After the cycle of vertigo attacks began, the traveling Bob's job required was no longer feasible. "If it hadn't been for that, I'd still be doing it. But I just couldn't fly like that anymore," he declares. "I was so afraid of having an attack and being away from home."

Bob's otologist prescribed a treatment regimen that included diuretics, diazepam, and a low-sodium diet. In addition, Bob tried to learn everything he could on his own about his disease and the available treatment options. "I was in such bad shape that I was determined to try to do something to help myself," he relates. "I have a briefcase literally full of literature and information related to Ménière's Disease. I called all over the country and spoke to different doctors, after I read about the treatments they had tried. Then I'd bounce these things off of my doctor, and see what he thought."

Regrettably, none of the treatments Bob read about seemed viable to him. "I explored all of the surgical options with my doctor and opted not to do any of them…same for the injectable treatments. Everything I read and was told seemed to suggest they would work for a while, but the symptoms always came back. Some of the treatments were so destructive, to me they really weren't an option, except as an absolute last resort."

Ménière's Disease had a major effect on Bob and Shirley's lives. Married for 45 years, they were accustomed to a full life. Bob loved to play golf, enjoyed reading, going to movies, and they both went to church every Sunday. Family time was also a priority, and their two sons, both married, lived nearby. Yet all of that changed with Ménière's Disease. "It is very debilitating and changes your whole life. You go from someone who enjoys life and many activities to someone who is afraid to leave the house-because you never know when you're going to have another attack," Bob explains. "I felt very discouraged and depressed many times. I thought my life as I knew it was over."

The disease robbed Bob of his independence, and Shirley, too. After a frightening experience in June 2000, Bob decided he could no longer drive by himself. "Shirley had company at the house and I had errands to do, so I left," recalls Bob. "Driving back home on I-75, which was seven lanes going one way, a vertigo attack hit me. I was in the middle lane of seven lanes of traffic- how I ever got over to the highway shoulder without causing an accident, I do not know. I wasn't so much worried about myself, but the thought of hurting innocent people scared me to death. I never drove by myself again."

With other vehicles speeding by him, Bob sat in his car along I-75 for 1½ hours with his eyes closed, waiting for the spinning to stop. "After that," he maintains, "Shirley had to go with me everywhere I went. I would only drive on 2-lane roads-that way, if I felt an attack coming on, I could easily pull over to the side of the road and Shirley could drive."

A particularly violent attack occurred one Sunday morning in autumn of 2001, when Bob and Shirley were getting ready to go to church. "I walked into the garage to get in the car," Bob remembers, "and all of a sudden, it was as if someone stood behind me, grabbed hold of my suit collar, and violently jerked me backwards. I fell on the floor of the garage, which is where Shirley found me. If it hadn't been for a small sweep broom that my head happened to land upon, I would have hit the concrete floor of the garage with full force."

This incident clearly emphasized the dangers of his disease, and Bob wondered what the future held with so few treatment choices available for him. "I had run out of options until I saw the Meniett^® Low-Pressure Pulse Generator in a national vestibular newsletter," he declares. "So I started tracking it down-I called Medtronic Xomed and got information about it. Then I pestered my doctor for a prescription and got the unit in December 2001."

Bob had a ventilation tube placed in his ear and started using the device. "I was really feeling better the first few weeks. I was more steady." He continues, "I had a couple of light vertigo attacks and light nausea-but they didn't last as long as they did before and they weren't as bad."

A couple of months after Bob began treatment with the device, however, the ventilation tube became dislodged on two occasions. "My doctor said I have a very thin tympanic membrane, which makes it difficult for it to hold a ventilation tube," Bob asserts. After the tube came out the second time, Bob's doctor inserted a larger ventilation tube. Unfortunately, Bob developed an ear infection that required treatment with antibiotics for a few weeks. He also had to temporarily discontinue treatment with the Meniett device, and his Ménière's Disease symptoms returned.

After his ear infection cleared, Bob resumed treatment with the Meniett device and his symptoms again improved. He has not had any more problems with the larger ventilation tube, and continues to follow the low-sodium diet, diuretic, and diazepam regimen along with his Meniett treatment. "I'm so thankful I'm better-not only for my sake, but for my wife's. She's really had a time trying to take care of me….helping me to bed when I couldn't walk, going everywhere with me, afraid to leave me at home by myself in case I fell…it's been very hard on her, too."

Knowing the hopelessness Ménière's sufferers can feel, Bob has spent a great deal of time talking to others who share his disease. "You not only feel like you're alone-other people don't understand or even know what it is," he states. "People can feel sympathy for someone on crutches, but Ménière's Disease is more hidden. You don't 'look' like anything is wrong with you." Now, Bob and Shirley are able to live "a pretty normal life," as Bob describes it. Recently, they drove to eastern North Carolina to visit his wife's sister, over 1000 miles away. Bob drove almost the entire trip-something that previously would have been

unthinkable. "To be able to drive 1000 miles is quite a level to reach-I haven't traveled more than 40 miles from home for two years," he asserts.

Friends would invite us on various trips," Bob says, "but I wouldn't even consider it; I was just so afraid of having an attack while traveling. So this was really a big thing for us. It was very uplifting to have been able to make this trip. And I felt good the whole time."

The Patient Testimonial you have just read is from a real patient with Menieres' disease. They have related their actual experiences with the disease and the Meniett device. This patients' story may or may not be representative of the total population using the Meniett device as results vary from patient to patient. Most Menieres' patients receive varying degrees of relief from their symptoms; however, there are some

patients who have reported receiving no relief. Please see your health care provider to determine if the Meniett device is right for you.

Meniett and local pressure treatment is only to be used after doctor's prescription. If you wish to order a Meniett and have a doctor's prescription, click here.