As you know, I answer all emails and phone calls. Incidentally, if you didn’t receive a return call, it meant the information (email address or phone number) I received may not have been correct and I did not have an alternative way to contact you.
In the next few articles, I want to share with you how I work with website requests and emails.
I’ll share some “stories”. You won’t be able to identify the author, BUT as you read these snippets of information, it’s far easier to look at your own situation.
Please understand that everyone who writes has been told that:
- They have a disease
- For which there is no hope
- For which there is no cure
- They have to live with this the rest of their lives
However, their strong inner conviction helps them to look further. (I have received many calls from the parking lot of a specialist’s office! I suspect the information they were given wasn’t to their liking.)
My goal is to encourage you to look past such a fatalistic diagnosis of Meniere’s Disease. Once you can catch a glimpse of a possible different future, who knows what is in store for you. At least you already know of one person who got better. Why not you?
So let’s explore one email request in this issue.
As I read each note, I am always looking for clues. The original question often dictates what I am looking for.
- Do they have balance and hearing symptoms together all the time? Or one by itself (they rarely show up at precisely the same time.)
- Is there some kind of time frame? Many people think just because they had symptoms 3 years ago, they still had this “disease”. If you have found your cause and fixed it, you are done. Good job!
- How long do the episodes last? My thinking is that if it’s a quick bit of dizziness, the cause isn’t a huge concern. However, if the symptoms, especially the vomiting or vertigo continue, then the cause really needs to be found and fixed. If I have a phone number, I call to see if I can help.
- What kind of symptoms do they have currently?
- What testing results have they had?
- What is their reaction is to the final diagnosis? Depressed or willing to do more research? Some people simply want to vent their frustrations.
- What have they done in the past to help themselves?
- Is there a cycle when symptoms show up?
- Any vomiting? This is a very important point.
You see, a “final Meniere’s disease” diagnosis from a medical professional tells me 2 things:
- There is no pathology (nothing physically wrong) and
- They can’t see a medical cause for the symptoms.
Through their training, doctors have learned to combine the balance and hearing symptoms into one “bundle”. And that “bundle” of symptoms has its own treatment protocol. Now the doctor can prescribe some drugs (most likely an antihistamine and a diuretic) and they tell you to eat a low salt diet. Sounds familiar? It is the global protocol. Try to keep in mind that you go to a doctor to get a treatment to get rid of the symptoms…
But maybe you can get rid of the symptoms by looking at all this differently. If you have read any of my previous articles, you will realize that I like to look for the underlying cause of the symptoms and leave doctors to prescribe the treatment. After all, nothing happens in our bodies without a cause. So it makes perfect sense to me to look for the cause to end all the symptoms. Keep in mind I am a retired nurse, so science is the basis of my thinking. But here I am showing you how to look at the symptoms without any medical knowledge.
Let’s see what we can do to look at this Meniere’s disease request to from a different perspective.
A reader’s email:
“I just started getting these episodes of ear clogging and spinning dizziness in the last few days. I have had 4 episodes in the last 2 days each lasting 15 to 20 minutes. I started to use a mask, due to the current global situation, 2 months ago. I went to the hospital and did a CT scan and. blood work. All came negative. Now I’ve been referred to an ENT doctor. Could this Sudden onset be related to my wearing a mask? I look forward to your reply.”
My thinking for this note: (bolded words are mine.)
Basically, she wanted to know if her mask wearing of the past 2 months, could cause her balance or ear clogging happening in the last 2 days.
Wisely, she already had practical testing done which were all negative.
So now explore …..:
1) She has been wearing a mask for 2 months with no known negative effects. To be clear, what could be in a mask that could cause these symptoms? I know that there are health questions about mask wearing. But she had only been wearing one for 2 months, not long enough to really cause residual problems. If she had any sort of respiratory condition, I would assume she had that already looked after. So we will look at this this is simply as a new condition.
Let’s not complicate things.
But…
2) Then she had unpleasant symptoms in the last 2 days from “something” in the form of dizziness and ear clogging. To me, it is obvious that she has been using/doing “something unusual” or abnormal for her body to give her these symptoms, but only in the last 2/few days. So I doubt it has anything to do with any mask issue UNLESS she has a very different type of mask, not the usual paper one. it as a question I asked her.
So let’s explore this from a layman’s perspective. What could her body be reacting to, because it is? I suspect her body is reacting or trying to get rid of a yet unknown irritant
- …something she has been putting into or onto it in the last “few” days
- …something the body’s protective mechanism is sensing might be harmful to her.
Most of the time, when your body reacts this way, it’s more serious than just the odd bit of sniffling or dizziness. Ear clogging and spinning dizziness are much stronger body reactions: so it’s important to find the cause and fix it. But does one come before the other?
To do this research, she needs to see what she has been putting INTO or ONTO her body over these last few days. It might go back a bit further than 2 days, but not far off. Scientifically, your body‘s job is to keep you healthy and safe all the time. So it will “notify” you right away if you are doing something to upset that job.
Your immune system is your personal health watchdog. That is why you need a strong immune system.
So what could a “cause” be?
Anything.
BUT it will be something she doesn’t do “normally. Otherwise she would be reacting each time “this” shows up: I guarantee it will be looked into quickly. So it shouldn’t be too difficult to search for something she did that she normally doesn’t do. I hope you follow me.
To get started, I always get people to make lists. People are so happy to have something practical to do! Its’ the uncertainty that gets to them.
I can’t do it for them, but I can get them started making a list of EVERYTHING they put:
- ONTO their bodies: from the top of their head to the bottom of their feet. It could include shampoo, conditioner, eye drops, facial products. etc. And then they need to make another list of what they put
- INTO their bodies. That would include drugs, drinks, foods, herbal products, etc.
Here I often run into foods…and the salt issue.
I think everyone has been programmed to think you need to eat a special diet and AVOID SALT…that salt is bad.
- Salt is GOOD!
- Salt is an electrolyte.
- Your body NEEDS salt.
If you would like more information on salt and how vital it is to your health, please let me know.
A low salt diet “encourages” low blood pressure and low blood pressure causes dizziness and vertigo, amongst other things. Your entire body need blood flowing through it at a decent level…like 120/80.
It’s harder to make the list of what you put into your body than one for outside, because you keep coming back to foods.
I encourage you to take a different route. Accept the fact you eat the same way MOST of the time even when you had no symptoms. People are smart. When you are sick, very few people eat junk food. Often, they don’t eat enough.
All this list making takes a bit of time because most people feel they never change their routine until I ask them about a specific recent meal. I often have a hard time convincing some people something different showed up in their body to cause this incident.
Sadly, some other people can’t be bothered to do this bit of research. but I can tell many, many stories where someone successfully found their underlying cause. It is so exciting! I think I am more excited than they are! I just know what it means and what it can lead to.
So look at your own symptoms and see how they compare. No one has the same situation as anyone else. Yes, there are general things, but nothing can be identical simply because everyone’s body is unique: how you live and what you feed it. Incidentally, what you feed it is the only way you can get nutrients into it to keep it alive.
This article is to show you how to look at your own symptoms with a positive expectation that you can find the underlying cause. These are the things you can look for.
Please:
- stop thinking you have a disease
- start thinking what could be causing your vertigo or dizziness or hearing fluctuation.
Let me know if you would like a (free) copy of my Study Guide to look at more ideas or if you have an idea you might like to explore with my help.
Please remember that my goal is to help you realize that you do not have to live this way. But you do need to have the courage to think a little differently.
- If you would like a copy of our Meniere’s Disease Study Guide, please click here. This guide is a step by step journey exploring your symptoms and what may be causing them.
- If you would like more information on the system that David, and numerous others, have used, please click here; What Finally Worked.
- If you have any health questions or concerns, please feel free to Contact Us and we will be happy to share our knowledge and ideas with you.
Karin Henderson, Retired Nurse
(604) 463-8666 – Pacific Standard Time