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  1. Hello I randomly got 4 panic attacks in Dec 2022 after a bad year at work. My Provider started me on 2mg Ativan a day on Jan 1st 2023 and 10mg Trintellix, he later increased Trintellix to 20mg after 10 days. On the 12th day I got intense dizziness, I ended up in the ER. my provider switched to escitalopram 5mg on Jan 14 and lowered Ativan to 1mg/day. Dizziness/photophobia came down a bit, then he upped my escitalopram dosage from 5mg to 10mg. Dizziness/photophobia stayed and didn’t go away. I kept taking it for another 2.5 weeks. During this time reduced Ativan to 0.5mg for 5 days and then 0.5 every other day for a week and over. Then on Feb 05 we reduced escitalopram to 5mg and then 5mg every other day. I took my last dose on Feb 14. I had no withdrawal symptoms for about 5-6 days. Dizziness started going down quite a bit after 2 days, by day 6 it was down quite a bit, almost over. On Feb 22 withdrawals began! At First high resting HR of 100+ for 4 days along with insomnia, then insomnia stopped and high heart rates came randomly. I got vivid dreams, clogged ears, tinnitus, sweating, fatigue, suicidal tendencies all came and went but dizziness, anxiety and random high HR did not change at all. It’s been 3.5 weeks since I stopped escitalopram I’m stuck at a dizziness of 6/10. I cannot drive and haven’t been to work in 2 months. I cannot function properly or be independent. my doctor gave me propranolol for high HR and anxiety. I took 20mg this morning, at first I got weakness and fatigue for 20 mins. Then everything got better, anxiety went down, HR got better and relaxed, then even dizziness went down. I felt better, more positive, not depressed, went for a short drive after 2.5 months with blue light cutting glasses and brown tint sunglasses (these help with photophobia). Propranolol has a half life of 3-6 hours. After 7 hours dizziness and photophobia came back. I took another 10mg as my provider suggested since I got some side effects from 20mg. No difference with 10mg. I will try 20mg again tomorrow morning. I’m here looking to seek support in case anyone else has experienced this or is experiencing this and how did they overcome it.
  2. Hello I'm 23 male, started amitriptyline 20mg in Jan 2022, without prescription (worst mistake I've ever done) in hopes that it could help with my chronic hyperventilation syndrome (it's much better now thanks to buteyko exercises) The med didn't affect me in any capacity for a year, no sedation, sleepiness, no side effects either. Suddenly though, December 2022 I got some adverse reactions (so I had to start tapering) out of the blue that lasted till early February 2023, finally felt better for a while with the decreased dosage, but now the reactions came back full force again all of a sudden (adverse reactions: constant dizziness, weakness, pre fainting, unable to focus 100% my vision, feels like hypotension, can't walk or stand more than a few steps. The first time I've got these side effects I went to do blood test, cardiologist, and general doctor, they all said that I seem healthy from the tests results) So I don't know what to do, I'm afraid of tapering faster and getting withdrawal, but my side effects while on this drug are debilitating too. I've tapered by -10% of last dose on December 22, hold for 1 month, -10% January 23, hold 1 month, -10% February and want to try to taper now every 3 weeks, in hopes that I can eventually taper every 2 weeks. But I think I'll have to go even faster, so I don't know what to do. Thanks for your time. (buteyko as far as I know can lower blood pressure and make me feel all these symptoms even more?)
  3. Hello all! I found your forum and figured I should ask for thoughts regarding my Lexapro withdrawal experience. I’ll post a brief overview paragraph, but if you have time or want to know more, I tried to be as detailed as possible describing my symptoms to see if they sound familiar to anyone here. Short explanation: I took Lexapro for around 2 years, maybe a bit longer. The dose was 10mg, but it’s possible it was a little higher for a short while. I lowered the dose to 5mg at some point in 2014 and was on that dose for a year. I then spent the bulk of a year tapering from 5mg to 0mg. The last dose I took was so small that it was a tiny piece of powder on my finger, which is what I had gotten it down to over time. I am on here because I have been off of the medicine completely for almost four months and still have some odd slight-dizzy/floating feelings sometimes, which typically aren’t very strong or long lasting, but I also have fatigue most days. I sleep very well and get 7-8 hours a night, but feel the need to lay down for a few minutes several times a day. I never had these issues until I started messing with my Lexapro doses. Thats the short story, but I can get more in-depth. Fatigue details: The fatigue used to be so bad a few months ago that I could easily fall asleep within 3 minutes; I would often take a few minute break at work and immediately fall asleep in my car and set a short 6 minute timer and wake up and feel a lot better. I would do that a few times a day especially after work. Now days I don’t instantly fall asleep, but resting my eyes for a few minutes helps. I take a 20 min nap at lunch and a 20 min nap after work and for both of these I fall asleep and jolt awake when the alarm goes off, but feel a lot better. When it happens, I can often feel the tiredness growing in a short period of time, often within an hour or even 15 minutes. The tiredness is usually just to the level of being annoying, but sometimes it becomes so strong that I literally just have to close my eyes at my office desk for awhile. When it’s really bad I notice I even close my eyes for a couple seconds when I am walking or doing simple things. This isn’t like when a driver starts closing their eyes without noticing it; I very purposefully close my eyes just for a second or two to get a vague feeling of minor relief. Usually I feel like my mind is actually still working and I am wanting to stay productive, but my eyes and head just get tired even though the rest of me seems to have energy. Its almost like a synthetic tiredness, as if my water was spiked several times a day without me knowing; it’s very different from a normal tiredness. Often if I am at home I will feel it kick in and just have to drop what I’m doing, lay down and set my timer for 5-15 minutes just to recharge and then get back up and continue what I was doing. Then it might kick in two or three hours later and I’ll have to do the nap/timer session again. Before I go out and do anything, such as meet a friend or go to a movie, I preemptively take a short nap to prepare my body. Also, when I wake up in the morning after a full 7 or 8 hours sleep, I am typically a bit groggy for awhile inevitably. Before I started changing my meds I would often wake up and have energy and used to love my morning time during the weekends. Now mornings aren’t horrible, but they aren’t really much to look forward to. On weekends I often take one of my quick naps within an hour or two after waking up because I get so groggy I just have to lay down. Dizziness details: My dizziness from time to time gets bad enough to become an issue that really bothers me. These periods where it is bad usually only last for a few days, but more often the dizziness is a very minor symptom and just makes me feel a bit “off” for a half hour or so. It’s hard to explain and there are actually several different feelings of dizziness I experience. “Dizziness” isn’t even always the best word, but its the only one that I can think of that fits. Often it is just a vague sense of feeling disconnected and unbalanced. Sometimes when I am showering I do literally feel slightly unbalanced, but it is a very minor feeling and I never *actually* feel like I am loosing my balance. Another feeling is almost like the whole room is spinning, but at such a very, very slow rate that it is just enough to make me feel slightly uncomfortable. Sometimes another feeling happens where I feel slightly cloudy headed and if I turn my head quickly, it takes a second for my brain to readjust. This usually doesn’t last very long, and in fact, most of these dizzy feelings come and go within a half hour and don’t interfere with my life very badly. Oh, and another one is a vague “floating” sense that I sometimes feel when I walk down a hallway, for example. Again, pretty minor, but just enough to make me feel a little off. I should also mention that sometimes the dizziness transitions into tiredness; the dizziness evaporates and I am left feeling like I need to lay down from sudden fatigue. Additional issues: When I first got off Lex completely, I had really sore muscles in my back and shoulder blades within a few days. One of those curved self massage sticks really helped with that. I used to also have a really bad pressure in my head during the tapering process (but went away after a few weeks of stopping lex) and the massage stick also relieved a lot of that head pressure that I used to get. I no longer have the tension in my back, but my shoulders themselves often feel like they get tense, like there is a “grip” on them. Sometimes this is combined with a slight feeling of dizziness. When I am around my father to give my shoulders a quick massage it relieves a lot of the dizziness as well as the tension. I have read that anxiety can cause tension like this, but I have had anxiety my whole life and never have felt this shoulder “grip” before. But it may be an indirect, subconscious anxiety causing this tension, as opposed to a direct result of lexapro withdrawal. Typically a short period of laying down helps with this also. Waves/Windows: I have read different parts of this forum and found them helpful. I feel that the “waves/windows” idea is in line with what I have been going through. I feel that I am getting better, and then all of a sudden I will feel way worse for several days or a week, then I will start feeling better again for a week or so. However, looking back on the whole process, overall I think I am improving in the big picture scheme of things. I went to the doctor yesterday and of course he told me it couldn’t have anything to do with Lexapro because I have been off of it for a few months. I also am having blood work done just in case it is anything else. I guess my big question is do these things sound familiar to others and will these symptoms go away over time?
  4. Hi everyone, I want to introduce myself. This forum helped me start tapering off of paxil a year ago and I never officially joined until now. Now that I am close to the finish mark, things have gotten harder. It is a long story, so I post a summary first and then a longer version. What I am looking for: sympathy, tips on dealing with current WD symptoms, advice, etc. My history (summary): May 2017-April 2018: 30 mg paxil April-September 2018: 15 mg paxil Sept-Nov 2018: 20 mg paxil November 2019: switch to 20mg paroxetine (bad reaction to change) December 2019-July 2021: 20mg Paxil again June 2021-August 2021: slow transition from 20mg brand paxil to 20mg paroxetine. Went well this time.(motivation was price of drug) July 2021: discussed with doc that parox has made me feel stupid/less sharp. I have always been considered a smart individual, and my work is very intellectual. He said parox does indeed cause cognitive decline over extended use period. So I started tapering off 20mg paroxetine at approx. -10% a month. Had to combine with suspension which is only sold as brand Paxil. (Doc supported this plan). July 2021: doc suggested cannabis for insomnia and that has been wonderful. This was because I often found myself needing 0.25mg alprazolam to sleep and he said cannabis was better. May 2022: reached 10mg paroxetine (from 20mg July 2021). No bad feelings other than noticing increased overall anxiety. Convinced myself I do want to take meds but not paroxetine. July 2022: Doc suggested change to 10 mg Trintellix. Suggested plan was: week 1: 10mg parox and 5mg trintellix; week 2: 10 mg parox and 10mg trintellix; week 3: 5 mg parox and 10mg trintellix (I disobeyed and went to 7.5mg instead and felt fine); week 4: 2.5mg parox and 10mg trintellix (I disobeyed and went to 5mg of paroxetine and all hell broke loose). Three days into the change from 7.5->5mg paroxetine I started feeling terrible withdrawal. August 2022: currently taking 10mg trintellix in the morning and 5 mg paroxetine in the evening and afraid to reduce further. Have been needing 0.25 mg alprazolam to sleep because I am afraid of using prescribed cannabis, which is what I normally use for sleeping. August 2022: 10mg trintellix and 5 mg paroxetine. Alprazolam 0.25mg or cannabis for sleep. Having WD from parox in spite of trintellix. Since 3rd day of going 7.5mg->5mg of parox I have felt crippling headache that did not subside even with 600 mg ibuprofen. This came along with a very stiff neck seemingly out of the blue. I decided it must've been my yoga headstand. But I also felt a bit off - weird racing thoughts, did not feel like myself. Had to take alprazolam 0.25 mg to sleep. The next day I felt extremely nauseous and dizzy along with the stiff neck, ocular pain, and a paradoxical feeling of both light and heavy head, if that makes sense. These symptoms persisted into the next day, which is where I am now. What I've been trying from reading here: took 2x 120mg magnesium capsules this morning and 2xvegan omega3 capsules. I felt some relief from ocular and neck pain. Also have been using heat pads and sniffing my lavender/eucalyptus oil blend for relief. Tums helped with nausea yesterday. Any tips are welcome. Thank you PS: I also take between 5-20mg of dextroamphetamine for adhd daily. This started late in life on July 2020 and has proved essential to my surviving in capitalism as a late diagnosed woman with adhd. Long version: Prescribed brand Paxil for generalyzed anxiety disorder: 10 mg for a week, 20mg second week, 30 mg third week. Adjusted well and main side effects were: constipation, weight gain, increased motion sickness. These seemed worth it compared to my anxiety. Took that from may 2017 to around march 2019, when, aided by prescribing doctor, decided to try to stop gradually. He recommended reduce in half (15 mg) in one go and report back. I did and stayed there for about 5 weeks. I felt physical symptoms such as diarrhea, ocular pain, headaches, general photophobia. Doc said these were normal and would subside and indeed they did after about 5 weeks. At that point doc said to cut in half again (7.5 mg). After a couple of days I felt all the previous symptoms in huge intensity but also despair, dread, bouts of crying, and generally a feeling of losing myself. Doc told me to up it back to 15 mg and stay there, which I did. A few months later I was having trouble sleeping and drinking myself to sleep so I asked for advice and he upped the dose to 20mg, where I stayed until July 2021. In November 2020 I tried switching from paxil to paroxetine and had huge withdrawal symptoms (same dose). Switched back to paxil. July 2021, switched gradually from paxil to paroxetine because it is cheaper. That worked fine. I also then started tapering off from 20mg to 10mg (achieved May 2022, no withdrawal). July 2022, doc suggests transition to trintellix with following plan: week In July 2020 I started seeing a new psychiatrist and long story short he said paroxetine was notoriously difficult to get off of and that we could switch to trintellix if I wanted to continue medication or use fluoxetine as a bridge. In July 2021, aided by websites like this one, I told him I would start a slow tappering off to help me decide and he supported did. I did about -10% a month, including paxil suspension Last week July 2022: started 5 mg Trintellix. A week later 10 mg Trintellix. A week later went from 10 to 7.5 mg of paroxetine. Felt ok. A week later went from 7.5 to 5 mg of paroxetine. On the third day felt crippling headache that did not subside even with 600 mg ibuprofen. This came along with a very stiff neck seemingly out of the blue. I decided it must've been my yoga headstand. But I also felt a bit off - weird racing thoughts, did not feel like myself. Had to take alprazolam 0.25 mg to sleep. The next day I felt extremely nauseous and dizzy along with the stiff neck, ocular pain, and a paradoxical feeling of both light and heavy head, if that makes sense. These symptoms persisted into the next day, which is where I am now. Any advice/tips/stories/support is welcome. Thank you
  5. Hello. I have been on antidepressants since the late 1980’s. My first, for severe panic and anxiety, was Nardil. I was switched after three or so years to Paxil. Paxil gave me a movement disorder so I was then changed to Effexor around 1992 and Bupropion was added around 2000. On was on those two for the next eighteen years. In November of 2018 I thought I was starting to have movement disorder symptoms again which frightened me so much that I discontinued both medications abruptly, unaware of the consequences (Effexor 150 mg, Bupropion 100mg). This (Neurologist now calling it a severe Akathisia) went on for five months with no reinstatement of antidepressants during which time I also quit drinking alcohol thinking it might be a contributing factor. The movements resolved and stopped completely in April 2019. However, I then developed dizziness that is more of a swaying and am still suffering with this 14 months later. Some days it can be quite debilitating. As you can well assume, I have had everything tested medically and all are negative for anything that could be a cause or a concern. I still wonder if this is withdrawal, if there is anything I could do or try and if I will still heal? Oh, and I am 63. Thank you for reading. Any feedback is greatly welcome.
  6. I officially stopped antidepressants in January 2022 after being on a multitude of them over the last 12 years. Some of the symptoms once officially stopping are: -dizziness -intrusive and obsessive thoughts- I can’t get bad images or thoughts out of my head -panic attacks -suicidal thoughts -shivering/chills even though it’s not cold -fatigue to the point I can’t keep my eyes open Are these normal withdrawal symptoms and can I overcome them? I’ve been trying so hard to do everything possible to overcome my mental instabilities with therapy, mindfulness, journaling, exercise, etc, but nothing is giving me full relief. After being off of antidepressants for two months and doing research, it says my brain should be back to normal. After reading that apong with the symptoms I was having I felt like I can’t handle living like that so I got on celexa a week in a half ago. After one week I had such bad side effects I’ve decided to quit again. I have had side effects from every antidepressant I’ve been on (Effexor, lexapro, Zoloft, Prozac, Celexa). Although I’m mentally better, I can’t handle the side effects. The doctor doesn’t think there’s probably an antidepressant that would work for me, and that I’ll have side effects no matter what I’m on. Ultimately I don’t want to be on them, but feeling hopeless of whether I can be due to the symptoms. Is my brain truly messed up?
  7. Hello Everyone. I was on 20mg nortriptyline for 6 weeks. I tapered off the drug over a 1 week period due to it's side effects (increased heart rate, muscle spasms and hair loss). It's been 2 weeks since I stopped taking the nortriptyline and I am still having a very rough time dealing with withdrawal symptoms. I constantly have this constant rocking motion that I feel in my head as though I'm on boat that's bobbing up and down, left and right, forward and backwards. Although this seems similar to vertigo, things around me in the environment are not spinning. I just feel like my mind and head is always rocking ever so slightly with the beating of my heart. I should note that I had and am still dealing with constant rapid heartbeats throughout the day since I stopped taking the drug. This constant rocking motion in my head makes me feel dizzy and nauseated. And my head feels like a balloon all the time. Has anyone here experienced movement problems during nortriptyline withdrawal? If so, does it go away and how long does it take for it to go away? It's very bothersome. It greatly hinders my concentration and focus. I'd like to hear from anyone who's had this experience. Thanks.
  8. Hello, this is my introduction. I am a long time Effexor user, age 38 male. It never was completely effective and I struggled with side effects, so I ended up cycling off and on periodically for the last 10 or so years. For the last two years, I have been using Pristiq instead, and don't feel I need it, but I have not been able to stay off. Even after tapering to where I am off it with no short term withrdawal, I will get bad symptoms of withdrawal (characteristic headache and dizziness) returning about 6 weeks after. I just restarted 25mg Pristiq and am hoping to successfully get off. I have a lot of questions, including whether I should switch back to Effexor just for the ability to count the time release balls and taper that way. I would like to post in the tapering forum. Thanks you.
  9. Hello, I'm new here. I have been run through the psychiatry mill for the past 22 years. I'm currently 44 and have been on SSRIs since I was 21. I have been tapering sertraline very slowly the past 3 years. Max dose was 100mg, I'm down to about 10mg. Wondering how low I should go? I am tapering clonazepam concurrently. That is some kind of fresh hell. Details in my signature, but long story short - I had a health crisis starting in about 2015. My balance went south, it felt like I was stepping on a trampoline randomly while walking. Dizziness, brain zaps, massive anxiety, TMJ pain, drumming in my ears, overwhelm, exhaustion. This lead to chronic fatigue symptoms, weight loss, SIBO, reactivated EBV. 6 years ago I was regularly running and doing triathlons, now I am so out of shape I get sore from basic life activities (walking). I have done lots of work to repair my gut with a FM nutritionist, I eat well, and have brought in small amounts of exercise. I think I'm on the upswing from this nightmare, but I am curious how low to go on sertraline before jumping off. When I drop my dose I get zappy, sore muscles, fatigue, rage (!!), and sweaty. Last drop was 1/4 of a 25mg tablet. Thanks!
  10. Hi! My name is Kim. I’m 62 years old. I’ve been on 20mg of Prozac for about 28 years. I started on them from having PTSD as a survivor of childhood sex abuse. I went to talk therapy many times which helped a lot. I have had multiple medical problems over the years that I now believe, in retrospect, are from taking the Prozac. I’ve been to many psychiatrists in my life. They all told me antidepressants were harmless, esp SSRIs, that I could stop anytime I wanted to. But I’ve tried many times and couldnt get off. I was told by the psychiatrist that my symptoms were returning. Years later I realize I was just having withdrawls. In Dec 2018 I started to taper off of Prozac at 10%, per month. I started at 20 mg. When I got to 10 mg., I started having dizziness. It was very bad. I couldn’t shower or do anything. I eventually got somewhat better but I still cannot drive. I can walk but not too far. I have other withdrawl symptoms such as sensitivity to noise, heartburn, constipation, nausea. However it’s the dizziness that is so difficult to live with. I’ve had this dizziness ever since Nov. 2019. It is now Feb 2021. I have held my dose at 10 mg ever since the dizziness began in Nov. 2019. I’m wondering why I am still dizzy 14 months later. Should I taper at a very slow rate, like 2%? Or should I continue to hold at 10 mg? That’s my question. Any ideas?
  11. Hello forum! Female, 33, Sweden. Have been on Paroxetine, 20mg, for more than 5 years. In April 2017 I had my first major panic attack and ended up in the ER. My life completely changed and I developed panic disorder along with some GAD. Though the GAD may have been the underlying cause of panic, I don't really know. Since September 2017 I have been reducing my dose of Paroxetine, and am now on 10mg. Somewhere in December I got down to 10mg and thought I'd wait until I'm stable at this dose before continuing my taper. I have been using the Claire Weekes-method of trying to completely relax in the face of panic, and I seem to only have smaller attacks now. Palpitations have lessened, and I am less startled by my nervous system signaling panic. I have lately been feeling very off-balance/dizzy and sometimes theres an intense feeling of anxiety and dread in my body. Feels like there are bugs crawling around inside. Weird buzzing nerves? Dizziness is so bad I have to lie down sometimes. Last night I was holding on to the walls when moving around in my house. Feels like I'm losing my balance all the time, even when sitting on the toilet, but I can stand on one leg and walk in a straight line. So it seems to be some sort of misinterpretation happening in my brain, rather than an actual problem with my balance. Now to my question: When I wake up in the morning I usually feel perfectly fine. It is after taking Paroxetine that all of the horrible sensations start, and they seem to calm down slightly in the evening. Is this normal during withdrawal? Or does it sound more like I'm having actual adverse reactions to Paroxetine? They sort of worked until I developed panic disorder. But I clearly remember growing increasingly fearful and illogical during several months before I had that massive panic attack. Thank you in advance.
  12. I'll try to keep this kind of short. I've finally decided to post an intro today after reading posts on this site for a few years now which has helped a lot with understanding what's going on since most doctors just told me my SSRI discontinuation/withdrawal symptoms-which were unlike anything I'd ever experienced before and physically and emotionally worse than I'd ever felt-were a return of my depression & anxiety or possibly a bipolar disorder according to one doctor. I knew for a fact that it was not my original anxiety & depression, but I had no idea what was happening in the beginning or how to explain it. I had social anxiety, depression, & general anxiety since age 12 and was not allowed to drive/take the bus/go out or do much by myself other than going to school (because everything was too dangerous) by controlling, religious parents with their own high anxiety and agoraphobia. I was never allowed to receive counseling for these issues & when I went off to college, it was an extremely difficult struggle going from not being allowed to do almost anything to suddenly being responsible for figuring everything out on my own. I was also not great with time management skills & knowing how to plan ahead. (I actually relate to a lot of symptoms of ADD & Asperger's, which both greatly affect social skills & ability to get through college and would explain a lot of problems I've had. I have learned more about them in the past year, but can't afford to get diagnosed right now so I've just been looking at support groups for days when my nausea is lessened.) I felt overwhelmed all the time and all my negative thoughts worsened severely. I didn't see the free counselor at college during this time either because I was embarrassed about everything and about asking for help. I finally decided I wanted to try to make a change and try counseling the summer after sophomore year of college at age 20 and was at rock bottom, desperate to not feel depressed. I knew someone who said their antidepressant helped them, so I asked a doctor for medicine and they prescribed sertraline. After taking the first pill, I had a surge of anxiety and racing thoughts that made it impossible to concentrate. Within the first couple days on 25 mg of sertraline, I was gagging and dry heaving over and over for at least 20 minutes as soon as I ate anything. I would also throw up multiple times in a short timespan after one snack or meal. I called my Dr & was told to skip a dose and then change the time I took the dose from morning to night. After a week of this (dry heaving & vomiting all meals) on 25 mg, and another call to the doctor, I was told that digestive issues are a possible starting symptom and to increase to 50 mg. As soon as I increased, the gagging & vomiting increased even more. After 6 days of this, I called the doctor again and was told I could stop taking it altogether since it had been such a short amount of time on it. And to come in for a different medicine Rx after the weekend. The very first day that I didn't take the sertraline, I felt the worst nausea I had ever felt in my entire life. I ended up asking a friend to drive me to the ER because I felt so sick. I told the Dr how I had just stopped sertraline. The doctor said that my pupils were dilated and my reflexes were overactive. Then, he listed off illegal drugs & asked if I had taken those. (No, I've never tried any drug before). He said "You need to tell me what else is going on because the antidepressant couldn't have caused this." And I said "I don't know" and started crying. I do know that people in my family are highly sensitive to medicines and have since found out I have a gene that causes me to metabolize slowly so things build up for longer in my system. Anyway, the Dr left the room and at one point I was given Ativan in an IV by the nurse which did ease the nausea. When the Dr came back, he told me I had SSRI discontinuation syndrome, (he didn't explain what that meant), that I could never try another SSRI, and gave me a Rx for a small bottle of Ativan. My mom said he mentioned something on the phone to her about serotonin syndrome which dilated pupils and overactive reflexes are symptoms of, but I don't remember him saying anything about it directly to me. He also mentioned reinstating a small amount might help but my mom didn't pass this on to me until much later because she didn't want me to take it. After that, I experienced: -more dry heaving which gradually lessened in frequency -random times of vomiting after eating and after exercising when I wasn't sick & the food wasn't bad (or sometimes nothing was left to vomit & only a small amount would come up) -continuing debilitating nausea & dizziness -olfactory hallucination (putrid smell that wouldn't go away, would intensify around strong scents such as soap & car exhaust) -uncontrollable crying at every tiny thing (neuro-emotion, not regular sadness) -uncontrollable rage (neuro-emotion) -intrusive thoughts & floods of bad memories which I "word vomited" in texts to my sisters -didn't want to be around people who I associated with bad memories because it would greatly intensify neuro-anxiety. (I'd guess the feeling is similar to what people mean who talk about experiencing bad drug trips and how it's important to be with people you trust) -nightmares -paranoia/suspicion/distrust (felt like my mom & sister were not really my mom and sister even though logically, I knew it was them. Things feel creepy & sinister -almost like a horror movie sometimes. A post I read here compared the sinister feeling to a bad LSD trip. I have never tried LSD, but I understood what they meant & is the closest way I found to describe it. -cognitive fog (thinking, processing speed, & reaction time is noticeably slower) (I was a slow thinker/processor before, but it feels like I have brain damage now) -memory problems (I was somewhat forgetful before, but am even more so now) -depersonalization ("it feels like the medicine changed who I am & I don't have an identity/sense of self which I still hadn't fully formed before sertraline) -derealization (feel emotionally disconnected & distant from people/atmosphere. I know things are real, but they don't feel real. Sometimes it feels like consequences won't matter or there is no sense of helpful anxiety even in a potentially dangerous situation. Logically, I know they do matter and still want to do the right thing) -anhedonia/apathy/emotionally numb (don't care about things or have the same amount of passion for interests or feel empathy for other people's emotions or feel spiritual even though I had some spiritual beliefs before. Couldn't feel hopeful about anything/future or feel love towards or from anyone. These emotions have slowly returned to a certain degree since then & levels of ability to feel them have changed at different courses of time) -blurred/cloudy vision (when DR was at most intense, vision was different. Hard to explain) -eye floaters ( random black specks & lines) Didn't notice these until a year after DC-ing -constant yawning/air hunger -stomach/digestion issues -burning, tingling, itching, numbness, redness in feet -brain zaps/"crackles" (sometimes annoying, sometimes painful, but my most tolerable symptom) -head pressure/tightness, feels like head is being squeezed -headaches There was also a period of 6 months where I thought certain symptoms were over and after that period, the dizziness returned. Those are most of the symptoms I've experienced in the past approx 3.5 years. They're not in order. I'm 24 now. A few have gone away for the most part (vomiting, olfactory hallucination, yawning) and most are less intense. I have really improved a lot, I don't mean to sound overly negative. But, I still have the issues I went on the SSRI for & I have trouble accepting where I am & worrying about where to go from here & the uncertainty of how long this lasts because it has put lots of areas of my life on hold (I wasn't able to go back to college, I hope to someday) and ended up making things harder to deal with when I was told it would make them easier. (BTW, I am now seeing a counselor). I don't understand why people say SSRI's are not technically drugs when they have this much of an effect on your mind, mood, & perceptions. Sorry if I have over shared, I might need to post a shorter version of this at some point that's easier to read. And I'm still figuring out the layout of the website & where to post about certain questions & topics. I just know that sometimes other people's explanations made me feel better because I had some understanding of what was happening & words to describe feelings I'd never had before and didn't know how to explain. I've also had other stress & health issues and a few (physical health) medicines that have affected my withdrawal progress, but I guess that's a topic for a separate forum. Any advice, similar experiences, recommendations, tips for using the site, or insight into what happened to my brain is appreciated if anyone feels so inclined :)
  13. My story appears to be similar to many folks here on this forum. Reading all of these accounts has helped me accept my symptoms as a result of Zoloft, which has at least given me some piece of mind. Before I explain my timeline and struggle with getting off Zoloft, I want to bring to the forum’s attention something my psychiatrist informed me of which I have found no evidence of elsewhere. Hopefully someone can verify this. My psychiatrist explained the following: The FDA allows for a 30% upward or downward margin of error on Zoloft pills. He explained that a 50mg Sertraline (Zoloft) may have up to 65mg or as low as 38.5mg. Another example, a 25mg Sertraline may have have as much as 32.5mg and as low as 17.5mg. Can anyone validate this? If this is true, it is unimaginable. My story: I started 50mg of Zoloft in 2012 for general anxiety, social stress and general dissatisfaction. My psychiatrist at the time said “It was about as harmful as taking an aspirin.” In 2013 we increased my dose to 75mg. My psychiatrist retired in 2015 and I continued at 75mg through my general doctor’s refills. In 2018, I felt I was in a good place and tried to go cold turkey. After a couple of weeks of torture, I returned to 75mg. After learning that I should taper, and also feeling I was in a good place, I decided to reduce my dose to 50mg in July of 2019. Two weeks of intense symptoms ensued but by the end of the second week things became more manageable. I wanted to reduce the symptoms and requested (it took some convincing of my new psychiatrist) a liquid form of Sertraline in August. I reduced to 45mg but felt like I was not getting a consistent dose (sticking to the glass) and it was difficult to swallow even when mixed with water. My psychiatrist recommended that I switch to a 25mg pill + a half and a quarter of another 25mg pill bringing me to 42.5mg in September. I stayed at 42.5mg for September and October and was distracted by a series of sinus infections (antibiotics and 2 rounds of prednisone). Thinking I was ill from the infections, I did not realize most of my symptoms were Zoloft related. All of my symptoms were rationalized but my general doctors. Dizziness, light headed, extreme head pressure, headaches, persistent neck pain, fogginess, loss of appetite, ear pops and pings, jittery, imbalance, loss of equilibrium, flu-like symptoms and tingles in hands...doctors all rationalized them as symptoms of sinus/ear infection and the steroids. This went on for almost 2 months, while somehow I was still functioning. Until I called my psychiatrist last week and he informed me that it might be because we switched to a smaller pill which may have 30% less than is listed on the bottle. He prescribed the 50mg for me and within 2 days I felt somewhat improved, but noticed some brain zaps and the continuation of symptoms. My psychiatrist said that 50mg may not be enough to counteract a withdrawal and that we may need to go up to 75mg to stabilize. This past Sunday (10/27) I upped my dosage to 75mg. I am feeling some improvement, but still not feeling right: light headed, light sensitivity, headaches, fogginess, inconsistent appetite, ear pops and pings, jittery, imbalance and tingles in hands... So I am back where I started, 75mg, and hopefully stabilizing soon. Lots of information here from fellow “survivors” but I am scared. Shouldn’t I feel totally better? Could a couple months of enduring withdrawal make stabilizing more difficult? And most importantly, is the 30% margin of error that my psychiatrist shared with me true?? If so, we need to change that! Thank you for your time.
  14. Hi all, This is my first post, but probably not my last unfortunately. I was taking Lexapro 10 MG for anxiety and dizziness of unknown origin for about 3 years. I have tapered off over a little less than 3 months. As of today, I am over 1 week off completely of the drug. I have had a whirlwind of symptoms most notably anxiety and dizziness. The dizziness has been unrelenting and it's very taxing on the mind and body to have to compensate for this. Generally, I feel disoriented and most of my dizziness centers around head movement. Some heart symptoms, but mostly attributable to anxiety (racing heartbeat, palps, etc.). I've had a history of PVCs which have been checked out before and OKed. I'm writing this specific topic to ask what your definition of a brain zap is? I've read over some time that most people seem to center around a brain zap as a sudden jolt of electricity throughout the head, or an electric like sensation. I feel like I may have been experiencing brain zaps but not necessarily in this sense. I don't feel an "electric" sensation, but I do experience sudden dizzy spells, where my head feels like it's about to fall over. These spells last maybe a few seconds and really take up that time (I.E. I can't do anything else, for those short seconds I'm in the spell). Does anyone else experience brain zaps as sudden dizziness/vertigo that subsides in seconds? Thanks for any input and good luck to everyone.
  15. Hi everyone, After a week of lurking here, I was motivated to join to ask for some advice for my particular situation. Everyone here is so helpful and supportive, and I'm hoping that someone has some insight into what's been happening to me! I think most of the main information is in my signature, but in short, I've been taking 5mg escitalopram intermittently since 8/2017 for bad PMDD symptoms. I start taking it at D14 of my cycle, and continue until the next one begins. It has been helping me deal with depression and mood swings quite well until recently. The last cycle I thought it may not be working, and would that I had just stopped then!! This past cycle, I again stopped taking it at the usual time, and about a week later felt like I was hit by a truck - vertigo, balance issues, blurry/double vision, nausea. After a few days of suffering, I realized that maybe this was withdrawal, so I reinstated back at 5mg on 6/26, a few days earlier than I normally would have. The vertigo has been more tolerable, but the other symptoms remain in force and are dramatically interfering with living my life. I feel like I walk around drunk and half blind the majority of the time. I'm due to stop taking them again in another week, but I'm so lost on what to do next.. 1- should I take them continuously from here on out & begin to taper if/when everything stabilizes?? or.. 2- stop taking them in a week & just see what happens? or.. 3- modify the dose up/down? I have had multiple blood tests and nothing abnormal has been found, and am waiting on an appointment with a neuro-ophthalmologist referred to me by my PCP. The double/blurry vision is the scariest symptom for me - I have had glasses for years so I'm comfortable with my poor eyesight without them, but this is awful!! I'm worried that it won't get better, even though I know its only been a little over a week. Thank you for taking the time to read all this, and I would love some advice on the best path forward ☺️ -jbird
  16. Hi All, I have been a reader of this site for over two years and wanted to share my story and ask for suggestions / hope. I was put on 10Mg lexapro in fall of 2014 for anxiety and took it for 1.5 years. The drug greatly improved my anxiety and self confidence but destroyed my sex life and caused weight gain. I tapered over 4 weeks at my drs suggestions and suffered through 9 months of fog, depersonalization, confusion and dizziness (Hell). I ended up going back on 10Mg Prozac and immediately stabilized and stayed on for 6 months. I have been trying to taper at 5% increments over weeks but am still having extreme dizziness. Have tried everything from acupuncture to meditation to diet and exercise, all of which helps but doesn’t “carry the day”. Aside from slow taper and good lifestyle changes, does anyone have any recommendations? Thanks so much.
  17. Hi everybody! I started taking Lorazepam 0.5mg and escitalopram (Lexapro) 10mg for anxiety attacks back in Sep 2016 after 4 months of one-per-month short vertigo episodes, dizziness, imbalance and (unconfirmed later) misdiagnosis of Meniere's "Syndrome"). I never reached the prescribed limits started with 1/2 pill -> 3/4 pill of Lorazepam and 2.5 -> 5 ->7.5 mg of Lexapro. I wasn't feeling good. Constant dizziness, sometimes a bit of nausea and overall while feeling less anxious not feeling good most of the time (a bit dizzy in some situations like elevators or driving). Then, I think in Feb 2017 I decided to start tapering off scared by all the withdrawal descriptions I've read and no being able to have tests for my vestibular system. I bought mg scales, and I think for two months I tapered off Lorazepam, and then May 26 was my last day of escitalopram. For 2 weeks or more I felt more or less okay. Then, things started getting worse. In mid-July 2017, after a stress I felt really dizzy, and my anxiety attacks got back to me. I started having strange sensations of posture imbalance, like my feet were not in accordance with the rest of my body. I thought I have a chronic subjective dizziness, took some vestibular therapy (they said I have a perfect objective balance), it seemed to help, but still I was having difficulty concentrating, sitting in front of a computer, felt constant eye muscle pain and anxiety. Strange feet sensation / imbalance was more perceivable when I was standing. Then I started having sort of "excitement"/"dizziness" zaps in my brain like you are on a rollercoaster for a second. Then roughly 3 weeks ago it got gradually accompanied by tingling, numbness in my feet and also tingling/ hypersensitivity in my arms / body and all over the body. For a couple of nights I felt extremely fatigue and felt weakness in my leg muscles and overall body, went to bed 2 hours before my wife, woke up a couple of time in a cold sweat. I started thinking I was developing an MS and all that made me completely freaked out (not mentioning chronic subjective dizziness and prospective to taking ADs again). I'm doing MRI in a couple of weeks, MRI from Sep 2016 showed no lesions. A couple of days ago, maybe a week, I started feeling odd taste in my mouth, I searched for it and yes, the closest description is "metallic". These three months were the worst, I think I'm in depression now (my psychotherapist kind of shares my view), really preparing for the life with MS and, well, the joy of life has gone So I'd like to ask community a couple of questions and ask for support, because it seems my CNS is waving me a goodbye 1. Do you think I tapered too fast? 2. Was the dose good enough to "justify" what was going on? 3. Is all this more likely WD than suddenly appearing MS? 4. I'm taking Fish Oil, magnesium, Turmeric, taking St. John's Wort (800mg) right now. Should I add / remove anything from the list? 5. I'm doing yoga warm-up every day, try to visit yoga classes a couple of times per week With hope, citydweller.
  18. hi guys, Its been 10 days since I stopped Lexapro after 1.2 years 10 mg and tapering off for 2.1 months last dose 5mg . I got light on and off dizziness and mild anxiety after 1 week but I am able to do my job like going to gym working out . ihave no problem with it . every 6 years I get dizziness sensation while walking sitting or lying down . I had mri done twice , neurological examination twice , ent twice , cardiologist , blood tests everything completely normal even heart rhythm and paplitaions were normal. so they put it to anxiety related dizziness and was put on Lexapro . in the long run my parents thought medications are bad so I stopped after tapering as told by psychiatrist . my fear is will get greater symptoms or will I get better ? I don't want dizziness again I have enough of it . will iget more withdrawls later ? . please help . I am feeling anxious after reading many horrible online forums .
  19. Hi! I'm Britt777. I joined this site to figure out what is causing me numerous symptoms. Here is my brief story: Took Lexapro for about 3 years or more, came off of it Tried Trintillex and Brintillex, didn't like the way it made me feel Doctor then tried Fluvoxamine 100mg and took that for 7 months. He decided to add Wellbutrin (Bupropion XL 150mg) along with it. A month later I ask to stop Fluvoxamine (Luvox) because I felt like I was experiencing "depersonalization" or pretty much felt like life was not real and was a dream. So, at that appointment he told me to stop the Fluvoxamine and upped my Wellbutrin to 300mg once a day. The first day from this switch I felt great. Then the second day came... had nausea, lightheadedness, dizziness, "brain zaps", increased tinnitus (ringing in the ears), blurry vision, feeling like I could pass out, headaches, head pressure, and crazy fluctuating heart rate. (Today I had a heart rate of 100 and dropped to 70 within 5 minutes without doing anything different.) This is day 7 since the switch. I just want to find out if it's withdrawal symptoms from the Fluvoxamine since he didn't advise me to taper or if it's a reaction to upping the Wellbutrin.
  20. I really could use some advice I am not sure if what I am experiencing is from Effexor withdrawal or not. I was on 150mg for a few years I have been slowly tapering down for several months now (weighing beads on a micro scale for accuracy) on Friday 22nd I took my last dose which was 0.124g of beads (so very little actual drug). For months now I've had severe dizziness and nausea, and diarrhea too. Enough to keep me in bed a lot. Plus a strange sensation on the tip of my tongue. Now it's pretty much just dizziness but it's so bad. Previously when I was down to 0.5g of weighed beads I decided to take it back to 1.5g to see if my symptoms eased and go a little slower. I think things improved a little but I've not been symptom-free. I'm out of the drug completely now. I took 2-3 weeks to taper back down from that to zero. Slower than the first time. I thought my symptoms had actually improved because I bought a whole lot of natural remedies for giardia and tried them all and had relief within a day, but now I don't even remember if that's also when I took my dosage back up. I'm just not sure what's wrong with me. The doctors did a bunch of tests and gave me no answers. My family doctor told me to go off birth control and take naproxen every day. Well I'm doing half that... I'm not risking pregnancy just because SHE thinks I should have a baby. Yikes. It's been over a week since I stopped, still so dizzy I am wondering if I should go back on (I'd have to go refill the script) and if I do, what dosage? I would try the 10% taper every 3-4 weeks but I don't want to be doing this much longer. I hate taking it. And honestly I'm not totally sure if this is even the cause of my dizziness. I had no headaches or brain zaps or the other sensations I had when I missed a dose. But sometimes I am hearing sounds and I'm not sure if it's my head or the sounds are really there. I just don't want this diziness to go on forever and I feel like it's going to. But I also don't want to go back on Effexor if that's not even the reason I'm dizzy!
  21. Hi everyone! I've just found this thread and I'm so happy I did. I'm 27 and have been taking klonopin 1.5mg daily for about four years. Last month I started seeing a new doctor and she put me on Zoloft with the hopes of tapering the klonopin. I took 25mg for the first week, 50 mg for the following 3 weeks and now have been on 100mg for the past 3 days. This medication is making me feel insane. On 50mg I felt more depressed. Now that I upped the dose I'm constantly anxious so I've been taking more klonopin. I'm dizzy, my eyes just start shutting constantly, nauseous, can't stop yawning (and the yawns make me sick to my stomach). Has anyone had similar symptoms? Did they go away? My doctor said to give it a few more days and if this persists we'll lower the dose. I honestly just want to stop the medication. Also, I haven't been able to sleep at night. It's pure hell. Someone please tell me I'm not the only one struggling with this. Has anyone stopped the medication after this amount of time and had minimal side effects? Because now I feel as if I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. Medication symptoms or withdrawal symptoms. Thanks in advance!
  22. . My name is Kim. I'm new to the forum. I am trying to get off of escutalopram. I have been taking it since July of 2014. I currently take 10mg. I take two 5 mg. pills a day. I tried to lower my side awhile ago but I got terrible withdrawals--severe anxiety and headache. I cut it down 25%. After withdrawal effect I went back to regular dose. My psychiatrist is no help. He told me to just cut it in half. No way! He is clueless. I wonder what some of you have to say.
  23. Kilito12

    Kilito. New.

    Hey everyone. Not sure what I'm looking for here. I guess some reassurance about how things are going for me. Been reducing citalopram (40mg) since April and now not taking anything. Serious side effects. Worst being the dizziness and electrocution down my neck and necks every time I move my eyes. Insomnia too. Hence why I'm awake at 4:30am.
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