“My hearing is really muffled in my right ear” was what I had said to my husband one afternoon in August 2020. It felt as if I was covering my ears with my hands. Along with that, there was also a high-pitched ringing which I began to notice after Millie, my (very loud) 8 month old had finally gone down for her afternoon nap. I remember standing in the kitchen wondering if I was about to come down with a cold, brewing an ear infection or possibly having hearing damage from my extremely loud baby.
By late afternoon, the tinnitus (ringing in my ear) grew louder, and my hearing became noticeably more muffled. I grew convinced that I’ve got an ear infection of sorts whilst sitting in the lounge room watching the latest news developments on COVID19 and Melbourne’s Lockdown rules. The rest of the day continued with the tinnitus and muffled hearing, then I went to bed early hoping my symptoms might dissipate with a good night’s sleep.
Waking the next morning, I found the tinnitus had remained as well as the muffled hearing. I didn’t give it much thought and continued my day as per usual. It wasn’t until the afternoon when out of the blue my hearing cleared, and tinnitus disappeared completely. I remember saying to my husband “My hearing’s back! Strange”. However, it wasn’t long after my hearing had cleared, I was hit with a wave of nausea and vertigo that made me stop in my tracks. I had to quickly sit down so I didn’t fall over. The vertigo was unlike anything I had experienced before. It was as if the whole room was spinning and twisting upside down quickly and repeatedly. Closing my eyes only helped so much and didn’t curb the nausea that came with.
Luckily, my husband had a day off from work and was able to take over the care of Millie for the remainder of the day. The rest of the afternoon was a write off for me. I was rendered useless as I crawled my way to bed. The dizziness persisted for a few hours. I curled up on my side, lying perfectly still with a mountain of pillows to prop me semi-upright. Clutching to the vomit bag, I tried to make sense of what could be happening. Soon after, I fell asleep. When I woke up again, it was dark. I looked around the room checking to see if the dizziness had passed, and slowly sat back up. I managed to make dinner that night, but I felt unsteady as if I was standing on a boat with an overwhelming amount of exhaustion still looming even though I had just slept the whole afternoon.
That was the first episode of what I now know as a Meniere’s Disease attack. For me the attacks always begin with muffled or loss of hearing in one ear and tinnitus for a few hours. When the hearing returns, and tinnitus gone, a period of dizziness and vertigo will follow along with nausea. The only way I can deal with the debilitating dizzy spells and nausea is to stay perfectly still and go to sleep. Walking is out of the question during an attack. When the attack ends, an overwhelming exhaustion follows with a fogginess to the head that lingers sometimes up to days.
Being a nurse, a few diseases came to mind with my presenting symptoms. I considered mainly Benign Paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) or Meniere’s. In my mind, I had a hunch that it may be Meniere’s, but I didn’t really want to jump to conclusions. I consulted my GP and he arrived at the conclusion of BPPV. He printed some information leaflets and sent me on my merry way to do some Epley manoeuvre at home. I remember being glad at that diagnosis because the thought of having Meniere’s is just too much. The manoeuvre though did nothing to prevent the onset of more attacks. If anything, it just made the dizziness worse while engaging in the head movements during the exercise. I soon returned to the GP with my attacks increasing to once every 2 weeks. My GP decided that the frequency and nature of the attacks are not common of BPPV and that I needed further investigations. I was referred to the Eye and Ear hospital to be reviewed by a neurologist.
To say there were a few hiccups in the booking process to see a neurologist in the public system is an understatement. It was 3 months later when I finally got in to see a neurologist. After a few appointments, multitude of tests, scans, trial of medications and more hiccups in the booking process, I was finally handed my diagnosis 5 days before Christmas. By which point, my attacks had increased drastically in intensity and duration. It turns out, I was unfortunate enough to have Meniere’s AND Vestibular Migraine that is brought on by the Meniere’s.
I was prescribed Betahistine and Hydrochlorothiazide for the Meniere’s and Flunarazine for my vestibular migraine. I was under the care of a neurologist who had a PhD in Meniere’s, she had highlighted some important lifestyle changes to further prevent Meniere’s attacks from recurring. If I can keep Meniere’s attacks away, the Vestibular Migraine should not occur as often. She mentioned the importance of a low sodium diet, reduction in alcohol and caffeine, regular exercise, adequate rest, and stress reduction. The combination of medication and lifestyle eventually brought the vertigo, dizziness, and nausea to a halt. The changes in lifestyle are by no means easy to achieve in a short amount of time. The most challenging adjustment for me was adhering to a low sodium diet.
Whilst on medication, I began practicing making changes to my lifestyle. After taking medication for 3 months without having a single attack, my neurologist had recommended I reduce my medications slowly over the next 3 months. In that time, I had managed to keep my sodium intake to around 1 to 1.5g daily, spreading the sodium intake out evenly throughout the day to prevent fluctuations of sodium in the body. I gave up alcohol entirely. Gave up caffeinated drinks, except an occasional chocolate. I returned to the gym, started yoga, and aimed for 9 hours of sleep a day. I had identified the biggest trigger for my Meniere’s as salt intake and stress.
During the weaning of the medication, I was well majority of the time, but there were certain days when I felt a slight dizziness. The dizziness would emerge when I turned my head too quickly, when I looked down or up, and when I looked at something close whilst on the move. It is nothing compared to a full-blown Vertigo attack from Meniere’s, so I was able to return to work at my nursing job. To this day, I still have periods when I get a slight dizziness or head cloud when I have not been vigilant about my sodium intake or when lacked proper rest. However, I am pleased to say I have also not had a full Meniere’s or Vestibular Migraine attack since coming off medication. I have successfully managed my Meniere’s via lifestyle changes.
This brings me to the reason for creating Low Salt Pantry. I spent countless hours strolling the supermarket isles and scrolling online for products that fit into my new low salt diet. I started documenting all the products that I could eat and new items to try. What started as a simple paper trail to remind myself what items to pick up at the shops, became a much longer and comprehensive list as time went on. I decided it would be a good idea to share this list with others who might benefit from it. Even if only a handful of people in Australia find this useful, then it’s well worth my effort.
I hope you scroll through to the shopping lists I’ve devised over time for the low salt or lower salt alternatives that’s available in local supermarkets, independent stores and online. Over time, I will also continue to add to the recipe section on some of my favorite meals that are low in sodium that doesn’t skimp on flavour.
Happy Browsing.
Susie.