Cat's Claw (Uncaria Tomentosa)

Cat's Claw can potentially work to alleviate tinnitus:

"Anticonvulsants: In animal research, hirsutine and hirsuteine (extracted from cat's claw) had anticonvulsant effects in mice. In vivo, isorhynchophylline and rhynchophylline has demonstrated effects in central nervous system diseases, such as epileptic seizures"

So has anyone here on Tinnitus Talk tried it? Did it do anything?

If you haven't tried it, why not?

Study:

• Carboxy alkyl esters of Uncaria tomentosa augment recovery of sensorineural functions following noise injury

You can find Cat's Claw in most health shops as well as Amazon:

• Amazon US
• Amazon UK

 

Have you tried it yet? I might buy some, if the customs don't consider it cocaine and stop it.

I have tried buying supplements but they always get stopped for some reason (they contain something they do not like)?

I would try Dog's Crap if it worked!

 

I take this! Cat's Claw tea!

And yes, it works for me I have been stating this all over the forum. It lowers my tinnitus, it's a natural anti inflammatory herb It has helped many, some cancer patients take it too. It's best to get it in its pure form, the bark or the leaves. If not, the organic tea bags work just as well for me

 

I took Cat's Claw tea alongside Trobalt and my tinnitus has completely vanished!

 

Given that this is an anti-inflammatory with a lot of promise, I'm going to give this a shot, too.

 

@Danny Boy, how many doses of the Cat's Claw supplement have you taken to get to this state? How long is it lasting? I'm interested since my tinnitus cause is also an ear infection so it would make sense that perhaps an anti-inflammatory would help things.

 

Is this a joke? After one tea?

 

I've had some tea which is 800mg per tea. I'm getting the capsules soon so maybe they'd help better.

2 cups of tea and I'm not joking. Why would I joke around, tinnitus is quite serious.

 

Wow. Way to go Danny Boy. The pipes the pipes are calling! I'm going to go and skin a cat now. Is it just the claws you consume, a bit like crab but slightly saltier?

 

Just one cup, just today? Or over the course of a few days? I'd be interested to read if you'd be willing to update your status over the next few weeks to see if the effect persists or if you come back to some ringing.

Best of luck to you sir!

 

@Danny Boy, great to hear you're tinnitus free and I hope the effect is lasting. I might give Cat's Claw a go myself.

Quick question about the tea. How did you get Cat's Claw in tea form in a 800 mg dose - is it a tea bag (if so which brand) or did you dissolve powder/tablets?

 

I'd go with the capsules if I were you, they'd be more potent.

 

I've been taking Cat's Claw for a week now. I haven't noticed a difference in my tinnitus.

 

I've been taking Cat's Claw for the past day or so, and this morning I awoke to notice a tremendous reduction in the volume of my tinnitus that lasted for about an hour (about a 1/10, down from my usual 3-4/10). Tinnitus returned to a louder volume (back to 3-4/10) later in the morning, but then I took another dose and now waiting to see if there are more results.

I'm not sure if it's coincidence or causal (since my tinnitus, like others who have inflammatory-based tinnitus, waxes and wanes throughout the course of the days/weeks), but it's enough to keep me going to try some more to see if this improves throughout the course of the week. So far, I've taken 500 mg Cat's Claw (Unicaria Tormentosa) NOW brand as directed by the bottle: 2 pills (1000 mg total) with meals, for several doses.

Herbalism maintains that Cat's Claw can have an immediate impact since the active chemical in U. Tormentosa cross the blood-brain barrier, so this might be an explanation why I've begun to feel an immediate improvement. Generally, though, it may take 2-3 days to start building enough critical mass to notice reactions.

I will keep reporting back. I would love to hear from others, especially people whose tinnitus is being caused by inflammation (such as TMJ, neck/head muscle inflammation, swelling, etc.).

 

@Kaelon, very interesting to read. I haven´t got mine yet but the way you describe your tinnitus and what you suspect is the cause matches mine very much. Is your tinnitus sound of the whooshing kind?

 

My tinnitus is a high-pitched oscillating sound - it grows louder and softer with each heartbeat, but it's not "pulsatile" in the classic sense in that it's not whooshing, clicking, thumping, or throbbing. High-pitched oscillations that sound like they grow gently softer and louder with each heartbeat (almost undetectably so) are usually a sign of muscle inflammation, similar to the "throbbing" sensation that people feel when they have severe headaches. My neurologist, dentist, and maxillofacial surgeon were able to confirm this through a variety of MRIs and MRAs (and, more importantly, disqualify tumors and vascular disorders). The basic idea that they advance is that the Tinnitus should resolve if the underlying inflammation is addressed -- a theory that we were able to prove when I took a 15-day course of prednisone and my Tinnitus was almost completely silenced.

Cat's Claw is promising because it has anti-inflammatory properties similar to prednisone, along with pro-immune system enhancements, without the adrenal perils and side effects that prednisone offers. So I am cautiously optimistic, but trying not to have expectations too high. The medically-accepted approach to dealing with this sort of condition is to correct the underlying physical condition that is causing the aggravation to begin with. In my case, it's some sort of muscular spasm of my neck/head/jaw muscles that they haven't fully figured out.

 

I received my bottle today and will report back in a couple of days.

@Kaelon, so you take 1000 mg with every meal or just once a day?

 

Right now, I'm taking 1000 mg twice a day - once with breakfast, and then with dinner.

I haven't experienced any more improvement today throughout the day, so this morning's dose doesn't seem to have given me much relief (yet). We'll see how tonight's dose and a night of sleep goes, and I'll report back in the morning. My tinnitus right now is at a 3-4/10, which is its usual level during the "waxing" phase as the day progresses. It was very unusual that in the morning, the tinnitus was at a 1/10 - it usually starts out at 3/10, then subsides to a 1/10 after my hot shower and anti-inflammatory exercises (saline rinse, steam breathing, etc.). I didn't have to do any of that this morning for a full hour of relief as I was getting up, so I'm hoping it wasn't just coincidence.

 

I made crude tea with maybe 6 tablespoons of root bark last night.

I don't think it had much impact on my tinnitus, but I found it definitely and notably psychoactive, which surprised me.

I'd had a margarita with dinner prior; I need to repeat the experiment with a clear head to be more decisive. It seemed sedating and a little euphoric.

Some more googling makes me think that some alkaloids present in this plant, may act as antagonists of NMDA, or inhibitors of Monoamine Oxidase. If either of these things are true, it would explain away some amount of psychoactivity, and also imply that there may be some risks associated with this substance, especially if it is combined with other drugs or supplements. Be careful and do your homework!

 

Awesome, I've just taken 20, see you on the other side

On a more serious note I got some today (wouldn't usually go the supplement route but it sounds different), had 2 lots and no change to the tinnitus but I can feel exactly what you are talking about; there's a mild psychoactive feeling that I can definitely detect. Until I read your post I didn't really think about it but it put 2 and 2 together in my head.

 

Note that I may have gone a bit overboard on the dosing. Though, given that nothing bad seems to have happened, perhaps I'll double down next time :-p

 

Capsules or tea?

 

I just found this interesting quote on a drug forum:

"disassociative" is right; I was aware that I was altered on a new substance that I'd taken somewhat recklessly, but that thought had absolutely no anxiety or gravity behind it.

 

I tried Cat's Claw today.

It made me tired and depressed. I won't be using it again.

 

500 mg capsules. Two at 11am then two at 4pm.

Don't get me wrong, it's not like I was out there but there is definitely something noticeable. I also read the things that @linearb quoted and it makes sense. I am pretty susceptible to this though, I get dissociative effects from anti-histamines, tried them last year for what seemed like an allergy and was pretty affected no matter which one I took.

My main reasoning with this is the anti-inflammatory side of it, today's travelling world means that there is often a cold kicking around and they seem to sit on me at the weak point (ears), plus I have an historic jaw injury from being hit with a steel girder so this seems to be worth trying in that regard, see if it helps there.

 

Hello all,

I have been following this thread so here are my 2 cents. I decided to try the Cat's Claw since my tinnitus seems to respond to anti-inflammatory medications, I suppose because it is due to a TMJ or similar neuro-muscular inflammation near the inner ear. (have not been able to get a precise diagnostic yet). In my case I was able to buy here in Portugal Cat's Claw or Inner Bark Extract from Solgar (export from UK maybe) and I am taking the recommended 3 capsules a day for a total of (300 mg raw bark powder+150 mg standardized bark powdered) x3= 1050 mg a day. I believe the effect is quite mild, at least not as strong as the Traumeel I was taking before, but still noticeable.

Hope to hear more from all the others.

 

I took Cats Claw for a couple of days and I had a bit of a spike so I have stopped. I also got woken up during the night with fleeting tinnitus which has only happened to me twice ever.

It may be completely unrelated so I'm leaving it for a week and am going to try again and see what happens.

 

By the way guys, I take 3000 mg per day. 2 capsules x 3 a day.

 

It's only the second day on Cat's Claw & although my tinnitus doesn't seem to be any quieter, my balance in my head seems a little better.

I'll keep you all updated.

 

I have tried both capsules and tea. Doesn't seem to have a noticeable effect on me unfortunately.