Posted by John1022 on October 10, 2003, at 21:31:38
In reply to Effexor and paxil - double wammy, posted by Larry B. Piercy on October 10, 2003, at 20:32:46
Hi Larry,
Effexor once worked wonders for me. I have depression that comes out of know where and I think it is stress related. I can literally feel it the day it starts. This time it started and tinnitus started at the same time.
I tried Effexor again after having a mild depression and got much of the same inner ear problems you are describing with an extreme increase in the ringing in my ears (tinnitus). I stopped Effexor and it went away. I started Elavil and the same thing happened.
I am convinced it has to do with the seretonin re-uptake inhibiting action caused with these two meds. Same thing happened with St. John's which is also thought to inhibit seretonin. Wellbutrin never caused these problems because it does not have SSRI type action.
I have never had any kind of suicidal thoughts and my depression was never that bad to begin with. Both Effexor and Elavil almost drove me to the edge (100X's the depression and anxiety, ears popping, feeling infected, jaws cracking, extreme sensitivity to noise like hearing tv's and computers buzzing) SSRI's are definitely known to affect the ear function in a lot of people. Almost every SSRI is listed as aggravating depression.
I am almost 100% sure 5HTP is going to work for me as I am almost positive my problem is all seretonin related. I just have to wait for the Elavil to leave my system. The 5HTP I think was really working for me and has proven to be just as effective as most other anti-depressants. It doesn't stop the uptake of seretonin, it actually leads to the production of it.
I almost feel immediate relief hours after I take it. I would encourage everyone who has tried many different AD's to at least give 5HTP a try for a week. It is pretty safe as it is only an amino acid, pretty natural.
I am pretty much sure I can never try another AD with seretonin re-uptake properties because of this inner ear problem. I am very affraid that if I do it will cause permanent damage to my ear. It must be affecting some kind of blood vessel. I probably can't take them again anyway because of the extreme, paradoxal opposite side affects I am having from them of feeling having suicidal thoughts when I am on them. When I stop, they go away and I think what the hell was I thinking.
I now understand why kids on Paxil and Prozac have gone through with this because there are simply people who just have terrible reactions to them and doctors really don't seem to want to acknowledge it. Their docs and parents probably just say to keep giving them a few more weeks to start working, when they are actually having opposite effects, and then they cannot take it because of how the meds are reacting so differently to their brains.
Hopefully some of this helped. I really believe in 5HTP and that soon enough it is going to be a cure for my certain depression/chemical imbalance. It may be worth a shot for you or others. Good luck
poster:John1022
thread:268064
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031010/msgs/268090.html