It has been a long time since I have posted on here or any other message boards (Daily Strength, Yuku, etc.) but I feel like I am reaching a breaking point.
Long story short I have unilateral (left), constant, loud piercing tinnitus. I am 29 years old and it has a chokehold on my life. My tinnitus is not noise-induced but rather completely medication-induced. In October 2008, during the first major depressive episode of my life, a psychiatrist prescribed Wellbutrin, which took a very mild tinnitus to a moderate level. I was panicked and upset, but I eventually habituated and it was only a small factor in my life.
Things took a drastic turn for the worse in November 2013, when after 4 more major depressive episodes (during which I refused medication because of the fear of worsening tinnitus) my therapist raised the possibility I was Bipolar II. I saw a new psychiatrist and she prescribed Lamictal. After only 13 days at 25mg, my tinnitus had skyrocketed. I am now aware of it at all waking hours, and am in a constant state of suffering. Over the course almost one year since the worsening there has been no change. I am in CBT for the tinnitus, but am not sure how much progress I am making.
I really can't go on like this. I'm at my wit's end. I try to be engaged in life in order to get away from the suffering, but it follows me everywhere. Maybe it's that fact that I just want it to GO AWAY or go back to the pre-Lamictal level that it is hard to habituate, but all I know is that it is running and ruining my life.
That said, and the fact that I don't see any improvement on the horizon, I am ready to start "experimenting" on myself with other psychiatric drugs. Perhaps I'm oversimplifying a complex situation, but it seems logical that if two different psychiatric drugs worsened my tinnitus, another could possibly improve it. I am well aware that such drugs could also make it worse, but I am suffering so much that it seems like a risk worth taking.
Right now I am on Elavil and Xanax, neither of which effects the tinnitus level although Xanax helps my response to it and helps me actually get some sleep at night. I've tried the Gabapentin + Klonopin combo and also Pamelor, neither of which helped.
My thoughts are going through the following - I believe my psychiatrist is willing to prescribe them - and hoping for the best:
Seroquel
Trileptal
Tegretol
Topamax
Depakote
Please share any thoughts or experiences you may have had with these drugs. I know that each drug can affect a person differently, i.e., one drug may help one person's tinnitus while worsening another's.
My point here is that i feel I have no other options, and not much to lose. Sure, it could get worse, but I can't go on with how it is now.
Long story short I have unilateral (left), constant, loud piercing tinnitus. I am 29 years old and it has a chokehold on my life. My tinnitus is not noise-induced but rather completely medication-induced. In October 2008, during the first major depressive episode of my life, a psychiatrist prescribed Wellbutrin, which took a very mild tinnitus to a moderate level. I was panicked and upset, but I eventually habituated and it was only a small factor in my life.
Things took a drastic turn for the worse in November 2013, when after 4 more major depressive episodes (during which I refused medication because of the fear of worsening tinnitus) my therapist raised the possibility I was Bipolar II. I saw a new psychiatrist and she prescribed Lamictal. After only 13 days at 25mg, my tinnitus had skyrocketed. I am now aware of it at all waking hours, and am in a constant state of suffering. Over the course almost one year since the worsening there has been no change. I am in CBT for the tinnitus, but am not sure how much progress I am making.
I really can't go on like this. I'm at my wit's end. I try to be engaged in life in order to get away from the suffering, but it follows me everywhere. Maybe it's that fact that I just want it to GO AWAY or go back to the pre-Lamictal level that it is hard to habituate, but all I know is that it is running and ruining my life.
That said, and the fact that I don't see any improvement on the horizon, I am ready to start "experimenting" on myself with other psychiatric drugs. Perhaps I'm oversimplifying a complex situation, but it seems logical that if two different psychiatric drugs worsened my tinnitus, another could possibly improve it. I am well aware that such drugs could also make it worse, but I am suffering so much that it seems like a risk worth taking.
Right now I am on Elavil and Xanax, neither of which effects the tinnitus level although Xanax helps my response to it and helps me actually get some sleep at night. I've tried the Gabapentin + Klonopin combo and also Pamelor, neither of which helped.
My thoughts are going through the following - I believe my psychiatrist is willing to prescribe them - and hoping for the best:
Seroquel
Trileptal
Tegretol
Topamax
Depakote
Please share any thoughts or experiences you may have had with these drugs. I know that each drug can affect a person differently, i.e., one drug may help one person's tinnitus while worsening another's.
My point here is that i feel I have no other options, and not much to lose. Sure, it could get worse, but I can't go on with how it is now.
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