It has become quickly apparent that the NHS does not fully understand the causes of this disease and as such the treatments currently available are all around managing the symptoms, and not curing the underlying issue that is causing the problem.
After researching NHS treatments we saw that a lot of sufferers that follow the typical path suggested by an ENT, eventually leading to complete destructive surgery leaving The patient deaf and with balance problems.
To say that this doesn't look appealing is an understatement! We decided to do some further research to understand this disease.We have found a treatment that looks to be seeing some very positive results, and importantly for us it tackles the underlying cause, rather than the symptoms, which we feel is a far better approach than the other options.
The Stephen Spring Protocol (SSP)
Stephen Spring is an Australian retail property law advocate diagnosed with MD in 2004 (age 38) by Professor Bill Gibson. Stephen was told MD was incurable. He volunteered as the VP of the Meniere’s Research Fund at Sydney University raising funds to assist Gibson conduct research. Frustrated with progress, he faced bilateral involvement and invasive destructive surgery when conventional medicine repeatedly failed him. He tried low sodium diet, allergy treatment, diuretics, steroids, calcium channel blockers, grommets, ear pressure devices, anti histamines, migraine medications, acupuncture, Chinese herbs, massage and vagus nerve manipulation, increased water intake and various supplement regimes without success. He undertook an exhaustive study of the medical literature over 7 years in an attempt to forensically unlock the MD mystery from nearly 3,000 targeted, scientific peer assessed research, review papers and books with a best evidence, on the balance of probabilities approach. Following a new vertigo theory by Prof Bill Gibson, Stephen hypothesised the underlying cause of hydrops was infectious inflammation of the mucosal associated lymphatic system (MALT) and immune dysfunction. He thought the most common initiating factor is incompletely treated otitisor uncleared labrinthitis or viral insult, possibly through an upper respiratory tract infection (viral involvement in acute otitis, tonsillitis, sinusitis can turn intractably chronic) or meningitis. Host immune response and endolymphatic sacs are highly variable. This became the basis of trying to correct the immune dysfunction.Stephen went on to develop a treatment based on his anatomical, infectious and immunological studies. He tested therapeutic combinations with objective assessments and applied for patent protection of a therapy. From being virtually deaf and nearly disabled, Stephen has returned to normal life without surgery and restored hearing with minimal loss apart from inconsequential tinnitus. He does not claim he is cured, only more effectively treated for MD than alternatives.
We believe that Stephen has something positive from his research, and as such we want to try out Stephen's treatment program.
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