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Hello everyone, I was on and off different medications, including multiple SSRIs, from adolesence into my late 20s, which ended with a very bad clonazepam withdrawal. The following decade had its challenges of different PAWS symptoms, including some bad waves, but for the most part, I lived a fairly rich and functional life. My withdrawal from Lexapro in 2007 was also extremely quick and took many years of tinkering with supplements, exercise, and other methods to deal with, but over time it was fairly manageable. Over the past year, as personal issues mounted one after the other, I found myself in a state of genuine psychiatric crisis. The benzo PAWS precipitated a two week period of extreme dysautonomia and insomnia which was helped with Trazodone, and I was back to being chemically stable for the next month or so. However, the psychological issues that existed independently of any of these chemical questions were not adequately addressed, and after a period of extreme spiraling, I attempted to reinstate Lexapro at 5mg, which I took for one day. Within a few hours, I found that pretty much all my lingering SSRI PAWS symptoms were gone, I was thinking extra clearly, and was feeling quite optimistic. The next day, however, I found myself experiencing intense anhedonia, brain fog, and anxiety, along with other symptoms that I attempted to ameliorate with some supplements that had previosly helped but ended up just inflaming everything. Over the next couple days I experienced unprecedented DP/DR, inability to feel emotions, and a bizarre difficulty crying. At the end of the week, I took a dose of about .1mg which that night again ameliorated most of the symptoms, only to have them return over the next day or two. In the past few weeks, I've instituted a true microdose of around 0.01-0.02mg, which has seemed to attenuate some of the DP/DR, but the the emotionlessness has remained. I also implemented low dose lamictal, and I can't tell if it's helping or revving up my system even more in the long run. I've found, oddly, that when I don't take the Lexapro microdose for a day, the dyspnea/emotional blunting actually goes away, so I don't know what is caused by the SSRI, what's caued by withdrawal, or what is psychological. Even after bringing the microdose back after one day off, within seven hours after taking it, I actually feel my mood lift, followed by all the other symptoms mentioned. Right now, I'm having immense trouble thinking clearly, much more brain fog, headache, emotional flatness, and more tingling in my feet along with dysautonomia than usual. I don't know if I should attempt to switch to Prozac or sertraline, increase the Lexapro, dose it multiple times a day, get off entirely, add more lamictal, remove the lamictal, or what. Like many others on this forum, every option feels like a bad one with hidden risks, and I have to remind myself to not feel personal guilt over this situation. Thanks very much for any help.

hi,all been on &off antidepressants for 20 yrs but never felt this crummy.since stopping Paroxetine have had flu-like symptoms ,then fatigue loss of appetite,taste changes,eye problems(excessive blinking actually started while on it,that's why I quit).depression,anxiety,just miserable,wondering if I should reinstate or just try & hang in there.I was on it about 6 mos.stopped May 4 after about 7 wk taper.thanks for any suggestions

Hello all, this is my story. I was put on 10 mg Lexapro in January 2014 for mild depression (I now know it definitely did not need the meds), and was on it until April 2023. I was doing okay during that time. Then last April as my partner and I started thinking about trying for a baby, and as I also had been feeling good for quite a while, I decided to stop taking the meds. I followed my GPs orders and tapered too quickly over a few weeks, alternating 10 and 5 mg doses, and then 5 and 0 mg doses. I guess it could be characterized as going CT. I experienced brain zaps and flu-like symptoms for a while, also an increase in anxiety, and most noticeably, started having great trouble sleeping. Then in September 2023 I crashed completely, had near constant severe akathisia, anxiety and depression-like symptoms, and couldn't sleep at all. My doctor made me try different ADs and other drugs for sleep (mianserin, mirtazapin, zopiclone, alimemazine, and other antihistamines), without the desired effect. He then suggested I go back on Lexapro and we disastrously I reinstated at 10 mg in October 2023. I didn't know anything about tapering, WDs etc until I came over an article on a psychology website about a known comedian from Oslo (I'm Norwegian) who detailed his experience getting of psychiatric drugs, and finally found this website. I am now experiencing what I think is both WDs and kindling symptoms, and have started tapering again from 10 mg, currently at 8.5 mg, and am taking very slowly. But I'm so scared, having read so many of your stories. Any words of advice or encouragement?

Hello everyone, I am hoping to get some feedback from someone and possibly some hope. I am attaching my medication history: Celexa 20mg January 2014- June 2019 Tried to stop cold turkey for a few days in February 2015, resumed normal dose Zoloft 38.5mg June 2019-August 2021 Weaned to 25 mg Started Wellbutrin 150mg November 2021 Stopped Wellbutrin cold turkey February 2022 Started Trintellix March 2022 Stopped taking Zoloft after decreasing to about 8mg in June 2022 Discontinued Trintellix July 2022 after having crippling panic attacks Restarted 12mg of Zoloft July 2022 (panic subsides for a few weeks, then BOOM, right back) Increased to 18.5mg of Zoloft August 2022, followed same pattern as above. Panic attacks gone for a few weeks and now back full force I have been having horrible, crippling panic attacks for the last few months. I have NEVER had anxiety! I wanted to stop taking Zoloft because of the sexual side effects and I am not even sure I actually needed to be on antidepressants in the first place. I blindly, and ignorantly, agreed to take Zoloft initially because someone said it would help me sleep through a difficult period in my life. 9 years later and here we are. I feel so alone. My doctor thinks I am crazy if I mention post acute withdrawal and wants to put me on more meds. He even offered me benzos knowing that I am in long term substance abuse recovery. Does anyone out there have any experience with developing panic attacks after trying to decrease/stop ssri's? I am desperate.

Hello there, I am new to this forum and am seeking any guidance you can give me as I am in despair and feel horrible. I had been on SSRI’s for over 25 years and have always wanted to get off them but never could. Always tapered too fast and ended up feeling horribly sick so I would start back up. It was just easier staying on them. Several years ago, I realized that my mood had become really flat and I had trouble getting excited about anything. I wasn’t necessarily sad or depressed about anything but I felt that there was more to life and believed it had to do with the Prozac. So, I made the decision to taper differently this time – very slowly over the course of a few years. Unfortunately, I tapered completely wrong. Just because I was going more slowly did not mean that I was doing it right. How I wish I had found this website sooner. I began skipping doses and taking 20mg every other day. Maintained that for about a year. Then began taking it only a few days per week and maintained that. Then dropped down to 2 days per week. Then instead of taking 20 mg, I began taking 10 mg 2 days per week. All this time, I was having intermittent withdrawals, but did not recognize the symptoms for what they were. I ended up in the ER twice with chest pressure that was diagnosed as acid reflux but it was withdrawals. I had bouts of severe muscle pain/burning in my shoulders and neck that would last for about a week and then go away and then resurface down the road. My doctor suggested I had Fibromyalgia and prescribed Cymbalta which I refused to take. I never believed that I had Fibro but I still hadn’t connected the dots that my symptoms were withdrawals from tapering so poorly. When I got down to 10mg twice a week, my doctor told me since I was on such a low dose, to just stop it. So, I stopped the Prozac in March 2019 and began taking amino acids – Tryptophan 1000 mg, DLPA 1000 mg and GABA 125 mg (upon the advice of a holistic doctor). Since then, I have ranged from feeling ok to pretty good. In fact the week before the horrendous withdrawals began on July 24th, I thought I was getting close to my “normal” self again. My husband and I were even planning on doing an embryo transfer later this year in the hopes of having our first child. The holistic doctor advised me that amino acids were safe to take while pregnant, however, I recently came across articles that say otherwise. Unfortunately, I played with fire and wanted to see what would happen if I stopped taking the DLPA. So, I stopped the DLPA, for 3 days. On the 3rd day, all heck broke loose and I became extremely dizzy and off balance for most of the day. The very next day, I resumed the DLPA hoping it would alleviate my symptoms but they continued and evolved into other ones as well. Initially, I thought that the symptoms were withdrawals from DLPA but now I believe they are protracted withdrawal from the Prozac. I think the aminos were keeping the lid on the Prozac withdrawals and then once I lifted that lid off, everything boiled over. After a week of terrible withdrawals and calling in sick for 2 days, I couldn't take it anymore and decided to reinstate the Prozac. I came across the SA website and the recommendation to reinstate a very small amount. I only had 10mg and 20 mg pills left so I made liquid Prozac out of the 10mg and reinstated at 1.25 mg. Although, I did not have any negative effects from 1.25 mg, the next day I was scared that I reinstated too high and only took .5 mg. That is where I have been at for 9 days now. I am pushing myself to work each day and it is so very difficult with my symptoms: feeling sick/hungover, chest pressure, difficulty breathing, fatigue, insomnia, neck/shoulder tension, sometimes a burning sensation in my neck/shoulders, too. Over the past 9 days, I would say that I am better than I was before the reinstatement but I am still miserable. There have been a couple of times when I have experienced a wired feeling, too. I did go and see my new PCP and it did not go well. Of course, she told me that there is no way I could be in withdrawals if I quit Prozac in March and that she believes I have underlying depression and anxiety in which she suggested I take Effexor. I told her I would never take that. I am looking for guidance as to whether it is time for me to increase or hold at .5 mg longer. I apologize in advance if this was too long winded and does not make much sense.

Hello to everybody! I am very grateful to get an opportunity to write my story in this forum, I am from Germany and in our country those severe problems with antidepressants withdrawals have not yet become very aware to the public, nor the prescribing doctors. It is really a tragedy! The tapering strips method, which seems to me being used successfully in England, the USA, the Netherlands aso, is almost still unknown in Germany. And in the meantime, I think, if I would have already known, more than a year ago, what I know now, all the knowledge, that I achieved, I would probably not be in such an unbearable and suffering situation, than I am still now, since the whole year 2022. Here in Germany is absolutely no help if such problems occur, after the withdrawal of Psychopharmaka, this is my sadest experience, and many others are in the same situation 😢 I can also read this in all the stories of the German Facebook groups who are having this title: withdrawal of psychopharmaka/Antidepressants. Nobody cares, nobody knows, nobody seems to be interested. And there are a lot of predjudices, there is very often totally lack of knowledge of these kind of drugs. The majority of the doctors are denying this very long lasting withdrawal symptoms, most of them still maintain, it doesn’t exist! And all they say, if you are refusing to Antidepressiva, there is nothing we can do! They don’t care about the side effects and all the other terrible and dangerous things in connection with the drug use. And because my side effects, which were getting stronger especially over the last years, I decided to quit with it, a very long time, I was not aware at all, that the problems which occured, the terrible Tinnitus, the Brain Zaps, the abnormal excitements, the sweating excavations, the furious extreme outbreaks of rages, insomnia, regular daily daily bouts of fatigue with leaden tiredness and then later being overactive again. For years I only functioned and lived in a bubble, and I was emotionally numb. It is more than a year ago that I stopped taking the drug, and unfortunately I reduced the dose to fast. According to my psychiatrists advice, I reduced the dose within only 5 weeks from 20 mg to O; which means 5 mg less per week, and this after my longtime experience of using Lexapro since 2004. How could I ever have been so stupid! If my beloved mom would still be alive, I probably would not have been so naiv, but since then I am traumatized forever, because of the circumstances of her death almost 3 years ago. In the End of January, 2022 I was finished with my reduction. And since the whole last year, I really go through hell until nowadays and I never ever felt so bad, since my withdrawal I never had experienced such horrible feelings and symptoms before! And my doctor\ psychiatrist still doesn’t believe, that all the symptoms I still have, are caused from the withdrawal of the drug. He maintains, that after a year, this cannot be. Even though I gave him really a lot of Information about the facts, he is still questioning it! 😢 Initially, after stopping, I had severe flu-like symptoms, severe nausea for months, loss of appetite, electric shock-like sensations in my head and other parts of my body, movement disorders, visual disturbances, severe muscle cramps. All of this has now subsided, within a year. But delayed, a permanent physical weakness has developed, especially noticeable in the arms and unbearable anxiety, heavily heart palpitations, plus severe dizziness, difficulty concentrating, brain fog**, a feeling of total insensibility, fatique, hopelessness and joylessness, cognitive disorder. A permanent state of chronic loss of appetite has also remained. And a permanent feeling of Unreality, very hard to describe, there are feelings of derealization I never had in my mind, and nobody understands, I hardly can explain. There are no spontaneous emotions anymore, I can't decide for anything, not even for the simplest things, I think back and forth forever, plus strong tinnitus, severe depression, suicidal thoughts, I live only in the past, have a strong longing for earlier times. My only emotional reaction and emotion is actually only sadness, a melancholy and sadness deeply anchored in me, which is a constant companion. Already when I wake up in the morning, I always experience this terrible indescribable feeling, which restricts my everyday life so massively, I am already on sick leave for most of the year and also have great fear for my existence, great fear for the future. I don't know how much longer I can endure this condition, I have been trying for months to achieve relief by taking various dietary supplements and phytopharmaceuticals, i.e. only herbal remedies, and have already spent a lot of money, in vain. Unfortunately, my health insurance does not cover orthomolecular and holistic medicine, only these expensive antidepressants, which have been prescribed for years, which are covered by the german health insurance. I am not able to smile or laugh, no joyful emotions, I can’t listen to music anymore but I love music!😢 My prescribing doctor believes my withdrawal symptoms, but says, this is only a reaction of my body, which means, that my depression is back. Well, the depression was always my company, since my youth, it never disappeared! He says, that I would feel so bad, because I refused to take another drug, and recommended Sertralin, in the meantime he recommended Agomelatine, that I also refused to take. Since a year he did absolutely nothing to help me with my severe symptoms. I was the one, who started to research in the internet, and I found a lot of information there. And thank God there a few people in Germany who are very busy and concerned about the problems which occur after the drug withdrawal, like Peter Lehmann, Peter Ansari, and some others. They were publishing very good books about this case. I learned a lot about my symptoms and why they excist. The majority of the doctors are denying this very long lasting withdrawal symptoms, most of them still maintain, it doesn’t exist! And they say, if you are refusing to Antidepressiva, there is nothing we can do! They don’t care about the side effects and all the other terrible and dangerous things in connection with the drug use. And the main question is also: Is it ever possible to reinstate the drug with the tapering method even only with small doses after more than a year after quitting with this SSRI? Or better through the liquid formula with a special syringe? But this method is still very unusal to be practiced in Germany and I would have to order the strips from the Netherlands. There is only one pharmacy who produces them, I found out. I am very afraid to reinstate even a low dose of Lexapro again, because I already tried it last June 2022 with a short period of taking another drug called Brintellix/Vortioxetin, which is said to be similar to the drug Cipralex/Lexapro/Escitalopram. My doctor only precribed it because it was my suggestion, the drug is not available in Germany anymore and my pharmacy had to order it from Switzerland. And the all the symptoms got worse and I was lying in bed again with flu like symptoms including shivering in hot summer. I am quite sure now, the dose was much to high for being used as reinstating drug, it was 10 mg, than i reduced myself to 5 mg. But what shall I do? I can´t live with this terrible symptoms anymore, I fear, they last longer, perhaps for years, I can´t bear that anymore. If I would know, that I will feel better in the near future, sometimes this year, but everything seems so uncertain and my anxiety kills me. The heavily heart palpations, this terrific bodily weakness in my arms and this dizziness, this very difficult concentration even for the simplest things, and all that, It is so frustrating! I am crying every single day. And I have great fear for my income, what will happen to me, if I can´t work anymore? Thank you for your consideration and your attention of my story. Best wishes to all of you who read this!

Hi I withdraw Lexapro for 1 year completely facing unbearable withdrawals and again started for 6 months slowly tapered to 5 and was on 2.5 for 1 year and again quit for 5 months .. crashed very badly again and now reinstated 5 mg for 1 month .. when will my symptoms improve .. and is there anyone who really quit this hell and leading their life again .. PKEASE PKEASE OKEASE HELP ME

Hi All, Firstly thanks for the excellent site and taking the time to review my post. History is long, so in the interest of time, 20 yrs on SSRI's (i've tried virtually all but had most luck with prozac and lexapro) with a 4 month bout of Remeron (awful w/d not helped by cross taper) and benzo's on/off for 8 years or so. Benzo: I've successfully switched from .5mg of clonazepam/day to 10mg valium and i'm now at 2mg per day. A bit more about this below. SSRI: Was on 20 mg for celexa for the last several months but completely zombified so decided it's finally time to be done with this sh1t I dropped relatively quickly per docs orders with really no impact down to 5mg celexa completely stopping the celexa and valium on May 1. Started 10 mg prozac only May 1, by May 4 really awful DR with anxiety, inability to focus, sleeplesness, headaches. Reinstated 1-2 mg valium which helped a little bit. Yesterday i tested the waters and dropped the prozac down to 5 mg to see if agitation was from that which resulted in bad anxiety, chills,and shaking. Took the other 5 g prozac and an additional 1mg valium which helped a bit. Today slightly better back at 10mg prozac and 2mg valium in the morning. I have a pdoc appointment tomorrow and really don't know what to do and not sure i trust his opinion frankly but do believe he will be fine with what i recommend. I consider these the following my options: 1.) Reinstate celexa at last dose (5mg?), drop prozac entirely after a week or 2, and keep valium, then micro taper off at 10% per 3 weeks or so. 2.) Hold steady on prozac and valium for awhile (how long?) then micro taper 3.) Something else? Any thoughts are much appreciated and i apologize for any incoherence in this post but just got back from work trip and wanted to get this out there for the educated folks to review asap. Many thanks for any input and your time!!! methuselah

Hello first time poster here, another despairing Mirtazapine user. As per my signature below I reinstated 15mg per night since late May of 2021. It's now 4th Jan 2022 and facing work today after having another night of insomnia. I did have a nightmare so that would indicate I got some sleep of 1-2 hours at least. 30th was total insomnia, 31st slept well, 1st total insomnia, 2nd slept well and now back to insomnia on the night of the 3rd. The most distressing element of these drugs is the sleep disturbances. I would be more at peace had I been off them, but this is happening even prior to a taper and at the 15mg "therapeutic dose". Just looking for guidance/advice/reassurance. The second most disturbing part is the lonliness and the conflicting information between Dr's and the experiences of those who have struggled with this drug.

I was prescribed 15mg Mirtazapine in May 2019 for sleep and anxiety following a diagnosis of PVFS (now ME/CFS) in Jan 19. Developed tinnitus 4 weeks later and advised to come off by MD. Both the MD and pharmacist advised that what I now know as a FT would be ok as I was only taking the drug for almost 3 months. In fact, my MD said that Mirtazapine would be ok to just stop. Dropped from 15mg to 0 in about 4 weeks and unsurprisingly got the whole raft of symptoms. The worst was my inability to sleep and brain tremors that would come on as I was just falling asleep and if I did fall asleep would wake me at every sleep cycle. I went for some nights with no sleep and became suicidal. Reinstated after 16 days, under the advice of my MD at 3.75mg for 2 days, with little improvement, then up to 7.5mg, where I have been for two months. I have been a heavy meditator since the start of June as part of an ME/CFS recovery program, called ANS Rewire (highly recommended), which includes brain training. I am taking a supplement regime as part of this protocol, I also take melatonin (2mg). Two months on from reinstatement pretty much all withdrawal symptoms have disappeared apart from minor tingling and skin crawling sensations (this could be withdrawal, the drug side affects, or my illness) and the sleep disturbance, and I am seeking advice on whether to up the dose to 11.75mg as suggested by MD. It has improved a great deal and I am getting a number of hours a night. Initially the brain tremor would be very intense, making my whole body tingle/tremor and my tinnitus gets very loud, stopping me from falling asleep and waking me on each sleep cycle (perhaps on REM part as I can always remember dreams and never could prior). After a bit, it became much milder and less frequent, still stopping me falling asleep and waking me, but feeling more like an odd sensation. More recently it appears to have worsened and when I wake my heart is pounding. I think I wake on each sleep cycle and after about 4.30 am, its constant as a fall asleep and will happen multiple times until waking. Oddly, I have noticed that on days where my meditation feels particularly deep, the night is much worse and this worries me, because it makes me feel as though there is something wrong with my brain. I also wonder whether having ME/CFS (a dysfunction of the ANS), means that things are harder. Anyway, I am thinking of upping the dose to 11.75mg and am seeking advice. Also, I wondered if anyone else has experienced that meditation makes symptoms worse? I do go very deep and believe that I have high brain neuroplasticity.

Hi all! Wanting some advice. Feb 2021: Started Zoloft (Aurobindo Sertraline) for anxiety (GAD). Throughout this I went from 12.5 -> 25 -> 37.5 -> 50 -> 75 -> 50 -> until landing on 25mg, stayed here since Jan 2023. Saw the biggest improvement from cognitive behavioral therapy so I was comfortable at 25mg. Tried to taper in Jan 2023 with 25 on/off (as per my doctor) but got brain zaps and was too comfortable to try and taper, so I just stayed on to try again later. Aug 1st 2023: Cold turkey'd my 25mg dose. I remembered my initial tapering attempt and said **** it, I'll just cold turkey and endure the symptoms for hopefully just a few weeks. In iconic fashion, my first symptom was brain zaps within the first few days. Got them a lot with head/eye movement laterally. After 3 weeks or so they stopped completely but now I'm left still dealing with head pressure, dizziness/vertigo, feeling of subtly moving/being tilted, some trouble sleeping, and increased anxiety. Most recently having some GI issues. But the dizziness and balance stuff is the most frustrating right now. I'm still able to work and go to school. Even through recent increased stress from finalizing/submitting my applications for PA school and focusing on finishing my last pre-requisites in 2 hard classes with A's. Although now it feels really uncomfortable. Sometimes I get so dizzy in class I feel I'll pass out. I bend over the sink to spit out my toothpaste and I feel like I'm falling forward. At home I also just feel more anxious and not as comfortable "in my body" if that makes any sense. Generally my QOL feels lower. I feel like the dizziness/vertigo/balance stuff is actually not psychosomatic symptoms of my relapsing anxiety. Probably something to do with the serotonin receptors in the ear. MAIN CONCERN: My overall QOL has been noticeably crappy lately cause of the cold turkey. I was thinking of reinstating at 1mg to alleviate my symptoms. I have 50mg pills so I could take a 25 piece and mix with 25ml to get the 1mg/ml dose. My tablets are scored. As of today it has been approximately 2 months since I went off. Any thoughts/advice?

Hi everyone. I am hoping to get some much needed (and very much appreciated) advice on my situation. As you see, I had been on Sertraline for almost 2 years, or around the two year mark, before I began a too fast taper in 2016 which lead to my withdrawal syndrome in September 2016. My doctor had me taper in 6 weeks completely off Sertraline, jumping off at 25mg and not even tapering the 25mg, just cold turkeying the 25 per his instruction. Well, I was feeling some withdrawal symptoms, I just didn't realize what they truly meant, and my doctor had told me not to worry 'they will clear up in a few weeks" well they didn't really clear up, but actually got worse two-three months later. I want to make this as short as possible so it is easy to read, but long story short, I ended up reinstating Sertraline at 12.5mg first week, at the same time tapering the 30mg of buspirone my doctor had tried to test out on me for almost two weeks. Each week, he upped my dose of Sertraline during my reinstatement, until I reached 57mg and my body rejected anything above the 57mg. However, I did not know anything about withdrawal or tapering back then, and realize that I was put on way too high of a dose for reinstatement. This has me very scared and very anxious, I try hard not to be, and most of it is likely neuro related, but I wonder what I can do if I feel it's too high? I've got the anhedonia, but I've had this since December, and it actually was brought on more or less by my doctor trying to put me back up to 75mg, maybe that was just a coincidence, but I am not so sure. Each adjustment of the sertraline left me with worsened insomnia, worsened panic, trembling and what I can only describe as body jolts every morning for four months straight. And trying to sleep at night I felt like I was having seizures almost, where my body would jolt me awake just as I was drifting off to sleep, heart would be racing, fear and panic would run rampant and worsen in the morning. I still have mild teeth chattering every morning and especially when the anxiety or stress comes on. I reinstated pretty quick, where I reinstated as soon as my withdrawal symptoms started getting worse, I didn't wait it out even though I really wanted to. I didn't want to go back on the medication after what it had done to me, but didn't know what else to do. Then, everyone I trusted, my doctor especially, had me convinced I had developed several new mental disorders in a matter of three days. I was so so scared, and my anxiety was through the roof. I really stressed myself out a lot trying to figure out "what was wrong with me" because I did not know at the time. On top of that I had the professionals I trusted assuring me it was my "symptoms coming back" (they actually said that right after I already told them I never ever had these symptoms before in my life, not even one of them.) Then I happened to find SA, during my research into my symptoms and the ssri I was taking. I learned a lot in one night, and my jaw dropped. My gut had been telling me all this time it was the drug, it was withdrawal. But I ignored it and listened to the "experts" instead. HUGE MISTAKE!! Now I am stuck in a situation that makes me fear for the future, and not sure what I can do now that I am back on a higher dose. If I would've known better, I would not have allowed my doctor to titrate me up so high. I would've sat at the lowest possible dose, even the 12.5mg. My withdrawal symptoms had really settled down a lot for the last two or three months now though. My appetite came back, libido came back, depression lifted almost instantly upon reinstatement, the anxiety and panic took a while to lift but that has really settled down a ton and only sporadically (maybe lasting a second or two) I'll feel a blip of panic and anxiety (typically when under a lot of built up stress), and my biggest gripe for withdrawal symptoms as of now is the anhedonia, but even that was beginning to lift where I'd get moments of joy or contentment or my interests peaking through the veil of anhedonia. My sleep actually went back to normal in the last week or two, and I haven't been waking with the dread or anxiety for the past three months now, and I have been feeling pretty good except now I got back into this wave and I think it's because I'm stressing over tapering and my dosage after what I read last night. I read on SA someone said that being on too high a reinstatement dose can permanently damage your brain, where you will never heal from it. So I am really scared... I really need advice or wisdom on where to go from here. At this point, I worry I'll always feel this way and I'll never recover any further than where I currently am. I'd be fine if I felt somewhat normal, where I could handle the withdrawal symptoms temporarily until they pass, and I do admit that on my better days I certainly can handle them. But I feel like reinstatement was pointless or worse for me than just muscling through the withdrawals after what I read about high dose reinstatement. I feel like A) it's going to take forever just to stabilise on this dose and B it's going to be painful trying to taper when the time comes, due to that I may have permanently damaged my brain with my reinstatement. I guess what I am wondering now is, do I stay on this dose and wait for the anhedonia to completely go away, or how do I know when I am ready to begin tapering? At this point I am just feeling very confused and afraid about my dose and tapering in the future. I feel lost. I'd really appreciate any help! Thank you!

Hi, I am new here. I finished my taper January 2022 and I was doing really well! I felt like a new person! Then I started hormone therapy in Sept. 2022, which I am thinking may have been too much too soon. I was still doing ok, but emotional. Then....I found out that the skin cancer on my nose came back and I need surgery that will require reconstructive surgery that I can't afford, my mom died, my business started to decline due to economy and is now non-existent, my youngest and I got into a huge fight, she moved out and I became an empty nester in a house that I can't afford and my ex-husband is getting remarried....yes, all this at the same time. Both kids are grown and doing their own thing, while trying to be somewhat supportive to me. I am alone. No other family. Close friends are few but they don't know how to help me through this situation and have even become somewhat distant. I have severe depression, anxiety, shakes, unable to focus, sleep, eat (I have loss a lot of weight that I can't afford to lose), leg and arm numbness, chest and neck on fire and tingling, ears ringing, unable to work or make even the simplest decisions. I have gone into a rabbit hole and can't seem to get out. This is EXACTLY how I felt when I went CT in Dec. 2016. If I don't find a way to go back to work, I am going to lose everything, which is only compounding my situation. But, I am unable to work in this condition. I signed up for a 6 week therapy group M-F 3 hours a day, but only seems to make things worse hearing about other people's problems. I am running out of time. My question is would it be the worse decision to reinstate or try something else just to get me on track to tackle the things in my life that need to be addressed? I have tapered once before, I can do it again! Any advice is greatly appreciated. I hope I will be able to see the comments, I am a little overwhelmed with this site structure.

I have been on antidepressants since I was in middle school. I was not informed about withdrawal or tapering until years later, specifically only when I was ill advised to quit cold turkey. I was taking Paroxetine for seven years and stopped around the 16th of March this year. The medicine worked great but I had to gradually increase the dose over time because I felt it was losing effectiveness. At some point, the dose was upped too high, and I experienced a rapid beating heart, weakness, and chest pain. When I went back to the previous dose, the symptoms slowly subsided. I believe this dose was 40mg, although I can't remember for certain, this is just the last pill bottle of Paxil I still have. Since the Paxil was no longer working, my primary physician switched me directly to Celexa 10mg 16th of March). Around the 30th of March, the dose was increased to 20mg. Around the 9th of April, the stomach pain began (constant upper central abdominal pain and full feeling, loss of appetite, early satiety—greasy/fatty foods hurt the most but any food tends to cause discomfort). I assumed the pain came from the increased dose of Celexa, so I went back down to 10mg for a week and then went off of it around the 13th of June and switched to Cymbalta. I only stayed on the Cymbalta for about a week because it had caused my skin to break out with rashes. The stomach pain still persists. I have had several tests that came out normal (endoscopy with biopsies to rule out h.pylori and celiac disease, barium swallow, CT scan, ultrasound). Looking back at the calendar, it was only a little over three weeks of stopping the Paxil did the pain start, so I'm now thinking I am experiencing withdrawals. A lot of members on this site seem to have similar digestive issues. I had been on the Paxil for years and my doctor switched me off of it abruptly. However, I've never experienced brain zaps or other symptoms that I can think of. The only other medication I was on at the time of the stomach issues starting was birth control (Sprintec), however, I do not notice any difference when on the placebo week so I do not think it is the cause. I started it months before the pain began. I tried over the counter nexium for a few weeks but it didn't help. I was then prescribed Famotidine, Pantoprazole, and Sulcralfate which did not help either. I was then prescribed Amitriptyline 25mg. I feel it may have taken the edge off the pain but it didn't do much beyond that. So what I am currently taking now is 40mg Pantoprazole, 25mg Amitriptyline and Sprintec. I would like to stop taking the PPI because I've read that it can make things worse (most people with GERD tend to have low stomach acid) and I don't want to stay on the Amitriptyline because it is another antidepressant I could get dependent on, but I'm afraid of the pain getting beyond unbearable again. I have reinstated 5mg of Paxil starting from the 3rd of this month (July). Although it is hard to say for certain, I believe I may have gotten a tiny bit of relief. I was able to go out for an extended period of time with minimal pain while usually there is constant abdominal pain. The pain can be debilitating and mentally exhausting, causing me to sit around all day when I am not at work. Oddly, the pain is also more noticeable when I am standing rather than sitting. It feels like there's a giant rock weighing down my gut. I will continue to take the 5mg to see if there is any more improvement, and may increase a small amount soon. So far, I haven't gotten any adverse effects from reinstating, but I will remain cautious.

Hello guys! ive been on celexa for a year or 2, 20mg, for general anxiety, nothing crazy, mainly some little phobia that i could get under control. never had any side effects on it. i was always taking it on and off a 30 days tube could last me 2 months sometime and i felt fine,. ive recently moved country, and decided to drop my celexa cold turkey. i dont know why , i didnt know it was bad tbh i was just a stupid clueless dude i just had completely forgotten this was a bad thing that no one should do, im learning from my biggest mistake.. Fast forward to 3 months now, 2 first months were totally fine no worry didnt even think about it. 3 months everything went downhill, became cripple with anxiety. i went on a anxiety week with 3 days of no sleep (so this all started when i was med free) talked to my gp to go back on the meds.i started celexa again 10mg 2 weeks then 20mg for 3 weeks. i had some good days on week 3. like feeling totally normal and barely anxious now on week 5 but then the last 2 weeks have been bad, constant anxiety 24/7, like im in a stress of panic stomach knot mostly all the time from stress, also insomnia , like sometime go 2-3 days without sleep at all till my body get too tired, abandon the stress and let me somewhat sleep. im now mainly scare and anxious of sleep, nightime because of all of those. think about it back in my mind all the time, and i have thoughts about never healing etc all the time. ive been doing my best and excercices even when sleepless, doing stuff i like, i have an amazing partner, but it is very hard to focus on the present moment. now it has put my life on hold for now as this is too much to deal with, im a freelance tattoo artist so i can just take a break anyway. anyway, i know this is all my fault but my biggest wonder is; am i going through withdrawals effects or celexa side effects hitting me hard this time? or both at the same time? like i said, i had some good days, early 3 weeks with no worry and good sleep. bright note; im seeing a psychotherapist now and that feel good. NOW do i stay on celexa? or do i taper down to nothing again. i dont know what my brain is trying to tell me.

Firstly, I am very grateful for this site and support network. I have gone through a hellish experience with withdrawal, and I am grateful that you all can directly relate and provide me with some guidance. I was put on 10 mg Amitriptyline for 3 months for post-concussive headaches and insomnia due to multiple concussions. I tolerated this dose well with some dry mouth at night and grogginess in the morning, which reduced after the first month. (Prior to this I had tried 25 mg Amitrip for 1 day and it was way too high a dose for me; I was bouncing off the walls and had a raging appetite.) After 3 months I decided to taper down, with the approval of my neurologist. But I was not given much guidance at all (he suggested taking the 10 mg every other day which did not work for me). I had some knowledge of antidepressant withdrawal so I knew to take things slowly. I just didn't know how slowly I would need. I first tapered to 5 mg (using a pill splitter) for 1 month and then 2.5 mg for several weeks... but promptly began experiencing major withdrawal symptoms. I had 10/10 level headache that sent me to the ER, as well as high levels of fear, panic, and anxiety which are completely abnormal for me. Disturbing and violent thoughts would also come, unbidden. Correlated to this was also diarrhea, rapid heart rate, and trouble urinating. When I was on 5 mg, I also had an episode where my brain felt extremely cold, and since then I have had to wear multiple hats throughout the day and in order to sleep. The cold-head issue has improved and declined as my other symptoms did. (Has anyone seen this issue before?) All this has been much more difficult than the original issues I was having. The drug has caused so many more problems than it supposedly solved. After connecting this to withdrawal, I went back up to 10 mg on the suggestion of a new neurologist who thankfully understood this as withdrawal and has guided patients with this in the past. Unfortunately I did not read the warnings on this site about reinstating before all this. I have now been back on 10 mg for over 4 weeks. For the first two weeks things were steadily improving each day: I had very vivid, movie-like dreams; the anxiety and fear dissipated; the headaches reduced. But in the past two weeks, my progress seems to have stalled and somewhat declined. I am again experiencing rapid heart rate and "brain zap" headache as well as digestive issues, but the emotional symptoms are not as pronounced. I don't know if this is a window/wave phenomenon, or a poopout? It either feels like A.) the drug is no longer working for me, B.) my brain is requiring higher levels of the drug, or C.) the brain is adjusting its levels of neurotransmitters. The new neurologist has suggested either upping the dose to 12.5 mg or switching to Nortriptyline as it is the metabolite of Amitriptyline. I'm not sure what to do at this point. I believe my options are: 1) Stay on 10 mg Amitrip and ride it out to see if this is a window/wave. 3) Increase to 12.5 mg Amitrip to see if things improve. 2) Switch to Nortrip to see if things improve. Should I be worried that I reinstated all the way back to 10 mg? Since I don't wish to lower it at this point, what can I do to feel stabilized?

Hi everyone, I have been tapering off Mirtazepine since August 2022. My dosage history is in my signature, however long story short is I have been cutting my dose in half since August on the advice of my doctor (I know now this was tapering too fast) and began experiencing withdrawl symptoms in November when I went down from 7.5mg to 3.75mg. I was scoring 15mg tablets in half to get 7.5mg, then started taking this every second day (I also know now that doses shouldn’t be skipped). I experienced withdrawl symptoms for 4 days in November, then felt fine. I reduced my dosage again at the beginning of December to 1.87mg, (too soon and too much of a reduction) and had withdrawl symptoms for the last half of December, until I called my doctor and he advised I increase my dose up to 2.5mg. After I did this, my symptoms eased and then resolved after another week or so, in early to mid-January. At that point I thought I had stabilized and was home free, and that my withdrawl symptoms were over. I planned to start the 10% reduction method at the beginning of March, but then got hit with pretty bad withdrawl symptoms again at the end of February. The symptoms followed right on the heels of a flu that I had. After a week I increased my dosage again to 3.75mg, and my symptoms were all but gone by the next day. I saw my doctor this past week and was able to get a new prescription for Mirtazepine as a liquid which I can fill at a compounding pharmacy. My plan is to reduce by 10% at the beginning of April if the rest of March goes well. I have read about the 'windows and waves' pattern of withdrawl - was what I experienced at the end of February a wave? Is it possible to have a wave triggered by another illness, like the flu? And is it possible to experience a wave when one has been holding steady on the same dose? I think the reason I was surprised when my withdrawl symptoms returned was because I hadn’t changed my dose since the beginning of January, and thought I had stabilized. I guess I am just looking for some reassurance that what I have been experiencing is typical of withdrawl, as well as any suggestions as to whether I could be doing something differently to make this go easier. Since my system is responding to reinstatement, I considered reinstating back to 7.5mg, which is the last dose I took before I starting experiencing withdrawl symptoms, and then reducing by 10% monthly. I fortunately tolerated Mirtazepine very well when I was on it, with relatively few side effects. There is no reason I can’t take my time tapering off and I don’t care if it takes years. Thanks everyone for reading. I know my post is a bit on the long side.

Hi all, I have been on Zoloft for nearly 7 years before coming off of it a couple of months ago. I wasn't feeling good but it was manageable until recently when I had experienced something on the verge of a panic attack, but never quite close to it that lasted more than 12 hours before subsiding and have not been the same since then. Have been feeling especially worse in the mornings and dread having to go to sleep in fear of what is to come and have started getting interrupted sleep along with very frequent urination and overwhelming fatigue. Anything is now too stimulating and I am worried it may be related to some other condition but after researching it it seems like this may be PAWS. Going to talk with my psychiatrist about it and how to deal with it and although the pain was unbearable two weeks ago, things have begun to "stabilize" so to speak in that I am not nearly completely bed bound and can do some activities without crashing. However, when anxiety and stress is bad, it is very bad, trying to avoid it as much as possible. Feeling hopeful now but when in that state, usually in the morning or when very stressed, things become very dark to the point of considering suicide. This was what really concerned me. Have heard of some people reintroducing a small dose back to help stabilize but even now still skeptical of trying it. Just would like to have some level of normalcy back, as I think anyone would here. Thank you.

Hi folks, I’ve been reading the site for the last six months through my Sertraline withdrawal and the information has been so helpful. I honestly thought I was losing my mind until I found this community and realised what I was experiencing was in fact withdrawal, not relapse. It has been a difficult six months. From the end of June to about September were probably the worst. I didn’t experience any intense physical symptoms aside from insomnia and panic attacks but the psychological symptoms have been torture. Thankfully the insomnia, morning cortisol spikes, panic attacks and OCD like symptoms I was experiencing have subsided somewhat, I used the DARE response, exercise, cut out caffeine and started a magnesium supplement. I’ve also been attending counselling. These things seemed to help re-stabilise my nervous system to an extent. They can still creep in but I seem to have been able to get a handle on them. Although it takes conscious effort to keep them at bay and stop the thought spirals. What hasn’t subsided are the intense emotions which I’ve seen described here as neuro-emotions. These have been debilitating to the point I’ve had to be off work for the last month. I’m ridiculously emotional, totally overwhelmed and I just don’t feel able to handle every day life any more. It’s like all my confidence has gone and any remotely stressful task is just too much. At points it has come to suicidal ideation. To be honest after getting through the horrendous anxiety/OCD type symptoms I thought this really might have been a relapse as some aspects seem like my previous depression/anxiety which led me to start antidepressants in the first place. Due to the extent of the emotional symptoms and the impact they’re having on my life I felt I had to try something so I can function properly. After reading the reinstatement guidance here I have begun a tiny reinstatement of 0.5mg Sertraline. This has only been for the last few days. I know this was a risk after 6 months but I have restarted in the past (albeit at a 50mg dose recommended by a GP) with success and I’m desperate to be honest. I need to be functional, be able to work and support my family. I’m not noticing any negative side effects so far, the first day there was a marked increase in motivation and energy actually. I do feel like my emotions have been more ‘steady’ since reinstating which I wasn’t expecting to be honest. My plan at the moment is to see how this reinstatement goes by sticking at 0.5 for quite some time. Any words of support or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks 😊

About 2004 (don't remember exact year) - took Lexapro for maybe a month, didn't want to stay on it then, went off without much problems Feb 2013 - Started Citalopram for probable PMDD (never officially diagnosed) Summer 2017 - Tried to go off Citalopram, following Dr's quick taper, reinstated just a few weeks later. Summer 2018 - Was switched to Sertraline 100mg after birth of 2nd son (Dr never said exactly why, I think they thought Citalopram was pooping out, but I was postpartum at the time) - had a small issue for a week or so with the transition, but I was ok after that. 2021 - Found a healthy diet, healed my gut some, decided to try to go off Sertraline again. Dropped to 50mg in fall 2021minor issues, but did fine with that drop Feb 2022 - dropped to 25mg, did ok enough with the drop (hindsight - I should have held there much longer) - followed Dr's short taper again to try to go off the 25mg. Didn't do well, found a FB support group, per their recommendation, reinstated with 20mg of liquid Sertraline. I did ok with that after a few weeks. I still didn't realize how much I NEEDED to slowly taper and tapered much too fast over summer of 2022 Sept 2022 - took last dose (1mg) in late Sept Dec 2022 - Hit major withdrawal symptoms in early Dec, decided to try a reinstatement with a low dose of Sertraline - started with 1mg, moved up to 2mg the next week. Tried to go to 3mg, ended up with adverse reactions that day (increased anxiety, SI, couldn't sleep that night), went back down to 2mg the next day and have held steady there since. I now need help with knowing if I'm truly stabilizing and, from there, I have some supplements that I should NOT be on at the same time as Sert, but I'm stuck on them for the moment until I stabilize, I'd like help knowing how to go about weaning those (or what to talk to my practitioner about at least).

Hi I have been reading a lot of posts on here and I have a lot of similar symptoms and I’m very down and worried. I was prescribed 50mg setraline September 2022 for my anxiety and depression but only took 1 tablet as I had a panic attack and freaked out. I was then prescribed citalopram, I started taking in October 10mg for 2 weeks, then upped to 20mg for about 6 weeks but I felt dreadful on them, couldn’t really get out of bed and felt like a zombie so the doctor said to come off and said to just take 10mg for 2 days then stop. So my last dose was beginning of December 2022, unsure of exact dates but calling the gp for them. Didn’t feel great coming off them but pushed through as I’m used to feeling pretty dreadful with anxiety etc (I’m also autistic so I do get fatigued in daily life). I started to feel terrible at the beginning of February and have progressively got worse since, waking up every night having a panic attack, brain shivers, brain fog, numbness, skin feels hot, anxiety is pretty much constant, weakness in legs, short of breath, blurred vision, dizziness, tinnitus, vertigo type symptoms, horrendous health anxiety and constantly feeling like I’m going to die. Been to the gp a few times, blood tests, ecgs, infection tests and all normal, been to a+e as I was having seizure type symptoms and felt terrible but just being told I’m fine and it’s just down to anxiety & depression. I have had the most stressful period of my life the last year with family bereavements & illnesses, relationships ending, moving to the other end of the country, being out of work etc. I just don’t feel right at all and don’t see how I could feel this terrible just due to anxiety and depression and I’m worried this has been caused by antidepressants. Sorry for the essay and thanks for reading.

hello, I am in the process of tapering prozac for the 3rd time. It does not help me at all and not sure if it is causing me worsening depression and anxiety. I have been on it for close to 20 years with little success. I have tapered off twice, and had to reinstate. This time, I cannot get stable but continue to taper ever so slowly but feel awful waves of depression and anxiety. I have tried many other meds through the years which all make me feel awful. Anyone else have this level of sensitivity? I was on 10 mg and now on 5mg going down by 1/2 mg per month. I feel like a faster taper may be needed if it could be the medication causing me to feel so bad. Could the medication be causing this? I don't want to get worse, any suggestions? Hope and prayer needed.

I was wondering if I have possibly damaged my central nervous system. How would I know or have that diagnosed? I tapered way too quickly off of Lexapro and rode out the withdrawal symptoms a little over 1.5 months. I reinstated 5mg Lexapro and most of the severe symptoms started to subside after about 2 weeks. I feel like I have put my body through shock during the withdrawal process. The first week I experienced the brain zaps which I knew were part of the withdrawals, but I was determined to ride it out thinking when they ended I would be fine. Then about a week or two later I started getting a weird dizzy feeling and began experiencing headaches. Following the headaches I began to notice my vision was becoming a little blurry along with concentration problems and anxiety beginning to take over and consume me. The insomnia has probably been the worst part of it all. I can’t get settled because I’m too anxious to fall asleep. If I do fall asleep I’m not sleeping more than a couple of hours before waking up and laying in bed anxious. Not knowing what was happening I went to the doctor to figure out the issue. She said I came off the medication too quickly and was experiencing withdrawals more than likely. I requested a CT scan to rule out anything major and the CT scan came back normal thank God 🙏. I do have a neurologist appointment coming up within the next month to get further clarity. I just can’t shake this feeling of whether or not I have done any permanent or long term damage. I am questioning everything at the moment which is unsettling. I just don’t know what the right path is going forward. Continue to take the 5mg Lexapro and hopefully get settled out even though I don’t like the way it makes me feel, or try to taper again and possibly experience this all over again?

Hi there, I had my last dose of Escitalopram Jan 4th 2023 (about 3 ish months ago). I started on it back in 2018 to help with my depression and social anxiety which it worked so well for and as of May 2022 I was finally in a good space in my life where my doctor and I figured we’ll try wean off it. My history of the drug is as follows: - 2018 - end of 2019: 20mg - 2019 - 2020: 10mg - 2020 - May 2022: 5mg - May 2022 - Jan 2023: started taking every second day, then third, then fourth until I got to Jan where I had my last At the start (stopping completely) I felt fine and then about a month in I started getting very dizzy, panic attacks, anxiety (not social anxiety but to the stage that if i went out to a basketball game or restaurant i’d have a panic attack), feeling disconnected from myself, brain fog, blurry vision, heart palpitations. I’ve been dealing with this for about a month and a half now, some days worse than others. Typically when I know something is coming up it gets worse. I’ve gone to the doctors (who hasn’t even mentioned this could be to do with coming of SSRIs) and done a lot of blood tests, heart tests and all seems to be fine so after googling a lot yesterday and today I figured it could be to do with coming off escitalopram?? It’s consuming most of my life right now as I can’t do things I want to all the time. To help Ive been doing the following: - exercising - eating / sleeping well - meditating / yoga - taking hemp CBD oil (10% CBD) twice a day (morning and night) - taking magnesium, vit C and vit D daily - Doctor gave me propanlol to try (didn’t do much). Also gave me a benzo which made me feel great but don’t want to have more than one as I don’t want to get addicted. Im trying to stay positive but it’s starting to get to me a bit. My questions are, am I doing the right things? Does this sound like it’s to do with coming off anti depressants? Any advice on what I can do better? Idea on how long it will last? Anyone had similar experiences? Thanks in advance!

First i'm inspired by your work you do with people. Thank you for you time and sharing your gift with others. Second, I'm currently in hell. I started my taper from 60mg of cymbalta. I was on 30mg from 2016-2019 and 60mg from 2019-2022. Taper started May 2022. Taper was 3-5% every ~10 days. I started hitting bad withdrawal symptoms in October and have been holding at 13mg (80 beads) for 5 months. Things seem to be stuck in neutral and I'm afraid I'm losing this battle. My mental capacity is about 0 and am in constant panic mode thinking I'm dying. I have three young children and find it near impossible to help take care of them and need help. Can I attempt to do a small increase or do you think that's a bad idea?