My younger sister (age 44) has been
diagnosed (several times) with meniere's
disease (ringing in the ears, dizziness,
nausea, fainting, vertigo) and she also
has a lot of allergies. I am concerned
because she runs from doctor to doctor and
doesn't seem to follow their advice. If
they recommend an otc medication, she
doesn't take the correct dosage. She ran
to the health food store and took the
clerk's advice on ginko biloba, but won't
take the recommended amount. She won't
fill the prescriptions the doctors order.
She says that they make her feel ill.
I know that she does have real attacks on
occasion and has had to make a couple of
trips to the emergency room for the
vertigo. She had a pain in her right
side recently and went to the emergency
room because she thought she was having a
heart attack. They suggested it could be
her gall bladder, but a few days later she
couldn't decide whether or not to go
forward w/ the tests to confirm it. She
did and she was normal.
I'm beginning to think she likes the
attention all of this brings. When I
suggested to her that she needed to take
the doctor's advice, she got angry with me
and won't speak with me any more.
Although I know she does have some real
problems, I am very concerned that a lot
of this is mental. Any thoughts?
