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?