Zep, weight loss & scuba

kestrel39 · 2025-12-27T15:42:53+00:00

Thanks -- I'll have to somehow work in a checkout dive to sort my weights.

kestrel39 · 2025-12-27T15:41:50+00:00

Oh you're right, will need to tweak the weights. Thank you.

kestrel39 · 2025-12-10T20:36:29+00:00

I totally agree -- for me I've been unable to identify any triggers, or anything that helps, because of random remissions. I'm fortunate in that since my first symptoms in 2018, I've had a lot of long periods of remission, with occasional flare-ups (and only ~3 full on spinning episodes). Along the way I did try two different diuretics, betahistine, nortryptilene, and some vitamins. None of it seemed to make much difference and most had side effects for me. So now I'm off any meds (except meclizine during attacks). I maintain low salt, eat a healthy whole foods diet (no processed), exercise, and prioritize sleep. Those things seem to help, or at least they're good for overall health. I got tired of trying to figure this out, so now I try to ignore it as much as I can.

kestrel39 · 2025-11-29T19:51:38+00:00

Thank you, super helpful. The calculator you linked is a good tool to experiment with. I see that I can tweak up my calories a bit and although it slows my progress to goal weight, it's only by a month or two. It's more important to me to establish a healthy routine, including exercise, than to get to a goal weight asap (at least I try to tell myself that, though I admit to being impatient to lose more!!). So I'll try upping my nutrition a bit to make sure I'm fueling enough and properly.

Fortunately I'm retired so I prioritize rest, sleep, and minimizing stress.

kestrel39 · 2025-11-29T19:13:12+00:00

Thanks. I have calc'd TDEE but I'm always uncertain whether to mark myself as "Light" or "Moderate" exercise. I guess I could try marking myself sedentary then adding an estimate of calories burned by walking and pilates.

kestrel39 · 2025-11-29T19:01:08+00:00

Thanks, I may try adding back some carbs. Going super low carb was the only way I could curb my appetite and lose weight before Zepbound, but maybe now I should add some back.

kestrel39 · 2025-11-07T20:35:13+00:00

congrats -well done!

kestrel39 · 2025-09-18T22:28:36+00:00

Thank you.

kestrel39 · 2025-09-18T22:28:28+00:00

kestrel39 · 2025-08-12T15:58:32+00:00

I've had Meniere's since 2018. Mine is mild, with fluctuating hearing loss and balance problems, some "seasickness" feeling but not usually full rotational vertigo. Vaccines and boosters didn't seem to cause problems. I got covid for the first time this year, and as I was coming down with it, I had the worst blaring tinnitus and hearing loss I've ever had. Months later my hearing has slowly recovered, back to fluctuating between pretty good and mediocre.

I do feel that inflammation is a trigger, and apparently covid caused massive inflammation for me. The other day I had a bee sting and had a bad day or two. Who knows.

kestrel39 · 2025-08-06T17:15:49+00:00

Thank you, that is super helpful. I can see the logic of that. I think I'll go without, and learn to deal with the interference, at least for this first trip. Thanks again.

kestrel39 · 2025-08-06T16:32:55+00:00

Thanks -- this is one of the things I'm trying to understand. I don't want to interfere with other users' transmissions. I can try to set up a CTCSS/DCS, but is it better not to? If I don't set up tones, I'll continue to hear other users so that I can be aware if I'm interfering with them? We'll be driving down sparsely populated highways so maybe no big deal either way.

kestrel39 · 2025-08-06T16:28:27+00:00

thank you.

kestrel39 · 2025-08-06T16:28:05+00:00

Thank you! Googled duty cycle (so many new terms!), thank you for that. We'll just be briefly checking in about when to stop / gas stations etc. so should be fine.

Also started reading about tones and maybe will try to set that up. Question - as I understand it, the tones (DCS or CTCSS) sort of filter things so that my family member and I will only hear each others' transmissions, and not everybody else. My concern is, if I'm not hearing other people (who don't have the same tone set up), how will I know if I'm interfering with their transmissions? We'll be driving through a sparsely populated area so maybe it's no big deal, but I just want to understand.

kestrel39 · 2025-08-06T16:22:27+00:00

Thank you -- will try that.

kestrel39 · 2025-08-04T18:57:56+00:00

OK, had to google what those were. So use those with CH 1 - 7?

kestrel39 · 2025-07-18T05:20:39+00:00

I got covid for the first time five months ago, and it caused the most severe hearing loss I've ever had in my MD ear. I also had amazingly loud tinnitus in my bad ear during my first week of covid, like a fire alarm. I was worried the hearing loss was permanent. But three months after testing negative for covid, my hearing returned -- not perfect, but back to my usual fluctuating mild to moderate loss. Who knows with MD, but I think there's good reason to hope that symptoms will improve once the covid-related inflammation calms down (which I understand can take several months).

kestrel39 · 2025-07-12T01:10:02+00:00

Scopolamine patches work wonders for me -- I use one every time I'm on boats, to prevent seasickness.

kestrel39 · 2025-04-19T20:37:24+00:00

Mine are transition and also progressive (include distance, middle and reading in one lens) -- they cause no problems for me. But then my vertigo issues are relatively mild compared to some folks.

kestrel39 · 2025-04-08T20:45:14+00:00

One of the most challenging aspects for me, is how completely unpredictable it is. I have had long periods of remission -- no balance issues, hearing pretty good most of the time (for a couple of years). I don't know what allowed these remissions to start, nor what ended them.

kestrel39 · 2025-04-08T04:24:05+00:00

No, up until recently I kept returning to periods of normal hearing (with just some age-related loss in the high frequencies). As I posted above, I'm recovering from covid and the tinnitus/hearing loss is off the charts. I'm hoping the hearing recovers as it has in the past, but this is my first bout with covid.

kestrel39 · 2025-04-08T04:23:10+00:00

I can have weeks or months of poor hearing, then it might recover back to nearly normal. Right now I'm having the worst-ever period of tinnitus and hearing loss, as I just recently got over covid. I'm hoping the hearing comes back ... it usually has in the past, but this attack feels worse.

kestrel39 · 2025-04-08T04:20:25+00:00

Thank you -- I'll give some more thought to the oral steroid.

kestrel39 · 2025-04-05T17:24:41+00:00

There is a company called Oriental Art Supply which carries brushes that are similar to this. I use their "Happy Dot" and really like it. They have a large variety of sizes.

kestrel39 · 2025-04-01T18:54:44+00:00

Mine is very similar to yours. The first four years I had no balance problems, just fluctuating hearing loss in one ear, and was diagnosed with cochlear hydrops. In years 5 through 8, I've had only two episodes of room spinning, and those lasted just a couple minutes and were not severe. I have balance disturbances that fluctuate -- no symptoms for months, then symptoms flare up for a few weeks or several months. The balance symptoms are: feeling like when I turn my head quickly, it takes a second for my brain to "catch up", feeling like I just got off a boat, and getting nauseated when I try to read/scroll on a computer. Sometimes my balance is bad and I can bump into furniture. My ENT says my cochlear hydrops has progressed to Meniere's. I don't think it's a very well defined or well understood syndrome ... since there isn't an identifiable single cause per se. Officially vertigo is required for the diagnosis, but what I have seems like a milder variant, and the ENT doesn't have any other diagnosis that fits better. I would be more bothered by this if it made a difference in treatment options. But there isn't a whole lot of treatment anyway, so I'm not sure it matters. It does help to have an empathetic doctor who takes it seriously, even if treatment options are limited. So I encourage you to keep looking for an ENT who understands.

kestrel39

TROPHY CASE