4/12/2009 wrighttinnitus wrote:

Alan,

Great idea for a site.

I'm very interested to hear about anti-depressants and people's experiences, because my doctor has just prescribed me some SSRI's (Citalopram) to help with my anxiety/panic disorder. To be honest I haven't started taking them yet because I'm also having counselling and CBT. I'm hoping I can get through without having to resort to them.

Interestingly my T came on back in Jan 09, a week after a severe panic attack (completely out of the blue) my ENT specialist suggested that I may even have had the T long before (I have high frequency hearing loss) and that the panic attack/anxiety and focus on my health had brought it to the fore.
So most of my work now is on trying not to focus on the body.

I would love to hear if anyone out there is using Citalopram and if it has been of any use in the treatment of T and anxiety.

Keith

4/12/2009 Seattlelite wrote:

I’ve had T for a number of years now. Not realizing it at the time, I self habituated by self medicating with alcohol (I drank to help cope with the endless ringing). Although it worked, I ended up with a drinking problem and had to seek help for that. I quit drinking almost fours ago and although the T was always there, I could easily push it out of my head. Sometimes I’d listen for it to see if it was still there, that’s how habituated I was. Life was good. In August I did something stupid and went to a concert without earplugs which ramped up my T to an unprecedented level. Although I wasn’t having panic attacks, I was feeling some anxiety and falling into a very depressed state which as we all know just made my T worse. Being afraid of becoming dependent on prescription antidepressants and determined to stay off the alcohol (it crossed my mind more than a few times) I figured I’d give St. John’s Wort a try. For me, St. John’s Wort helped immensely with both my anxiety and depression. Without the use of alcohol or prescription antidepressants I finally have things under control and can now start on the long road of habituation. I’m not by any means advocating getting off prescription antidepressants, but for those seeking an alternative I would definitely suggest giving St. John’s Wort a try but before you do look up its side effects. It should not be taken with other antidepressants among other warnings. I hope you all find peace in both mind and soul.

4/12/2009 mandy wrote:

Hi, I am currently taking 50mg daily of Sertraline. This was prescribed for anxiety rather than depression although it is an antidepressant. I haven't had any problems at all and I feel as though I have benefit greatly from them. My mood lifted and because of that I felt I wwas able to cope with the T better.
I did try Citaolpram at first but these gave me anxiety even worse than before! I think it's trial and error with a lot of tablets, finding the one's that suit. None of them had any effect on my T noise, they just made coping easier.

I have recently increased my Zoloft dose to 100 mg and I have noticed a decrease in my tinnitus levels.  Of course, the tinnitus did increase the first few days, but it has been steadily lower since then.  Hoping for long term results.