Irishrai: struggling

[irishrai]

So I am struggling with 24/7 explosive anger. EVERYTHING is pissing me off.

I am on Quetiapine 25 mg once a day and Lamotrigine and 2 twice a day. Useless.

 

Went to emergency last night to try and get help as my Dr is on holiday as is my psychiatrist but they just said take half a Quetiapine in the morning. I tried it and it knocks me out. I told them it would but of course they don't believe me. ( it's only my body, what would I know!!!). i also take Black Cohosh

 

So I am dealing with this on my own and don't know what to do. I don't know how much more I can take of this anger. I am not an angry person by nature ( I am Irish and most things are dealt with a "**** it" attitude).

 

I have 3 kids of 5 ys , 7 ys and 20 ys and it is not a healthy environment for them. Especially the younger ones. On top of all this I cannot bear being around my husband but I don't know if it is because of this anger or we have come to the end of our marriage.

 

This is just adding to everything.

He works away from home for 14 days and is home for 7.

Plus we/I are/am in the process of packing up the house to sell it.

Edited July 29, 2016 by scallywag
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[oops44]

hey irishrai

sorry to hear about your situation. i realize you quit the cymbalta and sertraline, but i ran them through this drug interaction checker anyway http://www.drugs.com...teractions.html and got this interesting result:

 

Interactions between your selected drugs

Major sertraline  duloxetine

Applies to: sertraline, Cymbalta (duloxetine)

Using sertraline together with DULoxetine can increase the risk of a rare but serious condition called the serotonin syndrome, which may include symptoms such as confusion, hallucination, seizure, extreme changes in blood pressure, increased heart rate, fever, excessive sweating, shivering or shaking, blurred vision, muscle spasm or stiffness, tremor, incoordination, stomach cramp, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Severe cases may result in coma and even death. You should seek immediate medical attention if you experience these symptoms while taking the medications. Talk to your doctor if you have any questions or concerns. Your doctor may already be aware of the risks, but has determined that this is the best course of treatment for you and has taken appropriate precautions and is monitoring you closely for any potential complications. It is important to tell your doctor about all other medications you use, including vitamins and herbs. Do not stop using any medications without first talking to your doctor.

 

is this interaction the reason you quit them both cold turkey at the same time? the fact you quit 2 drugs at the same time makes it difficult to determine what you should do. it certainly seems you are suffering from withdrawal, and usually it is recommended that you reinstate a small dose of the same drug you quit to alleviate symptoms. unfortunately when you quit 2 drugs at once it is difficult to advise what should be done.

 

it also sounds to me like you have a few stressors present in your life currently. you must be going through hell right now. you may want to rethink quitting with so much going on. would you be open to reinstatement of a small dose? don't think of it as failing to be able to quit, just think of it as an option. something to consider as it could help with the anger and other symptoms you may be feeling.

 

please wait for a moderator to assist you before you take any of my advice though, as they have much more experience than i.

 

you can read more about reinstatement here: About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms while you wait.

 

hope this helps for now. if you have any questions just ask them right here in your thread.

[irishrai]

Thanks OOP44.  All my medication was prescribed by my psychiatrist and as she and my regular Dr is on holiday I cannot talk to them about it. With the medication to help with the anger again this was prescribed by my psychiatrist and she also recommended the Black Cohosh. 

I came off the medication after a week long bout of gastroenteritis.  To go back on them would mean coming off what I am on a gradually going back on the other over a 6 week period.  I do not wish to be back on them as the side effects where hell

[oops44]

i can totally understand not wanting to go back on the drugs, they do suck.

 

i don't know much about supplements but i do know many people here experience varying degrees of success using them to ease withdrawal symptoms. you can read about them in more detail here:     Important topics about tests, supplements, treatments, diet    

 

have you done any research on the black cohosh for yourself? sounds interesting to me. from webmd: 

 

Black cohosh root also seems to have some effects similar to the female hormone, estrogen. In some parts of the body, black cohosh might increase the effects of estrogen. In other parts of the body, black cohosh might decrease the effects of estrogen. Estrogen itself has various effects in different parts of the body. Estrogen also has different effects in people at different stages of life. Black cohosh should not be thought of as an “herbal estrogen” or a substitute for estrogen. It is more accurate to think of it as an herb that acts similar to estrogen in some people.

 

​i don't know if you can trace any symptoms you're experiencing to the black cohosh or not , but i figured i would post that anyway for posterity. often times during withdrawal our nervous system becomes sensitive to things we may not have been sensitive to prior, so its important to be aware of the new effect things like food, sleep, mood, supplements and stress may have on us. sometimes little changes in one or the other can have fairly drastic effects.

 

i have personally found many items helpful to my journey here:     Non-drug techniques to cope with emotional symptoms     you might want to check it out and see if anything clicks.

 

i hope you find these helpful until your doc is available. hang in there it gets better.

[scallywag]

Hello Irishrai -- Welcome to Surviving Antidepressants (SA)
 
Intensified emotions is a known and relatively common symptom after discontinuing psych drugs.  You'd been on Cymbalta and Zoloft for over a year and in that time your CNS (central nervous system) adapted to their presence. With abrupt discontinuations and fast tapers, the CNS doesn't have enough time to slowly adapt to the reduced dosage or absence of the drug.  Symptoms seem to be the CNS "rewiring" itself -- upregulating some receptor/transporter cells, downregulating others, adjusting the processes that produce neurotransmitters and enzymes. It's incredibly unfortunate that we adapt so much more quickly to the presence of the drug than we do to the absence of it.

Introduction to antidepressant withdrawal syndrome

What is withdrawal syndrome

One of the long-standing or long-ago moderators here coined a term -- "neuro-emotions" -- for these withdrawal symptoms. You can read more about emotional symptoms and may get some coping ideas here:
 
Coping with irritability anger and rage

Neuro-emotions
 


Thanks oops44 for jumping in and providing both the interactions report and the link to the reinstatement topic.
 
Some questions for you:
 

What medications are you taking for the gastroenteritis? A request: Please add it/those in your signature.

When was your last dose of Cymbalta (duloxetine)?

 

When was your last dose of Zoloft (sertraline)?
 

About reinstatement: Sometimes the only thing that addresses withdrawal symptoms is "the hair of the dog that bit you" -- a tiny dose of the drug you've discontinued.  Some psychiatrists and physicians scoff at these amounts, calling them "homeopathic." Our experience has shown  that a very small dose, as low as 0.5 mg, can ease withdrawal symptoms for people.

[JanCarol]

Irishrai - a reinstatement is usually a tiny, tiny dose. 

 

A dose your doctor would laugh at.  One doctor here said, "that's not even enough for a baby!"

 

Right.  That way you can calm your symptoms without the horrid side effects. 

 

And if you think it is bad, now, it can get worse - you are only 1 month out, in the acute phase.  Failing to reinstate could throw you into protracted withdrawal - which could mean that you suffer extreme symptoms for months, even years.  Our founder, Alto, is healed after 9 years.  

 

This sounds like a stressful time for you.  We'd be happy to suggest a reinstatement, except that your signature does not indicate the dosages of your drugs, nor the dates that you took them and the date you CT'd them.

 

CT's are very dangerous, and you did 2 at once.  I sincerely hope we will see you here again, as I'm worried about you

 

Please update your signature as Scally requested, and we'll be able to suggest more.

 

Welcome to SA!