Back at Zero

Appt w Dr Hegarty today. Audiogram within 5 points of my best. Seemed great to me but doc put the bad spin on it. He said the fact that it took the Prednisone to break the inflammation is a bad sign. The cochlea is angry and labile. Doc wants me to go six months without any problems. He said that time gives the cochlea a chance to normalize to a new high normal. The membrane of the structure stretches and accommodates to the current pressure, thus becoming normal again. If I can go six months, then we can look at weaning the diuretics. He ordered labs to check my kidney function. We also discussed the Tinnitus. High pitch is permanent damage to the nerve. That's what I have. Volume is an indication of inflammation. During my last flare up, I had a few episodes of it being really loud, even waking me up. It is never going away. He said next appt in six months unless something changes. I didn't tell him I was leaving town.

Setback part three

Awakened at 4am with the old, familiar high-pitch ring. LOUD. Loud enough to wake me up. Day 6 of the oral steroids. Hearing seems better but the tinnitus is unchanged. Doctor is in surgery mondays. Going to call the office anyway and see if he will be available in the afternoon. I want a more aggressive approach. My time with this doc is limited. Leaving town in about 20 days. We must get this variability under control.
The prednisone & potassium is tearing up my gut. It's hard to stay positive with these setbacks. Still worried about how this is going to effect my working life.

Didn't call the doc after all.   the dose of prednisone and diuretics decreased my symptoms so I let it ride.

Setback part two

After a week on the double diuretics, I was having no improvement in the hearing or tinnitus. I called the dr and he added a rx for prednisone. I've been on it for two days and already have an improvement. Not back to where I was at my best but better. I realize that this hearing problem & all it's connotations on my life and threats to my job have been a huge stressor for me. That stress plus the details of moving, getting a new job, siblings, etc. I've been running on fumes for months and it finally hit a wall yesterday. I forgot Annie's 55th birthday. Completely spaced on it. She gave me an obvious clue when I called her for something else and suddenly, everything became focused. Today, I feel like I have re-booted my brain. Calmer, centered, in love with my wife. Maybe this is what it feels like to hit bottom before pulling yourself out of a death spiral.

Big Setback

Made an appt w Dr Hegarty a month ago intending it to be my exit from his care. It was preceded by a week trip to visit mom, interview & rescue diver. That was a week of eating out and not following my routine. I noticed mid-week that my tinnitus was louder. By the time I got to Phx for the dive class, my hearing was bad. How bad I had no idea.
My audiogram was the worst ever. Worse than when I started seeing the doc. He was very concerned but encouraged that I had not experienced any vertigo. Explained that the increased tinnitus is a symptom of a cochlea under pressure. He had never told me about that correlation. Vertigo would have been more serious requiring agressive therapy. Could have needed steroid injections into the ear to calm down the inflammation. Said the treatment was diuretics. Lots of diuretics. Doubled my dose for the next two weeks. He said that it's bad that I need to bump up my diuretic because I may not be able to get back to a lower dose.
It's been a lesson to stick to my dietary regimen. In the future, he said I should take an extra dose of diuretic when I feel the symptoms of increasing tinnitus, fullness and decreasing hearing coming on.
Three days now of extra diuretics. There is a slight improvement.

Glaucoma follow up

Pressure came back @ 10. Whooopie. Dr prescribed a different drop because the starter sample was making me looked stoned. Red & swollen eyes. This is for the rest of my life.

I'm falling apart

Had a six month follow up to my annual eye exam. Completely forgot that the pressure was elevated at that visit. 25. Still elevated at this appt but more important is that the testing is showing deterioration of the optic nerve and visual field. Started on drops. Back tomorrow for a recheck.
As for the vertigo, I've been having some mild symptoms recently. Only change I can think of is not hydrating like I have in the past. Not drinking my liter of water everyday to flush out. The diuretics haven't been producing the annoying frequent bathroom visits but I haven't been filling the tank. Took a meclizine for the first time in months tonight. A little nausea.
Oh wait. It was probably that meal at Zio's Italian Kitchen. It seemed pretty salty with all it's creamy cheesy sauce. I had four ice teas with it but didn't pee for hours after. That was probably it. The timing was right too.

Stable. See me in 6 months

Well, saw Dr Hegarty and my hearing had improved and stabilized in the low range.  He was happy.  The high range will never come back.   No changes to the diuretics.   Not seeing him again for 6 months. 
The constant tinnitus is going to be chronic.  The high pitch is indicative of irreversible damage.   Oh well.     It could be Cancer.