Mortar and Pestle time - Ginkgo update

[Ray200]

I was startled to wake up the other day and my mild tinnitus wasn't there. In the eleven months since I've had it, that hasn't happened before. I was left 'feeling alone' if you can imagine that.

A brief recap. I've had limited success with Ginkgo and when the lower dose tablet became unavailable I started breaking down higher strength tablets. Originally tipping the small bits into a glass of water and swallowing, I've gone onto chewing the tiny bits and absorbing Ginkgo via the mouth. By doing that, the effect is quicker. Maybe even, different.

I'm not keen on waking up without tinnitus. I'm used to the way Ginkgo was working for me - which is tinnitus on waking and improving over the targeted day. This new way now, it means that the benefit is happening while I'm unconscious which is a waste. Clearly, I'll have to do a bit of experimenting and finding a new dose regime if I continue chewing.

The following goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES would I ever consider breaking down pharmaceutical medicine in this way. The way that operates in you has been fully tested and if it is a pill to be slow released and absorbed in the bowel, that is how it must be. Other methods should be considered unsafe. With Ginkgo, no such research seems to be available. I've said before that researchers, if you can call them that, are apparently more content with dismissing Ginkgo than fully investigating it. That has been left to me.

[TinnitusUKPat Partner]

Hi Ray

I do understand the comment about feeling uncertain about tinnitus not being present on waking - it can throw people for a loop.

I wouldn't necessarily see it as a negative issue - rather than demonstrating the effectiveness of the regime that you've been updating us about does it indicate that you are habituating somewhat to tinnitus?

[Ray200 in reply to TinnitusUKPat]

It was the strangest thing not having it on waking, Pat. That can only mean one thing, Ginkgo working for me . Habituation has happened. We all have it in us to adapt and survive, so it must. My tinnitus may be on the improve as well naturally. On-line says it can 'get better' after many months to a year, but how. Is it (mainly) habituation. I just don't know. I have some audio kit bought in when it started which I haven't used for many months, certainly before any natural improvement could take place. Now that can only be habituation, plus the fear of being alone with tinnitus gone.

[Happyrosie]

and pharmaceutical companies would find it hard to finance research into GB. They would be pouring money into finance with no benefit. If any of Big Pharma did this they would all go bust.

[Ray200 in reply to Happyrosie]

Not at all, Rosie. Are you aware of how widespread (usually mild) tinnitus is? A vast fortune awaits the company that can make a breakthrough. A juicy carrot then, but at the moment not enticing enough to go all out after it. So, there will be some research going on but it will all be on the quiet. The last thing those involved want are their discovered secrets finding their way to their competitors.

[Happyrosie in reply to Ray200]

I am absolutely fully aware of the fact that a large proportion of the population has tinnitus.

Big Pharm says it's expensive to develop new drugs and run the required clinical trials to prove safety and effectiveness. Many promising drugs fail, and the drug approval process is difficult and costly. And since herbal medicines have been in use for (in some cases) thousands of years, and cannot be patented, they would never be able to make any money even if they poured advertising revenue into it.

A lot of research into tinnitus is going on.

[Ray200 in reply to Happyrosie]

Rosie. Half of all medicine today originates from plants used for medicine. That has never stopped patents as far as I am aware. There is also a massive difference in research for vital organ drugs and tinnitus. Can you imagine the sheer cliff that safeguards for the former present to pharmaceutical companies! That's where the Big Money in outlay is. Tinnitus is thus a walk in the park, and riches awaits those who venture forth and succeed - probably with the compounds found uniquely in Ginkgo.

[bantams]

Hi Ray, I wish I could wake up without my T being there, after 4 and a half years with T it as been there every morning, I then need to focus on other things to get my brain to stop thinking about my T.

Glad for you that Ginkgo seems to be helping you with your T, but what I have said before Ginkgo did nothing to my T, what works for one does not work for others.

[Ray200 in reply to bantams]

Hello again bantams. I expect if you google "Is Ginkgo a straightforward cure for tinnitus" the answer will be "No". I've always had a problem with the word No. It's not that I'm obstinate, it's that I look out for manoeuvrability. With mild tinnitus, I cannot accept 'what works for some will not work for others'. So let's look into the way Ginkgo is delivered into our system. Also, I'm looking at the lower end of the dose range first.

My tenacity is paying off. My recent approach of absorbing Ginkgo in the mouth now mimics the original way of taking it. Chewing the leaf. The effect is quicker and perhaps more intense. I don't know yet. Who was it who decided it was a good idea to make a pill out of it, ignoring the possibility that stomach acid has a detrimental effect.

The bottom line is Ginkgo has made it onto the list that is Chinese Traditional Medicine. Now a lot of that is quackery but amongst it all are true gems. If the ancients had Ginkgo down as an alleviator of tinnitus then I'm happy to go with that. Just as well - there's nothing else natural around.

[Kellythecat-74 in reply to bantams]

I'm pretty certain Ginkgo did work for me the first time. It took a few years but only took one a day .

[Peacely]

Never heard of Ginko for tinnitus. I wake up with my tinnitus gone when I get a good night's sleep then by the evening it starts because I'm tired again, mine responds to sleep, wonder if yours did too?

[Ray200 in reply to Peacely]

My tinnitus established its pattern from just about day 1. Profound on waking. Occasionally very. Lessening, but not always, during the day (once I'm up and about and the blood starts circulating) and returning back to morning intensity in the evening. It seems to like 6pm. As if its come home for the day. My success with Ginkgo amounts to how much further I can reduce the already lower daytime tinnitus.

I must say yours is the mildest case of tinnitus I've come across. Real scope there for Ginkgo I would think. You might be able to rid yourself of it completely. I would try a single 60g tablet just in the morning. I suspect Ginkgo takes about 12 hours to do something beneficial, so if you have some improvement in the evening, you've hit on something.

[Peacely]

Thank you!

[Ray200 in reply to Peacely]

My pleasure. If you do achieve cure status, don't disappear, do let us know! There's plenty on this site who have no confidence whatsoever in Ginkgo.

[Hidden]

Amazing, do hope this continues for you and keep posting - i guess you have to habituate to silence? your perseverance is working and i think that is key.

[Ray200 in reply to Hidden]

Hello again, Seabob. Who'd have thought after a mere 11 months without I'd have to habituate to silence. Not that that morning event being left alone with it has repeated itself since. Long before tinnitus I never did care for the sound of silence and through that became a great man for the radio. There's no pleasing me!

[Hidden in reply to Ray200]

Hi - oh am sorry so you still have noise? I have always loved silence and i guess thats why i feel i am being tortured with T, its such a cruel condition, i do love music but after a lot of sound its too much as i appear to be still in hypersensitive mode, and in awful pain close or in the ear, yes i have had all the tests and scans, i do get what you say but i hope full silence resumes for all of us who crave its loss.

[Ray200 in reply to Hidden]

Yes. It was a one off. However, now that I'm chewing bits of Ginkgo tablet I've abandoned my previous dosing regime to do a bit of experimentation. If I can replicate the silence again, at least on waking, I'll certainly let this site know.

My main coping mechanism for tinnitus, masking it with wireless headphones is not easy for some, yourself included. Which drives me on to find a chemical relief and it looks to be Ginkgo. I will not give up on it. That it works (to some degree) is beyond doubt and I need to discover the ideal dosage, of which I'm looking at the lower end, and effect time before it kicks it. Absorbing the stuff in the mouth (as nature intended) not lower down the system, is also a way of taking it which I will not abandon. The method of taking Ginkgo may well be the reason (some) people say it does nothing for them. That, and possibly too high a dose of it.

[Hidden in reply to Ray200]

Yes, i agree...i seem to have somatic tinnitus, and so i think lots going on, my eustachian tubes appear to not be functioning properly no doubt due to muscle tension?? hence the pain, am wondering whether to try my ginko?? am reluctant as just started Ashwaganda to help my mood, so dont want to take onboard too many supplements!! its odd some tones i can tolerate better...the hissing is annoying, the droning awful, and the roaring flaws me but am trying hard to crack on with housework. 😃

[Ray200 in reply to Hidden]

I'd put Ginkgo on your 'things for future consideration' list. I don't want to be evangelical about the stuff and continue to keep an open mind on anything else fellow sufferers can recommend.

[Hidden in reply to Ray200]

Yes indeedy...i do recommend however Julian Cowan Hill on You Tube/ Quieten app - the most knowledgeable and positive man who knows about T he had it 20 years and found ways to soften it and eventually it left him - he explains clearly all about T - the different tones etc and the positive things we can do.

[Kellythecat-74 in reply to Ray200]

yes , we never appreciated silence ,until it was gone . Thats the one thing I missed most of all .

[Riverdale2021]

Hi Ray

I am very interested to hear about your personal journey with ginkgo and that now you are chewing the tablet.

I have been taking 1 12000mg a day for the past 6 weeks ( although I now see on the bottle the dosage is 2!) As yet I see no benefit to my unrelenting tinnitus of many years but it has given me a much clearer head.

Like you I do believe there is some natural compound that will help and it is a matter of trial and error.

I’d appreciate your advice on what dosage I should try chewing and do you actually crush the tablet and chew little bits.

I bought my ginkgo on Amazon and have just added a picture to show you.

Looking forward to your advice

Colour photo of label

[Ray200 in reply to Riverdale2021]

Hello Riverdale. I don't get many positive replies about Ginkgo and yours is welcome. 12 grams is an astonishing dose. I wonder how many leaves are needed for one tablet. I say this as the natural way to take Ginkgo is to chew the leaf and absorb through the mouth. I'm not sure 'natures way' is to get through every leaf on a long branch in one go! But if it's working for you...

Yes. I do believe that Ginkgo needs to be crushed and chewed and absorbed that way. I'm not going back to swallowing tablets even if the 30mg were re-introduced.

I'm starting again with my dose, but its going to continue to be on the small side. The reason for this is that every time I take it I will experience a raised level of tinnitus for a period. For hours. The reward being a much reduced level the day after and or day after that. So, I'm abandoning 3 x 30mg spread over a day and only taken every fourth day and looking to a daily dose of crushed Ginkgo 1 x 30mg (to start with) daily and taken last thing at night. When I'm asleep the temporary increase in tinnitus resulting will be no problem.

I'll post again sometime in the weeks ahead with the results.

[Ray200 in reply to Riverdale2021]

I might add there is a downside to chewing tablet bits. Some medicine is marked SR. Slow Release (when its in the stomach / bowel). I would be wary of chewing such a massive amount of Ginkgo. Can you overdose on Ginkgo? I just don't know.

[Riverdale2021 in reply to Ray200]

I must admit to haven been uncertain about the doseage. As you say it seems pretty high . Maybe my tinnitus would respond better to a lower dose.

What dosage do you take or suggest?

[Riverdale2021 in reply to Riverdale2021]

So sorry I didn’t read your reply properly. I’ll maybe try 30mg. Where do you get yours from ?

[Ray200 in reply to Riverdale2021]

12 grams 'would take my head off'...

In tablet form you have 60mg, 90mg and 120mg at Holland & Barrett. One of them in the morning to start, so you can identify any change in the tinnitus pattern that might follow in the hours afterwards.

[Riverdale2021 in reply to Ray200]

Great thanks for that Ray. I am in France for a while now so will look out for a smaller dose and let you know how I get on.

[Ray200 in reply to Riverdale2021]

Well done! I hope to hear from you, perhaps as reply to a future update from me. In the meantime we'll keep positive - difficult at times that it can be.

[Riverdale2021 in reply to Ray200]

Positivity is certainly the name of the game.

[Tlflom]

Nature can not be patented. Like many drugs that were inspired by nature, it has to be altered then patented.

Thank you for the heads up on ginko with tinnitus. I am very happy you were successful!! I intend to begin experimenting myself.

How long did you take it when you noticed a difference?

[Ray200 in reply to Tlflom]

How long it took is a good question. Before I bought any, I did plenty of on-line research. I knew from that that I wasn't looking at an on off switch. So my approach right from the start was a dose day and then nothing. I wanted to experience any relief no matter how light or how long I'd have to wait for such. I had it in my mind that Ginkgo was slow acting stuff - many hours or even days as it has proved to be. I also had an idea of clearing one dose of Ginkgo from my system before the next.

I kept this up for nearly a year and that is the success I've been posting about. Since I started absorbing bits of tablet in my mouth I've been taking 30mg daily last thing at night. The results are disappointing compared to before so it looks that I'll have to go back to as before - 90mg one day and nothing more until 2 or 3 clear days have gone by. Early days though and I need to give daily a good try before abandoning it.