Meniere's: Is there a good illness?

This is not a moment to celebrate, but I was diagnosed with Meniere's five years ago. After struggling with its symptoms, of which vertigo was the worst, I am now healthy. What a simple but great thing to say!

With Meniere's, I guess one can never say he has overcome it completely. Even if you don't experience its symptoms for years, you wonder if the root-cause is still there, hiding in the tiny canals of your inner ear. Regardless of being sure or not, thank God I am now symptom-less!

Looking back I wonder now if I am happy that I lived what I lived! Frankly, I experienced more positives than negatives. Yes, the negatives were real bad. Being dizzy until vomiting then passing out to wake up with no appetite and power to stand up was hell. Living this intermittently, not knowing when you will get hit by the attack again was neurotic! Yet I still believe MY positives were more than MY negatives. For instance:

1) I now have a constant reminder that I have to take care of myself well. Otherwise, vertigo may show its ugly head anytime! Taking care of myself involves eating healthier foods and staying away from stressful situations and people as much as possible.

2) I now know that when things get worse in life, you can get stronger by managing shorter spans of life. If a week is hard to manage, you go for managing a day. When a day is hard to manage, you go for managing an hour. When an hour... You got the point :-)

3) I now know who and what matters to me more. I also know better than I AM the most important person to me! Not in a selfish way. I am my own doctor, care-giver and care-taker, so I should treat myself even better than my loved ones. In this regard, the Meniere's experience made me more independent, realistic and mature.

4) This one does not apply to all Meniere's patients but I hope one day it does. Due to Meniere's I designed my first website, learned (and still learning) how to promote it, reached and assisted many people who want to be healthier and helped few improve their eating habits. If I had not suffered from Meniere's, I believe I wouldn't have shared a health-conscious message with others at the current level.

In summary, my five year experience with Meniere's made me wonder if there is good illness. Well, my short answer is no, BUT it can be turned into a positive experience as much as possible. It depends on your approach to life. Let me conclude by repeating a cliche "often you can't control what life throws at you, but you can control your reaction to it".

To healthier lives and more positive attitudes! Cheers :-)

Umit