I have just read about this on the menieres.org site. A lot of people seem to have had success with this, even though it is for menieres. Wondered if anyone has tried it.
Christine
Christine,
I’ve wondered this myself, in fact just a couple weeks ago I was doing a search over there to see if there was any info on it. John of Ohio wrote the following
“Burd,
Thanks for that comprehensive primer on MAV. I have no experience or real knowledge of the affliction.
It doesn’t look like my approach to Meniere’s is likely to have much usefulness in dealing with MAV, a different pathological animal altogether.
–John of Ohio”
So, it doesn’t look like it would work, but I would still be very interested in hearing from someone with definite MAV who has tried this to hear how they fared.
Book
Hi Guys,
I had a look at this site a while ago. While I know there’s people who claim it has helped them, be aware that there are red flags such as anti-western medicine sentiment, “unknown” wisdom from Russia, and American dogma. He claims an 87% success rate which I find very dubious and would like to see where he gets his numbers from.
Be aware that testimonials and anecdotes on websites such as these does not constitute real evidence. The old saying is that the plural of anecdote is anecdotes and not evidence. Some may have felt better without treatment anyway, some may not even have MM, and there could be a placebo effect too. Still some may have benefited from a real effect – we just don’t know the truth of the matter without any controlled testing. He does use L-lysine which has been proven to interrupt viral replication so there could be something in that. It’s possible too that he has increased threshold in migraineurs with B vitamins or some other part of the routine. Not sure but I’d personally take it with a grain of salt; however, if it doesn’t cost the earth than worth a try.
Scott
Thanks for the Menieres section. I have Menieres & Migraines.
I would agree that you would have nothing to lose by trying things that are safe and dont cost a fortune.
On the Menieres board several people have sworn that sucking lemons have helped them.
Hey, what did I have to lose??? Bought a bag of lemons, sucked them… drank lemon water.
Didnt help, didnt hurt, no big deal.
As far as supplements I feel more confortable with the ones where the levels can be measured in blood tests. My vit D & B12 came back very low so why wouldnt I take them?
When things are profoundly expensive and unproven… thats another story. IMHO
i tried to give the joh regimen a try but i’m just bad with keeping up with that many pills. i only have meniere’s. i thought i’d throw this in for thought. tinnitus is a symptom many meniere’s patients and mav’ers have in common. my doctor often recommends to his patients to try the lemon bioflavonoids for tinnitus. he says there is some evidence that it can help. i haven’t seen that evidence myself. however it is a cheap and relatively harmless supplement to try and if my conservative doc says it’s okay, then i feel pretty good about it. he does not endorse any other part of the regimen except to say that l-lysine does show some promise as a good anti-viral supplement. when i get past the recovery from my gent injection, i plan to try the bios for my tinnitus and see if i can get any results. i’ve been waiting until i was not on any other treatment before i tried it so i would have a clearer idea if it was the bios that made the difference.
Hi Nikki,
I would definatly try the bios. Your conservative Doc. recommends it to his patients, you feel confortable with it, it is non invasive, appears to have no side effects and it is reasonably priced. 
Let us know how you do.
I personally like and respect John creator of JOH from my dealings and questions to him on that other site. He seems sincere and does not promote his regimen as a cure for everything but something that may help people with Meniere’s symptoms which are caused by a herpes virus.
I did not take the full JOH because I have MAV and John has never said that it was effective for us MAVer’s but I do now supplement with certain supplements that are for Migraine sufferers. His posts just opened my eyes to nourishing my body with the things that my body needs to function properly and keep me away from big pharma as long as possible.
i also thought john to be an upright guy. he wasn’t pushy with his regimen. he usually simply posted a link to his regimen and wished people luck. i do wonder about the 87% success rate. i have about half a bottle of the bios here that i’ll start in a couple weeks. i think i can handle taking one pill every day.
as for recovering from the gent injection…this is day 5 and it’s hitting a little harder. very rough afternoon and evening but still no vertigo so i can deal with the rest of it. my doc said my symptoms would peak and then should diminish. i hope today is the peak.
i want to keep track of the general trend after this injection as far as dizziness, imbalance, hearing, and tinnitus. once i’ve sort of established my own little baseline with those, i’ll start back on the bios and let you guys know how it goes.
Hi Nicki,
I agree. JOH never comes across as pushy or out to make $$ off of anybody and even says it may not work for everyone. I may not agree with his philosophy or his comments on science and medicine and think the 87% success rate is pie-in-the-sky but I think he truly means well. I hadn’t heard about bioflavonoids working for tinnitus. I’ll check it out later and pass it on to Hannah on the MAV forum.
Scott
For what it’s worth–and I speak out of basic ignorance–I am still pursuing the MAV trigger elimination diet, and it includes staying pretty much off citrus, so lemon rises an eyebrow to at least half-mast.
david,
that may be a valid concern. i cannot speak to whether or not the lemon bioflavonoid would affect someone with migraines or not. i’m looking at the bottle and the “active” ingredients are lemon, rutin, and hesperidin. i don’t know if that helps any but thought i’d pass it along in case it might. i really want to say that john says the key for this is the lemon rind and that citrus bioflavonoids do not have the same medicinal effect. but it is a good point to remember that all his work has been done on how this works for mm’ers not mav’ers.
for what it’s worth, just looked it up, here’s his quote regarding the lemon bios…
“The first and probably most important part of the regimen is the daily taking of lemon bioflavonoid tablets. The lemon exocarp (the rind) has a high concentration of a bioflavonoid known to chemists as eriocitrin (formerly called eriodictyol). Eriocitrin is found in low concentrations in a number of plant foods, but effective amounts only in lemon rinds. Eriocitrin has been shown to dilate (widen) both capillaries and small arteries, allowing increased blood flow. It also increases capillary permeability, allowing chemicals to diffuse through the capillary wall. This property may account for eriocitrin’s reduction of MM hydrops or fluid accumulation in the inner ear.
Note that only an authentic lemon bioflavonoid works for MM. There are hundreds of bioflavonoid chemicals, and a number of “citrus” bioflavonoid tablets are sold. None of these are likely to have the same good effect as real lemon bioflavonoid. Use only an authentic lemon bioflavonoid, not a generic “citrus” bioflavonoid or other bioflavonoid.”
unfortunately, doesn’t help me to help you. but maybe you or someone else can use it to determine if would affect the elimination diet.
I just wanted to add to the discussion regarding the use of bioflavonoids. I have both MAV and bilateral MM.
I have been taking the bioflavonoids recommended by my physician since 2005. They are sold under the brand name lipo-flavonoid plus. They contain Eriodictyol from the lemon rind. It promotes better circulation in the inner ear. My otoneurotologist says he promotes these because he has patients who have had success using these.You better believe he does not promote anything out of the mainstream unless he has proven evidence that something works.
They also contain lots of vitamin C,all kinds of vitamin B1,B2,B6,B12,Niacin,Pantothenic Acid, calcium,lemon bioflavonoids,choline and inositol. It is recommended to take 3 tablets 3x/day for best results and for at least 6 months. I have not noticed any side effects from the “citrus” on my migraines. I have noticed a significant decrease in the intensity of the tinnitus. It isn’t gone but is decreased unless I am having a migraine or a MM attack.
I also would note that I also take a multivitamin,fish oil,calcium with magnesium,vitamin D,zinc and selenium.
I think I might have a crack at this JOH thing and see what happens. I’ll probably just get more headaches but have never tried the lemon bioflavonoids or loads of vitamin C. It doesn’t cost a whole lot so what the hell.
Scott