Betaserc (Betahistine)

My ENT specialist in Melbourne Australia says I have Cochlear Hydrops. I had all the wonderful tests prior. Anyway he has put me on Serc for 3 months
Also put me on diuretic tablets to get rid of salt and fluid from my body in this case the cochlear area Anyway I took it for 4 days and have never felt so ill in my life. Dizzy weak as a kitten couldn’t walk up one flight of stairs without collapsing plus my blood pressure dropped very low. These are used for high blood pressure also
I called him at his private number on a weekend and told him my symptoms and he said stop taking the diuretic I feel better now
Right now I have a bad head cold lots of blowing nose and feel my tinnitus is more annoying. I’m trying to hard to habituate like ignore it. I feel like giving it a slap. Has anyone felt their T was a little more annoying when they had a cold
Thank you for reading. God bless you all

 

Here's my experience so far with Betahistine:

I developed tinnitus Jan 18. I had been taking Telmisartan for 3 months for a cardiac issue and blood pressure control. The entire time I was on this med, I had hyperacusis and balance issues. The balance issues I don't think were from my blood pressure being too low, but from direct effects on my inner ear and the vestibular system. At one point, I developed a viral infection that ravaged both ears (lots of inflammation, fluid, and clogged eustachian tubes). Tinnitus started then, and I found that my blood pressure actually increased the more Telmisartan I took (plus my tinnitus and balance issues got worse). I was taken off the Telmisartan, but the tinnitus didn't resolve. Skip forward a year and a half - my tinnitus is still there, although some days not as bad as it was, but is still a major pain and causes sleep issues. I still have occasional ear issues - some days fullness, mild discomfort or pain, etc. I was restarted on a baby dose of another angiotensin blocker for blood pressure, and within a few days I was having disturbing pain deep in my ears, and the familiar feeling of disturbed balance.
After thinking through, and doing a bit of research, I decided to re-try taking betahistine. So far, after just a couple of doses, the pain in my ears has receded considerably and tinnitus is significantly lower, along with a resolution of the balance issues. Only downside is that the betahistine makes me feel quite antsy and gave me a bit of a headache during sleep. Hopefully that goes away.
Note that my tinnitus arose from a very different cause than most here who have it from acoustic trauma.

 

Hey guys,

Just wondering if anyone has tried serc?
What was your experience with it?
How long did you take it?

This drug is used for Ménière's but apparently helps blood flow to ears and nerve endings.

My mother used it for her Meniere's.

And it is listed to help with “tinnitus”.

 

In my experience, Betahistine (serc/betaserc) is extremely effective for vertigo. Zero effect on Tinnitus for me.

 

Hey man, I got a prescription from an ENT who pointed to some research that it might help. I took it for about two weeks but have felt no change whatsoever.

 

I just got prescribed some. They say the same. Worth a try I guess. They said 4 weeks before it makes a difference

 

Interesting! Please drop me a PM or mark me in a following post if you notice any difference! Then I'd go back to my ENT and try again for a longer time. I have read on German patient forums, that for some it made a difference. I have to pay for it privately but it is fairly affordable. Does the Aussie healthcare system cover it for tinnitus treatment?

 

I had to pay for it out of pocket. It was $20 for the prescription.

 

I've been through the betahistine merry-go-round recently. My new ENT at the House Clinic (supposedly an esteemed institution) said I may have hydrops and prescribed it 4 times daily. I ordered it from Canada and gave it a month until the headaches from what I'm assuming was the drug were too much to bear. It felt like pockets of my head had air in them and it was a weird type of pain and dizziness I haven't had before. Good news is after about a week and a half of being off of it it went away. It's a "I have no idea what to do with this tinnitus patient" write-off drug (obviously my opinion). If you find it helping then good for you and keep going but if you get headaches like I did don't freak out just come off it as quick as you can.

 

Using betahistine in the treatment of patients with Menière’s disease: a meta-analysis with the current randomized-controlled evidence

Background: Betahistine is used worldwide to treat patients with Menière’s disease. However, despite it being used for decades, diverging opinions on the effect of betahistine on Menière’s symptomatology still exist.

Aims: The objective of this systematic review was to provide an overview and rate the certainty of the current evidence base regarding the use of betahistine to treat patients with Menière’s disease.

Materials and methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in October 2019. The search strategy was subdivided into searches for existing guidelines, systematic reviews and individual randomized controlled trials (RCT) investigating the usage of betahistine as compared to placebo, in patients with Ménière’s disease. The primary outcome was the frequency of vertigo attack(s) and occurrence of serious adverse events.

Results: We identified three relevant guidelines and three systematic reviews: however, neither included any relevant trials matching our inclusion criteria. An individual search for RCTs identified one trial. The results from this particular trial showed no difference in effects on symptoms following treatment with betahistine.

Conclusions and Significance: There is a need for further well-conducted placebo RCTs. Currently, there is still a lack of substantial evidence supporting betahistine as a significant and adequate treatment for patients diagnosed with Menière’s disease.

Source: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00016489.2020.1777326

 

In my last visit to the ENT I asked the doctor about several medications, including Gabapentin, Lyrica, and Betaserc. In the doctor's opinion Betaserc shows more consistent results (limited results) and the other medications are more random, meaning that some people benefit, and others do not improve, or worsen. Also in terms of side effects this particular doctor seemed to favour Betaserc too. I have not been on that drug yet, though, so cannot report out of personal experience.

 

In my country, Betahistine is routinely prescribed for patients with tinnitus even without other Meniere's symptoms. It very rarely does anything.

I took it for 2 months (for 1,5 month alongside with Piracetam), zero results, but I did not experience side effects either. (I suspected that my horrible insomnia was due to these meds, but it didn't resolve after quitting taking them either, so it may have actually been because of the panic tinnitus onset caused for me.)

 

Hi Kriszti, are you doing better with sleep?

 

Thanks for asking.

Slightly. I still have horrible nights here and there, but overall it is a tiny bit better. I still wake up a lot, and sometimes only can sleep 2 hours a night, but it's getting better (knock on wood). Doesn't improve the tinnitus though, and my mental health could be better, I'm pretty down, but baby steps.

 

I am happy to see you are doing better. Step by step.

 

Has Betahistine helped you?

 

In a big study it was shown that Betahistine is practically useless for tinnitus, hydrops and Meniere's disease. That's my experience too. I took it for 4 years 3x48mg per day. It did absolutely nothing, not even protect from worsening.