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Hi everyone. I'm 22, queer, and graduating college in a few months. I actually discovered this website fairly late (much to my chagrin). Wish I knew about this sooner. Anyway, I knew I wasn't mentally stable since before the pandemic. I had a feeling it was because of my childhood. I thought it was normal but when you compare your childhood with your friends it definitely wasn't normal. I thought being verbally and physically abused by your mother was normal. Until I started feeling the side effects of depression in college. I was irritatable, often felt sad for no reason, and I didn't have the motivation to do anything. I even had a hard time completing my assignments for class. Then the pandemic came, and it was even harder for me because I was stuck in the same house as my abuser (In asian households we dont move out). I started talking to my college guidance counselor and she really helped. But it wasn't enough, she directed me to a psychiatrist. And in 2020, thats when I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder (I mean, I already had a feeling I just didn't want to diagnose myself). My psychiatrist prescribed me sertraline (50 mg). It was gradually building up to it, so I took half a pill first for every other days then after a few months I took the whole pill. Been taking the whole pill for nearly 3 years. It was only until last year my psych started slowly tapering me off over the months. Taking a pill every other day and then half a pill eventually. I was doing so well, I never experienced any side effects from the tapering. March 28, 2023 came and my psych said I'm ready to stop my antidepressants. So I did, and I didnt feel any withdrawal symptoms until after a month. April 23 I started feeling dizzy on some days, it was never consistent. I asked my psych about it but she said it was "impossible" because its "been a month." I didnt believe her. I looked for communities that could help me and I found the r/antidepressant in reddit. They validated my symptoms and pointed out it was delayed withdrawals or a discontinuation syndrome. Over the months until now I started noticing my withdrawal symptoms. It was a russian roulette of feeling dizzy, lethargic, not wanting to socialize, not wanting to eat, not wanting to do anything, wanting to cry for no reason, heart palpitations, or feeling sad for no reason. These symptoms are never consistent it lasts for a few hours then I'm fine again. I just wish it would go away soon, I want to feel normal again.

Hi all, I'm 33 year old single mum and illustrator from the UK and I feel trapped on sertraline. I have been on 200mg of sertraline daily for at least 8 years, I think I started on a slightly lower dose but it was so long ago I can't be exact. I was put on it for anxiety and 'feeling detached' but I'd struggled with fast thoughts, insomnia and sleep paralysis since my teenage years. The sertaline helped but about 6 - 7 years ago I tried to taper off and I lost my mind, I made a horrible suicide attempt. Since then I've been too terrified to to try and taper off at all. But the last couple of years I've had other health issues and I've become an extreme introvert which I never was. I also cannot seem to lose weight for love nor money and I'm trying everything to just be healthier, mentally and physically but I think sertraline needs to go. Doctors in my area of the uk at the moment are absolute chaos, it's near impossible to get an appointment and they really are not interested unless it's life or death right now. I'm not sure where to go from here. I've read the 10% taper stuff here, I'm not sure I'll be able to cut my tablets down like that and I'm not sure if the length of time has just been too long and I'm a lost cause at this point. Any advice very welcome.

Hello, I’m new to this. I’m currently tapering off Lexapro after being on it consistently for ten years. Around 3 years ago I noticed it no longer had the same affect and I was becoming increasingly anxious. I have been on 30mg of Lexapro, at the beginning of the month I began to follow the direction of my psychiatrist by reducing my dose by 5mg every 5 days. I have gone okay and I am still going okay, despite some episodes of panic throughout the day. I have only just found out about tapering off by 10%. I was prescribed Clonazepam to assist with withdrawal symptoms but I really do not want to take a benzodiazepine to assist, particularly when they are addictive in nature. Any advice would be great. Thank you 💕

Hello, I have been on 50mg of Elavil daily for seven years for Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome. I had tried backing off slowly numerous times and never was able to. Recently, I forgot to take elavil two nights in a row and didn't really have any side effects, so I thought what the hell, I'll just try quitting it. Went thru a pretty rough withdrawal in the next 2-3 weeks. Almost got back on it but stuck it out. Symptoms were body aches, sweating, BAD chills, restlessness, fever, Weird thing is while I was on Elavil, I had Tachycardia with a high resting heart rate usually in high 90's. My pulse would stay in the 100s most of the day. As it got out of my system, my pulse started dropping. For awhile, it was normal with a resting heart rate in the 70s. Now, I am about 1.5 months off of Elavil and I still have chills and now my resting heart rate is in the high 40s (I am no athlete lol). Bloodwork is all great, I am seeing a cardiologist for more tests but he seems very uninterested in listening. I had a bunch of heart tests done within past couple of years while on Elavil due to the Tachycardia and they couldnt find any issues so I don't feel like there are any issues there but I'm no DR. I don't know if this is some kind of long-term withdrawal symptom or something unrelated. Just seeing if anyone out there could relate?

Hello everyone, i am in need of dire help, my life is on a razor's edge at the moment. I have had depression for the majority of my life but as of today im on the cusp of my depression leading me to the worst situation i have ever been in. I am 34 years old and this post is about my most recent experience on the ssri escitalopram. I had suffered from a delibating traumatic experience which lead me from one hellish experience to another. It started with me experiencing a concussion march 2019 which spiraled me into post concussion syndrome and consequently worstening depression poor concdntration etc i avoided ssris and fast forward 8 months later nov 2019 i lost my 5 month old puppy who was my support dog for my post concussion syndrome to a deadly virus called parvo. I was in a strong depression afterward and my mother who is a psychiatrist prescribed me escitalopram 2.5 and ativan.5 . After my puppy died i could not even leave my room i was crying everyday. I could not function and i felt at that point that even though i was against any ssris i would take the escitalopram. Against my better judgement i took it the first couple weeks i had increased anxiety but slowly i began to function better and my crying spells and s thoughts diminished. I had began to regain my confidence a month in and met new friends. I had upped the doseage to 10mg and was on 10 mg until sept 2020 where i began to wean off until Nov 2020 because i felt like the escitalopram was just making me feel nothing and i was becomimg more arrogant and egotistical almost maniacal which wasnt myself I weaned off completely by Nov 2020 with little to no withdrawal symptoms. I felt like i wasnt very happy but i also wasnt very sad more like in the middle with slight ups and downs. Fast forward to March 2021 i was in a rocky relationship which was making my moods and emotions unstable i began to feel more irritable i wasnt enjoying life as much i was when on the escitalopram. I started having more insomnia, began to feel a little more depressed by april 2021 i had contemplated reinstating escitalopram this was the worst decision of my life i looked down at the bottle and instead of contacting my mom i simply decided to take 10 mg from the beginning for 5 days then upped the dose to 20mg what followed is a nightmare im still living in today. When i felt the escitalopram was making me feel sad uneasy i contacted my mother she told me i could not start from 10 then go to 20mg and that i should stop now. After i stopped cold turkey i began having the withdrawals within 2 days of stopping everyday for 4 months. Started with the flu like symptoms for 2 days then the massive headaches, short term memory loss, dizziness,inability to concentrate, massive insomnia,rage anger, derealization, for 2 months after the headaches,dizziness went away came the massive emotional instability,crying everyday,s thoughts and attempts, waking up with complete terror, very deep dark thoughts in the random times of the day, body aches felt like my body was itching for a drug burning like fire ants all over it. Fast forward now its been 4 + months my previous withdrawals like headaches,dizziness,rage,insomnia have went away now i have extreme depression s thoughts everyday, ocd, dysphoria,dont want to do anything but stay in my room, im like a child who needs babysitting just to keep me from doing something stupid like the s thoughts and urges. I have read on here that reinstating can be an option. I feel like my brain chemistry has been altered to a point where im now dependent on psychiatric drugs. Before this i never had such strong urges and thoughts for self harm. I had depression but i wasnt this unstable now i feel like im very close to the end. I read that reinstating at >1mg of the original ssri taken can provide relief i have done this before during the withdrawal symptom stage at 2.5mg and it made my brain feel "numb" and my symptoms even worst so i quit about 4 days in. Im now trying 1mg this has been my second day trying. I believe im now in the stage where im post withdrawal and depression has returned to worst levels than before due to stopping cold turkey. Im taking daily video diaries to see how im doing. 1st day i took it at night and noticed a slight improvement in mood, dreams were extremely vivid and strange woke up in the middle of the night went back to sleep hour later after taking unisom sleep pills. Woke up with body anxiety took 750mg of gaba was relieved of anxiety. Then first half of the day i noticed colors were brighter and mood was slightly increased. Then a couple hours i had a hard crash bad deep dark thoughts, traumatic memories, s thoughts and urges same sadness. Took another >1mg followed by .5 klonopin fell asleep 2 hours woke up heavy drowsy still feeling sad. Then hour in i noticed improvement most likely klonopin its the only thing i used before that helps but i never take a half pill a week because im terrified of benzo dependence/withdrawal. Today is my second day on >1mg of escitalopram i woke up with diminished s thoughts. My question is this me restarting the escitalopram a good idea and how long should i stay on it lets say if this does actually work and will my s thoughts be there forever because they are so strong i want to admit myself to the psych ward but am afraid they will put me on more drugs. I feel so hopeless at this point. Ive been taking every supplement i could find throughout the withdrawals. If i had just known to retake the the 10mg of escitalopram during the first few days of withdrawals i believe i would have never gotten to this point.

Hello there, I am new to this forum and am seeking any guidance you can give me as I am in despair and feel horrible. I had been on SSRI’s for over 25 years and have always wanted to get off them but never could. Always tapered too fast and ended up feeling horribly sick so I would start back up. It was just easier staying on them. Several years ago, I realized that my mood had become really flat and I had trouble getting excited about anything. I wasn’t necessarily sad or depressed about anything but I felt that there was more to life and believed it had to do with the Prozac. So, I made the decision to taper differently this time – very slowly over the course of a few years. Unfortunately, I tapered completely wrong. Just because I was going more slowly did not mean that I was doing it right. How I wish I had found this website sooner. I began skipping doses and taking 20mg every other day. Maintained that for about a year. Then began taking it only a few days per week and maintained that. Then dropped down to 2 days per week. Then instead of taking 20 mg, I began taking 10 mg 2 days per week. All this time, I was having intermittent withdrawals, but did not recognize the symptoms for what they were. I ended up in the ER twice with chest pressure that was diagnosed as acid reflux but it was withdrawals. I had bouts of severe muscle pain/burning in my shoulders and neck that would last for about a week and then go away and then resurface down the road. My doctor suggested I had Fibromyalgia and prescribed Cymbalta which I refused to take. I never believed that I had Fibro but I still hadn’t connected the dots that my symptoms were withdrawals from tapering so poorly. When I got down to 10mg twice a week, my doctor told me since I was on such a low dose, to just stop it. So, I stopped the Prozac in March 2019 and began taking amino acids – Tryptophan 1000 mg, DLPA 1000 mg and GABA 125 mg (upon the advice of a holistic doctor). Since then, I have ranged from feeling ok to pretty good. In fact the week before the horrendous withdrawals began on July 24th, I thought I was getting close to my “normal” self again. My husband and I were even planning on doing an embryo transfer later this year in the hopes of having our first child. The holistic doctor advised me that amino acids were safe to take while pregnant, however, I recently came across articles that say otherwise. Unfortunately, I played with fire and wanted to see what would happen if I stopped taking the DLPA. So, I stopped the DLPA, for 3 days. On the 3rd day, all heck broke loose and I became extremely dizzy and off balance for most of the day. The very next day, I resumed the DLPA hoping it would alleviate my symptoms but they continued and evolved into other ones as well. Initially, I thought that the symptoms were withdrawals from DLPA but now I believe they are protracted withdrawal from the Prozac. I think the aminos were keeping the lid on the Prozac withdrawals and then once I lifted that lid off, everything boiled over. After a week of terrible withdrawals and calling in sick for 2 days, I couldn't take it anymore and decided to reinstate the Prozac. I came across the SA website and the recommendation to reinstate a very small amount. I only had 10mg and 20 mg pills left so I made liquid Prozac out of the 10mg and reinstated at 1.25 mg. Although, I did not have any negative effects from 1.25 mg, the next day I was scared that I reinstated too high and only took .5 mg. That is where I have been at for 9 days now. I am pushing myself to work each day and it is so very difficult with my symptoms: feeling sick/hungover, chest pressure, difficulty breathing, fatigue, insomnia, neck/shoulder tension, sometimes a burning sensation in my neck/shoulders, too. Over the past 9 days, I would say that I am better than I was before the reinstatement but I am still miserable. There have been a couple of times when I have experienced a wired feeling, too. I did go and see my new PCP and it did not go well. Of course, she told me that there is no way I could be in withdrawals if I quit Prozac in March and that she believes I have underlying depression and anxiety in which she suggested I take Effexor. I told her I would never take that. I am looking for guidance as to whether it is time for me to increase or hold at .5 mg longer. I apologize in advance if this was too long winded and does not make much sense.

After being on Abroad for 10 years, I had a stomach ulcer and an eroded stomach lining. The doc changed me to Mirtazapine 30mg about 9 years ago. It has a gentler effect on the stomach... I did have trouble with side effects but persisted .. I was getting worse panic attacks, anxiety and phobias so the doc changed me to escitalopram.20mg. CT. No taper or wash out. My nightmare started from that night onwards. Symptoms : brain zaps fried brain feeling couldn't think to even make breakfast, drive a car, remember anything at all from one moment to the next, couldn't even think of anything to say to anyone. sweats, insomnia tinnitus loss of balance constant pain in the cheek bones pins and needles pain in the stomach nausea burning mouth and tongue constant itching and redness constipation, still using movicol to keep things moving lots of other things but you probably know those already. it wasn't till nearly 6 months before some of these things started to settle. I felt Ill the whole time. My GP didn't believe me and said I'd googled the symptoms. I was too scared to go to the hospital in case they changed my drugs and id have to go through another round of symptoms. I had to give up work and basically lost the whole of 2017. then I'd get an odd say where I didn't feel too bad.. but not for long. 2 years on and I'm just starting to be able to remember a bit. Still have a buzzing head, terrible insomnia. Only sleep for 1.30 ~ 2 hour stints. my whole life has changed. I could always do 3 things at once before. Now I'm flat out doing much at all. I tried taking magnesium L~Threonate but after a couple of weeks I had nausea etc so have dropped the dose on that. If too much happens, I get a terrible headache, my eyes can't focus and my tinnitus gets worse.. I still have itching and a gripping feeling on my back, like some one is touching my left ear and around my chin... also am worried as my tongue feels like I've bitten it really hard every now and then.. any help or advice would be most welcome as I feel like I'm struggling along without any advice... I get told I'm just super sensitive to the meds.. like its my fault all this happened. It so frustrating. cheers.

I am an almost 30 year old wife and mom of 2 beautiful kiddos. I stumbled across this website while trying to figure out if the current issues I have been having were from tapering off of Zoloft in November 2017. I started SSRI's (Paxil) at 11 years when diagnosed with OCD tendencies. (recurring thoughts, perfection/control issues). Switched to Celexa after weight gain issues after starting Paxil. Had issues with body image and eating (over eating and restriction). I started restricting heavily and binging and purging at 20 years old and was switched to Prozac. I also was on adderall for ADHD in my early 20's for a brief period. (I was mostly concerned about not being able to concentrate, brain fog, and irritability). I was diagnosed as anorexic with bulimic tendencies at inpatient care for eating disorder at 24 (2012). Had a couple of relapses after inpatient, but then became pregnant in 2013 and haven't relapsed since. I switched to Zoloft (100 mg) during early pregnancy (2013). In Summer of 2017 I realized that my medication didn't seem to be helping me at all anymore. I suffered from insomnia, irritability, fatigue, and brain fog. I decided to taper from the 100mg of Zoloft I was on. I dropped to 75 mg for a month, then 50 mg for a month, 25 mg for a month, and have been medication free as of November 2017!!! I had no withdrawal symptoms, but still had irritability, insomnia, fatigue, and brain fog. In February 2018 I started getting super itchy at night. I would get hives and I couldn't fall asleep. It was maddening!!! I switched laundry detergents, made sure I used fragrance free soap. I took all the normal precautions for skin issues and nothing helped. I tried relaxing through the issues and it has helped the itching, but I have developed Dermatographia (skin writing). I will get hive like marks where clothes rubs or any extra stimulation has occured on my skin (for example: if I carry a bag, I get tons of hive like marks where the bag was resting in the exact shape of the bag handles) Skin issues seem to occur more in the evening hours, but still can happen during the day, usually more mild. I do sometimes get a burning/tingly sensation in areas (usually hands or feet), but that goes away rather quickly. In April 2018, I started a new job and have had less issues with insomnia. Just a random night here and there where it is difficult to sleep, but I work a 12 hour rotation on first shift and have 2 young children, so that could very well play into that 😉 I also started having recurring stomach issues. Lots of gas/bloating. Sometimes it is super painful. I get so bloated at times I look like I'm in early pregnancy! It is usually more painful during the evening hours. I have diarrhea/loose stools every day. I do follow a balanced Vegan diet (dairy and egg introlerances) and I am very active, but it has never seemed to be an issue before. The fatigue just has me constantly feeling like I want to take a nap and thinking of picking up my 30 pound toddler or walking up a flight of stairs just exhausts me. It's hard to even push my kids on the swings. My last period was March 5th and I have never been this late (NOT pregnant.... husband has a vasectomy and I took 5 tests 😆) I am unsure of whether this is a result of being off of SSRI's or if it is a different health issue. It is driving me crazy trying to figure it out!!! I just want to enjoy my time with my family and function properly. I have a doctor appointment in June for a pap and to talk about my symptoms, but wanted to see if anyone else has went through something similar (and I honestly think the doctor may tell me I'm crazy-- lol). 💜a7xbabydoll 2000 - Paxil A few months later - Celexa 2010 - Prozac 2012 - Brief period of Adderall 2013 - Zoloft (100 mg) 8/2017 - 75 mg, 9/2017 - 50 mg, 10/2017 - 25 mg November 2017 - MED FREE!!!

Hello, I was diagnosed with fibro in 1994. I was just diagnosed by a rheumatologist with CSS - central sensitivity syndrome. A central nervous system disease/disorder that makes people hypersensitive to almost everything. Here are two studies that might be of interest: Fibromyalgia and Overlapping Disorders: The Unifying Concept of Central Sensitivity Syndromes by Muhammad B Yunus, MD -also: clinical review and education- JAMA April 16, 2014 volume 311, number 15 - Fibromyalgia A Clinical Review by Daniel J Clauw, MD. These articles show how the central nervous system plays a huge role in why so many of us have fibromyalgia CFS/ME, MCS-Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, etc. This explains why I've had so much trouble with antidepressants, benzodiazepines, and withdrawals, along with so many other physical and emotional symptoms

Hi everyone, I've been looking at this forum from the outside for a while as I'm trying so hard to taper off of Lexapro. For the past year or so I've bounced around from Prozac, Zoloft, and Lexapro (I'm definitely missing one but my memory is so whacked from these drugs). Zoloft gave me some serious emotional blunting so my GP put me on "The Mercedes of SSRIs" - Lexapro. Within 2 weeks of being on the drug, my brain was telling me that I had no reason to be on this planet anymore. I called my doctor immediately to begin tapering off of it. I'm about a week in, and I think I'm going through a weird combo of withdrawals from Zoloft AND Lexapro, which just makes things worse. I've had a migraine for the past week, the brain zaps and dizziness are so frustrating, I can't keep food down (or in, for that matter) and I feel like I'm being totally suffocated. It's like everyone in my life is a clingy ex-boyfriend and I just need to breathe... but can't. My brain gets stuck in a cycle of "what if this never gets better? whats the point of living if I'm always going to either 1. be on these drugs or 2. stuck withdrawing forever?" When it gets really bad I think about running away, but my car is currently broken. One of the main reasons I'm giving up SSRIs for good is the emotional blunting... saw Hamilton on broadway and felt literally no excitement, despite buying these tickets a year ago and being a huge theatre nerd. I have no longing for affection or sex, and as a 20 year old girl, that's wildly frustrating. Has anyone had emotional blunting/smothering as part of their SSRI withdrawal symptoms? Or am I just in really bad shape?

Good Day, I wish I could say that my withdrawal symptoms from quitting Lexapro are the worst, but quitting Xanax takes that title. I have been off Xanax for two years and six months. The first day was the worst, the first year was the worst, and I am not feeling any Xanax issues now except waking up in a cold sweat every night since 2014. Anyway, I have not looked back or taken Xanax ever again. During that entire ordeal, I was still on Lexapro. I didn't quit it also because I didn't want to do too much at once. I finally quit Lexapro on the 25th of Dec 2016. Side note: To help me quit Xanax, I was put on Seroquel and Neurontin at rehab, and I gained 20kgs in 6 months which I am still trying to lose. I have lost half of it, but for some reason, my metabolism is no longer the same. I can't lose weight after rehab. I quit Seroquel cold turkey and tapered off Nuerontin. I took it for about six months and stopped when the weight piled on. Back to why I am here: The first month after quitting Lexapro was alright. Just brain zaps and nothing else really. I thought, "Wow! Quitting these antidepressants is very easy! I should have done it earlier." I was basing my experience on Xanax, which is harder at the beginning and easier with time. I didn't expect things to begin falling apart later, and boy are they falling apart. Month two drug free was also not too bad, but it was filled with episodes of sadness. Month three became worse than month two, and I felt withdrawn and my lust for life started disappearing again. Month four was worse than month three and I felt myself losing more joy, being darker than I have ever been. Month five, my current situation, is a hot mess! My anxiety is back, my depression is back, and actually they are back and worse than ever. My obsessive thoughts are back. Oh, and my sexual urges are back, after years of thinking that I might be asexual. The problem is, my sexual urges are disconnected from my emotions, so as horny as I am, I still don't feel like having sex with my husband, and the whole thing is making me panic for several reasons. My insomnia is back. I am weepy and frustrated. My pessimism is back. I hate life right now. My face is braking out and for this last week, I have been unable to eat so I also feel awful due to that, I am sure. I could go on for days about how awful I feel right now. I have not left bed for a week! I have made music though. Actually, I started having the urge and will to create music around month 3 of quitting. Before that, I though I would never make music again. So, there are pros and cons to this quitting, more cons than pros though, currently. I was thinking of going back on Lexapro when I happened on this website. I have now changed my mind. I thought I was just getting worse and worse until I end up committing suicide, however from the posts I have read, it gets better apparently, and none of my torture is unusual. I was suppose to start a family this year but now I have doubts. I would wait a year but I am 35 in three months so... I am taking, and have been for over a year, Magnesium (a high dose), Iron Fumarate (I have severe anemia), Vitamin C (a very high dose), Probiotics, L-Theanine, Vitamin B Complex and Vitamin B12 on top, 5HTP and Valerian, camomile tea when I have the strength to make it. Mood: Very Blue. Like in the pic.

I was on lexapro for 7 years at 10mg decided it was a good time to stop at the start of last year. I went down to 5mg for 3 months, no withdrawals, the the doctor said I could stop, I decided to go day on day off, then a few days between, I started to feel small amounts of anxiety return aswell as some tiredness. My doctor said to go back on 10mg, I did, then with in a few weeks I started getting worse, my heart would race I couldn't get out of bed, after 3 weeks the doctor raised it to 20mg i felt so posioned I didn't eat for 2 months straight, I was in bed couldn't even roll over, I kept going to the hospital they kept sending me home, my heart rate was 120-140 I had yellow diarrhea, I had to have people come and help me with my children, i hadn't cuddles them for months. Then I said 3 months later, January this year, its poisining me. It has to be. Even though by then I was out of bed, I was still in such confusion and pain in the head.. couldn't last out of bed for long and the anxiety was horrible. I went to 15 for 2 weeks, 10 for a week, then tried Zoloft for a week had allergic reaction although the brain burning feeling had subsided.but couldn't continue with the rash from Zoloft, then back on lexapro 5mg for 2 weeks, and every night I took that pill my brain felt like it was burning, 2 weeks later the doctor gave me Prozac. 5mg for a week, I started getting tingling in my feet and feeling spaced out. One doctor said to up the dose. I did once and felt worse. So I seen another doctor who said maybe your to sensitive now and need to stop medication all together, so here I am, 1 months out from lexapro, and almost 3 weeks out from Prozac. My eating came back. I eat now, my diarrhea has gone. The brain burning gone. But as the days go by, I'm feeling more and more brain zaps, dizziness, confusion. Migraines. Like this is 24/7 some moments better then others. I mean is one month long enough to judge, will it only get worse? Does it take more then a month to feel better, I don't know what to expect. I do meditation, I walk every day now. Don't get much sleep as I wake up every few hours but I try lavender to help sleep. I just want to hear one successful story after long term use

Hey there. This is my first post, but I have a success story that I’d like to share. I’d like to preface by saying I had been on 75mg of sertraline (Zoloft) for approximately 7 months. I quit last year and have successfully made it through the withdrawals! I see more horror stories than success stories on SSRI discontinuation. My hypothesis for this discrepancy is that people who successfully quit the drug don’t really have that much of an incentive to post their stories, while people dealing with the terrible side effects are more likely to seek out information. I knew there were millions of people on SSRIs, and I refused to believe that my discontinuation symptoms would be permanent. Of course, there are always exceptions, but I found out quickly how unhealthy it was to hold this mentality of permanence. I tapered off a too quickly (~2 weeks). I believed that since I had only been on the medication for a few months, I could get away with tapering off at that rate. Consequently, I ended up having over 6 weeks of hellish withdrawals. The first 2 weeks had the most powerful physical symptoms: brain zaps, fatigue, nausea, etc. These symptoms seemed to go away around week 3, but then came another wave of symptoms: anxiety, paranoia, depression, and a lot of overthinking. I didn’t realize it till week 5, but these feelings were more powerful than when I had them before starting sertraline. Week 5 was the worst; all these terrible feelings went into overdrive. I remember a few specific days of this week were particularly dreadful. I had been reading up on SSRI discontinuation online and freaking myself out reading people’s horror stories. I was afraid that I permanently removed what it was to be human. I was terrified I’d never feel joy, sexual desire, or ambition in my life ever again. I was angry at myself that my choice to try anti-depressants fucked up the rest of my life. I was broken, and I just wanted to be normal again. These are unhealthy thoughts, and I was wrong. My life did start coming back. I slowly felt what it was like to be “me” again. Small steps every day reminded me. One day something would make me laugh. Another day I’d notice a cute girl. I appreciated and cherished every step throughout the way. And slowly but surely, old joys started coming back to me: I started feeling ambition, I was looking forward to future plans, I was dreaming again (I could sleep well again!), and I was feeling love again, both for myself and others. I believe there is a strong psychosomatic component during these withdrawals. It’s difficult because your brain doesn’t allow you get past these negative thoughts while its readjusting, but you have to keep moving. There isn’t a quick solution, but your brain is powerful and adjusts to your current circumstances. That’s why exercise, a healthy diet, a support network, and a positive outlook are so important; you want your brain to re-adjust in an ideal setting. So, don’t blame yourself or hold a grudge for trying SSRIs; you actively did something to confront your inner demons. From one stranger to another, you will survive this. Good luck.

Thank you so much for being here. My life is now a nightmare. People around me think I'm doing fine but living in my head and heart since I went off Effexor XR has been increasingly a complete nightmare for me. I was on 225 mg Effexor XR for 11 years. I'm 65 and creative and decided I wanted to be free of this drug so I could be fully myself and not feel that revved-up feeling I always had from the drug. I felt like the drug was a cage that protected me but it also felt like a prison and I wanted to give myself freedom as a gift for the rest of my life. I now know that the 'gradual' withdrawal I did was not gradual at all. I weaned off 37.5 every week or two until about 6 weeks later I was down to 37.5 for a week or 10 days then went to 0. I have Celiac and I had an accidental gluten attack at the same time the horrors of going from 37.5 to 0 kicked in. For a few weeks I thought I was just having a prolonged reaction to the gluten. It feels like my hopelessness and depression and wild fear of life is getting worse and worse instead of better and better with the passing of time. I'm now 3 months at 0 Effexor XR and desperately need guidance to reinstate however many beads you all think would be helpful. A kind person on the Effexor Withdrawal group on Facebook posted her success with feeling amazingly better by reinstating 5 beads a day. I started reinstating 5 beads a day 7 days ago. I feel worse but I'm sure it's not the beads that's making me feel worse, I'm sure it's just the hell I've brought on myself by going from 225 mg for 11 years to a fast and (now I realize) reckless wean. The last worst being the 37.5 to 0. Should I do more than 5 beads since I was on such a high dose for so long. Thank you thank you thank you for *any*help you can give me.

So thankful to find this group! Will you please tell me what dosage of Effexor XR to reinstate with? I've been off since April. Someone who is holistic minded, but not a psychiatrist, suggested that I reinstate at 37.5. I did take it yesterday and now reading the posts, it may be too high. She said to see how I'm feeling today. (Diarrhea has begun now ...and still very depressed, paranoia and anxiety.). She suggested one of three things. 1) Take another 37.5---(2) skip a day ---(3) take 1/2 of the 37.5. I'm not functioning well and in bed most of the time. I don't know what to do. Thank you all so much!

Howdy folks! I've been on cymbalta for a little over a year now, and out of the list of antidepressants I've taken (prozac, zoloft, wellbutrin, amitriptyline, trazodone) it's been the most successful at treating both my anxiety and depression. Unfortunately, it's also been incredibly successful at making me immune to this thing called "falling asleep" and has jacked up my blood pressure to heights of hilarity that are not countered by increasing my blood pressure medication. Oh yeah, and weight gain. Ugh. I first thought I'd go cold turkey, as I had with most of my previous antidepressants, and just suffer through it. Woah, was that a learning experience! Two days of trying to survive that had me back on my dose in no time. I met with my psychiatrist and discussed it all in detail, and he's having me taper down 20mg at a time per month. I started at 60mg, so I'm at 40mg right now. I felt like I was doing kinda alright, but one week in and I'm miserable. My emotions are all over the place, from waking up bawling like someone just passed away to feeling like I'm "Joe Cool". I'm nauseas all the time, sometimes to the point of wanting to throw up. My head feels like a constant migraine, I'm exhausted all the time, and best of all, I have the most vivid slasher horror movie nightmares each and every night. Joy! I can't wait to find out what dropping to 20mg feels like next month! On the plus side, I'm sleeping more than 2 hours a night and my blood pressure has dropped over 40 points! Unreal...

Hi all, I'm new to this community and I don't know where else to turn to. I was on Paxil (30mg) for over a year mostly for anxiety and secondary for depression. It worked for a little bit (first 6 months or so) then just became the norm and didn't do much for me at all but make me feel numb and uninterested in things. 2-3 weeks ago I decided to stop taking it completely (I know...cold turkey is bad) and the first week was a little alright, just felt like I was tunnel visioned big time and didn't know what was going on around me at all and I'd get emotional mood swings. Then came the 2nd/3rd week I don't have the tunnel vision anymore (as of late anyways), but I started getting really bad stomach aches/cramps and rarely an appetite for food at all. I always wake up in the morning everyday since then with a stomach ache and a little bit of nausea along with shivers and just feeling plainly cold. I was wondering if there is anything I can do or take to get my appetite back and stop the cramps/nausea from happening every morning/into the afternoon. I'd ask my doctor but she doesn't really understand this I believe and it's really hard to contact her and takes forever to see her as it is.... any help would be appreciated, thanks George~ Edit: actually debating to get back on it just to stop this crap but I really dont want to...go back.

This is a small part of my "withdrawal journal" from day 4 to day 40. I have been on Effexor for 8-10 years (I can't remember if I was 16 or 18 when I started, very well could have been younger). I was diagnosed with an Anxiety disorter and also major Depression. My doctor never once told me about what might happen if I ever wanted to quit taking Effexor. I always had some side effects from this med and eventually it got to the point where I wanted to switch. My Dr decided to just put me on another med, no tapering, just stop cold turkey and begin taking something new. It goes without saying that within a week I was back on Effexor because I believed the new med wasn't right for me because the side effects were horrible. There was no discussion on how it might just be the withdrawal from the Effexor not the side effects of the new pills.That was after one year of taking them. I tried to explain the brain zaps and she wasn't quite sure what I meant. This should have been a warning to me but growing up you are told that doctors are here to help that they know best so I questioned it no further. Several years in and a couple of dosage changes and failed attempts at trying other meds and I am struck with severe depression, not just my normal depression but something all together new. I wanted to be done with life. The thoughts terrified me and I knew something was incredibly wrong. I again saw my doctor, she decided that it may be the adderall I'm also prescribed so she takes me off of that cold turkey and puts me on a sedative along with the effexor. Again I am having horrible reactions so I am swithed between meds several more times. On Effexor off effexor, dosage changes of effexor etc. I also started seeing a therapist and can no longer work because of all the side effects/withdrawal symptoms. I am off from work for 4 months before the stress of med changes and dealing with Metlife force me to just give up, accept a higher dosage of Effexor, and return to work. I returned to work feeling slightly better but still knowing something was wrong inside me. The increased dosage causes me to have night terrors nightly which lead to waking up in a cold sweat crying. I deal with this for months and try to talk to my dr about it but at this point I have just given up. I stop going to therapy because I can't afford it and deep down I know the problem isn't a talking issue its a chemical one. For about a month I start having night sweats to the point where I severely dehydrate myself and am only getting about 3-5 hours of sleep a day because of the night terrors. I call off of work and wait to see my doctor. I tell them what is going on and their solution was to switch my meds yet again. The plan to make the switch is to one day on effexor one day off then one day on and two days off before starting the new meds. At this point I am on 150mg. The first day off within hours of missing my dose I start to get the zaps. Another couple of hours I start shaking and sweating. That night I decide that I will no longer be taking Effexor or any other medications that are supposed to "help" me. I quit cold turkey... that was 4 days ago. I feel as though I can't put into words the hell the last 4 days have been but I will try. I sleep about 1-2 hours a day but wake up drenched in sweat crying every 30 minutes, I shake compulsively mist of the time. I try to eat but for the most part it just makes me want to throw up. I find myself rocking back and forth constantly because it somehow helps. I cry for no reason from complete lack of any emotional control. Standing and moving make me motion sick as does watching tv so being awake 22-23 hours a day leaves me with nothing mush to do but cry out of helplessness. I can't smoke because it increases the zaps as does caffeine so there are also those withdrawals too. I have been drink about 8 16oz bottles of water a day just to keep hydrated from the cold sweats I have. I have been taking vitamins to try to combat some of the effects but they only sometimes seem to take the edge off. I have been retaining so much water that my joints throb. As I type this I'm shaking so bad that the backspace button is used more than the other keys.I have a fan on because I'm sweating but I'm covered in goosebumps. Several times in these few days I have been brought to my knees just praying for a moment of peace. I know this is a very long post and few will take the time to read it but in my eyes as long as I can keep one person from having to go through this it is all worth it. I know many people will scold me for not tapering but I just want it out, I want to be rid of this poison. I'm not saying there aren't some people who need it but if a doctor even brings up Effexor PLEASE just do what I didn't and research it, see what you will have to go through while on it and when you are well enough to be off of it. When you see dozens of articles saying it is worse than kicking hard drugs you need to question if it is worth it. I am now on day 40 and I feel as though I am going crazy. I tried to go back to work around week 3 of been off the drug but could only make it a week. I was still getting the shakes, brain zaps, nausea, crying spells, fits of pure rage, trouble speaking, couldn't process what someone was saying to me, ect. I still am going through many of these withdrawals. My doctor told me I should be "over" the withdrawal by now. I put that in parenthesis because it makes me very upset that doctor acts as though you go off of it and bam after 4 weeks you're fine. I have no idea if I'm still going through withdrawal and my brain acclimating back to it's normal state.... or the more scary thought is, that maybe this is just the normal me and I really do need to be on these pills. Please I need help.

Hello everyone, I am 18 years old and from Alabama. I started taking lexapro about 5 months ago due to extreme anxiety, OCD, and slight depression. Ever since I have been taking lexapro my anxiety has gotten worse, I am extremely emotional, I freak out over everything, and am in the last straw of my relationship with someone who has been there for me and loved me through all of this simply because he is frustrated with the person I have become (as am I). So i recently (as in two days ago) decided to talk to my doctor about weaning off of Lexapro. I took 10mg for the first 3 months and have been on 20mg for about 2 months. I currently take 20mg and was advised to cut by 50% so for the past two days I have taken 10mg daily. I currently feel like I am in a fog and have zero emotions. While also dealing with my relationship crisis, him and I have decided to take a break for 3 weeks until I can hopefully be back to normal (so says my doctor). So currently I am dealing with the sadness of that as well as symptoms as well as being away from home at college dealing with stress. I am so scared for the upcoming symptoms because I have read things such as brain zaps (which I have had), nausea, hallucinations, and worse. Please give me advice or someone please just be there to talk to me. I am desperate on all aspects. Please and thank you in advance

BACKROUND: I was on Effexor for several years. I attempted to come off the SSRI drug a few times before my “final” taper down to 0. The first few times, I made the mistake of stopping this drug cold turkey – within 24 hours of stopping it, I immediately found myself popping that pill again to stop the horrible withdrawals. This June, after getting my health on track with my ND, I felt I was ready to get off this drug. This time I was determined to stop this chemical. I was on 75mg of Effexor, and did my first taper down to 37.5mg. Even with this first taper – I felt the withdrawals (I will explain my withdrawal symptoms further down). It took me 4 months to feel “normal” again at this reduced dose & to mentally prepare myself for the next taper. My next taper was down to the 37.5mg tables cut in half. Some people are on the Effexor that are in little balls, I was on a generic brand that were full size tablets (37.5mg were the smallest pill I could get) & I was unsuccessful at taking the brand with the balls (which would of made it easier to taper) so I was left with cutting the tablets in half. The pharmacy did their best at making the cuts even, but I know each night I would be getting a different amount. Knowing this – I decided to do the cut pills for 2 weeks only, then cut them into a quarter for a few days, then stopped completely. I just wanted to get the worse over with & not have to deal with the withdrawals in another 4 months. The pharmacy believed I did it slow enough, and said I could of gone from the 37.5mg to 0 without the cut pills, but I wanted to do it a bit slower, and not completely shock my brain/body. Writing this – I am now on day 6 of no Effexor at all. SYMPTOMS: I felt the withdrawal symptoms with my reduced doses & cutting it out completely (more severe with the final cut down to 0). Some of the symptoms I felt were: Nausea, headaches, brain zaps, restless leg syndrome, out of body feeling, confusion, vertigo, the spins, irritable, agitated, lack of appetite, brain fog, anxiety, hot flashes, and I am sure I am missing a few more. GETTING READY TO TAPER DOWN/COME OFF: You need to be mentally determined you will get off, and know the pain will only benefit you in the long run. I kept reminding myself when I was having the horrible withdrawal symptoms that it is my body flushing out all the horrible chemicals… it has a mean to an end, and once the worst of it is over (probably 4 days after each cut down), every day would be up from there. The other key factors are: Work: I am so thankful I had a job where I was able to take a few weeks off with each taper. You need to have the support from work to take the time off, no way in hell I would have been able to work. Support at Home: You need to let everyone close to you in your life know what your plan is. They will need to understand how tough it will be for you for some time. I wanted someone around for the first few days of my taper (to help with food, etc.), but once the nausea was gone after the first 4 days – I personally felt better alone. I didn’t want anyone to see me at my worst, especially because I was getting irritated so easily & didn’t want to take it out on close ones. Timing: I suggest not having any big plans for about a month after you reduce your dose. Most of the withdrawal symptoms will be gone by then. The only long term withdrawal symptom I have had is brain fog, after my first reduction in my dosage, it took 4 months for the brain fog to disappear… hopefully it isn’t that long with my final cut to 0! Benefits: there is no way I could have done this without medical benefits for my naturopath, acupuncture, massage therapy, chiropractor, and registered dietician. These were all key parts in my detox therapies. My wallet thanks me & so does my body. Money set aside for the supplements, vitamins, essential oils, teas, etc. SOME OF THE REMEDIES I DID FOR WITHDRAWALS: In no particular order, here is a big list of what I did to help get myself off this addictive drug. Essential Oils: peppermint for the headaches, ginger for the nausea Epsom Salt Baths: so much goodness comes from these; I would use Epsom salts & Himalayan salts. I was having a bath a day during the worst of the withdrawals. Supplements/Vitamins: I am on a cocktail of vitamins/supplements under my ND’s guidance. The ones I noticed helped the most? L-theanine: extracted from green tea, helps create a calm, relaxed alertness. I am also drinking a ton of Matcha green tea, which is packed with this amino acid. Helps “zen” me out. Magnesium: I would take an advanced MG complex at night, to help with getting some sleep, for me it acted similar to a sleeping pill. You feel a bit groggy in the AM after taking it. L-Tyrosine: helps with stress, etc. Other supplements I have been taking for mood stabilizing is: B complex, omega 3(3:1EPA to DHA), D3, P5P, 5-HTP, and a few more. I only took what was suggested by my ND. I don’t recommend putting yourself on any of these supplements unless you are under guidance of an ND. Some of the supplements (ie. 5-HTP) can react with certain SSRI drugs and can cause bad reactions. Prairie Naturals Rise & Shine: I love this stuff, great way to start off your day. Teas: I swear that teas are a form of medicine. You can find a tea that has ingredients for almost any ailment. These are some of the teas I have been using: Banff Tea Co. “Detox Tea”: Liquorice, cinnamon, burduck root, ginger, dandelion root, fennel, aniseed, juniper berries, coriander, cardamom, black pepper, parsley, sage, cloves and kurkuma Banff Tea Co. “Tulsi Multi”: Tulsi herb, papaya pieces, apple pieces, rosehip peel, orange peel and natural flavor. Banff Tea Co. “Sweet Dreams of Banff”: Rose petals, chamomile, lemongrass, lavender, and spearmint Water: Flush that horrible **** out… drink as much as possible. Food: I am trying my best at eating whole, organic foods. I am having lots of green smoothies, wheat grass shots, etc. … FOOD IS MEDICINE, what you put in your body is what you get back. Chiropractor: I was having horrible restless leg syndrome, the chiropractor did several adjustments on me & with hours my RLS was cured! I have read several articles on Chiropractors helping withdrawal symptoms, etc. Have a google!! Acupuncture: I believe in this method of therapy so much! Massage Therapy: I have also read several articles on massage therapy and detoxing. I believe they are an important way to help your body detox. Staying on a schedule: after the first few days after you reduce the dose, try to get back on a sleep schedule, don’t sleep the days away because you feel sh*tty… it is good to stay on a schedule to easily transition back into work. Himalayan Salt Lamps: Google the benefits & judge for yourself, I love them. Exercise: After the first few days of hell, try and get some exercise/vitamin D. Even if it is just a short walk. Probiotics: Lots of researches linking gut health to immune system, mental wellbeing, etc. Stay Busy: read, colour, movies, exercise, whatever to keep your mind busy Overall, my biggest piece of advice is that you need to be determined to get off. You need to be mentally prepared for what you will put your body through. There is a mean to the end!!! I am feeling better every day now. I will keep doing everything possible to speed up the detox process & to eliminate the brain fog quicker this time around. I would also suggest doing your research if your MD prescribes you other drugs while trying to get off the SSRI. One MD I saw wanted to put me on Prozac to eliminate my withdrawal symptoms – to me, this felt like I was going backwards & decided to deal with the pain. The MD’s also prescribed me Ativan & Valium – 2 very addicting drugs! I am still shocked how they easily prescribed me these drugs. I consider myself addicted to Effexor, or was addicted, and the fact they prescribed someone who is battling an addiction another addictive drug blew my mind. I took the Ativan when I went to the hospital, but haven’t taken it since. I am not risking getting addicted to another drug to deal with my withdrawal symptoms of Effexor. There is “life after the meds” & I can’t wait to be there – to not having any withdrawals, and to not be dependent on a chemical drug. “Doctors create addicts then cut the cord”. This needs to change, awareness needs to be brought to life after the meds, and more support is needed for people trying to get off SSRI’s. Every single MD I went to, not a single one had an answer for me on how to get off. It is insane how they will easily throw prescriptions at people, and not educate them on how tough it will be to get off. MD’s should have to try and help a patient using alternative methods first BEFORE making that patient an addict.

Hello, my name is RSurviving and I'm new to Survivingantidepressants.org. I've been on the anti-depressant drug Zoloft (Sertaline) for aprox. 6 years now and the anti-psychotic drug Risperdal (Risperdone) for 5 years. I am a young woman with- hopefully- my whole life ahead of me. I live a pretty peaceful existence now, but since this wasn't always the case, I take 150mg of Zoloft and .25mg of Risperdal. I have/had pretty sever depression and anxiety with some suicidal ideation and I still deal with it on a daily basis. I also have other chronic health issues that impact my life and mental health issues every day. About 11 months back, I expressed to my psych Dr. that I wanted to wean off of one of my medications, and since I have no actual psychotic tendencies (Bipolar Disorder or Schizophrenia) I believed Risperdal should go first, especially since it's the lowest dose. School was just starting up again, and so she agreed that we could attempt it, under the condition that I replace it with Klonopin. This idea is very self-defeating. I know. Why get off of one only to start another immediately? That's why I didn't want to agree. After much convincing from my mother and doctor, I left the session not only with a new script for Klonopin, but the advice from the doctor that since the Risperdal was such a low dose, I could quit cold-turkey... I tried to insist that I didn't feel comfortable just stopping it, especially after so many years of use ( I didn't even want to stop taking my allergy meds for three days in order to get annual allergy testing done) because I've heard so many horror stories about abruptly stopping anti-anything medication. However, I let myself, my mother, and even my longtime boyfriend be convinced that it was low enough to stop for good. In the beginning of September 2014 I was off of the Risperdal for four days before I started taking the Kolnopin under the direction of my doctor. I was normal for about a week. I had a job, an amazing, supportive boyfriend/family and was a full time student, until things went south. I have never experienced anything like this before. Life looked distorted, like a colorful, geometric pop-up book. My co-workers were trying to "kill" me when they walked too close to me at work. Spiders crawled all over my body and my house. I was always sick. I tried to claw my way out of my body by scratching at my skin. I tried to pull my hair out. I screamed at things that weren't there. I head voices and talked to myself as if I was Norman Bates. I acted completely out of character by trying to seduce other people even though they weren't my boyfriend and I didn't want to/had no intention of being with them. I left work in the middle of my shift and apparently walked in the night to the other side of town to a park where my sister found me, confused as to where I was. I frequently forgot who/where I was. Everyone who loved me tried to help and understand, but it was like I was comatose, and in my place was an evil shell of myself. The worst part is, I still don't fully remember all of the damage I caused, or anything that happened in those two moths of my life. However, I will always have to live with the guilt of knowing that I hurt the people I love most, without even knowing how. Needless to say, after a couple of months for this, my mom and boyfriend finally got me back to normal. I still find moments where I don't know where I am, but fortunately, it doesn't last long. My memory is still shoddy as well, but I'm taking it one day at a time. So now, even though my family and I are terrified about stopping my medicine, I feel that it is necessary for my sanity (pun not intended.) I wrote this for support, advice, and even some help from others, but I also wrote this for those people who, like me, have seen the evil side of coming off these drugs in an unsafe manner and need to do it the right way. For those who want to know that even though this path is dark, there is always light at the end of the tunnel. I hope this helps, and thank you for your time.

My relationship with antidepressants: I've been on different ones for over 20 years. The more I learn about long term use, the more I want to be off of them. I started weaning myself from Effexor about two months ago, and am on day 8 of no Effexor. I am still on Wellbutrin. Withdrawal symptoms I'm currently experiencing: dizziness, brain zaps (like frequent small electric shocks to my brain), insomnia, some nausea. They were the worst at day five, and seem to be decreasing slowly. How I feel now: I have a crazy amount of energy. I don't know if it's a withdrawal symptom, a no more Effexor stunting my feelings and energy level, or what. But it's pretty cool to have energy. The negatives are that I'm super irritable and little things like repetitive noises, my kids not following directions, the room being too hot or too cold, all make me want to scream or cry or rage. Literally. I'm also experiencing super surges of grief, wanting to weep uncontrollably at a Facebook post about someone's dog that died, someone's kid who graduated from college, or my mother-in-law who has lived with us for 12 years breaking the toilet or the dryer or the lock on the front door or some other thing that seems indestructible to the average person. My anger at the medical community: why the hell, twenty years ago when my mother died at a young age and I got into my first real depression, didn't they say, well let's get you walking, meditating, support grouping, counseling, or anything else? "You are depressed. Here's your prescription. See you in a month." There are valid reasons for getting depressed! It is normal to be sad and cry and have a hard time moving through the death of someone you love. Physicians are quick to stifle all of this with meds rather than deal with the underlying causes of the depression. My life outside of meds: I'm a special education teacher. 55 years old and proud of the work I do. I live with hubby who is also a SpEd teacher, one kid in college, one in high school, and an amazing adorable 7 year old we adopted recently. We also have a son who died at age six months, due to a stupid sucky unfair genetic syndrome he had, in 1998. And mother-in-law. I have never missed more than a day or two of school due to depression. Never been hospitalized for it. Seem to be able to fake my way outside my home pretty well, but depression comes out big time at home. Also can you tell I like to write? Lol, it's very therapeutic. My goal: to successfully get off of antidepressants and manage my depression through yoga, meditation, journaling, exercise, and groups like this one.

Hi, I'm new here. I took lexapro for 10 months and decided (with GP help) to switch to pristiq because I was always tired and wanted to get energy back. I tapered off lexapro 20mg quickly (<1 week) because I was impatient. Now on pristiq was good for 3 days now hell. Nauseous within 30 mins of taking it, often vomiting, spinning head, it wears off about 4 hours too quickly and I feel like I get withdrawals (nausea, headache, head spinning, panic, paranoia, horrible visual images, nightmares. Have had to have 3 days off work. I want to stop pristiq. I've only been on it 2 weeks, 50mg daily. My doc doesn't believe my symptoms, thinks I've got a virus. After only 2 weeks any ideas on how to taper? Should I transition back to lexapro? If so how? Thanks

Hello! Not sure if this is right place to post this but I have been on 10mg of Prozac for about 7 months (since July 2014) and although the I love what it has done for me, due to the side effects (extreme fatigue, heart palpitations, weight gain) I have started to taper off. I am usually sensitive to withdrawals symptoms as I experienced them all too well while getting off Cymbalta a few years back. I have obtained the liquid version of Fluoxetine and started at 2.25ml today. Do you think it's best to stay at the "10 percent per month" or after the first month or two do you think I could try to speed it up a bit since I have been on this for a shorter period of time? The heart palpitations are becoming a problem but I want to experience as little withdrawals symptoms as possible. Any advice/experiences would be much appreciated!

Hi, I have been on just about every antidepressant there is over a period of 18 years. I accidentally stopped taking my 20mg of Lexapro and was having neck pain, back pain, brain zaps, balance problems, nightmares, extreme irritability, very weak muscles, and a host of other symptoms. After 2 months of being off of the Lexapro, I figured out that I was in withdrawals. My psychiatrist raised my dose of wellbutrin from 300mg to 450 mg, then back down to 150mg and increased my trazodone. It's been 2 months since no Lexapro and 3 weeks of tapering the wellbutrin. I saw my therapist last week and all of my symptoms were very obvious. She did NOT believe me and at the end of the session, she folded her arms and said, "sooo is there anything positive in your life"? This may sound minor but it devastated me to get that kind of reaction. There's so much more to this but this sums it up in a nutshell. Why don't therapists understand? Why aren't they knowledgeable? Why aren't most pdocs knowledgeable? I am so frustrated. I am so afraid that this will go on for months if not years! Thank you for listening.