Poll: Have You Tried Benzodiazepines for Tinnitus?

Has anyone tried any Benzos such as Xanax and if so did it help?

 

If I were to guess, I'd say about 65% of us on the forum have used Benzodiazepines. Klonopin(Clonazepam) is the most commonly used one. Yeah, it helps with sleep, anxiety, blood pressure, and convulsions/seizures. For me it was mainly for sleep and anxiety until my SSRI Paxil kicked in, and it worked great. I was also hoping it would work for my ear-myoclonus, but the dose I was taking was pretty low, so I didn't get much effect on that front.
They are safe and effective for short-term use. Once you hit the one month mark you will want to taper-off(don't stop cold-turkey). Taking long-term has potential negative effects and withdrawl after suddenly stopping long-term usage will almost certainly produce devastating neurological effects.

 

Yea I am on Cymbalta which is a wicked SSRI: If I knew this when I started taking it 5 years ago I would not have. I am currently tapering off it am at about 20mg now. Im pretty sure that is what caused my Tinnitus. So hoping it stops when I get this mess out of my system.

 

You might want to try another SSRI(I'm on Paxil), although sometimes people have negative reactions to an entire class of mood-drug. Some people on the forum don't do well with any SSRIs, but do well with anticonvulsant/mood stabilizers like Lamictal.
I would say give one more SSRI a shot, and if that doesn't work out try one of the other classes of antidepressants(never MAOI), or something like Lamictal. Then if that doesn't work maybe an antipsychotic drug. But yeah, for sure you don't want to be on a benzo long-term. But hey while you are tapering off of Cymbalta, yeah take some Klonopin; you're going to need something to help you when your serotonin levels drop off. Benzodiazepines work on the GABAA receptors, not serotonin levels, so there's no interaction between benzos and SSRIs in general. Ask your doctor about klonopin. I recommend cutting them in half when you first take them to see if it is powerful enough. If it is, don't bother taking a whole(0.5mg twice a day is the standard dose).

 

I have Lyrica. I am going to stay on that for a while. I am fine other then I have panic and anxiety. I am not depressed at all. They wanted to give me Prozac or Buspar when I got off the Cymbalta.

 

I just found out Cymbalta is an SNRI not an SSRI. Prozac is an SSRI. Lyica is an anti-convulsant similar in effect to a benzodiapines with less risk of dependancy. BuSpar is some kind of mood stabilizer.

 

Yea and the head psychiatrist told me I could stop Cymbalta and go straight to Prozac. I was like are you crazy the withdrawals will put me in the hospital. These drs have no idea how Cymbalta is. There is a big lawsuit against the makers of it. This stuff is as hard to get off of as any benzo or narcotic out there. I went from 120 to 60 last summer and stayed on that till Jan 1st. Now I am down to about 30mg pill tapering from that. I really hope to be off this next month. It takes everyone different lengths of time to get off it. Some it may take a year or more.
Lyrica is good for body pain ect. That is why I take it.
I dont want anymore SNRI, SSRI .

 

I have learned the hard way to not take Benzo's on a daily bases,i take them very occasional and try not to be dependent on them.They try to tell you THEY KNOW what effect it has on your brain,but that's rather a guessing game than actually knowing.I fully understand why people need them but i have been trough anxiety attacks without
taking them just to avoid my dependence and going trough withdrawal.

 

Yea I also can understand that after going through the withdrawals with cymbalta.
However having tinnitus makes me panic that much more and have that much more anxiety.
Yesterday it was so loud and bad that I just broke down crying and having a panic attack.
I would rather take something that maybe would help quiet this because I think I would rather
go through withdrawals from that then have tinnitus.

 

There are two meds that I am afraid to take because from what I have read a side effect is "T".

One of them is for HBP - called Metroplol ( lopressor) and the other is "Wellbutrin". an anti depressant / cut out smoking cravings type of drug. I don't know what the half life is on lopessor - but it has been a few weeks now not taking it so I wonder if it's out of my system. Without the lopressor my pressure goes up - not good. So, the alternate is clonidine, which from what I understand can be addiicting.

 

I've been taking Klonopin for a couple years now. I only take .25 at night, but people have told me higher doses of it seem to help the ringing. Xanax is shorter acting which may make you take more of it. Klonopin stays in your system longer but takes longer to work. I have to take my dose about an hour before bed whereas Xanax will work almost immediately.

 

Benos help with anxiety for about 2 weeks, I tried to increase the dose but it had the opposite effect. I tried to stop using but the withdraws were really bad, and I had to go to he hospital and then detox. its been about 3 weeks now without any benzos. I wish I never took them. I now take buspar / cymbalta and Seroquel for sleep and I'm feeling better now. Benzos are evil.

 

Anybody using any of these in low dose long term.

I'm beginning to think I will give in and resort to my supply of .5mg Clonazepam to get my most recent 3 month long spike under control.

This is the worst one I've had and all my usual tricks of masking, sound enrichment, meditation, mindfulness are not as effective as I need them to be. I used the benzo solution once, one .5mg at night and it helped but I dread the crash of anxiety and depression when I stop.

I know there are reports of people using them for years and if I thought I could and they would help I just might be tempted to get on them and stay on.

I know there's going to be a lot of opinion that this is a bad idea but to restore my sanity I am starting to think I don't care about the long term problem, I will deal with that when it gets here.

Right now I'm looking for some relief.

 

I´m very close to going on benzo´s for life myself @Ambassador. I don't think there is any middle way to deal with T and benzo´s. Either you take it for life, and it will keep your T down, or you don´t take it at all. My problem is I have been in benzo-withdrawal for 2.5 years now and I really would like to know how much the withdrawal itself is feeding my T. I know I have quite severe H.L. as well. Since I first got T. until present my T have subsided along with my withdrawals symptoms(tremors, abnormal anxiety, skin rashes, gut problems, teary eyes to name a few). But its a painfully slow process and T and H still torments me 24/7.

Still, what I´m thinking in my simple mind is to be on benzo´s for the next 5-6 years and then hope everything regarding Frequency TX is going to plan and then deal with the withdrawals. And then maybe, just maybe I can go through it without any T or H. I´ll tell you it would be a lot easier to cope. Still would be a looong hellish ride though, but I would find a lot of strength in a "silent head" where sounds would not pierce holes in it, I´ll tell you that. And when/if I come out on the other side of it I would be strong enough to save the world.

grat_biff... OUT!!!

 

I would speak with your doctor but can I suggest trying ADs such as Amitriptyline, Nortriptyline have been known to help reduce T for some patients and is safer to take long term.

Yes, some people do take Benzo's long term and have absolutely no problems; intact a lot of clinical trials on Xanax and tinnitus are over the long term. But for many people, you will eventually require higher dosages the longer you take it as the brain adapts to get the same effect.

 

True, So then you have to take more. Obviously you would have to get your GP on your team so to speak. But if they get that suicide is the only other option, they will understand and comply.
Also it would be wise to take an adjacent drug to control your glutamate levels, but good luck bringing that up with your GP. They don´t know what the hell you are talking about. Believe me, I´ve tried.

 

I think long term you may have more luck with Nortryptaline at a low dose

Love glynis

 

I have a few pill trays I use each day, blood pressure, thyroid, etc. After a while, I wish I never took any meds.
But maybe we all have issues in life.

I started a general Anxiety class at my HMO. I think I'll learn something and hope to become happier in life.
How to reduce anxiety in my life.

 

Hello everyone, Relatively new here. I have had T since 2004 and it habituated. Took about 2 years. I worked full time
and very busy all the time. I take Clonazepam 0.5mg at bedtime. Have never increased it. March 2017 I had a Spike and
now back t0 loud T! I saw my doctor recently and she said just stay on that dosage for the next couple of months and try mindfuless and try to keep busy. Not too sure what to do. Not much has changed! Trying not to panic and remain calm.
Any suggestions? Perhaps I should be taking something else. Appreciate your responses.

 

Lillian, Very interesting, I also had been habituated and my spike began in February 2017. I have been given Clonazepam by every doctor I have seen most say .5mg at bedtime one said .5mg twice a day. Being I am so medication/benzo adverse I have rationed them out, sometimes cutting them in half. I'm at the end of my tolerance and will be starting a course of .5mg at bedtime for no longer than 2 weeks then reevaluate where I am. When this first started almost 3 years ago, a short course of Clonazepam seemed to help me habituate, or at lease helped me not obsess over it.
I understand it's effect of gaba and wonder if that effect is long lasting, not permanent but perhaps that's why I was habituated for as long as I was.
I'm 63 and honestly don't care if I go on long term at this point as long as a doctor agrees to supervise me. I have read where some people never have to increase dose. That would be ideal if that were true for me.
Meanwhile I am sure stress at work is contributing to my anxiety and spike and I am planning to retire the end of the calendar year but sometimes I think, I will just go now.

 

Can you explain your apprehension about SNRI and SSRI? I was prescribed it but afraid to take.

 

There is research suggesting that serotonin may increase tinnitus, but there are also trials that suggest sertraline may help. Both classes of drugs you mentioned work on serotonin. Cymbalta works also on norepinephrine. @Gena be careful with Lyrica as as it may lead to withdrawal as bad as Cymbalta in some people

 

My own philosophy is to stay away from drugs if at all possible. Or at least until you've tried a number of alternative non-drug approaches. There are many to choose from.