Meniere's Disease Part 3
"The cause of Meniere's disease isn't understood. One popular theory that hasn't been proved is that Meniere's disease appears to be the result of the abnormal amount of fluid (endolymph) in the inner ear. This often shows on autopsies, but it's not clear that it causes the episodes.
Factors that affect the fluid, which might contribute to Meniere's disease, include:
- Improper fluid drainage, perhaps because of a blockage or anatomic abnormality
- Abnormal immune response
- Allergies
- Viral infection
- Genetic predisposition
- Head trauma
- Migraines
The only problem was that as I began to eat a variety of foods, my symptoms started coming back. I noticed the ringing in my ear had returned and, at times, the ground felt a little unstable, but not full vertigo. As I mentioned previously, I was working two jobs at this time. My second one was as a receptionist for a local computer company. My brother's mother-in-law (at the time) was the office manager and helped me get the job. I had known Julie for several years before I started working with her and I considered her family. My desk was at the center of everything so it was common to have employees congregate around it and chat. I was talking with Julie about my health and how my symptoms were returning. I wasn't sure what I was going to do about it. The owner's wife was also standing there. She told me that her son had the same symptoms I was describing when he ate cheese. My mom bought low sodium cheese about a week prior and I was having some daily with my eggs. I realized that there was more to Meniere's than my ENT told me and I had better start researching it for myself.
The first chance I had, I started looking up information on the internet. I found a website that said the number one trigger was too much sodium. The number two trigger? Dairy. In fact, according to that website, sodium was just barely ranked higher. It was like 51% to 49%. Bingo! It felt like something went off in my head saying, "YES!! That's it!!" I called my mom and told her everything. She realized that she was suffering from similar symptoms. We both switched our diets and removed all dairy - even avoiding foods that contained dairy. I continued to eat low sodium, but not as strictly as before and almost all the symptoms went away. The white noise humming sound is always there, but I've discovered that when I eat dairy free, it's a very quiet noise - one that I only notice when I stop and think about it. It was such a relief to finally find what was causing these issues and that it was a relatively easy fix. I don't have to take medication or have surgery. True, I don't get to enjoy dairy, but I like being symptom free better.
I ate dairy free for about six years. There were times that I wasn't as strict as others, but as a whole, I stayed away from it. It wasn't until after I was married and I learned about Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Techniques (NAET) that I started eating dairy again. I'll talk about that experience on another post.
It's been almost twenty years since that morning I woke up with my ear plugged. I've spent a good portion of those years being in denial and eating dairy. It wasn't until recently that I finally stopped and thought about what I was doing. It's been hard cutting it back out (I really miss cheese, butter, and chocolate!) but I'm finding out that I feel better. The ringing is almost gone again. I don't have moments of being unstable on my feet because the room is shifting. I'm not congested all the time and no longer have to use a nasal spray daily.
It's interesting though because when I would reflect on my experience, I was frustrated with my ENT for not giving me more information about Meniere's. If he would have told me that dairy was a trigger too, it would've saved me some time. It wasn't until after I shared the previous posts and my friend commented about how blessed I was to find a doctor who helped me that I realized how truly lucky I am that he at least got me on the right path. I know people who have gone for years not knowing what's wrong. They go from doctor to doctor trying to figure it out without answers. From the first episode four years prior, with a few scattered throughout, to a few weeks of constant issues, I had answers on what it was, why it was happening, and how I could fix it. I truly am blessed and am very grateful.
That's one autoimmune disease resolved. Time to start researching the next one.
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