Ringing in the ears

[lyndsaylee]

Recently, because I was showing no improvement with taking mino twice a day, every other day, I ramped up to taking it every day. I have felt significant improvement as far as the PsA goes, but now I noticed I have ringing ( a high pitched prequency) in my ears. Drugs.com says that’s a severe side effect and to consult a phyisician right away. For me, going to the doc is an incredible hassel and sometimes not even possible…for instance, a month ago I saw the doc for these new skin lesions that are appearing and not going away. I was given a referral and my appointment is in September! Does anyone know anything about this? Is this really serious?

[Maz]

Hi Lindsaylee,

So sorry to hear about this….are you seeing an AP physician or navigating things alone? There is an excellent AP doc in Lufkin who is on the RBF’s most experienced list who you should be able to get in to see sooner, if this helps. Also, I could send you the contact info of Dr. S. in Iowa, who you can email or call, as he is very kind to consult with local docs and to answer patient questions about AP. Let me know if this would help and I’d be happy to PM you this info.

Tinnitus is a topic that came up recently and there are so many causes of it (trauma, infection, nutrient deficiencies, drug side-effects, thyroid, etc) that it can sometimes be difficult to know what is what. As you just increased your dose and noticed it beginning at the same time, it’s no surprise you’re thinking it might be related – I’d probably be questioning this, too. Perhaps the only way to know for sure would be to do a wash-out period of a week or so to see if it stops. Of course, none of us are doctors here, so we can’t offer medical advice, but I think this is what I would personally try. I have had to stop my antibiotics for various reasons along the way and it hasn’t affected my progress much. Brown would often do washout periods if patients were sudddenly experiencing hypersensitivity reactions as a result of too much bacterial toxin being released.

Did you increase your dose suddenly, Lindsaylee, or work up the dose gradually in increments?

[lyndsaylee]

Thanks, Maz. Yes I did increase the mino suddenly – the reason being that I was experiencing so much pain and feared more damage to my joints. I was taking my anti-inflammatory twice a day and there was still a significant amount of stiffness and pain. Additionally, my knee was beginning to swell. So, things not only did not seem to be getting any better, they seemed to be progressively getting worse. I have had much less pain and stiffness since I upped the dose – but now I have this ringing in my ears. It’s not really intolerable – but I wonder if it means something I should pay attention to or if it is a side effect that will eventually fade away (like the dizziness when I first started taking mino a couple of years ago.)

And yes, I’m pretty much trying to figure this on my own.

I’ll PM you tomorrow about the docs you spoke about. Thanks again.

Laura

[Maz]

@lyndsaylee wrote:

Thanks, Maz. Yes I did increase the mino suddenly – the reason being that I was experiencing so much pain and feared more damage to my joints. I was taking my anti-inflammatory twice a day and there was still a significant amount of stiffness and pain. Additionally, my knee was beginning to swell. So, things not only did not seem to be getting any better, they seemed to be progressively getting worse. I have had much less pain and stiffness since I upped the dose – but now I have this ringing in my ears. It’s not really intolerable – but I wonder if it means something I should pay attention to or if it is a side effect that will eventually fade away (like the dizziness when I first started taking mino a couple of years ago.)

Laura, I don’t know if this will help or not, but some NSAIDs can also cause tinnitus. Raising your mino dose quickly could also be a cause of vestibular-like symptoms (similar to the dizziness you experienced before). So could be one or the other or even a combo of both and would be hard to know which without a washout.

I’m only guessing here as a fellow patient, but as you had the dizziness when beginning mino, it’s not out of the realms of possibility it’s just affecting your ears again, but in slightly different way this time. Definitely something to check in with an AP doc about, though…my guess is that Dr. S could offer some helpful insight about this.

The reason for increasing mino slowly is because of the potential for delayed herx reactions to increasing the dose suddenly. It’s not uncommon for there to be a ‘honeymoon’ period of a few weeks where all symptoms abate and then the herx hits. I’m on Lyme protocols and I’ve experienced this in different time frames with different anti-microbials, but there is always a nice, deceiving honeymoon period for me. It’s not always the case for PsA, as not everyone with this seems to herx and you might be perfectly fine in this regard. 😉 It’s just easier, usually, to dial the dose up slowly than to do a sudden jump and then find one has to dial back in the middle of a herx and then find an appropriate dose. Mino does have superior (to other tetras) tissue penetration and some side-effects can be experienced when one jumps right into the Harvard Protocol…that’s why you’ll often hear the “low and slow” mantra being boringly repeated around here.

I’ll send you the doc info in a PM. 😉

[Author]

Posts