Cycling and Menieres Disease

top_man1

There is a couple of postings on the forum were cyclists have become dizzy during a ride and the advice given is to check blood pressure or hydration levels , I have been diagnosed with Menieres disease 2 years ago ,the dizziness comes and goes and bouts can last up to 6 weeks , the tablets control the dizzy spells most of the time but there are times when they don't work to well and it can stop you riding , is there any one else on the forum who has this condition it only seems to effect people around the 60 mark any advice is welcome

Typical Analytical

I've had it for ~12 years and am 48 years old. Manage it with low sodium. Knock on wood it seems to be getting better.

top_man1

I had a bad dizzy spell while I was on a CTC bike ride ,the first wave had come the week before and I thought I would be alright to ride 60 miles in and I lost control of the bike ,it seems to take a a few weeks to leave your system , I was interested on your low sodium comment I have read it can work do you have a special diet and are you using the hydration tablets in your drink bottle? glad to know you are getting over the issue

photonic69

I've had Labyrinthitis a couple of times and it really badly affected my balance. Felt like I had the Spinnies I used to get as a young teen after drinking 2 litres of cheap cider etc. just like you had to hold on even when you were lying flat on your back. No way could I cycle like that but then I was suffering from a mild virus at the time so didn't want to be on the bike anyway. The doc gave me some pills to take that knocked the edge off it but ti still took a couple of weeks to clear.

Hope your condition improves too.

Typical Analytical

Top Man1 wrote:

I had a bad dizzy spell while I was on a CTC bike ride ,the first wave had come the week before and I thought I would be alright to ride 60 miles in and I lost control of the bike ,it seems to take a a few weeks to leave your system , I was interested on your low sodium comment I have read it can work do you have a special diet and are you using the hydration tablets in your drink bottle? glad to know you are getting over the issue

I immediately went on an extremely low sodium diet. I mean low. But I wasn't exercising much at the time. I also tried cranberry pills but that affected my energy levels so discontinued that quickly. My diet is now more normal but I still maintain some of my habits, like moderating processed food and if I do eat processed food do things like select corn tortillas vs wheat because corn tortillas have zero or at least less sodium and I still buy unsalted butter and no salt beans and also you can get no salt tortilla chips, etc. Also frozen chicken has more sodium I think. Stuff like that.

I had a fairly traumatic experience overall after hearing problems being misdiagnosed and put on steroids, etc. but the first time I got dizzy on the road and had to have someone pick me up I knew it was Meneires and immediately took the nuclear option diet-wise.

gilbo1967

HI
I get very bad dizzy spells most of the day and every day,caused by having a stroke 2 months ago ,g.p just started me on dizziness tablets I hope they work well enough so I can maybe start riding my bike on the roads.