Tinnitus Caused by Armodafinil / Ambien? Did I Fry My Glutamate/GABA System? Please Weigh In

Hi. I believe i caused myself tinnitus by taking a strong stimulant called Armodafinil during the day for concentration at work and by taking Ambien (Zolpidem) to get the edge off of the Armodafinil at night at to help me sleep.

On day 4 of this practice, I feel like some sort of dam in my brain broke. It happened at lunch time at work. I took a 1/4 of 150mg Armodafinil tab in the morning and slept with the help of an Ambien the night prior to that. Suddenly, I was gripped by a panic attack that lasted all day. I knew something was wrong but I thought it would pass. That same night I had to take another 5 mg of Ambien because no way I would be able to sleep in that state. Then I wake up with another panic attack at 2 am. I realized something was seriously wrong. I discontinued the Armodafinil then and was biting on Ambien and taking it at night for the next 5 days when I went to the emergency where they said there is nothing to be done, I just have to rife it out. That night I flushed everything down the toilet.

Here I am, 8 weeks since that case. Developed tinnitus in week 4. The anxiety and panic is subsiding except for the tinnitus.

Will someone please give their opinion as to what may have gone wrong. I am seeing psychiatrists but everyone is clueless. It is my intuition at this time that I created strong tension for my glutamate/GABA system. I feel like I fried it. But I feel like if drugs got me into this situation, they may help me too. Thank you.

Here I will tag some people that I feel have some knowledge in this field.

@JasonP
@JohnAdams
@AVIYT
@Markku

 

Hi Bobby

I don't have experience of the medication you're mentioning, but I've been thinking about you since chatting in another thread a couple of days ago.

I see you are just 8 weeks into your tinnitus - that was probably just coming out of the worst time for me too. Hope you hang in there - I'm sure there are still a lot of options for you, as you say maybe some drugs or other treatments.

Hopefully one of the more knowledgeable folks you tagged will get back to you soon.

All the best
Graham

 

Thanks Graham. There's been some improvement... but still feels like a long way to go if it stays at this rate.

 

I am reporting a very highly probable cause as Armodafinil. Taking 1/4 of the tablet regularly in 14 day intervals for over 6 months. Towards the end, I took it more often, maybe twice a week.

Subjectively scoring my tinnitus from month 1 on the scale from 1 = light to 10 = unbearable serious emergency condition: started at 1, progressed over the course of 3 months only in one direction: up. After 3 months I have subjectively level 4.5 . Seeing the doctor yesterday, he gave me a scoring card, from 0 -- 100%, I scored about 50, which reads: "medium level condition".

There might have been other causes, but I am wondering: after Armodafinil / Modafinil has anyone experienced tinnitus disappearing after time, or getting better?

Has anyone experienced such a quick onset from zero to pretty bad within weeks?
Any chance of repair?

 

I know one person who had tinnitus for years, the whole time they were prescribed Adderall, and it went away pretty quickly when they stopped taking it.

Modafinil and related drugs are weird*, they are not directly comparable to amphetamines, and the only way to know what happens if you discontinue is to do it and find out.

* "GABAergenic stimulants with NRI properties", IIRC. strange, strange drugs. Cocaine duct taped to Xanax.