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Hi--I'm so glad this site exists. I took my last dose of Prozac on December 15, 2018. 3 days later, what I call the Horror, began. I had been on ssri's for over 20 years during which time I had become constantly sick. It never occurred to any doctor that my illnesses were medication related. Eventually I began to link studies of the ssri's to my problems. I tapered over a 6 month span, and now realize with the discovery of SA that it was probably too quick. I'm frightened because I still don't sleep well, suffer from akinesia, bone-crunching depression, suicidal ideation, especially in the night and mornings, tinnitus, extreme weight loss, blurred vision, and obsessive ruminations. This mental state is a million times worse than anything I experienced before starting on Zoloft. At that time, my husband had been diagnosed with Huntington's Disease, and during the first 2 years Zoloft did seem to help me cope. After that, it never worked the same, though the dose was consistently increased. Eventually my doctor had read that Zoloft was associated with an increased risk of stroke in those over 60, and he switched me to Prozac. Over these years I lost my hair, had an oophorectomy for cysts on my ovaries, had appendix removed, two heart attacks, and was put on Enalapril for HBP, Metformin for diabetes. I always had digestive problems during this time--including hiccups! And terrible sweating-- Three days after my last dose of Prozac, I was admitted to ER with BP of 250/150ish. Administered clonidine. Back to ER again about a week later with same high BP which had never gone down. My urine was pink. My body and mind could barely function. I was given a diagnosis of Serotonin Syndrome by the ER toxicologist. Since then I have tapered off the Ace inhibitor in 2019, and Metformin, the last dose being in March 2020. About 8 months in, it seemed I might be improving somewhat, but the final withdrawal from Metformin has set me back again. A couple of months ago, the mental nightmare had become so unrelenting I considered reinstating, but haven't. I still can't watch movies, read novels, or enjoy music the way I did. But the good news is that my blood pressure is now normal. This month I've slowly returned to my job part time after nearly a year away. Thank you for all that you all contribute here. I hope I can offer support as well. Your journeys mean a ton to me--life rafts, in fact. Zoloft: 1995 - 2015 Prozac: 2015 - 2018 (tapered from July to December) Gabapentin: 2016 to 2019 Enalapril: 2010 - 2019 Lipitor: 2017 -2017 Metformin: 2000 - 2020 Liothyronine: 2007 - 2019 Levothyroxine: 2000 - Happy to be here, Arbor

tried tapering Pristiq, too tough, looking to try tapering Wellbutrin next Hello all! It has been so helpful to read through this wonderful community, and it’s giving me more hope than I’ve had in a long time. When I was a troubled teen, my parents put me on Prozac, said it made me too angry, and started switching it up and I was on a cocktail before graduation. Been on one ever since, I can’t even remember the chronology of what was taken when, though perhaps I should sit down and try to figure it out. This year, I tapered down Buspar and successfully got off of it. Anxiety went up a bit, but I took more Gabapentin and was fine. Recently, partly due to Kaiser not being able to fill it, I tried tapering down on Pristiq. Since I’m on the lowest possible dose, and it’s time release, I’m having a rough time figuring this out. I read that the maker recommends taking it every other day, then less, but that seems like a real ping-pong for the ole brain. Cutting it to lower the dose was a terrible plan, I spiked in anxiety then crashed for the rest of the day. Since I felt so terrible with lowered Pristiq, it made me wonder if that’s working and I should leave it alone for now. I’ve been on Wellbutrin for longer, so maybe that’s a good one to let go of. I was considering switching to the non-time-release version, but remembered that made me feel suicidal in the past, which got better when I switched back to the same dose of Wellbutrin SR. I’ve also had trouble finding doctors who can/will help. Everyone has told me that since I’ve been on meds since I was young, I’m stuck. Or that it would require more therapy than my insurance company/provider Kaiser is able to provide. For years now, every time I ask about lowering a dose or being on less meds, I walk out of there having gotten a hard sell to increase or add another one. It’s maddening! Finally tapered down on the Buspar on my own, since I couldn’t find anyone to help. With lots of coping skills and self-soothing, it was all right. The problem for me now is this time release mess and being on the lowest doses! I’ll keep diving into what other people have done and see what options might work. Hoping that one day I can find a doctor willing to help me lower, not increase, the meds. I had a family member of kidney failure caused by a mental health med, so being on these for the rest of my life (and potentially shortening it in the process) sounds like a bad plan. Still, figuring this all out is tough! Grateful to find this resource, and learn ways to safely decrease with the goal of getting off some or all meds. Thank you all, and I hope you’re all doing well!

Hi Everyone, Im so glad I was referred to this site from Reddit. I’ve been reading the forums over the last several days before signing up and introducing myself. Here’s my history and where I’m currently at. I have been on Lexapro 20mg since summer of 2007. Starting in 2016 I began experiencing debilitating left jaw pain and left eustachian tube dysfunction as a side-effect of the Lexapro. I did not know at the time the Lexapro was causing these side-effects. I was grinding my teeth so badly that I thought I had trigeminal neuralgia in my left cheek. In November 2019 I was prescribed Cymbalta 60mg by my neurologist at the time for the pain in my face. I was on Cymbalta 60mg until February 2020 because it killed my libido. Went down to Cymbalta 30mg. Stayed on 30mg until August 2020 when my neurologist reduced the dose down to 20mg to being to taper off the meds completely. In October 2020 I began to experience withdrawal symptoms from the cymbalta: vertigo and adrenaline surges. I did not know at the time that these were related to the cymbalta withdrawals. A few days before Xmas 2020, my mind began to catastrophize about the holidays and death and I was sent into a constant state of adrenaline fueled panic attacks that did not stop for five days. I spent Xmas Eve in the out patient psych ward. They gave me hydroxizine and sent me home. I looked for a psychiatrist and was able to get an appointment with my current psychiatrist two days after Xmas. He switched me back to Lexapro 20mg. On the morning of the second day of taking the Lexapro the adrenaline stopped surging and the panic attack state stopped. I was stable from then on until August 2021. In August the panic state returned, this time without the adrenaline surges, and lasted for two weeks straight. My psychiatrist prescribed me gabapentin 300mg x3 daily. The gabapentin saved my life. I was on this regimen until May 2022 when I felt stable enough to begin to taper off the Lexapro. I went from 20 to 15 to 10 to 5 about a month at a time until I finally came off the Lexapro a month ago on October 15th, 2022. I began tapering off the gabapentin and have been off it since Halloween. The panic state returned Sunday night and I’m back on the gabapentin but not the Lexapro. The gabapentin keeps my brain from catastrophizing but I can feel underneath the gabapentin that I’m still having the panic attack: heart palpitations, chest tightness and some pain, butterflies in my chest, paresthesia in my arms and hands. I’ve read about the 10% dose reduction and about going back on a smaller dose of the Lexapro to stabilize and start the taper again at the 10% rate. I’ve been off Lexapro for a month now. I don’t know if I’ll kindle by going back on or not. I’ll stop here and wait for replies from mods and you other guys who know so much about what we’re going through to get healthy again. Much love!

Sorry about the name as "Redman" was a childhood nickname and I have already started with it. I was placed on Seroquel 25mg twice a day, mirtazapine 7.5mg at bedtime, and gabapentin 200mg three times a day a little over two months ago after a psychiatric hospitalization. At first I thought the meds were great as I finally had something that gave me sleep at night. But this effect didn't last and I didn't realize the reason I was feeling so bad was the medicine and not just my condition, I'm of the opinion, as I look back and at what I was able to do before and since I began them. I didn't realize what these meds were and how that dependency had already set in until doing some research online. After a month of my doctor trying to adjust these meds I realized with fear how difficult getting off Seroquel was going to be given my weakened state and my dread of losing any night's sleep. I would appreciate any advice, tips, pointers, etc. Thanks.

Been on and off antidepressants for the last ten years. Prescribed amiltriptalian 2012 to relief arthritis pain. CT as requested by surgeon pre operation 2013.. PTSD diagnosed by dr after surgery prescribed Dosulapin 2013. Was swapped to another antidepressant after a couple of years think it was duloxetine. CT. Cant remember year swapped to gaberpectin to help with OA!!! CTed. Eventually another antidepressant after a couple of years think it was fluroxetine?? No taper. Tried to come of but didn't understand taper diagnosed paroxetine 2019 30mg also given amiltriptalian to help with sleep again but luckily didn't use it. Been reducing current meds since 2021. Now doing ten percent taper every 4 weeks. Ups and downs!!!! use breathing teckniques, mindfullness,graditude diary,crafting , nature, essential oils, baths, books,support services such as berevement phone line, samartians, therapy of NHS for free or cheep charity counsellors but essentially do it all alone, no support from family limited support from friends

Hi there, OP. You and another user wanted some solidarity with other people stuck on Seroquel, right? Let me introduce myself: Almost 38/F. Vancouver, Canada. I'm starting a taper from 50mg I.R. Seroquel next week. I've been stuck on it since July 2021, when I had a horrific reaction to LoLoestrin on the 6th day of taking it. I started having symptoms on day #3 (2x/day panic attacks!) Went to walk-in clinic on day #5 & was dismissed/told it was normal. Not for me. I've been on ~7 different b/c pills (all made me spot, and as I got older, really putrid stuff started comming out of me or I bled constantly and never stopped for 2 weeks until I gave up. So, I'm stuck with a menstrual cycle. lol.) I listened to him & kept taking the LoLoestrin. The next night, I went into Psychosis (rapid switching b/n manic laughing & weeping rapid-fire within seconds - I've always been in control of my emotions. I have the emotional regulation of a titan, humble brag.) Next morning, I went to the small local E.R. (even though my mom said nothing's wrong) & they gave me an Rx for something called Seroquel 50mg I.R. (was either that or Ativan - NO! I don't drink, so I never thought of getting drunk until my endocrine system re-balanced) & told me to get my Psychiatrist to get me off of it later. He was always on vacation (80 yrs old?), & I don't trust him whatsoever. I was finally able to get rid of him in Dec 2022. Wanted to get rid of him in Feb 2022 when things really started spiralling out of control, but nobody else avaliable. The 50mg I.R. snowballed out of control with mis Dx's, mood stabilizers, etc. I've tried to taper off of 50mg I.R. Seroquel 11x with either my own pill splitter (crumbly mess) or an in-patient industrial pill-splitter to reduce 1 of the 2 mini pills by 1/4 (12.5%). This never worked. I almost went into Psychosis 3x. I thought the birth control incident was scary enough. At no point since July 2021 in the Hospital's Mental Health & Substance Use Unit (had to get my mom to drive me many times due to withdrawal symptoms from Seroquel or other meds or the meds themselves!) or In-Patient facilities (3x w/in 6 months) did anybody mention a liquid taper. Shocking and pathetic incompetence. I learned about a liquid taper earlier this year by myself. I also learned more about Seroquel last November (h1 & d2 receptors & how the serotonin is different than the serotonin in Pristiq - ******* hell). & even more about its action on Histamine recently. & nobody since July 2021 ever plainly outright straight-up admitted that withdrawal symptoms are real. I've experienced w/d symptoms in the past. The only way I was able to get off Effexor (side-effects because I was Rx'ed way too much in 2015) was to go to Pristiq. I do well on Pristiq. My physiology can't tolerate any of the other SSRI's & SNRI's, although my Psychi always Rx'ed me too much - dangerous! The only reason I want to get off of the 50mg I.R. is because my muscles constantly jerk/twitch all over my body. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Sometimes more frequent. Sometimes less. This is a red flag and dangerous. But I've put up with it because until recently, I had no idea how I was going to try to taper again with a pill-splitter. Since learning about Histamine, I'm doing a low-histamine diet & started a couple of days ago. I do not Diet. It's not necessary for me, nor do I want to restrict. But this is a VERY special circumstance. This may help with the taper from Seroquel, since I learned from someone else on this message board about histamine from their withdrawal from Seroquel essay. (Heartbreaking.) From what I've read in your thread, you're doing quite a fast taper. I plan to do -0.25% off of the last dosage every 4 weeks minimum. Or 6 weeks? & Holding for ever how long. & then going again. Hold however many times my physiology requires. It's not up to me. It's up to my individual nervous system. I'm a non-smoker, non-drinker, and never done weed before. I drink plenty of water & plenty of fibre. I'm sure the other meds I'm on will help at least a little bit with the taper. & I've read that you need to do smaller decreases as time goes by. So, it'll eventually have to be a 0.075% decrease. & then 0.05%. & then 0.025%. I'm not even sure if my syringe for the liquid solution will work. Since I've been on the two 25mg pills for so long, I'm pretty sure I'll have to use 1 of the 25mg pills plus two 1/4 pills (12.5mg total) and then the rest liquid. I've been stuck on this ******* Anti-Psychotic for 2.75 years. If I knew it was an anti-psychotic and how complex it is, I would've taken the ******* Ativan. If it takes 5 years to fully get off of this bullsh*t, I have no choice. I already have partial insomnia for a long time now because of the Pristiq - even with the Seroquel (I'm usually up in the middle of the night tranquilized. I cannot work anymore due to this. It's too exhausting to fight it.) So, I don't want to make it worse by doing a fast taper. I'm going down until the mg where my muscles are no longer tranquilized & the twitching stops. I do not consent to my body moving without my permission, nor do I consent to being tranquilized and unable to move until mid-day next day or rarely the whole day until I take it again at 8pm. Sometimes the tranquilzing wears off a few hrs after I wake up. The tranquilizing decreased when 50mg X.R. Seroquel was added in Nov 2022 because I was withdrawing so severely from a few things at once - dangerous! People really have no idea what they're doing out there. My boyfriend has been right the whole time. I do not have BiPolar #2. I do not have Borderline Personality Disorder. I do not have 'Cluster B'. The reason he likes me is BECAUSE I'm bland, boring, average, emotionally stable, and can regulate my emotions. ie: I'm an incredibly easy partner. I come from a relatively good family. No drinking, no drugs, no domestic violence, no history of "mental illness", etc. So I'm starting to experiment with the low-histamine diet (especially with my dinner & before-bed snack) to see if it helps with the tranquilizing the next day. In July 2021, I went from my trusty 100mg Pristiq ($2/day) -> 5 medications + now 150mg Pristiq ($3/day); I think 9 pills per day. I've been emotionally violated, gas-lit, and dismissed repeatedly in these past ~2.75 years. This is by far the worst thing that's ever happened to me and will ever happen to me. Psychiatric Medication Withdrawal is worse than anything on this whole entire god-forsaken planet. I'm extremely over-medicated, but this myoclonus is downright dangerous. I was extremely hot as well until fairly recently. My long-term boyfriend had to have multiple blankets on during the summer with the A/C full-blast on me. I've been emotionally labile as well. Especially during the summer when the heat was messing with the 2 Seroquels and the SNRI. The Lamictal, Gabapentin, & Seroquel X.R. weren't enough to combat that. Sorry for hi-jacking your thread. I should make my own and make a signature for myself. Anyway. OP, take a looksee: https://reversepsychiatry.org/ https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pw4tjImAJ92OIVyRvZoZYjqxiKMk7wvp-ljiIi1olRo/edit#gid=246292188 https://withdrawal.theinnercompass.org/taper/special-tips-calculations-and-liquids https://withdrawal.theinnercompass.org/taper/doing-calculations-taper#taper-schedule-2-daily-microtaper https://www.willhall.net/files/ComingOffPsychDrugsHarmReductGuide2Edonline.pdf Specific for Histamine/Seroquel: https://rxisk.org/guide-stopping-antidepressants/#Prominent_withdrawal_symptoms https://beyondmeds.com/2012/12/04/psychiatric-drug-withdrawal/ Thanks

First time. Sorry if im not doing this right. So all the drugs ive been prescribed over the years have been for insomnia or for restless legs caused by the antidepressants given to me for insomnia. About a year ago i did a sleep study and was told i have mild sleep apnea and that it could be causing my insomnia. Unfortunately i haven’t been able to sleep with cpap machine. Since the sleep study ive lost 25lbs. After i lost the first 15 my sleep started to get a little better so i started tapering Amitriptyline. From Januaury-late June 2023 I tapered from 50mg down to 10mg just by eye balling it and cutting off gradually bigger pieces. I felt it everytime i cut back further. After 2-3 days i get very irritable, then some flu like symptoms and after about a week the anxiety kicks in. The lower i get the longer it lasts. My last successful taper was last June. I went from taking 12.5mg(half of a 25mg tablet) down to a 10mg tablet. After about a week i had severe anxiety. Its a horrible anxiety that i can feel physically in my upper stomach lower chest area. It took about 2 weeks before it started to go away. Since i got down to 10mg ive tried to go lower 3 times but had to go back to 10mg because i dont seem to be recovering. Ive also been struggling with insomnia ever since I hit 10mg. Before I hit 10mg i was able to taper without it affecting my sleep. When i got to 10mg i bought a scale to help taper more accurately. This is where i ran into trouble. The pills i take are 10mg tablets with a pink coating on it. But they weigh anywhere from 61mg up to 67mg. I Dont know if its the coating thats off or the medicine. After my 1st attempt to taper down from 10mg i wasnt recovering so after 1 month i went back to 10mg. I wasnt sure if it was the medicine thats off in the pills so for a couple weeks i took only pills that weighed between 63-64mg and i leveled out. I did the same thing the 2nd time around but it took about 3 weeks. But this last time ive been just mixing it up taking pills of all different weights 61-67mg. Its been 5 weeks today and although my symptoms have improved im still have a little bit of that sick anxiety feeling off and on threw out the day and trouble sleeping. I dont know if its just taking longer to level out cause of some sort of kindling effect or if its because the medicine is off in these pills. Was wondering if anyone had insight on this. I decided i wont be using the scale in the future since the weight of the pills off by as much as 10%. I bought a medicine bottle, some oral syringe adapters and a 10ml oral syringe. My plan is to use 100ml of water so that every 10ml equals 1 mg. Im just waiting to feel 100% before moving forward. Im very nervous about switching to a liquid. Just looking for advice and support. Again if anyone has any insight as to why i havent leveled out all the way after 5 weeks i would appreciate it. Thank You.

Hello everyone! I recently found this website, and suddenly my last few weeks of experience with lexapro have begun to make a lot of sense! I am so grateful for all this community does to help people dealing with the adverse effects of antidepressants and withdrawal. Here is my story. I am hoping for any insights on how to proceed. I do have a psychiatrist, but unfortunately this is not a very well understood phenomenon in the medical community. I am also struggling with self blame and worry that I will become a person who has gotten messed up irreversibly, and I know those are cognitive distortions, but any positive vibes in those departments would still be great! Backstory I’ve been on lexapro twice in my life for several years at a time for GAD, did great, had nausea upon first starting out and some irritability on tapering but overall found it quite helpful and with minimal side effects. I never cold turkeyed - both times I weaned over months if not years under medical supervision. I was also always a good sleeper: could sleep 9+ hours easy. Fast forward to this holiday season. I’m not on lexapro, stable for 6 months. Then I start getting random heart pounding throughout the morning and trouble falling asleep—every time I would try my heart pounded. Got medical workup, all good. Over the course of a week, I tried several sleep meds, including valerian root, Trazodone up to 100 mg, Benadryl and gabapentin up to 400 mg, which helped sleep minimally and only messed me up more: caused daytime anxiety or disinhibition or over tiredness. Some nights I took both trazodone and benadryl. In the end I took a 150mg dose of Benadryl in a desperate attempt to sleep. At about that time I resumed lexapro because my doc figured it was underlying anxiety causing sleep trouble, though in retrospect I don't think I was really that anxious. Kindling? Then I had weird symptoms for 2 weeks, including ongoing insomnia (troubles staying asleep), inappropriate sexual arousal that felt like a pain in my genitals, restlessness, a sense of fight or flight including trouble breathing and a sense of urgency and discomfort in your own skin, sometimes with shortness of breath and chest tightness, oftentimes after eating which I know makes very little sense, poor appetite, lots of stools though not diarrhea, random itching including itching that woke me in the middle of the night). None of the above is my regular old GAD, by the way. My usual anxiety is more mental: turning over worst case scenarios in my head and all that. I had never had any of the above symptoms before, so I chalked it up to withdrawal from my overuse of sleep meds. My doctor, too, told me that sometimes anxiety can morph into other forms, but I was skeptical, feeling like "this is chemical." I also wondered if I was histamine intolerant and started a low histamine diet, which by the way sucks, but I doubt hurts anything because I can still eat enough of a variety of foods. Most of the above symptoms evened out over 2-3 weeks except for upset stomach and fatigue whenever I ate, and I could get unbroken sleep only every other night. So my doc and I decreased lexapro to 5 mg after about a month of being on 10mg, since we thought 5 mg would be more tolerable. Taper First week into the taper, appetite declined so I have to count calories just to make sure I get enough. I itched at times but that’s a minimal issue. There were flutters of restlessness and “monkey mind” here and here and there, and a bit of genital swelling, but overall manageable. The second week sleep got worse: before I would wake and just not be able to resume sleep, but now I would wake with ragged breathing and struggle to resume sleep and be anxious about it. Before that I would just wake up and be awake. I take valerian root for sleep in tiny doses: 1/4 of the 500mg caps per night. I don’t want to take it, but worry about going back to a time when I slept 4 hours per night if that at the beginning of this journey. (Re)-Increase So then on 2/15 doc and I figured I should try a slower taper and do 7.5mg. I did that for 2 days and on day 2 (2/16) the fight or flight returned: restless, uncomfortable in my skin, a swelling sensation in my genitals. I took an extra 2.5 mg (for a total of 10 mg) and later that day felt like my skin had a sunburn for about an hour. I went down to lexapro 5 mg for a day, then back up to 7.5 mg and have been on that dose for the past 4 days. Well, sure enough the "chemical" feeling anxiety did decline and is almost gone, the skin warmth increased and then declined (I also had cold-like symptoms but not objective fever), and inappropriate arousal has also improved (except for today, when it seems worse). I also had some looser stools and the jury is still out on whether that's getting better or worse. [TL;DR] If you got this far, thank you :). My questions are as follow: -- Does it seem like I might be dealing with kindling (or re-kindling)? I'm not sure I fully understand kindling... When it occurs, does it decline? Or do medication side effects sometimes look a lot like a kindling phenomenon? -- re: kindling: if I kindled myself as I backtracked on my lexapro taper, what now? Is it best to hold steady, or to taper? Should I wait and see? There's been a couple days of back and forth but overall I've been on lexapro 7.5 mg for less than a week. If I taper again I will ask my doc for liquid lexapro and decrease very slowly, as I have learned from this site. TIA for reading and for any insights! Keep fighting the good fight.

Hey folks, I've been struggling with meds for a while now, history below: this first started with substance "abuse" (anytime i mention this, I wouldn't classify it as abuse, in the sense of how frequent I used), serotonorgic class, max 2 times a month for a few months, choice was made to "self medicate" ( i was doing pretty bad, but somehow still bearable) surprisingly this got me out off the loop of negative thoughts, was quite surprised to see this part of the world, but soon enough realized I am VERY senzitive to such things Start of 2021: first "treatment", risperidone, depakene, sertraline, took them around 3 months when I felt better than I cold turkey-ed for the substance abuse again. Mid 2021: SA lasted for a while, a few months later used a different thing (dopamine agonist), twice, which in a month made me go into psychosis doc appointment again, risperidone, sertraline 100mg, buspirone, combo didn't work (thought I was going insane) different appointment again, olanzapine, lorazepam, sertraline (great combo, back to "normal in a few days) Autumn 2021: after a few months, stopped taking the meds, but occasionally taking sertraline as I remembered, till i dropped them around in the spring of 2022, few months pass summer 2022 Feel bad, dissociated, no mood for things, no motivation doc appointment, paroxetine, got me back to stable but the sexual side effects were horrible, after 5 months Winter 2022 stopped as doctor advised (because was feeling well except the side effects), back pain, hard to breathe, heart aches, eye pain all due to withdrawal + dissociation, social isolation, not feeling like talking couldn't make it, doc appointment again spring 2023, sertraline 25mg, fixed me couldn't stand the sexual side effects, cold turkeyd again, after a few weeks, anxiety that started to increase periodically, until one night when I started seeing traces and visual stuff, felt like being high but very weird, anxiety was horrible, that was not how I ever felt before starting any of these Got scared ^ continued with the sertraline until April 2023 doctor appointement, wanted something different, got tianepetine and trazadone first month was good (probably due to stopping sertraline soon enough or because of the trazadone), couldn't take trazadone anymore as it was too sedating after 1-2 months started feeling bad again but I didn't let it get to worse June 2023 (here I stopped quitting meds, and realized it's serious) another appointment at different doc, tried mirtazapine, horrible. tried 10mg vortioxetine, weird side effects at first, weird dizziness and mental sensations, but kept going, stabilized after a month felt ok, but anxiety was killing, August 2023 decreased at 5mg and tried to use some gabapentine for anxiety, not the greatest but I'm stable and sex drive is decent Present: 5mg vortioxetine, 300mg gabapentine at night I'm just so confused, because the first time I quit the meds, it took around 3 months for me to get into widthdrawal (progressively got worse, until I couldn't stand it). But the fact that it took that long to feel bad, was just making me wonder, maybe that's just how I am? Paradoxically I'm not having any negative thoughts compared to the past, I'm very happy with my life (except all those meds messing me up with side effects). I am tempted to start a slow taper, but the calculations to make solutions seem pretty hard. I'm hoping you can give me some friendly advice about, withdrawal vs that's just who I am...

Hello all. I've researched this extensively now, after a google search in late Nov 2022 lead me to this message board and other Psychiatric Medication Withdrawal Supports. I'm finally ready to try again. Trauma from previous attempts has kept me dealing with the extreme tranquilizing + myoclonus (ie: adverse effects) instead of trying again. This will be the 13th attempt. If it takes 5 years, that's out of my control. It's up to my particular nervous system. When I recently suggested to my Doctor about a 10% reduction per month using a liquid, they said it'd be perfectly fine. (& I guess reduce that amount by 10% per month until I'm off?) After going home and calculating how I did it in the past (-12.5%), NO. In the past, taking off 1/4 (6.25mg) of 1 of the 2 tiny pills hasn't worked 11x. (Either by myself making a crumbly mess with my pill-splitter or at an in-patient facility with an industrial one.) I almost went into Psychosis 3 of the 11 times & had to go back up to 50mg right-away. I had to admit myself to the hospital a few of those 1/4 pill reduction attempts, too. I recently calculated that was a -12.5% drop in dosage. No wonder it didn't work. Also, I was told by a Psychiatrist & once by a Doctor to stay with the 1/4 pill reduction and to take "just a little bit of Seroquel" when the limbic system withdrawal symptoms re-appeared. ...You mean like a Benzo? This is literally playing ping-pong with your neurotransmitters, and I wasn't even given "little bit" amounts so had to make do with a crumbly mess. This didn't work and fairly quickly sent me right back to the hospital where they sent me to an in-patient stay again. I held on for as long as I could at home using little pieces of Seroquel like a Benzo, because I did not want to go back to an in-patient facility again. All of this since July 2021 shattered my reputation with my Employer and caused unnecessary stress to my long-term partner, parent, and sibling; let alone myself. Earlier this year, I learned on my own about a liquid taper. It's truly shocking how nobody since July 2021 ever mentioned getting it made into a liquid in order to do an extremely slow taper; not even my Psychiatrist, who I chose finally to stop seeing in late 2022. But from extensive reading online, it's the standard to stop with a Medical Professional when things get unnecessarily out of control, doing harm and no good, and too much frustration. I also recently learned on my own more about Seroquel. I looked it up on go.drugbank.com in early 2022 when things were really getting really out of hand, I was unwell on medications, and things were snowballing out of control. I was scared shitless at how complex Seroquel was and how it differed so severely from Pristiq. Late last year, I learned even more about Seroquel: H1 (histamine - severe tranquilizing for my particular physiology) & D2 (inconsistent myoclonus for my particular physiology). It explained everything & confirmed that it's not "Psychosomatic" symptoms. & earlier this year, I learned more about Histamines, histamine receptors all over your brain and body, allergies, anti-histamines, stomach acid (H2), Monoamine oxidase (MAO) & Diamine oxidase (DAO), etc. Further, last week, I learned about a Low-Histamine Diet for people who have Spring-time allergies. While I don't have any comorbidities of any kind, this Seroquel is a beast on my particular physiology and am now semi-unenthusiastically doing a Low-Histamine Diet for the next handful of years as to not complicate this extremely slow taper & to hopefully reduce the extreme yet inconsistent tranquilizing. I'm now pretty sure how much water I drink + what I eat at dinner and before-bed most-definitely affects the severity of the tranquilizing the next day. Most days, it doesn't fully wear off until mid-afternoon! Rarely, it wears off once I'm awake in the morning. & Rarely, it lasts all day until I take it again at 8pm. From reading online, the menstrual cycle (different levels of the hormones during each phase) also affects Psychiatrric Medications's potency, clearance, etc. + hormone levels and histamines interract with each other + hormone levels and dopamine (D2 inconsistent myoclonus) interract with each other. So that's fun. I never wanted to take this 50mg I.R. Seroquel in the first place, but an E.R. had to give me something to take, because I had a severe reaction to LoLoestrin, which I went the day before to see a Doctor about growing symptoms and was told that the literature says mental health symptoms are very common for hormonal birth control. That's nice, & I've heard that from hundreds of women online, too. Bt I've tried ~7 different b/c pills before with no issues. I've never gone against my better judgement before. This link was very informative for Histamine: https://rxisk.org/guide-stopping-antidepressants/#Prominent_withdrawal_symptoms , as was FerralCat's Essay. When an in-patient facility had to add 50mg X.R. in Nov 2022 because I was withdrawing so severely from a few things at the same time, the tranquilizing greatly reduced, but it's still enough to halt my life. I think the inconsistent myoclonus also increased. So, now to the taper: I have a few questions. In the 'Seroquel Withdrawal' thread, they mention doing 1/2 pill + 1/2 liquid taper, as your Physiology is so used to pill-form. (I've ben stuck on this Anti-Psychotic since July 2021. That's 2.75 years.) So, maybe I should start my taper with one 25mg pill, two 6.25 mg (1/4's), & the rest liquid. (& as I slowly go down, get rid of a 6.25mg and replace that with a liquid, & so forth.) My question: does this seem fine to you guys? Note to self: I'd need to go back to the walk-in clinic to get an Rx for 6.25mg pieces, an Rx for 25mg pills (I only have like 16 left), & a revised Rx for the liquid. Currently, my liquid Rx is 40mg/day (-10% reduction) for 4 weeks & then go back to the walk-in clinic to get more liquid for the next "month-long 10% drop". I don't have the liquid on me, so I'm not sure the total mL in the bottle and whatnot. I'm aware that syringes can be very price with micromL's. This link overwhelmed me: https://withdrawal.theinnercompass.org/taper/special-tips-calculations-and-liquids This link is similar to the info on this forum: https://withdrawal.theinnercompass.org/taper/doing-calculations-taper This link confused me: https://antdep.alwaysdata.net/liquid/liquidForm.php I generally understand this link: https://withdrawal.theinnercompass.org/sites/default/files/2017-05/TheWithdrawalProject_TaperJournal_LiquidMixture_SampleChart.pdf After all of my reading around on here and all of the online calculators/etc, here's what I've come up with (holding for 2-6 weeks as needed not included): See 2 attached images. ****I'm a bit unclear about making smaller and smaller % (or mL?) reductions each 4-6 wks (however slow you want to go). That's been discussed on this forum regularly & want to make sure this taper doesn't go badly whatsoever. I can't afford to stress my partner out anymore, losing money anymore, or traumatizing myself even more than already am from all of this by being it withdrawal. & Finally, I will keep tapering off until the myoclonus & tranqulilizing of my physiology. If that's one 25mg, fine. If that's one 25mg and a 1/4 (6.25mg), fine. I'm still stuck on the 50mg X.R., but that can wait for the future, if at all. I'm on a lot of Serotonin-medication and was extremely hot for the last 1/2 of 2023, as well as scatter-brained and confused. Somehow, the extreme temperature went away back in Nov. I also had a lot of very unusual unlike extreme emotional lability due to all of the meds, especially in the summer. My partner likes me BECAUSE I'm emotionally uneventful and stable and can regulate my emotions/stress. I'm overmedicated, so I should've been experiencing the opposite. I'm well-aware from my Pristiq how dangerous the heat can be with Psychiatric Medications: they clear faster from your body or something? Especially if you're drinking more water in the summer? I expect to have issues with the heat for the next handful of summers, unfortunately.

30 days off of Trintellix 20 mg.Prozac 20mg for 30 daysWelbutrin XL for 10 yearsGabapentin 12mg 6 monthsWas on Prozac & Wellbutrin for 10 years, but 2 years ago I was switched to Trintellix because it seemed like Prozac was no longer effective. Now my doc changed me back to Prozac. Seeking advice: I have stopped Trintellix twice in the last 12 months, with tapering per medical plan. The withdrawal symptoms are very hard to endure and I am asking for help or advice; The first time I stopped Trintellix, I was on a tapering plan to stop all my medications which at that time included Trintellix, Wellbutrin and Seroquel; I tapered off gradually per medical advice and had one or two months when I felt pretty good. Then I started to have horrific withdrawals including brain zaps, body shakes, body temperature fluctuations, excessive sweating, extreme nervousness, anxiety, fear, panic attacks, etc. It was scary because my psychiatrist didn't tell me I was experiencing withdrawals so I didn't know what was happening to me. My family doctor told me that I'm having withdrawals and prescribed Gabapentin to stop the extreme physical symptoms. It worked at the time for a short period. Then I started bringing back Wellbutrin and Trintellix to stop the withdrawals. I never reached a point of balance and well-being again. My dr said let's go back to Prozac which seemed to work for me in the past for managing anxiety, except for sexual dysfunction. I am now back on Prozac, Wellbutrin and Gabapentin and I am experiencing horrible withdrawals from Trintellix still - dizzy, body shaking, extreme anxiety, temperature dysregulation AND I also have sexual dysfunction from Prozac (no ability to orgasm). I would like to have some hope about the withdrawal symptoms - are they going to go away, when, what can I do to help myself... and I would like to regain a state of well-being and improve sexual dysfunction. I am willing to taper slowly off meds but I'm not sure if that's the right thing for me especially after being in withdrawal hell for a year. Any advice on brain rewiring programs? do they work for people who come off this type of medication? The medications and withdrawals are making it hard for me to function well at work, socially and in my relationship. Thank you for your advice

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

Hello, I am looking for information or others experience of life after long term SSRI use. I was on SSRIs for 38 years and have been completely off for 9 months. I started as a teenager and am 58 yo now so not sure what normal is supposed to look like. Though I do not feel depressed, I am still unable to sleep and have had to resort to medication for this. The other experience I have is apathy. I find myself caring about very little. The things I loved before I have no attachment to now. It is a very strange existential space. Wondering if others have had this experience and if it ever changes over time. Thank you.

Community of Healing, hello. In December of 2014, just a bit more than 6 years ago, I came to this site after already weathering two years of nearly life-terminating withdrawal. I'd been on psychotropic medications for most of my life and in my estimation, my nervous system had decided it'd had enough. From February 2012 to approximately March of 2014, I felt I was literally living in hell. I was hospitalized twice, lost long-running friendships and new career opportunities, tried a plethora of medications, supplements, and herbs in an attempt to "fix" withdrawal, and ultimately came to the realization that pharmaceutical medications would not be the answer to my suffering. Pharmaceutical medications had been the cause of my suffering. And what my brain and body needed was support, tenderness, forgiveness, care and time... TIME... to heal. Benzodiazepines had been the first drugs I withdrew from. That was a brutal, nightmarish withdrawal, but relatively short-lived (acute @ 8 months). Tapering from Mirtazapine proved a longer journey, a much longer journey that I shared here. So this is my success story, my chapter-turning post. This is my declaration that I have been successful in tapering from medications that had deranged my nervous system to such a degree that I was scarcely able to operate in the world anymore. I took much time to make this declaration of success as I am by nature skeptical, and wanted to be sure that healing had indeed come - and come to stay. I feel that it has. I discontinued Mirtazapine, my last psychotropic medication, on June 15, 2019. There are still some echos of it that I deal with in day to day life. My issues with histamine intolerance I believe are directly attributable to Mirtazapine's affinity for histamine receptor occupancy. I manage this issue with dietary and exercise modifications as well as use of select vitamins and herbs. It is not life-deterring. It can be inconvenient and sometimes unpleasant, but it is nowhere near as debilitating as withdrawal itself had been. Despite posting this success story, I'm not going anywhere really. I am always happy to answer questions about my journey. When I was in the worst of my own withdrawal, the feedback from moderators and members of this community and elsewhere were absolute lifelines. Not that anyone could necessarily fix my problems - but I could walk away with sound, compassionate advice and if nothing else, the knowledge that my suffering had been heard, and that someone ultimately cared about me. Your suffering is heard, and someone ultimately cares about you. I want to thank @Altostrata and every moderator past and present for their kind forbearance, compassion, and dedication. I want to thank every member for their strength, endurance, bravery, and perseverance towards a healthy life free of the chemicals that have caused them harm. You all have something, many things, to be proud of. I believe in every human's potential to heal. Take your time, taper well, make the most sound choices you can, and know that healing is absolutely within your power to achieve. Hang in there, Dave

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?

HI everyone, I am so glad i have found this forum, After 10 years of being on Sertraline 200mg a day, and Gabapentin 900mg a day for 7 years i am well in the throws of withdrawal , this has been the hardest thing i have ever had to go through , i was missed diagnosed 10 years ago and actually now realize that there was actually nothing medically wrong with me , i just needed a bit of support and understanding but instead was put on medication, i am going through hell with these horrendous withdrawal symptoms, head zaps ,sickness, diarrhoea, hot sweats, fatigue, ear ache, painful mouth, headaches, severe mood swings, headaches, depression, dizziness, the list goes on , this now is just over a month it is wearing me down , sometimes i feel and see how far i have come but then 3 hrs later i seem to be back where i was, its hard to dig deep when there is no one around you that knows what your going through or what you feel ,will i ever be back to how i should be ??

ADMIN NOTE moved initial posts from Mission of Surviving Antidepressants Hello. What do you exactly mean "if the symptoms are from and adverse or paradoxical reaction to medication, the medication has to be gradually withdrawn for recovery."? Is three to four months of gradual withdrawel enough? Thats what I did.

Hi SAD Community, I've been visiting this site as a resource for a while now, and am at a point where I need advice/support from some of you with more experience than myself on this extremely difficult journey. I'm a 32 year old male, and I've been taking Sertraline (Zoloft) since I was 22, with a short (but horrific, after tapering too quickly and going back on after several months) layoff at age 25 - so effectively for about a decade. I have also been on Gabapentin as a "mood stabilizer" since age 25. In that time, I also took Bupropion (Wellbutrin) SR for several years, but had to stop cold turkey a little over two years ago due to intolerable side effects that began when Sertraline seemed to stop working so well. I've intermittently used Adderall IR and Ritalin as well in low dosages throughout the past 7 years. Although going cold-turkey from Bupropion was very difficult, I was already at a difficult point in my life regardless, and for the most part recovered after several months. One year and 3 months ago (August/September 2022), I began tapering Sertraline from 75mg, using the support of this website. I've followed protocol and tapered by 10% every 4-6 weeks using a tablet + liquid formula for precise measurement. I have gotten down to 41mg and have remained stuck at this dose for several months now. Once I realized I was stuck with Sertraline, I've tapered the Gabapentin a bit, to try and "even" the cocktail out. I'm down from 2400 to 1800mg. I remain stuck at 41mg of Sertraline and 1800mg of Gabapentin. The depression, anxiety, rumination, and general lack of all motivation is about all I can bare right now. I had to move back in with my parents, as I find myself unable to even keep a job. This has put tremendous financial strain on myself and my family, who are attempting to be supportive, but are at about the end of their rope with me. I, myself, am at the end of my rope. I am barely functioning. To make matters more complex, I had an appendectomy in 2016 that never totally healed correctly, and now that I'm down on my meds, it seems that some of the symptoms from complications are rearing more of an ugly head - namely, abdominal pain, a problem with blood flow to my male parts, and GI issues. I cannot really eat, as I rarely have an appetite, and anything I eat during the day makes my belly distend grossly, with worsened lack of motivation, depression, and anxiety. At night my mood seems to lift a bit and my appetite comes alive. I have questioned if the issues with blood flow to my genitals are early signs of PSSD (as my lubido is certainly down, despite always having had a high lubido, even on Sertraline), but I am mostly very depressed and ruminative, and can luckily perform and finish with my girlfriend pretty much fine. The issues "down there" seem to be stemming from what I suspect are adhesions compressing my inguinal canal from surgery. I'm currently working with a doctor about the possibility of having surgery again to remove the adhesions. I also suspect my GI issues are, to a large degree, the result of adhesions possibly obstructing my GI tract. I'm aware that the medications have an antimicrobial effect, and I suspect pulling them out has gradually allowed bad bacteria to flourish in an already-hostile environment. My doctor confirms this could be the case from his assessment, and we are currently awaiting imaging results to make a better judgment call before consulting a surgeon. I mention the complications with my abdomen because my somatic experiencing has been highly flawed since surgery, which I numbed with medications and marijuana for years. I was a competitive weightlifter, and it completely derailed my career. I can barely workout these days without increasing pain/discomfort. I also cannot fully breathe into my diaphragm, which I used to be able to do with great affinity, being a highly trained weightlifter. I'm certain that my lack of somatic experiencing is contributing to my worsening mental state as the meds have been pulled out, simply due to lack of ability to diaphragmatically breathe in and of itself. I have explored this topic in EMDR therapy and always come back to it when processing my mental states in relation to my somatic experience. I'm seeking advice on what direction to take. Part of me is attempting to hold out until (hopefully) getting surgery before making anymore medication moves, to see if it frees my abdominal cavity/diaphragm so that I can begin exercising more intensely and hopefully begin addressing GI issues. Another part of me is at the end of my rope and considers going back up on Sertraline, or trying something else, to manage the extreme depressive and ruminative states. I cannot focus on anything but these problems. I have always been an anxious worrier and a ruminator, since I was a little kid, as long as I can remember. I question why even bother getting off these meds, as I wonder if there's even a person "underneath" who can function without them. I should also mention that I've displayed some "traits" of borderline personality disorder since I was a teen, although never receiving a formal diagnosis. Fear of being alone/abandonment, a lack of consistent identity, and deep emptiness have typically been themes for me, although lessened to a large extent when my meds were fully in effect. IF I were to try and go back up on Sertraline, what are the chances it even works still, or doesn't cause a paradoxical reaction? How would I even go about this? And, given the other issues - abdominal/pelvic problems, underlying mental illness my whole life, finances - where do I even begin to assess my situation? I also consider reinstating a low dose of a stimulant, as I have been diagnosed ADHD, and a stimulant takes away at least 70% of my rumination and inability to get things done. The issue there is, while down on my other meds, the side effects once the stimulant wears off are far more pronounced (anxiety, jaw tension, insomnia). I would need something else to "take the edge off", particularly at bed time. I'm very aware that no one can make these decisions for me, but perhaps some of you have dealt with a similar situation during tapering, and can perhaps help someone with a ton of executive dysfunction currently sort out these variables. I cannot keep up this level of functioning, and I'm very concerned, as I'm not even halfway off of meds yet and it's already this bad. Please help, or at least just say hello.

Hi. New here. Have had severe trouble with anxiety and sleep since menopause and recently diagnosed with obstructive seep apnea and restless leg syndrome. Took gabapentin in the past for small fiber neuropathy (pre-menopause) but it made me so zoned out I tapered off of it fairly quickly. Really struggling with the combination of facial nerve pain and sleep apnea and RLS. Haven't been able to adjust to the CPAP mask. Taking a break from the CPAP now because the mask was making my sleep so bad I could not function in the daytime. Learned that if CPAP causes insomnia a person may need a short course of sleep meds to adjust to the CPAP. My GP was not keen on prescribing sleep meds. Sent me to psych. Saw psych pill pusher who wanted to put me on psych meds for anxiety. I don't even remember what, just that she dismissed the CPAP problems and really pushed the anxiety meds. Went to one appointment and never went back. Meanwhile, my RLS syndrome flared up again. Prescribed gabapentin for RLS by GP. Then I read that it can worsen obstructive sleep apnea, so I don't want to take it. I do not perceive that it worsens the apnea, but then I do not perceive that I have obstructive sleep apnea at all. Only the sleep study told me so. I have been taking the gabapentin 100 mg for only 1 week and can taper up if it doesn't help. I'm torn. When the RLS flares up, it is really awful. But I am afraid of becoming dependent on a drug that could worsen my OSA. If I have taken the gabapentin for only 1 week, can I already be dependent on it and need to taper? How long until a person does become dependent? Thanks.

Tips to taper off clonazapam

I would like to say hello and thank this website for giving me hope. I have spent the last few days reading a lot of the posts and have found them to be full of information and great advice. The success stories are wonderful to read. I have never been in a medical situation like this and I was feeling lost and alone until I found Surviving Antidepressants. I was put on Zoloft (50 mg then upped to 100mg) in February 2016 due to depression over a long-term illness that at that time was still un-diagnosed. I got a diagnosis for my illness in April of 2016. I was hospitalized for that illness both in April and March and it was eventually brought under control. Once I got home from the hospital (both times) I was very weak and I had very confused thinking. I had multiple at-home treatments and medications to keep track of. Somewhere in there I messed up my Zoloft and either went cold turkey or was only taking it intermittently, but did not realize it at the time. Starting in May and ramping up in June I had all sorts of symptoms, which nobody in the medical field could figure out, including me. I was put on Gabapentin (600mg then upped to 900mg) to help with the symptoms. My symptoms included headaches, nausea, feeling hot and sweating but having a low body temperature, as well as the feeling of internal tremors in arms and legs, and actual external tremors. I also had jerky arm movements. I had what I call “vertigo light”, the whole room didn’t spin, just the floor moved when I tried to walk; I felt like I was drunk. I had brain zaps, motion sickness, insomnia, dizziness, nausea, and pressure in the ears like when flying on a plane. My memory was also bad. After endless nights of searching the Internet with my symptoms I realized I had withdrawal. Counting the actual amount of pills in the bottle and looking at the day it was prescribed confirmed that I had not been taking my medication. Once I realized what was going on I contacted my psychiatrist and I went back on at 50mg, which was twelve days ago. A dosage that high might be a mistake after reading about “reinstating” here on this sight, I don’t know yet. Since reinstating the brain zaps and vertigo have disappeared, and the other symptoms have gone down in intensity, however I am getting them more frequently. I’m now getting them every day, for at least a few hours and sometimes all day. Before going back on Zoloft they were really brutal but only for a few hours at a time, none of this all day stuff. Klonopin seems to help however my psychiatrist has suggested that I use it sparingly, he said that the Gabapentin should be helping with the symptoms. By the way, I feel I have an excellent psychiatrist. He did warn me when he put me on Zoloft not to go off of it without talking to him first and that there was tapering involved. He also responds to my frequent and desperate e-mails on a timely basis. I do recognize though that I need to be proactive when it comes to my health. This is my first time with a drug in the SSRI class. At this moment my goal is to stabilize. Eventually I would like to get off, but right now I just want the physical symptoms to go away. By the way, the depression, which was acute in February, seems to have disappeared, both while on and off the Zoloft. I am open to opinions, questions, and suggestions. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Thanks for reading its a long story bear with me. I’m 2018 after horrible pregnancy and birth and surgery I was placed on 50mg of Zoloft for PPA. Looking back it’s wasn’t anxiety I was physically just exhausted. Get little fuzzy here because my memory sucks. But at some point in 2020 I started forget to take my meds so missing days here and there. To the point Id only remember to take them around my cycle when my PMDD started up. I was feeling great so I decided to stop taking them. I’m thinking that was around the beginning of 2021. In October of 2022 my PMDD symptoms come back (or could have been withdrawals idk). So I started back up on 50mg of Zoloft. After second pill I started feeling feelings (now I know it was anxiety) I had never felt before and chest pains. Went to urgent care for them and did EKG and everything was fine. So I went home and continued taking the Zoloft. The anxiety started working its way into mild panic attacks. I message my GP and she says just give the meds time. December comes and I have check up with my GP and she asked how the anxiety I tell her is the highest it’s ever been ( seeing how I never experienced intense anxiety or panic attacks before). Should also state my life is great no stressors. Great family and very supportive friends. My GP decided to up my dose to 100mg. This is where I go from barely functioning to not functioning. Day 2 of the 100mg I was in full panic nonstop all day all night. I couldn’t sleep couldn’t eat. Chest pain was so bad i was rushed to ED by ambulance. I was in cardiac distress. At the ED they did full cardiac work up for hours. Said I was stable go home follow up with cardiologist. Not even 24 hours later I beg my husband to take me back. This time I demanded them keep me. I hadn’t eaten or drank in days I couldn’t move my body. Finally after. Long ED visit they decided to admit me to the mental health department. This was a Friday. So Friday I didn’t not take any Zoloft. Saturday they get me settled in and with no psychiatrist on that weekend they has to call one in which didn’t come until Sunday. So at this point I hadn’t had Zoloft Friday or Saturday and slowly staring to feel better. So I talk with doc on Sunday and she puts me back of 50mg of Zoloft. I take it mid morning and by that evening I was in full panic again. So the doctor the next morning cut me CT off the Zoloft. She diagnosed me with SSRI induce panic disorder. She decided to place me on gabapentin to manage the PMDD symptoms. After 2 days I was feeling good and sent me home. 3 days into gabapentin I started have tremors. I was told to wait it out take 4 weeks for it to start working. After 22 days of more hell. I finally told them I was weaning off. Researched new doctor and found one I love. Should also state started seeing a therapist just after release of hospital. I was in really rough shape on the verge of going back to the hospital every day. So my doctor prescribed Ativan .5 mg as needed to help calm my nervous system. I have PTSD from taking the Zoloft so starting meds are a real struggle. I final took the Ativan on a really bad day and that did help. I currently only take as needed because I’m afraid of becoming addicted and going through more withdrawals. For most part things have been manageable until my PMDD kicks in around my cycles. At these times I get severely depressed with intrusive thought. (Again nothing i experienced before the Zoloft). My new doctor is a holistic and a medication specialist. So last cycle we upped my b12 and folic acid to help with the cycles. It has help some with symptoms but still are so terrifying. So shes suggested trying buspar as needed around my cycles. This is the first med she ever suggested to me. She know I have PTSD from Zoloft. So that brings me up to today where I’m sitting 10 weeks off Zoloft wondering if I should try the buspar or will that restart my withdrawal symptoms. I’m sooooooo scared. I have young kids and feel like I’m watching them through a tv and not present at all. I hate all this so much. I have hard time leaving the house and can’t be left alone. I feel so bad for my amazing husband and kids. Thank you for reading this far. kelsears

Hello, I am new to this site and not sure how it works. Need some info and perhaps some reassurance.; I've been having a history depression and anxiety since my teenage years, I am 49 years old, which I have been able to manage it more or less. I attempted to use the antidepressants but also had an adverse reaction that I was not able/ready to put up with. Yet, living with the depression isn't easy either. In short, yet again, I started taking Lexapro last October in order to deal with the painful state of depression, and did seem to work in the past. I increased the dose very slowly from 2 mg and started feeling much better in January, at the 7 mg. At the same time I started some problems with my memory (to the point of a few seconds of blackouts) , persistent fatigue and lingering morning anxiety, and problems with the night sleep. The psychiatrist dismissed my memory problems, attributed my fatigue to the depression and decided to see if my sleep would approve. He also told me to increase my dose slowly aiming for 15 mg at some point. However, when I reached 8.9 mg, I could hardly function: feelings of being very unwell and under the weather allowed me to function only until lunch time, after which I would need to recline somewhere for the rest of the day. I started tapering on the 24 Mars and today is the 2nd day of 4.25 mg of Lexapro. I didn't follow the 10 per cent protocol, and my doses were fluctuating within 0.5 - 1 mg depending on my physical and emotional symptoms. However, in the last 10 days I've started having a strange heavy sensation in my head, it's difficult to describe, They are not brain-zaps, just uncomfortable feeling: a mix of resembling kind of heaviness, fogginess, slight headache and feeling/sensation. I have put this down to cutting down sugar and change in my diet (transitioning to being vegan). However, this sensation 8 days later is still there. In addition, I have got muscle ache at the minimum effort, have been unable to jog and do much of the physical activities for the past 3 days: stopped exercising, want to isolate, difficult to concentrate and get on with my daily activities. I do have "waves" when I do feel better for an hour upon awaking and yesterday, after I spent 3 hours on the sofa! We are in the process of moving , also need to book a holiday but I am feeling incapable of doing anything. So frustrating! Emotionally, I am not depressed though.... In addition, feeling rather scared, is it due to the antidepressants and will my brain heal and gets "remodeled" back? Have I got some other serious medical condition? In ideal world I would like to get off this drugs that do not work well for me and find some ways of dealing with the anxiety and depression, unfortunately, I did manage in the past to taper off the meds without too many problems only to get depressed 4-9 months later and be back on them. If this is what I feel are withdrawals, I am quite surprised why I had not experienced them in my past tapers? I would really welcome and would greatly appreciate any feedback and input! I also would like to know, if I should wait it out and stabilise on 4.25mg of Lexapro or need to updose it? Thank you in advance F47

Was on sertraline for 2 years before starting my taper, currently using the 10% method. Original dose was 59mg, on 24mg now, but I've stopped having "windows" entirely and currently only have "waves" of varying intensity. The physical side effects seem to still be slowly improving, however. Does losing your "windows" mean you're going too fast?

Hey everyone (I wish we were communicating under better circumstances), My name is Colin, and I recently turned 20 years old. My story starts about two years ago - It was the summer in between my senior year of high school and freshman year of college. As many of you probably know, this was in the middle of the pandemic, so depression and anxieties were already at an all time high. I had a lot of natural worries about my upcoming freshman year, as many of my classmates did too. I told my doctor about these worries, and she recommended that I see a psychiatrist, which I winded up doing. I was prescribed lexepro with the intention of getting up to 15mg. I remember right off the bat, I felt depersonalized, dizzy, forgetful, and had bad insomnia as well. I decided that to really give it a shot, I should try to push through the discomfort (worst mistake I've ever made in my entire life). After about four weeks, my mood lifted, but in a very unnatural and synthetic way. I still felt extremely depersonalized, had blurry vision, my memory was ****, I felt restless, and dissociated, and those are just a couple of the symptoms. I didn't care enough to try to get off at this point because my mood was "lifted" and I didn't think it was causing such extreme changes In my brain. I remember caring about very little during this time - I should also say that prior to starting the lexepro, I was struggling with alcohol addiction to deal with my anxiety. I was binge drinking roughly four nights a week, which was connected to an eating disorder I was dealing with as well, so most of the time I'd be drinking on an empty stomach. During these first four weeks, I was able to remain clean from alcohol while the lexepro was kicking In, but that didn't last long. Pretty soon after my mood "lifted", I was back to the same drinking and eating patterns. This went on through my freshman year at college, and the drinking only got worse, and I was blacking out more and more frequently, drinking more every day. It got up to a 6-10 beers a day, and by then I really didn't feel like myself at all. I remember all of those symptoms that I had in the beginning had gotten way way worse, and I could barely see myself in the mirror, hear my own voice, or feel my skin - I truly thought I was dying or going insane. It was around mid march of my freshman year, that I realized it might have to do with the drinking and ssri combination (or just the ssri). The final thing I experienced that told me I needed to leave school was when I stepped into the shower, and I couldn't feel the water on my skin (this is one of the scariest things I have ever experienced in my life.) I went home, and relapsed a few more times before realizing that I really needed to stop drinking - this was around mid may of last year, so pretty much exactly one year ago. This was also when I decided to begin my taper off of lexepro. Instantly, all of those symptoms got even more worse, and new ones like light sensitivity, floaters/staticy vision, and others that I don't fully remember emerged. I went into treatment, and continued my taper. I fully went off of lexepro at the beginning of July around 10 months ago. The severe depression came on first, and then about two months after I quit, my depression and now energy started to get really high. This was when the extreme insomnia and anxiety began. Since then my mood, anxiety, and a very long list of symptoms have been all over the place. I've found relief in gabapentin and low dose trazadone for the insomnia and anxiety, but those are starting to fade. Let me also just say that I've done tons of research on the trazadone, and until you reach a certain dose (150mg I believe) it has absolutely no antidepressant effect, that's what I have noticed as I've been taking it for awhile as well. (I was super paranoid about that in the beginning of taking it which is the only reason I'm mentioning it.) I'm definitely starting to feel a little bit more like myself, I can hear a little bit better, and see myself in the mirror a little more clearly. However, Im sure like many others on here, I'm still really scared that I've done permeant damage to my brain, and I'm worried that I'm never going to fully get back to my baseline. My skin numbness, and vision changes are still ever so present and so are many other symptoms that I can't even put into words. I'm just really looking for some hope, so if anyone has had a similar experience I'd love to hear it. And to those who are in a simalar boat but earlier on, **** truly is getting better, I'm just not on the other side, so I'm still not certain I'll ever make it back, but you won't be trapped in the darkest place forever. I'm so thankful I found this website. At times I was really close to giving up on my life - it's so good to know that I'm not alone.