- Meniere Syndrome
- Interviews
Debbie Hasselbach's interview
How did all start?
I first presented with unilateral Meniere's disease the evening of October 28, 2004 when I got up at 2300 for work.
Do you already have a diagnosis? How long did it take you to get it?
Yes, I have a diagnosis. I did not go to the doctor till my second presentation of symptoms in February 2005. From then I underwent testing of every kind until my ENT diagnosed me with Meniere's disease in my left ear September 2005.
For what medical specialties have you been treated? What has been the most useful specialty for your?
Unsure regarding these questions and what you are actually asking. Please, have this proofread and resubmit.
What has been the most useful thing for you so far?
I am now under the care of a Neuro-otologist and have been since December 2005. I was in remission from October 2008 until June 2009 after grommets were inserted into my eardrums in order to use the Miniette device. The machine didn't help, but the grommets did. Now, I can no longer have them in my eardrums.
What have been your biggest difficulties?
Losing a lot of myself and who I was.
How has your social and family environment reacted? Have your social or family relationships changed?
I am a virtual shut in. I leave my apartment once a month to go to the market using a special car service as I am no longer allowed to drive. I also go to my doctor's periodically using the same car service. The people who were in my life before Meniere's, are all gone.
What things have you stopped doing?
Hiking, reading as much as I used to, writing as much as I used to, dancing, going out with friends, playing volley ball, swimming, traveling, driving, going to movies. I have also stopped doing every day things the way I used to such as showering, brushing my teeth, getting dressed.
What do you think about the future?
There will be a cure, if not in my lifetime, then in my death.
So far, which years have been the best years in your life? What have you done during them?
Now are the best years of my present life. I have had a spiritual re-awaking and grown in ways I never would have had this beast never entered my life.
What would you like to do if you didn’t have your condition?
Travel, write my books I have been trying to write,
If you had to describe your life in a sentence, what would it be?
This is the life I have and I work on coexisting with the dragon which invaded it.
Finally, what advice would you give to a person in a similar situation?
Check out my YouTube channel as I have prepared videos to help such people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVAQXD3Ie00&list=PL0L6paJdeFB5FkbfndScUt27LV714TQrQ
