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Hello, everyone… It has been, certainly, a difficult few months. The first time I entered this page was two months after stopping clonazepam and vortioxetine, because despite the fact that the decrease was gradual, the most severe symptoms appeared three weeks after I stopped consuming them. From then until now it has been a battle, to which I do not see the end, this is what has led me to start interacting on this channel - and not just consult it - because today, more than others, I question my reasons for stopping take drugs, it would seem that this is not going to end. Until now, I have tried to understand my body, all the symptoms are adjustments to return to its balance ("without help")... but I can't stop wondering if it was the best decision to have stopped taking the drugs. Without a doubt there are new things like the fact of experiencing life in a different way, I feel more "human" (which makes perfect sense because now I feel more than ever) the sensitivity that I have developed to get involved with everything, to all that isis around me, every expression of life, valuing all the abundance that I have and alway I has around me, the way I relate now, the way I perceive today, what I heard, what I see, feel...Im so grateful, but… At first my motivation was simple, stop being medicated, point.., stop consuming pils (I have to say that today I use more than ever because of the supplements LOL), later this motivation began to have a more altruistic and deeper meaning, however Although the motivation is still there, I don't stop doubting, Im tired! I would love to be able to read what has been your motivation to star with the withdrawal/tapering and what makes you stay there, even when the symptoms could sometimes exceed us. I hope someone dares to tell me because I know that will help me continue on the road, and maybe to someone else I also have a big question, what has worked for you for muscle tension and stiffness, this is what has made me fill tired as well as digestive problems, because the intestine is very tense and therefore I do not have a good digestion. Anything, anything you could share with me I will be very grateful, receive a big hug mirna

Hi and thanks for letting me in. I would like to hear from others, who suffers a lot from physical pain in withdrawal - possibly also from anybody who did a cold turkey from both antidepressants and benzos. My story short. I got sertraline two times. First for 1.5 year, then 8 months break, and then I got it for half a year, before I stopped cold turkey. Among all that, I also took zopiclone for 5 years (benzo-like sleeping pills). These I also cold turkied 4 months after sertraline. It's now been 14 months since I stopped sertraline and 10 months since I stopped zopiclone. I stopped because, I functioned very poorly. It became harder and harder to take care of work and my three kids (I'm alone with them every second week). I realized that maybe I functioned poorly because of the drugs, and that's why I stopped. I couldn’t find any other explanations. Since then, I still suffer from fatigue, burning pain in my brain and body (like someone poured acid in my brain/body), muscle and joint ashes (especially in arms, legs, hands and feet), head aches, brain pressure, chest pain, stomach issues. In the morning it is so bad that it takes me an hour or two to get out of bed. I really try to be active, but it is soo hard to do anything with all the pain and fatigue. I had a doctor saying I got Fibromyalgia, but I think my self that it is protracted withdrawal syndrome. The symptoms are just similar, I guess. I really don't have so much windows and waves pattern. It's awful most of the time, and then - maybe - there is a very seldom window lasting a few hours, before next day, It's awful again. It has been like this since I withdrawed from sertraline the first time, and got much worse when I reinstated and did a vold turkey Can anybody relate to all this? Thank you so much for any support.

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

Hi everyone, I could really do with some support/advice. I started tapering prozac (20mg down to 2.4mg, 10% decreases every 6 weeks until June) in April 2020. Have been on and off it for 23 years; each attempt to come off in past was disastrous. I was pretty much fine until January and then started having serious neck pain. Right side of head, ear, occiput, between spine and shoulder blade, and radiating down right arm into ring and pinky finger. Over months has also affected right lower back and right hip. Have seen multiple chiropractors to no avail. I can see that my head is not sitting centere over my spine but is off to the right. Severe anxiety, depression and agitation really started kicking in in July. Went through a huge binge eating phase, and now total anorexia. No appetite at all and losing weight fast. CNS extremely sensitive to everything. Diarreoha every morning. What is terrifying and utterly destroying me is that for the last 8 nights I wake up at midnight after 2 or 3 hours of sleep with SEERING, BURNING, UNBEARBLE pain down right side of my body: ear, jaw, neck, shoulder, arm, fingers, lower back, waist, hip and into leg. I am in so much agony I cannot find any relief in any position. I am forced to get up and try to stretch what feels like the whole right side of my body collapsing or disintergrating. It goes on for hours until I fall into a light, restless sleep at around 3 or 4 until maybe 6. I had a contrast MRI of head and neck yesterday but results not out yet. Has anyone had this type of experience? Does it stop? Without sleep I don't know how long I will last. Would so appreciate some insight. Doing this alone in a foreign country....feeling at wits' end. Doctor trying to persuade me to go into a clinic but deathly afraid of letting go of some element of normality, eg, job, though barely managing that.

I don't find informations about it in the site (but if it's not a right place to post it, please some moderators to move it). I would to ask if someone tried this supplement often prescribed for fibromyalgic pain (that sometimes could be similar to pain induced by WD) and had some benefits. Here some informations (from Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmitoylethanolamide

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!

Hello, My Achilles tendon of the left leg hurts a lot (the one of the right leg only a little). I've been trying to avoid impact, warm up well before exercising and apply heat (cold worsens the situation), but the pain is getting worse. I can not even walk without limping! I'm almost reaching 50% of my initial dose of 150mg venlafaxine (Effexor) and somewhere around the 40% I started having muscle and joint pain. During my withdrawal from benzodiazepine last year, this type of pain was my main problem. At one point I became bedridden. Will it be the same with the antidepressant? I'm very scared! In particular, I don't know what to do in relation to my Achilles tendon pain. Should I see a doctor? I am sure he/she will prescribe a bunch of medication, muscle relaxants, etc. that I do not want and can not take, and perhaps some useless and time consuming physical therapy. Has anyone had this kind of problem? What did you do? Thank you for your ideas!

Hello! I joined this site today in hopes of finding someone with knowledge of the course of severe muscle pain following Xanax and Prozac withdrawal. I am afraid my muscle pain will never go away, and for me it is disabling. Background: I have had depression and anxiety since I was in early elementary school; I am now in my 60s. I went on Xanax (0.25 mg) only once or twice a week when I was under unusual stress from multiple causes. What I didn't understand, and neither my psychiatrist, psychologist nor internist told me, was a lot of it was likely the stress of going off Prozac. After moving to another state, the stress increased, so I increased Xanax to 3 times a day every day. After 6 months, I was too affected by fatigue to continue on the drug. I went off it over about a week. Within 1 to 2 days, I had severe muscle pain in many areas of my body. Almost 2 months later, I still have it. Explaining where the pain is and when it occurs is complex, because much of it is changes from hour to hour and day to day. I have had pain in many places where I never had it before. I have pain from doing brief minor tasks. And I have persistent daily pain in my back and neck. As an example: I have done a reclining yoga twist for about two years, after a physical therapist recommended it. I loved it! It brought joy! Starting sometime after I started taking Xanax daily, it causes pain in my rib cage, and a weird stretched out feeling in my shoulders. So, more than a year doing this with no pain and loving it, now it causes my rib cage to hurt at length every time I do it. But the worst thing is the difficulty I have cooking. I eat an extremely healthy diet which mandates that I cook a lot. And it is now killing my back. The only housework I even try to do is taking out some of the trash and keeping the kitchen counters clean. Does anyone have any experience with what the course of this muscle problem might be? Thank you all for your help. I am looking forward to providing help to others too.

Hi everyone. Some of my past history : I was first prescribed Antidepressants in 1990. I remember it was called Prothiaden. From then up unti 2013 I was prescribed different ones from Cipramil , Prozac , Seroxat ( twice), Anafranil , Lexapro , Effexor. I was diagnosed with clinical depression. I had intermittent usage and there was long periods of time that I was not on any meds. In 2013 after bereavement and trauma , I found myself to be very anxious and I could not sleep. I was prescribed Lexapro and from there , this horror story unfolds. The Lexapro seemed to make matters worse. I felt so much worse when it was increased. Then they added in Cymbalta . I was quickly tapered off Lexapro. The Cymbalta also made me feel even worse. I couldn't sleep , eat , I honestly couldn't function properly. My mind was in a mess. I tried counselling. I exercised. Nothing helped. A doctor then abruptly requested me to stop Cymbalta at this point. I was given Xanax for a week. Then It was discontinued and I was given Valium for a week. I became really ill at this point. I was then prescribed Lithium Abilify Seroquel and placed back on Cymbalta. ( in hospital ) I developed Akathisia from Abilify. It was discontinued. At this point , doctors were becoming more aware that these meds were making me so ill. They began to say I was ' super sensitive to meds' . I was now under the care of my previous doctor who tried to help me get off these meds. Since November 2013 , I bave come off Lithium ( 5 months use ) Abilify ( 3 weeks use ) Cymbalta ( in total 8 months use ) Lamictal ( 8 months use ) Ambien (1 year use ). To get off the Xanax , I was cross tapered to Valium. I was unable to get off any of these medications easily. I may seem very matter of fact in this post but honestly I am not. It's been sheer hell. The physical pain started in January 2014 . Nerve and muscle pain. Paresthesia . Crawling burning searing pain. Muscle twitching. ( I used to get ready bad electric type shocks in my spine and really bad muscle spasms. This has lessened ) My mental symptoms of anxiety , deep sadness , dp , irritation , anger and agitation have all decreased. My sleeping is better. Oh for this I am so very thankful. It's this physical pain. It never lets up. This is the scary part. Will it ever let up ? ..... I would really really appreciate your help and advice in this forum . It has taken me a long while to get as far as here. I am currently tapering off Seroquel. From 25mgs. I am holding at 6.25 mgs. This is another awful painful withdrawal. Can anyone help me with it ? Any other suggestions or thoughts about the pain I am in ? I have had countless blood tests and Mri Ultrasound and Xrays. All came back fine. I have some degenerative changes in lumbar spine but nothing to warrant this degree of pain. Many thanks for taking the time to read this.