Posted by bleauberry on April 4, 2010, at 13:23:12
In reply to Tinnitus Exacerbated By Lexapro: Temporary?, posted by Brainbeard on April 3, 2010, at 7:58:13
Well, we are all different, so who knows. No way to predict.
My own experience with my tinnitus is that anything that makes it worse, well, it stays worse. For example, if as an example my tinnitus was a 3 on a 1-10 scale, and then an increase of lexapro made it a 7, it would stabilize in a few weeks to about a 6. Not quite as bad as the initial increase in dose, but definitely more than it was before the increase in dose.
So for me, if something makes it worse, that is my body's way of saying, "this stuff is toxic for me, remove it". Logical deduction tells me that anything causing tinnitus to worsen is doing something not good in the nervous system.
Tinnitus from loud noise is different than tinnitus caused by a drug. Loud noise directly impacts the ear drum. The drug however is doing something toxic within the brain and the connections to the ear system. Since there are no explanations or cures, the whole thing is a mystery.
All I know for myself is that a tinnitus worsener is probably not a good substance for me to be ingesting.
Unless lexapro gave me a thorough remission, I doubt seriously I would be able to keep taking it with a loud tinnitus as the cost. Just wouldn't happen. Full remission, I could probably learn to live with it. Not full remission, forget it. The psych toolbox has so many other options.
Most psych meds make my tinnitus worse, some a little, some a lot.
I lived with prozac/zyprexa induced tinnitus for several years because I felt pretty good. Once it started pooping out, the tinnitus was no longer tolerable. I think when you get a robust clear benefit from a drug, the tinnitus thing becomes easier to accept as a fact of life in the battle to feeling well. But even so, all that said, in the back of my mind I know there is toxic stuff going on within.
I've experienced only two drugs that actually improved my tinnitus a lot. Milnacipran (savella) or Cymbalta. Not sure why. One that did not worsen it and actually helped a little was Parnate.
One that is supposed to be good for tinnitus, Nortriptyline, made mine a lot worse. Go figure. Why would Nort make it worse, but savella or cymbalta make it better, no clue.
poster:bleauberry
thread:941944
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100328/msgs/942163.html