I have suffered from tinittus nearly all my life and it has not been a problem as I managed it and still managed to get on with life.
I also suffer from severe anxiety and was recently prescribed Mirtazapine 15mg.
After 2 days of taking it (2x15mg) I noticed my tinittus increased quite dramatically. I thought this was just a initial spike so took an additional 4 tablets (so 6 tablets in total). No change. Tinittys still the same.
I wanted to come off the drug. I tapered using 3x7.5mg (half 15mg) and after advice from Dr stopped.
3 days after stopping my tinittus has got even louder. I am very very scared that this level of tinnitus is now permanent and will never go away.
Can anyone who has been in a similar position with increased tinittus when coming off this drug or other antidepressants please help me? I am desperate for answers. Will it eventually subside to my base level tinittus or am I resigned to the fact that for ever it will be at this level? I don't know how I going to cope.
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Commandacoder
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I’m so sorry this is troubling you - I’ve not been in your position but I wonder if you post this also on this Anxiety and Depression forums here on Health Unlocked you might get a response?
I'm sorry to read about the difficulties that you're having at the moment - it does seem that anxiety is driving a lot of the awareness of tinnitus that you're experiencing and that will make it feel as though it is louder and pervasive.
I won't say that it's a trick the mind plays on us in these situations, but anxiety does tend to change how we view tinnitus or think about it. And often those thoughts don't have as much to with any actual change in tinnitus as much as they reflect how worried we are or how our beliefs are shaped by our worries.
You've tried a medication which is recommended to treat anxiety and didn't get on with it. That's okay - it perhaps suggests that the way to deal with anxiety in your case lies on a different path. Your anxiety might be helped by a talking therapy or by peer support - and when that anxiety is in a better place, you might not be as conscious or distressed by the tinnitus as much.
The fear that you have about tinnitus being at a fixed point and not improving is entirely about anxiety - and for most of us, anxiety is not rational or persuaded by facts or statistics. Anxiety relies on our worst fears about a situation rather than asking us to think about that situation and looking at it objectively.
I'm sure that you know all this, but I didn't want to leave your post without a reply. Take care and feel better soon.
I have been coming off Mirtazapine successfullyI was on 7.5mg to start with for sleep and the noise definitely increased with the M . :-((
My method to wean off is 5% per week so that I still sleep and get no rebound insomnia
I dissolved the 7.5 mg in a 30ml glass measuring glass
Once the solution is dissolved I suck out the 5% of solution using a graduated 5ml syringe and squirt the friggin stuff down the sink (YEEHAAR!!!).
I am down to 4.75mg and the tinnitus is no worse but to the contrary getting less of a menace
At the moment 5% corresponds to 1 ml
I set up a spreadsheet in Excel to calculate what 5% reduction is of the LAST DOSE !!!.For example if i am on 4.75mg ,I reduce this amount by 5% and not 5% of 7.5mg
Obviously it was 5% of 7.5mg when I first started .
Hope this helps
I have been taking magnesium and curcumin tablets daily as well
I think that anxiety is the problem
Try EFT tapping .to tell your subconscious that you choose not to let these horrid noises stress you and you choose to relax your body
It can help with anxiety and take the bite out of the tinnitus
EFT Manual by Dawson Church
Go through the full tapping procedure as outlined at the back of the book
It makes me start to yawn when I do it and leaves me more relaxed
Do it at least once daily or when you feel uptight
DR650SE Can I ask if it is OK how long were you on Mirtazapene? As I was only on 15mg for a short time 9 days total including the 3 days tapering at 7.5mg am surprised I getting withdrawals. As well as tinittus I have brain fog so great I can hardly function.
I have been on M since January.Just weaning off slowly to maintain sleep patternsAs you have only been on it for 9 days ,it should not be to difficult to get off it .
Perhaps 7.5mg every second day for 10 days then 7.5mg every third day for 10 days if you want to take the tablet whole and not dissolve it.Ask the Doc if he agrees first
As far as the tinnitus goes ,it is not the tinnitus per se but our emotional response to the tinnitus that is the problem .
I really believe that EFT tapping contributes to us not stressing and getting anxious about the noise
Read The Tapping Solution by Nick Ortner and the EFT Manual by Dawson Church as I have previously mentioned
I know what you are going through. I have never had tinnitus until I’ve come off mirtazapine. I’m off it nearly 7 weeks now but the tinnitus is still there. I hope it isn’t permanent and it’s just a side effect of the brain adjusting. Think it just takes time. But yes I’m really worried too. I think you have to remember it’s just a spike in anxiety so seems louder right now, it will settle down
I cannot understand if tinittus can be a symptom of withdrawal that doctors do not at least advise that this can happen before starting this drug especially if already have tinittus like I do. I keep thinking I never should have started this drug I feeling very upset that i have bought this onto myself now and having to live with the consequences of my action and really wish I never started mirtazapene. I hate the drug now and it has put me off trying other antidepressants. I was taking it for severe anxiety and it has only left me feeling lot worse off than when I started on it.
Try not to panic, easier said than done cause I’ve had panic attacks too. But things do and will get better. There are drug’s out there that will help and do not make the tinnitus worse. I think it’s just the anxiety making it worse. Not that the drug itself is causing tinnitus
are u able to drop off to sleep - and how much sleep do u get usually at present. - if u can get reasonable sleep then this helps a lot - even if the T is louder. I go for walk every day of at least 45 mins ( which helps me to feel tired later in evening ). If i do not have a walk then i dont feel tired and cant drop off. Daytimes i keep busy and distracted. My T is loud again this week coz of stupid mistakes with noise incidents, and when its louder it increases anxiety - A few months ago i was in a terrible state with the T, especially as i could not get much sleep and was so tired every day , which pushes up the T - and anxious coz of all of this - i was in a nightmare, but it did gradually improve mainly coz i started to sleep better
It's worth saying that there's a strong relationship between anxiety, stress and tinnitus - so that may be an underlying factor to consider as much as any potential link to medication, as Dan8612 suggests above.
hi - if u do search for Mirtazapine in the top right box of this webpage - and then in the Filter results section , select BTA community - then lots of other posts and replies appear in relation to this - i suppose u know this already - some of those people had increase like u describe
I'm feeling now that I'm never going to get better this drug has permanently left with this awful symptom and I not sure how I gonna live with the prospect of it never returning to base level. I keep remembering the times before taking this poison and I get very down and upset and feel there's no hope for me ever enoying life again.
this is how i felt in Dec 21 and Jan of this year - i was in a turmoil and convinced myself that the T would not improve , and I was taking Zopiclone almost every night for months - but I broke that cycle and came off the Z - but i went through a very very difficult month - lack of sleep, extreme daytime tiredness, huge anxiety and i felt like i couldnt go on - the T did eventually ease somewhat and now I am coping better and sleeping better ( without meds) . You did the right thing to come off the M and at least u were not on that for months (like many people)- I think yr T will ease because you took the M over a relatively short duration. Do u have support at home from partner or family at this difficult time? Have u spoke to yr GP about how u are feeling ? and to possibly have referral for CBT or other therapies - the OTO app ( for mobiles) is very very good as it has full range of psychological therapies specifically for tinnitus sufferers.
Yay Commandacoder, I can totally relate to what you are experiencing as the same thing happened to me but it wasn’t mirtazapine but a different antidepressant. The only advice I can give you is to try and stop the longing, hoping, wishing for habitation as it probably won’t help. You have to try and tell yourself “This is how it is for now!” Unfortunately no one on here or the experts can tell you how long “now” will be. You can try all the recommended tips and advice and what helps some may not help others. We are all different, acceptance can help to try and deal with the anger, resentment, frustration etc. and hopefully you will return to your base level soon.
Yay Suz26, every little helps. I use to be an active member six years ago but giving similar advice again and again kind of made me feel like a broken record😂
yes I can understand that - i was looking at this forum everyday from Oct to mid March - and i received great support and valuable advice - and now I am in a position to give some advice - but I am not as active on here as before, because I have regained other aspects of my life back
I would really like there to be more awareness of the possible increase of tinittus caused my mirtazapene and that even being on this drug short time doesn't necessarily mean you won't experience withdrawals like I unwittingly found out. I want it included on the patient information sheet that this drug can cause tinittus upon withdrawal and that it is listed as a side effect. It has put me off attempting to start another antipressant. Before this drug my anxiety was affecting my life somewhat but now I have this additional awful symptom to cope with which is making my waking day a utter nightmare.
Ironically I occasionally take Mirtazapine to quieten my tinnitus. If I get a prolonged spike i’ll take 15mg before bed, and it helps to lessen the severity for a day or two. I only use it in emergencies when tinnitus gets too much, maybe 1-2 times a month.There has been some clinical research to suggest Mirtazapine does provide some good results in relieving tinnitus. Of course it may not work for everybody
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