VIEW CASE STUDY

HISTORY OF IMPROVEMENT IN MENIERE’S SYMPTOMS

KATHY’S TESTIMONIAL

Hello, my name is Kathy and I have Meniere’s Disease.

In 2009, I was doing yoga and was suddenly overcome by dizziness and fell over. It only lasted a few minutes and I had no idea what happened.  Then…nothing for a year and a half.  In 2011, I was at a chiropractor’s office and he did a neck adjustment and wham…I was so dizzy, I could not walk or drive. Someone had to come pick me up and get me and my car home.  An Ear, Nose and Throat doctor said I had benign positional vertigo and gave me some movements to do when I got dizzy. But then, I had an acute episode of vertigo. Luckily, I was at home at the time. I couldn’t walk or sit or lay down or even blink without the world spinning. Then came the cyclical vomiting. My husband had to take me to the emergency room because it wouldn’t stop. Every 20 minutes like clockwork. It was horrible. It was then that I was diagnosed with Meniere’s Disease. It was then that my life changed.

I was put on several medications for when I was having symptoms, and they help but they don’t solve the underlying problem

I was put on a low sodium diet and a diuretic. I have low blood pressure, so I could not tolerate the diuretic. I felt worse than I did before. They wanted to put me on some other medications that had worse side effects than the symptoms.  I said no. I don’t really like to take a bunch of stuff, especially when they didn’t even know if it would help.  I was put on several medications for when I was having symptoms, and they help but they don’t solve the underlying problem, nor the anxiety that goes along with not knowing when an episode will hit.

Meniere’s is a very frustrating disease to have.  No one knows exactly what is happening inside the ear, what causes it, or how to cure it.  They have theories, of course, and treatment is hit or miss. There is no treatment that seems to work for everyone. Currently it has no cure.  Just management.

I prefer a holistic, whole body approach to my healthcare, not just, “here, take this medication and see what happens.”

My doctor was not listening to me. He dismissed many of my questions. He said my case was minor compared to some he had seen and dismissed how this disease was affecting my life. He was convinced I had asymptomatic migraines and wanted to put me on an antidepressant that is used to treat migraines. Some of the more common side effects of that medication are dizziness and tinnitus. Those were some of the very symptoms I was trying to get rid of! Maybe if they could have proved to me that I actually had migraines, that would have helped convince me.  Yes, there is a correlation between people who have migraines and Meniere’s, about 50%.  But that means that there are 50% of Meniere’s sufferers who do NOT have migraines. The logic of “take this medication, for a condition you may or may not have, that may or may not actually help with the Meniere’s symptoms” was not something I could get behind.

I started to do a lot of research.

I wanted to find an underlying cause.  I wanted to treat the underlying cause, not just treat the symptoms. I had immunological testing, and allergy testing. I tried to reduce the stress in my life.  I changed my diet to eliminate things that are known to be inflammatory to the body. Inflammation is a cause of fluid retention. Fluid retention in the body means more fluid in the ears. Made sense to me. I have tried meditation, essential oils, massage. I tracked the occurrence of dizziness and vertigo against sleep patterns, menstrual cycles, stress.  It does appear to me that things that cause stress to the mind and body, aggravate the symptoms. Over the years, I have tried many things with varying degrees of success.

Then I came across some research addressing a possible cause of Meniere’s

by Dr Michael Burcon. Then I came across a book that took that research and went into it further.  The book is called “Say Goodbye to Meniere’s Disease: Here’s How to Make Your World Stop Spinning” by Neil G Bauman, PhD.  I read it.  This was the first thing I had seen giving an explanation of a possible underlying cause of Meniere’s and even better, a possible cure.  It made complete sense to me! And it fit with my personal medical history. I knew I had numerous issues with my back, shoulders, hips and neck that were a result of a pretty bad car accident I had when I was younger. But I didn’t realize that those could be the underlying cause of what was going on now.

But not just any chiropractor

I’m not going to go into detail here, but please get the book yourself, read it and see if it makes sense to you.  In a nutshell, what it came down to, was a misalignment of the cervical vertebrae.  And the treatment involves going to a chiropractor.  But not just any chiropractor – one that has extra certifications in upper cervical treatment.  Specifically, an expert, in adjusting the atlas and axis vertebrae (C1 and C2).

You may recall I mentioned earlier that my first real experience with vertigo was after I had an adjustment in a chiropractic office. I was fairly nervous to try it again.  But, all chiropractors are not created equal.  The previous chiropractor I saw was what I call a “twist and crack” chiropractor.  So, as recommended in the book, I went online and did a search for chiropractors that had this extra training, years of experience and the extra certifications.  There are only a couple in the whole state of Colorado.   Dr Tom Groover at the Boulder Chiropractic Clinic is one of them.

Then he determined exactly how to treat ME.

From my first visit, I realized this was going to be different from chiropractors I had seen before.  He took x-rays and measurements, so the adjustments could be precise and specifically for MY body and MY issues.  He determined exactly what was misaligned, and in exactly what way. Then he determined exactly how to treat ME.

I started seeing Dr. Groover in February 2018.  Besides the upper cervical misalignment, I had several other issues that needed to be corrected and stabilized in order for my body to hold the adjustments permanently. No, I didn’t experience a miraculous cure after one treatment. But I wasn’t expecting that. My body had been misaligned for 33 years. My muscles had been holding my bones in the wrong place for all that time.  I figured it was going to take some time to undo all that and retrain my muscles to hold my bones where they are meant to be.

Is it improved? Dramatically. Do I feel better? Definitely.

And best of all, since I started seeing Dr. Groover, I have not had one acute vertigo episode.  I do still experience dizziness, and there are times when I think it might get worse and I could have an acute episode. But it hasn’t happened. Am I cured? Honestly, I’m not sure yet. I’m cautiously optimistic. What I can tell you for certain, is that I feel better than I did before, and I do believe this path is the correct one for me.

For the first time in years, I have hope.

Read the book, read the research. See if it makes sense to you.  If it does, I recommend you make an appointment. What do you have to lose? It may just turn out to be the answer you’ve been looking for. It may be the turning point where your live begins to feel like it did before you were diagnosed with Meniere’s.  For the first time in years, I have hope. There might just be a light at the end of that tunnel. And I for one am looking forward to reaching it.

Best of luck to you and may you find a path that leads you back to a life of good health and balance!