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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Tinnitus / June 2006What works for me
Hi - I rarely post ANYTHING on the Internet. However, I have found relief from my tinnitus and wanted to share with you. About 8 years ago, I had a virus which seemed to go in to my inner ear. This virus lasted about 6 weeks, and included bad bouts of vertigo. After the virus subsided, I developed intermittent squealing in my left ear. For many years, it just drove me crazy and I could not correlate the episodes with anything. Over time, it seemed to me to be associated with high stress levels and sometime stimulants such as caffeine and certain drugs such as Excedrin (aspirin and caffeine - two drugs thought to have tinnitus as a side effect). Working with a very prominent pdoc at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, I seem to have stumbled on to a combination of drugs that seems to ameliorate the symptoms for days at a time. Let me first give the standard disclaimer - this works for me - it may or may not work for you - this drug cocktail is highly sedative and if you choose to try it - you do so at your own risk - don't drive after taking and plan to sleep at least 8-10 hours after you take. Only consider doing this if you are under the care of a good doctor. Whenever I get a bad attack of tinnitus, I take 5mg of Valium and 15mg of Remeron right before bed. 99% of the time I wake up with almost no noise in my left ear. It stays this way until the next attack. I have gone as long as a week without tinnitus symptoms using this drug cocktail. A couple of notes - Klonipin didn't work at all for me - many doctors are reluctant to prescribe Valium (but they will give you Xanax or Klonipin like candy - go figure!). Generic Valium does not seem to work nearly as well as the brand name - which are considerably more expensive. Remeron is available in generic, is relatively inexpensive, and not an SSRI. Anyhow, this helps me - it might help you - but please don't try this unless you do it under the care of a doctor. Valium CAN be highly addictive and the combination is HIGHLY SEDATIVE, and Valium is classified as a Controlled Substance - so don't drive after you take it! Hope this helps someone. Just to clarify - I take this cocktail on a "one shot" basis - NOT every evening. Taking this every evening would likely turn you in to a zombie. I estimate that I average two such episodes per week - and I only take the cocktail when the tinnitus gets to the point where I can't even concentrate. I would think that if one has never taken either of these drugs, you might want to try them one at a time or at lower doses to start. Again, Remeron and Valium are both highly sedating and most likely will knock you on your tail - so, once again - discuss with your doctor before trying this or any other treatment. One other thought - often these attacks are accompanied by headache. Since taking Excedrin is probably not a good idea with tinnitus, and acetaminophen is nothing more than a placebo, I take 50mg of Imitrex, but only when the attack is accompanied with a headache. I can't stress enough that all these drugs I mention are heavy duty (legal when prescribed) - just taking them all together without being under the care of a good pdoc is definitely NOT a good idea. > Hi - > [quoted text clipped - 40 lines] > > *** Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com *** I know of a number of Meniere's patients who take valium, either as needed or as a very low daily dose to reduce attack frequency and severity. Some report that their tinnitus is also reduced in general. Of course, this isn't too surprising. The only drug class that has been shown (in randomized trials reported in major journals) to reduce tinnitus volume is the benzodiazepines. Xanax (alprazolam) was the drug actually tested, and Valium (diazepam) is a cousin.  SignatureJim Chinnis / Warrenton, Virginia, USA Want to discuss Meniere's? See http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MenieresDG Jim - yes, I have taken Valium for a number of years to lessen the symptoms - and it does help. By accident, when trying to treat both anxiety and depression, my pdoc prescribed Remeron in addition to Valium. That's when I noticed that the Remeron seemed to comletely wipe out the noise by morning, when taken with Valium before bed. I don't take Remeron on a regular basis, only to kill an attack of Tinnitus. Taking Valium with Remeron every day would probably cause me to sleep indefinitely. I'm of the belief that the extreme sedation of this cocktail has an enormous calming effect on the CNS and maybe that's what is attenuating the tinnitus. Of course, the sedation is a side effect that everyone might not experience - and, if one were to take Remeron on a regular basis, this side effect might disappear and I suspect the effect on my tinnitus would also disappear. I tried Klonipin and Ativan - but Valium seemed to work the best (never tried Xanax - I was too worried about dependence). Also, the effects of Xanax supposedly wear off way quicker than Valium. It's a shame that Valium has such a stigma attached to it and that many docs simply will not prescribe it - even if it's the only thing that works. The other benzos that I tried didn't work nearly as well as the Valium. Most doctors refuse to prescribe Valium, but will readily prescribe Xanax or Klonipin. Prior pdocs refused to prescribe it until I threatened to get it from Mexico! From my understanding of the benzos, the short half-life benzos, like Xanax, are far more addictive than the longer half-life benzos like Valium. Also, Valium is more effective in treating anxiety and I've read that Xanax is better indicated for panic attacks. Although I have used Valium for many years, I can go without it for a week or more - so, I'm guessing that I'm not addicted - although, if I had a choice between Valium dependence and listening to loud squealing in my ear, I'll take the Valium! If I were a diabetic, I'd be dependent on insulin - so what's the difference? Anyway, I think my pdoc is going to some symposium where vestibular disorders are to be discussed, and he is very interested in this "cocktail" of drugs that seems to work for me. His plan is to try it on some of his other Tinnitus patients. If this can help just one person lessen or stop the noise, then this little post will be well worth it. A few words for the docs who refuse to prescribe a perfectly legal drug that might help a patient with pain or suffering - shame on you! Instead, prescribe SSRIs and render them impotent - that's a good solution! >I know of a number of Meniere's patients who take valium, either as needed > or as a very low daily dose to reduce attack frequency and severity. Some [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Valium > (diazepam) is a cousin. LOL if this gets out the filthy spammers selling valium, or rather Va1_i_um, will be filling this newsgroup with their ads. :-)) Hmmm - I'm unemployed at the moment, which means all medication is free. Maybe I'll speak to my doctor. :-) Joe, silly question: What the heck is a pdoc? SignatureJim Chinnis / Warrenton, Virginia, USA Want to discuss Meniere's? See http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MenieresDG Jim - A "pdoc" usually means a "psychopharmacologist". This is typically a psychiatrist who specializes in psychotropic drugs - drugs that are prescribed for psychiatric conditions. I don't know if this is a formal specialty or not, as most psychiatrists are supposed to be trained in this area. Usually these type of doctors are very knowledgeable in the type of drugs I mention. Most general practitioners would try to give you an SSRI (Zoloft, Prozac, etc.) for anxiety/depression because they have been taught that benzodiazepines are from the devil and the DEA will come knocking on their door if they prescribe "V". This whole stigma with "V" stems from the abuse of this drug by celebrities decades ago. As both Jim C.and I mentioned, "V" is from the same family as Klonipin and Xanax - and typically docs won't hesitate to prescribe them - even though Xanax is more addictive than "V" because of its short half life. As for mentioning "V" as a legitimate treatment for certain conditions, and prescribed by a licensed physician - I can't help it that some would abuse it and ruin it for the rest of us who may need it for legitimate purposes. People will try to abuse this and other medications no matter what I say. Also, don't overemphasize the"V" in the cocktail that I mention. As Jim C. indicates, low doses do help some people, but it was not until I added Remeron that it really got rid of it (for days at a time). > Joe, silly question: What the heck is a pdoc? On 5/13/06 2:55 PM, in article 34lc625l3kaa4q9lse33bjl5qpbqjl06rk@4ax.com, > I know of a number of Meniere's patients who take valium, either as needed > or as a very low daily dose to reduce attack frequency and severity. Some [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > benzodiazepines. Xanax (alprazolam) was the drug actually tested, and Valium > (diazepam) is a cousin. Strangely enough, Vallium in very small doses - 2mg twice a day or even less - is the best medication for dizzyness / vertigo. Less side effects than the OTC products. The one thing that seems to consistently make tinnitus worse is stress. I would think that Valium calms you down, thus less stress, thus reduced tinnitus. I am wondering if a change in lifestyle would have a similar effect. > Hi - > [quoted text clipped - 40 lines] > > *** Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com *** |
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