# My life is really going crazy ... what to do?



## bernard (Jan 4, 2000)

Hi allIt's a long time i haven't posted anything here.I'm on bad days this time. I don't know what to do.It's very hard to me to listen to the mike's CD for the last weeks.As you probably know, i have Tinnitus







("ringing in the ear") and another stupid neurological problem (muscle twitches, "pins and needles", burning sensations in legs, ...







). Ok, those two troubles creates a lot of interferences when listening to the CDs, since when listening, i'm supposed to be relax.My Tinnitus is driving me crazy. I have an increase for weeks now. I had previously taken an appointment with my ear specialist (one month delay). The appointment duration was ... 5 minutes. You know, i was a lot informed about that disease, and i took my own hearing curve with the aid of my computer to show him that i have a big decrease (i consider it to be big ... 30 times in the high frequency range) in my right ear where the ringing is really crazy vs the left one. I was just going to see IF something could be made (drug, ...etc.) to lessen that trouble since, from what i have read, nothing can REALLY be done. I have trouble falling asleep, and even an external noise can't cover my Tinnitus (i installed loudspeaker in my bedroom to play some nature sounds). That s*u**d specialist told me that my Tinnitus was like white hair as i was getting older (???)....yep, my wife isn't having Tinnitus and we are born the same year! Ok,... if i was, ... 65, i could understand (my mother is 75 and she is STARTING to have Tinnitus) or something would have happened in my brain, but one month delay for that! He didn't wanted to give me some drug (i know that some anxiety drugs can decrease the trouble when taken as anti-epileptic dosage) and told me to see a psy!!!(???). A psy, ..for what!, ... i will not sleep anyway because when i sleep, i am awaken sometime by that ringing. Sometime the ringing is low when i go to bed, and when i am awake, it's up, or vise versa. I was so use to my previous kind of Tinnitus ... so don't talk to me about those "Tinnitus Habituation Therapies" as i can see on the Internet... Hopefully i don't have that "Meniere disease" that adds to the Tinnitus, Vertigo and more ...I'm on another forum for that disease and we all have the same kind of troubles. This morning it was ringing when i awake, then i took a shower and it went down to almost nothing (???) and went up again one minute after. It's all the time like this. Up (all time) and down (rarely). One time i was listening to Mike's CD then suddenly it was hissing like crazy. I had to stop. Unable to continu. It looks that disease is like IBS some years ago, nobody care for now. It's not important. Two days ago, it was REALLY bad ... and i made a mistake, i re-started to smoke after more than 2 weeks without any cig.It's really, really bad for me. Stuck with 3 illness without real solution. Trying to solve one, ... and the other doing so much interferences. I don't know what is worst, IBS, Tinnitus or that Neuro Scrap? So, all my schedule on Mike's tapes is not going as it should, erratic. What should i do?So, now i have an appointment with my GP, on Tuesday, but i don't know to tell him since there is no solution. You know the usual phrase .... "you have to live with it...", this one is imprinted in my CNS!Sorry to be long but i should talk to someone because i think i'm starting to panic...My belly seems (?) to work properly, no D, no C, just painful, or rather my colon seems to be very sensitive. I feel my colon when it starts doing its job. It looks i should have not been diag properly in 1980. I'm almost sure it was only pain at the beginning and turn to pain + D after years, and since I took those garlic pills it's only pain (discomfort most of the time), back to the beginning. My stool is normal, no rush to toilet. So i'm thinking i'm more in the CFAP group.I would like to know the CD side that is best for pain? It looks it is the one that talk about "you feel your body .."Thank you for listening to my complain.


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## Lauralee (Jan 4, 2002)

Oh, my word, Bernard. You were doing so well, too.I know you have probably heard this a million times, but have you tried a very low sodium diet and making sure that you stay very well hydrated? I have problems with my ears, too. The vestibular system in my right ear is partially paralyzed, which makes me dizzy and every now and then gives me tinnitus. I find that if I eat too much sodium and/or get dehydrated, my ear problems get worse.Do you listen to the tapes through headphones? I wonder if that would make a difference.I get the muscle twitches while listening, too. I just try to ignore them and move when I feel the urge to move. It is very distracting, I know!I am so sorry things are not going well for you now. It will get better!And, STOP THAT SMOKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!







Don't make me come all the way to Canada to stop you!  Laura


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## bernard (Jan 4, 2000)

Thank you Lauralee for your response.What bother me most is that every time i'm trying to help me, something else seems to say "i don't want"... i know it's stupid. But all that stuff is really creating perturbation. If i only had those stupid "twitches", i would not be bothered (i started that #### in 1993), but i'm feeling those "pin and needle" + burning sensations and for those two last ones it's really difficult to forgot. Presently writing that message i'm feeling that ####, so think about when i'm trying to relax. And that Tinnitus that increased ...I'm trying hard ... but what to do.For the cig i will try one more time ... i don't count how many time i stopped ...


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## nmwinter (May 31, 2001)

bernardI wish I knew something to help you out but I don't.







I'm really sorry you're going through all this and hope you find relief soon.nancy


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

Bernard, email Mike and have him suggest what to do. Sorry your having a rough spot. You have been better so you know it can happen. Having different conditions has to be a bummer and I feel for you. The cig thing and starting back up can also mess with your gut big time, as well as getting too stressed over quiting and not quiting and quiting itself and all the other things going on. Hang in there and talk to Mike and see what he suggests. Try not to panic, try to do breathing excersises good for the lungs and the cig problem and the gut and without the hearing kindof if you can do that. Its tough because since I don't have the problems you do I don't know about them. hang in there and try not to panic.The feel your body and perhaps the starflake ones would be good,but ask the expert.


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

(((((Bernard)))))







Hoping Mike can give ya some guidance here. You have done well in the past and you will do well again. I'll keep good thoughts for this bad spell to pass quickly for you.  BQ


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## Guest (Jun 9, 2002)

Bernard... so sorry to learn of your difficulties. I can't really advise you except to ask you if you take any kind of medication to help you with any of your problems.... and to give you a hug.


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## JeanG (Oct 20, 1999)

Hi Bernard:I'm sorry to hear about your hearing problem! I didn't realize the ringing was that bad until I read your post. I wish they could find something to treat you with.Take care, and keep posting so we know how you're doing.JeanG


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## zayaka26 (Jul 5, 2001)

I wish I could help you here but that is not the case. It should be hard for you to be going through this.







Hopefully Mike will give you good advice so you can get back on track and leave the cigarretes aside one more time. Don't think of it as how many times you have quit but as how many cigs you have saved your body from.


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## JeanG (Oct 20, 1999)

Hi Bernard:How are you feeling?JeanG


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## bernard (Jan 4, 2000)

Hi jeanG and others...







Thank you for your support. You'r really helping me.Since my last post i'm going better.My Tinnitus is going down.







I re-started the CD side where "you feel your body".I had an appointment with my GP and i talk to him about that Tinnitus and Neuro scrap that is doing so much perturbations. So he gave me an anti-depress (Effexor, 1 x 37.5mg) drug at very low dose to increase my tolerance to pain (so far, after two days, no side effect) and also an anti-anxiety drug to use before bed time if needed if my Tinnitus is really interfering with my ability to fall asleep (sometime it's very low but sometime it's up without reason..).So i adopted a new way of sleeping:







Since my mother is able to sleep even if she is living close to road, i should be able to do so with my Tinnitus that is a noise.Now, my window is fully open so that all external noise are entering my bedroom. I put a fan that is running at very low speed. I'm doing relaxation before going to bed. I hope after some time my brain will be able to adapt to that new situation and so to that new increase in Tinnitus







.For the neuro scrap, he gave me appointment with a neuro. We will see later when i will meet that neurk, but even if i try to be calm, the life is giving hard time. Sunday a policeman gave me bill of CAN $176!!! because i was driving a little bit to fast. Everywhere it's 80km/h, only a small distance (500m) is 50 km/h. I was lunatic ... and he was there $#%^&#







+ Yesterday my wife lost her wallet with all papers and CAN $200!!$^%$####







. Since it cost something to renew the driving licence it will cost more!####$%







. So i lost about CAN $400 ###$%^%$ total.Wooooooooooo, money is not dropping from the sky ....


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## Lauralee (Jan 4, 2002)

Bernard,I just read in a magazine yesterday that the painkiller Vicodin and others like it can cause tinnitus and hearing loss. I don't know if you ever take painkillers, but I thought I'd pass along the information anyway!Glad to hear you are improving (well, with the exception of the money thing!)!!!







Laura


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## bernard (Jan 4, 2000)

> quote:I just read in a magazine yesterday that the painkiller Vicodin and others like it can cause tinnitus and hearing loss. I don't know if you ever take painkillers, but I thought I'd pass along the information anyway!


I don't take any drug unless the last ones that were given by my GP last Tuesday, i.e. Eflexor ### 37.5mg/day and Rivotril if needed before bedtime + calcium, Vitamine C. Thank you for your advice.  I'm aware that some drugs kills nerves in the ear like some antibiotics







. *Anyone, be carefull when using those drugs, search on the internet the ones that impairs hearing* and avoid them because Tinnitus arrises most of the time because of an hearing loss (i have one) in high pitched tones that NO ENT will mesure because they are interested ONLY in the tones that are used in understanding speech that is lower than music. Also high pitched pure tones (like the ones generated by PC monitors) may kill those neuron when too stong







. Protect not only yours eyes but don't forgot yours ears! once Tinnitus is there, it's most of the time there for life!!!


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## JeanG (Oct 20, 1999)

Hi Bernard:Those high pitch sounds from monitors, fax machines, etc. get to me, too. I try to make sure as few machines as possible are right around my desk at work.We don't realize how much noise there is around us until the power goes out. It's amazing how quiet an office gets. I hope you get some relief soon!JeanG


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## RitaLucy (May 3, 2000)

Hi Bernard,I had finally had more time today to read your post completely and reply to you.I am so sorry all this is going on for you.I have a very dear friend who is married to my friend and he is a bit older than her and he is suffering from Tinnitus and Meneire's right now.The last few times we have been together I have noticed that he is beginning to sit there more and talk to us less. I was concerned and talked to my friend and said that he needs to get a hearing aid and stop being vain etc. We have made jokes before about him getting old and needing an hearing aid -- and then he started with the Meneire's disease which is quite dangerous. He was driving home on the freeway and had to pull over because he was suddenly dizzy and sick to his stomach. He had to have someone come and get him and take him to the Dr.'s office. He was so weak they had to get a wheel chair for him. He saw the Dr. and now he is taking a presciption that would be similar to what dramamine does. He doesn't want the hearing aid because he says the ringing in his ears is so bad now that he is fearful of what it would be with the darn hearing aid. He had an MRI of his head etc. to rule out every other possible reason for all this going on but the Meneire's disease is the diagnosis. He is hoping with the new medication that they gave him he will not have any more severe vertigo episodes like he was having.I can relate to what you are going through as I have a dear friend whom we love very much going this and we hate to see him suffer with it.I cannot imagine trying to listen to tapes with all that going on but I feel confident that your Dr. will probably have something that they can give you that might help with some of the ringing and hissing going on.If I can find out anymore from my friend and post it here for you I will be happy to do that. I hope things continue to get better!!!!!


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## linda2001 (Apr 14, 2001)

Bernard, glad to see you are doing better, I'm sorry I can't offer advice only my thoughts.Take careLinda


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

Bernard, glad your doing somewhat better. I wish I could be of more help, but like I said I just don't know all that much about it.There is however this if you have not seen it. http://www.ata.org/


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