Psychiatrist Prescribed Antipsychotics for Tinnitus — What to Do?

Hello everyone. The post might be a bit longer so I hope you can bear with me through it. I'd gladly like to hear anybody's opinion on the matter as I'm really not quite sure what to do with this.

So, it has been just over 2 months since the onset of my T (intrusive to a degree, central head ringing that is maskable with a ''chirping'' noise in left ear that is unmaskable). I had been seeing an ENT for ongoing sinus issues (chronic infection) which I've had for nearly 10 months now which have caused me a great deal of trouble as they prevented me from doing a lot of the things I enjoyed. Well, I mentioned to him that I had developed Tinnitus, and after examining my ears and giving me a few light meds (Betaserc, Gingko Biloba), suggested that I see a psychiatrist regarding the tinnitus and that they sometimes work together in managing the symptoms of tinnitus. I thought I had been doing okay in managing my tinnitus with a few crisis periods (which I understand is the norm) and a moderately depressive state over the general loss of health.

The psychiatrist is very experienced and very old (86 years old now) and seemed like an understanding and kind person over the phone. I didn't feel that I needed one, but on the recommendation of my ENT, I decided to visit him. Well, he did a short neurological exam, and asked me a few questions about my life and mental state. He afterwards explained his theory on what tinnitus is and how it came to be, it was rather technical so to keep the post from getting too long I won't post it here, however I can post it to the best of my understanding in a response if anybody is interested.

So, here's the gist of it. He kept mentioning throughout the thing that in his opinion I am healthy and do not require medicine, but rather lifestyle changes. Fair enough, I'll admit that I do not have the best lifestyle (spend a lot of time on pc, not the most social person), though that was a result of being unable to handle physical stress due to my sinus issues. However he examined some of my lab results and later concluded that I am physically perfectly healthy and that the health issues I have are in my head... (I had brought blood results which showed increased lupus anticoagulant indicating inflammation, and hadn't brought my MRI and CT scans which showed infection and cysts inside sinuses) He told me that I needed to go on medicines and stop going to any other doctors but him. He prescribed a month long therapy of amitriptyline with promazine and said that it would ''cure'' both my tinnitus and my other health issues.

Well, I might not be the smartest pea in the pod, and I might not have a medical background (however my dad is a licensed nurse working in the state psychiatric department for 38 years), but this seems a bit ridiculous to me? I looked up promazine and it is an antipsychotic, and I do not have any of the criteria for psychosis (no hallucinations or fears, just some amount of anxiety and depression over health, which I see as a sort of grief response), and to me it seems a little crazy (sorry for the pun, lol) that he claims to be able to cure my tinnitus and disregarded my other EXISTING health issues as being purely psychological by treating me with antidepressants mixed with antipsychotics.

I talked to my dad about it and well, he was very adamant about me not taking promazine (''you'll take them over my dead body'' - as he so delicately put it), but, I try to be reasonable and rational when it comes to decisions and I do not want to disregard a professional's opinion, no matter how much my personal opinion might conflict with it.

Now to end on, it's my personal opinion that I don't require neither an antidepressant, nor an antipsychotic, but these forums have been a saving grace for me since my T onset, and even though I haven't been posting a lot, I have been reading a lot what certain members said and talked to some others, and it has really saved my life and pulled me out of the deepest depression, and so I would like to ask you guys what your two cents on this is. I think that if there was some sort of miracle antipsychotic combination for T surely we'd have heard of it by now and it would be researched further upon? (Plus he disregarded my other health issues as being purely psychosomatic.)

Well in any case, if you've made it this far into the post, I have to congratulate you, lol. I know it's a long rant but thanks for reading and considering it. I'd love to hear your opinion on this matter.

 

@Daniel95 I would listen to your dad. Promazine can't be prescribed in the United States for human use.

 

@Daniel95,
Hi ,
Ìf you don't feel the need for the medications I would not take them.
Amitryptaline at a low dose can help sleep long term if tinnitus keeps you awake and not adictive. 10-20mg .

I know how you feel with sinus problems as Im going through the same.
Had the camera up my nose.
At the moment I take fexofenadine 120mg for allergies and a nose spray.
My nose won't run at all and get swelling and pressure in my nose.
When I use the spray and then 15 minutes later I blow my nose just crusted mucous comes out.
Im a sever asthmatic so it's hard not having my nose work properly along with lùngs.
Have a talk with your
doctor about the Amitryptaline for sleep and take a antihistamine to reduce mucous and nose spray should help too...
Love glynis

 

Hello @glynis

Yeah, the sinus problems really are a downer.. I am taking some antihistamines and a nasal spray for my sinuses. Thank you for the advice. I would prefer to avoid any sort of antidepressants or psychotropic meds and would prefer to look into more natural remedies for sleeping problems, though I seem to be able to sleep a bit better these days.

Regardless, a strange claim to claim that he can cure tinnitus with a short-ish course of those meds.

Anyways, thank you for responding and thanks for all the contribution you have done around here, you are wonderful!

 

That's a big red flag right there.

 

@GregCA
Yeah, I mean, I'm sure all of us here have done a fair amount of research on this topic, and if it really was this simple, I'm pretty sure it would've gained more traction, and not just be used by one psychiatrist in some god forsaken country.

Well, at least I hope that wouldn't be the case . Either way, I don't think I'm quite comfortable being a guinea pig seeing as he can't give me names of any other people he's ''cured'' this way so... yeah.

 

Always get a second/third professional opinion when your gut tells you something just is not right. You are very smart to question that professional's opinion. Glad your Dad is there to help you out.

 

@Starthrower
Sound advice, I wish I'd done that before my T onset, I might not have even developed it

In any case, what's done is done, but it definitely makes it harder to trust any single one doctor, considering there's a high chance that led me to this situation, so I will try to see a different psychiatrist - possibly someone younger who has heard of, or treated patients with tinnitus - and talk to them.

Thank you

 

Medicine is not black and white in a lot of cases. Get a second opinion. If you do decide to take anything, the Amitriptyline should help you calm down. It’s often used on these boards as the AD of choice for tinnitus.

 

What to do? Get rid of the psychiatrist.

 

Yeah, I don't think I'll be visiting him again. I'm sure there are people who have been helped by such medicines, at the very least the AD's, but I'm not sure that tinnitus sufferers qualify for anti-psychotics.

To be perfectly honest, I never thought I needed a psychiatrist in the first place. I was dealing with it okay-ish I'd say. I mean all of us have been at the depression point sooner or later, no? Grieving the loss of something is a normal reaction in my opinion... be it health, loved ones or whatever else. I don't know, I think I'd prefer talking to a psychologist, as I don't think I'm at a point yet to be requiring meds for my mental state.

All in all, I have a much better idea of where to go from here thanks to you guys, and I am glad and thankful that you took the time to give me advice.

Here's hoping for a real cure at some point and not a bandage with a plethora of side effects.

 

Yeah please be verrrrry wary of antipsycotics as they are very serious drugs that are most definitely overprescribed, While they can be incredibly useful for some people, they can wreak havoc on other peoples brains especially their D2 Dopamine receptors. Search up Tardive Dyskinesia if you want an idea of how bad some of the long term side effects can be.

 

Yeah, I've done my fair share of research and consulted with another doctor, and I've decided that such meds (most certainly not antipsychotics) are not necessary for me, at least at this stage. I've looked up the side effects online and they really do seem debilitating. Thank you for the advice

 

Please do if you can, I’m interested!