Ketamine Relieves Depression by Restoring Brain Connections

This is a particularly good find as the FDA has begun their review of the New Drug Application for AXS-05.

Axsome Therapeutics Announces FDA Acceptance and Priority Review of New Drug Application for AXS-05 for Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder

 

Holy Shit! Forget about Ebselen, this could be approved this year!!!

 

How does this help tinnitus?

 

It's an NDMA Receptor Antagonist.

 

Awhile ago I called my Primary Care Physician and requested a recommendation for a psychiatrist; I was notified that this COVID-19 shutdown engendered so many stress/depression related conditions (fear of contracting the virus, financial insecurity, enforced idleness and isolation that activated the level of paranoia exhibited in Munch's "The Scream") that I might well have to wait six months for an appointment.

This was in fact corroborated by the comment in last month's Esquire Magazine that this and last year's sales of alcohol nationally have increased by 24%.

But I'm with GBB; I am henceforth determined to try everything I can get.

After all, it would not be unusual for one of these new drugs for depression by sheer serendipity to also remedy tinnitus.

Recall that Depakote was originally developed for Epilepsy but was also found to be beneficial for migraines; Viagra was originally intended as a heart medication.

 

Their website lists Ketamine as a related compound and Ketamime is available now:

https://axsome.com/axs-pipeline/about-axs-05/

Systemic NMDA antagonists work really well for some people but chronically especially there are risks.

 

There are a lot of NMDA Receptor Antagonists in the market. I don’t see the first one to help tinnitus.

 

Dextromethorphan is an NMDA antagonist? That stuff always makes me feel absolutely terrible.

 

I thought those risks were only in large doses over the span of years. Couldn't this be used episodically for relief? I think the effects were observed to last 6 weeks.

 

Yeah. Some people use Ketamine successfully that way and don't overdo it. Doesn't work for everyone but works very well for some people.

 

Apparently it has Bupropion too. Doesn't that give tinnitus?

 

Yup I was mistaken.

 

Here we go again

 

Mind sharing the name of the Santa Monica clinic? That's where I live and was considering this option as well.

 

Whatever helps lol.

I'm actually much more hopeful on ebselen like most, but this one is going to be available imminently.

 

I don't remember the name, so googled "Santa Monica Ketamine infusion" and found 3 or 4 different places right in the first page of the SERPs.

Looks like they are all around the Brentwood/Westwood/Marina Del Rey areas.

 

Question is can I get my dickhead "just put on a fan" doctor to let me take it despite only being depressed because of the sound in my ear/head.

I'm sure there's no data on if it helps tinnitus, but given the drug profile hopefully it does.

 

Even if he wanted to, I don't think he could prescribe it to you. It's a very potent antidepressant, you most likely need to be diagnosed by a psychiatrist.

I think out of any doctor the one easiest to trick would be a psychiatrist. IMO

 

Thanks for the laugh! You should find a new doctor.

But for the Ketamine, you'd need to talk to a psychiatrist and see if it's a fit. I doubt they'd prescribe it to you for just tinnitus, but if you have long term depression it might help.

 

I just wanted to loop back and say when I lower my Keppra dosage, it seems like night and day now, so it has provided some benefit. The more chaotic tinnitus seems to stabilize into continuous noise which is far preferable in my opinion. It goes from sounding like I'm on a battlefield to more of a varied but much more stable shhhhhhhhhhh.

Now I have to point out my tinnitus is very weird. I am one of (not trying to make myself sound special) the only people I have seen that literally has cycling noise, whereby sets of noise are mutually exclusive. I still don't really know what triggers that. So YMMV.

 

Any negative side effects from Keppra? Any dangers in taking it? And how did you convince a doctor to prescribe it for you, or are you taking it for another condition?

 

I just told my neurologist I wanted to try it and I had done a lot of research on experiences of people in the community, so she said okay it’s very safe just watch out for rage feelings - if those happen you need to get off of it.

No prior conditions. It seems to change my pre-existing visual snow a bit but so far seems worth it as it stops a lot of the chaos of tinnitus - without it it’s like a battlefield of random noises which are truly overwhelming - with it it’s a more steady tone and less reactive - I still can’t shower without earplugs but it helps me cope with the air conditioning running all summer and other noise by making the tone more “inert” and non-responsive to external sounds. It honestly gives me a huge amount of sanity back though every day is still tough.

 

After hearing about Gabapentin causing visual snow, I turned my attention away from anticonvulsants, but if this is safer then maybe I'll add it back to my list.

 

This makes me very hopeful for the Ketamine treatments in development.

 

I think @GBB is talking about Keppra.

 

I am, just to be clear.

 

Lol I misread that, sorry guys!

 

My tinnitus faded away after using another psychedelic, Psilocybin.

I bet that Ketamine would have a similar effect, but you would probably have to do the inpatient loading dose that they do for chronic pain patients. I doubt that the little doses they do for depression would have much of an impact.

Ketamine infusions are pricey, especially the inpatient treatment.

I take Psilocybin instead, it’s pretty much free. I have hemicrania continua, a condition that causes 24/7 migraine like symptoms. Tinnitus was one of the features.

 

I have done the inpatient Ketamine procedure 5 times. It does nothing for tinnitus. Sure wish it did...

 

Wow, what were you having it done for if you don't mind me asking? Do you have a pain condition like CRPS?