Jump to content
SurvivingAntidepressants.org is temporarily closed to new registrations until 1 April ×

Search the Community

Showing results for tags 'clonazepam'.

  • Search By Tags

    Type tags separated by commas.
  • Search By Author

Content Type


Categories

There are no results to display.

Blogs

There are no results to display.

Forums

  • Support
    • Read This First
    • Introductions and updates
    • Success stories: Recovery from psychiatric drug withdrawal
    • Tapering
    • Symptoms and self-care
    • Finding meaning
  • Current events
    • In the media
    • From journals and scientific sources
    • Events, actions, controversies

Find results in...

Find results that contain...


Date Created

  • Start

    End


Last Updated

  • Start

    End


Filter by number of...

  1. Link to Hibari's Introduction topic: hibari-tapering-remeron-and-want-to-start-tapering-lamictal I first want to say that we do heal and life does get better. I am someone who was poly-drugged, on benzos twice, and now am 15 months off all medications. I made mistake like forgetting doses, getting misdiagnosed with Lyme, taking supplements for my adrenals and being treated badly by both doctors and holistic practitioners. I still made it off the medications. I feel well most of the time and optimistic about life. I couldn't feel that at all when I was on medication, (benzos in particular) and while I tapered, so I now know it was the medication. Thank you @Altostrata for starting this site and collecting all the information needed planning and tapering. Med History: Put on and off a variety of medications for short periods of time after having a nervous system breakdown from excessive caregiving and overworking. (You can see my signature). What helped me: One thing that helped me during benzo withdrawal was to look up the side effects, not withdrawal symptoms, of Clonzapam. I saw that depression was one of the main side effects of the medication and even though I felt deep despair at the higher doses, I keep reminding myself that the medication itself was causing my crushing depression. Support In addition to the support I received on this site and benzo buddies, the first two things on this list I wish I had known about earlier. 1. I worked with a Psych-K practitioner (psychological kinesiology). This practitioner had gotten off of a cocktail of medications using the Psych-K technique. I met her by chance, heard about the work and decided to try it. This method helps to balance the brain and body. With this support I was able to continue tapering my benzo 20% a month till the end. We worked remotely even pre-pandemic and I found it incredibly helpful. I continue with her to this day. If anyone wants more information on this, please PM me. 2. The second thing was that I worked with a benzo coach from Lucid Lane, a fee for service support site for any medication dependence. I spoke or should say, cried to my coach on a regular basis. I found it really helpful to talk with someone who understood my pain. Here is their website. https://lucidlane.com/ 3. I connected to some wonderful people on this site @freespirit @Shep @Santino @leahy @brassmonkey and others who I’m sure I’m forgetting. I found the people who I resonated with the most and they were a lifeline to me. Not everyone here will be the right fit for you nor have the right guidance for you and that’s okay. 4. Advice: Take what you like and leave the rest. This site has wonderful resources and offers very solid advice on tapering. And you also have to trust yourself. That might mean sometimes going against what works for others and that’s okay. For example, I couldn’t handle fish oil during my tapers, it had the opposite effect. I didn’t try and push it once I discovered that. Some supplements like L-Theanine worked during my Remeron/Mirtazapine taper but not during my benzo taper. Your body has a lot of wisdom and if it’s saying no, it’s no. 5. Mental: Two shifts occurred during this process. The first occurred when I finally realized that being stable enough to taper did not mean, feeling great. For me it meant, being functional enough to make the bed, wash the dishes and stare at the TV. Later it meant, I could go for a walk, meet a friend and then start working a bit. I got confused for a while thinking that if I were stable, I would feel more upbeat but that was not what stable was for me. It was all about being functional enough to keep going in my taper. I used a scale from 1-10. If I was in the 5, 6, 7 range, which was uncomfortable but tolerable, I kept going. If I went to an 8 or 9, I held till I was back to a 6 or 7. Tracking this way helped me move forward and also allowed me to see if there were any patterns of when my cuts hit. The second occurred, during my final taper. I realized that I whenever I wanted to change something in my taper-the method, the rate, the brand-that it was me trying desperately to have some control over the process. This hurt me especially at the end of my Lamictal taper. I am very compassionate about it now and saw it was my attempt to feel more in charge of something I felt helpless about. I had to really fight that urge during my final year of tapering and it worked to my benefit. 6. Belief: You don’t have to believe you will heal to heal. I had a lot of despair and fear during my tapers and especially during my final benzo taper. I thought I was actually a depressed person and was unable to meditate, exercise or do anything that seemed to work for others (until the Psych-K work) and I still kept healing. I know now that it was hard for me to believe that I would feel good again because of the temporary brain injury and withdrawal. Now I know for sure I am not a depressed person and look forward to life. 7. Food: I lost my appetite at times and could not eat much for different periods. For the most part I ate cleanly, no sugar, alcohol, or caffeine during a majority of my taper. I was not perfect and did eat candy at times when that was what was going to get me through the next hour. I now drink a cup of coffee a day and am fine. I do eat healthy now about 95% of the time. I did put on 30lbs during the time I was taking Remeron/Mirtazapine and when I went off, I lost 25lbs in about 2 months without dieting. It was all medication weight. Choose what works for you, whether it’s plant based or keto-you get to decide. 8. Supplements: The only supplements I really take are Magnesium Glycinate, which I took on and off during my tapers. I take between 50-150 mgs at night to help me relax into sleep. I do drink an Adrenal Cocktail, 1/2 cup natural OJ, 1/4 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt and 1/4 tsp of creme of tartar to support my adrenals. I drink it now as needed but when I was in withdrawal and too revved up to relax at night, I drank it 2x a day at 10AM and 2PM. In about 10 days the hyper feeling subsided and I started to sleep better, which at that time was about 3 hours a night with many nights of little sleep. There are versions of this cocktail that use other liquids if you can't handle OJ. You can Google those recipes. 9. Exercise. I walked my dog during withdrawal but during the last part of my Lamictal/benzo withdrawal I did not exercise much due to the agoraphobia and weakness. I also tried exercising more vigorously after I stepped off the benzo, but it would cause mini waves. I went back to exercising at about 13 months off and can now handle dance classes and fitness classes. I’m out of share but optimistic I will get physically fit again. 10. Spirituality/Faith: I do believe I was transformed for the better by going through this. I felt pretty spiritually abandoned especially during benzo withdrawal but my spiritual beliefs were not so solid to begin with. That has changed over the past year. I also had to learn a hard lesson about how I was living my life pre-medication. My habit of giving too much and doing too much wore me down. Now after meds, I have to continue to keep an eye on that tendency though it is so much better. 11. COVID: I think I may have gotten Covid early on but was never tested. I had a very bad sore throat in the fall of 2020. It was so bad I took an antibiotic (which I could handle) and it cleared it up. I have been vaccinated 3 times and the first time I was vaccinated I was off benzos for 3 months. Aside from the usual reaction to a vaccine, aches, chills, etc, I was fine. I am someone who never got flu shots and don’t plan on getting them in the future but I knew a handful of people who got very sick with COVID including two who now have long COVID so I was willing to take the vaccine. What Remains: My sleep has gotten better though it is not where it was at pre-medication. However, I have gone from very light sleep, waking every hour or so to sleeping 6-7 hours a night and waking up between 2 or 3 times. Dropping off is still not as easy but I’m not wired or hyper. I just think I’m still low on something the brain and body produces to ease me into sleep. I also occasionally get some temperature fluctuations/hot flashes but am okay with them. When I first stepped off of Remeron/Mirtazapine, the sweat poured off of me at night and I was so drenched I had to get up and change. I was post-menopausal so I knew it was the medication. That’s it for now. As with anything I've mentioned above, please do your research and learn to trust your body's responses. The capacity for our brains and bodies to heal is real. I'm wishing everyone on this journey continued strength to keep going. Remember how courageous you are to take on this challenge. You will heal and have the life you want for yourself again. Hibari
  2. I have been struggling with social anxiety disorder for almost 6 years.. after trying CBT with not much change in my anxiety. I decided to try medication. That's the introduction to the psychiatric drug for me in the year 2022. I 23M have taken Clonazepam for 3 and half months. by the end of 3 months I have experiencing severe side effects. So after talking to the prescriber he allowed me to get off of drug temporarily Because I'm going to attend an interview for my studies. After that I didn't bother starting again the drugs. Because I'm overwhelmed by the drug withdrawal.The side effects I have experienced Includes Cognitive Impairement, Memory loss (I used to be very intelligent and sharp kid) Concentration issues, Basically blank mind, Can't Imagine Can't think, sexual dysfunction, zero libido, No feelings while erection, Brain fog, emotional Numbness, (I don't feel shame, anger, pleassure, happiness, sadness) Zero motivation, No drive,...These are the side effects currently I can think off. Now after 7 and half months brain fog, Memory and thinking ability is the only thing that Improved. If I'm Informed about side effects of the drug I should never taken this, I don't know how long should I endure this side effects? Is this Withdrawal Or side effects? Is there anything I can do to Improve my condition other than doing Exercise, Eating clean, Sleeping well. Have I permanently damaged my CNS and BRAIN?
  3. Hi I'm 37, I had anxiety disorders and depression all my life. I was put on medication fast, probably way too fast. I've been convinced that my condition was needing them and I believed it was impossible to live normally without. I'm hyper sensitive to medication so I was not able to bear most of antidepressants. Zoloft was the easiest, but has its list of horrible side effects too, mainly excessive and violent sweating for little moves like even grating cheese and accompanied with itching and unable to stand heat in general. Emotions are neutralized, as well as happiness and interests, mostly living like a vegetable. With time my anxiety changed when I tried to stop zoloft, weird new manifestations appeared and I was told that's it's from me, not from medication. With time I suspected more and more zoloft to have caused new issues that I would never have before. I'm doing a second "serious" withdrawal, I got 0mg from May 2018 and I've pretty crazy anxiety but not all the time, all the weird symptoms developed in time are back, and I can see that zoloft body changes are still not reverted back to my natural self because of restless leg syndrome that I only get during withdrawals and I have abnormal too sensitive feelings like crying very easily. Since I left zoloft, I lost my overweight (220 pounds to 180 pounds and still dropping), I'm healthy aside those issues, I move freely and lightly, I got all my feelings back with new interests, like if I'm being reborn. I can't even seriously say if medication really helped me of all my life, maybe somehow, but I suspect more to have worsened everything by creating new issues that sleep until I try to stop zoloft. Then it's the infinite loop: returning on it because of all the issues, taken by doctors for my natural self being sick. Then later I want to get rid of it again, and the thing restart. I had only panic attacks when I started antidepressants at 17 years old. I had nothing of all the stuff that was added with years. I also was not with hypersensitive feelings. I could probably have developed non-med ways to cope and I would never have anything worse. Now added to panic attacks I had strong adrenaline looping rushes in bed, I got morning fears that don't seem associated to any precise thoughts, and instant panic with thoughts popping during the day that should not trigger anything. I've been told that with that, an antidepressant alone would not work, that I need an antipsychotic too, and both. That's why I'm also on seroquel XR. I had to leave my job because it was already a very high stress life there and addition of everything was pure hell. I'm free of zoloft for 8 months, compared to 2 months the more I was able to endure and I was even not working at this time. I know that almost all symptoms will disappear if I take it again, and all the side effects will also be back with it. It will falsely thought to heal me when most of what is happening is because of a long-term body changes that zoloft installed with time. This is what I think. It's like not being hypersensitive to feelings at all before to try any, take one, stop it and being hypersensitive and say "it's because you stopped it so take it back you need it". I think doctors are totally blind to this hypothesis despite the fact that they may really want to help. It can surely be hard to prove, especially if I cannot bear to live like this long enough to the point I restart taking the drug. But some proof is there. Restless leg syndrome is only when I tapered zoloft, all the times I tried it was there and only at this time. If it still happens randomly after 8 months, it proves that my body is still affected by zoloft in a way or another. I'm 37 and I want to take control of my life fully, and living disabled for the time it needs may be my only chance to get this freedom, but I just don't know the truth myself. Maybe it will take a year for symptoms to disappear, maybe more, maybe never, maybe I've been broken and there is nothing to do but take meds all my life, which will give a horrible life on another level. I'm here to discover what others experienced, find similarities, some truth and at least if I must go through this hell, I will have some hope and real examples that waiting a certain time could free me too, forever of antidepressants. I don't seek someone deciding for me, I seek real people experience to see the real whole picture and decide myself.
  4. Hey everyone, I said that once I was healed and felt back to normal again I would write a success story and I do believe that today is finally the day for it! It was a very long journey for me personally, but I know that others have been going through it for even longer. So for those of you that are still in the thick of it, I will tell you this! Keep on going and going and going!! Never ever give up! I truly do believe that everyone heals no matter how long it takes!! For some it is shorter than others, but it's coming for all of us! You can read my intro topic and see that I really didn't find this site until I was almost 8 months in deep. I was one of those who CT quit everything because nothing was working for me and I got tired of trying different things to feel better. I was extremely fortunate to meet a wonderful lady who had survived the process and she reached out to me. She was able to encourage me daily to keep going and helped me to get through the very worst of days! I was so lucky because most people do not have that support system, but it was a life saver. Some things that I learned while going through this process: 1. Stay as positive as you possibly can! I know it's hard, believe me. There were so many days I just wanted to get in a funk and stay there, but I knew how dangerous that was. If you let yourself always see the bad in things, then eventually that is all you will see! Take what is happening to you and turn it around. Find something positive in your day. When I was having the worst of symptoms, instead of feeling bad about it and moping about it, I would turn it around and tell myself that I was having a good strong day of healing! The harder the symptoms, the more healing that was taking place. I made it a positive thing!! 2. Acceptance!!! I know this one is hard!! It was for me and took me a very very long time to learn it, but once I did it made a world of difference for me. The symptoms no longer had the power over me that they once had. Yeah they were still there, but I would just acknowledge them and then move on. There was nothing I could do about them, so I just let them happen. Besides it just meant that I was doing some more healing. The sooner you can learn how to accept the process the easier the process becomes. 3. Time!!! Unfortunately in my experience I found that there are no shortcuts in this process. There is no magic pill or drug that I could take that was gonna heal me any faster. I had to be patient and wait for my brain and CNS to heal! There was no way to speed up the process or make it any easier. I just had to get through it! That was it. Time time and more time!! Each day you go through is one day closer to your ultimate healing so don't give up!! 4. Distract!!! Find something anything that you can use to distract yourself and make the time go by. For me it was long walks, paint by numbers, etchings, diamond dots, models, board games with my children!! Just anything to pass the time! The more I was able to distract myself, the more healing that was taking place without me worrying about it! When you sit around all day and don't engage your mind, it has nothing to do but ruminate on what you are thinking or experiencing. Distract!! 5. Keep track of the good days! I experienced the normal waves and windows pattern that is normal for a lot of people. I would keep a journal daily where I would write down what I was thinking, how things were going. And for me most importantly, when I was feeling good in a window, I would write about it in the journal. I would write notes to myself reminding myself that I could feel good again and that I would feel good again. That way on the hard days I could go back and see what I had written to myself to know that I was gonna be ok. And that's honestly about it! That's what worked for me! Just remember that what you are going through is temporary!! This is not the rest of your life. One day you will be healed and able to move forward with life and enjoy the days. This whole process has made me such a strong and more resilient person. Little things in life no longer really bother me and I have found I have so much more patience and understanding than I ever did before. As much as this whole thing sucked, it has made me a better person!! Just remember to keep going and going for as long as this takes!! You've got this and you know it! I will be sticking around the forums to help others. I always told myself once I made it through this I was gonna pay it forward and help others as well. Don't hesitate to reach out if needed! Ken
  5. Mod note: link to: Happy2Heal: Hope I'm doing this right (Introduction and update topic) I was just an 18yr old, a very confused, naive young woman, er no- more of a child, really- when I was given (by force) my first psych drug, stelazine, a major tranquilizer. that was the beginning of a long series- spanning almost 40 yrs!- of psych drugs and hospitalizations. All along the way, I was plastered with one diagnosis after another, or several heaped on at once. My physical health went downhill and I ended up a virtual shut-in, living my life all in my head, friendless, socially isolated to the extreme, my only contact with drs and therapists, leaving my house to go food shopping maybe twice a month. This wasn't living, and I knew it. But I didn't know how to change things. I didn't know what was wrong. I spent over two thirds of my life believing I was mentally ill and *needed* to be on those drugs. but at some point, it occurred to me that the drugs might actually be the problem, or at least, part of the problem. I knew I had to get off them. and I did. The process and the pain of that is reported on my thread, I don't care to go back over it, at least not now. I learned a lot along the way, but for now, I don't want to think about where I've been, I only want to think about where I am now, and the life I have before me. Here I am, now, one year off all drugs, of all kinds. I rarely even take a ibuprofen for a headache. I want to write my success story, but I'm not 100% ready yet However I do have to say that what I feel most of all, is a great deal of pride in having survived. I suffered all forms of abuse as a child, emotional, sexual, physical, verbal, went on to be a survivor of rape, of domestic abuse. I was abused within the mental health system. I've spent virtually all of my adult life in poverty, raising my daughter as a single mom on disability due to "mental illness". But today, I feel as if I've done more than just survive; I am thriving. I have friends. I have a very active social life. I volunteer and I feel like the work I do is making a difference, having an impact. while technically I am still 'poor' by income, I don't go without anything I need, with the possible exception of good dental care I have a good life. Is my withdrawal journey over? I'm not sure.While I took my last dose of lexapro over a year ago, I feel like I am still having some symptoms that must be related to the nearly 4 DECADES on psych meds. BUT you need to know, these symptoms are extremely mild. and after that long on so many different drugs, it stands to reason that there will be minor little tweaks that my brain will need to make, for some time to come. I'd like to say that all that has faded into the background of my life, but to be honest: I am more vigilant about them now, than at any time during active withdrawal- because I don't want to fall into a trap of thinking that any problems I may have mean that all those doctors were right, I'm permanently disabled by a mental illness and there's no hope for me. I am pretty sure that the only thing I suffer from is PTSD, and I don't see that as a mental illness so much as a natural reaction to extremely stressful, traumatic life events. so Today I feel Victorious. I've overcome a lot and need to soak in that feeling of doing a good job I don't often give myself credit for my achievements or feel like it's ok to feel good about them but today, I give myself permission to bask in this feeling. it feels like the right and honest thing to do. I guess I just have to be different, I don't want to call this a success story because that sounds to me like the end, when in fact it is not. It's not really a beginning, either, because the beginning of my new life dates back to when I first realized that the drugs were the problem. to me, this just feels like a victory over adversity- something to celebrate! so please, celebrate with me, and know that you are going to heal as well, those of you still going thru WD/recovery. it's worth it, believe me so very worth it!
  6. Hi everybody, I am writing this post on behalf of my wife. Due to some possible withdrawal symptoms such as blurred vision and intense fatigue/drowsiness, my wife is currently unable to post herself. My wife was admitted to hospital in Jan 2023 for her first psychotic episode. During her stay in hospital, she took four anti-psychotic drugs (Olanzapine, Blonanserin, Haplodil Injection, Quetiapine) and three Benzodiazepines (Clonazepam, Brotizolam, Nitrazepam). A mix of up to seven psychotropic drugs kept my wife in bed all day. The psychiatrist here masks the side effects of antipsychotics such as Akathisia, Restless Legs and Drug-induced Parkinsonism by over-sedating and drowsiness. When she was discharged in February, she continued to take 10mg Olanzapine, 2mg Biperiden* as well as two Benzodiazepines (1mg Clonazepam and 0.25mg Brotizolam**). I found this forum because I am doing my best to help my wife get off (or reduce as much as possible) the psychotropic drugs she is currently taking. I cannot trust the Japanese psychiatrists who are so keen to use multiple benzodiazepines at the same time, and it is desperate that these drugs are even used just to prevent insomnia even though my wife doesn't have it. Since being discharged from hospital in Feb 22, we have been tapering the dose of Brotizolam and Clonazepam out of fear of using multiple benzodiazepines at the same time. We would like to stop the Brotizolam but keep the low dose of Clonazepam and wait for the status to stabilize before starting the Olanzapine taper. From March to April this year, the dose of Brotizolam was reduced from 0.25mg to 0.0625mg, the dose of Clonazepam was reduced from 1mg to 0.5mg and Olanzapine was always 10mg. On April 21, my wife's daily medication and supplements were as follows: 10:00 Vit C 250mg, Vit B-Complex***, Ginkgo biloba 60mg 13:00 Vit C 250mg, Vit B-Complex, Ginkgo biloba 60mg 18:30 Biperiden 1mg, Clonazepam 0.5mg, Vit E 400IU, Omega-3 1000mg 20:00 Olanzapine 10mg, Brotizolam 0.0625mg At that time, she was in a more stable state and although she had some symptoms of side effects of the medication, such as blurred vision, lack of concentration and poor short-term memory, they were all at an acceptable level and she was able to do simple light exercise every day. However, after this she experienced problems. From April 22 my wife stopped taking Brotizolam and reduced the dose of Biperiden from 1mg to 0.5mg on April 28. From April 28 till now, my wife's daily medication and supplements were as follows: 10:00 Vit C 250mg, Vit B-Complex, Ginkgo biloba 60mg 13:00 Vit C 250mg, Vit B-Complex, Ginkgo biloba 60mg 18:30 Biperiden 0.5mg, Clonazepam 0.5mg, Vit E 400IU, Omega-3 1000mg 20:00 Olanzapine 10mg Those days, April 24-30, were supposed to be her best days since her discharge from hospital. However, the situation began to turn bad on May 2 when she started to become extremely fatigued and drowsy. She goes to bed at 20:00 and struggles to get up at 10:00. Even after 13-14 hours of sleep she still felt tired, had no interest or motivation to do anything even talk to our children, and wanted to lie down during the day except to eat even though she could not fall asleep. It is usually at 17:00 that her energy returns a little and she gets up for dinner. She did not have insomnia at night but would have vivid dreams could describe the details of them when she woke up, sleep did not seem to give her brain any real rest. Although I kept holding her hands and hugging her to comfort her as much as possible, she felt overwhelmed with failure and powerlessness, she became very depressed and felt like a wreck, she was worried that her state would not improve and she was worried that she would not be able to return to work in 1 month (her sick leave was due to end in a month). This state of extreme fatigue continues to this day and the only good news is that apart from the fatigue she does not seem to have any other new noticeable withdrawal symptoms. Biperiden does not seem to have serious withdrawal symptoms (correct me if I'm wrong), it is anticholinergic medication that works to alleviate the Drug-induced Parkinsonism caused by Olanzapine, which were barely felt on the previous few dose reductions. Personally, we tend to think that it is mainly the withdrawal of Brotizolam that causes the intense fatigue, and that several Brotizolam reductions at the end of March similarly caused fatigue(slightly lighter than now), but it goes away after 2 days. Current questions: 1. Should I keep the status and be patient and wait for the withdrawal symptoms to go away? Still have 1 month of sick leave left. 2. Today is day 13 after Brotizolam withdrawal and day 4 of intense fatigue/drowsiness. If after 1 week there is still no improvement in status, should the dose of Brotizolam be resumed to 0.0625mg? or is it better to be resumed now? 3. Are there ways to reduce vivid dreams and improve the quality of sleep? 4. If Brotizolam is not resumed, what non-pharmacological methods are available to alleviate withdrawal symptom? I have searched and read some of the posts in the forum but they seem to be mainly for insomnia and anxiety, are there any methods and suggestions for fatigue relief? I wish I had found this place earlier, after reading some of the posts I realized that the Brotizolam was being tapered too quickly and that this was causing my wife's withdrawal symptoms. But it's all happened and it's no use regretting it and hopefully I can get some advice and help here to get things back on track from now on. A little help and advice would be great. Thank you for your help in advance! --------------------------- *Biperiden, sold under the brand name Akineton among others, is a medication used to treat Parkinson disease and certain drug-induced movement disorders. It is not recommended for tardive dyskinesias. Common side effects include blurred vision, dry mouth, sleepiness, constipation, and confusion. It should not be used in people with a bowel obstruction or glaucoma. Biperiden is in the anticholinergic family of medication. (From Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biperiden) **Brotizolam, (marketed under brand name Lendormin) is a sedative-hypnotic thienotriazolodiazepine drug which is a benzodiazepine analog. It possesses anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, hypnotic, sedative and skeletal muscle relaxant properties, and is considered to be similar in effect to other short-acting hypnotic benzodiazepines such as triazolam or midazolam. It is used in the short-term treatment of severe insomnia. Brotizolam is a highly potent and short-acting hypnotic, with a typical dose ranging from 0.125 to 0.25 milligrams, which is rapidly eliminated with an average half-life of 4.4 hours (range 3.6–7.9 hours). (From Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brotizolam) ***Vit B-Complex = B1 20mg, B2 15 mg, B6 15 mg, B12 10mcg, Niacin 20mg, Pantothenic Acid 20mg, Biotin 25mcg, Folate 100mcg, Inositol 25mg
  7. 2010- Two years of severe headaches. Bad vision in one eye. Muscle pains. The doctors did not say anything. 2012- anxiety appeared. the first drug sertaline - a paradoxical reaction. I got depression, ss thoughts and other bad symptoms. 2012- 2016 paroxetine - - I tappered slowly, but I did not know yet that it should be stopped more slowly. 3 months without paroxetine and withdrawal syndrome appeared. Return to the drug worsened the matter. I crashed. Bridge with fluoxetine. A year passed. at the end of September 2016 I was diagnosed with Lyme disease. I did test in two different laboratories. 08/08/2016-now fluoxetin 20 mg 01/05/2016- now- triticco / trazadone 75 mg clonozepam - 04.03.2017. from 20.11.2017 I started tapper from 0.5 to 0.125 mg- when I got some relief from Lyme treatment. Now I am treated with ILADS ( Lyme and bartonella) and also tapper psycho drags. I want to not rule out the syndrome and stop the drugs safely. I am asking for support and exchange of experience, especially people who suffer from Lyme disease. I need to make plan. How to discontinue: clonazepam 0,125 mg, fluoxetine 20 mg and trazadon 75 mg How I feel now: Antibiotics have sustained discomfort from the urinary tract and improved the results of cytology. I have more windows, but I still experience strong hits of depression and pain in small joints, a specially neck. Through complicated diagnostics of Lyme disease and the syndrome, I do not know which symptoms are from what. Thank you for your attention, sorry for mistakes.
  8. Hi I’m mark. I spent an hour trying to make my signature , but it wouldn’t allow it because it was to long. Tried cutting it down significantly, still to long , gave up. Basically I’ve been on a million drugs on and off , and didn’t ween off any of the em correctly except lamictal and seroquil. I can make a extremely generalized timeline . Starting with cymbalta 16-17 years ago. cynbalta -2007 1 year 2012 -1 month wellbutrin-2007- a few days xanax-2012- 1mg, recreationally 10-15 doses klonopin-2013 1year .25-1mg lexapro-1-2 months 10mg topamax-2weeks small dose lamictal— 2015 7 years- doses(25-400mg) Seroquil- 2015 5 years -15-100mg ketamine-2019 -10 iv treatments gabapentin-2020- 300mg- 2 months litrhium-2020 1200mg-1 month ambien-2020 5-10 mg 3 months Propalanol-2023 10mg -2 weeks I’ve had several med trials for past 10 years trying to address symptoms that came out of nowwhere in 2013, which I now realize we’re most likely issues from taking cymbalta at an early age , not weening off then going into more rec drug use and Xanax . past ten years of my life were terrible , Constant doctors , trying meds , psych ward visits from bad reactions , not knowing what was wrong , more meds , even was convinced I had lymw and did antibiotic protocols , hyperbaric chamber , etc. also multiple shoulder surgeries from bad shoulders , one of which was a botch job and caused terrible nerve damage furthering my issues . started realizing psych drugs were the problem in late 2021. Got off everything for about a year I got hit with a severe life threatening bout of insomnia in 2022 June , and after being off of drugs for nearly a year , had to resort back to trying things , and things spiraled quickly . While I always have had the hypersensitive nervous system symptom, i I started developing this at a new level . super sensitive to sounds ( even not loud soundslike fridge clicking on, car door in distance , anything etc). Can’t watch most movies emotions trigger symptoms . Constant tinnitus . Can’t exercise , sex release , can’t go to the store without flare .) nighttime adrenal surges / jolting . even then I STILL was seeing psych and trying meds because I was not familiar with kindling . How would I know ? I was member of benzo buddies and knew something was going on drug related but was suffering and didn’t know how else to try and fix it . Then I finally learned of kindling , and found this site . I’ve been off everything for 6-7 weeks . I see people with exact symptom profiles and I see a lot of people that don’t seem to show improvement with the hyper arousal especially from sounds . ive already suffered most of my life , and it’s been ten years and I’m not even close to better , in fact way worse. I guess what I need is a success story, for people with similar countless (to long to list) drug trials , that had the hyper arousal from sounds , lights , emotions , etc and eventually showed improvement . I don’t want to break any rules by saying how I truly feel , but this basically isn’t doable . I saw one lady that said she has the auditory arousal issues seven years later .. what?????? No.. can’t, sorry, I’ve already been in hell for 10 plus years . any success stories or other who had this issue and showed improvement WOULD help. I can’t really find any though . thank you for allowing me in the group and for reading
  9. I’ve been weaning Venlafaxine XR since August 2023. I’m currently down to 37.5 plus 31 beads. The biggest symptom I’m experiencing lately is paranoia. Or maybe they are delusions. Insomnia is slowly improving, dizziness has improved. I’m not eating much, have diarrhea a lot and these intrusive thoughts are overwhelming my brain! I’m wondering how long this will last. I previously weaned off Klonopin and experienced paranoia while weaning as well. Is paranoia a common withdrawal symptom when weaning from antidepressants, as it’s not listed on the checklist. My husband calls what I’m experiencing delusions, so maybe that’s what they are more than paranoia. It seems like it’s much worse in the evenings. Maybe when the Venlafaxine has worn off? I take my daily dose nightly at 10pm.
  10. Link to Benzo Forum Thread - Shep's Journey Link to French translation (courtesy of Erell): Se libérer de la psychiatrie - Shep : « Quitter la caverne de Platon » Leaving Plato’s Cave In Plato’s famous “Allegory of the Cave,” a group of human beings are chained since birth in a dark cave where a fire casts shadows of the world upon the walls. The shadows are all the prisoners know to be true. But one day, a prisoner breaks free and wanders out into the world. Her eyes are blinded by the sudden blast of sunlight and she is unsure of her reality and at times, longs to be back inside the familiar darkness. But as her eyes adjust, she is in awe of this new reality — people, nature, her own reflection! When she returns to the cave, the other prisoners laugh at her story in disbelief. . . . And so I left psychiatry — a dark cave of drug dependency, incarceration, deception, violence, mystification, and social control. The empty shadows on the walls that message this non-reality based belief system of mythical “mind diseases” fade out and a beautiful new reality unfolds before me. After 30 years, success from such an experience is a process, not a singular event. There may still be some unexpected waves, but that will allow the experience of re-emerging from periods of darkness with even more skill and resilience. For me, this part of the journey is very similar to the final phase of the grieving process. As Francis Weller reminds us in the book The Wild Edge of Sorrow, grief is sacred work. It’s an important teacher and should be honored, not feared. When symptoms are viewed as teachers and guides and you walk with them with curiosity and not fear, leaving Plato’s Cave turns into a journey of adventure and skill building. My signature symptom was - and is - DP/DR (depersonalization / derealization) and the lessons taught are in mindfulness and becoming The Observer. (I wrote about The Observer in several places in my benzo thread). I still have some lingering DP/DR, but this is a symptom I carry out of the cave with me, as I'm still learning from it and no longer view it as a problem but as a valued guide. Never give up — your new world awaits you. For many of us, it’s a brutal trip. So travel lightly and listen carefully to what your teachers and guides are telling you. As painful and confusing as it is, these symptoms are here for a reason. At five years off all drugs (from 30 years use), I can now: Run 30 - 60 minutes, four days a week, along with doing yoga and strength training. Runner’s high is beautiful! Bike 30 miles a week - urban cycling is now my main transportation to and from work because of subway and bus delays due to COVID-19 Work 40 - 45 hours a week (was unemployed for around 9 months due to severe akathisia and DP/DR) See the world with 20/20 vision (with glasses) - since last August (before that, my focus was in and out and I wasn’t able to get an accurate eyeglass prescription) Read books with a high level of concentration during windows. I get lost in activities now and experience a sense of “flow” when reading, working, exercising, and playing music for hours at a time Feel music deeply to the point of being moved to tears at times Experience powerful levels of spirituality and connection with the universe Sleep a restful 6 - 7.5 hours a night most nights (Netflix is a treat when insomnia hits now because I know the insomnia wave will pass and I like the excuse to watch movies in my favorites list) About me: 52-year-old female, currently working full time, no family, studio apartment, still navigating my way back into more social situations, complicated by the city’s partial shut-down due to COVID-19. Entry into psychiatric drugs: forced “treatment” in private and state psychiatric prisons off and on from the age of 17 until 21 for so-called “psychosis.” Gaslighted into long-term drug compliance with the lie that neuroleptics are a neuro-protective agent against brain damage caused by so-called “psychosis.” Never told about dopamine supersensitivity or tardive dysphoria. Drug and label history: 30 years of neuroleptics, benzodiazepines, z-drugs, so-called “anti”-depressants, and amphetamines. Labeled with “manic depression” and “PTSD” from years of physical and sexual abuse as a child. The “chemical imbalance” myth dominated the narrative because psychiatry replicates the patriarchal and paternalistic abuses of the nuclear family (and the larger political structure) within a medicalized context. This is not an accident. This is how the system is designed. Date of last drug taken: May 22, 2015 Reason for exiting the cave: After having spent more than 25 years working low-level jobs and bouncing from here to there, I descended into cognitive decline with voices and visuals, disassociation, akathisia, and suicidal thoughts. A psychiatrist suggested another change in drugs but — too fast, too soon, leading to a nervous system crash. After being threatened with forced “treatment” in the state psychiatric prison again in early 2014, I found Robert Whitaker’s book Anatomy of an Epidemic in a random Google search on my phone. The realization I had been poisoned was enough for me to control my behavior and save myself from further “treatment.” The psychiatric system disables and kills people. That’s not an abstract concept when you’re at the receiving end of forced “treatment.” Method of coming off psychiatric drugs: cold turkey and rapid taper off a cocktail of Seroquel, Viibryd, Klonopin, Sonata, Dexedrine, and Halcion (NOTE: I do NOT recommend this method of withdrawal - I didn’t find the withdrawal forums until I was almost completely off all drugs. Stay safe and taper if at all possible). Favorite non-drug coping skills: Shep’s Toolkit. For me, the non-drug coping skills were not optional. I still refer to this list and have tons more bookmarked in folders on my laptop. Mooji and Alan Watts are still my go-to sources for calming. The un-patienting process: During recovery, I began reading a lot of anti-psychiatry literature. Dr. Phil Hickey’s article sums it up well - In Defense of Anti-Psychiatry. Anti-psychiatry gave me the language to understand and name the world around me. Dr. Thomas Szasz is a major influence in my understanding of this world. He understood the power structure of psychiatry better than anyone I've read so far. Dr. Bruce Cohen's Psychiatric Hegemony: A Marxist Theory of Mental Illness helped me understand psychiatry's political structure. Psychiatry is about power and politics, not medicine. Psychiatry is not broken. The system was designed this way. Psychiatry is not a legitimate field of medicine and cannot be reformed. It needs to be abolished. To not message this would be to condone a form of structural violence that not only has disabled and killed millions of people, it also maintains and even furthers the systemic social and economic injustices these individuals represent. I hope one day, those still trapped in Plato’s Cave will be released and the cave will be sealed shut.
  11. Hi, I think this site is just amazing, truly! Thank you to all who offer support. I never thought I would be on an antidepressant, but that changed in January 2022 when I was diagnosed with GAD. I ended up spending several days in a psych ward and was desperate to do anything to get better/functional. The psychiatrist said I should take 20 mg lexapro. I was fine with this arrangement until my last appointment with my psychiatrist in June 2022 when I asked about eventually reducing my dosage to 10 mg at some point. He responded by telling me that I could never go off lexapro because I’d been hospitalized. This upset me. So I started looking for information about reducing my dosage online and found your site. My plan is to follow the 10% rule and taper every 4 weeks, but I’ve already broken that plan and only did the 18 mg for 3 weeks. So far I seem to have no withdrawal symptoms, except for vivid dreams. I will add my medication and dosage history to my signature tomorrow. Thank you!
  12. Hey everyone, I’m new here. Thanks for having me. I recently tapered from 5mg proz over about 3 months (liquid taper). I was originally on 20mg but tappered down and had held the proz at 5mg for 6 months while I did very gradual water taper off k (benzo). Over the last month (been of proz 2 weeks) I have started having fasciculations. They started in my feet, now my calves, legs, ankles. Worse then not doing anything, but there all the time. I’m really scared about something sinister. Could this be withdrawal? I was on such a low dose of proz? Thank you, Annie
  13. Was stable for 2 years on Lexapro (Escitalopram) for severe GAD that developed after dad died (dosages between 20-30 mg, was on 20 mg at time). I was put on Asenapine January 2023 (10 mg) for persecutory delusions, never had better or more restorative sleep. Only side effects were a slight numbness in right foot (disappeared after cessation) and one pupil less dilated than the other (still present). Took an overdose of doxylamine (500 mg) to get high, first time, had severe adverse reaction (burning skin, anxiety, insomnia). Ever since then haven't had more than 5 hours sleep in a night, always broken, never feels restorative. Suffered debilitating anxiety and heart palpitations afterwards with burning skin, use to drink 6 shots of coffee per day prior to overdose but cannot tolerate any caffeine whatsoever now. Started taking valium up to 30 mg every 2-3 days for a month. Ended up in psychiatric ward where I was cold turkey'd off valium and Lexapro raised to 30 mg. Strangely parts off my hands began to go numb. One month later, still with debilitating anxiety + heart palpitations but with burning skin gone, ended up back in psychiatric ward. Psychiatrist took me off Lexapro cold turkey (within days developed POTS, still got it), immediately put me on Baclofen 50 mg and Clonazepam 4 mg daily. 2 weeks later took me off Asenapine cold turkey and put me on Sertraline 200 mg over 3 days (50, 100, 200 mg), suffered severe burning skin on instatement of 200 mg dosage. Was put on Gabapentin 300 mg 3 times a day by psychiatrist to reduce this. After leaving hospital worse than on arrival, tapered off Baclofen under GP care. Under outpatient mental health care team and with additional advice of a neurologist was tapered off Sertraline due to the burning skin (gone now). Anxiety and sleep completely unresolved so trialed on Brexpiprazole 0.5 mg, only lasted 4 days due to unbearable body aches. Tried to reinstate Lexapro starting at 5 mg in October (4 months after cessation) but only lasted 4 days due to adverse reaction (burning skin, even worse sleep, even worse anxiety). Had to accept that body was now too sensitive to medications. Despite being in worst physical and mental condition in my life I began tapering clonazepam so as to avoid long term issues with the drug. I plan to tapering off the Gabapentin as well so I am completely drug free. Symptoms I still have after Doxylamine overdose: - Insomnia (<5 hours, never restorative) Physical symptoms I still have since ceasing all SSRIs: - Erectile dysfunction (premature ejaculation, cannot get full erection) -> PSSD? - POTS (heartrate jumps to 100-120 whenever upright and walking around, jumps to 170 during light exercise). - Hair loss - Acne (use to have perfect skin) - Moles continue to appear - TMJ - Muscle twitches (less than what began after Lexapro cessation but still occurs on occasion). - Skin that goes red and creases with any pressure whatsoever really easily. - Eustachian tube dysfunction (ears click loudly every time I swallow) - Tinnitus (worsening as I come off clonazepam) - Visual snow (worsening as I come off clonazepam) - Extreme sensitivity to light - Eye floaters Mental symptoms I still have since ceasing all SSRIs: - Anxiety - Depression and extreme irritability - Brain fog - Memory of a goldfish - Extreme difficulty reading, speaking and thinking (getting worse as I come off clonazepam) I am 24 going on 25 mid-year. What are my chances of recovering and what can I do to help this process?
  14. Unsure if I'm posting in the right place but this is somewhat of an introduction. 1.5 years ago I started on 20mg of Prozac for OCD. There was restlessness with starting but it went away. Gradually I tapered down to 10mg of Prozac which I was on for a full year. 2 months ago, I felt the sudden onset of a a very severely agitated feeling. It was very vague but I can pinpoint the exact moment I noticed it -- I was sitting, doing nothing remarkable, and unstressed. I had felt something like this before throughout my treatment but it was very very temporary and felt more like an agitated depression brought on by external circumstances. When this feeling started I could not pinpoint anything else as the cause. Things were good in all parts of my life. I had not messed with the dosage of Prozac at all for a year. Is it still possible that the Prozac is causing this long term agitation/akathisia that I still experience today? A month into the feeling I decided to taper off Prozac completely. I experienced very little withdrawal...just mild headaches and dizziness. The akathisia didn't get worse or better. But it is still quite bad. And the longer it continues the more hopeless I become and probably the more depressed as well because I can't see a life without this agitation anymore. Started on some Klonopin to treat the restlessness and help me sleep. Has anyone else experienced akathisia without a dose change? And also only being on a low dose?
  15. Hi, I was on .5 Mg 1x day of Klonopin for 28 years, my GP updoses it to 3 x day....terrible pyridoxal reaction, Dr. added 10 Mg Prozac which helped the terrible reaction. Did a 2 year taper off Klonopin. 6 Months after being off I started a 5 - 6 month taper off the Prozac. Been off Klonopin 15 months; Off Prozac little over 4 months. Having terrible monophobia (which I kinda had over these last 28 years), huge terror, obsessive thoughts, ruminating thoughts, extreme anger / rage, insomnia. I called both my dr. and therapist crying today. Dr. wants me to re-instate the Prozac. Is this still benzo withdrawal or Prozac wd ??? I am SO scared of meds.....I wonder if this is me or meds ???
  16. 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!
  17. I'm supporting my husband in his journey withdrawing from AD and Benzos. My apologies for the length of the story but as an introduction it paints a better picture for giving advice. He is a 77 year old male in excellent physical health and until last year in good mental health. He has always been on the anxious side but it was specific to travel and feeling out of his comfort zone while away from home. He had been working with a therapist to address anxiety related to travel and felt he was getting a handle on some strategies to deal with some of his fears. In early 2022 he lost 2 very close friends within a few months. Both friends were part of a pipe band that he has been involved with for 40 years. One friend, in his mid 50's, was the pipe major and so the band became somewhat rudderless after being a going concern. He found all of this very stressful and began experiencing some anxiety any time the pipe band was part of a conversation. In early May a second band member passed away and days after his funeral we travelled from Canada to visit family in the UK. At this time he was taking Lorazepam PRN only to deal with travel anxiety e.g. while at the airport and the same on return so, very rarely. Part of our vacation included a trip to Crete with my siblings and their spouses. While in Crete he became more anxious as the days went on and one day experienced a panic attack. From then on his anxiety increased fearing this could happen again at any time. By the time we were due to fly home to Canada he was anxious every day. Upon returning home he made an appointment with his GP who suggested Wellbutrin 150mg to deal with the anxiety. After one week of steadily increasing anxiety and nausea the GP switched him to Buspar 10mg BID and recommended an appointment with a psychiatrist to review his symptoms and medication. The psychiatrist diagnosed GAD increased the dose of Buspar to 10mg TID. Two weeks into the dose increase his anxiety and nausea were increasing to a severe level and once again and he was taking .5mg Lorazepam more often, sometimes several days in a row to ease the anxiety. In consultation with his GP he decreased the Buspar back down to 10mg BID with the idea to cross taper onto Mirtazapine 30mg. All of this trial and error of medication was happening during the month of August while we were hosting 10 visitors from the UK which in itself caused significant stress and anxiety. By the end of September he had been on Mirtazapine 30 mg for about 6 weeks. He was experiencing occasional nausea and anxiety but much improved from when he started taking the medication. In the middle of October we travelled to Morocco. Travel triggered his anxiety and the Mirtazapine didn't seem to relieve it so he began to need Lorazepam again to deal with this. During our trip we both got Covid. He was not very sick and only experienced mild flu like symptoms for a few days. He began to have trouble sleeping and took Melatonin to help with this. Unfortunately, this caused bizarre nightmares. After Covid he began to experience a burning sensation across his neck and shoulders and sometimes across his chest. He began to be quite agitated, restless, and his anxiety got much worse. November and the beginning of December were relatively stable with anxiety, nausea and burning sensations occasionally but not all the time. In January his symptoms became more frequent and more intense and he talked with his GP about coming off Mirtazapine as it was definitely not helping and possibly making things worse. His Dr agreed and suggested a taper that we now know was way too fast. Coupled with the addition of Lexapro and Quetiapine as aids to withdrawal he was now dealiing with side effects from the added meds and withdrawal from the Mirtazapine all at the same time. Here is a brief summary of the meds taken: May 2022 - panic attacks and GAD. Rx Lorazepam .5 mg PRN for anxiety until March 2023 June 1 Dr prescribed Wellbutrin 150mg June 13 Dr switched Buspar 10 mg BID - Psych Increased dose to 10 mg TID Aug 9-Feb 8 Dr switched to Mirtazapine 30 mg Below is a brief timeline of the withdrawal process from the GP: Feb 9-16 Mirtazapine 15 mg, Lexapro 5 mg, Seroquel 25 mg BID Feb 16-22 Mirtazapine 15 mg, Lexapro 10 mg, Seroquel 50 mg in am, 75 mg in pm Feb 23- Mar 1 Mirtazapine 7.5 mg, Lexapro 10 mg, Seroquel 50 mg in am, 75mg in pm Mar 2-16 Mirtazapine 7.5 mg Tapered Lexapro and Seroquel concurrently March 17-19, Mirtazapine 5.6 mg, Seroquel 25 mg BID March 20-26, Mirtazapine to 3.75 mg, Clonazepam 25 mg BID March 27-April 2, Clonazepam 25 mg BID April 3-May 3 Tapered Clonazepam May 3 no drugs He has not taken any medication since the beginning of May and is a little more than 7 months into withdrawal from all drugs. At this point it is impossible to know which of the drugs are causing the symptoms. He continues to suffer from insomnia and has some nights when he gets of a few hours of broken sleep and then he'll have a good night of 7 hours. He has become anxious around the amount of sleep he gets. He has developed social anxiety even to the point of visiting our children and grandchildren and suffers extreme chest tightness and anxiety at the thought of socializing. Interestingly, when he's actually visiting with people he does quite well. Likewise, he experiences the same symptoms if he needs to be in the car for longer than about 15 minutes although he is able to drive, go to the supermarket and do daily activities without too much discomfort. Sometimes he will wake and complain of "flu like" symptoms where he feels like he has a temperature but he doesn't. He has trouble with temperature regulation and is often very hot or too cold. He has experienced a couple of weeks about a month ago when his symptoms were a little less intense than they are now but just recently they seem to have ramped up once again. On a daily basis his symptoms include anxiety, chest tightness, feelings of hot and cold waves, agitation, restlessness, fear, and depression. The symptoms change in intensity throughout the day and a trigger can cause a sudden spike in intensity from mild to severe. Hi symptoms tend to get worse during the day until around dinner time then gradually subside during the evening until they are almost gone at the end of the day. We have recently sent of for some genetic testing as it would be interesting to see whether any of the medications he has taken might have been contraindicated based on his genetic profile. We're not sure what we will do with this information once it is available in the next few days. Perhaps, should he consider taking a different AD down the road, this information may serve to inform that decision. Based on his experience with ADs so far I would think this would be unlikely. However, the one thing no one can tell us is whether the symptoms he is experiencing at 7 months off a relatively low dose of Mirtazapine for a short period of time are from withdrawal or a worsening of his previous anxiety. How long do you wait in the hope that is the case? Does he look at the possibility of yet another AD? He is becoming more depressed by his constant symptoms on a daily basis. Doing nothing but waiting it out seems futile. Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.
  18. Hello all, My name is Alex and I was prescribed 1/2 x 10mg Escitalopram (Cipralex), 0.5 x Clonazepam (Rivotril aka Klonopin) for about 5 months now, for mostly anxiety. After already 2 months I hit tolerance / dependence with Clonazepam and from that point, for the little I knew, I should have give up on it, but my psychiatrist pushed it even more from 3/4 to 1 (0.5 Clonazepam). Clonazepam is the "horror" benzo of them all, but I did not knew back then and would have been fantastic if I removed it since month 2, instead of keep it in 3 more months. Escitalopram did not help me either, as if it had did, I would not been feeling worse after 5 months, than I was in the first place before taking the medicine. I really I very sad of my decision to actually go to the psychiatrist in the first place, but I did now knew much then. As I know now, the symptoms that I had then where really easy compared to the ones I have now (after 5 months of "treatment"). But that is what usually people do, driven by fear, instead of actually be a little realist and powerful and first, at least, document yourself of what you are doing in the first place. I have found At last a life book, by Paul David and I can say it's a life saver for the anxiety suffering people out there, but I just found it 3 weeks ago, after that I decided to start tapper the benzo. All this being said I am now on this schedule of benzo withdrawal attached in the picture. Unfortunately I got to 0.3 from 0.5 in 3 weeks instead of 8 and I feel quite a lot of withdrawal symptoms ( mild depression, mild / intermediate anxiety (but much longer than before), mild headaches, dizziness, mild blurred vision. I thought as I was just 5 months on these 2 drugs would make it to a fast withdrawal, now I know it is not the case and I need to listen to my body. Will hold benzo for now at 0.3 to stabilize. The big question is : Should I start the Escitalopram taper as well ? I read a lot already on the forum and I see usually people take it 1 by 1. Of course I asked a psychiatrist of tapering both at the same time and she said if I do it slow it's ok as I did not took them for long time and the doze is quite small. But I know you guys know better and would be much appreciated if you give me a hint here. So a small taper from the 1/2 x 10 mg Escitalopram , like 10-20% each month at the same time with the benzo taper would make sense ? Of course I will try to listen to my body / brain response, but I am unsure how much time will be needed to feel the withdrawal from Escitalopram, from Clonazepam is easy, in 2-3 days you feel the "response" of the cut, because of the 18-50 hours lifetime of it. Cheers !
  19. Took a lot of antidepressants during 2015 for anxiety. The last one was paroxetine, which induced a hypomania, according to doc (was more like an extreme irritability).After that, I started my treatment for "bipolar 2" with lots of medication failures due to extreme side effects (I'm too sensitive to this kind of drug) . The only drug my body kind of "accepted" was quetiapine xr 50 mg.In april 2021 doc made a mistake and gave me the wrong pills with a dosage of 300mg! Started having adrenaline rushes and heart issues. The pills (at least in my country) look the same! I realized only after 17 days, went back to 50 mg but developed what I recently discovered was a severe 3 months withdrawal. The doctor, to "manage" the withdrawal (although he never said was withdrawal, he said it was anxiety and panic), put me on 25mg of amisulpride, 1.25mg of olanzapine and 1mg of clonazepam (couldn't tolerate more than these). After 1 month of clonazepam, doc started a "taper" reducing 1 drop per week (in my country, clonazepam has this liquid formulation). After I completely stopped the clonazepam I entered on a terrible withdrawal, the doctor said it was normal and suggested increasing olanzapine to 2.5 mg. Took only one week and went down to 1.25mg again.Found another doc who said I'm not bipolar and probably have some anger issues and general anxiety, but manageable through therapy. He said the meds made all the bad stuff I've been feeling during the last 6 years. Proposed to taper all meds during a long time, but since I'm too bad (feeling very tired) and the last drug was olanzapine (which he told me is a terrible and dangerous drug) and is in the same class as the others, he proposed try to be a "little" fast (not so little cuts every 4 weeks) because he thought my tiredness was from that. Went from 1.25mg (1/2 a pill) to 0.9325mg (3/8th a pill) and it was good. Then went from 0.9325mg to 0.625mg (1/4th a pill) and had only some tremors during 3 hours on two days. When I went from 0.625mg to 0.3125mg(1/8th a pill) I felt very bad for two days with extreme anxiety, insomnia and nausea, then I started slowly improving. Now it's one and a half weeks past and I feel a bit tired and have some chest pressure. Doc said to wait two months to make any changes in medications. So, what's next? Since I'm at this low dosage should I taper more? At what dosage should I jump off from olanzapine? I bought a digital scale and the 1/8th a pill weighs 12mg. So I can do the 10% rule for 3 months until I hit the 9 mg of pill weight (0,2344 a dosage). After that the decrements will be 1mg, more than 10%. In this extreme case is it acceptable?
  20. Hi I'm Becky, after being on multiple different medications over the years for low mood and in 2022 i did a 1 year taper off cymbalta 30mg after being on it for 10 years, I got my accurate diagnosis of adhd at age 42 and was trialled on several different meds for this all giving me anxiety, and panic as stimulants can do, and wellbutrin was horrific. Eventually I decided to go back on an antidepressant due to clenching jaw and other ailments which may have been protracted withdrawal from cymbalta looking back, I tried brintellix, luvox and had bad reactions on miniscule doses and managed to stay on prozac 2.5mg for about 4 months before quitting 3 months ago due to brain fog, flat, and severe panic attacks to point if paranoia. Initial side effects were horrid suicidal thoughts depressed etc than it came good after a few weeks. I saw a naturopath tried me on gaba and saffron etc than started I started having panic attacks constant fight and flight scary intrusive thoughts, i have had to increase clonazepam but its not helping thar much. Currently I'm in this nightmare, I'm wondering if I'm kindled and I'm having another wave, it feels hopeless and I'm losing motivation and hope. Just looking for some kind of strength and information at this point.
  21. I am 74 yrs old and have been on antidepressants and Benzos most of my life. In the past I don’t recall any trouble stopping or switching meds. But all that changed 3 years ago 2019 Paxil 20 mg, Clonazepam max 1mg - Traumatic episode which unearthed childhood trauma. Sank into deep depression, anxiety. Crying daily the entire year. Would feel all this pressure in my chest and I had to cry. Never experienced anything like that before. Using up to 1 mg Clonazepam to manage. Decided to get off Paxil. Had no guidance. 2000-2020 paxil 20 mg, Clonazepam varied January 2020 start Paxil taper using The Netherlands tapering strips. Dec 2020 Paxil Taper done, clonazepam as needed January 2021 - August 2021 Started having severe symptoms : depression, anxiety, nerve pain, DP, DR, had no idea what was happening. Two Behavioral Health hospitalizations where I was cycled thru various drugs. Also Clonazepam for 20 yrs off and on. I have been suffering this whole year from what I think was PAWS from Paxil. Varied neurological issues, also Orthostatic hypotension, insomnia. Months of no appetite w weight loss, unable to leave the house, terror, incompacitated, couldn’t drive or take care of myself April 2021 - Mirtazipine 15 mg, clonazepam max .5 mgMay 2021 - Sertraline 25mg for anxiety, clonazepam .5mgJune 2021 - Reduced Mirtazipine to 7.5 mg, Clonazepam 2.5 - 1 mg , Buspar 5mg added for anxietyJuly - started Pregabalin 25.mg for nerve pain symptoms Aug 2021 - clonazepam .5 mg, stop Buspar, increase Sertraline to 50 mg, Pregabalin 50mgSept - Taper off Sertraline by cutting in half, back on by end of month at 25mg due to withdrawal symptoms. Nov - stopped Sertraline, started Nortriptyline 25mg, Dec - stop PregabalinJan 2022 - Nortriptyline 50mg at bedtime,Mirtazipine 7.5 mg at bedtime, Clonazepam .125mg morning and bedtime I recognized back in August that my Autonomic Nervous system (ANS)was destabilized, was in sympathetic state 24/7 I just couldn’t relax. Because I have Complex PTSD, I tried a Stellate Ganglion block to reset ANS but no help. I just keep going from one symptom to another. Except for neurological and orthostatic hypotension impairments, my mood is most stable it’s been in 3 yrs. I want off Mirtazipine because it can be factor in Orthostatic Hypotension. I attribute most of my suffering in 2021 to PAWS from Paxil. Looking for someone to review my plan because I do not want more withdrawal symptoms. I plan to get Tapering Strips for Mirtazipine from The Netherlands. 4 strips of 28 days each: 7.5 - 5.5, 5.5 - 2.5, 2.5 - .1 .1 - 0 so it will take me 4 months to be completely off Mirtazipine. Do you think that is slow enough? (About month ago, psychiatrist said to take half, so one night I only took 3.75 mg and was awake all night!). Thank you so much for guidance.
  22. Hi I’m Steve, I recently completed a taper from 40mg of Vybriid down to zero. The taper was simple decrease of 10mg per week until I was off the drug. I didn’t realize it would have been safer to reduce the dosage at 10% per month. I actually feel better off of the medication except for muscle tension in my upper and mid back area and occasional burning sensations (feels like a sunburn) on the back of my shoulders and neck sometimes. The worst so far is when the muscles tighten up it feels like there is a knot in the middle of my back or spine. It is not severe but it is disconcerting. I did make the mistake of trying to come off of Vybriid cold turkey three years ago and subsequently suffered some sort of manic episode (I don’t really know exactly what it was) and was labeled bipolar, immediately told by my psychiatrist I would be on medications for the rest of my life and placed on a mood stabilizer, Trileptal. Initially, the mood stabilizer calmed everything down and i really I was bipolar. However after the three worst years of my life and a ton of reading about misdiagnosis (labeling), and overprescribing which included a 9 night stay in a psychiatric hospital, I decided that I would taper myself off of all of my medications, one at a time (Sorry for the long run on sentence). I started by withdrawing from Vybriid maybe mid-August to mid-September. I stopped Topamax cold turkey on a Monday a couple of weeks ago after my psychiatrist didn’t return my phone call. I have a new psychiatrist who will help wean me off of these awful drugs. I will be making all the decisions with his guidance, not the other way around. I am now keep daily records of my medications and what I am feeling throughout the day. 10 days ago I began to taper from trileptal 1500mg down to 1200mg. I am in a holding pattern until at least October 26, which is the next time I have met my psychiatrist. I am very concerned that the muscle tension I am feeling is from withdrawing from the Vybriid. I also know now that I can’t taper at the rates I have been. My nervous system can’t handle it. After completing the Trileptal withdrawal, which may take many months, I have the pleasure of going through the hell of a benzo withdrawal, which is 1.5mg if klonopin. I know now that becoming psych drug free is going to be long, slow, and safe process that may take 18-24 months to complete. It may take 5 years to complete. I really don’t know. I do know I want off of these awful poisons. I want to come off of them as slowly, safely and pain free as possible. I want to survive all this and be able to support others who are doing the same. How long will it take for the muscle tension to go away? Has anyone had these similar symptoms? Thanks for taking time to read all of this! I looking forward to being an active member in this community and I hope I can be of support to others who are dealing with something we never asked for. Steve
  23. I was offered various prescriptions for antidepressants in my early 20's, but the side effects were terrible and nothing helped with the generalized anxiety and social anxiety I experienced. I took ativan on and off for 10 years, though there's been large stretches where I didn't take it all. I knew it wasn't good to taken ativan, but since I wasn't taking it every day, I presumed I was avoiding physical dependence. After taking time off work for children, I had recently returned and felt it worth trying medication one more time, to avoid taking ativan. I began Buspar March 2 - started at 2.5mg and titrated up to 45mg over 4 months, but at this dose I began having numbness in my legs, uncomfortable head rushes, and pins and needles everywhere. At the advice of my doctor, I tapered down over 2 months (until end of July) - although my doctor said I could taper even faster. Started on Wellbutrin Aug 2 and took it for 5 days and quit cold turkey, as per my doctor, due to side effects like Raynaud's and numbness to hands on waking, extreme head rushes and pins/needles. Lastly, started mirtazapine 7.5mg on August 18. Took for 7 days, but it caused panic attacks and I started having chest pains. I ended up titrating down for 7 days, although again, my doctor said I could just quit. So here I am about 1 month with no drugs. I had panic attacks almost every day for two weeks. I have pins/needles in my head in the evenings and I still wake with a part of my hand or fingers having gone numb. The panic attacks are difficult to control and I have chest tightness most days. On the days when I cannot get them under control with breathing and/or meditation, I take lorazepam. In the last two weeks, I am also having weird fluttering/vibrations across my chest when I sleep at night, causing me to have short bouts of anxiety and shortness of breath. The side effects have been so bad, I have not been able to work for the past month. So, as of this morning, I have just restarted buspar at 1.25mg to see if this helps to curb the side effects. I am hoping the reinstatement will not make things worse. But one of my questions is - Buspar has a relatively short half life - so should I be taking 1.25mg again this evening, or just waiting to take it in the morning again.
  24. Hello to all My joiurney with depression, anxiety and lexapro started in 2017 before which I had absolutely no clue about the nightmare I’d be stepping into. At my worst point I was on 20 mg of lexapro in the year 2020. Since then I’ve reduced to lexapro 5 mg after slowly cutting doses. I’m afraid to go down from here but desperately want to get off this medicine. I have several side effects from lexapro like sore breasts and night sweats for which I’ve been taking evening primrose oil which has led to even more problems with my menstrual cycle. 5 mg lexparo hasn’t been working very well for me the past year so I’ve been using cbd gummies, which also has been giving me side effects and I’ve had to stop it. I’m not sure if it was the cbd giving me side effects or the lexpro side effects worsening because of cbd. I was taking charlottes web full spectrum gummies 10 mg a day. I did some online research and found that taking cbd increases the concentration of lexapro in the body and can cause side effects to worsen. My doctor had no clue about anything and told me it was safe to take cbd with lexapro which is what led to this disaster. now I don’t know whether i should increase lexapro and go up to 10 mg and start going down from there to eventually stop or start decreasing right now from my current dose of 5 mg lexapro im not taking any other medications as of now, but can’t deal with lexapro anymore..please help me..I’m basically tired of having to deal with the constant side effects and taking one thing after another for my body to feel balanced and good.. is there a way out of this?
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use Privacy Policy