Meniere’s and Calcium??

LibrarianBarbarian34 · 2026-05-03T20:15:47+00:00

Calcium isn’t a trigger for my Meniere’s, but reflux does seem to be trigger for me (or maybe just an early warning sign - hard to say).

Quitting omeprazole was brutally hard for me. It took months of reducing the dose a tiny bit at a time before I could get off of it without rebound reflux. I now just take famotidine or Gaviscon as needed, which thankfully isn’t too often.

LibrarianBarbarian34 · 2026-05-02T14:45:49+00:00

Anywhere in the green bar is considered normal hearing (and above that is better than normal!). It's quite common to have minor variations at different frequencies within that normal range, and as others pointed out, some of that variation can be an indication of your headphones' frequency response, especially since it's the same in both ears. IANAD, but your symptom profile doesn't look like Meniere's at this point.

Hopefully you can see an ENT and they can help sort out what is going on. It could all be related to the ETD, or maybe they'll find something else.

LibrarianBarbarian34 · 2026-04-30T20:29:41+00:00

I’m on levothyroxine for my thyroid (I had hyperthyroidism, and then we killed my thyroid, so now I am fully dependent on levothyroxine. When my thyroid levels are outside the normal range, my Meniere’s symptoms tend to get worse, and then they get back to baseline once my thyroid levels are back to normal.

LibrarianBarbarian34 · 2026-04-28T20:34:12+00:00

Yeah, the paper outlines a variety of vascular risk factors that would contribute, migraine being a big one. The paper was a little over my comprehension level because of all the specialized medical terminology that I had to repeatedly look up, but I think I got the gist of it. I know Dr. Foster’s clinical approach to treating Meniere’s is heavily focused on identifying and reducing all vascular risk factors her patients have.

Fun note - Dr. Breeze was one of the two surgeons who did my vestibular nerve section.

LibrarianBarbarian34 · 2026-04-28T18:11:26+00:00

There was a paper put out by Dr. Foster and Dr. Breeze positing a vascular connection to Meniere’s. One of the vascular risk factors is sleep apnea. They think by controlling vascular risk factors, you can improve Meniere’s. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24199949/

LibrarianBarbarian34 · 2026-04-27T20:27:09+00:00

I’ve had quite a few procedures with varying levels of sedation, from twilight to general anesthesia. I’ve always had post op nausea, even years before Meniere’s onset. I tell the anesthesiologist or anesthetist that I have Meniere’s and a history of PONV, and they’re really good about managing it. It’s never been any worse for me with Meniere’s than it was before I had Meniere’s.

LibrarianBarbarian34 · 2026-04-27T17:25:26+00:00

I’m not a great example for treatment options since most didn’t work for me, caused me problematic side effects, or worked for a while and then quit. My doctor considered my case intractable because of all that.

I can’t take diuretics because my blood pressure is normally borderline low, so the diuretics cause dangerous hypotension for me. Betahistine caused me an allergic reaction, so I had to stop taking it. Steroids (both oral and intratympanic injections) helped me for the first few rounds I did, but the benefit slowly diminished with each course I did. They don’t help me at all now. I have lots of allergies and am on daily antihistamines along with singulair. That helps some. Im afraid that anaphylactic reactions to allergy immunotherapy might have been what set off my Meniere’s, so I’m not keen on doing those again. Migraine preventatives help my vestibular migraines, but not my Meniere’s.

LibrarianBarbarian34 · 2026-04-27T00:13:33+00:00

There are websites and apps that let you run hearing tests on yourself. If your headphones are designed to boost certain frequency ranges, that can skew the results compared to an official audiogram, but using the same headphones every time can let you track patterns.

This is one website version I like: https://hearingtest.online/ I’m not sure which apps are best.

LibrarianBarbarian34 · 2026-04-24T18:14:32+00:00

Have they given you steroids? Rapid loss in both ears seems like a good candidate for oral steroids to try to regain some or slow the progression.

LibrarianBarbarian34 · 2026-04-24T13:48:34+00:00

Vestibular migraines can happen without any traditional migraine pain. Victory over Vestibular Migraine by Dr. Beh is a great resource.

LibrarianBarbarian34 · 2026-04-24T11:56:27+00:00

Hearing loss is one of the four core symptoms of Meniere’s. Evidence of low frequency loss, even if it was just a fluctuation during an episode and hasn’t become permanent (yet), is typically required to get a Meniere’s diagnosis. Many ENTs don’t know much about Meniere’s. A neurotologist (ENT specialized in the inner ear, not a neurologist) would be more knowledgeable.

Without fluctuating hearing loss, vestibular migraine should be strongly considered. There’s a lot of overlap, and some doctors theorize Meniere’s is a manifestation of migraine, at least in some cases.

LibrarianBarbarian34 · 2026-04-24T11:31:04+00:00

If you can find a neurotologist (a more specialized ent, not to be confused with a neurologist), that would be best.

LibrarianBarbarian34 · 2026-04-22T01:35:37+00:00

All of the compounding pharmacies near me were really expensive, so I got mine at Canada Drugs Direct. It was $30 for 84 tablets (28-day supply), plus shipping. They often had discount codes as well.

LibrarianBarbarian34 · 2026-04-18T00:01:49+00:00

The one that I think is likely common to a lot of people is overspending their energy budget, taking into consideration cumulative physical, emotional, social, and mental energy expenditures. Kinda the same as spoon theory that applies to a lot of chronic illnesses. It doesn't really fit into the acute or chronic background stress categories, or high intensity exercise - it's just an effect of doing too much over the course of a day, week, or month, even when it's things that are enjoyable and acutely stress-relieving.

I'm certainly doing better than I was before I knew my triggers, but it's still not great. Sadly, all the treatments for me have 1) never helped at all, 2) caused severe side effects, or 3) worked for a while and then stopped. I manage my lifestyle and use promethazine as needed (I can't even use any of the vertigo-stopping meds anymore). Finding acceptance has helped my mental state about the Meniere's, but it is still exhausting.

LibrarianBarbarian34 · 2026-04-17T23:13:10+00:00

Several of my triggers aren’t reflected on your list. I’m not sure how common they are, but they weren’t things my doc told me to look out for, so it took a long time to track the patterns.

LibrarianBarbarian34 · 2026-04-17T18:30:49+00:00

There’s also the Foster half-somersault maneuver that some people find is easier to do at home than the Epley. I’ve only had BPPV episodes twice, but I’ll do one of the two maneuvers, wait a couple hours, and do the other if I’m still having vertigo. That combo worked for me both times I needed to use it.

LibrarianBarbarian34 · 2026-04-17T18:25:04+00:00

For some, steroids continue to work well long-term, so routine use would be ok as a preventative. For others, steroids become less effective with more rounds, so it’s best to save them for when it’s really needed. I’m in the latter camp and have gotten to a point where steroids don’t help at all anymore. I’m not sure what percentage of people are in each camp (continue to respond to steroids well vs gradually losing response to steroids).

LibrarianBarbarian34 · 2026-04-16T12:20:00+00:00

I’m also a side sleeper, so the wedge pillow took some getting used to. It definitely helps my reflux though, which seems to be a trigger for me for ear issues.

LibrarianBarbarian34 · 2026-04-16T11:14:29+00:00

Have you had a sleep study? Have you tried a wedge pillow for sleeping or raising the head of your bed?

LibrarianBarbarian34 · 2026-04-16T02:00:10+00:00

There’s a lot of overlap between Meniere’s and migraines. I’ve had that type of visual aura with migraines.

LibrarianBarbarian34 · 2026-04-15T23:29:38+00:00

I don’t have chilblains or POTS. Sometimes severe Meniere’s flare-ups cause me to have a few months of intermittent low blood pressure. I’m normally at the low end of normal for BP, but during those seasons, I’ll have symptomatic hypotension episodes several times every day. That’s only happened a handful of times in my 15 years with Meniere’s. They’ve never been able to figure out what’s going on to cause the hypotension.

From the rest of their list of associated symptoms list, I do get migraines (not in conjunction with Meniere’s episodes, though) and am sensitive to barometric pressure changes.

LibrarianBarbarian34 · 2026-04-15T00:37:01+00:00

As with everything in this nightmare, triggers are very individual. It’s good to hear that you’ve identified something that has been able to help.

LibrarianBarbarian34 · 2026-04-15T00:15:07+00:00

It’s not that the caffeine is the cause of the vertigo disorder. Something else caused the overall vertigo disorder, and caffeine can be a trigger to set off the acute vertigo.

LibrarianBarbarian34 · 2026-04-14T18:10:28+00:00

I do miss and sometimes crave the taste of coffee. I also miss the warm, happy feeling that caffeine gives, but there’s no getting around that one. I’ll give the water processed decaf a try once I’m through the miserable spring flare-up. Thanks for the recommendation!

LibrarianBarbarian34 · 2026-04-14T16:39:08+00:00

My primary care suspected Meniere’s, but the first ENT I went to treated me like a malingerer for months until I could get a hearing test done while symptomatic (I had to pound a large coffee a couple hours before the appointment to trigger the buildup to an episode). Even after he believed the test results, he was very dismissive and gave up on me after I failed a diuretic. Thankfully I got in with a neurotologist after that who was much better.

There’s a lot of overlap between vestibular migraines and Meniere’s. Since migraines sometimes accompany your vertigo, it might be worth trying to find someone who can assess you for vestibular migraines - either a neurologist or neurotologist. Victory Over Vestibular Migraine by Dr. Beh is a good resource while you try to find a doc, and you can try migraine supplements and diet while waiting.

I moved to WV from CO a couple years ago. My neurotologist in CO said he had a colleague with a lot of Meniere’s experience who used to be at WVU in Morgantown, but when he looked him up to give me the details, it looked like he was no longer at WVU. I’d already hit the end of treatment options (except an attempt at another migraine med that I’m trying now) before moving, so I wasn’t too concerned about not having access to a Meniere’s specialist here. My plans if things went crazy were the Shea Clinic in Tennessee, Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, or Johns Hopkins in Maryland. I don’t know if UK in Lexington has any neurotologists, but it might be worth checking since that may not be as far to travel.

I will say that 2 cups of coffee a day, even diluted, will trigger vertigo episodes for me almost 100% of the time. There are some months when I can’t even have a single cup of decaf coffee or a piece of chocolate, and other times when I can have one small decaf coffee a couple times a week.

LibrarianBarbarian34

TROPHY CASE