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Hi, Unfortunately i think I have kindled. A few months ago I got down to 10g very quickly from 20mg P I have been on it for 25 years) and my old Gp told me to miss every other day which I did for about a week but felt unwell and went back on. 7 weeks ago I ended up in hospital for another reason and decided to up to 20mg 3 weeks ago when I was in hospital again (all before I joined this group). I now have been crippled by extreme symptoms especially over night that include a few hours of dosing then woken up with tingling down my back arms, head pain, thumping heart and nausea and the I dose again and it wakes me up again. I don’t really sleep and first thing in the morning I have nausea and debilitating anxiety that turns me into crying mess only being helped by an anti anxiety drug in the morning (which frightens me) It hasn’t helped with the nighttime symptoms. I dread going to bed I feel I am being tortured and do not know where to turn. Do I keep with the 20mg to stabilise and hope things settle. My new GP wanted me to taper right off over two weeks and add another one as I do it but I said no. My poor husband is trying to help me but ends up in tears seeing how I am suffering. Please can someone tell me it will get better. Knoingwhat know now I tapered down to 10mg to quickly, missed doses and instated far to high.Thank you

First, I had bad anxiety in my early twenties. Started Effexor, took it for about a year then tried stopping with a fast taper. I got fired from work 4 ou 5 months later and my anxiety went up big time. Started Effexor again. Went up to 110mg, but I was having many side effects so after talking to my doctor, I decided to stop. I reduced the dosage over 2 months then stop. Went throught withdrawal for a few weeks and then things got quiet for a few months. I started getting hit by some fairly heavy anxiety and panic attacks without stress to trigger it. I went back to effexor for a few months and then I switched to escitalopram 10mg to try and see if I would have less side effects. I stayed on escitalopram 10mg for at least 6 years. Now, at the start of January 2024, I run out of escitalopram for a few days. That's when I decided to try and quit. Just like that. The withdrawal was hell. A lot of brain zap, anger that I could not contain at all, brain fog, insomnia, etc. After 6 weeks, most of the symptoms were gone or wayyyy more manageable. 1 week before the 4 months mark, I started getting vertigo and feeling dizzy. I had no idea what was going on. My anxiety started acting up again and I took an appointment with my doctor. He's starting me on 5mg escitalopram again. I took my first half pill 8 hours ago and I feel absolutely awful: It's impossible to sleep, I had 2 panic attacks, I feel like I need to walk all the time and my hands are shaking. And now i'm scared to death, does it mean that I have kindled? Should I keep taking 5mg and see if it stabilize? Should I lower to 2.5? Should I stop?!

Hi everyone, I'm new here but have used other sites trying to fathom out why I feel the way I do, trying to make sense of it all. I started taking 10 mg citalopram about 10 years ago when I suddenly started to get mild anxiety symptoms and they worked well for me. A couple of years ago I decided to come off them, I tried cold turkey which was a stupid idea and quickly went back on 10mgs. Next I tried halving my tablet but that didn't work either so I went back on 10mg. A year ago I decided on a slower approach and reduced down to 7.5 mgs. Two months later I reduced to 5mg, probably too soon in retrospect and here I am 10 months later still getting withdrawal symptoms. My symptoms seem to come and go, sometimes in phases. The head zaps are not so severe now, I just get the occasional one. Night sweats have stopped and so have the horrific nightmarish dreams. I still get strange dreams but not the horror ones. I never had nausea until recently. I get dizzy feelings, head dropping sensations, sometimes balance issues, digestive issues, aches and pains, flu like symptoms, headaches neck and shoulder stiffness, ear fulness, tinnirtus dry mouth, anxiety, crying spells, the list goes on. I am 58, retired from my office job, married with one grown up independent daughter who has her own home. My husband has his own health issues but he just gets on with things. I sometimes struggle to make him see how and why I feel the way I do when I don"t understand myself. I get gum infections which may or may not be caused by citalopram but antibiotics and citalopram don't mix well and after a course my anxiety seems to flare up. Lockdown hasn't helped and I believe my symptoms have worsened since the start of it. I don't know what to do for the best, whether to increase or try another antidepressant or come off all together. Could the reduced dose, which I achieve by using a pill cutter and they are not precise, be prolonging my symptoms, I could be 1 mg out either way? Thanks for reading.Regards.

Hello, this is my first post and I’m really looking for some help Here is my story, so for the past three years I have been on 50mg Sertraline/ Zoloft for Panic Attacks, Anxiety and Depression. I decided to come off of them from the beginning of this year and then had a delayed withdrawal symptoms three weeks from my last dose. I then reinstated on the same medication and for 2 weeks and 5 days experiences awful side effects even worse compared to the first time I went on it, the main cause for concern it making me have suicidal thoughts and feelings, which led me to CT with the advice of my doctor. From what I have found is that the medication may have exasperated my discontinuation symptoms. For a month after I experienced discontinuation symtpoms including Acute anxiety and dread Waking up anxious Low mood Depression Feeling extreme weariness (the worst) Nightmares Decreased appetite Mild insomnia - waking up several times throughout the night and early morning wake ups Confusion Brain fog - words and sentences seeming jumbled or muddled Intrusive suicidal thoughts Suicidal feelings Crying spells Mood swings Irritibility Racing thoughts Anhedonia Poor concentration - unable to read or listen to music Mild memory loss Derealisation / Depersonalisation Flu-symptoms Mild vertigo Tingling sensations Smelling things that aren’t there Diarrhoea Lack of labido Light sensitivity Eye floaters 5 weeks later and most of these are gone, I had a streak of 6 days where I felt fantastic, I felt like I could manage my anxiety and depression and I was just left with what I’m usually used to. However, I feel awful again, but I am unsure if this is a “relapse” to what my natural mental state is or if I’m still experiencing mild withdrawal. I noticed yesterday that I kept repeating a words that I was reading from signs I walked past, I have quite bad health anxiety and seeing as this is unrelated to anxiety and more OCD, it’s freaking me out thinking I might be developing it. But, when I read about OCD it doesn’t entirely relate to what I’m like, I’ve always been more anxious and depressed, I don’t perform rituals in my mind or physically. I do have worries about losing control and horrible instrusive thoughts but I always assumed that it suited my anxiety rather than OCD. I have had repetitive words happen to me a few times even while I was on the meds, but to a point that it didn’t concern me, probably a total of 5 days out of the three years. I also remember right at the beginning of my experiences with mental health that I did sometimes count things but could easily stop. But im unable to remember if this is when I started the sertraline or before. Now I’m off of them I’m unsure if this is a diagnosis that has been unnnoticed (as I did go onto AD fairly quickly) or if this is an effect of SSRI meds and the withdrawal? I also had about a 5 day bout when I recently reinstated my meds experiencing a compulsion to touch my nose over and over, however I resisted it to the point that it went quickly and figured that it was my brain confused coming off and on the medication and the effects on my nervous system, and that I had read somewhere that the end of someone’s nose also felt quite strange coming off medication and that it can be anxiety related. I do feel that as a person my anxiety fixates on health problems and then acts them out in hypothetical situations, so I used to worry about schizophrenia so when my anxiety was bad I would imagine voices talking to me, even though I was not psychotic. I think the same thing happens with my current worry of OCD, that my brain is acting it out playing on my worries, rather than the typical sense of OCD using those thoughts to neutralise worries. If that makes sense. Im also beginning to experience Earworms, parts of songs annoyingly repeating in my head. Has as anyone got some incite to how I’m feeling or if they have had similar experiences? Is it because of the medication, the discontinuation, or should I have something to worry about in terms of OCD? And most importantly, can people experience mild symptoms of OCD but mainly have anxiety? I.e can anxiety borrow tendencies from OCD without it being OCD. I feel a lot better without all the nasty discontinuation symptoms, but now I just feel awfully trapped between coming off medication or having to one day maybe reinstate because I’d be unable to deal with what I’m like off of them and this mental discomfort. All the stories on here scare the life out of me, however both options appear terrifying- being off medication and going back on them. I don’t ever want to experience being suicidal again, but I don’t want to be crippled with anxiety and new symptoms that seem scary to manage. So confusing. Hopefully I’ve been as informative and concise as possible. Would love to hear from you all!

Hi all, I’m an almost 39 year old woman from the Netherlands. Going through withdrawl right now. Need support, thanks in advance!!! 2007 Started Paroxetine in end 2007 due to an anxiety disorder and emetophobia. Starting was hellish, also because high dose of metocolopramide combined with extreme loss of weight (46kg with 1,78m). Used 10mg for a year. Tapered in 3 months after one year, no acute withdrawl. 2009 Summer 2009 anxiety came back (don’t know if that was relapse due to stopping or new triggers for anxiety). Started again on 10mg. Was a rough start. Not many negative side effects during years of use. Used it from 2009 ‘till summer 2021. Had 2 separate years when I increased to 20mg. Going up and coming down to 10mg without any problems. Sometimes when I forgot a dose for two days (happened 2 times), noticed mild brainzaps. Gone within a days. In those years I experienced 4 to max 8 severe panic attacks per year. Used 20mg Oxazepam (Seresta) for those panic attacks. 2021 June 2021 wanted to come of Paroxetine due to sexual disorder and stabile life and mind (and negative info in the news about permanent damage). Tapered from 10mg to 4,5mg in four weeks, no problems. Wanted to taper from 4,5mg to 1,5mg in four weeks. Got withdrawl at 2,8mg, so stabilized at 3mg. Withdrawl ended in 7 days. Stabilized at 3mg since, without relapse. Noticed that I got more emotional, but guess that’s a normal thing in life. Had lots of therapy in 2022 for cluster C personality disorder. But managed with 3mg. Therapy ended sept ‘22. 2023 Plan was to taper from 3mg to 1mg in 6 months. And would taper final mg next year. January 26th started tapering. In four weeks from 3mg to 2,5mg. Sometimes excessive dreaming, sometimes a crying spell. Withdrawl? Don’t know. But could handle that. Next four weeks wanted to go from 2,5-2,0mg. When I got to 2,2mg after 2-3 weeks, started noticing two brainzaps. Started stabilizing on 2,2mg immediately. Stabilized on 2,2mg for 14 days, but withdrawl symptoms got worse. Ended up at the GP in the middle of the night. Anxiety, crying, depressed. Decided to go back up to 2,5mg cause didn’t have symptoms at that dosage. In the following 10-11 days (‘till today, 6th of april) I had several okay days. Brighter mind, less symptoms, still problems with waking up often during sleep and some physical symptoms. But also had a few days with many symptoms and complete hell: anxiety, wobbly head, depressed, crying a lot, dispair, hot flashes, shivers, trembling. GP —> rather 3 okay days —> 1 hell day —> 2 okay days —> 1 hell day —> 4 okay days —> today is hell again. And I’m so so scared. Desperate. Begged to get hospitalized for support and safe enviroment. But that’s only possible if you’re suidical. I’m not, although I wish I would these days… So many questions now. GP wants to help, but hasn’t got the right knowledge. So: A) it is normal to have okay and bad days in stabilisation fase? I tought it would be a slow line going up, didn’t expect those bad days. Certainly not after 10 days stabilisation. So scared of further deterioration next days… b) what is an average time to be stable again? C) is it possible to have an adverse reaction to stabilising on 0,3mg more then the 2,2mg in the two stabilisationweeks prior? D) what and when could be signs that I have to go back to 3,0mg from end of january (that was my last baseline 8 weeks ago already)? Did some online research last few weeks and now realise I went way to fast. Already thought is was a slow taper… Wish I had this info before… Some reactions would be awesome, really appreciate that!!!

Hello dear wonderful forum of SA ❤️ My name is Ana (and English is not my first language ) , my story about ADs has been a long one. I have been on and off them for many years ,starting 14 years old (now 32) when I took them for 2-3 days and due to side effects I didn’t take them anymore. Years later after my intrusive thoughts and scary ones emerged, I took ADs for a couple of months and dropped them. And after some years later I took them for a year and dropped them (Circa 2016-2017) I have been on different ones: Escitalopram , Zoloft and others I cannot remember. In 2022 after 4 years of battling my anxiety ( anxiety non stop, headaches, racing thoughts, vomiting, neck, head and terrible body pain at the point that I barely could stand up. Which may have been caused because of me experimenting with my on/off drug use ) I decided to try another psychiatrist. She prescribed me Abilify 10mg explaining that I was resisting the ADs and needed something else(poor me for believing this) I cannot explain how I survived the beginning of taking this drug. I stayed on it for 1.5 year and my anxiety still continued(no improvement whatsoever). Me and my psychiatrist decided to add Zoloft so maybe I could feel better. After a year and a half on Abilify I decided to drop it and went from 10 to 5 and from 5 to 2.5. Then cut it off at the end of November 2023. I had terrible Withdrawal symptoms but also had a little sparkle of determination and hope that I will survive it(this was my 4th attempt). I survived somehow. At the end of December I decided to cut Zoloft from 50 to 25mg (bad mistake, don't do it please) and ended in a terrible situation. Then went back to 50mg in January 2024. I have decided that I should try the 10% method. My question is when should I start ? How should I cut the doses? (in my country no liquid is available). Should I buy a scale and a pill cutter? Please help to start my safe (hopefully) withdrawal. Right now my symptoms are: Fatigue, brain fog, memory problems, allergy like symptoms : watery eyes, overwhelmed easily, anhedonia, depression, anxiety but not at big levels (after cutting off Abilify anxiety has really improved). At the moment I am trying to stay on track with a healthy diet( mostly I cook by myself healthy meals). I try and walk every 2-3 days a week and do 10-15 minutes of stretching/exercises every day. I am trying to add prayers to my daily routine but don't know how to do it ( I believe that a greater force has kept me alive so far and thus I need to create a connection with that) I have a full time job and don't know how I have managed but I still do work these 6 past years have been a nightmare and I don't really know how I have been able to work, I am married and have a 3.5 year old daughter ( she is my light ❤️ and mostly I am doing this because of her because I don't want her to be without a mother and I really do want to come to the other side ). Being a mother during this time of my life has been exhausting to say the least but I still have tried to keep a smile in front of my lovely daughter. My family is very supportive and they really have helped me be alive so far and for this I am really grateful. What has also kept me alive so far is the thought that I was not born like this and I clearly remember how I was such an active person, very alive and creative one. I am crying while writing this and am so sorry we all have to go through this season. Today I join this wonderful forum which I found after so many years of questions and no answers. I found my people ❤️ Note: Today's my father heavenly birthday (68 years) and I am really happy to join in a remarkable day to this remarkable site ❤️

Hello! I have been surfing the surviving antidepressants forums for the past couple of months ever since my withdrawal symptoms began and have decided to finally make an introduction post as I have some questions and concerns. I apologize for some vague starting dates, it has been a few years and I couldn't find a record of my exact starting dates. I also please ask anyone responding to me to express some discretion in describing specificities of their own symptoms, and refrain from excessive pessimism as I am extremely anxious and prone to health anxiety! Someone could tell me my hand could hurt tomorrow, and behold, my hand will hurt tomorrow. 😄 I also may be slow to respond as I try to limit my interaction with WD research and forum reading as it makes my anxiety worse. Thank you for understanding. In 2021 I was prescribed amitriptyline to attempt remedying my chronic interstitial cystitis that has been resistant to other treatments. I was initially put on 10mg, then after a few months bumped up to 25mg to see if it would make a larger difference. Unfortunately it did little to remedy my cystitis symptoms (yay.) After several more months on that dosage, I asked to try 30mg to see if it would help more (it did not, unfortunately.) In 2022 my GP suggested switching to nortriptyline to see if it would make a bigger difference for my pain. I agreed and did a direct switch from 30mg amitriptyline to 25mg nortriptyline (no crossfading in between them, just a cold one day switch.) I did not know the potential risks of such a switch, and my doctor ensured it was safe since nortriptyline is metabolized out of amitriptyline. I do not recall experiencing any WD symptoms from this switch, but I wasn't exactly looking for any either. Fast forward to late 2023, I start having some anxiety issues (well they've been going on for a while, but I went to doctors for it around this time,) and after a run in with a lack luster psychiatrist who encouraged me to start a benzo and a new antidepressant on top of the nortriptyline without any care for my concerns against long term benzo use I got quite spooked out by psychiatric medication and wanted to get as far away from it all as possible. I did not take the medication he prescribed me, I only took 3 days of 0.5mg clonazepam that gave me intense side effects (including making my anxiety leagues worse for the duration I was taking it) that I stopped CT after 3 days (I was told this was ok by the pharmacy.) After a particularly intense googling session on all the side effects of benzos and antidepressants (with PSSD becoming my new biggest fear) I became quite unsettled with my already taking nortriptyline, and decided to brave tapering to try and prove to my anxiety that everything will be ok (the irony 😅). I was incredibly nervous to start, and for the entire month leading up to it I was in deep deep anxiety about all the ways it could go wrong, and was still deeply anxious as I was going through the taper. Id like to note, the entire time I was on nortriptyline I did not experience any adverse effects, aside perhaps aggravating my anxiety as it feels like my anxiety getting worse corresponds closely with switching to nortriptyline (not sure if that is possible though!) So at the start of 2024 January 4th, I began my taper with advice from my GP and a pharmacist to alternate doses between 25mg and 10mg. I had a whole schedule written out where I would start out with alternating 25/10 every other day, then switching to 25/10/10 the next week, and so on and so forth for about a month until I would have hypothetically been alternating between 10 and 0. At the time I had no idea that this is not recommended! Right at the start of the 2nd week (25/10/10) one hour after taking 10mg for the 2nd subsequent day in a row for the first time, I began experiencing vaginal coldness and burning sensations. I started freaking out and barely slept, I ended up taking another 10mg that day a few hours later (so a total of 20mg) out of panic thinking it was the start of PSSD (my aforementioned biggest fear.) Previously, my pharmacist instructed me to return to the 25/10 schedule should I get any distressing symptoms, so that's what I did, counting the 20mg I took that day as "25." The following morning, after advising with my mother, I began to suspect perhaps its not withdrawal, but the worlds worst timed yeast infection 😄, and begun treating it as such with topical creams. After a few days the burning seemed to subside so I assumed I was correct, and continued my 25/10/10 taper. However with the burning receding, instead came electrical zaps, tingles, and smaller burning sensations. So then I started doing more googling, found surviving antidepressants, and decided to try reinstating at 20mg until things calmed down. After I reinstated I didn't feel a particular improvement in symptoms. There was a change that for a few days it felt like specific parts of my pelvic area would "buzz" chronically all day. But then it went away and it returned to more sporadic tingles and zaps. Presently I am still at 20mg going strong! Since then I continue to have weird electric jolts, body zaps, tingles, tickles, etc. in various parts of my body. While primarily focused in the genital/thigh area, it is also common in my heels/feet, and I have felt it in my thumbs, scalp, and sometimes sensations of intense pressure in my face/cheek. I still occasionally get vaginal burning as well. There is no actual numbness, or sexual dysfunction, I can still feel everything, it just tingles. It is not painful, or too uncomfortable (with a few days of exceptions where it was at its worst.) But it is very very nerve wracking. It comes and goes, it is not constant, though some sensations may last for a few days. It does feel like it is slowly reducing over time, and despite my worst fears I have full faith it will one day go away. It gets noticeably worse whenever I am nervous and freaking out, or if I sit and/or lie down (for pelvic/feet.) I have also experienced some increased tinnitus in one ear about a month into the withdrawal, but tinnitus has been a life long problem and that ear has been finicky way before I started to taper so Im not quick to blame it on the withdrawal. 😅 I am also not sure if my extreme anxiety these days can be credited to the withdrawal, since I was unfortunately in a pretty similar state of mind prior to tapering. I have since spoken with my GP, and my GP's opinion was that it is not withdrawal and entirely psychosomatic since Ive been in a state of chronic high anxiety for nearly a year and was expecting my taper to go wrong in every way possible. However I have been referred to a neurologist and a new psychiatrist anyway. The new psychiatrist I saw is actually quite incredible, and believes what is happening to be withdrawal related. The psychiatrist is even familiar with the 10% taper, and in my circumstances, even recommended I taper by 5% if/when I decide to continue. I have also since started counseling to help reduce my high levels of anxiety, so hopefully with all these things combined I am well on my way to recovery, however difficult it may feel now. To conclude this terribly long introduction post. I am now left with some questions on how to proceed forward. First question being about compounded pills, my psychiatrist recommended compounding doses at a pharmacy for future tapering, but also said I could manually weigh them. I recall seeing some posts saying compounded pills can be quite variable in weight and thus they concluded they are unreliable for a taper. Is this true? My understanding is that even the non-compounded pills tend to vary in weight, but this doesn't seem to have many negative repercussions. I would prefer to compound since it is much more convenient, and manually calculating doses would make me nervous. But if it is unreliable I would rethink this stance. Second question I'll admit is less of a question, and bit more in the realm of seeking reassurance. But please bear with me. Should tapering correctly and slowly (5-10% decreases) reduce my chances of getting PSSD? I have had no sexual dysfunction from these pills, yet PSSD is my biggest fear and I have read plenty of worst case scenarios on the internet of people being stuck with no emotions for years on end. My understanding is that PSSD comes with two camps, one as a result of adverse reaction from being on the medication (SD while still on the drug) that then doesn't go away after taper. Then the other as a symptom of withdrawal. It seems like adverse reaction PSSD seems to be the more common case with terrible long term cases, whereas withdrawal seems to be more forgiving and more likely to go away with time. Is this assumption correct? Have you guys seen cases of PSSD/anhedonia emerging after conservative 10% tapers? I understand there are no guarantees with tapering, but I am hoping to find something to latch onto to to put my mind at ease. Thank you for taking the time to read my post! I wish us all to have smoother journeys going forward.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, I am a 62 year old man with Ankylosing Spondylitis that was diagnosed 40 years ago. This systemic autoimmune disease made life quite difficult. And it began with going from being a decently talented Track & Field athlete, to not being able to walk very well. Along with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS), I had a spondylolisthesis, which led to temporary paralysis a couple times. While my doctors told me I needed a double fusion back operation, I was terrified of such a surgery, and put it off until the second time I lost the feel of my legs. I then went in for surgery the very next week! After the surgery I thought I would just take off and be back to sports. But I struggled another few years until they found I had AS. Dealing with sciatica for years prior to the surgery, and after the surgery, I had to use anti-inflammatories, and muscle relaxants to get through the really difficult times. Aside from the anti-inflammatories though, I never really took any drugs for long. I had to take steroids for inflammation many times, but they were short lived dosages. But around 2002, a doctor prescribed amitriptyline for nerve pain, and strange, severe muscle cramps I would get during sleep. I ended up taking that drug on an off from that point up until three months ago, when I did a very short three week taper from 50 to 25 to 12.5 to stopping. And for the first time I had many side effects that I don't recall experiencing any time in the past when I stopped the drug for awhile. Even three years ago when I stopped it, it wasn't bad at all, and I never even concluded anxiety could be from amitriptyline. I truly thought it was the safest drug ever! And if I am honest, I had forgotten it was an antidepressant drug being used off-label for so many things. Since Ankylosing Spondylitis is systemic with inflammation, I ended up with blocked arteries, kidney issues, and hypothyroidism. I had to take beta blockers the past 6 years, along with some other heart medications, and a thyroid medication. I went on a strict whole food plant based diet 8 months ago, and have since stopped all medications except the thyroid medication. I stopped the beta blocker Atenolol 4 months ago (and my blood pressure and heart rate has been amazing), and quit the Amitriptyline completely almost 3 months ago. I went from feeling very clear minded, serene, and proud of my strict diet accomplishments, to feeling odd heart fluttering (maybe palpitations), anxiety, panic attacks, hypersensitivity in these cuts on my hands that get during the dry, cold winters here, and waking insomnia (I would fall asleep but wake up restless, worried, etc.). This all started a few days after I stopped taking the amitriptyline completely nearly 3 months ago. I didn't expect the amitriptyline to cause this. But I noticed when I began taking metoprolol 6 years ago, that I angered quickly, became impatient, and things began to feel harder and harder to do. With AS, I am fused in much of my spine making simple movements difficult; which of course makes life filled with daily pain already. But I thought the beta blocker metoprolol was the reason for it all, and tried changing over to other drugs (I only had two drug class options due to my blocked arteries). Only when I was able to change from a lipid beta blocker to the water based atenolol did it improve a bit. But it only improved somewhat. I learned that amitriptyline was so good at getting past the blood brain barrier that it was often used with other drugs designed to heal brain issues (because most drugs were not able to get past the blood brain barrier). I then began to think that the amitriptyline was escorting all the beta blockers I had been taking and perhaps acting as a potentiator, augmenting the different side effects I had (hallucinations, nightmares, numb hands and fingers, eye issues). It wasn't till I got off the beta blockers completely that it seemed amitriptyline may have been behind all the difficulties over the last 6 years. Sorry for the lengthy story. I just wanted to share that while life with AS is difficult, I was never into any type of drugs. I had problems with drinking beer at times of my life, but always managed to stop that. And I only had alcohol once during the past several months during a horrible panic attack! I don't wish to take anything to get through this, unless someone thinks that starting amitriptyline again to taper slowly is a plausible course of action?? I would rather not though. I just wanted to know what others taking amitriptyline thought about all of this. I can already understand that there is no definitive time frame for discontinuation syndrome, or protracted withdrawal. I can only recall stopping the 50mg amtriptyline back in 2020 after having Covid (stopped for about 4 months without much of an issue). I did take 100mg a couple times after a new blood pressure medications terrified me after a single dose I went through several trying to reduce the horrid side effects, and used amitriptyline just to calm myself and get through that night. Other than that, it was always 50mg. Thanks again for taking the time! WestOn4th

Just came across this site, wish I saw it sooner! My primary care doctor put me on celexa 20 mg in 2012 for some mood issues. Started seeing a psychiatrist in 2016 who then put me on 40 mg celexa. Switched to effexor, not sure about dose in 2018, then switched to 10 mg prozac in 2020. Tried coming off cold turkey in 2022, was fine for 3 months then withdrawal hit, psychiatrist had me reinstate to 10mg and I stabilized. April 2023 psych had me drop 1 mg every 1 months until I got to 1 mg in December 2023. January 2024 went down to 0.5 mg then February 2024 went down to 0.3 mg. The crash came at the end of February 2024. Psych had me updose to 3 mg which I've been on for 8 days now. Thought I felt some improvement with the updose but still having periods of severe anxiety every other day. My question is should I stay on 3mg for a few weeks and see if I stabilize? Thanks for any input.

Hi all, I was excited to see that this site was accepting new members starting back up January 1st, as I wanted to join a couple months ago and couldn't. I am currently tapering off 20mg of lexapro. I started tapering on 9/01/23 by dropping down to 15mg as suggested by my psychiatrist. I did that and had virtually no side effects. Two or three weeks later I tried dropping to 10mg per his recommendation and bam.... I had a terrible reaction. Worst anxiousness I've ever felt in my life. That's when I started doing my research and found that most doctors don't know what they are doing when it comes to tapering and I also found this wonderful website. I then went back to 15mg and the next day I went down to 12.5 mg. I was on 12.5 mg for three or so weeks and then dropped to 10mg on 10/24/23. I was on 10mg until 12/05/23 so a little over one month. Again, I have had virtually no side affects lowering my dose at any time... just occasion weird feelings in head and I am starting to feel my emotions come back. I then dropped down to 7.5mg on 12/05/23 and took it for about three weeks again with virtually no side effects. Then, the day after Christmas I started to feel pretty off. Very irritable and angry for no reason. I also felt very anxious and started to sweat a lot for about 15 minutes and then it went away. I also started to not sleep as well. My main symptoms were achy or painful joints off and on, lack of focus/brain fog at times, pressure in head, emotional fluctuations, occasional spikes in anxiety, stomach pain/cramps that would come and go, bloating/gas at times, and muscle fatigue. This all started on 12/26/23 and continued until 1/3/24. On 1/3/24 I started to feel pretty much normal again. No issues. I figured this little spell was just my body getting used to a lower dose. Then, around 1/8/24, I started feeling my body kind of slip back into this sucky state that I had previously felt a week or so ago. I am not sleeping as good, though I never feel tired during the day. These past three days have kind of been a blur, but I am managing to get through them. Today has been kind of crazy. Started noticing a sensitivity to loud noises that kind of comes and goes (this is a problem as I work in construction... constant loud noises). I also get these really weird shivering/shaking spells that I cannot control. I do not feel cold, I just start to shiver uncontrollably. I also felt like I was in a terrible mental state... something I have never felt before, but I was not anxious at all. I felt like I couldn't and did not want to eat... which is very much unlike me. I also noticed a gagging feeling coming on for no reason. I then ate some cheese and crackers and bam! Within 5 minutes it was like I was healed. Here I am 20 minutes later typing this out for you guys to hear. Throughout this whole process, I have noticed that exercise has helped tremendously! 30 minutes of speed walking and running on the treadmill everyday works miracles. I am also learning how much diet and nutrient/vitamin levels help regulate the body and mental health. So that's my story so far.... not sure why I never have had any symptoms of withdrawal the past four months until two or so weeks ago. Any help would be appreciated! I look forward to learning and helping others through their tapering journey!

Today is Day 5 of withdrawals. I couldn’t do much over the weekend when I finally figured out what was going on with me. I was watching myself observe the thoughts, telling myself they’re just thoughts and they will eventually pass, then they turn into sensations… too hot, too cold, sweating, dizzy, sharp pain… escape into sleep, short nightmare, escape into waking up, more thoughts, more dizziness, tears, arguing with reality, knowing it will pass… not sure how long it will take, sobs, repeat! my mother died suddenly in July last year, at the age of 64. Between grief and stress, I started experiencing about 10 migraines a month which eventually took me to a neurologist. The neurologist put me on Venlafaxine in Dec (4 months ago), starting with 37.5mg XR and then tripling that amount. When I saw him a month ago and told him nothing had changed, he told me to taper off within the next month… so I did. Wednesday last week was my last 37.5mg dose. By Thursday, I was feeling all of the symptoms, unsure of what was going on. By Friday, I started to look up venlafaxine withdrawal. By Saturday, I called my doc’s office to speak to the on-call doc, and was told that the they would be notified and would call me back. 1.5 hours later, a doc calls me back and says she’ll check in with someone else and will call me back. 2 hours later I called her back and I’m told they’re the in-patient on-call docs and not out-patient so they can’t help me. I start the process all over again and finally got hold of the on-call neurologist who told me that he doesn’t have much experience with venlafaxine and doesn’t think there’s anything he can do to help me 🤦🏻‍♀️ His only suggestions were start taking it again until I can get hold of my neurologist on Monday, even at the risk of having to go through this withdrawal all over again… or just ride it out. He says: I can write you a prescription for 25 mg… I say: Ok, do you know of any pharmacies open now? (It was 7pm) He says: They’re all open. I say: I just googled pharmacies near me and they’re all closed. He says: I don’t know what to tell you. Me: So where are you going to send the script to? Him: I don’t know. Me: Can you just send it to me and I will figure it out? … Me: Are you writing it for extended release or immediate release? Him: Immediate release. Me: But I was on XR? What happens if I take it and 8 hours later, I’m in the same boat when it wears off? Him: Take it again. Me: That means I would possibly be on 50mg when I had already tapered down to 37.5 mg. Is there someone you can call and ask? him: No. by Sunday (yesterday), I start to look for support groups on fb. I have had great experiences with iron deficiency fb groups so I thought I’d give it a go. I joined the tapering off Venlafaxine group. I posted a message with a double negative (English grammar that the moderator wasn’t familiar with stating that “I’m not NOT open to reinstating”). despite me repeating over and over again that I AM open to reinstating and that I can rewrite the message (in fact, from everything I have read over the past few days, I think this might be the only way out of this hell, but I need help and support). I tell the moderator that I am afraid, and that she’s misunderstanding me. She tells me she has never heard of a double negative. I told her, I’m not trying to argue about grammar, that I am seeking support and can rewrite my post so that it clarifies. I tell her that I understand that she runs this group and shares her knowledge freely which I appreciate. I tell her that I respect that she’s doing her due diligence to keep the group functional, but that she didn’t understand me. I think maybe my messages are not landing so I send her a voice note so she can hear me. This seems to only irritate her further, and she blocks me. once again back to square one. So here I am looking for some support, some shared experience to know that I’m not alone, and some help to know how to reinstate, I.e. at what dose. I realize there are no hard and fast rules, but it would be super helpful to talk to someone else who has been here, who can tell me what they tried, and that it’s going to be ok. Some general peer to peer compassion.

Hi everyone, I was on Lexapro 20mg for more than 9 years - constantly. This was initially for symptoms related to body dysmorphic disorder, but then anxiety and depression also became an issue. Last September (2023), I decided I no longer wanted to be reliant on anti-depressants. I tapered down much too quickly within 3 months - 20mg -> 15mg -> 10mg -> 5mg -> over 3 months before stopping completely in November. I felt normal and fine all of November & December. Then January hit me, then February, then March & now April. The symptoms of anxiety and depression, memory loss, brain fog, fatigue, feeling like I have some sort of viral sickness - has plagued me since early January. These symptoms are much worse in the week leading up to when my period is due. After feeling this exhaustion for 3 - 4 months, today I decided to go back on 5mg of Lexapro to see if this might help, with the eventual goal of tapering back down to 0mg using liquid form, however, over a much longer period of time. Any insight or advice would be so greatly appreciated. Thanking you in advance.

Hi folks, TLDR: Too fast taper off 50mg Zoloft July/August 2023; withdrawal became intense in Nov 2023 and continues to today. Wedding is in early May so stress isn't stopping. Should I reinstate or keep going? Ok so, I've been creeping on the site here for a couple weeks, and was very excited when February 1st rolled around so I could register myself. I'd love to hear any advice or input on my situation. I've summarized my med history in my signature but here's the full story of where I'm at: In 2010 I started having panic attacks during sophomore year of college. These panic attacks were coupled with anxiety and severe gastric distress so I ended up dropping about 10 pounds and going to a Gastroenterologist because I thought I had IBS. The doc informed me it was not IBS, but that I had anxiety, and he prescribed me 20mg of Celexa which I began taking in November 2010. I also did exposure therapy through the university, and was diagnosed with panic disorder. With the medicine, my symptoms got better and I finished college in 2013 thinking "if it ain't broke don't fix it". In 2014 I made a random med change from Celexa to Lexapro, I don't think I had a real reason other than maybe thought I had gained weight from the Celexa so I switched? I continued on with 20mg Lexapro from 2014 until February/March of 2020. At that time, I was in really wonderful and healthy relationship, had just received a new job offer and felt really stable and content in my life. I hadn't had a panic attack in years and had always wanted to stop taking the meds, so with the help of a NP at a psych office, I weaned (far too quickly), taking 10 mg for 2-3 weeks, and then 5 or so every other day till I was at 0mg in the end of April 2020. Withdrawal aside, there were a lot of reasons this was stupid and I was ill prepared but I didn't realize that at the time. From May-July 2020 I experienced flu like symptoms, a plethora of brain zaps, SI, and some of the worst anxiety and depression I've ever experienced, much worse than my original condition. With no end to the pandemic in sight, and thinking it was just me, and I couldn't handle life without an SSRI, I went back to my NP at the psych office and reinstated with 50mg of Zoloft. We chose Zoloft because the physical symptoms of withdrawal from the lexapro were so bad she thought I might react better to the Zoloft instead. Ok, so I took 50 mg of Zoloft from July 2020 to June of 2023. The entire time I was on it I knew I wanted to try weaning again but wanted to take steps to make sure I was in a better place. I began heavily limiting my alcohol, caffeine, and sugar intake (things that were very high during the first attempt), made a lot of progress in therapy, got off of hormonal birth control, and started seeing a functional medicine doctor (FMD) to test my hormones and make sure those were as stable as they could be since we suspected I deal with PMDD. I worked with both my FMD and my GP to get a taper schedule together, and I thought I was doing it much slower than the first time. I tapered to 25mg during July 2023, and immediately had so much more energy and emotion than I had had for the last 12+ years. I cried a lot and often out of no where, but that and energy seemed to be the only side effects I noticed. In August 2023 I took 12.5mg daily for ~ 2 weeks, and then 12.5mg every other day for ~2 weeks after that. During this time I was also in the thick of training for a marathon, so I was running around 30 miles a week, the sun was out, I wasn't really drinking and life felt pretty manageable! After talking to some folks I really trust, I also had begun micro dosing ~125mg Psilocybin for a few days a week (~July-January) to help bridge the gap of coming off the Zoloft. I had some possible mild akathisia during this time, but I thought it was just from the running, and I also would get really nervous and have gastric distress before I went out on runs, but again - I thought it seemed normal to have a little panic before running 15+ miles 🤷‍♀️. I completed the marathon in the first week of October and slowly started consuming a bit more alcohol here and there, I don't think I ever actually got drunk at any point, but maybe 3ish drinks in a night every couple of weekends max. End of October /beginning of November 2023 was around when the anxiety and insomnia started. Which then after a trip to Mexico for a wedding, and drinking ~1 drink a night for the week + more the wedding weekend, I felt like I completely regressed with my anxiety and depression symptoms. Everything "came back" like it had in 2020 with a vengeance, I was 10x more anxious, suddenly depressed, incredibly irritable and annoyed by my partner, living in a pit of comparison, going through awful waves of gastric distress and nausea, crying all the time (though that had been there since tapering started), could get 0 pleasure, excitement or hope out of life and waking up with panic out of nowhere at 4 and 5 in the morning. This continued in what I called a "roller coaster" (waves/windows) From Nov 2023 to now. I didn't realize this was still withdrawals or that it even could be until the middle of January when I found this group by way of another facebook group I'm in and felt like it was an answered prayer. Just even to have a name to put to what I was experiencing, and seeing so many other people share the same issues I was experiencing. The constant crying, the waves and windows of anxiety and depression etc. I couldn't believe we all had been given such short taper plans by doctors, and was kicking myself for not finding out about this hyperbolic taper concept earlier, but alas... So! What I'm seeking is advice. My partner and I are getting married in early May 2024, and I am terrified of being in this depressed/agitated state (where often he is getting the brunt of my mood) on our wedding day. Stress isn't really able to be lowered at this time, with the wedding coming up, being understaffed at work, and us moving states this summer. My partner is incredibly understanding and supportive, and I've taken steps from what I've learned here to lower the stress on my CNS as much as possible: I'm not drinking or indulging in THC, I stopped the micro dosing mid January, I try to get 8-9 hrs of sleep every night, I exercise daily, take morning walks, eat a whole foods diet, go to therapy weekly, meditate and breathe daily, do cold exposure 4x a week, you name it I'm probably doing it. I track my waves and windows, but at this rate I don't see an end to them in the near future. I'm around 5 months into 0mg, should I reinstate at .5mg Zoloft and see if that curbs my waves and windows or just continue to push through? Thank you so much for reading, any advice is appreciated and valued!

Hi Everyone! I was started on duloxetine 60 mg for idiopathic foot neuropathy or pins and needles feelings in my feet about 1.5years ago. After 6 months with no relief my neurologist upped the dosage to 120 mg per day. After 6 months at the 120 mg and no impact to the pins and needles feelings, I asked him to taper me off of duloxetine. The schedule provided was a 6 week taper. The first 4 weeks went okay. I had some nausea, dizziness and insomnia but overall not bad. When I got to the 5th week, I was supposed to take 60 mg every other day. On the days that I didn’t take duloxetine, I noticed a significant increase in the pins and needles feeling in my feet. My neurologist said this was an indication that duloxetine was working and started me back on 120 mg per day. I have now read that tingling in the hands or feet can be a withdrawal symptom. How does one that is taking duloxetine for neuropathy know which it is while tapering off of the drug? I am now skeptical of this doctor since he doesn’t seem to know much about withdrawal difficulties. I would like to get off of duloxetine as I have had many side effects such as fatigue, general malaise, sexual dysfunction and extreme weight gain. The weight gain has been so bad that my primary care doctor has me on Ozempic now. Thanks! Stephanie

Hi - long story as short as possible (been on ADs for nearly 30 years). I am 58 and been on Anti Depressants since 1998 with only one or two short breaks in that time. Clinical depression with anxiety coming into the mix perhaps 10-15 years ago. Three major depression episodes spread over that time that required time off work, daytime hospitalisation/treatment once. Currently reasonably stable taking 5mg per day of Escitalopram and have been for a few years but anxiety still present in mornings but daily cold water swimming helps with that a lot. Medication History 1998 - tried Sertraline and Paroxatine but in the most effective was Citalopram initially at 10-20mg per day. 2009 Citalopram does slowing increased to 60mg as it was being less effective even when adding Duloxetine, risperidone and pregabalin Feb 2010 Moved on to Venlafaxine/Risperidone/Buspirone Sep 2010 Tried adding Lithium for a while but not much worked. Oct 2010 Venlafaxine (75mg increasing to 150mg and eventually 225mg), Abilify (Aripiprazole), Risperidone (1mg or 0.5mg) Nov 2010 Venlafaxine & Seroquel (quetiapine) Nov 2010 Hospitalised for day care with bad stress/depression (just for a week) Dec-Mar 2010/2011 Venlafaxine 225mg & Seroquel 25mg increasing to 50mg and then 100mg and finally 200mg of XL version (quetiapine) and Stilnoct (10mg) for sleep as required. June 2011 Venlafaxine 225mg and reduced then removed Seroquel Stable and then in Oct 2016 to Mar 2017 slow taper off of Venlafaxine (felt better and did not like side effects, profuse sweating was main one, weight gain). Occasional use of Zolpidem for sleep (only a few times a month). May 2017 - after being off Venlafaxine for a month or two anxiety was intolerable (was having therapy sessions during this time). Depression started to return so prescribed Escitalopram 5mg increasing to 10mg After about 12 days started to feel better increased Escitalopram dose to 15mg and then 20mg and June 2017 added in Lyrica (pregabalin) 75mg 3 times a day (to try to help with anxiety). Early 2023-Oct 2023 - slowish taper and stop (detail below) and then after 3 weeks of nothing horrible withdrawal so went back to 5mg per day to rethink the plan!!! Stable for last 4 or 5 years on 5mg of Escitalopram and wanted to try to come off it. Took about 6-9 months of slow reductions (Jan to Sep 2023 approx) but only by cutting 5mg tablets in half and alternating doses by day (5/2.5mg etc), then just 2.5mg and then alternate days @2.5mg etc and then nothing! I moved onto a further reduction once I felt fine on the lower dose for 3-4 weeks at least. I thought this was slow enough and with 5mg tablets the smallest we can get here in the UK there is not that much I can do to get less than 2.5mg (though happy to try to make solution). By September 2023, once I was on nothing I felt fine for about 3-4 weeks and then quite suddenly got a load of withdrawal symptoms (anxiety, confusion, palpitations, panic etc), did not want to put up with it so went back to 5mg per day of Escitalopram. That very quickly (within a day or so) made me feel better again. Having read this site, I clearly realise my taper had to be MUCH slower/smaller does at the end and the symptoms I felt once off it was withdrawal and not really depression (though they have some similarities). This week I asked my GP for liquid escitalopram so I could taper more slowly and he said he cannot prescribe it on NHS and I would have to go private (so need to see a psychiatrist etc first) or be referred to psychiatrist on NHS (which he has done but could take 6-9 months to hear back). Even though I explained I would be stuck on the medication for ever if they did not give the liquid they cannot do it as they claim it is too expensive (even though I would be taking a micro dose as they only supply 20mg per ML liquid here). My plan right now is to perhaps try to taper slowly whilst I wait for the NHS appointment hopefully later this year and then I will be ready to go really low once I have the liquid. WHAT HELP DO I NEED? Is there a way to taper Escitalopram when you can only get 5mg tablets (can I make my own solution? does cutting them in quarters work? etc) I am quite worried that even with a slow taper I could have to put up with withdrawal symptoms for many, many months and even years. Is it really worth it if I am not suffering that much being on the medication? (and considering my age @59) Is there anything else I can do to minimise withdrawal when it does hit? What else have I missed? Hope this gives enough information for someone to assist. Thanks, MrFrisbee. (PS: Signature coming right after this is posted!)

2012-2023: 10 mg and 20 mg Citalopram. Had tried to get off, but felt weird below 10 mg every time. Then saw a YouTube video about hyperbolic taper and decided to do that. June 2023 - January 2024: 20 - 10 - 7,5 - 5 - 2,5 - 1,25 mg at random intervals. That's not good. Because I am an idiot who can't do math. 🤦 At first it was fine, finally I got below 10 mg. I didn't realise that I became more and more depressed and anxious. January 16th: Severe symptoms, almost incapable of eating, breakthrough anxiety. I had never dealt with anxiety (although in hindsight I can see that it has been increasing since the start of the pandemic, and) and didn't recognise it as such. Several visits to the doctor to figure out the stomach issue. From January 18th: Total insomnia due to nerve twitches/pangs and muscle jerks. January 22nd: Stilnoct 10 mg, then 31st: Zolpiclone 7,5 mg. Took and still tale every night, getting 4-5 hours of KO/"sleep". Because the constant nerve pangs otherwise kept me completely awake, no sleep. January 27th: Finally(!) realised Citalopram symptoms might be the cause. Reinstated 2,5 - 5 - 10 - 20 mg over the course of the next three weeks. Got Quetiapine/Seroquel, and tried for a few days. But it didn't work for the nerve pangs at all, so still awake. And very doozy for most of the day too. So stopped them after 3 days Update March 2nd: Brain zaps gone, full body chills gone. Speedily learned to accept and defuse some of the anxiety symptoms, which made them go away. But having bad sleep anxiety. The 4-5 hours of "chemical sleep" on Zolpiclone keeps me - minimally - functional. Can't work, bare mimimum home chores. This late night/morning I actually didn't have nerve pangs, but in stead was extremely restless in bed. I can't decide if it is better or worse. I decide that it is better. The nerve pangs are worse. Doctors have absolutely no suggestions for what I could get for the nerve pangs instead of Zolpiclone other than this or that sedating meds. I don't need sleeping pills, I can fall asleep just fine. It is the nerve pangs that keep me awake, like being pricked with a needle randomly all over the body. Oh, and bought a precise weight for weighing meds.

Hi, Nice to meet you all. I’ve been lurking on this site since earlier this year and am finally posting because I am in some serious need for advice. I started sertraline (zoloft) in March 2015 for panic and anxiety disorder. It worked wonders and basically cured my anxiety. I was initially on 50mg and had missed doses/failed attempts to quit but never had trouble going back on it (the longest I was off the meds was 2 weeks). From May 2021 to November 2022 I took 50mg every other day and was able to stabilize. In November 2022 I decided to taper off Zoloft since I thought my anxiety was gone and my life had become pretty stable. I weaned off in three weeks, which was ridiculously fast in hindsight (I did 12.5mg for two weeks and 6.25mg for a week). I had all the classical withdrawal symptoms (flu like symptoms, insomnia, etc). However, some of them symptoms never went away to this day, such as fatigue and insomnia, although they did start getting better over time. From January 2023 to August I also tried a lot of supplements to help my sleep. I took ashwaghanda for two months, which helped slightly. I also tried 5-htp for a week. I thought it gave me more energy until it gave me a panic attack one day so I stopped. Magnesium glycinate and fish oil didn’t do anything to me, although I only took them on and off and max for a week. The most bothersome symptom I’ve had is hard to describe. I can only describe it as sensory disturbances (sudden dropping sensation, random waves of pulling sensation in the body, especially in neck, almost dizzy feeling when I turn my eyes that last less than a second throughout the day). This symptom used to happen maybe once a day, but since July it became more and more frequent, and sometimes I feel like I’m almost floating/not grounded. I decided to reinstate on August 14 because my doctor thought it was my anxiety relapsing, which was partially true since I did feel my anxiety creeping back. However, I had never had such sensory disturbances/fatigue/insomnia before I got on Zoloft, even on my worst days. After I reinstated 12.5mg Zoloft, I thought it helped with the dizziness/sensory disturbances in the first 2-3 weeks, but they slowly came back. It also started giving me bad insomnia after week 3 (worse than before reinstatement) and burning sensation in my back at random times of the day. Although my mood has been better and I feel like I have more energy, I also feel more anxious with a lot of mood swings. I apologize for the long post. I have a few questions that I was hoping you’d be able to answer: 1. Should I hold my current dose (12.5mg) given that it didn’t help with my withdrawal symptoms and caused side effects that aren’t going away? If it’s safe to taper off, how fast can I get off? 2. Are the sensory disturbances withdrawal symptoms? Why do I feel like they only got worse as time went by? I also have a brain MRI scan scheduled soon just to rule things out. Thanks in advance!

Hey, I am almost 20 years old and super new to the world of AD's. I know how complex they are and how unknown they are but also I am no doctor, just a student interested in the medical field and psychology. I have been reading these forms for only a few sleepless nights. Sorry for any grammar mistakes in advance. I am currently taking AD's for my anxiety, which I assume has built over the past couple of years since COVID-19. Had my first panic attack this Jan 15 of 2023 (no great changes in my life which happened around this time) which impacted my sleep. Went to the ER where they said it was a panic attack (blood work, blood pressure, etc only abnormality was slightly high WBC). The next days, I only have symptoms when I am laying down (sudden spike in increased heart rate and lightheadedness). It is very bothersome when I trying to sleep. Always happens when I am about to doze off, I begin to feel dizzy (even though my eyes are closed) and lightheaded) which immediately deletes my drowsiness from existence. Go to doctors which want to give me AD's immediately and therapy but I get suspicious about the AD's and deny them until the next day after I got another sleepless night and took them. I am prescribed 10 mg generic citalopram pill and hydroxyzine 25 mg tablet. Only took the hydroxyzine a couple times before it stopped making me drowsy. I then switched to melatonin for a few times before it made me only drowsy but couldn't sleep. Tried my best to willpower through it for about a week and a half. I was already 1 week late to school and also my job. Feel new symptoms in the day like elevated heart rate (baseline levels slowly increase as the day goes on, reset once I go to bed and rest usually around 80's to 100's RHR), chest pressure and my body reacting to anxiety more than it should (i.e im a little anxious in my head but my body is reacting as if I was super anxious like can't speak or get really sweaty lol) Average sleep was about 0-4 everyday with a couple of 6 hour sleep gaps (used to sleep 8-9 all the time I love sleep). Never had real dreams just half awake fever dreams that were stressful and thoughts but I was mostly conscious the whole time. Went to the ER a couple more times in this week and a half. On my 3rd visit, I had an xray, ultrasound, blood work, and monitored while I had a 1 hour nap. They found nothing noteworthy and my shakiness disappeared after they took blood from me. (normal WBC this time) Seeing the impact my anxiety had on my school and social life, I finally give in and take my first citalopram dose on Jan 29 @9pm (prescribed at bedtime). Jan 30th I get scared and decide to not take them. On Jan 31th I take them and decide to continue taking them to give them a chance. With every pill I feel something in my brain but it isn't a bad feeling. Feb 3rd while having covid fever, I felt my whole body change after taking my dose. I check my heart rate and it finally lowered to normal levels. I was able to sleep this night semi normally. Feel like myself again 100% until feb 6th. I continue taking my dose regularly and monitor myself. I had a MCOT monitor on during this due to my repeated ER visits. Slowly realize that even though I go to bed from 10:30 or 12, I am now semi napping until 3am where (like clockwork) I go to take a piss and then sleep like a baby (and dream) until noon in which I wake up feeling good. This is great except I have classes and meetings before noon all the time. Also I got normal side effects like gassy stomach and brain zaps but I didn't care as long as I slept. Also slight increase in laziness but I was already lazy before so it didn't change much. If I tried to wake up before noon, my body would punish me. One time I woke up at 11am and felt drowsy until 6pm. The next day I went to my psychiatrist for the first time @9am and felt like a zombie for that whole day and the next. During my visit, she said she didn't like how I was prescribed Citalopram as a starter medication because of risk of QT prolongation and at night (said no drowsiness is associated with the drug) and tells me to switch to zoloft (generic) and trazadone for sleep. Originally she thought I didn't need AD's and just needed to sleep but I said that the citalopram was working well but if I had to switch I would like to have both on hand so I don't go back to hell longer than I need to. I am prescribed sertraline generic 25 mg (1/2 pill 50 mg) @morning and trazadone 25 mg (1/2 pill 50 mg) before sleeping. I ask her if its ok to stop my citalopram without slowly tapering and she said it was fine since I was only a few weeks deep. Since I am in zombie mode, I stop citalopram cold turkey but also refrain from taking my new meds since I can sleep and am drowsy all day anyways. (technically for 3 days no meds). On feb 20 in the am morning, I am back to old habits of same old symptoms that didn't go away and came back a little bit worse. I take my trazadone and go to sleep. Wake up at noon and take my sertraline at that time consistently. Felt light headaches for the first couple of days on it. After 5 nights of trazodone, (3 great ones and 2 where I woke up at 3 am) I stop the medication because it made me super constipated and I also had diarrhea (???). On the fourth day of sertraline I notice I have anxiety trembling (which previously I only had while laying down) during the day. I try to calm myself down to no avail and choose to ignore it. My heart rate is slightly lower than normal but I think its just the zoloft doing its thing. This night I slept a beautiful 10 hours. On the fifth day the shaking is worse but now I feel my old anxiety of having to keep myself busy and productive, heart rate still slightly lower though. I try to calm down again and it doesn't work but I am not concerned since my sleep was great the other day. This night I was not so lucky. On the night of February 26th I only get 2 hours of sleep. Before I went to sleep I ate until I realized that I ate so much without feeling hungry or full. I wake up at 2 am feeling really hot and sweaty (room is like 55F tops) then I stay up until 4am tired wanting to sleep. At one point I feel like I blinked really hard and then woke up from feeling like I fell. Can't sleep so I get on my phone and do my research including finding this website. Around 8 am my mom wakes up and I go to talk to her. While she's talking to me, I begin to break down into tears and freeze up and can't talk. After a while of crying, she ends up having to feed me a banana and milk. It works and I calm down feeling like that wasn't me (I was frustrated but not to that point). I begin to wonder if it was my body reacting bad to the zoloft and so I call my psychiatrist and leave her a voicemail. I head to the ER and my psychiatrist responds to me while in the waiting room and everyone basically tells me to drop the zoloft (sertraline) and go back to the celexa(citalopram). I decide to stop cold turkey my sertraline and take my old dose of 10mg of citalopram at 3pm this time. Everyone goes to work and I am home alone. I begin to have waves of fear while reading this site and I get another panic attack. The fear was just as great as before and just as before I just wanted to die so it would end. I called a hotline they gave me which did not help at all and then called my brother which he helped me calm down. I was still shaking and my heart rate was up but I felt ok in my head. I felt like I wasn't in control of my emotions so I went to the psychiatric ER this time. I am told that the sertraline was too low to even have an effect on me and that it was probably caused by dropping the celexa without tapering. There I am given a benzo, trazadone (i think 50 mg), and a place to sleep. I think I slept around 8pm and woke up around 7am felt pretty good. However they gave me a 20mg citalopram to take at 10am even though it wasn't my right dose or time to take it. Anyways that was like today so I am pretty up to date. I still am shaking only in the left half of my body a little bit but I don't feel anxious. If I don't get a response soon I am planning to continue my citalopram 10 mg @3pm like normal. However, I do have many concerns and am hoping I still have hope for my nervous system. If it is appropriate to get these questions answered here, here they are: *what is the predicted state of my nervous system due to my mistakes? *Did I just mess up really bad and like am in the perfect situation for kindling? (reinstated to same full dose a week after dropping and then double dose the next day at different????) *Many of the supposed citalopram withdrawal symptoms happened to line up with sertraline side effects, was it a case of both occurring? *Did I mess up my nervous system by dropping all my meds cold turkey? *If the zoloft wasn't what made my anxiety worse, would it be a good idea to keep citalopram until stable and then slowly taper into sertraline to see if it doesn't force me to sleep and is better? Thank you for your time and support

Was taken off of paroxetine/paxil 40mg-5mg within a month OCD,anxiety,depression skyrocketed the put back up too 20mg within a few weeks ended up in hospital 3 times I really need advice because 20mg isn't helping and now doctors want too try small doses of antipsychotics or mirtazapine bad harm ocd,anhedonia,disassociation,don't feel right,etc any help would be great thankyou

Hi everyone hope your going ok. I have been brought to this page by the projects report tonight with Tim whom took 18 months to get off antidepressants. I have suffered from depression for the past 30yrs, I am now 52. I finally sort help around 4yrs ago as wanted to end the racy thoughts and occasional sadness in my mind. I was prescribed 50 milligrams of Pristiq and changed my life. I was going extremely well until I noticed 2 big side effects. First being a terrible sex drive which I was not happy about and the other extreme tiredness. 2yrs ago I went back to the doctor and said I want to get off them because I am not me. He set up a taper off for 4 weeks and went very well. After completing the 4 weeks I was off them though did experience the electrical impulses in my head for around 4 days. I pushed through that pain barrier and was flying for the next 3 weeks. No sweats, not tied and sex drive was back. Then one morning I woke with a tingling sensation in my left chest, and just then my depression was back. That dreaded felling and then the anxiety followed. From that point i didn’t leave the house for 4 months and had to go back on 100 milligrams to get back a stage of normality and even to mow the lawns. I starting feeling good again finally and dropped down to 50 again. Things are once again stable though I want my energy and life back and stop being a zombie with no emotion. Any advice to fully get of Pristiq I would really appreciate it. Lucas.

Hi everyone I have been reading the group posts for weeks and finally plucked up the courage to write here. It may be a bit long so I apologise. I had been on Citalopram for 10 yrs coping reasonably well but still had situational anxiety and the odd phobia but generally a happy life and work. Fast forward to last year and I was under a lot of stress trying to sort out elderly parents, hospitals, carers etc. I noticed I wasn't coping so well and getting short tempered and angry. Anyway it resulted in a doctor's trip as my Gastritis flared up and was too painful to come with. Never been that bad before. A trip to A&E with PPIs pumped into me and pain killers. Sent home with 2 different antibiotics. Was very very sick for a fortnight and couldn't eat. Gradually improved eating but had to have low fat, no gluten or acid etc due to pain. After that I had continuous adrenaline 24/7 and in constant flight or fight. Spoke to mental health nurse who upped my Citalopram to 20mg from 10mg. No improvement after 2 weeks so she added a small dose of diazepam at 2mg twice a day. Still high adrenaline and cortisol all day . Losing lots of weight and no sleep so she added promethazine for sleep. Took only 12.5mg on odd days but made my head feel weird every time I woke up. Then the nurse upped my Citalopram to 30mg but I tried a week and dropped down to 20mg as it didn't help. Little did I know what I was doing. A month later she suggested straight swap to Sertraline. I only took 12.5mg for 2 weeks but felt very poorly. Started having hallucinations and flu like symptoms and was dry heaving for days. After 2 weeks I stopped ALL my tablets!!! 4 days later I felt odd, my head was weird with lots of pressure and totally jumbled thoughts. I was given Mirtazipine and took 1 tablet only but next morning I could not move from my bed as I felt drugged. Never took another. All the while my adrenaline pumped furiously still. A few days with no drugs Im not sure how many days but I reinstated Citalopram at 2.5mg for 3 days then upped to 5mg. Have stayed on 5mg now for 3 or 4 weeks but no improvement. Then weird symptoms started and I found this site. Realising what an idiot I've been and totally overmedicated by mental health nurses. My symptoms seem to tally with so many others on here and I came to realise I was in withdrawals but not sure from what drug. Possibly them all. I'm scared to death as my brain will not sort it's feelings out. My chest feels like it's being sat on by a sumo wrestler and countless other symptoms which a lot will recognise. Currently the tension in my jaw, neck and head makes my brain shake and my thoughts get so jumbled. Along with Gastritis pain every day it's becoming such a struggle to survive this. I check this site daily for reassurance and success stories to keep my hopes up but most days I'm in terror. The worst bit for me is my brain. I can't control my thoughts and although I've never had depression I feel a sense of doom a lot and my brain switches off and goes numb. I've now got weakness to the extent of hardly putting one foot in front of the other but not every day. I've been housebound for 6months. On a rare good day I try to go out for a stroll with my partner but it's too overwhelming and I get back and my brain is scrambled. I try to keep busy indoors, I do crosswords on a good day or watch T.V but not for long as I can't concentrate. I'm now down by 4 stone in weight although I'm eating healthy at least 4 small meals a day or my gastritis hurts . I eat fresh fruit and mainly organic foods. I use Vit C and some magnesium glycinate but I can't cope with B vitamins. I drink water all day and an odd cup of earl grey decaf tea if I'm brave. I've read a lot on here and will be always grateful for finding this site or I don't think I would be here now. My quandary is whether to up my Citalopram slowly or try to taper down from 5mg. I'm not sure how I will cope with any more symptoms so may stay another couple of months on 5mg even though it's not working. I shall continue to read stories on here when my brain allows just to keep inspired. Thankyou to anyone if they've read all this. Best of luck to all of you.

Hello, I am new here, I discovered this website through being part of the Trintellix subgroup on reddit. I recently tapered off Trintellix and have now discontinued for a total of 7 days. I was on the 20mg dosage for 6 years. I wasn't able to taper off with a doctor as family doctors are difficult to find right now in Toronto, Canada. I had an appointment with a walk in doctor who suggested that I taper off 5mg every couple of weeks and that is what I did. I started tapering off Nov 25th. Tapering down 5mg every couple weeks was not too bad. My main side effects were headaches, and fatigue. The main withdrawal symptoms have hit me in the last 7 days when I completely discontinued use. I'm feeling highly irritable, have snapped at a couple people this week :(, sad, feelings of hopelessness, and mood swings. I cant tell if I had tapered too quickly or if these are normal feelings and I should continue to ride the withdrawal symptoms out. Thank you for listening! Any guidance would be appreciated!

Hello, New here. My primary issue is with the rollercoaster I’ve been going through with my antidepressant, Mirtazapine: History: I’ve been on Mirtazapine for several years, very happy with the effects on my depression, appetite, sleep, and even anxiety to an extent. It’s efficacy has been consistent for me, such that over the years, I’ve only needed to increase the dose modestly once (from 15 mg to 22.5 mg, a switch made ~1 year ago). The problem: just before the holidays 2023, I unknowingly used a counterfeit THC cartridge (don’t know what it was, but it was NOT THC), which properly thrashed my mental stability. After two weeks of distress - loss of appetite, cold sweating, bouts of heart racing, feelings that there is something very wrong (which put me in the hospital on two separate occasions, with “it’s probably just bad anxiety” being the punchline in both instances) - my psychiatrist thought maybe the Mirtazapine was worsening/prolonging the problem… So he cut me off cold-turkey. Knowing how effective it’s been for me, this was utterly devastating, but I indulged it, and we explored medication to calm my anxiety which, in short, did not stick >2 days (couldn’t handle the side effects). Moreover, after ~3 days without Mirtazapine, withdrawal started setting in - I literally could not eat (threw up everything I tried) nor sleep; I was intensely uncomfortable with a host of physical symptoms. I touched base with my psychiatrist again, asserting that I was not convinced enough that the Mirtazapine was worsening things for this cold-turkey cutoff to be worthwhile. We decided to reinstate a small dose of Mirtazapine to feel things out (7.5 mg/day). I’m now on day 3 of Mirtazapine reinstatement, and this is where I need feedback/help: reinstating the Mirtazapine has helped the majority of the most pressing symptoms; I can eat again, I’m sleeping okay, cold sweats/tremors/shivers have been largely resolved. What remains is: brain zaps (very pronounced days 1 & 2) and physical “jolts,” and today, an overwhelming feeling of pressure and heat in my head just after taking half of my 7.5 mg dose for the day - this was fairly scary, though I don’t have a fever at all (though it feels like I do), so I don’t think I am in a dangerous place. Otherwise, I’m feeling okay; my head is just in profound discomfort almost constantly, and this discomfort has made my eyes a bit twitchy, also scaring me. I am absolutely torn in that I have no idea if this discomfort is a result of the Mirtazapine itself, or a continuation/evolution of withdrawal symptoms as a result of my current dose not being near that which I was on for many months (& on the other end of 3 days without entirely). This being unclear makes it really difficult to trust a further reinstatement of Mirtazapine to a place closer to my normal dose, as I’m terrified it’s going to manifest something serious physically. I don’t know how to approach this with my psychiatrist without threatening another rugpull on the Mirtazapine entirely, which I know only gets worse before it gets better (I would want to do a supervised detox if pushed this direction). I am frustrated. I thought maybe bringing back the Mirtazapine would alleviate things, but now I don’t know if it’s the problem or the problem is I’m not taking enough. Any insight/suggestions for how to approach this are much appreciated.

Hi everyone! I've been looking at this website for a few months and finally decided to actually use it. I'm one various meds: fluoxetine 30mg, reboxetine 2.5mg, and xanax 0.25/0.5mg. I would like to at least cut down on the fluoxetine because of the sexual side effects. I've tried to do a few months ago by going down to 25mg (from 30), but after a month a felt litterally physically sick, weak, etc. So I got myself an oral syringe and from tomorrow morning I planning to take a 20mg tab + 7mg of home-made liquid = 27mg, a reduction of 10%. I will do so for a month and see how it goes. I will keep the reboxetine and xanax at present levels.

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.