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  1. Hello everyone, I’m so pleased to have found you all and very happy to be signed up to SA 😊 I’m here for my mum who was born in 1947 and is 76 years old. It’s taken me a while to get round to writing this, (massive), introduction, and some of the details are a little sketchy as mum’s memory of events aren’t always too clear. I really need some insight and advice so that I can help my mum so please let me give you some history and background – I’ll try to keep it brief! My mum has lived most of her life between Ireland and Scotland. I live in Scotland and, up until the end of 2013, my mum would split her time between her own home in Ireland and my home in Scotland. In 2013 she went to her doctor (GP) in Ireland and was referred to psychiatry and prescribed sertraline (50mg initially) for low mood and anxiety. Mum continued to take sertraline for the next three years (2013 – 2016) and was, at some point prescribed risperidone for 3 days but it made mum feel drowsy - we don’t know quite when or why this antipsychotic was prescribed but we are waiting to receive her medical records and should have a clearer picture then. I’m not sure after this date (2016) if there were any changes to mum’s meds but in February 2017 – May 2017, mum was admitted to the local psychiatric hospital presenting as catatonic and then delirious / psychotic. During her stay at the hospital, she was diagnosed with psychotic depression and received seven ECT sessions, her sertraline was increased to 200mg and olanzapine was introduced at 10mg twice a day (20mg in total) From 2017 – 2018 her drugs remained the same. In March 2018 mood dipped and we think her olanzapine may have been increased. In June 2019 re-admission to the psychiatric hospital was considered due to earlier catatonic symptoms reappearing. She avoided admission and recovered, her sertraline was switched to venlafaxine 150mg and then increased to 225mg. In November 2019 Mirtazapine (15mg) was added and in February 2020 pregabalin was introduced for anxiety (initially at 25mg twice a day but then upped to 50mg twice a day) As far as we are aware there were no changes to mum’s psychiatric meds until 2023. I should also add that she is on several other meds for other medical conditions – please see drug signature. Between 2014 and 2022 my mum remained in Ireland and, although she seemed well a good deal of the time, there would be periods where her mood was very low, and her anxiety really heightened. Sometimes when mum was like this the doctor would prescribe diazepam to help reduce the severe anxiety. When mum’s mood was low she would become increasingly anxious about everything and anything and, when spending time with my brother and his two younger children, she was very anxious that they would injure themselves or come to some harm. It was clear to me and my brother that this debilitating anxiety and constant worry was stopping her from being able to enjoy life and her grandchildren (she has always found most joy when being around her children and grandchildren). We could also see that mum’s physical health was deteriorating and we decided, in 2022, and with mum’s agreement, that it would be best if she permanently moved over to Scotland to be close to me so that I could support and be with her on a much more regular, daily basis. Mum’s mood and anxiety continued to fluctuate throughout 2022 and, due to other external factors, we couldn’t move her over here quite as quickly as we’d hoped. At the end of September 2022 she was, once again, in a very anxious/ catatonic state and narrowly avoided being admitted to the psychiatric hospital. She went to stay with my brother and his family for a week while we organized her coming over here. Although we’re not entirely certain, (as mum was living on her own), it does seem, prior to these more severe unwell periods, that mum was falling into a very anxious state and would stop eating, sleeping and we think perhaps stop taking her meds for maybe one or two doses. Mum was now living in Scotland with me, and her mood started to improve throughout October. She was offered a flat within the retirement housing complex, just a 10 minute walk away from me. With mum in Scotland we began to see a definite pattern to her mood - she would be well for around a month and then her mood would drop, out of nowhere and with no obvious trigger, and she would be super anxious with low mood for around 2 weeks and then would slowly start to improve again. In January 2023 I printed off a mood chart and we filled it in daily. In February 2023 mum had her first appointment with her new psychiatrist, (I have always been present during these appointments). I expressed concerns around seeing what I thought were some mild signs of tardive dyskinesia and mum was happy to start reducing her olanzapine with her psychiatrist’s support. The psychiatrist did not warn us about withdrawal effects or warn us to look out for anything and I, much to my deep regret, was completely unaware of the impact and dangers around dose changes in psychiatric drugs. Mum was on 15mg olanzapine, which was initially reduced to 10mg for 3 months, then to 7.5mg for 3 months, then to 5mg for 3 months. During the summer of 2023 mum experienced pain in her hip which her GP prescribed additional pregabalin for, increasing her daily dose of 50mg twice a day to 50mg twice a day with the addition of 100mg twice a day to help the pain (thereby taking her daily dose potentially up to 300mg). Mum did experience some dizziness around this time which we put down to the increased pregabalin dose. Throughout 2023 mum’s pattern continued in the same fashion as before and I noticed nothing untoward. Mum had an excellent October, remaining well for almost the entire month and I felt sure I was seeing a reduction in the tardive dyskinesia mouth movements. On October the 23rd mum’s olanzapine was further reduced from 5mg to 2.5mg. On the 26th of October mum was given her combined covid and flu vaccination – the very next day, (27th October,) she felt nauseous, dizzy, freezing cold and had general flu-like symptoms. After reading the patient info leaflet from the jag we assumed these symptoms were a side effect of the vaccination and didn’t for one moment consider that they could be related to the drop in her olanzapine dosage just a few days before… After 3 – 4 days she felt physically better but her mood had dipped - we weren’t surprised, she’d had a good month of feeling well and her mood was due to dip anyway, according to her pattern. Although mum had a tough week her mood seemed to be lifting and we went off to her psychiatry appointment. The psychiatrist asked mum how she was and she said she was OK and her mood was lifting – he asked her if she ever felt suicidal and she said no (she has never felt suicidal) he also asked if she suffered from SAD and she said no – she, like me, actually enjoys winter and the festive season very much. The psychiatrist told her to finish off her new 4 week prescription of olanzapine at 2.5mg and then she would be finished with olanzapine for good. That evening, around 6.30pm I said goodnight to mum, took a bag of her washing home with me that she asked me to do and said I’d see her tomorrow. I didn’t get any response from mum to my early morning text and, at 11.15am I decided to go and see where she was and what she was up to. I found mum unconscious in her living room – at some point during the night before she must have slipped into a delusional state and she had taken all of her month’s supply of tablets and all of the extra pregabalin that she had been prescribed. She also left a bizarre note about not wanting to be a big lady which made no sense. Mum was rushed by ambulance to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at a local hospital and my brother and I were told to prepare ourselves for the worst – she was not expected to survive. Remarkably, and against all the odds, my wee mum survived this terrible ordeal of which she has no memory, (she also has no memory of her stay at the psychiatric hospital in 2017 when she experienced psychosis). It was at this time that I started to become aware of the damaging effect of these drugs and I became convinced that what had happened to mum was most likely due to a too rapid reduction in her olanzapine. During her stay at hospital her psychiatrist visited her and as good as reprimanded her for trying to take her own life. She was experiencing an extremely low mood, confusion and some delirium at this time, she was also classed as an adult without capacity. Despite this, her psychiatrist decided to cold turkey her from all of her psychiatric meds (olanzapine, venlafaxine, mirtazapine and pregabalin) without discussing this with any family member. He did not believe that mum was experiencing withdrawal symptoms and said that any withdrawal symptoms would be long past by now. I was now also learning the dangers of abruptly stopping psychiatric meds and I became very worried for my mum’s health and this new course of action. After a phone call with me, the psychiatrist did agree to reinstate mum’s olanzapine at 5mg, at my request, and her venlafaxine, but only at 75mg. I was still worried and could see that mum was deteriorating – mum was transferred to the local psychiatric hospital and the new psychiatrist was not willing to consider my request of reinstating her mirtazapine and venlafaxine at 225mg but she did agree to increase her venlafaxine to 150mg. A few days later and, after seeing no improvement in mum she decided that mum was having paranoid thoughts so she increased mum’s olanzapine to 7.5mg without discussing this with me – she also suggested that if mum was to experience withdrawal symptoms, like I suggested she was, she would treat them with lorazepam! She, like the other psychiatrist did not agree that mum was experiencing withdrawal and she also said that any withdrawal would be over by now. I was upset to discover that mum’s care was in the hands of another psychiatrist who wasn’t following the NICE guidelines on withdrawing psychiatric meds and was in denial about the severity or seriousness of possible withdrawal effects. I would love nothing more than for my mum to be off all of these meds but I knew that this cold turkey method could be incredibly damaging. From the day her original psychiatrist made the decision to cold turkey her It took me a total of 18 days and a formal complaint before mum’s meds were reinstated on the 11th of December, at her previous dosage and the olanzapine reduced back to 5mg (I had great support from the mental Welfare Commission, by the way, just in case anyone else needs support). I don’t yet know if I did the right thing, but it was difficult to find advice. Within a week mum’s mood was back to being really good, her memory was dramatically improved, and all confusion was gone. She continued to improve over the next couple of weeks and was officially discharged from hospital on the 3rd of January - no one in the hospital could believe how well and quickly she had recovered. Apparently, according to one of the nurses, the average stay in the psychiatric hospital is 6 – 12 months. Mum was there for just 4 1/2 weeks and spent the best part of those caring for her fellow patients! So, we find ourselves almost back to square one. Mum came home and stayed with me from the 3rd of January 2024 until the 11th – she then went home but was, unfortunately only well for one day and night and the following day her mood dipped again – I was anxious about what had previously happened so brought her back to stay with us until her mood improved or until I had “GrannyCam” (Echo Show) installed so that I could keep a closer eye on her. Mum has only just gone back to her wee flat (29th January 2024) and she is still pretty anxious although she is improving slowly. And this is where we find ourselves. Many, many thanks for reading so far…😊 I am really hoping that I can help support mum to get her off her psychiatric meds – she and I are under no illusions and, given the dosage and time that she has been on this hellish cocktail of meds we are aware that there is an extremely long road ahead of her. I am hoping, initially, that you guys can help me specifically with the following questions: · Would you recommend that mum take her tablets at different times throughout the day (she has morning and evening meds - venlafaxine and pregabalin are taken in the morning and olanzapine, pregabalin and mirtazapine in the evening), and if so, when would you suggest? · I feel that the first drug to taper should be the remaining 5mg of Olanzapine – do you think this is right? · When do you think it would be the right time to restart the olanzapine taper? And does anyone know if I can source taper strips in the UK on the NHS? · Has anyone ever experienced these periods of wellness and then periods of low mood and severe anxiety in a pattern such as I’ve described? Could these be some kind of Waves and Windows, bearing in mind that she was experiencing them prior to starting any kind of drug reduction · What can I do to help mum with this terrible anxiety? I have very recently bought her some chelated magnesium and she has had a couple of low doses of that over the last few days (but has avoided taking them 2 hours before or after her pregabalin, as per the SA advice on magnesium) · I am obviously very worried that there may be a repeat of what happened to mum on the evening of the 9th of November given that, aside from the flu like symptoms, there wasn’t much to warn me to be on the look out for such a severe reaction. Do you think that now that I know a little about what to look out for with withdrawal symptoms I will be able to pick up on times like this should they arise in the future when mum is tapering from her meds? Any and all advice will be extremely welcome – thank you all so much in advance and my apologies for the massive essay! Chris (tine) 😊💚 x x
  2. Hello everyone, First, I will start with a brief introduction, followed by my story, and finally, I will describe how I am feeling today. -English isn't my first language.- I am a 32-year-old man, a teacher who has studied psychology. I want to share my story because I found a lot of support in reading stories on this website, especially the success stories. Throughout my life, I have been battling anxiety. It's important to note for the upcoming story that I have never experienced depression. I've always been a very sporty, energetic, emotional, and motivated person. My anxiety mainly manifested as hypochondria, and I began therapy for it around the age of 18. This helped me a lot. I am still undergoing therapy with the same person—a psychiatrist who works both in a hospital during the day and as a private practitioner in the evening where he gives psychotherapy(which is somewhat unique in my country). At around 19 years old, I used Sipralexa (also called Escitalopram/Lexapro) for about 6 months. I felt a bit less excited and experienced sexual side effects, such as delayed ejaculations, it required a lot of effort to reach orgasms. I decided to stop the medication without tapering off, and fortunately, I didn't experience significant symptoms after quitting. About a year later, I started taking St. John's Wort (Sint Jans Kruid) at a dosage of 900mg per day, divided into three doses of 300mg each. I continued with St. John's Wort until the day my story begins. My story I still can't believe that what I am about to write happened to me and is still happening. I know it's a bit unusual to spoil the story, but yeah, I can do what I want with my own story: I'm actually getting better. 24 October 2022, Appointment with My Therapist, who is also a Psychiatrist After complaining about increased anxiety and stress, my therapist suggested trying something stronger than the St. John's Wort I was using. It was just a suggestion. Initially, I declined, and we didn't delve into it further during the session. However, at the very end, and to my regret, I said, ‘you know what, actually I am almost always stressed and anxious, let me try those meds: Sertraline it was.’ 26 October 2022, My First Dose I was prescribed Sertraline 25mg/day, to take in the morning. On this day, I stopped taking the 900mg St. John's Wort and took my first 25mg Sertraline in the morning. A few hours later, I already noticed the delayed ejaculation as described earlier in my story. Later in the evening, during a university class, I experienced a moment of confusion and detachment. For a brief period (a minute or 5), I couldn't see the point of being in class or even being alive. I knew in my head why I was in class and why I am in this world, but I couldn't feel it. Those 5 minutes were the worst thing I have ever experienced. Later that evening, I had to leave the class due to a panic attack, larger than any I had experienced before. (I had never left class before). The day after, in the morning, while working on my computer, I couldn't focus. The letters on the screen seemed too much, and they were a bit 'dancing,' like when you move your phone while trying to read a message. I texted my psychiatrist and was told it could be a side effect that possibly goes away (at this point, I didn't talk about that weird 5 minutes in class). Then, a few days later, I wanted to surprise my dad while he was fishing, as I always did, because it made him very happy. However, this day was different. I arrived at the lake, and there he was, my dad, already smiling because he had a feeling I would come and sit with him for the rest of the day. As he grabbed another chair out of his car, because he always brings one for me, he said, 'aaaa here is my son!!' Normally, that would make me feel so happy, but I couldn't feel it. I couldn't imagine why sitting there would make me happy, and it broke me completely. To see my dad confused when I said, 'No dad, thanks. I'm feeling very tired. Just wanted to say hi. I'm going home now.' 4 November 2022, The Day Hell Broke Loose Due to the sexual side effects and the weird moments of 'mood drops' - not feeling connected or seeing the point - I decided to quit Sertraline. My last 25mg tablet was the morning before (3 November). I had taken it for 10 days. 10 AM: I went to the barber, felt anxious, and couldn't relax for a second. I was in continuous fight or flight mode. 13 PM: I arrived home and experienced pure horror, a feeling that hurt more than anything I could imagine. I didn't want to live for another minute with this feeling, not a second. It was too hard. I ran into my big brother's room and said, 'I don't know what's going on, I can't take this anymore.' He asked, 'What?' and I replied, 'I don't know, I have this feeling I can't live with.' I tried to explain as best I could and said, 'I would rather be in a wheelchair without legs for the rest of my life than endure one more minute with this feeling.' (To be clear, I don't want to compare situations of suffering; it just came to my mind at that moment to try to find words for what I was feeling). But now I know, you can't describe this feeling with words; only the people who have experienced it will understand. Later that evening, I felt a bit of relief, but still in pure hell. This is actually a very clear trend/lifeline in my story: the evenings are (almost) always better. At this point, I was without Sertraline or St. John's Wort: the mood drops and sexual side effects were definitely caused by the Sertraline because I did not experience them on St. John's Wort. The next day, I started taking St. John's Wort again. The next months are pure hell, feeling almost nothing (except pure horror) during the day to feeling relief in the evening. Let me explain in more detail: -I will regularly add dates to my story so it is easier to follow. (I always used to count months in the success stories to compare to myself; I know everybody has their own timeline of recovery, but I still compared.)- 4 November - 13 November, The first week without Sertraline, With 900mg St. John's Wort/day again, I didn't notice any improvements and called almost every day to the Psychiatrist (PSY) to tell him I can't live with this feeling. Due to my psychology study, I made sure to include that I am not feeling suicidal. This was a lie, but I was sure I was not going to do it. My psychiatrist made sure I could come and visit at least one time every week and could call or text him at any moment. I count myself lucky to have a person like him as my therapist. The first thing he said was, 'I never had someone telling me about these problems, and it is not described, but that does not mean that you are not feeling this. I am here and I am not too old to learn.' This made such a big difference. 14 November 2023, I told my PSY about possible withdrawal 'I think it's withdrawal!' I said and was told that this is very unlikely because I was only on the medication for 10 days and that it didn't reach my blood-brain barrier. But also, he asked about my theory, how the medication could cause me to feel this way. I told him I can't really explain, and we consented that if it would be withdrawal, it would go away when the medication is reinstated. He prescribed me a magistral preparation of 5mg Sertraline so I could take this instead of 25mg. I will add a schedule, maybe it could be of importance for anyone: 14/15/16/18 NOV: 10mg Sertraline, no St. John's Wort. While writing this, it is getting clear to me that I got even worse: Almost no sleep, more horror. 18 NOV: 25mg Sertraline + 1 tablet of 'Deanxit': never took it afterward (this day I was really bad and called the doctor and psychiatrist on the same day). - As you notice, I actually start going up with the medication hoping it would make this horror go away)- 19 NOV - 30 NOV: 25mg Sertraline - Getting worse, so quick taper- 1 DEC: 20mg 2 DEC: 15mg 3/4 DEC: 15mg + 1 St. John's Wort (300mg) 5-11 DEC: 10mg + 1 St. John's Wort 12 DEC: 5mg Sertraline + 2 St. John's Wort (600mg) - the lower I went with the Sertraline, the better my sleep got- 13 DEC: 0mg Sertraline + 3 St. John's Wort (900mg) 1 January 2023, goodbye to life as I knew it In the following months, the feeling of pure horror is starting to fade a bit and it gets replaced with anhedonia and depression: not able to enjoy anything and not feeling the motivation to do anything. Switching from almost not feeling (except anxiety and just feeling bad) to feeling a little bit of emotion. In the evenings, it always got a little bit better, and I had an occasional laugh but not the same as before where I would really laugh. Important to know is, I couldn't enjoy ANY activity, I actually did things just to distract (try) myself from this empty filthy numb feeling. Example: I used to love photography. I went from a little idea to finding myself miles away in the city to work out a creative photo project. I couldn't wait to get home and share my pictures with friends and family. 'Oh, is it already time to sleep? I want to edit a bit more!' But at this point, I just walk and walk. I don't want to walk... why do I even hang this camera around my neck? ..., why take pictures..., let's go home... why home? What will I do there, waiting and hoping I will feel better one day. Also, I am not able to work anymore at this point due to what I am going through. June 2023, it got a little bit less intense, 8 months into this. As the months went by, I noticed that bad got a little less bad and the evenings got a little bit better: for me, this was huge, but don't expect much of it. Examples: -5 minutes without thinking about all this -5 minutes without surviving -Brief thoughts about getting back to work (before I was very sure I would never work again) In the evenings, I was able to relax a bit and feel positive. Example: Morning,I can't take it anymore VS Evening, it will all be alright one day... Also, I noticed that I am getting DEEP pain when I think about my family or my grandma who passed away many years ago: I start crying, like deep suffering, howling like a wolf for sometimes hours. I will come back to this later. November 2023, am I really getting better? 13 months in It is hard to talk about this now because I just told my whole story, and I am very much reminded of all I have gone through, so I feel exhausted, empty, and scared. Actually, I do feel scared every time I want to say something positive because I think it will all be bad again. I noticed that sometimes I (just a little bit) wanted to go to my family in the evening because I knew it would make me feel better (before it was just killing time, hoping to distract myself). The deep cries and suffering I told you about are giving me relief. WHAT RELIEF? I didn't expect to ever get that again. How Am I Feeling Today 1 January 2024, the day of writing this Story. 14 months in Happy New Year to all of you. I am proud of all of you for still being here, and my biggest wish for this year is for everyone, including me, that is suffering, to say: 'Happy New Year again in 2025, and who knows it really is happy then.’ For me, it was difficult to see all the people celebrating and being happy, but then I reminded myself that if I am in a group of people giving kisses and saying happy new year, no one would know that I am actually not that happy. I think this is a beautiful thing: I will always remind myself that a lot of people struggle, and I want to be here for them. At this point, I am able to play games and laugh a bit, watch series and enjoy it a bit. There are moments where I feel good without thinking too much. The mornings and the bad moments aren't that bad anymore, and the better moments can actually be a bit good sometimes. I am looking for a new job because teaching, standing in the spotlight all day, isn't for me anymore. And when I think about a possible new job, I really see it happening (don't know if I am already capable), but seeing it happen is a HUGE thing considering what I am going through. I Am Tapering SJW In the months before, I also noticed that I am feeling worse after forgetting to take one or two tablets of SJW, and I decided that I want to quit SJW. I made a plan according to the tapering instructions on this website: 10% drop every 4 weeks. I am now at my second drop of 10%, that means 2 tablets and 236mg* of a tablet. *The weight of a tablet is not the same as the active ingredient: 1 tablet weighs 555mg and contains 300mg of the active ingredient SJW. I am calculating my 10% drops on the active ingredient. I am now at 742mg/day SJW (active ingredient). SJW is not known for withdrawal, but 2 days after every drop, I feel (a lot) worse: no motivation, more tired, not enjoying things, mood swings and after about 6/7 days, it feels back to before the drop. So, I am sure I had an adverse reaction to Sertraline, and also the SJW is giving me withdrawal (I used it for more than 10 years, as you can see in my story). The End, for today:p I still have a long way to go, and there will be a lot of moments/days/weeks where I think I will never get better, but I am grateful for the progress I have made so far. To actually believe that maybe one day I will feel good/normal again gives me a lot of relief and hope. One thing that always makes me feel better is to be able being there for people who are suffering, so I will write updates and answer questions if any. Finally, I would like to take the time to thank everyone who is building this community, especially Altostrata: I admire your power to get through all the suffering for so many years and afterwards helping so many people like me. Please know that your work, together with my family and my psychologist, made me stay. Kind regards, Berlin
  3. FeralCatman

    Gut Health and Mood and Anxiety

    Here are two articles I read this morning that are demonstrating an increasing understanding of the relationship between the health of your microbiome and your guts and mood and anxiety. It is being found there is a direct link and highlights the importance of your diet. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/neuroscience-in-everyday-life/201908/gut-bacteria-can-influence-your-mood-thoughts-and-brain https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/gut-health-and-anxiety
  4. Hello, I stumbled upon this forum while looking for support through an unfortunate situation I'm in. I visited a similar site 3-4 years ago when tapering from benzos and it was incredibly helpful. I'll try not to write a book in my intro, but I do want to be thorough. I have been on SSRIS for most all of my adult life. I'm 35 now and began with Paxil when I was 18. Over the years I switched from Paxil to Prozac to Lexapro to Luvox. I'm well-versed in how helpful the medicine can be in crisis, but also in how they can cause crisis. Long story short... I had been taking Lexapro since the beginning of the pandemic for depression, panic attacks, and OCD. My most recent dose, 40 mg, was targeted at the OCD, and had been in place since about February of this year. While it did help minimize OCD symptoms, it caused emotional blunting and now recently a spike in panic attacks. I told my psychiatrist I was experiencing the concerns and inquired of different medicines. He suggested a fast taper off Lexapro over three weeks (40 to 20), and then a direct switch to Luvox. Life has been a bit of a nightmare ever since. Shortly after starting the Luvox I began experiencing increased anxiety, anger and irritability, a lack of feeling in control, and physical symptoms such as dry mouth, cough (ongoing), and chest pain and tightness (also ongoing). After some back and forth phone conversations I was able to get in to see my psychiatrist yesterday. At this point I'm barely functioning. I don't go out at all, and I just feel....out of sorts. High anxiety, crying spells (or attempted crying spells, thanks to the emotional blunting), and a lack of hope or drive. After explaining all this, my psychiatrist told me to stop taking the Luvox immediately. He plans to put me on Effexor, but wants to wait about a month since he's going on vacation in a week. I'm pretty well versed in these meds, so I was pretty upset, given the likelihood I'm already withdrawing from the Lexapro, and would now add a Luvox withdrawal to the mix. His solution was for me to try positive thinking, not worry so much, and if needed, start 5 mg. Lexapro on Monday to hold me over until he returns and prescribes the Effexor. I'm beside myself, to be honest. I've always held my psychiatrist in high regard, as he spent two years helping me taper from Klonopin, but this incident is really bothering me. I'm fearful that these withdrawal symptoms will be ongoing, and waiting to start the Effexor will just make things worse. As I said I'm already having trouble functioning, and spend most of my days lying in bed. I have a full time job that I do not want to lose, and my friendships and relationships are struggling. To be quite honest, I'm hoping to find some validation here that my fears about this process are valid, as well as support through the next few weeks. I have Hydroxyzine, which does seem to take the edge off, but it makes me so drowsy I don't want to do anything. Thank you for any support you can provide during this very difficult time. TG
  5. I recently decided I can’t handle the constant exhaustion and severe constipation I was experiencing while on Effexor. My psychiatrist and I decided to try out Welllbutrin as I had many years on SSRIs and SNRIs and wanted to try out something new that could possibly help with my fatigue and apathy. My doctor originally wanted me to begin tapering by going from 150 to 75 for a week, then 37.5 for a week, then nothing for a week. And then stating the Wellbutrin the following week at a starting dose of 75mg. The first week on 75mg I had immediate relief from the constipation but also consistent bouts of crying and anxiety. Around the 3rd day of this, I reached out to my doctor and she said if I was feeling that awful to go ahead and stop the Effexor and move on to the Wellbutrin. Unfortunately I knew this was a bad idea so I continued with the taper and added on the Wellbutrin. As the tapering continued, I dealt with the bouts of anxiety that were something I could more or less handle. Until I moved to 0mg and all hell broke lose. I’m currently on the 2nd day of no Effexor and 75mg of Wellbutrin. I do not feel the Wellbutrin at all and I have severe anxiety that I’ve never felt before. It does feel like all my issues that were masked by the Effexor have come to light. I do now realize that a lot of my feelings of hopelessness were coming from this anxiety somehow linked with a lot of mom guilt, etc. At this point I’m considering going back on the Effexor altogether and starting over from there. But I’d like to start at 75mg. I have a doctor appointment in a week and a whole bottle of 150mg pills. I’m wondering how to possibly get 75mg from the 150… is that possible? As I’m typing this I’m feeling guilty? for going against my doctors suggestion and anxious about explaining it to her. Sheesh. Thank you for any insight.
  6. Hi all, I am 29F and trying to end my relationship with Sertraline/Zoloft but have been having difficulty in that I seem to be able to get to 3 - 4 months of 0mg before my mental health falls off a cliff and I become very mentally unwell. I don't know if this is some sort of delay in my brain realising it is without the additional serotonin and whether it is a temporary adjustment thing or permanently how I will feel without medication. By way of background, I was put on 50mg of Sertraline in 2017 for anxiety. Minimal discussion with my doctor about any side effects or how long I would be on the medication for. Stayed on the medication for 3 1/2 years until decided myself to taper down in 2020. I did research on how to taper and tapered over a number of months, reducing by 50% each time by splitting my pills until I got to 25mg and couldn't split the pills any smaller. During this time, I had minimal withdrawal symptoms, some headaches and digestive upset but nothing too debilitating and they usually went away after a week or two of the reduction in dose. Then in March 2021, following 3 months of 0mg, I had an intense mental episode where I became extremely anxious, depressed, intrusive thoughts and was very unwell. Looking back I notice that the mood had been dropping over the 3 months of 0mg but the symptoms worsened very suddenly. Following a month of difficulty, doctor advised restarting sertraline 50mg. Noticed some improvement upon restarting and then spoke to a Psychiatrist in July 2021 who advised increasing to 100mg and told me 'I could be on this medication for the rest of my life no problem'. The issue was now I didn't want to be on this medication and felt like I couldn't come off it. In particular, I noticed that I am flattened and blunted somewhat on the medication and had worries that this was stopping me feeling attraction or starting a relationship with anyone (don't know if anyone else has had issues or worries about this? I don't mean sexual symptoms in that I don't have no feeling in my genitals or difficulty orgasming - this is more in terms of actually having a romantic interest in someone in the first place). Maintained 100mg for about a year and then decided to reduce again, following the same pattern and again with minimal withdrawal symptoms. The same thing happened again, was largely fine for 3 months but then went away travelling in February 2023 and was struggling and ended up returning home early. From February to March 2023, I was struggling with anxiety and depression but not completely debilitating. Then in April 2023, again it was like my mood fell off a cliff and I had another severe mental illness episode with depression, anxiety etc. I suppose I am coming here looking for advice and support and to see if anyone else has had similar symptoms as I am not able to get answers from the medical community so questions as follows: - has anyone else had minimal symptoms throughout the tapering process and initial 3 months or so of being on 0mg, only then for severe psychological symptoms to set in around 3 months? Due to the gap of time where I am ok (i.e. the 3/4 months), I think most medical doctors view this as a resurgence of original symptoms rather than withdrawal but the symptoms are much more severe than they were before I started medication. My issue I suppose is that I don't know whether this is a temporary thing as my brain is freaking out at no longer having the extra serotonin available and whether it will eventually adjust to the lower levels and therefore whether to push through and try to cope with the psychological distress in the hope it will pass or if I need to go back onto Sertraline. I suppose I'm looking for hope that if I just try and cope with the anxiety and depression, it will eventually lift and I'll get through it and I'll come out the other side but I can't seem to find any advice or information to give me this hope. Thanks, KF2694
  7. Hello All! My father underwent a colon surgery on October 11 2022 (About 7.5 months now in May 2023). There were a few follow-up medications that were given to him. Gradually, the doctor kept reducing the medicines on every routine visit, until we were only on: 1- a syrup called Cremaffin Plus (Sodium Picosulfate (3.33mg) + Liquid Paraffin (1.25ml) + Milk Of Magnesia (3.75ml)) 2- Esofag-D Capsule (Domperidone (30mg) + Esomeprazole (40mg)) In February (after about 3.5-4 months of surgery), my father started to skip the Domperidone+Esomeprazole capsule but kept on with the syrup. Eventually he stopped the capsule somewhere in February. Gradually he also tapered off the Syrup and eventually stopped it with the aid of Haritaki (chebulic myrobalan) powder. Near about March 20 (After about 1 month of stopping the domperidone capsule and about 1 or 2 weeks of stopping the syrup, he started to experience reduced appetite and eventually full loss of it. In the following days, he started to experience Anxiety and then Insomnia set in with "sudden racing of the heart as soon as sleep started to come" but he could not fall sleep due to that. He felt very uncomfortable and had tingling sensation in whole of the body, like gas couldn’t pass out. Constipation started to set in as well and it came to a point that he couldn’t pass any stool. After getting hospitalized twice, getting enemas (with no success), we eventually took discharge from hospital and restarted the syrup. It helped with the stool problem (about 40-50%), heart racing & gas trouble. But my father still cannot fall asleep despite lying down for 15-18 hours. Does not want to eat anything. Anxiety and a bit of depression are still present. We have tried many different gastric medicines but they haven’t helped an inch. I never thought about Domperidone until yesterday and then, after research, this whole new realization dawned upon me, what this “Domperidone-poison” could do to a person. We haven’t tried reintroducing Domperidone yet. Will time be heal my father on it’s own or will we absolutely need to reintroduce Domperidone again and then taper off (10% every month). I am in serious need of help for my father. I will Appreciate your kind inputs!
  8. Hello I was taking Viibryd 20mg for about 6 months (switched from Zoloft which I had been on since 2017) I decided to try and come off ssri's completely to get my sexual functioning back. I tapered in 5mg increments once a month for 4 months before completely coming off (I now realize this may have been too fast) and now I have been off completely for 4 months and about a month ago my extreme anxiety returned and has been debilitating ever since and is messing up my life. What should I do am I too far out to reinstate? Any help would be much appreciated.
  9. Hello everyone. TW // mention of suicide I realized I should finally find a community that has experience or knows some of the issues I am facing because at this point I feel like I do not know what to do. I started out on lexapro 10mg in December of 2022 for anxiety primarily focused on my health during the last week or so of the year. After about 3 weeks I really started to feel agitation and complications with the 10mg, so my PCP had me move down to 5mg. Within the next week the agitation returned and eventually there were impulses of suicide following it. I'll keep this brief and not talk much about it, but for about 3-4 days I was having to rely on my girlfriend to monitor my ADHD meds and stay with her for fear of dying if I didn't. Immediately after these events I have stopped taking any AD since. I am still on my ADHD medicine but I do not know how much that is contributing to this situation(5mg dexmethylphenidate, two tablets each morning[a 10mg capsule was bad but 2 5mg tablets was better]). I am halfway through March now and I am starting to get a lot of physical heaviness, general daily stress, low level agitation and an overall uncomfortable feeling. I don't feel like there is anything I can properly enjoy. Also, I am a recently converted Christian as of July but I am really feeling some kind of spiritual pushback from everything and I feel like my withdrawals are part of it. I feel strain on my relationship with my girlfriend, I feel disconnected from everything, and mostly I don't feel like anything I do is actually correct or validated on a subconscious level. I don't feel like I should be alive, essentially. But not in a suicidal way. More of a "I am not supposed to be making any active decision in my life, no matter how small" kind of way. Kind of a depersonalization. I finally registered for this site in hopes to actually be able to find proper resources on how to battle these withdrawals. I do not know what else I am supposed to put in this introduction so I will leave it at that. I am grateful for this website and everyone involved with the maintenance of it. Thank you. bjmn0104
  10. Hello I randomly got 4 panic attacks in Dec 2022 after a bad year at work. My Provider started me on 2mg Ativan a day on Jan 1st 2023 and 10mg Trintellix, he later increased Trintellix to 20mg after 10 days. On the 12th day I got intense dizziness, I ended up in the ER. my provider switched to escitalopram 5mg on Jan 14 and lowered Ativan to 1mg/day. Dizziness/photophobia came down a bit, then he upped my escitalopram dosage from 5mg to 10mg. Dizziness/photophobia stayed and didn’t go away. I kept taking it for another 2.5 weeks. During this time reduced Ativan to 0.5mg for 5 days and then 0.5 every other day for a week and over. Then on Feb 05 we reduced escitalopram to 5mg and then 5mg every other day. I took my last dose on Feb 14. I had no withdrawal symptoms for about 5-6 days. Dizziness started going down quite a bit after 2 days, by day 6 it was down quite a bit, almost over. On Feb 22 withdrawals began! At First high resting HR of 100+ for 4 days along with insomnia, then insomnia stopped and high heart rates came randomly. I got vivid dreams, clogged ears, tinnitus, sweating, fatigue, suicidal tendencies all came and went but dizziness, anxiety and random high HR did not change at all. It’s been 3.5 weeks since I stopped escitalopram I’m stuck at a dizziness of 6/10. I cannot drive and haven’t been to work in 2 months. I cannot function properly or be independent. my doctor gave me propranolol for high HR and anxiety. I took 20mg this morning, at first I got weakness and fatigue for 20 mins. Then everything got better, anxiety went down, HR got better and relaxed, then even dizziness went down. I felt better, more positive, not depressed, went for a short drive after 2.5 months with blue light cutting glasses and brown tint sunglasses (these help with photophobia). Propranolol has a half life of 3-6 hours. After 7 hours dizziness and photophobia came back. I took another 10mg as my provider suggested since I got some side effects from 20mg. No difference with 10mg. I will try 20mg again tomorrow morning. I’m here looking to seek support in case anyone else has experienced this or is experiencing this and how did they overcome it.
  11. I was on various SSRI's off and on (mostly on, as every time I stopped I ended up in the hospital) for the last 25 years, for various diagnoses of major depression, generalized anxiety disorder, and OCD. This last time, I see now that I tapered way too fast, though under the direction of a Dr., off of 20mg Lexapro over approximately 4 months. But, due to some bad side effects that I experienced while on SSRI's, I am absolutely unwilling to go back on and do a proper taper. The side effects were themselves anxiety-inducing so I don't see them as the "lesser of two evils". My last dose of the Lexapro was about 4 weeks ago. I am suffering from SEVERE anxiety which is causing (I think?) my most distressing symptom - insomnia. I am able to go to sleep at bedtime because I am exhausted, around 10pm, but I will invariably wake up a couple hours later. At that point, my anxiety over not being able to go back to sleep, causes me to (surprise) not be able to go back to sleep. During these long hours my anxiety is so horrible that I consider going to the hospital, which in my logical mind I understand will only make things worse. They will take me in, make me stay for at least 3 days, give me meds I don't want, and this will probably cause me to lose my job. These thoughts go through my mind and cause my anxiety to get even worse. I'll be shaking, sweating, trembling, going to the bathroom repeatedly, basically in no shape to get back to sleep. At this point I feel a surge of adrenaline when I even *think* about sleep, even during the day. I have started taking magnesium glycinate but obviously not with great results yet. Is there any hope for me?
  12. Hello all, I’m new here. If I tapered off too quickly last time I took escitolopram will my brain never fully regrow itself back to normal? I read the article on this site regarding the importance of tapering off properly and what antidepressants really do to your brain.. I was put on 10mg of escitolopram 6 years ago and cold turkey went off maybe a little less than a year. As you can imagine I fell into a horrible depression due to this. Went back on 10mg of the same medicine 6 months later and it helped until it stopped working about a year later and it was causing low sex drive, emotional numbness etc.. I ended up tapering off of those much to quickly and I was wondering if there is hope for my brain? I have never been a person with a temper and after quitting escitolopram the second time I had an intense rage ignite inside of me and it has weighed me and my whole life down, my husband included. I was sunshine and rainbows when we met and that was very much so my personality for most of my life. I struggled with depression and a very mild anxiety but I didn’t take antidepressants until I was in an abusive relationship and needed something to “fix me” (obviously it was the relationship causing these problems) though medicating was not the answer it did help in the time being. I have always been extremely sensitive to medication, that’s why I never went on more than the 10mg of escitolopram. Moral of the story, I am suffering with postpartum depression badly and I went back onto them again for four days before finding out I’m pregnant recently and went straight off because I don’t want to poison this baby. I read about regrowing your brain and now I’m curious if I’ve messed mine up beyond fixing? Has my brain been regrowing? I feel my anger has gotten less but still there and a constant battle to keep in check. I just want to know if there is hope that my brain will go back to its normal healthy functions again.. Thank you for reading and God bless.
  13. Hello, I am Adriana and I am 32 years old. It all started with severe headaches almost 10 years ago. I have been taking Cipralex 5 mg/day, Lamictal 100 mg/day, and Xanax 3 mg/day for almost 4 months ( November 2022). The major issue is that I have been trying different antidepressants for 4-5 years, anxiolytics, and other pills ( Depakine, Carbamazepine, Gabapentine, Painkillers...etc). My headaches started suddenly and they were severe, I lost a lot of weight and was tired all the time. At the hospital, the doctors treated me for migraines after a series of investigations ( I was diagnosed wrong with multiple sclerosis), seeing that the pain did not disappear, I started to be afraid that I have a disease that the doctors could not find, I had to resign from my job. After 3 months of searching for a disease, I still felt horrible: headaches, laying in bed all day, being afraid of death, of going out, and feeling extremely tired. Then my parents decided it was time to go to a psychiatrist. I was first prescribed Cipralex 10 mg/day and Bromazepan when needed. Then the panic attacks appeared, also the majority of side effects: trembling, insomnia, nausea, and so on. After a week the doctor decided to give me Rivotril and sleeping pills to counterattack the side effects. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the exact amount of Rivotril given, but it was a small dose. But it did not go well as the doctor promised, and after 2 months I was the same. She changed the treatment with another antidepressant, and it began to be frustrating so I decided to find someone "better". The next doctor gave me Anxiar ( when needed and) Carbamazepine along with Cipralex. My headaches started to be even worse. I started to take strong painkillers, I could not sleep at all during the night. I was treated for sinusitis too. I started going to a psychologist, I explained the whole situation and he sent me with the MRI to a neurologist to check if it is neurocysticercosis. I started to be more and more afraid. For almost 4 years I have been prescribed all types of antidepressants and anxiolytics, painkillers, sleeping pills, and so on. I had lots of ups and downs but the headaches didn't go away. The doctors started to check if I had: epilepsy, Lyme disease, neurocysticercosis, encephalitis, and meningitis, so I spent a lot of time in hospitals. Then I found a psychiatrist that prescribed me Paroxetine 20 mg/ day and Xanax 0,25 mg/ 3 times per day. After a month I started to feel a bit better, I was working and having a "life" again. Then the tolerance to Xanax appeared. I started to take more and more. The maximum amount given by the doctor was 4 mg/ day, but being an addict at that time I went to another doctor to prescribe me more pills. In 2 years I reached a maximum dose of 9-10 mg per day. For me, they were like an escape from all the things I felt: panic attacks, headaches, insomnia. After a while, they did not work anymore, so I started to withdraw them alone, along with the antidepressant. In 2 weeks I removed them completely and in a few days, I got to the hospital for weaning. In the hospital, they made some analyses and I was suspected of pituitary adenoma, this was the moment when I started to be nervous and to have breakdowns. After multiple investigations, it turned out to be a false alarm. My psychiatrist increased the dose of Paroxetine to 40 mg/day and gave me only 4 mg of Xanax. I had more pills so I took 7 mg, then 6 mg of Xanax per day. I have to write an entire novel to explain everything: how I felt, how I was treated, my breakdowns, my ups, and downs, investigations, etc. 2 years ago I started to decrease the amount of Xanax from 6 mg to 3.5 mg/day today. My psychiatrist suggested multiple times hospitalization to withdraw all the pills, specifically Xanax, but I was too afraid to do it and also the conditions in the hospital are horrible. Although I repeat myself, the headaches were severe, they still are. When the breakdowns were worse and more often, I found another psychiatrist. After so many years of taking Paroxetine, I had to withdraw it in 2 weeks, so I could get back on Cipralex, but I mentioned that it caused me in the past severe anxiety, suicidal thoughts, no friends, no job, and no relationships. I was lying in bed all day watching movies, tv series, eating, sleeping, and gaining weight, feeling horrible, miserable, a shadow, a victim, I did not want to live anymore, but paradoxically I am afraid of death. I forgot to mention that I have 5 years of taking almost every day Paracetamol. Additionally, I was prescribed Lamictal, from 25 mg/ day to 100 mg/ day, and 3 mg/ day of Xanax. I have been diagnosed with sinusitis and it needs surgery, so I hope some of the pain will go away. I am supposed to increase the dose of Lamictal, but I am having a rash, and puffy, red, itchy eyes. I need help, I need advice. I do not know what I have to do, withdraw all the pills or just some of them. Taking them is not the solution after so many years. Maybe some of you had a similar situation and can help me. Thank you a lot!
  14. Hi everyone , quick overview of my history 1) took Lexapro 20-25 mg from Oct 2019 - March 2020 - subsequently cold turkeyed off of it because I didn’t know better - consequently developed akathasia 2) took Paxil (can’t remember dose) from June 2021 - Oct 2021 - this is where the real nightmare started , I developed PSSD and wanted off as soon as possible - subsequently cold turkeyed off of this I found this website in Nov 2022 after suffering for a long time and not knowing what was causing my issues . I decided to play smart guy and try and treat my nervous system with Ketamine and later Psilocybin . While giving me incredible insight and healing into the original causes of my trauma and anxiety/ depression , they (specifically psilocybin , ketamine actually seemed to help albeit only temporarily) caused my nervous system to be more jacked up, and my akathasia to become worse . Which leads me to today , I’m jacked up as all belief, can’t sleep , in pain and frankly having lots of suicidal ideation (no plan on actually acting because I want to stay and fight my ass off ) So this leads me to my question , Do I reinstate Lexapro and take the time to do a proper taper ? I obviously don’t want to make things worse , but God I am jacked up and feel like I’m on the verge of losing my job which I actually like doing . thanks , snowguy34
  15. Hello thank you for allowing me to join. I’ve been polydruged for more than 25 years for depression, anxiety, insomnia after my companion was killed. Instead of allowing me to mourn properly they just kept throwing drugs at me. I have been able to taper stop most medication’s, but unsuccessful stopping benzos. After 30+ years on benzodiazepines began tapering and started having grand-mal seizures. If I go below 1 mg of KLO I become bedridden catatonic and have seizures. Prescriber says I need to be on benzos for life -new doctor says BS. I need to come off because they’re linked to dementia. I’m now experiencing tolerance withdrawals and severe memory problems;senior citizen. I have tried liquid and dry micro, tapering unsuccessfully of benzos. I have the Ashton manual, but have trouble converting to V AL .Thank you for your time.
  16. Hey Everyone, I have been working on coming off of Lexapro for years and this is the closest I have ever been. Long story short, I have been weaning off lexapro after a couple of failed attempts of 20mg. I am currently at 5mg and having severe waves and windows of withdrawal. Looking for a little support that this is normal. I have a week or two where I feel phenomenal then suddenly a sharp drop where all the suicidal fake thoughts intrude. This also includes horrible chest pain, nausea, gastrointestinal issues, insomnia and just an overall feeling of dread. These last anywhere from two weeks to a couple of days. I am unsure about whether I should continue a taper, or if I should hold, but from what I am reading this is going to be a long arduous process. Any support or advise is appreciated. Been reading many of the articles on here and just now decided to try to become a member myself. Thanks so much.
  17. This link is to an interview with The Deputy Director for Safety at the FDA's Division of Psychiatry Products. The FDA's stance is that they determine efficacy but safety is subjective and is largely up to doctor and patient to determine for themselves based on individual circumstances. He went on to state that it is up to the patient to thoroughly research each drug for themselves and that informed consent is basically up to the patient. That pretty much says it all. It also goes on to discuss what is lacking in the studies and the FDA's official response is that their data on withdrawal and long term effects is seriously lacking and needs improvement but that it is very hard to do all of that which is why it doesn't get done. It also states that the drug companies tend to prefer a certain level of ambiguity when it comes to safety. WTH??? 🤬 https://www.theinnercompass.org/blog/are-psychiatric-medications-safe-fdas-answer-may-surprise-you
  18. More main stream studies are coming out showing that alternative non drug techniques are just as effective if not more effective than medication. The system is starting to catch on. Finally. Change is coming 😉✌️😺😺😺 https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/mindfulness-exercises-can-be-as-effective-as-anxiety-drugs-study-shows/ar-AA16E4ma
  19. Hello everyone, I can’t begin to express how much I appreciate all of you for sharing your story and struggle/successes. I recently quit sertraline 50 mg CT as I was misinformed by my psychiatrist that the amount of time I tapered for would not have any effect on me and was not important. It’s been a month and a week since I stopped the medication and my withdrawal symptoms are taking over my life. I have intense anxiety, an inability to tolerate anything other than laying down and resting without triggering my nervous system to react with panic. I wake up with intense heart palpitations everyday and that triggers a vicious cycle of anxiety for the duration of my waking hours. I am wondering if it’s worth it to go back on sertraline to try to manage my symptoms and to do a sloooow taper instead of what I did. I am really not a fan of the idea of returning to a drug that was harmful to me but I am at risk of losing my livelihood/relationships/etc. what is everyone’s take on this? thank you in advance for your input!
  20. Original topic title: 17 years of antidepressants, 2 failed quitting attempts, on number 3 Hey everyone! I'm Lyudik; I'm so glad to have found a community of others in my shoes, because I don't know anyone personally in a similar position, and I'm feeling pretty isolated in this experience. I started Effexor XR in sophomore year of high school (2004) for intense anxiety (and subsequent depression). It worked well, without side effects. Near the end of senior year (2007), I wanted to start the next chapter of my life off meds, so I tapered with the help of my psychiatrist. Things were pretty stable that summer, but all hell broke loose when fall semester of college started. The stress of the transition brought the anxiety roaring back (but I didn't really notice other withdrawal-like symptoms). So I started back on Effexor (early 2008). Again, it helped me. By fall 2013, I had had years of therapy under my belt, and I wanted to try going off again. Same story. This time, my psychiatrist put me on Lexapro, 15 mg (early 2014). I've been on Lexapro since then (doing well), and decided I wanted to try going off again in 2021. Only this time I would go reaaally slow. I decreased to 10 mg in June 2021 and then to 5 mg in March 2022. This was before I found this forum, so I didn't realize that making big dose jumps (cutting it by half in March) was not advisable, even if the time between adjustments was long. With the first decrease in June 2021, I noticed an uptick in anxiety after about a month, but nothing unmanageable. But with the March adjustment, things have definitely gotten harder emotionally. Anxiety, feeling like every day at work is a battle for survival, just feeling overwhelmed by life. But it didn't happen immediately. This took weeks/months to develop. I've always assumed that my spirals after tapering were relapse (because I don't have other obvious symptoms, and anxiety was the primary issue). But now I realize that my first two tapers were way too fast. With this last one, I'm not sure... I think the dose jumps have been too fast, but the anxiety didn't come on immediately afterwards. I would be grateful for any input on that question. The other question is what to do about the awful feelings I'm experiencing now. I think I want to try reinstating, but to what dose? Should I go back to 10 mg (the dose prior to the last reduction?) And then how long should I stay there before trying to go back down again? Also, on a practical note, how do people usually cut their pills? Kitchen knife? Is there a technique to keep them from crumbling? Thanks for your feedback ❤️
  21. Hi, Im Claire from Irland . My Dr. put me on depacote/ Epilim 3 weeks ago. Its not the right med , side effects wise. He said I can simply stop ( 500mg) I just wanted to double check with you guys because a couple of days ago I took 300 and two days later I had anxiety all day. Thanks in advance.
  22. Hi. I'm new in this forum so, Im not sure what I can write about and such. Are there any rules? If so it would be helpful. Now that is out of the way, I'd like to share my thoughts and experience of having tourette's syndrome and psycholotropic drugs use including my experience with heroin to which I have successfully stopped using in 1996. So in 1996 I went to a rehabilitation center. After a month of being off heroin, my tourette's disorder started to appear. For three years of using Opiates my Tourette's was gone. I actually didn't know I had Tourette's till I was 21. The sad truth is, I was put on other drugs because the rehabilitation center didn't know what to do about my Tourette's so the councilor assigned to me called a doctor to see me. That's when I started taking antidepressants for the first time in my life. I had no problem getting clean from heroin, but the antidepressants + benzo related drugs , prescribed from doctors is worse. 2014 I suffered a nervous breakdown. My Mother gave me some of her pills, said that they were "natural" and I was desperate. So I took them. I wanted to get off them since I started. It took me three years to except I had any condition. In denial no drug worked for me. As soon as I excepted my situation, the drugs started working. Now I want to get off everything. I want to sleep a natural sleep. I know how depressed I can get. I tried to commit suicide four times. I hope this is interesting for readers. I wish to contribute to others in any way I can through my own experience.
  23. Original title: desperate for help coming off mirtazapine I can't live like this it's killing me I've been on Mirtazapine 15g for 4 weeks for chronic anxiety that came out of blue. I'm getting awful headaches and eye aches, restless legs, muscles twitches but the worst thing is I've developed chronic insomnia after 10.days of being on it. No sleep at all night or day. I'm tired constant adrenaline surges won't let me sleep. Being parched up with sleeping pills. Never taken any pills in my life. How safely do i come off this? Thanks so much xx
  24. Here are a few articles on the mechanisms of stress and anxiety and how to cope. One is a survivalist website. It may actually be the most useful one to read as it goes over dealing with extremely adverse situations that you wouldn't encounter in every day life, kind of like withdrawal in a way. https://prepperswill.com/psychology-of-survival-and-coping-with-stress/ https://www.calmclinic.com/anxiety/impairs-communication https://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/nov/21/how-anxiety-scrambles-your-brain-and-makes-it-hard-to-learn https://www.wellandgood.com/anxiety-stress-decision-making/
  25. Topic title: Effexor I need your help asap I was on effexor 6 years and Gott off for 4 months and was great. Dr gave me prednisone for a chest infection. I couldn’t sleep, had panic attacks, anxiety bad. Doctors put me back on effexor 7 weeks ago. Cut down to 17mg because it’s making me really sick. i need to get off it or it will kill me basically. I’ve lost to much weight. how do I get off now?
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