Anti depressants

[Quetzal24]

Hi,

I've always been an anxious person but tinnitus diagnosis has really heightened the anxiety and I literally can not sleep, which is making the anxiety worse.

Doctor prescribed sertraline which I read can make tinnitus worse so he prescribed mirtazapine which I've read good and bad things about.

Can anyone tell me their experience with these and what caused your tinnitus in the first place.

Think I've read every post on this form looking for advice.

Thanks

[daverussell]

Sertraline has helped me. However it has recently come to light the duration I've been taking them has caused other neurological problems. Though, if that is the case given other baggage I carry and learnt coping mechanisms it has almost certainly exasperated the effects.With such drugs you should use the period of calm or relative calm to make other rational decisions to manage your condition in other ways. But before you find calm you will need to try different dosages (starting small) and even different medications to find what works optimally for you. I was originally given Fluoxitine which made me feel horrific. We're all individual.

In hindsight I'm certain about is that I've used Sertraline for too long as a solution. Whilst I've made adjustments at work as a teacher, I've been too stubborn to say I'm leaving the classroom where I find noise unbearable - my HR meeting is today as it happens.

There are lot of scare stories and many of which are plausible.

All the best, only you can make the final decision. My last word is think long term and not just short term.

[amelie123 in reply to daverussell]

I’ve seen two ENT Consultants and they have both recommended Amitriptyline which apparently can help. I take one occasionally if I need a good nights sleep but I can’t say it makes a difference to the tinnitus level.

[daverussell in reply to amelie123]

They're only aimed at managing your tolerance. My Tinnitus is horrendous at the moment, but I have broken another finger trying to put my fist through a wall.

[Wexfordgal]

I was prescribed Mirtazapine as a sleep med as my (loud) tinnitus prevents me from going to sleep. I believe it's generally regarded as one of the safer anti-depressants to take. However I have found that it isn't very sedating compared to the Z drugs. I now take 15g Mirt and a half Zolpidem (2.5g) an hour or two after, every night. I wouldn't recommend this exactly as it's combining two depressants, but it gives me 4-5 hours sleep a night and I feel quite ok during the day. It's very difficult as drugs are so individual and they work differently in each person. You may need some trial and error to find out what works best for you.

[dsh2358]

hi

Yes tinnitus can bring on anxiety, I’m going on

7 years with it and the only Medication that helps ME is Aprazolam 1 Mg XR once a day

Not the immediate realease !!

Extended release over a 24 hour period .

It lowers the noise from 10 to a 3 and takes away the anxiety that comes with

[Peanutd1959]

Hi. I'm on mirtazapine at mo. Helps me sleep. Sertraline didn't do me any favours. I have bad tinnitis but sleeping well takes the noise away. Tinnitus is a mystery. I'm hard of hearing which doesn't help.

[TMotown]

Hi, the problem with antidepressants is that there is often side effects either whilst you are on the drug or withdrawals when you want to come off. I was on Mirtazapine for a year to help me to sleep plus to get my anxiety level down which hopefully would lessen the volume of my Tinnitus. I had some side effects whilst on the drug, weight gain, pins and needles etc but the withdrawal symptoms were awful, my Tinnitus when to new levels, I had the shakes, muscle cramping, insomnia. I would not want to go through that again, I'm part of a Mirtazapine support group which has thousands of members all struggling with tapering off the drug and withdrawals. I believe 50% of people do not have any withdrawal issues but unfortunately for the other 50% the withdrawals can be quite nasty. It's a tough decision as sometimes you will do anything to get some peace from the constant noise, you just have to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages

[Chumpiechops]

I take a very low dose of Sertraline and while I do occasionally notice a spike in my T I also more than often get very quiet days. The sleep issue is common and for that I take the lowest dose of Amitriptyline which helped greatly, I now only use that 3 nights a week as sleep is a great deal better nowadays.

As for what caused my T, it came on after a bout of Vertigo back in April 2022. That may be a coincidence but there's no other obvious reason.

It will get better for you but please only take advice from reputable sources such as Tinnitus UK and the NHS.