Abraham Shulman Tinnitus Protocol (Clonazepam Plus Gabapentin)

Yes, the Gabapentin has a small positive effect on me of some doubt.

Stick with the Carbamazepine a few weeks, as the side effects usually settle.

 

I probably should’ve given the Gabapentin a longer shot but it was having a noticeable negative effect, definitely not imagination.

Really surprised this happened to be honest, given its mechanism of action and Clonazepam having had such a positive effect. The weird nature of pharmacology I guess.

The Carbamazepine isn’t having any negative effects on the actual tinnitus (maybe a small positive so far), so I will stick with it.

One thing I'm hugely convinced of is that sleep quality plays a huge role in tinnitus recovery/improvement, and the Carbamazepine is definitely giving me a better quality of sleep.

I will write both experiences up in the respective drug threads in full at some point.

Good luck with the Carbamazepine if you manage to get it prescribed, @Nick47.

 

I've dropped the Gabapentin entirely after months down to 100-200 mg/day, and I've cut the Klonopin by around 15% since the beginning of April.

My tinnitus is probably subjectively worse, but I'm not really sure since this is the time of year I am most apt to wear earplugs constantly because of mowing, chainsaw work, etc. I have electric versions of most of these tools that operate in sane volume ranges, but of course, I still plug up.

I was on one of the Carbamazepine derivatives for quite a while, and it didn't do anything good for me, but there were also no downsides.

 

Good to hear from you, @linearb. Did the reduction in Gabapentin and Clonazepam affect your sleep or general anxiety? It looks like you're planning on tapering right down in anticipation of Auricle in 12-24 months' time.

 

I had been on 300-600 mg Gabapentin for months and accidentally forgot to take it for like a week, so I figured I was off and fine. However, 2-3 weeks later, I got smacked with a really, really intense set of physical anxiety symptoms, so for the moment, I am back at 100 mg, and I think I will stay there for another three weeks, and then start cutting pills in half to go to 50 mg, 25 mg and get off more gently. It's nowhere near as rough as cutting the benzo, but going off that abruptly may have been a bad call after ~ about five years. I am generally okay, though, and I am still at a reduced Klonopin dose.

Auricle doesn't have much bearing on any of this. I have been waiting for that tech since 2017, but life keeps happening. Maybe it comes this year, maybe next, maybe never, but I have important things to do and pay attention to right now, so I have to let that stuff be peripheral noise.

Staying focused on the research does not feed my distress. But my generally reduced distress over the last five years or so has made me focus on other things. There's minimal time in the day, and I have limited time on the planet to experience stuff. Hell, our whole culture and species may be headed off multiple cliffs right now.

I'm pursuing various other things (bodywork, possibly clinically administered sublingual Ketamine) to try to attack my overall problems with widespread muscle tension, dysfunction, and generally elevated fight or flight response.

Having COVID-19 last year really messed me up and set me back.

 

I have tried both of these and wanted to share my experience.

I started slowly with 300 mg of Gabapentin in January and increased the dosage to 900 mg by the beginning of March. During this period, I had taken 0.5 mg of Clonazepam a few times, perhaps three or four times, which significantly reduced my tinnitus for around 5-6 hours. However, at the end of February, I began using a low dose of Baclofen (5-10 mg) consistently, though not daily. I was instructed to increase my Gabapentin dosage to 1800 mg within nine days. On the ninth day, I mixed 5 mg of Baclofen, 0.25 mg of Clonazepam, and 1800 mg of Gabapentin. The next day, my tinnitus became unstable, and I started experiencing new tones in response to loud sounds (for me, 60+ dB with earplugs in). Fortunately, the tones would subside by the next day.

Throughout March, I had one more 0.5 mg Clonazepam pill, which resulted in a horrific new tone that set in when the pill wore off. This tone felt like an alien electric angle grinder across my entire head and went away in about two hours. I took a break for about two weeks and reduced my Gabapentin dosage to 1200 mg. I took three 1 mg Clonazepam pills in total without any further issues for the first half of April. However, the two 0.25 mg pills did not affect my tinnitus.

In the middle of April, I attempted to add 100 mg of Riluzole (a potent glutamate modulator and neuroprotective drug) due to its potential positive effects on tinnitus and as a desperate attempt to stabilize Visual Snow Syndrome. My neck was bothering me, so I decided to switch to Valium instead of continuing with Clonazepam, Baclofen, and Gabapentin. The same thing happened with Clonazepam in March, except the tone was milder and less aggressive. However, I noticed that after taking more pills, the time until I experienced this 'rebound' tone became shorter. By the fourth pill, I decided to take 2.5 mg instead of 5 mg, which is equivalent to 0.125 mg of Clonazepam. I developed reactive tinnitus the next day when the Valium wore off. The tone didn't go away; it was absent in silence but appeared with sound.

I decided to taper down to 900 mg of Gabapentin and do a short micro-taper on Valium, despite only having taken four pills over two weeks and a total of seven benzodiazepines for the month. On the second pill, I developed reactive tinnitus in the other ear. It's been two months since then, and my tinnitus continues to worsen and is extremely erratic and unstable. While this combination may work for some people, I warn against mixing GABAergic drugs.