Depression/Anxiety Pill — Not Benzo — Suggestions?

I'm thinking I may be ready to try a longer term depression pill (SSRI?). Obviously I'm terrified of it making tinnitus and hyperacusis worse so while I will talk to my doctors I want to know which one doesn't increase T and H?

Any personal stories?

 

I tried Zoloft briefly. It did not increase my T or my H, thankfully. But it had a ton of other side effects that were bad enough that my doc to took me off of it.

I'm not recommending it either way; it's a personal choice. But quite frankly I won't be trying it again.

 

Im on Zoloft right now for depression and OCD. It doesnt affect my tinnitus

 

For me, antidepressants caused a ton of diarrhea and posibly contributed to my tinnitus. I would recommend older antidepressants like Remeron if you need them - they're less ototoxic and more sedating - if you like being sedated, take them.

Also, NEVER TAKE WELLBUTRIN (buproprion). It commonly aggravates tinnitus and we don't entirely understand how it works. It's a unique drug with almost no research behind it.

 

Amitriptyline is good ( other names for it are endep and elavil) its an antidepressant with sedating effects. I take one 50mg at night and it helps with sleep. Some people who take it can have bad side effects but for me the only side effect is dry mouth, which is not that pleasant but for me its worth it so I can get some sleep to escape this crazy screeching tinnitus.

 

WELLBUTRIN AND SERTRALINE DESTROYED MY LIFE-I feell ssri's are the derath of nothingness. They may help you or they may not. Good luck in your choice. Bless you also.

 

Zoloft ruined my healthy ear, ever since I took it I have two new noises and reactive T/H. That on top of drone noise I had for three years prior.
It didn't make me feel better at all!
Also tried endep like @Xenia and it didn't have any positive or negative effect on tinnitus or depression.

 

Have you tried CBT? That's been shown to be as good or better than a pill.

Also agree with others about Wellbutrin. It's not good for your ears from what I've heard.

 

Only go for an SSRI if you are suicidal.
They create more problems than they solve, with the possible exception of Remeron (mirtazapine - not an actual SSRI). You'll get fat though.

 

I played medication roulette for a long time, and generally now encourage people to exhaust all other options first because if I'd done that I might have avoided a lot of pills.

What are your sleep, diet and exercise habits like? Do you do yoga, or meditate, or anything like that? I always tell people they should make sure they're nailing all that stuff perfectly first, before adding drugs in to the mix. It's possible that just giving yourself a complete lifestyle overhaul will, on its own, make you feel better enough that you stop thinking about drugs; on the other hand, if you do pursue medication, you're in a much better position to do so if you're doing everything else right first.

I still take benzos very occasionally just because they work for severe anxiety (and to some extent relieve tinnitus), and they can be taken 1-2x a month and work. Drugs like SSRIs that really have to be taken daily for a period of time to do anything, are offputting to me.

 

Go to amazon type in homeopathic anxiety and fear. Tranquilene looks promising. They have all sorts herbal anxiety pills for women on google and amazon.

 

Symetrin is a female formula for stress

 

Taking Remeron for OCD ....does not make any difference in my T

 

I'm on Remeron 30 mg. Makes me sleep and eat. You really need to watch what you're eating though. So far no effect on my T.

 

@RicoS Does Remeron do something for your OCD? My psy was thinking that it wouldn't do much

 

I have S-OCD (SENSORIMOTOR OCD) so I notice blinking, breathing, swallowing, tongue felt to big for my mouth , itching all the time etc...you name it and I noticed everything....even that when you close your eyes you notice black is not black and you see all kind of colors....that one freaked me out for 2 days hahaha the most normal things feel suddenly weird, but you can call it an anxiety disorder. I thought I was going crazy until I spoke with people who also had it and they all are going through the same S-OCD Symptoms it switches from one thing to another.

Off the label Remeron is it used for (S)-OCD when Lexapro or Zoloft does not work. I first wanted to start with Lexapro although I hate meds, but Remeron was safer...they said. They told me the safest if you have T was Remeron and than Lexapro (in their experience) they absolute did not want to give me Zoloft or Paroxitine or something because of the T sideeffect...... At least I found psych who thinks along with me.

Remeron did a lot for me on only 7,5 mg than I upped to 15mg which I don't know did nothing anymore and since last week I am on 22,5mg and OCD is almost gone most of the time..... I was stuck with it for more than a year and they said they always used meds for OCD so I had no choice because I could not go on like this, but in all comes down to anxiety disorder and you are in red alert mode where all your senses are on high alert.

I am not out of the water yet, but I will get there...but if my OCD is low my T is bad and if my OCD is bad my T is low ....never a break. But at least I sleep well and I do not have floater anymore ;-)

 

Dana on here suggests Sedivitax drops.