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  1. This is really more like a side-effect from taking SSRIs rather than the symptom of WD itself, but some of those who are still on drugs and are getting ready for tapering may find it really helpful. Weight gain While on drugs my body weight went up by about 55-60 pounds. I was able to get rid of it thanks to lowering my carbs intake. What worked in your case? Interestingly, no amount of physical exercise was enough in my case to help lose weight - the whole endocrine system, metabolism, and what not, was so much out of whack, that even running three marathons a day wouldn't do a thing.
  2. Hello, I'm new to this forum and I'm working toward tapering off of 225 mg of venlafaxine. I am a 70 year old male, that has been very active and health conscious. My weakness has been depression. I previously had two periods of feeling depressed that involved obtaining an antidepressant from my general practice doctor. I would get to the point of feeling spacey and or lethargic, then do talk therapy to get back off of the drug. These where phase one antidepressants, and I would taper off slow over say 4 to 6 months without noticeable side effects. These events occurred between 2005 to 2008 per notes I still have. I retired from Highway Engineering March 1, 2014. Many emotional events piled upon me during the next five months. The stressors where; retiring and adjustment period, daughter coming home to live with us and get a divorce, a vicious son in law (being divorced), one or two other more minor stressors that I do not recall, and a huge spiritual crisis in which I felt I had not lived as graciously as God would have wanted me to. In July 2014 I became fixated on thinking about all these things. I sat in a stupor for days, lost 15 pounds, thought the devil was speaking and accusing me of my wrongs and tempted me to deny God and just die. My wife asked me If I had thought of suicide and I admitted that I had. She called 911 and got help. They took me to a hospital and put me on suicide watch till they could transfer me to a psych ward for treatment. I was confined for a week and given many medications. I also had a physical problem that they dealt with. I was released to an out-patient psychiatrist. The psychiatrist told me he would take me off all the previous medications except for increasing my dose of venlafaxine to 225 mg. I have been on venlafaxine for four (4) years. In May 2018 I stopped drinking all alcohol and also stopped experimenting with legalized cannabis. I quickly felt a bit more energy. I put this energy toward searching the internet for information about venlafaxine and antidepressants. I have learned much, but still want to keep learning. My Psychiatris agreed to allow me to get off Venlafaxine October 4, 2017, after telling him repeatedly about my desire to and why. He reduced my venlafaxine from 225 mg to 150 mg. The short of it is that I did not make it, and went back to the full dose. After learning more about how to decrease slowly, I am ready to try again. I have sought the help of my general practice doctor, who is supportive and has reduced me to 187.5 mg. Since I know that a 10% reduction is better, I cut open a 37.5 mg capsule, counted the beads, and took 40% of those beads, 15, and added them to the 187.5 mg, for a new total of 202.5 mg. I'm also taking daily notes of my physical and mental state, and dosage. I will see my general practice doctor monthly. I will be also talking to my Psychiatrist about my plans. I plan to start talk therapy also. Does anyone have any advise or comments?
  3. Hi everybody, posting this here in hopes of some help with taking next steps. I was on 20mg/day escitalopram (aka lexapro/cipralex) for 3 years due to crippling anxiety that came out of nowhere (never had anxiety before), and despite taking good care of myself (sleep habits, nutritious diet, regular exercise, strong social relationships, etc), it persisted. So after 6 months, I decided to take the drug route. I didn’t notice any improvement with 10mg after a couple weeks so we upped it to 20mg (should’ve given 10mg more time). My anxiety was brought under control without any serious side effects at first. After being on it for 1-2 years, I started to notice that I was always pretty tired and increasingly apathetic despite my good lifestyle practices and having always been an energetic and motivated person. By the end of the 3rd year, I was exhausted all the time with no motivation/enthusiasm, brain fog, and would literally need a nap 3 hours after waking up from 10hrs of sleep (caffeine/stimulants didn’t make a difference). A hard workout (I am a bodybuilder (no steroids tho)) would leave me crushed for several days, like a constant hangover. I was just chronically exhausted and lethargic and, possibly by extension of that or as a separate issue, depressed and unmotivated. I did a 4-week taper from 20mg to 0mg without any issues at each reduction, spending several days at each dose to make sure I was stable before reducing again. I now know that was way too quick of a taper, but I didn’t have any adverse reactions to dose reductions, even after going down to 0mg, and my energy/mood seemed to improve at first. It has now been 7+ months since my last dose because I thought it was just a matter of time/toughing it out after you got all the way off. To make matters worse, my last doses were 10mg that I was alternating with 0mg, which I now know I shouldn’t have done. The only acute withdrawal symptom I had was some manageable vertigo, but the protracted withdrawal symptoms have been hell. Despite great life circumstances and maintaining a good quality diet, sleep habits, and exercise routine, I am now almost always: exhausted, sad/depressed, lethargic, spacey, unenthusiastic, apathetic/anhedonic, irritable, moody, and sometimes anxious (though not nearly as bad as the original anxiety that I started taking the SSRI for). I don’t really enjoy doing much of anything any more and I feel like I could sleep forever. I’m lucky to work a job that is flexible, so I don’t need to set an alarm usually and typically get 9-10hrs of sleep. I still wake up tired every day and often need naps despite never being a nap person before. My sleep quality is good (no insomnia really) My life is falling apart. I’m familiar with the waves and windows, and I’ve experienced one 2-week window, and the very rare goodish day here and there, during that 7-month period, but most days are crap . I have been tracking my mood/energy every day in a spreadsheet for last 3 months, and although I THINK I am doing a bit better now than I was during the first few months, it’s almost negligible, with awful days and chronic exhaustion still being the norm. Given that I am 7+ months in, I don’t want to quit while being so “far along”, and I know that reinstatement is less likely to work now or may even have adverse effects (kindling), but I am starting to consider getting back on a very small dose (<1mg?) to get stable again before executing a proper taper in hopes of avoiding continued PWS. I’m 25 and I’ve basically lost the last 2 years of my life, which I know is nothing compared to some of the experiences on this site, but I’m hoping to get some guidance or input here since my doctor is pretty out of the loop on SSRI PWS (his suggestion was to start taking wellbutrin/buproprion, which I would rather not gamble with). It seems to me that I’m basically deciding between the risk of reinstatement resetting my withdrawal progress and not working/making things worse OR toughing it out for who knows how long, maybe forever, and possibly getting new, even worse, withdrawal symptoms as I know there is a possibility of experiencing new withdrawal symptoms many months down the road. Some context notes: I am still able to consume most supplements (other than 5-HTP and melatonin) without any obvious adverse effects (for example, caffeine/pre-workout and nicotine gum/Zyn seem to be fine, although they aren’t as effective as they used to be) and I still lift weights very intensely since time away from training doesn't seem to help.Point being, I haven’t really been able to identify any trends as far as diet, supplementation, lifestyle habits, etc. causing waves, but perhaps it’s because I’ve been constant with everything. I also tried magic mushrooms (2g) and it had no effect acutely, although the following weeks were slightly better, that could’ve just been a natural “window”. Any insight would be greatly appreciated as I am feeling hopeless.
  4. Hello all, After some misplaced reluctance to create an account and my own thread, my anxiety is skyrocketing and this is the only way I can think of calming it. I took Sertraline for a single day (did not like how it made me feel + worsened hyperactivity) back in late August/early September, what followed in the next few weeks was an onslaught of generalised anxiety along with anxiety attacks. This was new for me. A week after returning to University in mid-September I experienced ‘flu-like’ symptoms, an all-consuming fatigue, malaise, brain fog, and depression (of which I assumed was caused by these feelings). Due to the increased anxiety I had been experiencing since that one tablet I took in late August, I decided to try the Sertraline again in hope that I could ride out it’s initial symptoms and find my feet and mind again. The week in Sertraline whilst plagued with poor concentration and short-term memory, was blissful to say the least, I even text my mum exclaiming, ‘I haven’t felt this good since I was ten!’; meaning that I hadn’t a care in the world; I felt free again. Because of my work-load at university, I felt like it was best to stop the Sertraline as it was making it hard for me to spell, think creatively, and empathise with my newly formed girlfriend. After the abrupt stop (I wouldn’t call it a ‘cold-turkey’ as was only a single week, I may be naive however in saying this. Please correct me if I’m wrong) I felt okay, able to work, excitable if not a little too excitable, but the general feeling was that within a week, I’d be me again. Two weeks after stopping the five consecutive doses of sertraline, I noticed that I was gradually feeling more and more spaced out with every day that passed until it morphed into full-blown depersonalisation. I felt disconnected, empty, like I was high in caffeine 24/7, or even flying through a dream would be an accurate tell of its qualities. This continued, while getting better slightly with each day passed for just under a month, it’s hopefully subsided. During this period I had tunnel vision, everything seemed blurry and I felt dizzy when out and about/stressful or anxious places. I had what I believe is called aphasia, understanding was fine, I just couldn’t work or produce literature to save my life. My concentration/attention span had disappeared, I couldn’t read articles let alone absorb any of their information. The blurry vision has gone, but has been replaced with an ever so slight static or I’ve seen it being called a ‘haze’, only really noticeable in the dark. My vision seems darker than it was before and I guess ‘not right’, it does seemed to have improved by a smidgen though. Whilst I wouldn’t say that I’m still depersonalised, I still feel a little detached from my surroundings, this can fluctuate in some circumstances, and almost disappear in some. I have double vision that only comes on in the night (early morning), light trails that become worse the longer I stay up at night for. Street lights also produce a horrible glare, this can return to normal levels when not stressed, but if I’m with someone who provokes this, or start worrying + looking for it everywhere, it can become much worse with even entering a shop becoming a behemoth if a task. I am also plagued with a low-frequency tinnitus, sounds sort of like steam, or a quiet tv static. This condition is all I’ve been able to think about since I’ve had it, the anxiety has ramped up, along with my emotions in the past two weeks and I’ve just been unable to function. This has all been accompanied by a slight brain fog and when stressed, pressure in my eyes and head (the feeling of pressure has got a lot better, almost non-existent now). Is there anyone out there with these symptoms who’ve seen them subside/go away? I’ve read online about visual snow and I’m terrified that this isn’t going to get better. I feel like I’ve ruined my life and feel that I’m stuck, dependent on my mum. I’m even worrying about what will happen to me once she has passed. Im really worried that this is going to be my new baseline. Thank you all for this amazing site, Icip.
  5. Hello all! I found your forum and figured I should ask for thoughts regarding my Lexapro withdrawal experience. I’ll post a brief overview paragraph, but if you have time or want to know more, I tried to be as detailed as possible describing my symptoms to see if they sound familiar to anyone here. Short explanation: I took Lexapro for around 2 years, maybe a bit longer. The dose was 10mg, but it’s possible it was a little higher for a short while. I lowered the dose to 5mg at some point in 2014 and was on that dose for a year. I then spent the bulk of a year tapering from 5mg to 0mg. The last dose I took was so small that it was a tiny piece of powder on my finger, which is what I had gotten it down to over time. I am on here because I have been off of the medicine completely for almost four months and still have some odd slight-dizzy/floating feelings sometimes, which typically aren’t very strong or long lasting, but I also have fatigue most days. I sleep very well and get 7-8 hours a night, but feel the need to lay down for a few minutes several times a day. I never had these issues until I started messing with my Lexapro doses. Thats the short story, but I can get more in-depth. Fatigue details: The fatigue used to be so bad a few months ago that I could easily fall asleep within 3 minutes; I would often take a few minute break at work and immediately fall asleep in my car and set a short 6 minute timer and wake up and feel a lot better. I would do that a few times a day especially after work. Now days I don’t instantly fall asleep, but resting my eyes for a few minutes helps. I take a 20 min nap at lunch and a 20 min nap after work and for both of these I fall asleep and jolt awake when the alarm goes off, but feel a lot better. When it happens, I can often feel the tiredness growing in a short period of time, often within an hour or even 15 minutes. The tiredness is usually just to the level of being annoying, but sometimes it becomes so strong that I literally just have to close my eyes at my office desk for awhile. When it’s really bad I notice I even close my eyes for a couple seconds when I am walking or doing simple things. This isn’t like when a driver starts closing their eyes without noticing it; I very purposefully close my eyes just for a second or two to get a vague feeling of minor relief. Usually I feel like my mind is actually still working and I am wanting to stay productive, but my eyes and head just get tired even though the rest of me seems to have energy. Its almost like a synthetic tiredness, as if my water was spiked several times a day without me knowing; it’s very different from a normal tiredness. Often if I am at home I will feel it kick in and just have to drop what I’m doing, lay down and set my timer for 5-15 minutes just to recharge and then get back up and continue what I was doing. Then it might kick in two or three hours later and I’ll have to do the nap/timer session again. Before I go out and do anything, such as meet a friend or go to a movie, I preemptively take a short nap to prepare my body. Also, when I wake up in the morning after a full 7 or 8 hours sleep, I am typically a bit groggy for awhile inevitably. Before I started changing my meds I would often wake up and have energy and used to love my morning time during the weekends. Now mornings aren’t horrible, but they aren’t really much to look forward to. On weekends I often take one of my quick naps within an hour or two after waking up because I get so groggy I just have to lay down. Dizziness details: My dizziness from time to time gets bad enough to become an issue that really bothers me. These periods where it is bad usually only last for a few days, but more often the dizziness is a very minor symptom and just makes me feel a bit “off” for a half hour or so. It’s hard to explain and there are actually several different feelings of dizziness I experience. “Dizziness” isn’t even always the best word, but its the only one that I can think of that fits. Often it is just a vague sense of feeling disconnected and unbalanced. Sometimes when I am showering I do literally feel slightly unbalanced, but it is a very minor feeling and I never *actually* feel like I am loosing my balance. Another feeling is almost like the whole room is spinning, but at such a very, very slow rate that it is just enough to make me feel slightly uncomfortable. Sometimes another feeling happens where I feel slightly cloudy headed and if I turn my head quickly, it takes a second for my brain to readjust. This usually doesn’t last very long, and in fact, most of these dizzy feelings come and go within a half hour and don’t interfere with my life very badly. Oh, and another one is a vague “floating” sense that I sometimes feel when I walk down a hallway, for example. Again, pretty minor, but just enough to make me feel a little off. I should also mention that sometimes the dizziness transitions into tiredness; the dizziness evaporates and I am left feeling like I need to lay down from sudden fatigue. Additional issues: When I first got off Lex completely, I had really sore muscles in my back and shoulder blades within a few days. One of those curved self massage sticks really helped with that. I used to also have a really bad pressure in my head during the tapering process (but went away after a few weeks of stopping lex) and the massage stick also relieved a lot of that head pressure that I used to get. I no longer have the tension in my back, but my shoulders themselves often feel like they get tense, like there is a “grip” on them. Sometimes this is combined with a slight feeling of dizziness. When I am around my father to give my shoulders a quick massage it relieves a lot of the dizziness as well as the tension. I have read that anxiety can cause tension like this, but I have had anxiety my whole life and never have felt this shoulder “grip” before. But it may be an indirect, subconscious anxiety causing this tension, as opposed to a direct result of lexapro withdrawal. Typically a short period of laying down helps with this also. Waves/Windows: I have read different parts of this forum and found them helpful. I feel that the “waves/windows” idea is in line with what I have been going through. I feel that I am getting better, and then all of a sudden I will feel way worse for several days or a week, then I will start feeling better again for a week or so. However, looking back on the whole process, overall I think I am improving in the big picture scheme of things. I went to the doctor yesterday and of course he told me it couldn’t have anything to do with Lexapro because I have been off of it for a few months. I also am having blood work done just in case it is anything else. I guess my big question is do these things sound familiar to others and will these symptoms go away over time?
  6. Before starting my history below, I just want to say thank you to everyone. You've given me hope. I only just signed up. I found your site about two months ago. I decided to sign up because I'm starting to see my psychologist and wanted to have something in hand for her, and decided I might as well use that info on here, too, and see what people have to say. Early 1990s (?): On Prozac for about a year. Doseage? 2009: Started Wellbutrin and Clonazapam (Clon) (doseages?). Therapist told me I could just take the Clon “as needed.” But, Clon needs to be taken consistently every day. I was having suicidal ideation and self-harm compulsions. 2015: I ended up in the pysch ward after trying to drive into a tree. They took me off Wellbutrin and put me on 60 mg Cymbalta. Tapered me off Clon - I was put on a minimal maintenance dose. Found a new psychologist and started seeing a psychiatrist. 2017: GABApentin was added to my regimen because of pain from adenomyosis and endometriosis. I eventually had surgery for those two issues in 2018. 2018: Tapered off of the Clon entirely. 2019: Tapered off of the GABApentin entirely. Nov. 2022: I started getting vivid, emotional nightmares. I wondered if it was the Cymbalta. After researching, found out I had been experiencing the following side effects: chronic insomnia, hand tremors, night sweats, muscle cramps, lack of concentration, memory issues, and the vivid and emotional nightmares. For years, I have had High Blood Pressure and high cholesterol as well as testing positive for pre-Diabetes. Cymbalta can affect BP (low AND high), cholesterol, and can cause Diabetes (see here: https://www.ehealthme.com/ds/cymbalta/high-cholesterol/; and here: https://www.verywellmind.com/duloxetine-cymbalta-1066950). Quote from the first link (I have worked as a journalist, as well as a copyeditor/proofreader and managing editor for peer-reviewed scientific/research journals, so have a pretty good handle on doing my own research): "High cholesterol is found among people who take Cymbalta, especially for people who are female, 50-59 old, have been taking the drug for 2 - 5 years. The phase IV clinical study analyzes which people take Cymbalta and have high cholesterol. It is created by eHealthMe based on reports of 141,667 people who have side effects when taking Cymbalta from the FDA, and is updated regularly. You can use the study as a second opinion to make health care decisions. Phase IV trials are used to detect adverse drug outcomes and monitor drug effectiveness in the real world. With medical big data and AI algorithms, eHealthMe is running millions of phase IV trials and makes the results available to the public. Our original studies have been referenced on 600+ medical publications including The Lancet, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, and Nature." Feb. 27: Started working with psychiatrist to taper off Cymbalta. Decreased from 60 mg to 40 mg (experienced headaches, brain zaps, diarrhea, dizziness, lightheadedness, no control over intake of food, extremely irritability and anger). March 20: At my psychiatrist’s guidance, decreased Cymbalta from 40 mg to 20 mg. April 1: Per my psychiatrist’s direction, decreased Cymbalta from 20 mg/day to 20 mg every other day. The side effects became severe, so broke open pills and took 10 mg/day in apple sauce instead of 20 mg every other day. May 8: 5 mg/day. May 23: Completely off Cymbalta. Oct. 2023: The insomnia, nightmares, night sweats, anger/irritability, uncontrollable eating are gone. Still have minor hand tremor, restlessness, agitation, diarrhea no matter what’s eaten, fatigued, memory/focus/concentration not yet normal. Sometimes emotions out of proportion to what is happening in the moment. At other times, emotions seem to be tamped down somehow (blunting? I’m wondering if I’m subconsciously protecting myself because of PTSD from Clonazapam suicidal episode). Happiness and joy are two emotions that I do not feel often. But I am slowly seeing improvement overall, so I have hope.
  7. Hello. I have suffered from anxiety depresssion, mostly severe anxiety, since 2011. I took a lot of antidepressants and usually had a lot of side effects so a have never had a remission. Now i take fluvoxamine and olanzapine. I still feel anxiety and apathy with fatigue connected to my symptoms, so i want to stop taking fluvoxamine. I really need help what to do. Is it fine to smoothly stop taking pills if have symptoms of anxiety or not? Sorry for my English, it is not my native laguage. thank you so much for attention.
  8. Hi all , I am 8 months off reinstated sertraline for a month ( by doc) and Aripropazole. History Its around 4 years back when i passed out my college and not get placed even after making to finals in many interviews .. that i decided to write competitive exam for PG. I had taken coaching but just before exam I came back and found myself unable to recall things. My brain is just like nothing in it. I found myself in despair and stopped studying. This fog is happening all the time since my engineering but I managed to get average marks sometimes and sometimes very good . There is more in back history but I ll get to it later. So, my parents took me to a psychiatrist ( family known) and he put me to Olanzapine and one more thing. He diganosed me bipolar2. I got about 10 pounds on it but its not help . Meanwhile after 4 months, with the help of a relative , I got intern in a company and I moved out with fog to a distant city. TThere in a hospital, they put me on floxetine and Amisulpride for 3 months . Then i moved to a private psychiatrist ... where it starts getting haywire . He stopped fluoxetine and Amisulpride . And put me on Venlafaxine and Seroquel... As i was interning, i get usual heat racing in between job times but my doctor convinced me to stay with it . 4 months and I just started feeling agitated due to stress. It happened that I slapped a senior on abusing me and there I left a job I never happened to get physical in my school or college .. but it happened. Doctor told me to scrap the prescription he wrote of raising Venlafaxine. And he put me paroxetine + Oxcarbazepine. In his words , it is best tolerable and has lesser side effects. I managed to get a job by my own and cracking first time. But this time there is lot of work and culture pressure. Its a startup with full of politics . Boss and his boss .. all keep on putting things. Let office aside, I started feeling some well .. overly casual ... excited .. raged .. Iits about 25 mg Paroxetine and 300/600 mg Oxcarbazepine. I had unusual violent acts .. had hit a school friend .. insomnia.. I decided to leave the paxil by asking the doctor . He said half in a week and then other half a week to off. Thats when it all started , i cannot sleep whole night and with day light i start getting a nap. I left going office with fear of state i was in . I cannot wake and even if I .. i was too tired and angry . Doctor then gave me Mirtazapine which didn't help . I resigned job telling muly boss about all and came back home. It was Nov,2015. I start getting yhese uncontrollable rage that I locked myself in a room. Parents took to a local shrink who put me on Venlafaxine+ Mirtazapine(CRF), lamotrigine, resperidal, Seroquel. The NEXT Day I woke up so fresh .. all calm like 12 yrs back .. i was smiling happy.. but it lasted only 4 hrs .. and i am doomed again . I took those meds 10 days and i decided to go off. Physical Damage. I got brain zaps as sounds with eye movement .. While on Paxil I got severe neck stiffness and movement pains - which came out as Osteophytes. Anger , heart race , memory, fog , chest pains , fatigue ... All I beared for 4 months. Reinstatement after 4 months. Father took me to another psych who put me on Sertraline+ Aripropazole+ Seroquel. I started having increases restless legs than before and the doctor asked me not to go over net. After 2 visits and when he said it wslas Aripropazole for restlessness all time.. and he is cutting it . I stopped all meds . Withdrawals in 8 months. All first symptoms with some new like utter sensitivity in teeth. It is while breathe in most of the teeth . Muscles gone from forearms .. My left hands gone ulnar neuropathy and i got surgery done when no hope lived. Right hand has stiffness too . MAnger I am living with .. I have stopped talking .. I have decided to go sit on my Shop but I was unable to understand the talk . In spite anger biuts and memory makes it difficult to adjust. I keep forgetting people faces .. important talks . So i stopped . Now I am muted all the time with burst inside . Read success stories and play CoC. This is the most I can write now.
  9. Hi and thanks for letting me in. I would like to hear from others, who suffers a lot from physical pain in withdrawal - possibly also from anybody who did a cold turkey from both antidepressants and benzos. My story short. I got sertraline two times. First for 1.5 year, then 8 months break, and then I got it for half a year, before I stopped cold turkey. Among all that, I also took zopiclone for 5 years (benzo-like sleeping pills). These I also cold turkied 4 months after sertraline. It's now been 14 months since I stopped sertraline and 10 months since I stopped zopiclone. I stopped because, I functioned very poorly. It became harder and harder to take care of work and my three kids (I'm alone with them every second week). I realized that maybe I functioned poorly because of the drugs, and that's why I stopped. I couldn’t find any other explanations. Since then, I still suffer from fatigue, burning pain in my brain and body (like someone poured acid in my brain/body), muscle and joint ashes (especially in arms, legs, hands and feet), head aches, brain pressure, chest pain, stomach issues. In the morning it is so bad that it takes me an hour or two to get out of bed. I really try to be active, but it is soo hard to do anything with all the pain and fatigue. I had a doctor saying I got Fibromyalgia, but I think my self that it is protracted withdrawal syndrome. The symptoms are just similar, I guess. I really don't have so much windows and waves pattern. It's awful most of the time, and then - maybe - there is a very seldom window lasting a few hours, before next day, It's awful again. It has been like this since I withdrawed from sertraline the first time, and got much worse when I reinstated and did a vold turkey Can anybody relate to all this? Thank you so much for any support.
  10. I would like to hear from anyone who has been on Effexor and gone off. I started tapering in beginning of Nov 2022. And been off foe 2 months completely. With the help of a doctor. Been doing pretty well. I still get teary eyed easily. My biggest hardship in the past month has been feeling incredibly fatigued and weak. My doctor did pronounce me in Menopause after completed lab work. I get sad when I feel so fatigued. I worry that it's the depression but I think it maybe a combination of many things. Does anyone have an opinion or experience with taking St. JOHNS WORT OR VALARIAN ROOT? I don't want to give up but the struggle is real. Wishing you all well. Thanks for any feedback or experiences.
  11. 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!
  12. Hello, I'm a 21 year old Canadian who was on Effexor for about 1.5 years, until I stupidly tapered off over the course of about a month, and have been SNRI free for about 7 months now. Here's the story on how I got it: After an extremely depressing moment in my life compounded with the COVID lockdowns, I started thinking there was something wrong with me, perhaps Anxiety, Depression or ADHD. I ended up getting prescribed Lexapro but was switched to two pills of Effexor a day after 1.5 months due to having no energy on Lexapro. Effexor made me feel very strange, it removed any anxiety I had but also made me not care about where I'm at in life, and stopped my ego from being in check. It felt like my anxiety was keeping my ego from being inflated, but now with the anxiety gone I was a different person with illusions of grandeur. I blew up 3 semesters of university, withdrawing from my courses two semesters in a row and in my third just taking fat 0s in all my classes that semester. I had a wakeup call then and decided to get off the pills no matter what. I tapered off the course of about 1-2 months, slowly reducing my dosage and then only taking one pill every time I felt ill, until I ran out of pills. I didn't really go through any withdrawals that people describe, but I still feel kind of odd and have been going through weird waves of depression. I went through a whole semester SNRI free and actually got good grades, so I'm happy my academic career is being repaired, but I still kind of feel stunted. There are many things I want to do but I have no motivation to actually get anything done. I also feel like I am exhausted much more easily now and have been sleeping a lot. I'm not really sure if this is a withdrawal or just something because of my daily living habits, but I do feel like I've changed a lot since taking antidepressants for the first time, and then getting off of them. For anyone who has read this far, thank you. It seems many of you were on antidepressants longer than me, and had worse withdrawals. I'm thankful it has gone different for me, but I really appreciate you reading this and would love to hear your insight on what you think. Thank you
  13. Admin note: link to benzo forum thread - Blondiee1915: Xanax taper. Need help Hi all . I was on SSRI for 9 years (mostly lexapro) with some small breaks in between. I withdrew fully (don't believe I did it slowly) in July and now 3 months later I am experiencing intense symptoms that became disabling at times . I was initially prescribed lexapro in college for panic attacks and general anxiety . Physical symptoms compared to emotional were not bad for me at all . Now 3 months later my fatigue intensified. I am constantly exhausted no matter how much I sleep . I feel detached and disconnected. I am also indifferent and not emotional (example I don't want to be intimate) the most annoying thing is dizziness and the feeling of disbalance I wonder if it will ever go away . At times I wonder if I should go back on drugs but in all honestly they didn't really help me I just get like a zombie. If anyone can share their experience coming off lexapro, similar symptoms and if gets better . Thank you so much ❤️
  14. Hi everyone, I want to introduce myself. This forum helped me start tapering off of paxil a year ago and I never officially joined until now. Now that I am close to the finish mark, things have gotten harder. It is a long story, so I post a summary first and then a longer version. What I am looking for: sympathy, tips on dealing with current WD symptoms, advice, etc. My history (summary): May 2017-April 2018: 30 mg paxil April-September 2018: 15 mg paxil Sept-Nov 2018: 20 mg paxil November 2019: switch to 20mg paroxetine (bad reaction to change) December 2019-July 2021: 20mg Paxil again June 2021-August 2021: slow transition from 20mg brand paxil to 20mg paroxetine. Went well this time.(motivation was price of drug) July 2021: discussed with doc that parox has made me feel stupid/less sharp. I have always been considered a smart individual, and my work is very intellectual. He said parox does indeed cause cognitive decline over extended use period. So I started tapering off 20mg paroxetine at approx. -10% a month. Had to combine with suspension which is only sold as brand Paxil. (Doc supported this plan). July 2021: doc suggested cannabis for insomnia and that has been wonderful. This was because I often found myself needing 0.25mg alprazolam to sleep and he said cannabis was better. May 2022: reached 10mg paroxetine (from 20mg July 2021). No bad feelings other than noticing increased overall anxiety. Convinced myself I do want to take meds but not paroxetine. July 2022: Doc suggested change to 10 mg Trintellix. Suggested plan was: week 1: 10mg parox and 5mg trintellix; week 2: 10 mg parox and 10mg trintellix; week 3: 5 mg parox and 10mg trintellix (I disobeyed and went to 7.5mg instead and felt fine); week 4: 2.5mg parox and 10mg trintellix (I disobeyed and went to 5mg of paroxetine and all hell broke loose). Three days into the change from 7.5->5mg paroxetine I started feeling terrible withdrawal. August 2022: currently taking 10mg trintellix in the morning and 5 mg paroxetine in the evening and afraid to reduce further. Have been needing 0.25 mg alprazolam to sleep because I am afraid of using prescribed cannabis, which is what I normally use for sleeping. August 2022: 10mg trintellix and 5 mg paroxetine. Alprazolam 0.25mg or cannabis for sleep. Having WD from parox in spite of trintellix. Since 3rd day of going 7.5mg->5mg of parox I have felt crippling headache that did not subside even with 600 mg ibuprofen. This came along with a very stiff neck seemingly out of the blue. I decided it must've been my yoga headstand. But I also felt a bit off - weird racing thoughts, did not feel like myself. Had to take alprazolam 0.25 mg to sleep. The next day I felt extremely nauseous and dizzy along with the stiff neck, ocular pain, and a paradoxical feeling of both light and heavy head, if that makes sense. These symptoms persisted into the next day, which is where I am now. What I've been trying from reading here: took 2x 120mg magnesium capsules this morning and 2xvegan omega3 capsules. I felt some relief from ocular and neck pain. Also have been using heat pads and sniffing my lavender/eucalyptus oil blend for relief. Tums helped with nausea yesterday. Any tips are welcome. Thank you PS: I also take between 5-20mg of dextroamphetamine for adhd daily. This started late in life on July 2020 and has proved essential to my surviving in capitalism as a late diagnosed woman with adhd. Long version: Prescribed brand Paxil for generalyzed anxiety disorder: 10 mg for a week, 20mg second week, 30 mg third week. Adjusted well and main side effects were: constipation, weight gain, increased motion sickness. These seemed worth it compared to my anxiety. Took that from may 2017 to around march 2019, when, aided by prescribing doctor, decided to try to stop gradually. He recommended reduce in half (15 mg) in one go and report back. I did and stayed there for about 5 weeks. I felt physical symptoms such as diarrhea, ocular pain, headaches, general photophobia. Doc said these were normal and would subside and indeed they did after about 5 weeks. At that point doc said to cut in half again (7.5 mg). After a couple of days I felt all the previous symptoms in huge intensity but also despair, dread, bouts of crying, and generally a feeling of losing myself. Doc told me to up it back to 15 mg and stay there, which I did. A few months later I was having trouble sleeping and drinking myself to sleep so I asked for advice and he upped the dose to 20mg, where I stayed until July 2021. In November 2020 I tried switching from paxil to paroxetine and had huge withdrawal symptoms (same dose). Switched back to paxil. July 2021, switched gradually from paxil to paroxetine because it is cheaper. That worked fine. I also then started tapering off from 20mg to 10mg (achieved May 2022, no withdrawal). July 2022, doc suggests transition to trintellix with following plan: week In July 2020 I started seeing a new psychiatrist and long story short he said paroxetine was notoriously difficult to get off of and that we could switch to trintellix if I wanted to continue medication or use fluoxetine as a bridge. In July 2021, aided by websites like this one, I told him I would start a slow tappering off to help me decide and he supported did. I did about -10% a month, including paxil suspension Last week July 2022: started 5 mg Trintellix. A week later 10 mg Trintellix. A week later went from 10 to 7.5 mg of paroxetine. Felt ok. A week later went from 7.5 to 5 mg of paroxetine. On the third day felt crippling headache that did not subside even with 600 mg ibuprofen. This came along with a very stiff neck seemingly out of the blue. I decided it must've been my yoga headstand. But I also felt a bit off - weird racing thoughts, did not feel like myself. Had to take alprazolam 0.25 mg to sleep. The next day I felt extremely nauseous and dizzy along with the stiff neck, ocular pain, and a paradoxical feeling of both light and heavy head, if that makes sense. These symptoms persisted into the next day, which is where I am now. Any advice/tips/stories/support is welcome. Thank you
  15. Hi there, I was taking 10-20mg lexapro for 3 years and recently decided to come off. Doctor advised following taper shedule: 2 weeks alternating 10 - 5 mg. 2 weeks on 5mg. 2 weeks skipping alternate days. 2 weeks skipping 2 days and then off. I've been off for 2 weeks now and feeling terrible. Less worried about the emotional symptoms but feeling completely ground down and at my wits end by constant niggly physical symptoms.(headaches, muscle tension, nausea, inability to focus, fatigue, sore glands) A friend told me that taking fluoxetine temporarily really minimised her withdrawal symptoms. I'm unsure what to do. Did I taper too quickly? And in which case do I go back on a tiny dose or try fluoxetine? Or is it early days and I should be feeling this crap and do I just need to ride it out? Any advice would be so greatly appreciated as its completely limiting my life.
  16. I want to thank everyone that is a part of Survivingantidepressants.org. Without you guys, I would have been lost or dead, by now. Every time I have had a problem, I would go to this website and read. The support here has kept me sane, especially since my husband has issues that he has to take care of and cannot relate to antidepressant withdrawal. I have no friends (do not want any friends right now) and I have no other family. Most of the time, this site and its people are all the support I get. For twenty years, I have been taking Bupropion. After 20 years of ingesting this poison, the time and situation were right for me to taper. In a year and a half, I went from 300 mg down to 100 mg: currently, I'm holding at 100-mg. It has been rough. From what I've read, Bupropion is one of the 'easier' antidepressants to get off. If so, the people who taper off of SSRIs have my total respect! I've noticed that after eating a meal, fatigue, which is almost debilitating, plagues me. After doing some research, I came across this article which I copied part of for your review, which might be the reason why I get fatigue after I eat: Your body is equipped with a natural stress-fighting mechanism called the NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) Stress Response system. It is an intricate network of various organs and six circuits, including the bioenergetics circuit, which functions in close coordination to help fight stress. A pair of walnut-shaped adrenal glands, located above the kidneys, are also part of the response system. During stressful situations, the NEM signals your adrenal glands to secrete the anti-stress hormone cortisol. However, when stress is constant, the adrenals can get overburdened and are no longer able to secrete adequate cortisol. This can affect the natural stress-fighting ability of your body, which can lead to adrenal fatigue. Frequently experiencing extreme fatigue along with symptoms such as low energy levels, difficulty in waking up, insomnia, brain fog, anxiety, stubborn weight gain, constipation, low concentration levels, and craving for salty and fatty food indicate signs of Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome (AFS). As the adrenals get more and more overworked with consistent stress, the result is a cortisol imbalance which can disturb the entire NEM stress response system. As the NEM connects various organs and circuits, the function of related organs is also affected. People in the advanced stages of AFS have a weak body. Everyday functions of the body and organs - including the liver, pancreas, and thyroid of the bioenergetics circuit - gradually begin to slow down. This can complicate the actions necessary for maintaining the health of the body, which in turn can trigger negative reactions such as experiencing fatigue after eating. The bioenergetics circuit of the NEM system comprises of the liver, pancreas, and thyroid. Any imbalance in this circuit can lead to mitochondrial disorder, sugar cravings, reactive hypoglycemia, catabolism, dizziness, insulin resistance, and weight gain. The pancreas and liver play key roles in the digestion process. The pancreas secretes enzymes such as trypsin, chymotrypsin, amylase, and lipase which help digest proteins, breakdown carbohydrates, and convert fat to cholesterol and fatty acids. It also helps transport glucose to tissues through the blood and helps the liver absorb glucose. A significant detoxification center of your body, the liver performs multiple crucial functions. It secretes bile, which helps in detoxification and digestion. It also helps in the metabolism of fat, protein, and carbohydrates, and it maintains a healthy level of blood glucose and various other chemicals in the body. Dysfunction of the liver or pancreas has a direct impact on the digestion process, which can contribute to fatigue after eating. Reference: Why Do You Experience Fatigue After Eating? By: Michael Lam, MD, MPH https://www.drlamcoaching.com/diet/adrenal-fatigue-diet/fatigue-after-eating/ I don't eat processed foods but only eat fresh or frozen meats and vegetables and fruits and some nuts. I have also cut back on the sugar and sweets. I discovered that my body couldn't tolerate coffee or chocolate, so I have dropped them from my diet. To lessen my fatigue, I have taken to intermediate fasting. I eat one substantial meal each a day the then drink water (with lemon or lime) throughout the day. I stop drinking water at 6-pm. I reason that I spike my cortisol after I eat, so I get that out of the way early in the day. I've noticed that when I fast like this, I have more energy throughout the day, and at night I don't get up throughout the night to relieve myself. Have other people suffered fatigue after eating and how did you solve the problem? Let me know
  17. Hi all...... I am new here. Searched google 'how to recover from risperidone' and found this site. I don't know how things work here, but I am sharing my experience. I was misdiagnosed with Bipolar disorder and took the medicine for 3 months. The details of the drugs are in my signature. Its been almost two months since I quit the medicines cold turkey. I am now suffering from withdrawal symptoms. Sexual dysfunction, ie.. no sex drive which is driving me crazy. I watch porn, but not able to get excited now. I am deeply depressed. Suicidal thoughts are coming to me thinking about my life. I have just completed graduation in B.tech in engineering. I was not able to write the final exams well because of memory problems, no interest to study, which was during my medication period. Now i am thinking what I will become in life, I can't function properly as a human being. In the morning I feel like sleeping more. I feel tiredness while trying to become active after waking up. So after breakfast I lay in bed again. In the evenings I will become more active till I sleep. Is this normal? Will I be able to lead my normal life back? If so how much time will it take to recover? Reply please........ I am in need of help.
  18. JP1985

    JP1985: Intro

    Hi, I was on meds for 8/9 years for anxiety. Initially I was put on mirtazapine to help me sleep as I struggled with tinnitus too. It helped sleep but looking back it lowered sex drive (I didn’t know it was the mirt then), I didn’t really care though as I was so focused on my business that I didn’t even have time to think about sex, I was just thinking about making money. After about a year and half I decided to come off mirtazapine as it was making me tired during the day, I then went on Citalopram. I remember the first few weeks I was euphoric! I felt absolutely buzzing for life and my sex drive was fantastic! Eventually this passed and I normalised, the cit worked quite well (apart from headaches) and I was content. About 5 years in I suddenly started having weak orgasms and low genital sensation, I didn’t know why and thought it was something to do with my prostate or drinking too much alcohol, god knows. I didn’t have a clue it might be the meds.. why would I? I’d been perfectly fine on them sexually for years! So I went to see a urologist and did a number of tests, he couldn’t help me. Then one day (after another 2 years on cit) whilst googling I came across RxISK website, it described the genital numbness I was feeling and then I realised it was from the meds I was taking! So I thought ok.. I will come off the meds and hopefully the numbness will go, I was excited and came off! I tapered off the 20mg daily I was taking over a couple months. This didn’t help my genital sensation at all and so i started googling what else it could be, low testosterone came up as a cause of genital numbness so I did tests and found out I had low T! I started TRT (hoping it would also help my fatigue) which I’m currently still taking! It didn’t help anything and now I’m stuck on it as apparently coming off is a nightmare and I’m not ready to go through the stress of all that! Plus.. my T levels will probably still be low and I’ll have to go back on anyway 🤯 My post SSRI problems - Genital numbness, lowered sex drive, Fatigue, less enjoyment of things, less passion in things I used to love, tinnitus. The main thing that bothers me is lack of pleasure from masturbation/sex, it is starting to drive me insane! I’m constantly thinking about it now! In the past I believed time would heal it but it’s been nearly 3 years now and now I’m worried this is it! It’s starting to depress me! Something to add - Over the years I’ve taken a number of antibiotics as I’ve had a few operations etc. Also at one point I took finasteride, maybe like 6 months before I went numb, I can’t remember exactly - I do sometimes wonder if this caused my problems as I was fine on SSRIs for years but I’ve always just had it in my head I suffer PSSD. As it’s now coming up to 3 years and I’ve stopped believing time will heal me, I feel I’ve waited long enough and now need to try taking something to help my genital sensation OR my OBSESSING over it! I am sick to death of being on my phone all day and night reading forums, chatting in groups about it and constantly googling it 😩 I’m currently thinking I want to try either buspar (as it’s not an SSRI) or SJW (although this is like an SSRI). These could also hopefully help my anxiety. I need to try something! If anyone could help me with my decision and advise what to try that would be greatly appreciated! Thank you JP
  19. Hey there, This is my first post and I'm feeling rather desperate. I'm a 26 year old woman and have been on Lexapro for over 6 years now. Around that time, I also became chronically fatigued (could easily sleep 12+ hours, couldn't keep my eyes open on the bus, work etc...) and no doctor told me that antidepressants could be the main cause. During that time, I tried adding Wellbutrin to no avail, and also got various blood tests, sleep studies, changed times of day I took my meds, tried supplements, different diets etc... and nothing seemed to help. Only after doing some research on Reddit am I realizing that Lexapro causes this chronic fatigue for a lot of other people and after trying Wellbutrin one more time with no increased energy, I've decided to taper. It is nearly impossible to find a doctor where I live, and my current GP told me I could taper from my current 10mg dose in 2 weeks which seems insane from what I've read. I went on 5mg for 2 months and am currently taking 5mg every second day, and my fatigue is only getting worse and I'm at the point where I'm unable to function. Is there a better way I could be tapering? How long should I expect this fatigue to last? Thank you so much.
  20. 36year old man. Married, no kids. I've been on SSRIs for 15 years now. I've been tapering off them for 5 years. Effexor was what I took for depression, anxiety. From 2004-2014 I gradually took more and more until I got to a point where I couldn't be prescribed a higher dose (can't remember specific, will ask doctor). The plan was to get onto a different ssri, but I had to taper down to a lower dose before I could bridge with prozac. The withdrawal was awful and the more I learned about psychotropic drugs the more I wanted off completely. I have strong feelings of worthlessness and shame. I'm embarrassed to look anyone in the eye. I've exercised, meditated, changed my diet, take supplements, see a therapist, i've established a support network, cbt, affirmations, rigid self care program. Still hate myself. Still get suicidal thoughts. I want to try life with no antidepressants. Maybe that's it. I think it's actually the drugs that are keeping my depression from lifting. I hope. I've been aware of the forum for years and finally decided to post. I feel alone in this withdrawal from time to time. I haven't been to a support group in months. My phone never rings and I like it that way. I want to hide from everyone. I don't know anyone else quitting their meds. Feels like I'm losing my identity and I just don't care enough to build it back.
  21. Hi all, thank so much for this forum. Here is my introduction. Since I was 16 years old I was put on Fluoxetin in a clinic, after a crysis and traumatic experiences. Clinic helped me a lot, but probably not because the medication. I tried to get off it when I was 19 years old because I felt more stable. I made a CT with Fluoxetin. I started to get panic attacs in certain situation (thought its because I stopped Medication). So I went to the doctor and he gave me Citalopram. First weeks of this drug were very difficult and horrorfiying. Lots of anxiety even with mild paranoia. After a few weeks I got better. On this Med it was the first time I had to fight with fatique. Moreover I had because of CT of Fluoxeitn or Citalopram agressions and moreover a lot of anxiety that drove me crazy in certain situations. This symptoms was always worst in the morning and earlier hours, especially the fatique. I moved into a new town to study. I just tried to accept this fatique, thought it was a kind of normal or blamed myself for it (go earlier to bed, get a regulary bed and wake-up time etc.) or thought it was something psychologically. Also had a lot of anxiety. Dont know if it was influenced by medication. Somehow I managed to get a Bachelor degree. I was also prescriped with Opipramol in that period and had a CT from it. At some point I thought this fatique can not be normal - to be always tired like that. I went to a doctor made a blood test. Doctor said its is psychologically. I went to a Psychatrist and told him I am always tired and want to try another medications. I asked for Fluoxetin, because I had less fatique on that one. He gave me that and I had a CT with Citalopram and took Fluoxetin. In that time I went abroad to work for a few month. I had terrible fatique and anxiety, shocks and twiches in my head and body when I was drinking coffee with my colleauges while putting the cup to my mouth. It was really uncomfortable. On some days horrible depressions with suiciadal thoughts. I was quieter than I used to be and mostly very depresssed. Somehow i knew it could be connected to Fluoxetin but did not thought of WD of Citalopram. When I come back to my country after a few months. I told doctor about this fatique and some symptoms and CT from Fluoxetin again and was prescribed with Paroxetin. I was very depressed, full of anxiety, desperated and fatique and suppossed to find my first full time job. Somehow I managed it and I was getting better. After a year on some point I was really ok. However, the fatique become worse and worse - from year to year. Again a blood test and even a test for sleep apnea in labour showed no result. Again I was told it is psychologically. I thought i could be connected to Paroxetin. One Doctor in sleep labour even agreed. I decided to get off it. I made a lot of research on the Internet, I understand I had to taper it slowly. But since the fatique was probably a side effect I decided to go more quickly and tapered in 6 Months from 10 mg to 0 (since May 2019 0mg). There was specially a lot of fatique (like always) later also more anxiety. First week after 0 mg was very good. Later I become worse and worse. Especially the anxiety. Sometimes the anxiey, sometimes the fatique is more on the foreground. I just feel like I want to rest and relax more. I have to work which is biggest challenges with this symptoms and also triggers a lot. I also started are Psychotherapy. She believes me that my state is coming from stopping AD and accept my decision not take them anymore. Fatique and anxiety are by far the most difficult symptoms. Moreover I have: - Problems with my eyes, especially with light - Back pain and tensions - Depressions with suicidal thoughts (think its caused by the other symptoms) - have to be very carefully with exercises (hobby) and all other activities cause it can trigger symptoms - weather changes trigger symptoms. Freezing a lot. - Situation that normally just makes me a bit nervousness, now gives me almost panic attacs I am taking omega 3 fish oil and sometimes zinc. Dont know if it has an effect. Tried in the last months these supplements: 5-htp, L-Tryptophan, Ashwagandha, Rhodiola rosea, Magnesium It could have triggered symptoms, so I stopped all of them. I am going to give Ginseng a chance (I know I have to be careful). It is incredible hard to get up in the morning and feel so fatique and tired, sometimes it is even hard to breath and every action needs so much energy (e.g. taking shoes on). I am sleeping very well. I just feel like i need much more sleep (I cannot get earlier too bed) and rest at the moment. In the evening I get better. Sometimes there are very clear and good moments in the evening, which give me hope. I really hope it gets a bit better in the next 6 months when I am one year off meds. I am thankful for every tip, hint, similiar experience and hope.
  22. Hi there 😀 I was on 150mg Zoloft for 8 months in 2017, then on 20mg Paxil for 6 months in 2018, then 60mg Buspirone for 6 months in 2018, and then back on 150mg Zoloft in 2019- all for PTSD. I came off of the Zoloft over the course of a month as recommended by my GP (way too fast I know now!) and had horrible withdrawals for a few months so my GP prescribed me Paxil for a month. I did not want to go back on Zoloft because it was making me so tired. I finished my month of Paxil in June 2020. I’ve had horrible hot flashes and chills since then. I’ve read the temperature dysregulation thread on here and am comforted in knowing this is a common withdrawal effect, especially since I was worried that I potentially had COVID. The thing that surprised me, however, is that I was extremely tired on Paxil and that 5 months after I discontinued it, I still am. With Zoloft, I wasn’t tired anymore a few days after going off it. With Zoloft, I was confused as to why I was so tired so I got bloodwork done and my hematocrit was low. I would get bloodwork done now except every time I do it makes my withdrawals much worse (has anyone else experienced this?). Has anyone had fatigue last this long post-SSRI discontinuation? If so, did it slowly go away? I am graduating as a veterinarian in June and do not see how I can practice feeling like this, which is very sad considering how hard I worked to get here. Thanks in advanced!
  23. Hi there, İm 24 years old an iam using Brintellix 10mg for 5 weeks now. İ used 5 mg before i started with the 10mg one. my doctor described my this drug because i had fatigue iam tired all the time and i don't have motivation to do something. This SSRİ didn't give me energy yet but my psychiatry told me to use it for 8 week before we can see any results. This drug reduced my anxiety, stress, negative toughts are reduced and i have more confidence. İ don't feel any huge side effect rather than tiredness. Did anyone used an antidepressant that worked after 6-8 weeks. and how did you feel when it started to work. Thanks
  24. Good afternoon everyone! Well let me just start off with a little bit of my history and why I was initially prescribed these medications. Well im 35 now in my younger days around 15-21 I started experimenting heavy with marijuana and a few other light substances but not at all often, well me being a shy kid I don't know why but my heavy marijuana abuse really changed my personality I pretty much craved it like a person would crave a hard narcotic, in this process I became introverted awkward very unkept very hyper aroused. and I did tons of very very weird things under the influence! and of course I became that kid and young adult that was considered icky weird and sometimes scary on some of the embarrassing things I done which i totally understand. So after I became THC free I was still known as that awkward weird unclean guy and suffered a lot of teasing bullying because of it which made me very paranoid anxious socially scared to do anything. My family still bullies me to this day I lost all my friends and most close family members because of my actions as a young adult. and when I look back on the hurt and shame and embarrassment it makes me extremely sad angry anxious and depressed and up to this point these medications were given to me by many different psychiatrist to cure those symptoms. So fast forward 10 years later the Zyprexa Tripled my weight made me chronically fatigued and properly lots of other things I have not discovered yet, and as far as the Anafranil my psychiatrist who recently moved on to another practice agreed that I do not have OCD and she has no idea why it was prescribed in the first place and we discussed ending its use. So here is my theory on why I suffer from depression, anxiety, PTSD social phobias and why I was misdiagnosed over 15 years ago, I think i look back on my past actions that were very bad and extremely weird and I get very sad about the teasing in high school the bullying from family members the way my family pretty much disowned me because of my history of showing some signs of mental issues, also i think about the countless humiliating situations I have been apart of either by my actions or awkward things I would say but this is when I was very younger and using very heavy Marijuana once I stopped using I could see my actions and situations and get very hurt and traumatized by them. So as I sit here at 35 I can man up better and look at that past hurt and digest it better and accept it better which I think someone should have told me many years ago that I decided to use THC and it affected me different than many other users and i did some very embarrassing questionable things. So as of today I have stopped taking Zyprexa 5mg also Anafranil 25mg I always took my meds not as prescribed in my late 20's to the present, I would skip a dose for a day or two then take my dosage when I felt sad anxious or had trouble sleeping. I did a harsh taper of the zyprexa last month completely not by the book i would just take half a pill. but today I am 3 weeks in of no Zyprexa and I have terrible fatigue lethargy body aches I sleep all day constantly, I did experience flu-like symptoms a week ago which scared me because of COVID-19 outbreak then I realized this was a symptom of the withdrawal which has gone away. right now it's the tiredness, body aches, and the fatigue to the point I can barely get out of bed to do anything normal, how long will this last and what can I do to help ease this process along with any supplements or vitamins should I be taking ? Thank you for any words of advice and encouragement!
  25. Hi i wanted to ask if anyone in here experienced extreme fatigue ? All day I feel so tired and the only activity I can manage is an hour walk but even through walking I feel very weak.. the mornings are the worst when I wake up after 10 hrs sleep I have no energy my body just lies in bed but have absolutely no energy did anyone experienced something similar ? Thank you in advance
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