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Hello all, After some misplaced reluctance to create an account and my own thread, my anxiety is skyrocketing and this is the only way I can think of calming it. I took Sertraline for a single day (did not like how it made me feel + worsened hyperactivity) back in late August/early September, what followed in the next few weeks was an onslaught of generalised anxiety along with anxiety attacks. This was new for me. A week after returning to University in mid-September I experienced ‘flu-like’ symptoms, an all-consuming fatigue, malaise, brain fog, and depression (of which I assumed was caused by these feelings). Due to the increased anxiety I had been experiencing since that one tablet I took in late August, I decided to try the Sertraline again in hope that I could ride out it’s initial symptoms and find my feet and mind again. The week in Sertraline whilst plagued with poor concentration and short-term memory, was blissful to say the least, I even text my mum exclaiming, ‘I haven’t felt this good since I was ten!’; meaning that I hadn’t a care in the world; I felt free again. Because of my work-load at university, I felt like it was best to stop the Sertraline as it was making it hard for me to spell, think creatively, and empathise with my newly formed girlfriend. After the abrupt stop (I wouldn’t call it a ‘cold-turkey’ as was only a single week, I may be naive however in saying this. Please correct me if I’m wrong) I felt okay, able to work, excitable if not a little too excitable, but the general feeling was that within a week, I’d be me again. Two weeks after stopping the five consecutive doses of sertraline, I noticed that I was gradually feeling more and more spaced out with every day that passed until it morphed into full-blown depersonalisation. I felt disconnected, empty, like I was high in caffeine 24/7, or even flying through a dream would be an accurate tell of its qualities. This continued, while getting better slightly with each day passed for just under a month, it’s hopefully subsided. During this period I had tunnel vision, everything seemed blurry and I felt dizzy when out and about/stressful or anxious places. I had what I believe is called aphasia, understanding was fine, I just couldn’t work or produce literature to save my life. My concentration/attention span had disappeared, I couldn’t read articles let alone absorb any of their information. The blurry vision has gone, but has been replaced with an ever so slight static or I’ve seen it being called a ‘haze’, only really noticeable in the dark. My vision seems darker than it was before and I guess ‘not right’, it does seemed to have improved by a smidgen though. Whilst I wouldn’t say that I’m still depersonalised, I still feel a little detached from my surroundings, this can fluctuate in some circumstances, and almost disappear in some. I have double vision that only comes on in the night (early morning), light trails that become worse the longer I stay up at night for. Street lights also produce a horrible glare, this can return to normal levels when not stressed, but if I’m with someone who provokes this, or start worrying + looking for it everywhere, it can become much worse with even entering a shop becoming a behemoth if a task. I am also plagued with a low-frequency tinnitus, sounds sort of like steam, or a quiet tv static. This condition is all I’ve been able to think about since I’ve had it, the anxiety has ramped up, along with my emotions in the past two weeks and I’ve just been unable to function. This has all been accompanied by a slight brain fog and when stressed, pressure in my eyes and head (the feeling of pressure has got a lot better, almost non-existent now). Is there anyone out there with these symptoms who’ve seen them subside/go away? I’ve read online about visual snow and I’m terrified that this isn’t going to get better. I feel like I’ve ruined my life and feel that I’m stuck, dependent on my mum. I’m even worrying about what will happen to me once she has passed. Im really worried that this is going to be my new baseline. Thank you all for this amazing site, Icip.

Hello, I was hoping someone could give me some advice about some severe symptoms I've been experiencing since switching from Lexapro to Prozac and back again. Here is my story: Diagnosed with OCD and depression at 18. Prescribed 60 mg Prozac which I eventually manage to reduce to 30 mg. Continue taking this dose of Prozac for about 20 years. At the end of last year Prozac seems to have lost its effectiveness so I speak to my doctor about switching to Lexapro which I've heard has less side effects. As instructed by my doctor I reduce my Prozac dose to 20 mg for two weeks, wait 5 days without medication, and then start on 10 mg Lexapro. Soon after starting Lexapro I develop some very unpleasant side-effects, most notably heart palpitations and tinnitus. I speak with the doctor who tells me not to be concerned because the side effects are caused by "anxiety". Against my better judgment I continue taking the Lexapro for a total of 25 days. At this point the palpitations are so bad I have to stop taking the Lexapro immediately. I wait two days and then reinstate the Prozac at 40 mg. Things seem to be reasonably okay for about 3 weeks before all hell breaks loose. I wake up in the middle of the night with such extreme palpitations and dizziness that I end up in ER. However, the doctors find nothing wrong with my heart, conclude its anxiety and send me home. Two hellish weeks of palpitation induced insomnia and intermittent akathesia follow. During this time I have a number of medical tests but nothing abnormal shows up in the results. The palpitations are worse when I lie down and though they cause some anxiety I am convinced they are not caused by anxiety. It feels like the part of my nervous system responsible for controlling my heart has been physically damaged in some way. When I try to explain this to my psychiatrist and cardiologist they don't understand. The psychiatrist gives me Valium and the cardiologist gives me a beta blocker. None of these seem to make much difference so I'm given some Ambien to help me sleep. I take the Ambien for about 5 nights before I decide I'd rather deal with the insomnia. Eventually I get some kind of sleep, but it is still very fragmented and the palpitations persist. My chest feels really tight as if my heart is being pushed up against my chest bone and the palpitations are worsened by lying down, eating or feeling cold. I lose my appetite and drop from 78 to 69 kgs in weight. I start filming my sleep so that I can show my doctor what happens. The footage shows me suffering from hypnic jerks and muscle twitching. These jerks are accompanied by electric shock like sensations that wake me up. During the day I am still tortured by this uncomfortable feeling in my chest and the ongoing palpitations. It feels like my heart has a mind of its own and has been knocked out of sync with the rest of my body. The tinnitus (a loud, high-pitched ringing) also continues. After 18 years at the same company I have to take sick leave for the first time. I have been off work for a month now and have no idea when I'll be able to go back. I continue to take 30 mg Prozac because I feel things would be even worse without it. During the day I walk because this seems to help with the palpitations. I've started taking Magnesium L Threonate and krill oil supplements. I desperately want my life back.

Hi everyone, I’d like to share my story and have a question about AP at the end. Hopefully someone can give me advice. Last december I developed severe anxiety which was uncontrollable and led to a depression. I was admitted to a psychiatric hospital and put on Sertraline (Zoloft). Because of severe side affects (tinnitus, couldn’t sleep) they also put me on AP (fluanxol) 1mg. After starting AP I felt much better, more calm and relaxed and the tinnitus went away. So decided to stop AD. As I thought the AP was the right medication for me. Two weeks later I also stopped AP as I thought I was calmed down enough. This was in March. Then five days later the tinnitus returned and I started to have pain in my bladder. I didn’t connect the dots. But my psychiatrist adviced to give Sertraline another try. So I went back on it up to 50mg. And to reduce side affects also took the Fluanxol 1mg again. In June the doctor said I could stop the fluanxol. Because I felt better. As soon as I did that anxiety was all over the place. I went hysterical. So again I had to drop the sertraline as the doctor said it wasn’t the right medication for me. To reduce the anxiety I went back on fluanxol again. Halfway June I was on 25mg sertraline. I then also started taking a lower dosis of fluanxol (0,5mg). That’s when the trouble really started. Since then I have pain and burning in my vagina, especially my clitoris. I feel it all day, except when I’m in bed. I’m going mad. Googled and found Pgad. I am so scared right now. Is this my new life? Also the tinnitus is back. Not as bad as it was in March, but I still take a little Fluanxol. At the moment I am entirely off Sertraline. But I still take Fluanxol 0,5mg. As I understand AP calms down the nerve system. So I’m afraid, also due to my previous experience in march, that if I will stop Fluanxol, the tinnitus en Pgad will get much worse. So is there anyone who has experience taking AP to reduce wd symptoms of AD? Can I recover WD from AD, while still taking AP? Point is, the AP makes me so tired so I would like to stop this medication as well. But I’m so scared symptoms will get worse. I don’t think I can handle that… I get Pgad is uncommon, but maybe someone has experience with other withdrawal symptoms. thanx to anyone who replies to my message. So scared my life is over right now. All I can do is cry.

Hello to all. Please accept my most sincere greetings. I know that all of us here are after a better life and the fact that all of us have ended up here by each other's side under one single umbrella means we all have what it takes to build a better more robust life. We are a precious community giving each other hope, helping hands and the necessary incentive and energy to carry on and reach the finish line with flying colors. We will all make it sooner or later. I for one have come into grips with weaning off of Nortriptyline. After almost 2 years of being on the drug for what initially was diagnosed as depression and anxiety, I recently decided to come off it. From what I had gathered mainly through surfing different websites and reading stories of struggles with antidepressants, I was confident that I my tapering has to happen garadually and smoothly, so distressing i was never instructed by my psychiatrist nor my psychologist about the importance and necessity of slow tapering. My maintenance dose was 100 mg for a year and half, then I went on a withdrawing process. I followed the famous 10 perecnt reduction for every 2 weeks. After almost 3 months, I'm now on 25 mg. I exeperienced a wide ranges of symptoms most notably tingling, paresthasia, insomnia and blurry and at times colorless vision on my right eye. Symtoms have become tougher these last steps leaving me with 2 major problems: 1. Some of my symtoms are so persistent and won't just go away namely tingling and prickling on my body and my declining vision quality with colors looking so drab and lifeless. I'm seriously afraid of continuing my taper as i feel this may deteriorate my current condition eventually leaving me with unstoppable poor vision quality as well as persistent paresthasia. 2. I live in Iran and the lowest-dose pills are 10 mg which are extremly small, the best I could do was to cut them into halves using a pill cutter with extreme difficulty. Now that I'm down to 10 percent of 25 mg, I need 2.5 mg pieces which is almost impossible to get. I'm stuck at this phase and I need some real help and advice from my esteemed co-combatants. I thank each and every one of you up front for helping me out. Good luck on your evetually brilliant taper journey.

I got on Fluoxetine after 2 years of aggressive anxiety and deep depression. I was prescribed 10 mg and then 20mg and eventually to 30 mg at one point. I didn't know better at the time but I was constantly fatigues I had slight depression and not much anxiety after the 2 years but I had no energy and headaches. When I started the Fluoxetine it gave me the energy I was craving. I was sleeping 8 + hours prior to the fluoxetine, eating healthy and very often and then napping before soccer practice (I played college soccer) just to try and have enough energy to go 75% at practice. When I got on the fluoxetine I didn't have to sleep as much, and I had energy! It was awesome. I didn't really look into side effects or other options at the time because I just wanted to have the energy to play soccer. It relieved headaches and removed my fatigue. It felt like the vitamin my body was craving but I couldn't ever get it satisfied with the healthy eating and sleep. I had spouts of extreme anxiety flare ups whenever I would try and get into a relationship. So during my 4 years at the university I tried one relationship for a year and it was extremely difficult causing out of body experiences, anxiety, and overall felt like my nervous system was dying. I continued on the fluoxetine at the time but it didn't solve for the OCD / Anxiety I was experiencing and I didn't have the skills to know how to lean into it and start trying to think about things differently and change my brain and nervous system. I finished my soccer career and moved from a very warm environment to a part of the state that has very cold winters and hot summers. The winter brought on all sorts of depression and hopelessness. I was working at a Bank at the time. I pushed through that winter and started working on trying to change the way I was thinking and the beliefs I was holding. I felt that I had made very good progress and decided to start tapering my fluoxetine. I dropped to 10mg for a few weeks and then I just stopped taking it all together. I started to experience sever brain zaps. I re instated at 10mg every other day for a month or so. I then stopped and the brain zaps were gone! I thought I was home free! But I was not, 4 months later I started having the headaches I was having before I started taking the fluoxetine. They were so severe and would come on so strong around 1 or 2 pm in the afternoon. I started experiencing brain zaps again as well. Then one night Tinnitus hit me like a sledge hammer. My ears started ringing so loud. And on occasion they would hurt. I couldn't sleep, the ringing had gotten so loud. I went to every doctor I could see. I saw my general doctor and she said to try sertraline. I got on 25 mg of it for a few weeks. I had all kinds of symptoms trying to get on it. I was fatigued, felt like I had the flu, achy, headaches, etc. It wasn't solving the current headaches, fatigue, and tinnitus. We then switched me to Fluoxetine 10mg it was just giving me different kinds of headaches along with the ones I was having. When I got on Fluoxetine the first time I did not experience any side effects at all. I had CT scans done to see if I had tumors. Nothing. No doctor could explain what was going on with me. I had enflamed sinuses so they gave me some steroids to help with the inflammation which helped a little bit. I eventually tried just doing 5mg a day but that was still an issue. So went back down to zero. I have been struggling with headaches for over 12 months and tinnitus for over 8 months now. My vision has gotten blurry and I have tried to get glasses to see if that was causing some of the headaches. It has been a living hell. I found this website and some success stories. Trying to figure out what to do and how to move forward. Wondering if I should try and get back on 5mg of fluoxetine a day and see if that will clear the headaches without the reinstating headaches and then taper from there? Would love to hear any and all experiences that could help. Thanks.

Hi everyone, I am learning a lot from this site. Thank you. I quit Paxil CT almost 3 yrs ago (after 10 yrs on) and quit benzos 10 months ago (also after 10 yrs on then, following a 19 months taper). I am mostly functional, but still suffering several issues, the most persistent ones: poor balance, tinnitus, poor vision and floaters. Seems like these are all related to the vestibular region (brain and inner ears). I know it may take a long time to heal and that 100% healing is difficult, but would love to know if someone had these same persistent symptoms and if they eventually got better. I am working mostly on-line due to the pandemics, but may soon face my job in a ship at sea. I am afraid that I may suffer terrible sea sickness due to my current state. Still feel privileged for being alive and mostly functional after so many years using these pills from hell, as prescribed by my doctors... Wish a fast healing for all!

Dear all, I took Sertraline 50 (French name for Zoloft). for only a month and I have developped PGAD (Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder) following a too fast withdrawal. I read the story of some of your members who had PGAD when they withdrew from an antidepressant and their stories looked like mine and gave me hope and I hope they can confort me and assist me because I am in a very dark place. I read the stories of Hopefull anf Broken. Are they still on the forum ? How are they doing ? Until December 2016, I had never taken any antidepressant or a benzo in my entire life. I was leading an happy life with my husband and son in the West of France. We had a chemical accident in december. I mixed 2 products while cleaning my house, bleach and a cleaning product with acid and stupidly burnt my lungs and got a toxic choc on the 27th of december. My doctor thought I was anxious afer the accident and put me on Xanax 0.25, half a pill at night. I took it for a month in January 2017 and was sent to a psychiatrist who put me on Lisanxia 10, a pill a day. I felt suicidal because i didnt understand I was suffering from the Xanax withdrawal the doctors kept changing the pill without any tappering, I stayed on Lysanxia 10, a pill a day the whole February , then another psychiatrist decided to put me on Bromazepan 6 (4 quarter a day). I stayed on Bromazepan the entire March and he put me back on Xanax, all of that cold turkey. And that how I met my worse nightmare, the Sertraline AD: I was feeling very agitated on benzos, my lungs and entire skin were burning and everybody told me it was in my head. I didn't agree so I was hospitalised againt my wish in a psychiatrist hospital. There, they made me stop my Xanax 0.25 cold turkey and put me on Sertraline 50. This happened on Easter monday 2017 (April 17 th). After 2 weeks, I was sent home and started feeling very ill, I had tremors, agitation, fatigue, shakes, flu like symptoms and suicidal thoughts. I went to see a GP who told me I could drop the Sertraline to 25 because I had only been on it for 2 weeks and I could slowly stop it. I went on the 25 pill and then I started having violent withdrawal side effects (I don't know which ones came from Xanax or from Sertraline) : My symptoms : Sensitivity to light and smells, burning skin, hyperacusis, agitation, akathisia, tinnitus and when I thought it couldn't get worse, I started peeing every 10 minutes, got a hyperactive bladder, terrible pains in my genitalias, bladder and pelvic area and the worse of it permanent arousal. Since I have kept the tinnitus in my left ear, the akatisia and PGAD. I was sent to another mental hospital at the beginning of June because I thought they could help me with PGAD. They put me on Risperidone for a week while they made me stop the Sertraline very fast (they made me take it every 2 days for a week then they replaced it with Anafranil 25 that I kept for a week. My tinnitus got worse and my PGAD stayed the same. I was getting sicker and sicker so the psychiatrist stopped the Anafranil and the Risperidone and I was put back on Xanax. I am now back at home, my PGAD symptoms are terrible and I am considered manic and hypocondriac. My doctor wants to put me back in a mental hospital. I can't look after my family and Iam in a very dark place with suicidal thoughts My 3 main withdrawal symptoms : high pitched tinnitus, agitation and PGAD. Pins and needles in my lower back, legs and arms when the PGAD crisis start. . MY PGAD symptoms : Overactive bladder, ongoing arousal sensations in and around the genitals, having to go to the toilets every 10 minutes, pelvic pains, Pins and needle, shaking. It is atrocious and it makes me suicidal. I take 3 Xanax 0.25 a day and a Zopiclone 7 to sleep. I cannot sit because the symptoms get worse and I can barely walk because my bladder hurts. I spend my days crying on my bed with an ice pack on my lower parts. At night I cannot sleep well because of the tinnitus. I went to see an urologist, I had a cystoscopy done and they told me it is not an interstitial cysticis and gave me Lyrica (I am scared of taking it because I fear it will make my tinnitus worse). Nobody knows this symptom in France and people think i am crazy. Thank you for reading my story. Please can you reassure me ? I am terrified and I am suffering greatly. Would it go away ? Is it a withdrawal symptom ? Thank you so much for having this site on the internet. It gave me a lot of confort. Cathyfrench (I am french so I hope my English is not too bad, my apologies for my grammatical errors)

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

Hi all. Brain is foggy and trying to figure this out while adjusting to a huge life change. November of last year I went through breakup/unemployment and was sad, GP put me on Luvox (Fluvoxamine) to try to help. I started it a few days before December. I had no side effects besides nausea. Felt nothing good or bad in result. Started at 25mg for two weeks then went to 50mg. February of this year he increased me to 75mg since I wasn’t seeing improvement. March 21 (Tuesday) I took a dose of Wellbutrin 150 XL he prescribed me in addition. I trusted him. It was the generic. Took second dose March 22 (Wednesday) and that night came down with severe tinnitus and ear pain/fullness/muffled. It’s so bad I wanted to claw my brain out. Still do. Cold-turkeyed the Luvox (fluvoxamine) because it’s also ototoxic and I couldn’t handle it all and the thought of making the tinnitus worse or anything. One GP it was OK to stop in my state, other tried to get me to taper down but alas, was at the ER in pain and didn’t take the next dose. It’s been 10 days and I’ve cried over the life change that severe tinnitus brings. My brain hasn’t been off since. Two ENTs later and there are no answers. Last night I realized I cannot feel my genitals, my nipples are numb, and after trying to do stuff down there I’ve been in weird pain all day internally. Could orgasm but it kind of hurt and there was no lubrication. DURING Luvox I noticed slight genital numbness but that was it. Besides crying from the tinnitus/issues sleeping because the ringing, I’m OK. Crying and headaches that I can handle; today there was neither. No nausea, went for a run today, have never/do not want to die. I can’t see a psychiatrist until June 5, until then will keep calling and trying to find someone. I don’t know if I should somehow try to reinstate the Luvox to combat this. I can’t think straight over it and because of the ringing; and I don’t know what to do. GP recommended not doing it, but he’s also the one that did all of this to me and doesn’t believe the Wellbutrin caused the tinnitus (it’s well documented). I don’t want to make the tinnitus worse by reinstating, but also don’t know if that might POSSIBLY help me regain any type of sexual function that I’ve lost (going back on and slowly tapering eventually). I really don’t think I can handle two life altering reactions. Thanks so much if anyone reads this and for any thoughts.

Hello, I have been on paroxetine for 7 years,have tried many times to go off but unsuccessfully. Finally on 7 th year i lowered my dose from 20 mg to 10 mg. After panic attacked and insomnia appeared on my trip few months later I took 20 mg while I was on a trip and lowered it again on 10 mg.Due to some medical conditions that I suspected that are cause of paroxetine,I lowered the dose to 0 in maybe two months,way too fast. I was okeish for about two months ( I had all of the symptoms of wd but I fought with it ) and I compelety crushed this February . Tinitus and never ending insomnia are the worse. I started to Google and found all the posts about some neurological damage From this drug which made my anxiety worse. Doctor gave me lorazepam to sleep. My question is ,should I go back to 10 mg and taper more slowly? Am I in a risk of neurological damage From tapering too fast ? Is this tinitus permanent? How long wd simptoms approximately last ? I see I am in risk of developing tolerance to lorazepam since I have been using it two weeks for sleep. My doctor's don't know anything since one wants to put me on mirtazapine and other on Prozac. I am so worried and feeling alone in all this.

Hello, i was on Paxil for 6 years. I tapered off in 08/2022 and got louder tinnitus after tapering. But it was manageable. Because of severe withdrawal I reinstated after about 6 weeks after I went to my doctor. Tinnitus became WAY louder through reinstating. I continued because didn’t understand it was Paxil. I’m now again on 10 mg Paxil since 4 months. My tinnitus is crushing, I’m currently in a Psych Ward for help. I’m at my wit’s end and don’t know what to do. During daytime tinnitus is so loud. I sleep with sleep meds (Zopiclone). Is there a chance by tapering the Paxil the tinnitus will go down again? Currently I’m on 0,5 mg Xanax every 3-5 days to get the tinnitus down. They put me on 25 mg Quetiapin since 3 days for sleep and more. They want to put me on Mirtazapine and then taper Paxil. I don’t know what to do. Anxiety because of tinnitus is through the roof. What should I do? Please help! Thanks.

Hi all. Firstly, what a great site. Reading other's stories, success stories and explanations of what we're going through has been a great comfort to me. I'm still struggling though and I know it's also affecting my family negatively which is also bringing me down. So, I started Sertraline in Dec 2020 because of high anxiety. No particular reason for my anxiety, just a series of life problems accompanied by a pandemic and working from home away from social interaction with work colleagues started it I guess. I couldn't sit down! There was positive results from the drug within a couple of weeks and inside 4 weeks I was my normal self! Result! The only side effect I had at that time was some low level tinnitus, particularly in my right ear. Early on in taking the drug I had woken up in the middle of the night with my head buzzing but that passed after a week or so. I never intended being on the drugs long term so when I noticed my weight creeping up I decided to taper. You can see my history below. I now know that was probably too fast but at the time I thought it was fine. Every time I cut a dose I had some irritability for a week or two and then went back to normal. Until I went from approx 6mg ( I was cutting 50mg tablets so very inexact) to zero. I had the irritability for 2 weeks and then I crashed emotionally. I had expected the tinnitus to fade. It didn't. Instead it ramped up considerably and buzzed throughout my head at night keeping me awake. I was emotionally all over the place - panic attacks, couldn't sit down, always pacing, crying and over-emotional about my family. 6 months after stopping I still have high anxiety most mornings when I wake up but normally calms a bit by evening time so I can get to sleep. The tinnitus in my right ear is constant but the whole head buzzing comes and goes. I sleep relatively well when the head buzzing isn't happening. But it does happen at least once a week now and the lack of sleep wrecks me the next day. I still have days when I can't sit down. All in all, I'm seeing a few better days when I'm more like myself now but I'm despairing at how long this is taking. The tinnitus in my right ear never goes away and spikes my anxiety first thing in the morning. It's been almost 6 months now since my last crumb of Sertraline. I've thought of reinstating a very small amount to try to alleviate the tinnitus and/or the anxiety but I feel that would be 6 months down the drain. And it might not work. I also can't work out if this is all entirely withdrawal or is it relapse? I didn't have tinnitus before taking Sertraline but can high anxiety cause tinnitus? It certainly makes it worse. Your thoughts on any of this are appreciated. I'm just so tired of it all. 😢

I tapered from 10mg to 5mg in 4 weeks. Was doing ok. 4 weeks later I got hit with 2 weeks of bad anxiety. I got better. 8 weeks after that I got hit again and it hasn’t let up. After 2 weeks of suffering I went up to 7.5mg. That was 8 days again and I’m still suffering badly. My appointment with the psychiatrist is next week. I wish I could talk to her sooner. Not sure if I should stay at 7.5mg or go to 10mg.

Hi everyone! I'm very pleased to find this forum! Congratulations for the initiative! It´s shocking how many people are suffering from withdrawn. : ( Last year I became absolutely miserable after trying taper Seroquel and start Lyrica. My anxiety is out of control. I haven't slept in months. I feel numbness in my feet and hands. I lost more than half of my hair. The tinnitus is unbearable. My memory and cognition are very bad. And I'm sensitive to everything...food, supplements, light, sound... Also, I developed some movement disorders like restless legs and akathisia. One of the worst symptoms is crying and screaming that lasts for hours. Could it be psychosis? All the doctors keep saying I have hypochondria. But I know these symptoms are real. Has anyone else received this diagnosis? I'm from Portugal and I'll do my best to be able to communicate in English! I'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone all the best and say that I´m ready to learn whatever is necessary. I´m Chemical Bachelor so I understand a little about drugs but absolutely nothing about the human body. My first question is: what is the proper dose of seroquel should i take? I decided to start slowly with 0.5mg. It´s enougth? Take care everyone. (And please let me know if my English is not understandable.)

Hi. I've been on 20mg Seroxat per day since my first panic attack in 2014. I have reduced the dosage according to my home doctor's guidance recently. I reduced to 10mg Seroxat per two days on 1st Nov 2019. Then, a serious tinnitus (a low, constant buzzing) in my right ear started on 6th Nov 2019. (I didn't take any Seroxat on 2nd, 4th and 6th) The local doctors checked my ears and they say the eardrum is fine. So I continued the dosage reduction until 28th Nov. I finally contacted my home doctor and he said it is caused by anxiety (I've been bullied throughout Oct 2019) and Seroxat dosage reduction. He advised me to increase the dosage back to 10mg, or even 20mg Seroxat per day. There's no change in my tinnitus even until now (neither better or worse), which my dosage has increased to 30mg Seroxat per day according to my home doctor's guidance. The tinnitus affects me most when I'm asleep. I'm trying to not fall into a vicious cycle, but I have to wait until 5th Mar, 2020 to see the local Ear, Nose and Throat to have a checkup with professional equipment. Do you think my stress lead to tinnitus? Do you think the Seroxat dosage reduction leads to tinnitus? How and when can it stop? I want to sleep normally! Thank you P.S. On another forum people said that my tinnitus is caused by Seroxat, and they asked me to not trust the doctor because doctors know nothing about tinnitus. Do you think I should do so?

Hi All , I need your help ! I was on low dose of Amitriptyline ( 10 mg ) from Sept 29 th to Nov 9th , approx for 1 month. Was given this for low grade vascular headache Now I am 2 months off the drug , but still have issues. Approx 2 weeks post stopping the drug i started having severe tinnitus in both ears and still have it now , light sensitivity , brain fog , difficulty in concentration I had anxiety which I feel has been reduced since beginning of January. I got my tests done for MRI and all health tests everything came out clean , visual tests and macula degeneration tests also done Opthamologist message : Amitriptyline is neuro and ototoxic : your body will wean it eventually , he said it will take a month and I was actually getting better but BAM ! Jan 3rd week I was down in dumps again November Post stopping the drug : No Changes , just little bit of fogginess , headache Dec 1st week to 2nd Week : Muscle pain /drowsiness dec 3rd week to Dec 4 th week ( worst ) : i had grainy vision ( visual snow ) only on walls may be and then night vision was pathetic , brain zaps I was miserable was in dumps . Jan 1st week to 2nd week : On Jan 2nd when I work up my anxiety was gone ( its been better ) and getting better and my grainy vision I felt had subsided , I continued to move on ahead with the tinnitus and less snow Jan 3rd week to now : Suddenly I felt my vision dimness has got better ( I could feel this ) , the places i thought was previously dim was bright , and along with this the snow also became more , for example I an see sparse dots in day light and also when I look at my computer screen , and the walls have gone bad, not sure why this happened, shoulder pain , eye fatigue , dizziness , like when I close my eyes I see patterns and circle , when I m in REM braiz zaps after images ( both negative and positive)[ the symptoms I faced in Jan was not faced before in my life ] All the above symptoms Never had them in months of Oct, Nov Tinnitus : More Muscle Pain More Due to which : I'm nervous and anxious Issues I have now : Tinnitus more on left now , previously more on right , afterimages , vision snow ( bothers me the most ) and I know its not more than many of ul here , lil bit anxiety due to all this issues Disclaimer : I didn't know amitriptyline was an antidepressants until the 7th day of me taking it , I forgot to check it up online . Never done drugs in past , not smoked , no alcohol , I was a independent girl doing things on my own but now I'm so dependant on my family for everything I hope I get over this , I'm only 29 never had issues like this .

Hi, I was on meds for 8/9 years for anxiety. Initially I was put on mirtazapine to help me sleep as I struggled with tinnitus too. It helped sleep but looking back it lowered sex drive (I didn’t know it was the mirt then), I didn’t really care though as I was so focused on my business that I didn’t even have time to think about sex, I was just thinking about making money. After about a year and half I decided to come off mirtazapine as it was making me tired during the day, I then went on Citalopram. I remember the first few weeks I was euphoric! I felt absolutely buzzing for life and my sex drive was fantastic! Eventually this passed and I normalised, the cit worked quite well (apart from headaches) and I was content. About 5 years in I suddenly started having weak orgasms and low genital sensation, I didn’t know why and thought it was something to do with my prostate or drinking too much alcohol, god knows. I didn’t have a clue it might be the meds.. why would I? I’d been perfectly fine on them sexually for years! So I went to see a urologist and did a number of tests, he couldn’t help me. Then one day (after another 2 years on cit) whilst googling I came across RxISK website, it described the genital numbness I was feeling and then I realised it was from the meds I was taking! So I thought ok.. I will come off the meds and hopefully the numbness will go, I was excited and came off! I tapered off the 20mg daily I was taking over a couple months. This didn’t help my genital sensation at all and so i started googling what else it could be, low testosterone came up as a cause of genital numbness so I did tests and found out I had low T! I started TRT (hoping it would also help my fatigue) which I’m currently still taking! It didn’t help anything and now I’m stuck on it as apparently coming off is a nightmare and I’m not ready to go through the stress of all that! Plus.. my T levels will probably still be low and I’ll have to go back on anyway 🤯 My post SSRI problems - Genital numbness, lowered sex drive, Fatigue, less enjoyment of things, less passion in things I used to love, tinnitus. The main thing that bothers me is lack of pleasure from masturbation/sex, it is starting to drive me insane! I’m constantly thinking about it now! In the past I believed time would heal it but it’s been nearly 3 years now and now I’m worried this is it! It’s starting to depress me! Something to add - Over the years I’ve taken a number of antibiotics as I’ve had a few operations etc. Also at one point I took finasteride, maybe like 6 months before I went numb, I can’t remember exactly - I do sometimes wonder if this caused my problems as I was fine on SSRIs for years but I’ve always just had it in my head I suffer PSSD. As it’s now coming up to 3 years and I’ve stopped believing time will heal me, I feel I’ve waited long enough and now need to try taking something to help my genital sensation OR my OBSESSING over it! I am sick to death of being on my phone all day and night reading forums, chatting in groups about it and constantly googling it 😩 I’m currently thinking I want to try either buspar (as it’s not an SSRI) or SJW (although this is like an SSRI). These could also hopefully help my anxiety. I need to try something! If anyone could help me with my decision and advise what to try that would be greatly appreciated! Thank you JP

Hi, I was initially put on 37.5 mg paroxetine during a postpartum depressive episode in June 2016. My pdoc suspected the dose to be too high and reduced to 25 mg. I held on 25 mg for almost a year, and then my pdoc and I decided to try a dose reduction to 12.5 mg. I had a few brain zaps, but nothing serious, so I held there for a few months. My pdoc and I decided to drop to 0 mg in October 2017 (by taking 12.5 mg alternate days then zero). Again, only brain zaps were experienced. Four months later, at the beginning of March 2018, severe protracted withdrawal kicked in. I had not discovered this forum, so I immediately jumped to 12.5 mg at the recommendation of a doctor friend, and several days later jumped to 25 mg at the recommendation of my pdoc. When I experienced what I now know is a wave, I thought the paroxetine dose was not high enough, and my pdoc increased it to 37.5 mg. I have been on this dose for May and June, but now I have developed really loud tinnitus, and I suspect that the 37.5 mg dose might be too high. My pdoc supports my reducing to 25 mg. However, I don't want to destabilise my system. I have tried to work out the pharmacokinetics of the controlled release tablets, to see how to 'spread' my reduced dose over 24 hours, but have not found much on the internet. My intuition would be to take my 25 mg controlled release in the morning, along with 5 mg immediate release, so that I would have a peak and then a gradual dose over 24 hours. This would reduce my dose from 37.5 mg over 24 hours to 30 mg over 24 hours. Since I strongly believe that my system is flooded with serotonin, I think that this step won't destabilise me as there is an accumulated 'stash' of serotonin floating around my system. Any advice from the seasoned taperers out there? Thanks for hearing my story, Bee5

I took Pristiq 50mg for about 4 weeks. And I stopped cold turkey because I couldn’t sleep and I got tinnitus from taking the SNRI. I have never liked taking antidepressants but I was desperate and now after 6 weeks cold turkey off pristiq I still have a high pitch buzzing sound in my head constantly. I’m very worried that the tinnitus is a permanent result of taking pristiq, and although I only took it for 4 weeks I’m very sensitive and knew i should have not even tried such a strong drug. Because now I have extremely bad anxiety and depression along with tinnitus and can hardly handle it.

Hello Sorry for my poor english I took Seroxat at the request of the doctor because I was suffering from slight anxiety and took it because I trusted the doctors and I took the medicine for 4 months and the last dose of the medicine was 18 months ago: Previous symptoms: - Extreme anxiety, I have never experienced anything like it in my life -Dark Depression (I've never experienced something like it in my life) -Panic -Tinnitus -Eye floaters -A slight electrical sensation in the head -Insomnia Current symptoms: -Eye floaters -Lack of pleasure -Insomnia(Very bad) -Tinnitus(Little improvement) Does it disappear over time or will it last forever? thank noh1995

Cigarettes at age 11. Alcohol periodically from age 13 to age 30. Valium episodically from age 18 to age 27. I have been on myriad anti-depressants since 1982 for major depression and generalized anxiety. Imipramine, desyrel, ativan. Off drugs from 1984 till 1995. Started Prozac 1995 till 2014 (did well from 1995 to 2011). Tried Wellbutrin, Cymbalta. Abilify and Trintellix from March 2014 till August 8, 2017 (depression free). Had to withdraw due to cervical dystonia and tremors which still persist. Terrible experience withdrawing from Abilify and Trintellix. Started Wellbutrin 150 mg. and Prozac 10 mg. for one week to help with withdrawal. Then increased Wellbutrin to 300 mg. and experienced ringing in ears; stopped the Wellbutrin and increased Prozac to 20 mg. (10 in A.M.; 10 in P.M.) Now on Prozac 20 mg. per day, occasional Propranolol for tremors (doesn't help). I've read that coming off Abilify can take up to 3 months or more, and it has been 2 months so far. I feel like I've spent (wasted) my entire adult life trying to feel better, first by self-medicating, then by psychiatric medicating. I'm 72 years old. I wonder if there is any hope for me.

MOD NOTE: contains content which may be triggering for some members Hi, I have been "stalking" this website for a while now, I saw a couple stories that were a lot like mine. I never knew how much harm these darn medications could do, moreover, I was so glad I found that I was not alone in this. I felt like crying tears of relief when I found this community. Im not sure where to start so I will just give a basic "run-down" of my history; I came from an abusive background. My father abused me when I was younger, and my neighbor "took advantage" of me when I was 8, repeatedly. Im thankful I am not in that situation anymore, but those experiences did leave me with some "battle scars." I was diagnosed in early 2014 as having OCD, Anxiety, Depression, Panic Disorder, PTSD, and ADD. I knew I had some things from childhood, like the OCD, Depression, Anxiety and of course the ADD (That one is a bit hard to miss) But I was so shocked to find what had happened to me did give me PTSD. It was such a shock. I was hospitalized in late 2014 for a suicide attempt and that was my first introduction into the Antidepressants. To be honest they never really helped me. I was put on Prozac, not sure the dose, but I quit cold turkey after 3 maybe 4 weeks on it now that I think back to it. No side effects. No nothing. Then I was prescribed with several things back to back, Zoloft, Cymbalta, Effexor, I would only take 1 or 2 pills before not taking them anymore as I just felt the medication just masked the problem without actually fixing it. The only one that really did help a bit was Effexor but I got so jittery it was ridiculous I stopped after 2 days of use. again, no side effects, I was blessed. I was given Xanax for my panic attacks, i took it sparingly. Then I was given medication for my ADD, I thought "why not" and gave it a try since I was having trouble focusing especially in the workplace. I was given focalin. It completely destroyed me. I had a OCD flare up like no other. I ended up hospitalized from early May to late July/ Early August. It was a nightmare even though it did make me perform better, it was OCD hell. I recovered in a few days and was put on Paxil. 40 mg. and Trazadone for sleep which was switched with another type of sleep medication. I would take a combination of Trazadone and a cocktail of other sleep medications on and off. The doctor never warned me of the side effects of these stupid medications. I started having Nervous sweats, shaking which I believe to be called "akathesia", hypersensitivity, more panic attacks, PTSD episodes, OCD episodes. and weird sensations in my private parts that from what I have been reading, is called "PGAD" , horrible insomnia, sensations that are not there, so severe somatization, tinnitus that comes and goes, depersonalization, less able to focus, and an increase in paranoia. I ended up worse than when I started with this mess.. I have been though enough. Since I have been stalking this website I have been following a few stories that were a lot like mine and trying to mimic them in their withdrawal. I went from 40mg of Paxil to 21 mg. Probably too fast. I have been following Hopefull, ASkyFullOfHappy, MamaP, Gentle Steps, Petunia, MollyN especially since some of their stories really mirror mine in one way or another. Im sorry for stalking ya'll, I am actually very embarrassed, but I was recently given the courage to make my own account since I feel like I still don't know what I am doing sometimes, and honestly my symptoms, although they have improved a slight bit, they are not where I need them to be. I hope with some guidance I can get on the right track here, and maybe help a couple people out as well.

Hello! Please help me! My little story : 1 month ago i moved to new apartments. But i can't sleep good in new home , and there was a fear that I would lose my job due to lack of sleep. Also i heard a little noise in my haer My doctor assigned me Escitalopram. After 7 days 0.5mg I completely lost my libido and my ears are always ringing strongly. Doctor said that is good , and after few weeks my health will be good and side effects will be gone. And i eat drugs 5 days 10 mg , but ears ringing more loadly, and libido still at zero. After this i used this drugs 3 days 2.5 mg and stop use it. i stop use this drug 15 November and now my erection function and libido are recovered , but my ears still ringing , i can't sleep good and working. if i can sleep i wake up 30 minutes later from a nightmare. I also have a effect " brain zaps" , but it is not horrible like ringing in ears. I'm 29 years old , basketball player and programmer, but now i look very bad.

I've only been on Zoloft since July 2020, and I've decided to come off of it, very long story. Currently I'm tapering from 150mg and I've developed tinnitus in my left ear, it went from loud crickets to a quiet buzzing. How common is this? Will it go away within a couple of weeks when I'm completely off of it? I'm so desperate.

I was on 20 mg of Lexapro and 1.5 mg of Xanax daily for postpartum depression. In February of 2020 I was down to 1.0 mg of Xanax. I began tapering both medicines as I was having some Serotonin Syndrome issues. Once I taped down to 15 mg and .75 mg I began having tinnitus. I am now on 100 mg of Zoloft and .25 mg of Xanax (I am tapering the Xanax still). I still have tinnitus and want any advice on what to do to help. Will it eventually go away? I have been on the 100 mg of Zoloft consistently for almost 7 weeks.