks about leaky gut being one of the main root causes of autoimmune disease. In this scenario, there is inflammation of the lining of the gut. This leads to a malabsorption of nutrients such as zinc, Vitamin B12, iron and magnesium. The immune system is triggered into a response. This can lead to gastrointestinal issues and many food intolerances and then autoimmune disease.

In this scenario things like gluten, bad bacteria, undigested food particles and toxic waste can  leak from the inside of your intestinal wall into your bloodstream causing an immune reaction.

If this were to ultimately lead to Meniere’s symptoms then it could be said that the cause would be the inflammation within the gut. But beyond that, the inflammation in the gut has a root cause and that could be stress, toxins, drugs, pathogens or other organ malfunction.

The  most common causes of leaky gut are thought to be poor diet, chronic stress, toxic overload and bacterial imbalance. All of which can be linked to Meniere’s disease.

To heal a leaky gut you would need to remove foods from your diet that damage the gut, replace them with healing foods and rebalance your gut bacteria with probiotics.

What to do about it

The immune system needs to be balanced and functioning as it should for you to be healthy and for it to deal with inflammation within your ear or anywhere else in your body. Detoxing, eating the correct food and supplementing with the appropriate quality supplements can strengthen and balance your immune system so it functions properly.

You may want to get your thyroid and endocrine system  checked. These are two factors that are also often overlooked. Toxins in foods, drinks, beauty and skin care products and the environment are often major endocrine disruptors and estrogen mimickers that can play havoc with the body’s hormone system thus leading to dysfunctions and resulting in an autoimmune response.

Iodine deficiency is also a chronic problem according to many studies. All of these problems can have a knock on effect, weaken and cause imbalances in the immune system as a whole.

In May 2017 the WHO reported that, “Iodine deficiency is the world’s most prevalent, yet easily preventable, cause of brain damage. Universal salt iodization – the practice of adding iodine to salt – is the most cost effective way to tackle iodine deficiency disorders.”

There was a time when this iodine deficiency was recognized and iodine was added to table salt. Somewhere along the line iodine was inexplicably removed in the USA.

In countries such as Japan where iodine is plentiful naturally in the diet, they have much healthier citizens that enjoy the highest levels of longevity .

Iodine can be found in seaweed such as nori and kelp, pure natural unprocessed sea salt and in season, fresh organic cranberries. Supplementing with the purest form of Nascent Iodine has proved very beneficial to immune system function and overall health.

Autoimmunity is only one of several possible causes for you to get checked for and as stated above, can be a result in itself of a different root cause.

Among others, amalgam fillings that are leaking mercury into your body, TMJs, neck and spinal misaligments and metabolic problems are all things you should investigate and check off your list of possible causes.

All are fixable.

Just like Meniere’s itself, autoimmunity is another ‘health’ condition generally believed to have no known cause and no known cure. However, as you have read above this is not the case. Despite the fact that mainstream medicine is usually of this ‘opinion’, it is simply a case of awareness. The more you are aware, the more you know, the easier it becomes to seek out the right medical professionals and make the right lifestyle choices.

The book ‘Managing Meniere’s Disease – How to Live Symptom Free’ gives comprehensive details on how to suppress the symptoms through nutrition and allow your immune system to function as it should, how to avoid triggers and other factors that may be contributing to your condition. The Need for Balance – Dealing with the Cause of Meniere’s is a much more in depth look at all the possible root causes, how to identify them and eliminate them from your life, giving you the opportunity to overcome Meniere’s completely.

It is a message we repeat ad nauseam on Menieres Help: “It can be done, has been done by thousands  and is being done all time.”  Unfortunately, it may take a quantum shift in attitudes towards Meniere’s among many treating health professionals and patients alike before we see overcoming Meniere’s as the norm. For now I will have to keep hammering away and making baby steps with the undeniable truth, and that is: You CAN overcome Meniere’s and get your life back.

If you found this article useful Click here to support Meniere’s Help paypal.me/menieres

Related articles:

Hypoglycemia and Meniere’s disease
Meniere’s Disease and Thyroid Dysfunction
Meniere’s Disease – Amalgam and Mercury

Help other Meniere’s sufferers. Have you been told your Meniere’s is due to autoimmune disorder?  email Mike at meniereshelp@gmail.com or tell us all about it in the comment boxes below

References/Further reading:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28784462/

Categories
Meniere's Disease Triggers & Causes Meniere's Disease Success Stories

Meniere’s Disease and Anxiety

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

Click here to learn more about Panic Away

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.

If you found this article useful Click here to support Meniere’s Help paypal.me/menieres

Related articles:

Stress and Meniere’s Disease – Symptom or Cause?
Stress And Meniere’s Disease

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

References/Further reading:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30110010/

Categories
General Information on Meniere's Disease / Syndrome Meniere's Disease Triggers & Causes

Stress And Meniere’s Disease

Stress And Meniere’s Disease -New Study

Does stress trigger Meniere’s symptoms? New study

According to ClinicalTrials.gov a new set of trials are set to begin at Osaka University, related to stress and Meniere’s Disease.

One important aspect of this is that, while many doctors in the west may dismiss stress as a major factor the researchers in Osaka had this to say,

“Attacks in Meniere’s disease, characterized by vertigo and hearing loss, are well known to occur repeatedly under stressed environment.

Hitherto, its pathology was revealed to be inner ear hydrops through human temporal bone studies in 1938″

Stress And Meniere’s Disease – The Vicious Cycle

A 2013 study published in Acta Otolarygol, ‘Psychological condition in patients with intractable Meniere’s disease’ states:

“Physicians should consider additional treatment strategies for Meniere’s disease patients with a long history of disease and hearing loss in the secondary affected ear and also provide psychological support regarding future progressive bilateral hearing loss.”

This conclusion was based on the following:

“Between 1998 and 2009, we enrolled 207 patients with intractable Meniere’s disease in this prospective study. We used the Cornell Medical Index and the Self-rating Depression Scale to evaluate their psychological condition.

We also obtained demographic and background information relating to sex, age, duration of disease, vertigo frequency, hearing level in bilateral sides, and plasma vasopressin level.”

Vasopressin is stress hormone that was was initially viewed as strictly a beneficial hormone to help prevent water loss.  It is also referred to as ADH, meaning ‘anti- diuretic hormone’.

This means when stress produces this hormone fluid is being retained. The most common medicine to given to Meniere’s patients is a diuretic. This is meant help reduce the fluid in the inner ear causing Meniere’s.

Vasopressin is a very damaging hormone to the body. It has been implicated as a mediator of renal injury, and acute effects including glomerular hyperfiltration and albuminuria.

Side effects of producing vasopressin include:

  • slow heartbeat
  • dizziness
  • headache
  • nausea
  • vomiting

Poor blood flow has been linked to Meniere’s disease. The vicious cycle of stress = Meniere’s = stress = Meniere’s is well known. If you have Meniere’s disease, there will be accompanying high stress and anxiety and in turn this will produce more Meniere’s symptoms.

Dizziness, headaches, nausea and vomiting with vertigo are all symptoms of Meniere’s.

Fight or flight fear literally turns the immune system off. A constant drip feeding of fear then, must impair the immune system constantly.

Stress, anxiety, fear and anger are extremely detrimental to human cellular health. The body has to be constantly in a state of building, regeneration on cells. Stress hormone impairs that process and can result in disease states developing.

This is why people who are calm, happy, meditate often are usually much healthier than constantly stressed or angry people.

It would seem stress can be both a contributing trigger and perhaps a root cause of Meniere’s disease.

The results of the above mentioned study were:

“Neurosis and depression was diagnosed in 40.1% and 60.4%, respectively, of patients with intractable Meniere’s disease.

Our results showed that surgical treatment significantly improved vertigo and hearing ability in patients with no psychological symptoms compared with those exhibiting psychological symptoms.

Patients with a longer duration and worse hearing level in the secondary affected ear had a significantly higher incidence of mental illness than those with a shorter duration and better level of hearing.”

If you found this article and site useful Click here to support Meniere’s Help paypal.me/menieres

Related articles:

Stress and Meniere’s Disease – Symptom or Cause?
Food Allergies and Meniere’s Disease
Meniere’s Disease and Anxiety

Click here to read Managing Meniere’s Disease

Click here to read The Need for Balance – Dealing with the Causes of Meniere’s

Do you suffer from stress and Meniere’s disease ? Use the comment box below or email Mike at meniereshelp@gmail.com

References/Further reading: Psychological condition in patients with intractable Meniere’s disease

Categories
General Information on Meniere's Disease / Syndrome Meniere's Disease Triggers & Causes

Meniere’s Disease And Allergies

Meniere’s Disease And Airborne Allergies

It is Spring in the northern hemisphere and in many countries hay fever and allergens in the air, pollen from trees and flowers, grasses etc will be causing havoc for people with Meniere’s disease.

Meniere’s disease and allergies in the spring and the autumn/fall to a less extent ho hand in hand. Airborne allergies are a very common trigger and symptoms increase for many sufferers at these times.

Click here to read a more in depth article on how to prevent an increase in symptoms during allergy seasons.

If you have Meniere’s disease the pollen may get clogged up in your sinuses and cause dizziness and vertigo.  This can happen even if you do not directly suffer from hay fever or pollen allergy.

Every year the number of people contacting  Menieres-Help.Com increases significantly around this time of year.

Many sufferers of Meniere’s disease don’t need a doctor or studies to tell them allergies increase pressure and tinnitus and result in increased dizziness and other symptoms. 

They can feel it every season. However there are many studies confirming this. To quote the conclusion of  the 2015 study on the NIH, The link between Allergy and Meniere’s disease:

“MD, although described greater than 150 years ago, is still considered an idiopathic disease. Continued research is needed to further understand the etiology to assist in treatment.

An association between allergy and MD has been shown in cross-sectional and observational studies while animal studies have shown evidence of allergic activity within the inner ear.

Further studies are needed to demonstrate this association via well-designed randomized trials with inclusion of potential confounders. However, given the low risk to patients, inclusion of allergy avoidance and immunotherapy should be considered as part of the treatment plan to help patients control MD symptoms”

Meniere’s Disease And Allergies – Prevention

Prevention is always better than the cure as they say. When you know what your triggers are then why not take steps to avoid this triggers. 

You could wear a dust mask during this season, steam your sinuses regularly. You can also make sure you take great care in other areas of your life that could increase the chances of Meniere’s attacks such as diet, stress and lifestyle (smoking, drinking etc).

There are always triggers in foods, drinks,  the environment, your lifestyle etc . The more you are exposed to the more this will compound your symptoms. Reducing the chances of triggering an increase in symptoms as much as you can would seem prudent.

Steaming with pure clean steam, (not saline solutions), regularly during the allergy season and/or if you work in dusty/polluted environments can help a great deal in keeping symptoms at bay.

Cleaning your sinuses this way keeps them moist. Medications can dry up the sinuses and prevent them from doing their job. The symptoms of allergies are uncomfortable, but the sinuses are doing their job.

The sinuses, along with the tonsils are the first line of defense in your immune system and they should not be prevented from working.

Steaming is a safer and effective way to clean them.

If you found this article and site useful Click here to support Meniere’s Help paypal.me/menieres

Related articles:

Stopping Meniere’s Symptoms During Allergy Season
Toxic Mold and Meniere’s
Food Allergies and Meniere’s Disease

Help other sufferers. Do you experience problems with Meniere’s disease and allergies ? Tell us all about it in the comments box below or email Mike at meniereshelp@gmail

Click here to  read Managing Meniere’s disease 

Click here to read The Need for Balance – Dealing with the Causes of Meniere’s

Further reading:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4549154/

Categories
Learn from my bad Meniere's experience

Don’t Take Meniere’s Disease For Granted

This post has now been integrated into Mike’s Meniere’s Story.

In this part of my story I talk about the connections with Meniere’s and sodium, alcohol, stress, vertigo, brain fog and exhaustion.

These are all things familiar to people who suffer with Menieres disease. Don’t take Meniere’s for granted relates to the fact there are many things that can help, there are many things that can make your condition worse and there can be periods where the symptoms disappear, only to reappear later.

The key is to know what influences your symptoms negatively and positively.

It is also important to not take for granted the fact that you have an incurable disease and nothing more can be done. This is the biggest misperception regarding Meniere’s.

You absolutely CAN learn how to successfully manage the horrendous symptoms of this condition and you can live a normal healthy life again.

Email us with your experiences with Meniere’s at meniereshelp@gmail.com

Low Salt Diet for Meniere’s Disease

Stress and Meniere’s Disease – Symptom or Cause?
Exit mobile version