Just discovered that the ear drops that I was given 2-3 times (ear infection), 27 months ago was Gentamicin. Haven’t spoken to Dr Surenthiran yet (have appt. September 2) The “MAV” started 27 months ago as well… :roll:
Anyone else?
hey dizzychick,
i obviously can’t tell you for sure about the ear drops you have but that sent up a major red flag in my head when i read your post. i have meniere’s and after trying about everything else that is out there finally had one gentamicin injection about 2 months ago and of course, the purpose being to destroy most of the function of my balance nerve. in so far as that goes, the treatment was successful, i now have almost no balance function in that ear.
the other thing i immediately thought about is how easy it is to confuse an eye drop bottle with an ear drop bottle. i have several of both. i happen to have one bottle still around that was prescribed for an eye infection and is gentamicin. it has little warnings on the packaging that say it’s for the eye only. the ones on the bottle itself would be easy to miss. my point being…is there some way this is a bizarre mix-up with the prescription or the pharmacy?
maybe there’s some kind of specially prepared gentamicin ear drops that are safe for the ear but i have a hard time imagining that. if i were you, i would call your doctor or pharmacist and ask. have you looked up that particular brand of ear drops online to check for side effects?
why on earth would one give eardrops containing gentamicin?
The drops that I took were 0.3% Gentamicin + hydrocortisone, brand name Gentisone HC. I read the leaflet that came in the box (I always read them) and it says nothing about dizziness. It does say may cause hearing loss… Apparently it is the cheapest option in the UK for treating ear infections :?
If I have lost 27 months of my life because of this heads will roll ! :evil:
http://www.medicines.org.uk/EMC/medicine/21759/SPC/Gentisone+HC+Ear+Drops/
— Begin quote from “MikaelHS”
why on earth would one give eardrops containing gentamicin?
— End quote
My very stupid, ex GP!
— Begin quote from “Nicki”
hey dizzychick,
i obviously can’t tell you for sure about the ear drops you have but that sent up a major red flag in my head when i read your post. i have meniere’s and after trying about everything else that is out there finally had one gentamicin injection about 2 months ago and of course, the purpose being to destroy most of the function of my balance nerve. in so far as that goes, the treatment was successful, i now have almost no balance function in that ear.
— End quote
OMG this drug was given to you to actually destroy balance? Im not clued up on Menieres, but is your other ear functional? I used those drops in both ears… 
hey dizzychick,
yes, gentamicin injections are rather common to use on someone with meniere’s. it’s done to purposely destroy the balance nerve in the ear that’s causing problems. many doctors prefer it to the surgery where they go in and sever the nerve. i only had it done in one ear and i only had one injection so far because my doctor is very conservative and doesn’t want to completely destroy the nerve unless we have to. the other one is functional (so far…). we now believe i have m.a.v. as well.
anyway, i’m confused as to why the leaflet would say it could cause hearing damage but not even mention balance?? for my injection, the gent was given at a very low dose (sorry, don’t know what it was) because it should only damage the balance nerve at that dose. at higher doses, it damages hearing as well.
did you have a perforation in your eardrum at any point while you were using these drops?
if i were you, i think i’d be raising some h*ll about this! the more i have thought about your post, the less sense it makes. there are surely numerous other alternatives out there for ear infections that are as cheap or close.
nicki