Spoiler alert - this is a downer. Here's my experience. I went off effexor about 20 years ago - (too quickly) withdrawal was the pits and it included tinnitus (ringing.) Went to PCP and ENT docs trying to get some relief. Unfortunately, there is no cure for tinnitus - I didn't know that at the time. So grasping at straws - went on xanax but hated it. So, long story short. I still have tinnitus and really had gotten used to the continuous, low level ringing. (Avoided as much stress and caffeine as possible.) However, about 2 years ago I started coming off lamotrigine (again too quickly) and now have a 4-alarm bell ringing in my left ear and pulsitile tinnitus in the right ear (only intermittent.) This is in addition to the lower frequency ringing. Now have insomnia from seroquel withdrawals (did titration on that one correctly.) So, I'm pretty miserable unless I stay busy - so I stay busy. The insomnia is getting better - I have a fitbit watch that helps me track the amount and quality of sleep. I have an appointment with an ENT next week (but not looking for much hope there.) Just as an aside - PC found an irregular heartbeat last year while I was on seroquel and referred me to a cardiologist who also found an irregular heart beat - my EKG yesterday was totally normal. I told the Doc he wouldn't like the obvious - but I wasn't on seroquel anymore. Thank goodness for this website and the resources. Started reading "Anatomy of an Epidemic" and listening to Mad In America podcasts - finally some answers. I'm currently slowly titrating off 5 mg Trintellix and 12.5 mg of lorazepam. I'm encouraged about sleeping at least 5 hrs a night - that's better than 2 or 3. So at least there is some hope there. : )

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