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Hello Everyone, I am new to this forum and I am excited there is a support network for individuals who are coming off anti-depressants. My story might be a little different. 6 years ago I was put on Fluoxetine for the treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Previously, I tried all the various medications, augmentations and different classes with little success. So, my doctor and I decided to try fluoxetine along with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. While the CBT worked, I found fluoxetine to have little or no effect at all when taking 20mg. My doctor upped the dose to 40mg and I still didn't feel much of a different. Regardless, I was going through a stressful time in my life (i left a career overseas and entered a Ph.D program) and decided to stick with the treatment. 6 years later, I left the program in good standing (ABD status) and I am proud of my accomplishments. Now, I am looking for employment and excited for new opportunities. However, my family physician recently left the practice and we got a new family physician. I told him my situation and my symptoms that never seemed to get resolved over the pat 20 years of various treatments. He decided to do a few diagnostic tests and confirmed that I likely have ADHD, as opposed to OCD, based on the symptoms before treatment and after treatment (ones that never got resolved). Thus, I started my journey of treating ADHD with my new doctor. I was told, however, that Fluoxetine interacts with many different medications and that I should discontinue by tapering. It's been two weeks since my last dose of fluoxetine, and some withdrawals are beginning to surface. However, I remain optimistic as I use CBT techniques, monitor my blood pressure twice a day, get regular exercise, and practice mindfulness breathing techniques to help deal with the fight or flight response that may be temporarily more frequent. I also have regular appointments with my family physician to check in and see how I am doing. I say this is a unique scenario because I am now taking ADHD medications which I suspect are likely helping to an extent with the withdrawals. I am not advocating for the use of any of these meds but I wanted to bring them up as they worked for me almost instantly, which was a real eye-opener. However, the problem is that i need to distinguish between symptoms that are caused by one new medication and the symptoms caused by discontinuing fluoxetine. I'd say today I am starting to feel the fluoxetine withdrawal as i've gone through SSRI withdrawals before and some of the symptoms are similar (my brain feels like it's floating). I am here for support regarding fluoxetine discontinuation and look forward to reading posts and interacting with others. Over the past twenty years, I've discontinued many different SSRIs/SNRIs, so I have a lot of experience - mind you, we are all different and react differently. In addition, a couple of years ago my doctor and I decided to taper me off a benzodiazepine extremely slowly (over a course of 8 months). I'd say that was far more challenging for me than tappering off SSRI's. I am glad I am benzo free now! I believe in the neuroplasticity of the brain in that it has the ability to heal and achieve a new homeostasis. I am hoping discontinuing fluoxetine will continue to re-affirm my beliefs. Nice to meet everyone!

Hi all, I'm new here and would like to thank everyone for sharing their experience and helping others. I wish every one of you success on your path to recovery! My story and symptoms: 2 years ago I tapered off citalopram/escitalopram, because after 6 years taking it I built tolerance to it, as well as some unbearable sinusitis-like side effects. I was prescribed this drug for GAD treatment (for details see my signature below) During the 5th year on citalopram I started to feel its antidepressant effects slowly vanish, and I also noticed I couldn't handle much stress anymore. Actually, my working name for this problem is "impatient stress" and it's one of the most unpleasant symptoms. I would describe the feeling as a mix of impatience and stress without any apparent stressor. I rush to finish whatever I'm doing, but my muscles are clenching and I'm feeling strong physical and emotional unease, sometimes to the extent it feels I'm going to faint or have a heart attack. Kind of stress over-reaction to even simple tasks like chores. My body and mind force me to stop, although there is no apparent stressor. 2 years after getting off meds, this poor stress tolerance doesn't seem to get better, in fact it seems to be worse these days. I try to help my body deal with this artificial stress by supplementing vitamin C and magnesium, but it doesn't seem to have much effect (although it probably does help a bit) Somehow related to this is perhaps my extreme sensitivity to stimulants (tea, coffee, even chocolate). Even small doses make me agitated and anxious next day. At the moment I seem to be even more sensitive than I was a few months after withdrawal. Maybe it's because now I tend to really avoid stimulants as much as I can, which is probably making me more sensitive to them... But is my body going to readjust if I never expose it to such substances? Or is it better to avoid all stimulants and wait if my brain heals from hypersensitivity over time? What's your experience? For example, last week I tried two adaptogenic herbs (ashwagandha, rhodiola) for just a few days, in very small doses. Although I only ingested one capsule of rhodiola (which is 1/2 of recommended daily dose) it made me feel like a new person for two days in row! I felt great and focused. The next morning I had an erotic dream (which I normally don't have) and just when the dream got too exciting, I woke up with a terrible spike of agitation, which pretty much resembled the stressed-out feeling, but much more intense and terrifying. It only lasted a second, but it felt like I was losing my mind, as if I'm going to faint or vomit. Extremely unpleasant feeling. (It wasn't a panic attack though, these are completely different. I'm also familiar with these morning cortisol surges, but this was more like a momentary shock.) I could feel my heart beating strong. I never experienced such a strange shock and I was quite scared. Perhaps the single small capsule of Rhodiola (which apparently is a MAOI) messed up neurotransmitter levels too much? I would love to know what's your experience with hypersensitivity to stimulants following SSRI withdrawal. Did stimulants also trigger anxiety for you? Did you register any change over time? For the last 4 months I seem to be having some kind of anxiety episode triggered by emotional stress and accidental ingestion of green tea. The anxiety is getting worse every day, my sleep is getting shorter and shorter, giving rise to more anxiety. Is there a way to escape this vicious circle? Sometimes I have pinkeye. Not sure if it's something to worry about, I guess it's linked to sleep problems. There's also this sharp "pulling" sensation which I get from time to time in my hands or legs. Feels like if my veins were being pulled into body, shortened. Anyone experienced this? Just recently I started to have occasional chin twitches, although very subtle, hardly noticeable. I hope they'll go away once I manage the anxiety and bodily tension. And the last problem is lower back pain which I have ever since I discontinued SSRI, which makes me think that the physical damage to my back was done probably much earlier, but the pain has been temporarily suppressed by SSRI. Is it possible? Or maybe my lower back isn't damaged that much, but the elevated stress hormones intensify pain signalling in the body. I came to this hypothesis because last week, when I was in better mood for two days, the back pain almost vanished. I've practiced daily meditation for 2 years since withdrawal, I underwent 6 week CBT course, tried fasting, self-help books, supplements, etc. Meditation and CBT provided some help and I'll definitely keep using them. But still... these days I feel so anxious, sensitive, unstable... scared. Since I cannot handle any work load, I had to leave my job. I moved to my family's house, and recently I applied for disability pension (I hope I'll need it just for a few years). Everything has turned upside down for me. I feel I'm doomed to suffer for the rest of my life. I'm worried every day that the taper was too fast (I was so stupid to rush it), and I'm afraid my brain will never recover from the dependency on SSRIs, which terrifies me so much! Can you please help? Any ideas what might be happening with me in regards to the poor stress tolerance? What is actually going on there? Your experiences regarding any of these symptoms will be much appreciated! Do you think the damage is permanent? It's been 2 years now. Thank you! PS: As I'm rereading this post, it all seems so negative... But there are positives also - I'm no longer depressed these days. The depression transformed into anxiety 4 months ago, and although that's not necessarily a great thing one would desire, at least I know something is going on and I can feel motivated again.

75% of med students are on antidepressants or stimulants (or both) Posted on September 4, 2017 by Pamela Wible MD http://www.idealmedicalcare.org/75-med-students-antidepressants-stimulants/ "I’ve been on an antidepressant since being premed—18 years now. Little did I know it would be impossible to wean myself off and that my entire class was using Adderall.” I haven't posted an article in years. Please edit as needed.