Jayy: Cold turkey off one month of Pristiq

[apace41]

7 hours ago, Jayy said:

I am so upset, because when I know that me being isolated was the major factor for my terrible depression. I didn't need to take a SSRI or SNRI, I only need to have a friend and a purpose to wake up. But i still don't have those and I have tinnitus that wakes me up and never lets me sleep. I am in constant distress and I don't feel like there is hope for the tinnitus to fade or heal completely after reading so many stories that they have had it for years. 

 

Jayy,

 

Sorry you are still struggling with this.  The symptoms caused by antidepressants and withdrawal are really difficult to handle.  I continue to doubt that this is ototoxicity as I have seen so many cases of tinnitus that resulted from stress and anxiety that healed over time.  The challenge, however, is that you are so anxious and wound up about the symptom that you are perpetuating the high level of anxiety it is causing in the first place.  You need to find ways to calm your CNS to give  your system a chance to relax and bring down the level of stress you are feeling.  Two sources I would suggest:

 

Hope and help for your nerves by Claire Weekes and

Rock Steady by Joey Remnyi

 

Learning to self soothe and calm yourself down will pay dividends over time.  This is true whether or not it reduces the tinnitus.

 

Hoping this helps you over time.  And, so long as  you tolerate it well, Magnesium is a helpful tool for calming the system so that is something we would certainly agree with as a supplemental approach.

 

Best,

 

Andy

[Jayy]

On 8/23/2021 at 8:19 AM, apace41 said:

The symptoms caused by antidepressants and withdrawal are really difficult to handle.  I continue to doubt that this is ototoxicity as I have seen so many cases of tinnitus that resulted from stress and anxiety that healed over time.  The challenge, however, is that you are so anxious and wound up about the symptom that you are perpetuating the high level of anxiety it is causing in the first place. 

 

I unfortunately have lost complete hope. I broke my brain and killed hair cells and those do not grow back. I've joined tinnitustalk.com support group and I am so angry I am in this scenario. All i had to do was nothing, just not take the pills and I would be just fine. I made the worst mistake of my life and have so much anger I am afraid I will explode and impulsively hurt myself. I am not OK. 

 

On the Mayo Medical website Desvenlafaxine has a symptom of tinnitus and HEARING LOSS. that means its ototoxic, and I felt the ototoxic affects when I went on a run and was very uncoordinated, and I the tinnitus is the first sign of hearing loss and damage. Tinnitus from these drugs usually goes away when discontinued in a few days to a few weeks. 

 

It has been 6-7 Full months of tinnitus with ZERO improvement. I have been having more and more burning sensations in my brain. I get pressure aches and the tinnitus is piercing, high pitched, and seems permanent. I ruined my body and the worst part is, it is permanent. I have to live 3/4s of my life with a ringing brain that destroys my happiness, my calmness, and my sense of well being. I was healthy, I had a great mind and brain that functioned as I needed, and I could go on intense long runs that made me happy happy to be alive, something i rarely felt. I am in so much pain mentally, it is torture. I pray ever night for help to make the ringing stop. but it never stops, It gets louder in the mornings and distracts me from work. I've been getting bad flashes of even louder tinnitus in one ear at a time and I hope that means its healing, but ever day, the tinnitus is there and it is scary that I can not heal from it. Every workout I do even a quick walk increases my tinnitus. I am hopeless and distraught, I wish it was temporary but if it was it would have went away or shown relief by now. I don't know what to do, I don't want to give up on life, but I don't want to live with a broken brain. The depression in me tells me it doesn't matter, you will have 3-4 people at your funeral, and hurt them for  the rest of their lives, which is something I don't want to do, but I at least do have children. No one will remember me, I have nothing, I've done nothing. I was a *******, who go what i deserved. 

 

If there are any cases of tinnitus that have cleared up after months and years of having tinnitus then please direct me to their stories. The majority of tinnitus cases are noise induced and go away in 2-4 days. Ototoxicity is fast and can be permanent much more easily, especially if I have had tinnitus for 6-7 months constant and the same tone. My brain adapted to the drug and made its new connections after my hair cells died in my ear, This is the biggest regret of my life and I now have to live with the utter torture of my lack of research and my hope in a sh*tty drug giving me hope. Killing myself is the easy way out, and I don't care. I've always cared what people thought of me, and I still do, but when i'm dead i probably wont care what they think about suicide. I need relief form tinnitus and there is no other way to get it. God why did I take that drug.

[Kostas]

Hi ,

Mine started end of 2012!

I was really surprised to notice it, however was not very profound, and bothered me for a few weeks, till my brain seems to started adjusting to this nuisance!

Now ,9 years later ,still have it but at a much improved level ,and only bothering me ,when I try to see if it is still there ,like when I read your post ...

Hang in there, and your brain gradually will be adjusting to it ,and you will hardly notice as happens to me .

And by the way, my hearing in repeated tests, was not affected. 

[Jayy]

17 hours ago, Kostas said:

Hi ,

Mine started end of 2012!

I was really surprised to notice it, however was not very profound, and bothered me for a few weeks, till my brain seems to started adjusting to this nuisance!

Now ,9 years later ,still have it but at a much improved level ,and only bothering me ,when I try to see if it is still there ,like when I read your post ...

Hang in there, and your brain gradually will be adjusting to it ,and you will hardly notice as happens to me .

And by the way, my hearing in repeated tests, was not affected. 

All day today I noticed it, all day yesterday, everyday since 7 months ago when I stopped the drug. I had very painful central headaches that feel like a empty space is in my brain, and pressure everywhere in my head. I am so angry I haven't physically hurt myself yet, but I punch my leg and my pillow everyday the stress and anger I feel give me even a worse headache, but i'm not going to stop being angry. I should have never taken that drug and it should have never been prescribed to me, I told the dumb doctor I was sensitive and couldn't handle SSRIs. I've been getting tinnitus waves in one ear that almost make me lose complete hearing in it for 20 seconds because its so loud. My brain really hurts, the hyper activity makes me exhausted and I had no energy all day today. I could barely talk, I've maybe said less than 50 words today, I am losing my mind and losing self control over not harming myself. I ruined my life. its never going to go away like I wish, and return to my normal healthy brain before the AD, and I don't want to be tortured everyday like this. I don't want to die, but I feel like i have nothing to live for except more pain and loneliness, because no one cares and no one loves me. Its just me in my mental hell ringing loud and hissing in my brain.  I want to cry every night but I can't It makes my brain hurt even more and I have no emotional sense any more, its just me 10x more depressed more anxiety and THE RINGING. I hate it, I ruined my life

[Jayy]

I give up. After 7 months of tinnitus. There is no way that this isn't ototoxic damage that destroyed my inner ear hair cells. I took Pristiq in November of 2020 for 11 days. I stopped because of how terrible it made me feel. I quit cold turkey and had little withdrawal maybe for 1-3 days, and smoking weed helped me with withdrawal, I did not suffer tinnitus at all after those 2 weeks. A few months later I decided to try to take prisitq for 1 month and THAT WAS THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE. After 24 days I stopped cold turkey because of a very loud buzzing sound in my brain. I went through withdrawal for 1 week. I was dizzy for 2-4 weeks when I went on walks and runs and suffered very loud tinnitus. Tinnitus is the first sign of hearing loss, as well as being dizzy, there is only one explanation and ototoxicity was present. after 1 month of withdrawal I felt fine. Now 7 months later off pristiq completely, I notice my hearing is muffled and there is a constant static sound constantly muffling sounds and keeps me awake and gives me anxiety every night. After 7 months with tinnitus, I have no hope in it going away. It would have went away after the first weeks if it wasn't permanent damage. I am so much more depressed and I hate my life much more than before I started taking the antidepressant. I have no hope in happiness, I sit in my room lonely everyday hating the fact that I have no friends, no family, no motivation, no goals, no plan, nothing but wasteful ideations of killing myself. There is nothing I hate more though than tinnitus, It is wrecking my life and the depression and anxiety are much much worse, I was never suicidal, until a ringing brain that wont stop pushed me into the darkest mental thoughts ever. What am I supposed to do? there is no cure for tinnitus, there is no one that can help me, no one cares about it because no one knows how bad and intrusive and constant it is. I wish I never took pristiq, i knew it was causing damage, and now there is no hope in healing, there is no hope that the tinnitus will fade, and that I will regain the hearing I had before. I wasn;t broken before the antidepressant, but now I am in pieces, my life is gone, I hate tinnitus and I hate that stupid ******* drug pristiq, it ruined my life, and it ruined my mental silence. I ******* hate everything and I want THE RINGING TO STOP. Please God make the ringing stop, I never wanted to take that drug.  

[getofflex]

16 hours ago, Jayy said:

It would have went away after the first weeks if it wasn't permanent damage.

This isn't necessarily true.  Our nervous systems are extremely complex and intricate, and I won't lie to you - it often takes months, if not years, to heal from the symptoms.  I know this is not what you want to hear.  

 

16 hours ago, Jayy said:

I have no hope in happiness, I sit in my room lonely everyday hating the fact that I have no friends, no family, no motivation, no goals, no plan, nothing but wasteful ideations of killing myself.

I'm very sorry to hear that you are in this state.  I hope that you do not take your own life.  

 

I'm going to say something that you may or may not take offense at.  I believe your unhappiness may be stemming at least as much from your attitude, as it is from the actual tinnitus.  it sounds like you believe that this tinnitus is permanent, even though there is a very good chance that this is part of AD WD, which will eventually resolve itself in time.  By being consumed about this issue, it has taken over your life and your thoughts.  I'm not saying this to be mean, but I'm saying it in the hope that someday you will try to shift your attitude, and try to see that life is not completely 100% bad, even when we are in a bad situation such as this.  I understand where you are coming from, because I used to also have a similar attitude when I was very young.   My heart goes out to you, and I wish you could overcome this.  I know from my own personal experience that being angry and depressed all the time will chase people away.  Could it be possible that with some hard work of going to a therapist, that you could gradually turn this around, and have some hope for the future?  I believe it is very possible.  That is what I did, and it helped a lot.  It was not easy, and it took time.  But I am much happier now.  Please consider this, because I believe there is a lot more hope for you that you think. 

 

How Long is Withdrawal Going to Take

 

Edited September 7, 2021 by getofflex

[Jayy]

7 hours ago, getofflex said:

This isn't necessarily true.  Our nervous systems are extremely complex and intricate, and I won't lie to you - it often takes months, if not years, to heal from the symptoms.  I know this is not what you want to hear.  

 

I'm very sorry to hear that you are in this state.  I hope that you do not take your own life.  

 

I'm going to say something that you may or may not take offense at.  I believe your unhappiness may be stemming at least as much from your attitude, as it is from the actual tinnitus.  it sounds like you believe that this tinnitus is permanent, even though there is a very good chance that this is part of AD WD, which will eventually resolve itself in time.  By being consumed about this issue, it has taken over your life and your thoughts.  I'm not saying this to be mean, but I'm saying it in the hope that someday you will try to shift your attitude, and try to see that life is not completely 100% bad, even when we are in a bad situation such as this.  I understand where you are coming from, because I used to also have a similar attitude when I was very young.   My heart goes out to you, and I wish you could overcome this.  I know from my own personal experience that being angry and depressed all the time will chase people away.  Could it be possible that with some hard work of going to a therapist, that you could gradually turn this around, and have some hope for the future?  I believe it is very possible.  That is what I did, and it helped a lot.  It was not easy, and it took time.  But I am much happier now.  Please consider this, because I believe there is a lot more hope for you that you think. 

 

How Long is Withdrawal Going to Take

 

 

 

I've been going to a therapist for almost a year, I told my doctor that I didn't want to take medication and she told me to go to see the psychotherapist. So I did, and I my aunt said that I needed help, and It made me feel like I should try to take an antidepressant because my attitude has been very negative for a very long time. So i tried to take pristq and it completely ruined my ears and gave me tinnitus. Yes, I am consumed by the constant ringing and i obsess over the fact that I can not sit in a room and read a book or sit there quietly without focusing on my hissing ringing brain. I have been depressed, angry and bitter before the antidepressant, and now that I have tinnitus, it has pushed me into a much deeper depression than ever before. SO there is not much hope in me having a cheerful attitude to finally get a girl or even a person to like me, because I am broken and sad that my life is passing me by and I dont know how to enjoy it, and change my social, and living situation that has made me so unhappy. Those things I could at least change, and I never did because I didn't know how and I am a idiot. Now I have tinnitus something I cant change only if I went back and never took pristiq. I have tried to work hard at turning things around, but I can't. I'm a quitter, and I give up when things get tough. Now that my life is more difficult and mental torture with my ears hissing and ringing I want to give up. I never had a person to encourage me to be strong like a good relationship does, my family never cared about me and I never developed the social relationships a mid 20s person should have. Before taking the antidepressant I had many happy days when I would enjoy getting coffee and day dream about what I wanted to do with my life. Now I can't drink coffee because it makes tinnitus worse and I am so depressed that I can't wake up and even want to look out the window. There is nothing more in this world that I want more than for the tinnitus to stop. I don't know how else my auditory system is in over drive when the only thing that could have happened was ototoxicity because that is what damages the cells and I am a very sensitive person to drugs. The seratonin could have messed up the signaling, but After 7 months of hard work with eating, sleeping, and exercise, My body would have shown signs of improvment if it was serotonine related. I just went on a 4 mile run and My brain feels stressed from all the exra work it is doing now that the hair cells are damaged, I do not feel comfortable in my body, and my brain feels overworked and out of order. Tinnitus is stressing out my brain every second of the day, I am doing my best not to freak out, but the ringing is mental hell, especially when I am alone and no one that can help me think of something else. I hope it goes away, but if it takes years, i think the reason it would fade is because of plasticity and the brain is adjusting to the now damaged ear cells. I'm was in anguish before tinnitus but now it is much more painful than I could have imagined dealing with all of this. If I wasn't depressed  and alone I would be much happier, and would have never taken the pills. But its just a perpetual spiral down. Im sad I have no friends, I have no friends because I'm sad, I take pills to be happier, It makes me even more sad and angry, I just want a break in my life and meet people that like me, but its impossible when I have never like me. A perpetual spiral of sadness. 

[Jayy]

This isn't withdrawal ,this is a life sentence. I spoke to a tinnitus specialist who said pristiq doesn't damage the auditory system, but its labeled as ototoxic, he highly doubts that pristiq gave me tinnitus and after 7 months off the drug it is highly unlikey that the drug is causing me tinnitus still. My dumb ass doctor who prescribed me the drug doesn't think its ototoxicity. No knows and no one is helping. 

 

I did a fair amount of yard work today and my tinnitus was screaming, I had a head pressures a few hours after and was extremely tired all day. I think that I am just extremely depressed that is causing me to be tired, but the stress and anxiety I have from tinnitus is making me insane. All i want is for the tinnitus to stop. I want to drink coffee again and sleep peacefully. 

 

But the doctors doesn't think the drug is causing it. I know for 1000% that pristiq gave me tinnitus, and changed/damaged something to make it stay. I have tried to convince myself its withdrawal but it never gets better, doesn't go away, and feels very deep and permanent. I haven't talked to anyone who's tinnitus went away completely. I am cursed and damaged. Its probably karma because of how much of a jerk I've been to the people who loved me. There is no hope for me to be happy since I am more depressed than ever because of tinnitus. I can't habituate, I can't even be positive before I had tinnitus, I couldn't ignore my negative thoughts, how am I supposed to live a decent life suffering from depression and now tinnitus. I find no joy in anything, and now am tortured by tinnitus.

[Altostrata]

@Jayy at what point did you develop tinnitus? Did you have tinnitus while you were taking Pristiq?

 

It appears you did develop fairly severe withdrawal syndrome after you quit Pristiq. Not much is known about how withdrawal syndrome resolves -- this site is where that research is being done.

 

We have seen in general that psychiatric drug withdrawal syndromes very slowly resolve over many months. We have people here who have recovered from drug- or withdrawal-induced tinnitus and we have people who have not reported recovery.

 

We cannot predict the course of recovery for any individual.

 

As far as I know, there is no mechanism where desvenlafaxine or other antidepressant might damage hair cells in the ear. Mostly likely, the tinnitus is caused by some drug-induced signaling dysfunction.

 

If you find the tinnitus intolerable, if I were you, I'd go to a tinnitus specialist and pursue their remedies. We do not know of a way to reverse drug- or withdrawal-induced tinnitus, nobody does.

 

You might also look into your habits of mind that may be contributing to spiraling distress over this. We are all outraged and saddened by being victims of medical accident, but you also need to look into taking care of yourself and doing the best you can with what you have.

 

If you have the means, you might sue your doctor. The necessity to taper Pristiq is in the drug insert. It's not a secret. They're supposed to closely monitor patients for adverse effects, too.

[Jayy]

On 9/24/2021 at 3:57 PM, Altostrata said:

@Jayy at what point did you develop tinnitus? Did you have tinnitus while you were taking Pristiq?

 

It appears you did develop fairly severe withdrawal syndrome after you quit Pristiq. Not much is known about how withdrawal syndrome resolves -- this site is where that research is being done.

 

We have seen in general that psychiatric drug withdrawal syndromes very slowly resolve over many months. We have people here who have recovered from drug- or withdrawal-induced tinnitus and we have people who have not reported recovery.

 

We cannot predict the course of recovery for any individual.

 

As far as I know, there is no mechanism where desvenlafaxine or other antidepressant might damage hair cells in the ear. Mostly likely, the tinnitus is caused by some drug-induced signaling dysfunction.

 

If you find the tinnitus intolerable, if I were you, I'd go to a tinnitus specialist and pursue their remedies. We do not know of a way to reverse drug- or withdrawal-induced tinnitus, nobody does.

 

You might also look into your habits of mind that may be contributing to spiraling distress over this. We are all outraged and saddened by being victims of medical accident, but you also need to look into taking care of yourself and doing the best you can with what you have.

 

If you have the means, you might sue your doctor. The necessity to taper Pristiq is in the drug insert. It's not a secret. They're supposed to closely monitor patients for adverse effects, too.

 

I think Tinnitus started on the 18th day, but I don't know because I didn't know what it was. It was very very intense buzzing throughout my whole brain. Its still very intense and is a high pitched buzz that feels like its at the center of my brain. I feel like there is burning and emptiness everyday in the center of my brain. I took prozac for 2 days and experienced the worst central headache of my life and it scared me so I stopped, but that was 5 or 6 years ago. 

 

I am very scared that Pristiq damaged my brain and changed connections and now my brain is stuck in this mode of hyper activity, anxiety, and tinnitus. I'm trying to stay alive, but my brain feels broken and wants to end it, I'm so much more depressed than before, and I've never had anxiety this bad. 

 

I told my doctor multiple times that I was sensitive and I didn't want a SSRI due to prozac scaring me and made me feel terrible after 2 pills. She then continued to ignore me and gave me pristiq an SNRI that is notorious for difficult to come off and discontinuation syndrome. She didn't even give me the lowest dose of 25mg. She gave me 50mg after I told her I was sensitive. I knew that she was dumb, but I didn't know how incompetent she was until now. She has never called me once after I complained to my therapist how angry I am and how much pain I am in from tinnitus and anxiety, and she did nothing but refer me to a ENT. Not once did she mention discontinuation syndrome. But I don't know what is happening to me since I started to feel this way and developed tinnitus while taking the drug. It was the worst mistake of my life taking Pristiq, and I have made very bad mistakes. 

[Altostrata]

2 hours ago, Jayy said:

I think Tinnitus started on the 18th day

 

The 18th day of what? The 18th day you took Pristiq? The 18th day after you came off it?

 

Your doctor should not be trusted to prescribe psychiatric drugs. This is not unusual.

[Jayy]

1 minute ago, Altostrata said:

 

The 18th day of what? The 18th day you took Pristiq? The 18th day after you came off it?

 

Your doctor should not be trusted to prescribe psychiatric drugs. This is not unusual.

The tinnitus started while I was taking pristiq and it probably stated sooner than the 18th day since I would listen to relaxing music at night because I couldn't sleep while taking pristiq, another side effect than I couldn't take and feel like now i can't sleep because of tinnitus, another wonderful experience I am having with my life.  I noticed it when the tinnitus became very intense and intrusive around the 18 or 19 day while taking pristiq.  

[Altostrata]

The tinnitus is an adverse effect of the drug. Reinstatement of the drug is not likely to help this.

 

Doctors don't know much about adverse effects of any drug. They don't know much about prescribing psychiatric drugs, either. You may or may not ever get confirmation that you suffered a drug-induced injury. 

 

As I said, it is unlikely that the hair cells are actually damaged. There is a possibility the tinnitus will very gradually resolve, over many months. Strongly recommend you seek treatment from a tinnitus specialist rather than becoming immobilized by grief and anger about this.

[Jayy]

22 hours ago, Altostrata said:

The tinnitus is an adverse effect of the drug. Reinstatement of the drug is not likely to help this.

 

Doctors don't know much about adverse effects of any drug. They don't know much about prescribing psychiatric drugs, either. You may or may not ever get confirmation that you suffered a drug-induced injury. 

 

As I said, it is unlikely that the hair cells are actually damaged. There is a possibility the tinnitus will very gradually resolve, over many months. Strongly recommend you seek treatment from a tinnitus specialist rather than becoming immobilized by grief and anger about this.

 

I have always been against antidepressants. I never even took Advil. Now after 24 days of taking a drug I hated and never wanted to take, I probably have permanent tinnitus?

 

I am assuming an adverse reaction means I suffered brain damage and irreversible damage. the tinnitus feels permanent and It is not changing or fading. I feel so broken and I know that pristiq is to blame for my broken brain. Since it's not a withdrawal effect and it was induced while taking pristiq there is little hope for it to fade completely? For 7 months all I wanted was to feel calm and sit in a silent room and read a book without my ears ringing. 

 

Everyone who I has talked to says it gets better with time, you'll get used to it. But that is the last thing I want and will do. Why do I have to suffer from this when All i did was try 50mg of pristiq for 24 days? Why can't the tinnitus go away? I am trying to remain hopeful that the tinnitus will fade, but I feel like it never will and no one says it will. I just want to enjoy what little life I have left, and I am in my mid twenties and my life has been a depressed and empty experience. I have no hope in being happy now, pristiq ruined my life and gave me tinnitus.

[Altostrata]

It is unknown when and whether your drug-induced tinnitus will resolve. You are working yourself up to maximum suffering by expecting the worst when no one can tell the future. It could be that one day you'll wake up and notice it has lessened.

 

I appreciate your sense of grievance. Every single one of the 16,000 members of this site have been harmed in some way by trustingly taking psychiatric drugs. Nobody expects a serious, long-lasting adverse effect. You have to do the best with where you are now.

 

Many people find fish oil and magnesium supplements helpful, see

 

https://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/36-king-of-supplements-omega-3-fatty-acids-fish-oil/

 

https://survivingantidepressants.org/topic/15483-magnesium-natures-calcium-channel-blocker/

 

You might try a little bit of one at a time to see how it affects you.

 

I don't think there's anything else I can add. I'm sorry.

[Jayy]

Just updating for the people that either care or find this post later on down the road on why my life ended up like it did.

 

8 months off taking Pristiq for 24 days 50mg didn't titrate from 25 mg, and stopped cold turkey after 24 days of side effects that made me feel sick and emotionally disabled. And lets not forget what is causing me an incredible amount of truama for 8 months, tinnitus. Pristiq GAVE ME tinnitus. 

 

I don't even take advil or tylenol when I'm sick. I was dumb enough to give Pristiq a second chance and try taking it again to help with my depression, which is why I only had 50mg tablets after the first try after  11 days  I stopped cold turkey because of side effects, and had no lasting or noticeable side effects. ( I wish I had stopped for good here, but I didn't because of the stigma that it takes time for the antidepressant to work). 

 

After the first pill the antidepressant started to change my brain, and I could feel it. I felt high, but not happy. I wish I never took even 1 pill, because it ruined my auditory system and damaged my brain to cause tinnitus. 

 

I could sink a ship from weight with the amount of anger and hatred I have, and now that I have tinnitus it is only getting more overwhelming with anger and hatred.  I have always had a lot of anger and hatred, and everyday I am alive its just gets worse.

 

After 8 months of wondering why my brain is buzzing, ringing, constantly sounds like I'm in a dentist waiting room waiting to be murdered by a dentist drill in the other room, I  finally was able to see an ENT at a University hospital and they did nothing. They told me about Michigan University tinnitus research , ( I already knew who she was talking about Susan Shore, but she didn't know the name of the researcher). They told me about masking, and retraining therapy, ( I'm not spending more money on a problem that was caused by medicine which already cost me thousand to get the prescription and psyhcotherapy that would help me with depression, which back fired, and ruined my life with tinnitus). My hearing test seem very normal, no measurable hearing loss. The ENT doesn't think my auditory nerve is damaged or hair cells that I thought were damaged, which is good, but I don't think she really knows that that drug didn't damage my auditory system. 

 

The ENT basically said, Pristiq could have triggered tinnitus and she thinks that I will not have to deal with it for 60 more years, she thinks it will fade over the years, and will become less noticeable. which is exactly why I want to kill myself. 

 

Its not because of my sad pathetic life with no friends, no goals, and Never had a girlfriend (not a single ******* girl)  or even my own place to call home, and my terrible family that has made me feel so unloved while I grew up. I desperately want to end my life because of how I took a antidepressant that gave me a very high pitched, relentless ringing sound deep inside my brain. Every time I lay my head on my pillow I violently punch my bed and bite my pillow trying not to put a belt around my neck and hang myself in my closet. Every morning I hate waking up with tinnitus, going to sleep with tinnitus. MY BRAIN IS NOT THE SAME. I NEVER HAD TINNITUS. PRISTIQ GAVE ME TINNITUS. WHY DO I HAVE TINNITUS FROM THAT TERRIBLE DRUG?

 

The University ENT never had anyone come to her with tinnitus from a SSRI, SNRI or even an antidepressant. I must be the luckiest person to have taken pristiq for 24 days to end up with permanent tinnitus for the rest of my life, and have no doctor know what happened or why it happened. 

 

Two months after finally giving up hope that the tinnitus will disappear, I lost my purpose of remaining healthy and  reason to survive. I gave up on myself. I hardly eat 2 meals a day, and binge eat ice cream and pizza  until I pass-out from being full, this is one way to ease the pain of listening to a deafening ring when I try to fall asleep. I stopped exercising, I stopped saving money, and I stopped thinking I can recover, because this is not withdrawal, this is damage to my brain. 

 

Either way it doesn't really ******* matter. because no one cares about my life like I do. No one is going to search for answers to my problems except me, and I gave up two months ago. I can't believe I have tinnitus from taking pristiq, but I knew  it was damaging me, I blame dr.mosko the idiot who decided to prescribe me a SNRI not even at the lowest dose, AFTER TELLING HER " I CAN NOT HANDLE SSRIs" I said " I DO NOT WANT SSRI". You would think a doctor was smart enough to know that a SNRI is similar enough to an SSRI to ruin my brains chemistry, damage my brain cells, and now have tinnitus. I ******* told her. But the idiot Dr. didn't listen. 

 

 

Also, why is my long intro to my story shortened to 1 paragraph? Why would you delete my entire story. **** who ever did that, because when people start to dig into my computer when I am dead I want them to know what misery lead to my suicide, and see my actual words and what lead up to my death. 

 

TLDR; Took pristiq 50mg for 24 days, stopped cold turkey. I am not in withdrawal, I have had tinnitus for 8 months constantly very high pitched ringing. NO doctor or ENT knows if or why the antidepressant gave me tinnitus. Im so sick of Doctors not listening to me. I told the doctors I got tinnitus from pristiq, why does no doctor know why it wont stop or why Pristiq gave it to me.

 

 

BTW. Every single story I have ever read across the internet that has tinnitus induced from an antidepressant, the tinnitus has never disappeared  if it lasts more than a few weeks. Every single person I have asked still has tinnitus after 5,10,15 years. Its ******* stupid. 

 

 

 

P.S 

 

My life experience has been sad and unhappy I tired to take an antidepressant to help, It made things 10x worse, by giving me tinnitus. This is not ******* withdrawal, I have a constant buzzing high pitched deafening ring in my brain BECAUSE OF PRISTIQ. WHY. WHY. WHY. This is my life now, one where tinnitus is torturing me. I don't even care if people think its not that bad or others have more sever disabilities, why am I complaining? Because I can't sleep, concentrate, or relax anymore. I have to stop my impulsive urge to kill myself regularly now. Like how can they give people these drugs without a screen test. They wanted me to pay 500 dollars for a genetic test to see which Antidepressant would work best for me. I should have taken that test, but I already knew every SSRI would give me bad side effects. I didn't know SNRIs are the same or worse. but they just gave it to me after I told them how sensitive I am and that I didn't WANT A ******* SSRI. 

 

 

Edit; ******* spelling, and I'm not proof reading because I hate this site and I hate that I am on here seeking some type of reassurance that the tinnitus will stop. 

 

Bonus: I have a friend that is a spoiled brat. she gets everything handed to her and lives her life recklessly and with no repercussions. She has taken antidepressants for years, she quit cold turkey and had NO withdrawal, she takes celexa on and off when ever she wants no issues, she never had tinnitus, she complains that they make her feel sick when she starts to take them, but keeps stopping and starting because her mom makes her take them. Shes 28  drinks half a gallon of hard liquor EVERY NIGHT, and does any drug she wants, even a 3 day coke binge with no sleep and only snorting coke and drinking alcohol, besides the point. Why the **** does this idiot who at this point is my only friend that I don't even like have no adverse reaction or side effects? But, when I take a sh*tty antidepressant that I am completely against taking I develop tinnitus that will torture me for the rest of my life? Oh thats right life is unfair and it is a miserable experience unless your lucky, attractive, or rich. 

 

Lastly I am very ungrateful for tinnitus I wish it would stop because I miss silence, and giving my brain a break from noise. And I also ******* hate my life, and every single person that has ever been in it. 

 

**** this and **** Dr.mosko. **** every single person that doesn't listen to what I have to say and how I feel. Because it doesn't matter to you. Its my life that is ***** up and ruined. 

 

 

[Frogie]

Hey Jayy:

 

On 10/20/2021 at 5:34 AM, Jayy said:

Pristiq GAVE ME tinnitus

I’m sorry to hear that the Pristiq gave you tinnitus. Lexapro gave it to me, but it DID finally go away. I’ve been off of it, I think, 2 years and it’s finally gone. I can understand your frustration. I’ve literally gone months without sleep. I know this WD is really a frustrating obstacle.

 

On 10/20/2021 at 5:34 AM, Jayy said:

I could sink a ship from weight with the amount of anger and hatred I have

You know, a lot, and I mean a lot, of members on here probably feel the same way as you. I was very angry for all the meds I was on and I was on them over 20 years! But I learned not to fixate myself on it and try to do something constructive. Right now I’m making quilted Christmas ornaments for family. And we are remodeling our kitchen ourselves.
 

On 10/20/2021 at 5:34 AM, Jayy said:

I have a constant buzzing high pitched deafening ring in my brain

I wish I had the answer to why you, or anyone else has this constant buzzing. I have 2 brother in law’s that have it and have NEVER been on an antidepressant. One was born with it. It’s very annoying and I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to go day by day like this. One of my brother in law’s actually just got hearing aids and they seemed to help a little. 
 

On 10/20/2021 at 5:34 AM, Jayy said:

She has taken antidepressants for years, she quit cold turkey and had NO withdrawal, she takes celexa on and off when ever she wants no issues, she never had tinnitus, she complains that they make her feel sick when she starts to take them, but keeps stopping and starting because her mom makes her take them.

I know people like that. That start and stop on a whim and it never affects them. It’s not fair to any of us that suffer from taking them. But everyone is different and it affects everyone different too. Once again, you can’t compare your to her. 
 

Life is very frustrating and complex. But you can’t be so angry. Anger uses so much more energy than trying to do something about it. You can’t fixate on the problem unfortunately. You just have to go on knowing one day you will wake up and it will be gone. Some people take longer than others to heal. In the meantime, can you take walks, do crosswords or something to keep your mind off of this? 
 

I’m just throwing out some suggestions for you. I really hope you do feel better very soon.

 

Take care,

 Frogie xx

[ShiningLight]

Jayy. I have gotten some relief from withdrawal symptoms by practicing radical acceptance. Accept the unacceptable, just for this moment. Soften into it, if you can. Breathe into it. It's the fighting against it and hating it that makes it 1,000,000 times worse. If tinnitus is caused by overactive messaging, anger and all its toxic chemicals are making it worse for you. Stop brooding as you are actively feeding the problem.

 

Don't focus on the injustice of this (yes it's awful!!!), instead focus on what you can do to improve this moment right now. Does keeping busy help? Does resting in a dark room help calm your nerves? Does aromatherapy help? A warm blanket? A cup of caffeine free tea? Forest bathing? Try to engage your other senses and for crissakes get out of your head because it's spewing garbage at you 24/7!

 

Don't try to solve all your life's problems right now, and don't predict that you won't ever be able to solve them. Put them aside for now. Your main task is to survive the buzzing, that's all you need to do right now.

 

If you kill yourself, that would be the biggest waste because that action would be based on a delusion--that your life can't get better. That is absolutely a false belief. It can get better, but you have to be willing to try, and you have to be willing to tolerate pain to get there. Are you willing to do those things? 

 

Who would be thinking straight with all that buzzing? It sounds so agitating. You have to take it on faith from the good people here: things will get better, if you keep trying and if you allow them to.

[Jayy]

I hope it will go away, I'm trying not to impulsively end my life in hope that I can at least sit in a quiet room without being extremely angry, and give me time to sue the **** out of the doctor.  Its not withdrawal, it dysfunction and damage. It makes me feel better than your tinnitus went away, even though it seems that it never completely goes away from all the many stories that I read on here. Although you were on it for 20 years the tinnitus stopped after 2. So if I do the same math my tinnitus should have stopped after 2 weeks max. but Here I am 8 miserable months later, barely any happiness in my life before, and now I am much more depressed. 

 

How can these drugs be approved to treat a mood disorder and anxiety? I took it for 3 weeks and now I have crippling depression and anxiety due to tinnitus and the dysfunctional neurotransmitters in my auditory area and probably my entire brain doesn't work properly. I havn't cried in 9 months. I have been the most sad and unhappy in my life, and I am still unable to cry. I'm sure my sexual dysfunction also is because of {Pristiq frying the senses in my brain to make me feel less. Its ******* stupid. 

 

Can my last post not be removed? Wtf, the is no reason to hide what is happening to me from other people. Its triggering who? The only person who is triggered is me. My introduction was basically removed too. Yeah I get it I type a lot and I'm self destructive and angry. Then don't read it. don't pay attention to me, its like my actual life, just remove me from reality since I'm not adding anything to anyones lives. Like the mod who is restricing my own post had tinnitus for 4 years and it hasn't ever once stopped or faded. whatever. Thats why I'm waiting 2 years to see if I am happier. But i know i wont be. its the same **** everyday. 

 

 

 

[Altostrata]

No, your introduction is still here. But we can't do anything about your rage.

[JesusSavemefromWD]

On 11/3/2021 at 1:59 AM, Jayy said:

I hope it will go away, I'm trying not to impulsively end my life in hope that I can at least sit in a quiet room without being extremely angry, and give me time to sue the **** out of the doctor.  Its not withdrawal, it dysfunction and damage. It makes me feel better than your tinnitus went away, even though it seems that it never completely goes away from all the many stories that I read on here. Although you were on it for 20 years the tinnitus stopped after 2. So if I do the same math my tinnitus should have stopped after 2 weeks max. but Here I am 8 miserable months later, barely any happiness in my life before, and now I am much more depressed. 

 

How can these drugs be approved to treat a mood disorder and anxiety? I took it for 3 weeks and now I have crippling depression and anxiety due to tinnitus and the dysfunctional neurotransmitters in my auditory area and probably my entire brain doesn't work properly. I havn't cried in 9 months. I have been the most sad and unhappy in my life, and I am still unable to cry. I'm sure my sexual dysfunction also is because of {Pristiq frying the senses in my brain to make me feel less. Its ******* stupid. 

 

Can my last post not be removed? Wtf, the is no reason to hide what is happening to me from other people. Its triggering who? The only person who is triggered is me. My introduction was basically removed too. Yeah I get it I type a lot and I'm self destructive and angry. Then don't read it. don't pay attention to me, its like my actual life, just remove me from reality since I'm not adding anything to anyones lives. Like the mod who is restricing my own post had tinnitus for 4 years and it hasn't ever once stopped or faded. whatever. Thats why I'm waiting 2 years to see if I am happier. But i know i wont be. its the same **** everyday. 

 

 

 

I agree with u it’s not simply withdrawl but some kind of neuronal damage by the short term use of the AD. What u don’t realize though is that this damage is reversible. I am not saying this in a judgmental tone as I am guilty of that as well given that I suffer immensely over a year after just 3.5 weeks of Zoloft. Just telling u it is reversible but we can’t predict how long it ll take based on how long it took for others. I have a plethora of torturous symptoms but my tinnitus is gone. I do have a mild head buzzing in my left side but it’s only noticeable when there is absolutely no noise in the room. By the way, I also hate my doctor cause when I told her I am getting “out of my body” with Zoloft, she told me not to worry but to keep taking it. But all I want is to recover and if I do the last thing I ll care about is this stupid doctor…. Stay strong, the DAMAGE IS REVERSIBLE….. 

[PsychologicalSafe15]

On 8/23/2021 at 8:16 AM, Jayy said:

Hello, I took pristiq for about a month and had terrible side affects. Now 6 months off of the drug I still suffer from tinnitus and I never had tinnitus in my  life. I know my ears are extremely sensitive. I'm wondering if it is permanent from ototoxicity (which I didn't know about), and I am worried that the tinnitus is permanent. I am desperate to stop the ringing in my head. I also get aches in my brain daily just thinking/hearing the ringing. Every time I go on long runs it gets worse. I want to go back to before I took this sh*tty drug, because I knew it would cause me harm and Now I am worried I have to suffer for the rest of my life with a intrusive ring constantly in my head. Did tinnitus ever get better for you? I am desperate for hope that it will go away. 

how is it now ?? DId it go away ?

[PsychologicalSafe15]

@Jay

 

[Jayy]

On 11/10/2021 at 1:32 AM, PsychologicalSafe15 said:

@Jay

 

No never went away. It never will. the damage to my ears/ auditory system are permanent. The only hope I have is for my brain to adapt naturally to hopefully lessen the tinnitus. No one helps, I'm more depressed, and now I'm here. It's amazing to see how many people take these drugs for years and end up OK. I only took it for 24 days and it gave me tinnitus, worsened my depression, anxiety, and anger, and causes me to have more suicidal thoughts. 

 

Its loud, its constant, there are deafening waves of ringing that make me think I went deaf. I want to grab my head and bash it into a brick wall. 

[alberto]

hey @Jayy

 

I also have tinnitus and it's still here. IK you will get better. man.

love!

Albert 

[PsychologicalSafe15]

@Jayy It take 2 years approx man. Symptoms laster years and years .