Tuesday, March 31, 2015

ENT Appointment Update

Yesterday morning I was impatient as I drove across town for my appointment with the ENT to go over the results of the MRI and talk about other possibilities since it came back (thankfully!) tumor free.

He said that it isn't totally unusual for migraines to begin to manifest other symptoms (like vertigo) after years of having them, although having vertigo every single day is a problem.

He also said that I have all of the symptoms of Meniere's disease (which my grandpa happened to have too) and so the next step is investigating to see if that's what's going on.

Part of that will be having a ENG ("balance test"), which can measure vestibular dysfunction (since we have two kids with vestibular problems I guess this shouldn't be particularly shocking).  They told me to eat a light lunch because "it's an hour of trying to bring on the vertigo" and so people tend to get sick during the test.  Sounds fun...

The other trial to try to determine what's going on is to limit my salt intake to under 2000 mg of sodium a day.  Yesterday I tracked it and managed 1400 mg, so I guess that will be somewhat easier than I thought as long as I cut out (or way, way back) on a few of my favorite foods (goodbye favorite hummus that I discovered has way, way too much sodium in it).  

He also wrote a referral to send me over to the neurology department at the university to get whatever is going on with my migraines under control and make sure nothing else is going on there.

The other thing we talked about is how it'll be up to me to decide if things are bad enough that I need to wean James, because there are medications they could give me that should stop the symptoms, just not while I'm nursing.  For now I'm holding off on that option.

And that's the latest update in the headache/hear loss/ dizzy all the time saga.

12 comments:

  1. My mom had Meuniere's disease so badly that sometimes she would actually have to crawl to the bathroom. The lower salt diet really made a difference for her, and I don't believe that they ever put her on any medication for it. She eventually seemed to no longer have a problem with it, although that coincided with her hearing getting much, much worse. One day while she still had it she had an attack that came on really suddenly while driving from her house to ours (about an hour and a half away) and she had to pull off the interstate. She got rescued by a state trooper who called me and my husband and I had to drive to where she was in order to get her and her car. However, it really was something that eventually just was totally gone. She even was back to eating relatively salty food with no particular impact. Oh, and btw before you decide to wean be sure to check LactMed or Infant Risk about the medication. A lot of doctors think you have to wean when you really don't. The list of medications that actually require weaning is actually pretty small.

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    1. The driving part is so scary to me. With my grandpa it went away when he went completely deaf in that ear. I thought that's what happened with everyone, but the doctor said that sometimes with severe cases it doesn't go away, and then they have to go in and severe the nerve. And I definitely need to go double check medications. I was just told last week that I couldn't nurse for twenty four hours after a certain injection and then I double checked and saw the the American Association of Radiology said that it was totally fine to nurse right away.

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  2. I am so glad you are getting some answers (and that the MRI showed no tumor). Praying for you as you do the next round of testing!

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  3. Hi, Cam. Meniere's is a good starting point (though MK said that hearing loss in the lower frequencies is often a hallmark of that.) Send her a Facebook message if you'd like, as she has had several patients with Meniere's.

    You can make your own hummus and still enjoy it while keeping sodium down. (I'm sure you know that...) We have to watch sodium here, too, and have found that Mrs. Dash makes a variety of really wonderful seasonings that add plenty of flavor without added salt. I so hope that you can get some relief without having to wean James, but only you can make that decision.

    God bless!

    Marie

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    1. I've been meaning to message her since yesterday but I keep getting so sleepy that I go to bed before I finish my emails. But I have the audio report and I've been meaning to email it to her. I noticed the high frequency thing too when I was reading about it.

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    2. Whenever you can get around to it, she'll be pleased to look over the results to see if anything jumps out at her. In a university setting, as she currently is, she also has a number of AuDs and PhDs (and an ENT) with varied experience around her, and they bounce things off each other all the time.

      Marie

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  4. I used to suffer with migraine pain a lot. Before getting migraine pain I used to get some visions (which is called pre-migraine aura). But now I don't get headaches of any kind. I do headstand on a regular basis and drink natural juices such as Cranberry Concentrate Liquid, Organic Noni Juice, and Mangosteen Juice which have strengthen my immune system up to an extent that I don't get sick easily.

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  5. I love hummus too. It so easy to make it's ridiculous. You need tahini (sesame seed paste), which I found in the regular grocery store. Some places they really hike up the price, but where I shop there's a ethnic foods aisle (apparently lots of Middle Eastern people live nearby so the store stocks ingredients for their cuisine) and I got a big bottle (about 32 oz) for $5.00.
    The recipe for hummus is on the bottle, but it's basically a can of chick peas, a clove of garlic, 2 tbs. of lemon juice (fresh is better but bottled works too), a little salt (or none at all) and about 1/3 cup of tahini (sesame seed paste). I use a food processor because it's easier to scoop out and grinds it better and faster, but you can use a
    blender to make this.
    The Middle Eastern people usually serve this spread onto a plate, drizzled with olive oil (just a little) and sprinkled with paprika. I love this stuff.
    God bless. ~ Bonnie

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  6. I just wanted to add one more thing about hummus: I was curious so I looked up tahini, and it turns out you can make this yourself in a food processor or blender if you can find sesame seeds. The recipe online says 4 cups of sesame seeds, roasted 8 - 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven (until fragrant, but don't brown, shake frequently.) Put in processor or blender and add 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup vegetable (or olive) oil. Blend 5 minutes until a thick pour consistency. Can be stored in a jar in the refrigerator for several months.
    I suppose you can use any amount of sesame seeds and add just enough oil to get a thick pour.
    God bless and Happy Easter. ~ Bonnie

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