Antidepressants (SSRIs, SNRIs, MAOs, TCAs, TeCAs)

Thanks for the feedback @Golly. Much appreciated.

 

How about this?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tianeptine

 

I took it for 3 months. Its actually B1 vitamin. Had no effect on the tinnitus whatsoever and also no effect on my anxiety

 

Are you sure? Tianeptine and Thiamine (B1) have different chemical formula. Only asking

 

yes i took coaxil which is tianeptine natrium but you are right, its not b1 - thiamine is.

 

I tried one and apart from developing new sound/s it didn't do much for me.

What other options are there to control anxiety/depression and all other beauties that come with t?

Thanks!

 

Thank you Karen,
I'm definitely looking into some natural ways to get on top of this.
Dr that I saw last time suggested inositol but I still haven't tried it.
She's also into alternative therapies so I will have to check with her again.
Still trying to stop AD all together, doing it really slowly.
After nearly 3 years I can't think of anything else that could have caused this change in my t, new sound in my other ear that was healthy so far, and also a lot of hissing/sizzling!
Dr who prescribed AD is determent it's not from meds, really hard to believe.
I'm just hoping once I stop the new one will go away.

It's a long road....

 

I'll be honest with you. I was on a low dose of lexapro when I feel like my T got bad and I quit it. I just became more depressed. Depending on what you took, it might have made you T worse but the chances of getting T with lexapro or ecitalopram are like less the .01 % and it's a pretty good anti depressant. But more power to you if you can do it with out taking meds. Good luck
P.S. Inosotol is good. check out Lipoflavanoid complex (you can buy it at cvs / walgreens)

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5-Hydroxytryptophan

5-htp is an effective supplement you can use for depression. Without getting too technical or carried away with details, it basically functions as a precursor to serotonin in the brain, the chemical that basically regulates feeling of well being and happiness.

Everyone is different though, some people find it very effective but others don't. Personally I've experienced positive benefits from using it (many times), I tend to "cycle" it and take it for a few days and then stop. You can find a bunch of information about it's effects and others' experiences online. Do not take it if you're currently taking another AD as it can lead to serotonin syndrome, and be sure to check out any other possible interactions it may have with any other medications your might be taking.

Other than that and what Karen has suggested, the best way to deal with anxiety and depression, by far, is regular exercise. Whether it's lifting weights, running laps, swimming, riding, etc; whatever gets you up and moving on a regular basis and really pushes your body to the limit will do wonder for all aspect of your being. So if you're not already on the exercise bandwagon, get on it!

 

I agree with @yonkapin. Exercise is a natural way of beating off depression - it puts is in a better mood. Since there are so many forms of exercise e.g. swimming, running, riding, as well as games such as basketball, football etc, you should be able to find one that you enjoy.

I understand you not wanting to take medications - I too would rather not take them unless I have to. In my opinion there are too many side effects for it to be worth my while.

I would suggest researching natural remedies and find out what you think would work best. Certain teas can help relax you. As @Karen said, it may take a while for them to get into your system, so while they get into your system you should start exercising ASAP.

Good luck.

 

Lexapro works wonders for me... Keeps me from havin anxiety attacks but when i do klonopin helps greatly too.

 

Hi @valeri: Lots of good advice here for natural ways to curb depression/anxiety. And I would give those a try before I looked at more medications.

But should you need to go the medication route (which, by the way, you can do so temporarily with the goal of transition off in a few months): the effect of medications for anxiety and depression vary hugely from person to person. So if you only tried one, there are many more choices that might work for you.

Also, while I understand this option is not available for all, depending on their health care system: Anti-depressants and anxiety meds are best taken under the supervision of a psychiatrist, not a family doc or GP. They require serious monitoring by the doctor administering them, and often need some tinkering before you get a dosage and a medication (or sometimes, a mix of a couple meds) that works for you.

Good luck.

 

Hey all, hoping to get some insights in my prescribed meds.

I have had tinnitus for about 5 months now, but in the last month it has spiked most likely due to anxiety. My GP prescribed Parexotine (SSRI) and i had an adverse reaction to it. My t increased, and I had a full on panic attack that ended at an emergency psychiatrist.

They switched me to Xanax (alprazolam) and also prescribed sleep meds (lormetezepam). That did pretty much stop my anxiety and made me sleep well.

But I am a little concerned about the addictive quality of lormetezepam. I think they're going to take me off these soon anyways.

Supposedly Xanax can actually be bad for tinnitus, and since my T has slowly increased even with the anxiety meds, i wonder if xanax could be a factor. I take relatively low doses of xanax (half a pill a day).

Would switching to Remeron be an option for anxiety? or is that just for depression?

 

@Cor:

I am not a doctor, but I have had lengthy discussions with my doctor about the uses and effects of various psychiatric medications. Xanax will give you near immediate relief from anxiety. However, it is short-lived and can be addictive
(in that, if used regularly, you might eventually need higher doses to achieve similar effects).

Remeron has different effects at different doses. Used at low doses, say 3.75 to 7.5mg, it works primarily as a sleep aid. Antidepressant effects may start to kick in around 15mg, but therapeutic doses are more commonly prescribed at 30 to 45mg. My understanding is that, to the extent that this drug works for you, you should benefit from anti-anxiety properties. The good thing about Remeron (generically Mirtazapine) is that it is not addictive.

-Golly

 

I take max dose of 45 mg Remeron. It helped to lower my anxiety a little bit. 30 mg was not enough.
When I take it at 9 PM, at 10:30 PM I am really tired. Gives me 8-9 hours solid sleep.
Although I take the highest dose, my anxiety and depression is not completely under control.
I take a lorazepam (Tavor) when I am freaking out and panic. Most of the time I can calm down myself without meds.
Remeron is not addictive. I have also no side effects. People say that you gain weight. But because of T, depression and anxiety, I am not very hungry all the time.

 

Increased appetite and weight gain is listed as a potential side effect of Remeron (I think this occurs in 15 to 20% of users). I have not gained an ounce.

-Tom

 

Ive read on several places that Xanax (alprazolam) and other benzos can increase tinnitus either during or after use. But this is not printed on the package. So is this really true, or is this just subjective experience? Anyone have some form of authorative reference on this? Im trying to convince my doctor to switch me to remeron, but they're reluctant because im not really depressed, im mostly anxious about tinnitus.

I did find a study suggesting that alprazolam can lower tinnitus symptoms. So could it be that once you quit benzos, the original tinnitus volume appears again, making it seem like the benzo caused the increase, while in reality it caused a decrease during use.

 

@Cor:

I am not sure if there are any published studies that deal with tinnitus as a side effect of Benzodiazapines. Most of the information is anecdotal: which does not mean it the information is untrue, just that it is not scientifically verified.

I think that the most commonly cited connection between Benzodiazapines and tinnitus onset deals with abrupt cessation of Xanax, Klonopin, etc., after regular use. There are several reasons why one should not suddenly quit Benzodiazapines; and this is one of them.

Indeed, there are published papers concerning the benefits of Benzodiazapines in treating tinnitus. However, even though some studies find Xanax, Klonopin, etc. efficacious in treating people with tinnitus, I do not believe the conclusions are firm. That is, not everyone benefits from these drugs, and in the cases of individuals that do, it is not clear exactly how or why they benefit. Certainly, no Benzodiazapine (or any other drug, for that matter), is approved to treat tinnitus per se.

I am a little surprised that your doctor will give you Benzodiazapines---a controlled substance---yet be reluctant to give you Remeron. Perhaps explain to him that Remeron's side effect of deep, long sleep might be help you better cope with your tinnitus and related anxiety. Also, I believe that at therapeutic doses, Remeron does have anxiolytic properties.

Just for the record, I take 1mg of Klonopin twice a week on average before bed and I almost always have a quiet day upon waking. I also take 7.5mg of Remeron nightly, which gives me a great sleep.

-Golly

 

My guess is that they see my 'psychological' situation as very temporary, and think i can manage short time on xanax. They seem to think Remeron is more of a longterm solution, and they're not convinced i fit a 'longterm' profile. I happen to disagree, because I think my anxiety about tinnitus is going to be with me for a while.

I prefer to switch because of the addictive elements of benzos.

If you google benzos and tinnitus you see a lot of chatter about a causal link between the two, mostly about it aggravating tinnitus, but I just cant find a reliable source for this.

While on xanax my tinnitus has slowly increased in volume, so im wondering if there is a link.

 

I believe that if you stop the Xanax (using a suitable taper schedule), any increase that is caused by the Xanax, should disappear.

-G

 

My gut feeling regarding benzos is that they help tinnitus not through their anxiety suppressing elements, but through their muscle relaxer. This would mean that people that benefit from benzos might have a specific type of tinnitis where neck/shoulder tension aggravates or maybe even started the original tinnitus. But yeah, my doctor wont take that So ive been looking at some actual research regarding benzos.

For me they seem like a 2 headed beast. They help me in the short term, but over time my tinnitis is worsening. This is a relatively short time, it's only been 4 weeks since my tinnitus 'activated' from a minor nuisance to a life disruptor.

 

Just chipping in here to say I've been taking fluoxetine (prozac) at 20mg/day for the past month and a half and have already seen a great improvement in my mood. Tinnitus is the same as ever, which for me was a great relief as almost everything I read online indicated that fluoxetine could cause or aggrevate tinnitus.

http://www.tinnitus.org.uk/drugs-food-and-drink

This article (along with specialist advice) helped to quell that fear and I recommend anyone in a similar position to read it. Basically, there are very few drugs to genuinely fear that are even remotely likely to cause permanent T (or worsen T), antidepressants included.

 

Hi everyone.

My doctor today has prescribed me Sertraline (Zoloft) for the depression i've sunk into since the T demon struck. Reading that it can in fact make T worse has terrified me and I am now very reluctant to take it.

Anyone got any experience of using this drug?

 

Hi @eldudebro:

I have no personal experience with Zoloft. However, I did consider taking an SSRI (of one type or another) when I was first struggling with tinnitus a few years back. I too was apprehensive, so I'll tell you what my doctor told me: (1) the chances that an SSRI (such as Zoloft) will aggravate your tinnitus are reasonably small; and (2) if your tinnitus is aggravated, the effects should be reversible and subside once you cease taking the medication.

In the end, I chose not to explore the SSRI route; but that was for altogether different reasons (I went with an antidepressant called Remeron instead).

-Golly

 

Remeron's pretty solid. Potent but non-addictive. I wish I had been prescribed it from the start instead of Clonazepam. The only reason I'm still taking the damn drug is to avoid the withdrawal effects.

 

I was put on Zoloft on my second month of T. It made me feel terrible, i took it for 2 weeks but never never again. my T increased and i got sensitive to all sounds and my anxiety was worser than ever. After that i was prescribed Remeron and everything changed.

 

In a good way?

 

Yeah that's exactly what I'm afraid of.
Perhaps I should ask for Remeron, or Mirtazapine as it's known here in the UK. I don't want to piss my doctor off though, might not take too well to me asking for specific medicines....

 

Remeron made my sleep feel very natural even at the lowest dose (15mg). No side effects at all, just interesting dreams. Every night is like going to the movies.
I had put myself infront of a train if i had continued with Zoloft, the worst drug i ever tried.