When I first had serious problems with Meniere's, it was such a HUGE balance/vertigo/pukefest issue that the hearing loss with tinnitus was a side issue. I was in my early 40s, and the disease became a problem when I quit taking birth control pills (i.e., hormones)--abnormally low hormone levels are the single trigger that causes Meniere's to cause big trouble for me. Even though I was a very active amateur classical musician and had to give up both playing in groups and going to concerts, I was very occupied with the struggle to stay upright. I had crises of severe vertigo (non-stop vomiting, inability to move from wherever I went down) that lasted 12 hours or more--as often as three times a week. I was able to continue to work at a demanding job managing a publishing company that was, in the best of times, often 60-70 hours a week, only because I could work any time I was able to be upright. During those four years, we never missed a monthly magazine deadline or were late getting a book to press, but it was a struggle. I had crises at work, on planes, on wilderness rivers, at fishing lodges, in restaurants...just about in every place you'd never ever want to have one.

The ENT who diagnosed me patted me on the hand and said, "now, now, dearie, just quit your silly job, stay in bed, and take Valium." If I had followed his rotten advice, I probably would have committed suicide, or, at best, died long ago from osteoporosis complications! There were several problems with his advice. First, my daughter was in college (read: $$$$) so I needed income. Second, I've always felt that any time sleeping is time that should be productive, so it would have been a serious change. Third, I soon learned that Valium and similar drugs did nothing to lessen the nausea and had lingering aftereffects that spoiled the burst of energy I always had following a crisis. Both my primary doc and I knew by then that hormone levels played a huge role in the hell of Meniere's for me. Since we fished together and he knew how important it was to be to be outdoors and active, he was the support system I needed. We tried lots of HRT that was considered safe for someone in their 40s, but none of it was enough. It took four years to finally find a good program, and, once I started taking larger doses of HRT, I quit having crises.

Then, it was time for intensive vestibular rehab. In less than a month, I was far, far better and able to begin to get back into life. Because I lived an extremely active life with lots of activities (hiking, wading rivers, rowing boats, maintaining houses in town and at the coast with lots of yard work and exterior maintenance), I didn't develop osteoporosis. Although I always fear falling, I seldom actually fall, and I still hike miles along a wild stream in a steep canyon in order to do fisheries data collection--often all alone with zero cell reception.

If you have osteoporosis, you do need to be very careful of staying safe...but you still can teach yourself to have greatly improved balance. Once you've done that, you should be able to move with confidence and be able to participate more in life.

I need to grab a quick snack and go unload the 458 loaves of bread I loaded into totes and then into the Backpack for Kids van yesterday 110 miles away at the Dave's bread warehouse. I've got a load of laundry in the washer which will be ready to hang out to dry as soon as I get home, at which time I either need to tackle mowing an acre of grass or a few hours painting part of the exterior of this house...before I drive 40 miles to the largest town nearby for a Watershed Council meeting. Both fall Chinook and crabs are waiting to be caught, so it's important to get the chores done so that I can hitch up my boat and go play!

Get a good pair of hiking sticks!! Be sure and get a pair of supplemental rubber tips to put on them so that you have better stability and traction. They have been life savers for me for the past two years. I haven’t fallen once. Use a fanny pack when going out to keep my hands free.