Jump to content
SurvivingAntidepressants.org is temporarily closed to new registrations until 1 April ×

1Determined: Almost there but sure do need some support...


1Determined

Recommended Posts

Hi there - I was diagnosed with OCD & depression in 1987 when I was 9yo and prescribed Anafranil. I can't remember any dosages for that now, but apparently my OCD was mild and the dose was not considered to be a high dose. It sure helped me get through and I even did well at school and work after school but life was a struggle. The OCD was always there, but I was able to do life. However, as I got older the depression and anxiety (I think looking back it was more anxiety than depression) took hold more and more. I had a breakdown in 2002 and spent time in hospital on various occasions - now self-harm and suicide attempts took hold. I eventually moved from the city to the country and that had a great positive impact. I was prescribed 40mg Paroxetine after my breakdown - a new option that was spoken of very highly.

 

A few years later, after attending a workshop on food additives and their impact on our health, I started looking into food, nutrition and how it could be affecting me. Things began improving from there, and after going strictly gluten-free and various other diet changes, like cutting out all food additives, the depression and anxiety (and even the OCD!) began lifting. 

 

Early 2015 I tapered off the Paroxetine with the intention of having a third child. That withdrawal was hell. I got the lot. Wow, the hallucinations were scary. However, the depression & OCD didn't come back. It just wasn't there. I suffered and suffered but did it with dogged determination and got through. I had maybe 6 weeks of feeling not too bad then got hit with what I now believe was protracted withdrawal of some type. My balance went, I was dizzy, and the anxiety was overwhelming. I couldn't keep my thoughts together and couldn't stop crying. I scared everyone and ended up in hospital again, and was prescribed 30mg Citalopram. 

 

Those symptoms improved over time, with the anxiety taking a long time to subside - kept rearing its ugly head. Once I felt strong enough, I started tapering slowly off the Citalopram. Went from 30mg to 10mg in 5mg increments, taking plenty of time. The withdrawal symptoms were there but quite manageable and not long lasting. No sign of depression and anxiety returning, IF I'm very strict with my diet. I keep far from gluten and dairy, and restrict grains to very small amounts. No food additives. Have to be careful or I feel it. Doctors refuse to believe it's possible, but I know me. 

 

Anyway, I've just tapered down to a rough 7.5mg of the Citalopram. I live in rural SA so access to a compounding pharmacy means a trip to Adelaide. Hence I have a tablet cutter and do it that way. I think I may not have stayed on 10mg long enough, but I felt good so down I went! Currently I'm tired, exhausted, feeling flu-like and did I say tired? Feeling foggy, unable to concentrate, dizzy, struggling to stick to what I'm doing. No sign of depression, just feel yuk. It's bearable though.

 

The odd thing is that I swear I feel okay when I wake up in the morning, then start to feel more dreadful after taking my dose. It's noticeable when I have a late breakfast, say 10.30. I feel not too bad, then have something to eat and take the dose at 10.30, and by 11.00 I feel awful. Can anyone shed light on this and if it's possible, or more just me thinking too much into it? 

 

I'm really nervous about any long-lasting effects of taking meds for so many years, but there's nothing I can do about it I guess - shall just have to wait and see.

 

Thank you :)

Edited by scallywag
tags

1987 @ 9yo: Anafranil. Cannot recall dosage. 

2002: Transferred to a med I cannot remember (Luvox perhaps) for a week or so, then transferred to Paroxetine 40mg.

2015: Tapered off Paroxetine early 2015 with severe withdrawal symptoms (hell describes it well). Had perhaps 6 weeks of feeling good, then hit with what appeared to be recurrence of depression & anxiety - I now put it down to protracted withdrawal after tapering off far too quickly.

~ May 2015 Prescribed Citalopram 40mg. Tapered slowly down to 10mg with mild withdrawal symptoms. Now struggling after tapering to rough 7.5mg.

Link to comment
  • Moderator Emeritus

Hi 1Determined and welcome to SA.

 

Thank you for completing your drug signature.  Would you be able to provide some additional information?  When did you start Citalopram?  At what dose did you start?  When were you last on 40mg?  How long have you been on 7.5mg?

 

Also, is Citalopram the only drug you are currently taking?  If not, please list all drugs, prescription and non-prescription, so we have the complete picture.  Thank you.

 

Once we have the requested information we will be better able to answer your questions.

 

Reducing by 5mg from 30mg is a larger taper than SA recommends.  SA recommends taper by no more than 10% of the previous dose followed by about a 4 week hold to allow the brain to adapt to not getting as much of the drug.

 

I'll provide some links for you to check out and you can ask questions here on your Intro/Update topic.  You can also journal your progress.  Click "Follow", top right and you will be notified when someone responds.

 

It's important to get your dose accurate.  In the tips for tapering Citalopram there is information about how to get small and accurate doses.

Before you begin tapering what you need to know

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

Dr Joseph Glenmullen's Withdrawal Symptoms

 

Tips for tapering off Celexa (citalopram)

 

Many members find that the lower their dose gets the slower they need to go.  Please check out this topic:  Why taper paper: dose-occupancy curves

 

These helped me to understand SA's recommended taper and have also helped me to stay patient:

 

Brain Remodelling


Video:  Healing From Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery

 

You might also find these discussions interesting and/or helpful:

 

How do you talk to a doctor about tapering and withdrawal?


What should I expect from my doctor about withdrawal symptoms?

* NO LONGER ACTIVE on SA *

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED:  (6 year taper)      0mg Pristiq  on 13th November 2021

ADs since ~1992:  25+ years - 1 unknown, Prozac (muscle weakness), Zoloft; citalopram (pooped out) CTed (very sick for 2.5 wks a few months after); Pristiq:  50mg 2012, 100mg beg 2013 (Serotonin Toxicity)  Tapering from Oct 2015 - 13 Nov 2021   LAST DOSE 0.0025mg

Post 0 updates start here    My tapering program     My Intro (goes to tapering graph)

 VIDEO:   Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome and its Management

Link to comment
  • Moderator Emeritus

Hello 1Determined,

 

My maths can be questionable, but I think we are pretty much the same age.  I've been sitting here amazed to hear you were given Anafranil at age 9!  You've done really well to get yourself down to 7.5, and taking care not to rush things too.  You might be relieved to hear that you aren't the only one who has more trouble at the lower end of their taper.  

 

What was the exact date you went from 10mg to 7.5mg?  From this point you really have two options:

 

1.  Ride it out - stay at 7.5mg and wait for everything to settle down.  This might take weeks, though more likely months, and it could get worse before it gets better.

2.  Updose back to 10mg (or if it's been a while, we might discuss a dose somewhere in between).  Stay there till things are very settled, and then begin to gently taper off using our 10% of your current dose each month.  This allows your brain time to adjust as you go, and lessens any withdrawal. 

 

Either way you may like to try Fish oil and Magnesium which many people find useful during withdrawal.   

Keep it Simple; Keep it Slow; Keep it Stable

Non-Drug Techniques to cope with emotional symptoms.

 

Eating is known to have an effect on some people's w/d symptoms.  You may be one of them.  I do recommend taking your dose at the same time each day to help things stabilise.  You could read this thread for things people have tried in order to stop food affecting them so much. 

 

Have a read of those and then you can come back to this thread to discuss things further.  This can be your journal to record your tapering and healing progress, and to ask questions. 

 

Welcome to SA,

Karen

 

PS Writing at same time as CC, so may have repeated some things.

2010  Fluoxetine 20mg.  2011  Escitalopram 20mg.  2013 Tapered badly and destabilised CNS.  Effexor 150mg. 

2015 Begin using info at SurvivingAntidepressants.  Cut 10% - bad w/d 2 months, held 1 month. 

Micro-tapering: four weekly 0.4% cuts, hold 4 weeks (struggling with symptoms).

8 month hold.

2017 Micro-tapering: four weekly 1% cuts, hold 4 weeks (symptoms almost non-existent).

2020 Still micro-tapering. Just over 2/3 of the way off effexor. Minimal symptoms, - and sleeping well.
Supplements: Fish oil, vitamin C, iron, oat-straw tea, nettle tea.

2023 Now on 7 micro-beads of Effexor. Minimal symptoms but much more time needed between drops.

 'The possibility of renewal exists so long as life exists.'  Dr Gabor Mate.

Link to comment

Thanks for your time! 

 

I started 40mg Citalopram in perhaps May 2015, after being off Paroxetine completely since March 2015. After looking through this site I can see that I tapered off the Paroxetine waaaaay too fast.

 

Re tapering off Citalopram, I wish I noted dates and amounts, but my guess is that I stayed on 40mg for at least a year, then I went to 30mg with no major withdrawal symptoms and stayed on that for perhaps 6 months. Then down to 20mg for maybe 3 months. Just mild symptoms. Then it would have been about October 2016 I went to 15mg. Then down to 10mg just after Christmas. Have been on 7.5mg for 5 or 6 days. 

 

During the time of being on 40mg -20mg, I had been supplementing with SAM-e and 5-MTHF, B12, B6 in treatment for a MTHFR gene mutation. The doses were small, but even small amounts of SAM-e and 5-MTHF didn't agree with me so I stopped it all, to concentrate on reducing my Citalopram. Perhaps I did actually have withdrawal symptoms from the Citalopram but it was masked by the headaches etc I thought SAM-e was causing. Will probably never know I guess. I felt better as soon as I stopped the supplements so decided to go down to 15mg Citalopram.

 

So right now, no other medications or supplements on board - wanted to be free of everything while I tapered off.

 

Thanks for those extra links - will have a good read through. Wonderful to have such good support. The information re tapering by 10% has been eye opening but invaluable, as according to what doctors have told me, I probably taper too slow! When I was tapering off Paroxetine, and got to 10mg from 15mg, the severe withdrawal hit. I was so ill and hallucinating at times. My GP told me that it seemed as though the dose was so low by then that my body was no longer registering the dose, and I might as well quit altogether as my body already thought I had. Well, that was a recipe for failure. Got through it though!

 

Karen - I get teary when I think about being medicated from that age and being told in no uncertain terms that it would be for life. Thanks for your encouragement. 

 

I'm thinking that making the effort to travel to a compound pharmacy might be the best way to go?? I have a tablet cutter, but I'm cutting a round 10mg in half, then cutting that half in half and there's no way I'd be getting an exact 7.5mg each day. I thought at this low dose it wouldn't matter but I'm since rethinking! 

 

I'm worried that continuing at 7.5mg will cause more long term damage and that I should go back to 10m, then taper by 10% at 4-week increments. Or continue on and weather it through since I am coping. Just! 

 

Thanks

1987 @ 9yo: Anafranil. Cannot recall dosage. 

2002: Transferred to a med I cannot remember (Luvox perhaps) for a week or so, then transferred to Paroxetine 40mg.

2015: Tapered off Paroxetine early 2015 with severe withdrawal symptoms (hell describes it well). Had perhaps 6 weeks of feeling good, then hit with what appeared to be recurrence of depression & anxiety - I now put it down to protracted withdrawal after tapering off far too quickly.

~ May 2015 Prescribed Citalopram 40mg. Tapered slowly down to 10mg with mild withdrawal symptoms. Now struggling after tapering to rough 7.5mg.

Link to comment
  • Moderator Emeritus

It is possible to make your own liquid from Citalopram tablets.  See in Post #1 of the above link - tips for tapering Celexa.

 

If you are able to handle your current symptoms it might be better to just hang in there.  However if they are unbearable you could updose by a small amount maybe 0.5mg to 1mg.  That might be enough to take the edge off the symptoms.  Please have a careful read of SA's topic:  About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

 

Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

 

Keep it Simple, Slow and Stable

 

It's a good idea to Keep Notes on Paper and if you Rate Symptoms Daily to Check Patterns and Progress you may see improvements which are too small for you to notice.

* NO LONGER ACTIVE on SA *

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED:  (6 year taper)      0mg Pristiq  on 13th November 2021

ADs since ~1992:  25+ years - 1 unknown, Prozac (muscle weakness), Zoloft; citalopram (pooped out) CTed (very sick for 2.5 wks a few months after); Pristiq:  50mg 2012, 100mg beg 2013 (Serotonin Toxicity)  Tapering from Oct 2015 - 13 Nov 2021   LAST DOSE 0.0025mg

Post 0 updates start here    My tapering program     My Intro (goes to tapering graph)

 VIDEO:   Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome and its Management

Link to comment
  • Moderator Emeritus

Hello 1D.

 

I'm also tapering citalopram. I had problems taking it in the morning too. If it has a sedating effect then you might want to take it in the evening instead. Move your dose time back gradually by an hour each day so as not to shock your brain. I take mine at 8pm. I've done lots of experimenting with doses and find taking it in the evening works best for me.

2001: 20mg paroxetine
2003-2014: Switched between 20mg citalopram and 10mg escitalopram with several failed CT's
2015: Jan/ Feb-very fast taper off citalopram; Mar/ Apr-crashed; 23 Apr-reinstated 5mg; 05 May-updosed to 10mg; 15 Jul-started taper; Aug-9.0mg; Sep-8.1mg; Oct-7.6mg; Nov-6.8mg; Dec-6.2mg
2016: Jan-5.7mg; Feb-5.2mg; Mar-5.0mg;  Apr-4.5mg; May-4.05mg; Jun-3.65mg; Jul-3.3mg; Aug-2.95mg; 04Sep-2.65mg; 25Sep-2.4mg; 23Oct-2.15mg; 13Nov-1.95mg; 04Dec-1.75mg; 25Dec-1.55mg.
2017: 08Jan-1.4mg; 22Jan-1.25mg; 12Feb-1.1mg; 26Feb-1.0mg; 05Mar-0.9mg; 15Mar-0.8mg; 22Mar-0.7mg; 02Apr-0.6; 09Apr-0.5mg; 16Apr-0.4mg; 23Apr-0.3; 03May-0.2mg; 10May-0.1mg

Finished taper 17 May 2017.

Read my success story

 

I am not a medical professional. The information I provide is not medical advice. If in doubt please consult with a qualified healthcare provider.

Link to comment

Hello 1D.

 

I'm also tapering citalopram. I had problems taking it in the morning too. If it has a sedating effect then you might want to take it in the evening instead. Move your dose time back gradually by an hour each day so as not to shock your brain. I take mine at 8pm. I've done lots of experimenting with doses and find taking it in the evening works best for me.

 

Thanks for the advice - I'm going to stick it out at 7.5mg now for 4 weeks since I am managing. Will try working my way back to evening to combat the tiredness - hadn't considered that. 

1987 @ 9yo: Anafranil. Cannot recall dosage. 

2002: Transferred to a med I cannot remember (Luvox perhaps) for a week or so, then transferred to Paroxetine 40mg.

2015: Tapered off Paroxetine early 2015 with severe withdrawal symptoms (hell describes it well). Had perhaps 6 weeks of feeling good, then hit with what appeared to be recurrence of depression & anxiety - I now put it down to protracted withdrawal after tapering off far too quickly.

~ May 2015 Prescribed Citalopram 40mg. Tapered slowly down to 10mg with mild withdrawal symptoms. Now struggling after tapering to rough 7.5mg.

Link to comment
  • Moderator Emeritus

That's a good idea to hold at 7.5mg for a while if symptoms are manageable.

 

Those tiny little 10mg tablets are really hard to a accurately cut into quarters, so you will probably want to look at using scales or making a liquid solution to get really accurate measurments. This will be especially useful in the future when you start tapering again.

2001: 20mg paroxetine
2003-2014: Switched between 20mg citalopram and 10mg escitalopram with several failed CT's
2015: Jan/ Feb-very fast taper off citalopram; Mar/ Apr-crashed; 23 Apr-reinstated 5mg; 05 May-updosed to 10mg; 15 Jul-started taper; Aug-9.0mg; Sep-8.1mg; Oct-7.6mg; Nov-6.8mg; Dec-6.2mg
2016: Jan-5.7mg; Feb-5.2mg; Mar-5.0mg;  Apr-4.5mg; May-4.05mg; Jun-3.65mg; Jul-3.3mg; Aug-2.95mg; 04Sep-2.65mg; 25Sep-2.4mg; 23Oct-2.15mg; 13Nov-1.95mg; 04Dec-1.75mg; 25Dec-1.55mg.
2017: 08Jan-1.4mg; 22Jan-1.25mg; 12Feb-1.1mg; 26Feb-1.0mg; 05Mar-0.9mg; 15Mar-0.8mg; 22Mar-0.7mg; 02Apr-0.6; 09Apr-0.5mg; 16Apr-0.4mg; 23Apr-0.3; 03May-0.2mg; 10May-0.1mg

Finished taper 17 May 2017.

Read my success story

 

I am not a medical professional. The information I provide is not medical advice. If in doubt please consult with a qualified healthcare provider.

Link to comment

Ugh. Far out. Just taking a moment out from cooking tea to have a woe is me moment. The fatigue now that I'm down to 7.5mg is bone-aching, mind numbing. But it's not all day - hits about 2 hours after taking my tablets. I've worked my way back to taking my dose at midday. Appreciate the advice Dan998. My whole body aches and feels like lead. Hits just in time for school pick up, homework, readers, bath & bed for kidlets, not to mention trying to be cheerful for hubby when he gets home after a long day. The kidlets will ask me a question and it takes 10 seconds to comprehend what they just asked me, and then at least that again to think of the answer. Could just sit in a corner and cry. Now I'm seeing why so many of us end up back on our meds. It looks to others just like depression and those who see us get scared, rightly so I guess, when self-harm & suicide attempts have been reality in the past. And the doctors tell us it's a recurrence. Not this time!! No way!! I just find it so interesting that I'm good earlier in the day - get up at 5.30am to get ready for work and bus run, plenty of energy, then it hits later after I take tablets. Bring on taking my tablets in the evening! Hoping in a few months I'll read this and it will be just a distant memory. Ugh.

1987 @ 9yo: Anafranil. Cannot recall dosage. 

2002: Transferred to a med I cannot remember (Luvox perhaps) for a week or so, then transferred to Paroxetine 40mg.

2015: Tapered off Paroxetine early 2015 with severe withdrawal symptoms (hell describes it well). Had perhaps 6 weeks of feeling good, then hit with what appeared to be recurrence of depression & anxiety - I now put it down to protracted withdrawal after tapering off far too quickly.

~ May 2015 Prescribed Citalopram 40mg. Tapered slowly down to 10mg with mild withdrawal symptoms. Now struggling after tapering to rough 7.5mg.

Link to comment

hello 1Determined!

 

We have found the same solution - I'm also on gluten-free-casein-free diet and I have improved a LOT on this - no depression anymore at all! even when tapering. I'm tapering superslow and carefully because I have experienced an awful protracted withdrawal as well.

 

Sounds that you are tapering too fast at the moment, your symptoms are too big. maybe a long hold and then careful taper with small cuts?

 

what happened to your wish to have third child? I'm also wishing to get pregnant, so this slow tapering sucks...

in 2002- 0,5 tablet cipramil for half a year, ended it uneventfully. in 2006 - citalopram for half a year, ended in horrific state, ditched the drugs CT. 2007-2008 not feeling well but drug free. in 2008 prozac 20mg + quetiapine 25mg. 2009 tried to stop, ended up in hole after couple of months, started zoloft. 2009-2011 zoloft 50mg. went to 25mg in 2011 summer, it resulted in half a year horrible suffering. reinstated, changed drugs, nothing happened. by 2012 beginning suddenly felt great and CT meds. after 4 months came suddenly most horrible human suffering that's possible. was started on prozac and questiapine. started tapering slowly, GFCF diet and Hardy Nutritionals vitamins in 2013 summer. 

current medications: 1) fluoxetine and quetiapine since Aug 2012; 2) Daily Essential Nutrients by Hardy Nutritionals 7 capsules / since May 2013 + omega3; 3) Gluten-free-casein-free diet since june 2013

Started withdrawing slowly since april 2013. Mostly around 10% cuts. 

April'13 - March'14: fluoxetine 40mg -> 19,5mg; quetiapine 50mg -> 40mg
April'14-March'15: fluoxetine 19,5mg -> 14,4mg; quetiapine 40mg -> 22mg

April'15-March'16: fluoxetine 14,4mg -> 7,4mg; quetiapine 22mg -> 15mg

April'16-March'17: fluoxetine 7,4mg -> 5,0mg; quetiapine 15mg -> 7,25mg

April'17-March'18: fluoxetine 5,0mg -> 4,0mg; quetiapine 7,25mg -> 0 (as of 1st Feb 2018)!!!!

April´18-March´19: fluoxetine 4,0mg - > 2,3mg. Jumped off fluoxetine 1,4mg due to pregnancy in July 2019. Oct 2019 severe withdrawal syndrome started.

Took mistakenly a complex for hormonal support that included pregnenolone dec2019-april2020. Stopped it april 2020 and immediately severe akathisia started. Have had life threatening akathisia since, 100% disabled, suicidal, very hard to hold on. 

 

Link to comment

Hi rapunzel2!

 

The GF-CF diet thing has been fascinating. I was diagnosed with OCD when I was 9. Things weren't right for as long as I could remember - took from maybe 6yo to that time to be diagnosed. I couldn't function - my daily living was so impaired, and improved greatly on the meds. It was always there, just manageable. Until later in life when I had had enough I guess. I was told there was a chemical imbalance in my brain and I would need to take medication to balance it for the rest of my life. Not long after being very strict GF/CF and working on all the things recommended for gut health & repairing the gut, the depression lifted like a fog. It was incredible. It would come back, then lift, then come back, and lift, until the clear windows grew and grew to the point where it's gone. No depression after suffering since a wee one! If I eat the wrong things, I get covered in fog again. It's incredible and not one doctor will accept that it's anything other than me 'working through it'.  My daughter, who is 6 now, showed signs of OCD from 5. Started getting worse when she started school, went strict GF/CF and guess what? The symptoms are at bay - it's there but so manageable and she's a happy happy soul. Not suggesting this is the answer for anyone other than me and her, but wow. Anyway ... 

 

Wondered if someone would notice that third child thing! The reason I went off Paroxetine early 2015 so quickly was the eager to have a 3rd. When the 'whatever it was' hit after being off Paroxetine for a few weeks, I was too ill to consider that. I had dizziness and balance problems. I cry when I recall taking care of the kids while holding onto the wall for support or literally on hands and knees doing my chores because I couldn't walk. Was so crazy in the head, I was walking around the house in a weird fog just crying. My husband called the ambulance at one stage and I ended up in hospital, and back on Citalopram because according to the professionals, clearly whatever I had been suffering from all my life had come back with a vengeance. So many hospital visits, doctors appointments, mental health nurse, round and round again and the symptoms just slowly, slowly abated, until I reached a plateau of mediocrity.

 

Recurrence, or protracted withdrawal? Hmmm...

 

I ended up in a naturopath's office and that's when things started improving. Anyway, now I feel so amazing mentally. I'm working as a manger 3 days a week, doing the books for our own business and enjoying my kids soooo much. Never in my life have I felt happy like this. Never. The wish to have a third child has just vanished completely because I feel like I've missed so much. Now is my time. I'm just loving improving every day. Mentally, I mean! Physically this withdrawal is brutal! 

 

Sorry, I'm waffling.

 

Yes, I need to hold still, and do this slowly - not be so eager to get off the stuff. Patience or it won't end well. 

 

I really hope you're celebrating being pregnant real soon. It will be so worth the wait, to do it well and at the right time. Thanks for listening to my waffle.

 

:) 

1987 @ 9yo: Anafranil. Cannot recall dosage. 

2002: Transferred to a med I cannot remember (Luvox perhaps) for a week or so, then transferred to Paroxetine 40mg.

2015: Tapered off Paroxetine early 2015 with severe withdrawal symptoms (hell describes it well). Had perhaps 6 weeks of feeling good, then hit with what appeared to be recurrence of depression & anxiety - I now put it down to protracted withdrawal after tapering off far too quickly.

~ May 2015 Prescribed Citalopram 40mg. Tapered slowly down to 10mg with mild withdrawal symptoms. Now struggling after tapering to rough 7.5mg.

Link to comment

couple of thoughts - maybe you have some autoimmune disorder, which is under control with diet. another theory is that gluten and casein form opioid peptides which make people crazy. well, whatever the reason, ENJOY the sanity!!!! I know the feeling!!! I feel like I've missed out on so much, too! 10 years to be exact! I SO want to LIVE now, and it's so good to be depression free. The withdrawal symptoms hold me back though, I get tiredness and inability to handle too much stress, and hypersensitivity to noise, stress, people, lights, etc. But at this point I'm already absolutely sure that I will kick this addiction and be totally well someday. 

 

the thing about getting pregnant is that I get 38 this month, and the age really scares me :( If withdrawal takes me another year, I'll be 39 when I start getting pregnant. Will I get pregnant then? I have no children and the thought of not getting them scares the hell out of me...

in 2002- 0,5 tablet cipramil for half a year, ended it uneventfully. in 2006 - citalopram for half a year, ended in horrific state, ditched the drugs CT. 2007-2008 not feeling well but drug free. in 2008 prozac 20mg + quetiapine 25mg. 2009 tried to stop, ended up in hole after couple of months, started zoloft. 2009-2011 zoloft 50mg. went to 25mg in 2011 summer, it resulted in half a year horrible suffering. reinstated, changed drugs, nothing happened. by 2012 beginning suddenly felt great and CT meds. after 4 months came suddenly most horrible human suffering that's possible. was started on prozac and questiapine. started tapering slowly, GFCF diet and Hardy Nutritionals vitamins in 2013 summer. 

current medications: 1) fluoxetine and quetiapine since Aug 2012; 2) Daily Essential Nutrients by Hardy Nutritionals 7 capsules / since May 2013 + omega3; 3) Gluten-free-casein-free diet since june 2013

Started withdrawing slowly since april 2013. Mostly around 10% cuts. 

April'13 - March'14: fluoxetine 40mg -> 19,5mg; quetiapine 50mg -> 40mg
April'14-March'15: fluoxetine 19,5mg -> 14,4mg; quetiapine 40mg -> 22mg

April'15-March'16: fluoxetine 14,4mg -> 7,4mg; quetiapine 22mg -> 15mg

April'16-March'17: fluoxetine 7,4mg -> 5,0mg; quetiapine 15mg -> 7,25mg

April'17-March'18: fluoxetine 5,0mg -> 4,0mg; quetiapine 7,25mg -> 0 (as of 1st Feb 2018)!!!!

April´18-March´19: fluoxetine 4,0mg - > 2,3mg. Jumped off fluoxetine 1,4mg due to pregnancy in July 2019. Oct 2019 severe withdrawal syndrome started.

Took mistakenly a complex for hormonal support that included pregnenolone dec2019-april2020. Stopped it april 2020 and immediately severe akathisia started. Have had life threatening akathisia since, 100% disabled, suicidal, very hard to hold on. 

 

Link to comment

couple of thoughts - maybe you have some autoimmune disorder, which is under control with diet. another theory is that gluten and casein form opioid peptides which make people crazy. well, whatever the reason, ENJOY the sanity!!!! I know the feeling!!! I feel like I've missed out on so much, too! 10 years to be exact! I SO want to LIVE now, and it's so good to be depression free. The withdrawal symptoms hold me back though, I get tiredness and inability to handle too much stress, and hypersensitivity to noise, stress, people, lights, etc. But at this point I'm already absolutely sure that I will kick this addiction and be totally well someday. 

 

the thing about getting pregnant is that I get 38 this month, and the age really scares me :( If withdrawal takes me another year, I'll be 39 when I start getting pregnant. Will I get pregnant then? I have no children and the thought of not getting them scares the hell out of me...

Hi there

 

Thanks for those thoughts - I agree there may well be something else going on in a autoimmune way for me. Those food sure do funny things to my brain. 

 

So good that you've reached that point of being sure that you're on the right track, and determined and you can see that it's withdrawal symptoms and not the depression returning. It will end, it will! 

 

I just turned 39, so I was 37 when I went to the Dr re getting pregnant again. She said, she'd tell me to think twice if I came to her at 44, other than that she couldn't see an issue if I'm fit & healthy. She's been a GP/ob for many years. I reckon you've got time for sure :) 

1987 @ 9yo: Anafranil. Cannot recall dosage. 

2002: Transferred to a med I cannot remember (Luvox perhaps) for a week or so, then transferred to Paroxetine 40mg.

2015: Tapered off Paroxetine early 2015 with severe withdrawal symptoms (hell describes it well). Had perhaps 6 weeks of feeling good, then hit with what appeared to be recurrence of depression & anxiety - I now put it down to protracted withdrawal after tapering off far too quickly.

~ May 2015 Prescribed Citalopram 40mg. Tapered slowly down to 10mg with mild withdrawal symptoms. Now struggling after tapering to rough 7.5mg.

Link to comment

 

 

 

I just turned 39, so I was 37 when I went to the Dr re getting pregnant again. She said, she'd tell me to think twice if I came to her at 44, other than that she couldn't see an issue if I'm fit & healthy. She's been a GP/ob for many years. I reckon you've got time for sure :)

 

 

thanks for that! really needed that. It's scary not knowing if I get pregnant easily or not - I've never tried you know :)

in 2002- 0,5 tablet cipramil for half a year, ended it uneventfully. in 2006 - citalopram for half a year, ended in horrific state, ditched the drugs CT. 2007-2008 not feeling well but drug free. in 2008 prozac 20mg + quetiapine 25mg. 2009 tried to stop, ended up in hole after couple of months, started zoloft. 2009-2011 zoloft 50mg. went to 25mg in 2011 summer, it resulted in half a year horrible suffering. reinstated, changed drugs, nothing happened. by 2012 beginning suddenly felt great and CT meds. after 4 months came suddenly most horrible human suffering that's possible. was started on prozac and questiapine. started tapering slowly, GFCF diet and Hardy Nutritionals vitamins in 2013 summer. 

current medications: 1) fluoxetine and quetiapine since Aug 2012; 2) Daily Essential Nutrients by Hardy Nutritionals 7 capsules / since May 2013 + omega3; 3) Gluten-free-casein-free diet since june 2013

Started withdrawing slowly since april 2013. Mostly around 10% cuts. 

April'13 - March'14: fluoxetine 40mg -> 19,5mg; quetiapine 50mg -> 40mg
April'14-March'15: fluoxetine 19,5mg -> 14,4mg; quetiapine 40mg -> 22mg

April'15-March'16: fluoxetine 14,4mg -> 7,4mg; quetiapine 22mg -> 15mg

April'16-March'17: fluoxetine 7,4mg -> 5,0mg; quetiapine 15mg -> 7,25mg

April'17-March'18: fluoxetine 5,0mg -> 4,0mg; quetiapine 7,25mg -> 0 (as of 1st Feb 2018)!!!!

April´18-March´19: fluoxetine 4,0mg - > 2,3mg. Jumped off fluoxetine 1,4mg due to pregnancy in July 2019. Oct 2019 severe withdrawal syndrome started.

Took mistakenly a complex for hormonal support that included pregnenolone dec2019-april2020. Stopped it april 2020 and immediately severe akathisia started. Have had life threatening akathisia since, 100% disabled, suicidal, very hard to hold on. 

 

Link to comment

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use Privacy Policy