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SleepPls009 - Luvox Withdrawal, Insomnia, and Heart Problems (Oh my!) Hi All, It’s great to meet you! Though I wish it were under better circumstances. I’m looking for advice around Luvox reinstatement and doctors who deal with withdrawal; more information is at the bottom of the post. I thank you in advance for your help! I am seven months off of Luvox after having taken it for roughly 20 years. After years of experiencing persistent fatigue, muscle twitches, and some increasing insomnia, I decided to go off Luvox in March to see if that helped my symptoms. Go figure, it made everything ten times worse! I was on 200mg daily in winter ‘21, went down to 100mg without incident at the end of the year. Then in March ‘22 I began tapering little by little until I hit zero on April 12 (note: I was aware that stopping cold turkey was a bad idea, but I was unfamiliar with the concept of protracted withdrawal). Little by little I kept waking up earlier and earlier until I could barely sleep, and depression symptoms kicked in hard. My PCP started me on Prozac in mid-May to treat what she thought was underlying, emergent depression, and after a week I reacted so badly to it that I went to the hospital (couldn’t sleep for days, got a fever, upset stomach, shaking uncontrollably). I proceeded to try a number of different meds with my psychiatrist, but every antidepressant would either keep me awake for days, and every sleep med would lose effectiveness fairly quickly. I eventually got the idea that I might still be withdrawing from Luvox, so we decided to do a med washout to see what would happen. I survived on melatonin at the time, which was abnormally effective at low doses, and kept putting off going back on Luvox, somewhat out of stubbornness, since I felt it would be a “waste” to go back on after all that effort if I could make it to the other end of withdrawal. Eventually (about mid-late August), my brain flipped a switch, and the deep depression spontaneously went away. At the same time, my insomnia problem switched from staying asleep to falling asleep (kind of like what I occasionally had before stopping Luvox but much worse). That’s when medicine reactions became weird. I’d taken ambien before a number of times (roughly 10, 11 in total?) before August. I tended to avoid it because it made the depression a lot worse. I tried it again when the depression went away, and started having strange heart palpitations. One day after I took ambien, I went to the hospital for chest squeezing, but they found nothing. Thinking I was being paranoid, I tried it again a few weeks later and started to have what felt like a full-on heart attack. After working with a cardiologist for a number of months, it seems that ambien was causing vasospasm, or prinzmetal’s angina. A few other meds started causing this, too: Lunesta (I let a doctor convince me it was chemically different enough from ambien - dumb mistake), Quviviq (totally different mechanism than ambien, so confusing), and even melatonin causes odd heart palpitations now. The vasospasm itself seems to cause some sort of injury, because running (which I could do with ease before) brought on an episode, and after episodes I am weak and have chest pain for weeks. I am now at the point where I’m trying to decide what to do next. If my nervous system is still changing, I’m worried that it could further affect my heart or other systems if I let it continue to go unchecked. So this is what I’m wondering: Bottom line: I would love advice on whether I should reinstate Luvox. While I know this is a doctor’s realm, my current psychiatrist doesn’t understand (or acknowledge) protracted withdrawal. I will either need to take evidence and a concrete plan to him, or find a doctor who better understands these issues. As for the arguments for/against reinstating, I am now sleeping better, though not well (I still go about two nights without sleep a week and average 5-6 on a good night). But the crazy/dangerous reactions to meds give me pause. On one hand, I don’t want to cause more problems, and I’m almost worried that taking Luvox now would trigger another vasospasm. But if my nervous system is still rearranging itself I’m also worried that, left alone, it’s bizarre reactions to things could get worse! I would also like to get rid of the visual snow if at all possible. I’d also love recommendations for doctors who deal with or specialize in this sort of withdrawal and nervous system disregulation. I know they are few and far between, but I’m willing to travel pretty much anywhere at this point to get the help I need. Thank you all for your help, and I look forward to hearing back from you!

Hi everyone, you can call me ryuusei86 or R86. I'm more than a little concerned about being on a cocktail of no fewer than five psych drugs. I started about 10 months ago on Latuda 40 mg and Luvox 100 mg, with Lunesta 3 mg for sleep, when I was in the mental hospital for anxiety and depression. When I got home I went off the Lunesta because I was afraid of getting addicted, and replaced it with Seroquel ER 150 mg. Soon that wasn't working, and I went up to 200 mg, then 225, and so on up to 350 mg Seroquel. When that stopped working after a few months, I added the Lunesta 3 mg back. I stayed on that cocktail of four drugs until the beginning of the summer, when I tapered rather quickly from 350 mg Seroquel ER to about 75 mg, or the closest I could get given how hard those pills are to cut. I see now that the mess I'm in is at least partly my fault with these decisions I made. About five weeks ago, when I told my psychiatrist that I was having trouble leaving the house or keeping up with my daily life, he added Wellbutrin XL 150 mg to the mix. He also recommended I taper within five days to zero Luvox and Seroquel, which of course didn't work as I couldn't sleep. The original prescription told me to increase to 300 mg Wellbutrin, but I didn't want to do it because it seemed to increase my anxiety. So the grand total now is Luvox 100 mg (at night) Latuda 40 mg (20 mg each morning and night) Seroquel ER 75 mg (at night) Wellbutrin XL 150 mg (in the morning) Lunesta 3 mg (at night) I saw my psychiatrist again last week and he told me to start tapering both the Luvox and the Latuda, again very quickly. I decided to try tapering the Luvox only because I didn't want two variables going. After three days of cutting the dose in half as my doctor recommended, I was having a panic attack, or something close to it. I restored the dose to 100 mg last night, and am now beginning to understand that this could take me years to rectify. I really don't want to be on five meds, especially since I think the meds aren't right to begin with. At the hospital they diagnosed me as OCD, which is why they prescribed Luvox, but I don't think I have OCD. I have, however, been on an SSRI for almost 20 years -- first Zoloft, then Paxil, and now Luvox, so I don't think it will be easy to give up. So I'm rather horrified at the position I find myself in, and don't really know where to start. I've ordered syringes, measuring cups, and graduated cylinders, and am planning to start tapering *something* as soon as they come in. I read that I should taper only one drug at a time, and start with an "accelerator" rather than a "brake." Part of me thinks I should start with tapering the Wellbutrin, since I've been on that the shortest length of time. But I don't know how well those Wellbutrin XL pills will crush. I should add that I'm especially worried about sleep, as I feel like I need everything except the Wellbutrin to sleep, and I have almost a phobia of not sleeping enough. But this post is already long enough, so I think I'll leave it at that. Thank you all in advance for your help and advice!

Hello everyone, I am seeking support and help. I was taking Wellbutrin, 150mg XL for 6 years and went cold turkey off of it in December 2022-March 2023. I subsequently smoked cannabis and took a small amount of psilocybin mushrooms which caused me to have manic symptoms. This led to a three month long intense manic phase and it got so bad (hardly slept, high energy) I finally realized I needed to take my medication again. When I reinstated it in March, I started at the same dose of 150mg. I was able to slow down and start sleeping again, but after one month I noticed I was feeling very depressed and starting to lose sleep. I have become I increasingly depressed since May of this year and been losing sleep. My nurse practitioner has tried putting me on a number of sleep meds, antidepressants and mood stabilizers. I’m currently taking Lunesta 3mg, 40mg of Latuda and just started 37.5mg if Venlafaxine. She had me do a quick taper from 150mg of Wellbutrin to Venlafaxine within 2 weeks and I’m not sure if that was a good idea. I don’t know if I doing the right thing and I desperately hope that there is some other kind of supplementation or path I haven’t tried that would help.

Hello, Seeking help and hopefully some positive outcomes. I discontinued Trazodone 50 mg (will update signature) too quickly out of ignorance and am deeply impacted. I am housebound due to muscle/joint issues. All of my muscle mass wasted away in a day or two, including in my hands and feet, which makes it difficult to walk. All of my joints are cracking and popping and very unstable. I have trouble doing basic chores. I cannot walk our dog or walk on any but the most flat and hard surfaces. I also cannot feel most of my body except my head and face due to numbness. All I feel is tingling and burning and cannot tolerate any but the loosest clothing. I cant wear shoes because I cannot feel the ground (feet are also numb) . I am scared and devastated by the sudden turn of events. For anyone that suffered profound musculoskeletal issues, do they go away? I was in great shape when this happened and now cant even do a squat with my bodyweight with my knees and hips near dislocating. This is nearly unbelievable and some type of hell.

Hello all. Thoughts and prayers with everyone. My signature is at the bottom. In January of 2020 got tinnitus in my right ear which sent me down a path of no sleep and anxiety. Put on ambien, lunesta, klonopin, and some other drugs and then put on remeron while tapering klonopin for sleep. I am 8 months post klonopin jump (around 0.042 mg) via homebrew taper (as well as I could measure). Still recovering from the klonopin and wanted to pursue tapering remeron. The max I have taken of remeron is 7.5 mg. I have been struggling with tapering and not sure if my symptoms are klonopin related or remeron or both. Most of my symptoms are head related (tingling, ringing, etc.) and some tingling and burning of the body and the incredible appetite. I have been trying to stabilize at my cut to 5.5 mg which was around a week ago and feel horrible. As most know the Challege with dry cutting with a scale is my pills all weigh differently and I try to weigh and maintain a constant dose and it is hard. I got my PCP to do a compound script, but the compounding pharmacy only does 10 mg / 1 ml formulations (the others I spoke with did not even reference formulations but referenced teaspoons) so I went with that. What I am trying to do is do a split to transition to the liquid. I.e., day 1... 4 mg pill + 1.5 ml (1.5 mg) liquid, etc. and spend about a week transitioning. I feel horrible all the time. My cns is damaged from the klonopin (when I came off it was terrible) and still do not feel very stable. I struggle with staying on the remeron longer to heal from the klonopin but have this feeling that I am not healing from that due to the remeron and want off all drugs. (Only remeron, allegra, and astepro nasal spray) Part of me wants to jump but very scared of that. I just feel like I am in acute w/d all the time...no windows and cannot figure out how to stabilize. Appreciate any feedback or guidance. Thanks, Seeking 8/20 .5 mg K 9/20 K to 0.25 mg 3x day C/T K 10/20 per Dr. .5 mg K on 10/20 Cut K to .113 mg 12/20 - .62mg 1/31/21 on .5 mg 2/8 - .25 night, .25 day 2/27 - .41 mg 3/7 - Held K & - tapered 3mg Lunesta for 4 weeks 4/4 - K resume - 5% cut/hold .39 mg 4/11 - Dry DMT .001g daily 5/8 - .28 mg - remeron for sleep 6/5 - .23 mg 6/6 - Held 7/10 - .19 mg 8/7 - .15 mg 9/4 - .12 mg 9/19 - .12 via milk titration 10/15 - 0.098 mg 11/4 - 0.080 mg 11/27 - 0.068 mg 12/4 - 0.062 mg 12/25 - 0.053 mg 1/6 - 0.050 mg 1/22 - 0.0425 mg 1/23 - JUMPED 4/15 - taper Remeron 10% 4/22 - 10% more 4/27 - to quick went back to 7.5 mg 5/2 - trying a 5% drop - 7.125 estimated mg 9/9 - Currently at 5.5 mg

Please help. I am so scared. My story is long and confusing. I am 55, female and polydrugged, Klonopin 11.5 years, Lunesta, 15 years, Soma 10 years. I already tapered Phenibut. I've live in mold and now 3rd hand smoke. I have a terrible husband and try to work full-time, but need to taper, so I tapered Phenibut first and now Soma. I am not sleeping. I am almost homeless. I am super scared living a red state. I never have had depression or anxiety and was given Klonopin for ringing in my ears from tapering seroquel from insomnia from living in mold. I now have 100+ symptoms. Trying to survive.

Hi Everyone -- I guess I am coming at this backwards! I didn't really know about this community until I was done with my tapering, but it was the advice I found here when searching on how to detox from Lexapro that finally allowed me to successfully taper off. Last night I received a message from someone on this forum and it got me to thinking that my experience could be helpful to others. So I wanted to share how I was able to become totally free of anti-depressants. I have had some low level depression for much of my life and always resisted any suggestion that I try an SSRI. After gaining a lot of weight over one winter - I have mild Seasonal Affective Disorder -- I agreed to try an anti-depressant. I first went on Lexapro 10 mg. For some reason -- I can't recall the specifics -- my doctor switched me to Effexor after about a week or two. On Effexor all I did was sleep. So it was back to Lexapro 10 mg. Not long after starting (fall 2002), I went up to 20 mg. I stayed on 20 mg for about six years. I finally realized that on 20 mg I really just didn't care. My marriage tanked. Not sure if it is related to the who cares attitude, but I am sure it didn't help. Being on Lexapro didn't really help my Seasonal Affective Disorder, but it did cut down on any anxiety I had, which was kind of nice. Because of the "who cares" feelings, I decided to taper to 10 mg. with thoughts of possibly getting off all together. I was able to taper from 20 to 17.5 to 15 to 10 mg with no discernible side effects. I found that I could not continue this taper to 7.5 mg without getting a "jumpy" and "jittery" feeling that was not acceptable. So I would go back to 10 mg. This happened several times. Even on 10 mg Lexapro I would have some bad times, crazy times (going through a divorce can do that). I also felt like I never experienced joy. So, I would say, why even bother putting this into my system? It wasn't exactly a "happy pill." I started doing research on how to come off Lexapro without withdrawal or how to lessen withdrawal. I found the information on the 10% tapering regimen written by Altrostrata. My doctor was totally cool with prescribing a combination of liquid and pill Lexapro and I began tapering in March 2015. Other than some occasional feelings of the blues, I have had no discernible withdrawal symptoms. No "brain zaps" no brain fog, no feeling detached from myself, no insomnia, etc. I do cry more easily at sappy movies and special occasions, but I kind of like that. I did read Spontaneous Happiness by Andrew Weil and also consulted The Mood Cure by Julia Ross. I had been meditating for some time prior to beginning the taper and I think that is a KEY to managing blues/lows. I attended a Buddhist meditation service on a regular basis until it was discontinued. I highly recommend meditation and the books of Pema Chodron. Buddhism encourages "sitting" with the emotion rather than running, hiding or covering it up. That works for me -- maybe not for everyone; however, I have met people at the Buddhist Center that have been through life and death situations and meditation has been their lifeline. Today I am thrilled and so happy to be totally off Lexapro and being able to feel JOY again! I am working to make sure I know who I really am, what I really feel and learning not to be afraid to be who I am and say what I feel (thanks, Dr. Suess). Clio

Original topic title before reducing the length: FosterTheCritters: after 19 years on antidepressants, I discontinued, reinstated, tapered up and down, and discontinued again, and I'm a mess. Looking for helpful advice. _______________________________ Hi. I'm so grateful to have found this amazing group; it has given me hope which I badly needed. I have a very complex situation and don't know, even after reading a lot on this site, what my next move should be to help myself. Here is my story. In fall 2004 I started on 20mg of citalopram for GAD and panic disorder. I had typical side effects for a week or so and charge through because the improvement of my symptoms was fast and drastic. I increased to 40mg after one or two weeks with no trouble and I felt amazing. My anxiety was so diminished and my life got some much easier. Fast-forward to 2015. I had many stressful years leading up to 2015 and 2015 was particularly bad. I thought maybe I could use something different to help with my increased anxiety and situational depression, so I switched to 60mg duloxetine. The psychiatrist had me switch with no taper at all and fortunately the switch went smoothly. I didn't notice any change on the duloxetine, but my husband was also on it, so it seemed convenient to stay on it. After a few years I started to feel apathetic and lost motivation for doing a lot of things I enjoyed. I wasn't really depressed and my anxiety was managed fine, so I hit the pause button on switching meds even though I figured the medication might be causing the apathy. In May 2021 my husband was diagnosed with salivary gland cancer (he's cured now via surgery). Even on meds, I'm terrible with uncertainty, and I had a really rough patch of anxiety as there was a lot of waiting involved in diagnosing and staging and my brain got away from me. Sometime in early June my duloxetine refills ran out; I needed to reach out to my doctor to submit a new prescription and I forgot. I take so many supplements and medications each day, and fill containers weekly; combine that with my worry about my husband and I didn't even notice that I wasn't putting duloxetine in the tubs. So, I stopped the duloxetine cold turkey and I don't really know when. I do know that at the end of June I recognized that I was having abnormally bad anxiety and panic along with some eye movement abnormalities and realized my mistake. I wish I could go back to just those withdrawal symptoms as that was easy mode compared to my life since then! I contacted my psychiatrist to correct the issue and he prescribed 30mg duloxetine, which I started on July 2nd, 2021. I used to take my duloxetine at night and did that again; I didn't sleep at all the first night and the very first day after restarting I had terrible eye pain, neck pain, stomach cramps, diarrhea, felt like I was on stimulants 24/7, and severe facial and neck flushing in addition to emotional fluctuation and intense anxiety. Since I had never tapered up on Cymbalta before, and didn't know my reaction to that process, I assumed all the symptoms I was having were that, and stuck with it a week. My symptoms did not improve at all throughout that week even as I switched to taking it in the morning instead of at night. My psychiatrist told me that I must be in withdrawal and prescribed going up to 60mg duloxetine after that first week at 30mg. I had the same symptoms but more intense even after some time at 60mg. I continued at 60mg at least a week, but things were so bad I asked my psychiatrist for a change. He prescribed 10mg citalopram. I stopped having the stimulated feeling I was having on the duloxetine, but all my other symptoms persisted. My psychiatrist was still convinced that a higher dose was going to ease what he was still sure were withdrawal symptoms so on August 27th, 2021 he had me to go to 20mg after two weeks on 10mg. Again my symptoms seemed to worsen, so I dropped back to 10mg after about 2 weeks on 20mg. I'm not sure if my symptoms were improved after dropping back to 10mg because they were still very bad. When I saw the psychiatrist again, he told me that the physical symptoms I was having were clearly not related to the medication both because they weren't improving on the meds, and he'd never heard of anyone having eye pain or flushing due to antidepressants. So, I decided not to see him again and went to get my eyes checked by an ophthalmologist. She couldn't find anything, so assumed eye inflammation and prescribed steroid drops that didn't help. I also asked my excellent primary care doctor to take over managing my antidepressant journey and he agreed. At this point I was taking so little medication in comparison to what I had been before June 2021, and my googling had me convinced that I was having some sort of serotonin toxicity with the flushing and diarrhea, so my irrational conclusion was that I must have a carcinoid tumor. That fear consumed me and I had my doctor run the urine test for carcinoid tumors which came back negative. At this point, my husband, who has been very supportive, started searching for other answers and found survivingantidepressants.org. He suggested I try doing a very slow taper and see if I could get off the medication and see if my body would reset. I talked to my primary care provider about this, and I got discouraged when my doctor found out the local compounding pharmacy would need at least two weeks before they could provide my first taper dose. I didn't want to continue with the current situation any longer, so I discontinued the citalopram at the end of September after being back at 10mg for about 3 weeks. My symptoms are still awful, but they have improved a bit after being off the medication a week and seem so be in a positive trend. I have slightly fewer crying bouts/meltdowns. My flushing is fainter and the facial telangiectasias that developed have faded considerably. My eye pain happens in shorter segments throughout the day. I still have stomach cramping at times of the day and night, but the diarrhea has become less frequent and less severe. My sleep is still terrible, and I forgot to mention that during this four month journey I've tried clonazepam, trazadone, Lunesta, Ambien, and Xanax for sleep, and I'm still on the Ambien and Xanax. Even with those drugs I struggle to fall asleep, wake up one or more times per night, and often feel pretty hung over in the morning. Thankfully, after spending time on this site, I have at least realized that whatever is going on is likely a nervous system reaction to the antidepressant changes that have occurred and it has given me hope that I will recover. My questions are these: 1. What does it sound like happened when I tried to go back on the meds and developed physiological and mental symptoms and couldn't tolerate the medication? Does that sound like a sensitized nervous system that didn't want to readjust? Does it sound like I was in withdrawal the whole time? Is this likely just because of the speed and flip-floppy nature of all the changes? 2. Has anyone out there had eye burning and pain and neck and facial flushing as side effects/symptoms going on or off antidepressants? 3. Now that I've been off the medications over a week and have had some improvement, does it make sense to try to go back on to something and slowly taper or just continue to try to heal from withdrawal? 4. I have no idea what to do about the sleep meds. This is the first time in my life I've had trouble sleeping aside from one week in 2004 when I was starting citalopram. This poor sleep has been going on for four months and I'm scared. Should I stay on them until I hopefully have some improvement in sleeping on my own or try to wean off now? 5. I've been taking LDN for autoimmune disease for a few years now and it has been amazing for me. However, in trying to rebalance my nervous system, it seems like anything that affects neurotransmitters might be a problem right now? Plus there is a little bit of evidence that suggests naltrexone might affect serotonin and norepinephrine, in addition to, dopamine. Should I discontinue it, reduce it, or leave it alone? Thank you so much for reading and for any advice/experience you can offer!

Admin note: link to benzo forum thread: freespirit123: Lunesta So I've been on Seroqoil nightly for about 3-4 months. I started on 100mg and that only lasted one night. Went to 75mg and that lasted for a couple of weeks then 50mg. Last month I went down to 25mg. And about 4 wks ago I've been on 12-14mg (cutting the 50 in 1/2 then the half in 1/2.) I'm also taking Lunesta 3mg at no hr and about once a week ill need Klonopin.25 bc I have a hard time falling asleep. I've also started Celexa for anxiety during the day. So question and problem! How do I get off this Seroqoil?!? Like is aid I haven't even taking it long to begin with and I've taped to 12-14mg fine but it seems to mess with my sleep when I try and cut that in half. Don't believe I have the EXtended tablet. Help!!! If it messes with my sleep, is it only temp? I don't want to switch this to get hooked on Klonopin bc that's a nasty drug too!

Moderator note: link to benzo forum thread - Bandboy: Tapering benzos and latuda Hi all. Began taking antidepressants around 2000. Tried them all, Wellbutrin, Effexor, Prestiq, and more I can't remember. A few years ago I was put on Abilify, but it caused too much weight gain. I was then placed on Latuda, which was effective. I believe I have developed a tolerance to Latuda, and I suspect it has caused higher glucose levels and at rare times difficulty swallowing. I tried a fast taper, 50, 25, 0 percent and about 3 days later started withdrawals--sniffling, claminess, irritatabilty. Went back up to 50% and the symptoms quickly subsided. Have initiated the 10 percent tapering and while I feel uncomfortable with the first drop, I can tolerate it so far. When I feel comfortable or in 4 weeks, whichever is first, I'll try another 10%. I intend to treat the depression with ketamine, which I have found to be effective for me.

Moderator note: link to benzo forum thread - Jill28: Klonopin adverse reaction Hi everyone- I’m desperate and was hoping for advice... I had been on Zoloft for 4 months and decided to taper off. Did way too quickly (1 week) and has serious anxiety and panic attacks from it. After about 6 weeks, my brain finally bounced back and I was almost back to normal. My psychiatrist convinced me to get back on my old trusty Prozac (10mg) justto keep my depression at bay. On the third day of taking Prozac, I had the most severe anxiety of my life... and I had never had anxiety other than when I came off the Zoloft. I’m at day 9 of being off and the anxiety hasn’t let up even a tad. I am miserable and can’t live this way. My face titles constantly and I can’t eat or think clearly. Any thoughts or advice is deeply welcomed.😢

Moderator note - link to Littlegrandma's benzo thread Hello everyone. I wanted to introduce myself and give you my history june 2015 lunesta 2 mg for insomnia. . July 2015 started celexa for GAD and insomnia. S/A headache, nausea, stomach pain, increased anxiety, blurry vision. Sept 2015 celexa switched to lexapro due to extreme eye pressure I never felt right on the lexapro. My fog never cleared and I still needed lunesta every night to sleep. But it helped slightly with anxiety and I was able to go about life but never really enjoying it. I felt I was always trying to distract myself with menial activity. Very apathetic. June 2, 2017 tapered lex from 20 mg to 7.5. Migraine, nausea, fatigue, loss of balance, ringing in ears, depersonalization, anxiety, sweats, depression. June 25 physical symptoms subsided, so I went to 7 mg making my own liquid. I don't think I did it right. July 6th -7mg with compounded pill. july 11 dry heaves, migraine, increased anxiety, july 15 trembling, panic, racing heart july 20 went to ER for BP 210/207 was put on 25 mg metoprolol and .5 Ativan as needed. ( I was already taking .25 xanax occasionally). Aug 1 upped lex dose to 8 mg Aug 3 suicidal thoughts, panic, trembling Aug 5 upped lex dose to 10 mg at the suggestion of a new therapist. I have not been able to stabilize. I am taking more and more xanax but trying to not exceed total .75 mg day i am left incapacitated, unable to take care of my house or my grandchildren. The tremors and panic remain as well as constant nausea and headache. Aug 7 I had a 3 hour consultation to get into detox for benzo w/d. I was told I was not in w/d and they scoffed at the idea that lexapro could cause w/d issues either. They said it sounds neurological and wouldn't even be admitted for IOP until I was medically cleared by a doctor. I am in despair and have nowhere to turn. Most of my family doesn't believe this is real as they've never had a problem starting , stopping, or switching a/d meds. I'm hoping I can get some good advice from you. Sorry this is so long. I hope it makes sense. I spent a long time writing earlier and lost message when I tried to post. That took about all the energy I had, so this may seem garbled. Thank you for listening and for any advice you may be able to give me

Hi Everyone! I just wanted to take the time to introduce myself and share my story.... I was on Lexapro for 12 years. I actually think I have been on something else when I was pregnant but I honestly can not remember due to the short term memory loss these drugs have given me. Anyhow, the lexapro gave me insomnia so the doctor also put me on a sleeping pill called Lunesta...when I switched over health insurances to Kaiser, the doctor told me they don't cover Lunesta and told me to try this other "sleeping pill" called Klonopin. Little did I know, Klonopin is worse than Xanax. I was taking the Klonopin for over 2 years. I also started gaining weight so the doctor also put me on another pill called phentermine for 6 years to help curve my appetite. When I found out all these drugs were addicting I got nervous so I starting lowering my dose of all the pills over an 10 week period (which now I know was way too fast). By June 1st, 2016 I was off all the drugs. My initial withdraws were not so bad then bam come the 3rd month...ALL hell broke lose. I literally had almost every withdrawal possible and they only got worse as the days went on. I was like a vegetable...couldn’t see well, hear well, confused, hard time comprehending simple things, felt out of my body, depersonalized, dizzy, disoriented, diarrhea everyday, no appetite, sensitive to light, losing my hair and the list goes on and on. I literally felt like I was living in hell. As the days turned into weeks then months things only got worse. I ended up with so much anxiety and depression like I have never experienced before. Then the insomnia kicked in so bad I ended up not sleeping for 3 straight weeks which made me manic. I was pacing around the house like a crazy woman. Then I became extremely, extremely suicidal.... Meanwhile, during all this, I kept walking in the evening for exercise, working, journaling and begging God to help me but NOTHING was working. I finally googled what I was going through and it was ALL right there.... withdrawals from the meds!! I ended up in a mental ward for 10 days. It was literally the worst experience of my life. In the hospital they tried to drug me up again. I ended up getting back on something just so my brain would go back to normal. Right now, I am only on 10mg of Prozac and thankfully I'm off the Klonopin and Phentermine! I’ve been off the Lexapro and Phentermine for 18 months and the Klonopin for 7 months. I am still feeling weird. It’s been a little bit over a year since I was hospitalized. I’m not sure if I’m still going through withdrawals from all the previous meds I got off of or if it’s side affects from the Prozac. As if today, I am still losing my hair and have to wear a wig full time because of all the hair loss. My memory and vision are horrible but getting a little better. I still have racing thoughts everyday but that’s getting better as well. I have 2 young children and dont really look forward to anything. It’s almost like I can’t wait to die but I’m not suicidal. I feel flat with no happiness or joy. I never want to do things and nothing really bothers me now. My initial plan was to start a very slow taper of the Prozac this May as that will put me a year off the Klonopin but I am now having 2nd thoughts. I feel like maybe I should stay on the Prozac a couple years till my children get a little older and start a really slow 3 - 4 year micro taper. I am just so scared of going mentally ill again. I would love to hear positive stories of people who have been on antidepressants for years and have safely tapered and are doing well! Thank you for listening to my story! God Bless!!

I am very sensitive to SSRIs post pregnancy but was put on one for anxiety. Prior to,I was taking 20mg Lexapro with no side effects. Now, I am on 5 mg (took me two weeks at 2.5 mg to get up to this). I have been on for about 2 months. I haven't even been on a high enough dose long enough to feel full benefits...some glimmers of hope now and then but I have experienced some very dark clouds and worsening anxiety since starting and I have lost so much weight. My head feels like it is going to explode and I just want out. I have never felt this way on it before. However, every time I try to stop, my body aches and I start panicking. I tried stopping before after just a month and crashed big time so I started the low dose again. Will I be worse off if I try to stop now since I haven't even stabilized or reached a therapeutic level? Any tips are GREATLY appreciated! Stephygrrl Lexapro-5mg, Klonopin .5, Lunesta 300