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

☼ Romido: Sam-e gave me withdrawals


Romido

Recommended Posts

Just wanted to say hello and give an introduction... I am here because I am coming through the flames of hell caused by a cold turkey quit of Sam-e.

 

I started taking Sam-e in July 2011 after life events left me feeling hopeless, ineffective, frustrated, and like I was swimming in quicksand. I was fatigued, but able to get out of bed each day. I just felt like there wasn't much happiness in my life. So I put myself on 400 mg/day of Sam-e. I had taken it years before but I now think I took 200mg. That first time might have been 2003ish. Earlier I didn't have side effects, and had no trouble getting off. So I thought it would be worth trying again, to boost my mood. I had good results initially while taking it. It helped me think clearer, sort of extending my attention span and focus, which was great at work.

 

Well I started to get a few side effects, like palpitations. I constantly had a little bit of tummy upset, but I had heard that was common so I figured it was a fair trade for a better mood.

 

Then after about two months on, I got a few weird zaps in the morning one day. I was talking about someone who stresses me out at work to my husband one day and it just zapped me a few times. Kind of like in my gut, but like jolts. I now think they were anxiety symptoms.

 

I was getting a little anxiety here and there, but nothing like withdrawal anxiety.

 

By month three, on Sam-e, these few things started to add up for me so I decided to go off the Sam-e, thinking it would be no big deal and that my concentration might get worse and mood might get low but nothing unusual would happen when I stopped. Boy was I wrong. I should also mention that I am a 40 year old woman who takes no other medication than a multivitamin that I sometimes forget.

 

I can't remember exactly at this point but I think the first day I missed a dose, I had a tiny blackout at work. I was standing talking to someone and it was. As it the lights went off, then on (but they hadn't). That scared the hell out of me but I thought it might have been low blood sugar or something because it was lunchtime and I was hungry. So I had some lunch and calmed down. That was on a Thursday.

 

The weekend came and went and the following Monday arrived. I was about 5 days off Sam-e. No taper, just cold turkey.

 

Withdrawal hit like a brick, all at once. I was sitting conducting an interview and almost passed out at work. I couldn't hold it together. I now know it was a panic attack (never had one before in my life). I now recognize that on that morning, I had a few jolts again in my gut, but about an hour after that was when the panic attack hit and I went from functioning that morning to being in full blown withdrawal hell. I tried to compose myself, but my heart was racing and my vision was spinning and my hearing got all funny. I thought I was going to die. I went to the emergency room. Of course, they found nothing wrong. They ran blood work, all normal.

 

The feeling didn't let up. It was like Sam-e had lowered my panic attack threshold. I was having panic attack after panic attack, probably 10+ a day. It was horrific. I had hypervigilance, depersonalization, and derealization all bad. I was scared to death about what was happening. I even had a panic attack cleaning the bathroom one day, and another when I was getting ketchup from the fridge. I could not live like that and started googling Sam-e withdrawal. There is nearly nothing on the topic. Then I started looking at antidepressant withdrawal symptoms and that's how I figured out what was going on with me.

 

I visited my doc and he thought I had a sinus infection (yeah right!). I told him all about the Sam-e and he knew not much about it but gave me antibiotics. I was hoping he was right so I took them. They didn't help, of course.

 

The mornings were the worst part. I would wake into a panic attack. My heart would pound, my hands and feet sweaty. I can't even describe how horrible the morning anxiety was, I would just sit in a chair and wring my hands and rub my face. That was between trips to the bathroom when my bowels were involuntarily clearing themselves out. Horrific. Every morning was a nightmare that wouldn't let up. I work a shift where I drive in while the sun rises. The car lights were way too intense, it made me fearful. The anxiety was unrelenting.

 

I tried to put on a straight face and keep working but it was impossible. I went to several visits to my dr but he couldn't find anything. One day my regular doc wasn't in and I was seen the same day I called by a different dr. I explained what was happening. He knew nothing about Sam-e either but wanted to put me on Prozac (10mg/day to start) and gave me Ativan. I was so desperate I gave it a try, but had already read up on them a bit and was scared of the addiction potentials of Ativan and was wondering if I was already withdrawing from something else. I felt like I was just putting off getting through it.

 

I tried the Ativan and the first dose was like an amazing window into relief. It was only .5mg a day that I would let myself take but it was freaking me out to be starting a benzo addiction that would be inevitable. My family has a streak of alcoholics and addicts so its in my genes. After a few days, I started to skip a day and see if I was okay, but it seemed like it gave me rebound anxiety. That's when I cut out the Prozac and the Ativan and resigned myself to just ride it out, no matter how awful. I was only on the Prozac 8 days and took only about 6 days of Ativan. I was blunted, like a zombie and some of my close friends at work were starting to ask if I was okay - no, I was not! I remember after about 6 days on Prozac, I had a yawning fit, like 20 in a row, it was weird, weird, weird. I thought many times that I was losing my mind. I worried about never being able to work again and I am the breadwinner in my family.

 

I went to see a psychiatrist. She offered me Celexa, I refused. She understood but left the Rx open for a month. She agreed with my Sam-e withdrawal assessment, but said she would never endorse something not approved by the FDA.

 

I resigned to get through this. At about 6 weeks in I went to my dr again. By then my sleep was all shot. I was waking up every hour and a half, most times in a panic. This went on for weeks more. My regular Dr wanted to put me on Trazadone, but understood when I refused. He gave me more bloodwork, tested my vitamin d, blood sugar, and even gave me a brain MRI to be sure I don't have a brain tumor. Negative, of course. Even my vision was affected, I had minor hallucinations and color distortions, even a few migranes.

 

I am nearing the end of five months of this hell. It has definitely gotten better over time but it's still with me. The panic attacks have thankfully lessened. Now I only get the panic symptoms if I have unusual stress. My last one was two and a half weeks ago, maybe they're done - I hope! The dizzyness is getting better, but still with me. The floaters are much less. The wake up anxiety is gone. I had initially tried fish oil (from trader joes) but it wasn't good for me. I got bloody noses because it thinned my blood (2 a day) and I think it contributed to the insomnia. Interestingly, it also gives me muscle twitches and makes my hands have involuntary tremors, and makes them crawly and restless. I had cut out the fish oil after about six weeks, but had a good sized salmon portion the other day and the active hands came back a few days. I can't explain that, omegas are supposed to be good in withdrawal, but not for me.

 

So I am getting through this. The fear and anxiety have lifted to where I am now maintaining this long road back. I haven't had caffiene or alcohol since all this started. I am just trying to take care of my nervous system and restore the factory settings. I still get a weird floaty whooshing frequently, and feel like sensory things are still around, but I put on a happy face and pretend its not there even though sometimes I still feel like falling over from the dizzyness. Thankfully sleep has come back. Last night I slept 930 to 530 uninterrupted - yippee!

 

I appreciate this site very much, it has helped me understand what's happening and have patience in the process as it will not be instant. As I write down this hellish ride I have been on, I am surprised I have lived through it, but it has made me stronger and a whole lot more sympathetic to those who experience these things but not in withdrawal. I am pretty sure I will get better, but a total normal seems still far away.

 

Sam-e is the same bad brain reprogrammer that all the others are, I wish I had known this path was in front of me before deciding on that course. I chose Sam-e based on the good research I read and so many md's endorsing it all over the Internet. I even had good results the first time I took it and felt like it helped me the second time but I think the dose was too high and i now know it accumulates in your blood so quitting cold turkey was probably wrong. No way I was going to reinstate and taper, I am just going to be done forever. I also know that higher doses can induce anxiety. I had met anxiety before, I am a bit type a, but I haven't ever in my life met THIS kind of anxiety, thankfully it's going away.

 

Sorry this is so long but I feel like I may be the only one out here telling the truth about this bad Sam-e stuff. I have heard of others wanting to try sam-e during withdrawal from rx antidepressants but i would say thats not a good thing, may as well reinstate the rx, its the same path! Please don't subject yourself to what I have experienced.

 

Sigh, that's a long story, but I am going to make it!

Link to comment

interesting that you got withdrawals from SAMe, never heard of this. I know everyone is different, but I strongly believe that you are very lucky you took this instead of an antidepressants. I would guess that if SAMe gave you withdrawal, then an antidepressant might also.

 

I tried SAMe and it worked for me for about two weeks and then stopped working. No doubt it has an effect on neurotransmitters but I really believe it is much more safer than drugs. Did you find any other people who have had withdrawal?

Various SSRIs/SNRIs 7- 1/2 years

Went Cold Turkey from Celexa 2011, Stayed Off

Psych Drug Free and Loving Life (over 6 years and counting)

 

How I Stay Well: Diet, exercise, meditation, supplements, etc

Link to comment

Hi Zepplin,

I have found a couple places where people have said a few things about withdrawals from Sam-e. There were two people on a Paxil related website but their posts were old. I tried to pm both of them but got no responses. Their stories dropped off so I hope that's because they fully recovered.

 

There is a doc online named dr sahelian who has quite a bit about Sam-e on his website, there were a few on there with withdrawal kind of comments, but I think mine is the worst comparatively. I did email dr Sahelian and his staff responded that the symptoms would probably resolve in time, and to keep up my sleep, yoga, and exercise, which I have been doing to cope with these issues. I sent another question asking whether I should have tapered and they haven't responded. There were a few on another site called depression blog or something like that, but those negative reactions were mostly about the anxiety Sam-e causes in some, just a couple mentions of people not feeling right on it and that lasting a few days but no accounts of what I have been through.

 

I think perhaps I am sensitive to psych meds overall, which is why I now firmly refuse them of the many dr's who keep offering them to me. I think I will be okay in the long run.

Link to comment

Welcome Romido.

 

This exert from your intro post caught my attention:

 

""I went to see a psychiatrist. She offered me Celexa, I refused. She understood but left the Rx open for a month. She agreed with my Sam-e withdrawal assessment, but said she would never endorse something not approved by the FDA.""

 

I had to laugh at this because the FDA approves drugs based on 8 week trials. I wouldn't exactly call that being safety conscious particularly when many of them turn out to have some horrific side effects.

 

Interesting she agreed with your assessment and then offered something probably more dangerous. Hmm.

 

Anyway, your post points out that supplements can be very problematic also. As an FYI, I discovered that curcumin which is supposed to be benign caused GI bleeding.

 

You sound like you have a great attitude.

 

CS

Drug cocktail 1995 - 2010
Started taper of Adderall, Wellbutrin XL, Remeron, and Doxepin in 2006
Finished taper on June 10, 2010

Temazepam on a PRN basis approximately twice a month - 2014 to 2016

Beginning in 2017 - Consumption increased to about two times per week

April 2017 - Increased to taking it full time for insomnia

Link to comment
  • Administrator

Welcome Romido.

 

This exert from your intro post caught my attention:

 

""I went to see a psychiatrist. She offered me Celexa, I refused. She understood but left the Rx open for a month. She agreed with my Sam-e withdrawal assessment, but said she would never endorse something not approved by the FDA.""

 

I had to laugh at this because the FDA approves drugs based on 8 week trials. I wouldn't exactly call that being safety conscious particularly when many of them turn out to have some horrific side effects.

 

CS

 

It isn't about being safety conscious - it is about protecting her license to practice. If a doctor is brought up on malpractice charges and they can say they have used the standard of care and only recommended FDA approved solutions then the state medical board will back them. If they have gone outside of the standard of care the medical board won't back them.

 

Karma

2007 @ 375 mg Effexor - 11/29/2011 - 43.75 mg Effexor (regular) & .625 mg Xanax

200 mg Gabapentin 2/27/21 - 194.5 mg, 5/28/21 - 183 mg, 8/2/21 - 170 mg, 11/28/21 - 150 mg, 4/19/22 - 122 mg; 8//7/22 - 100 mg; 12/17 - 75mg; 8/17 - 45 mg; 10/16 40 mg
Xanax taper: 3/11/12 - 0.9375 mg, 3/25/12 - 0.875 mg, 4/6/12 - 0.8125 mg, 4/18/12 - 0.75 ; 10/16 40mg;

1/16 0.6875 mg; at some point 0.625 mg
Effexor taper: 1/29/12 - 40.625 mg, 4/29/12 - 39.875 mg, 5/11/12 - Switched to liquid Effexor, 5/25/12 - 38 mg, 7/6/12 - 35 mg, 8/17/12 - 32 mg, 9/14/12 - 30 mg, 10/19/12 - 28 mg, 11/9/12 - 26 mg, 11/30/12 - 24 mg, 01/14/13 - 22 mg. 02/25/13 - 20.8 mg, 03/18/13 - 19.2 mg, 4/15/13 - 17.6 mg, 8/10/13 - 16.4 mg, 9/7/13 - 15.2 mg, 10/19/13 - 14 mg, 1/15/14 - 13.2 mg, 3/1/2014 - 12.6 mg, 5/4/14 - 12 mg, 8/1/14 - 11.4 mg, 8/29/14 - 10.8 mg; 10/14/14 - 10.2 mg; 12/15/14 - 10 mg, 1/11/15 - 9.5 mg, 2/8/15 - 9 mg, 3/21/15 - 8.5 mg, 5/1/15 - 8 mg, 6/9/15 - 7.5 mg, 7/8/15 - 7 mg, 8/22/15 - 6.5 mg, 10/4/15 - 6 mg; 1/1/16 - 5.6 mg; 2/6/16 - 5.2 mg; 4/9 - 4.8 mg; 7/7 4.5 mg; 10/7 4.25 mg; 11/4 4.0 mg; 11/25 3.8 mg; 4/24 3.6 mg; 5/27 3.4 mg; 7/8 3.2 mg ... 10/18 2.8 mg; 1/18 2.6 mg; 4/7 2.4 mg; 5/26 2.15mg; 8/18 1.85 mg; 10/7 1.7 mg; 12/1 1.45 mg; 3/2 1.2 mg; 5/4 0.90 mg; 6/1 0.80 mg; 6/22 0.65 mg; 08/03 0.50 mg, 08/10 0.45 mg, 10/05 0.325 mg, 11/23 0.2 mg, 12/14 0.15 mg, 12/21 0.125 mg, 02/28 0.03125 mg, 2/15 0.015625 mg, 2/29/20 0.00 mg - OFF Effexor


I am not a medical professional - this is not medical advice. My suggestions are based on personal experience, reading, observation and anecdotal information posted by other sufferers

Link to comment
  • Administrator

Romido, thanks for sharing this with us.

 

It's very interesting -- you must be very sensitive to serotonergics. SAM-e clearly was too stimulating for you. If I were you, I would stay far, far away from antidepressants.

 

Tapering probably would have been a good idea, but that's water under the bridge now. Glad to hear the alerting is gradually going away.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

I'm in a rough patch right now. I can't believe this is going on for so long... Five and a half months now. This is really hard. I'm almost always dizzy, have tons of floaters in my eyes, and get very very nervous too easily. I used to be a very calm person, but these withdrawals are making me so nervous that I can't even do routine things at work. I feel so spacey and out of it. I have such a headache too, like I am on the verge of a migraine for the last couple of days. I have weird internal twitching, like my nerves inside my feet are twitchy and crawling, but it's not visible. My hands are shaky and I feel like I have no tolerance to stress. Had some bad news this week, so it may be giving me extra stress, but I just can't cope right now with these withdrawals, I need to be stronger than this.

 

My sleep is all shot to heck. I go to sleep about ten, wake up at 1 and again at 4 - EVERY NIGHT lately.

 

This is a long road back, I can't believe I only took Sam-e for less than three months and this is what happened. Five and a half months is too long to still be feeling like a wreck. I miss my old self, even feeling a little down, frustrated, and ineffective would be better than the place I'm in now. This can't be permanent. Some days I feel like I'm just going to die from this, but I can't, can't, can't.

Link to comment
  • Administrator

You might want to try milk peptides. Some very sensitive people find them calming, and they're very mild.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

Link to comment

The headache lifted, and I think I found that exercise is a helper. I had been exercising for a while and started to drop off because I was busy. I think that pushed me into the rough patch. So I have been getting light aerobic exercise and it helps. I am nervous and anxious in the AM but it gets better as the day goes on. Will try to get daily aerobic exercise if possible and see if I can stay feeling a little better. Perhaps it's the good chemistry triggered by exercise, but it helps. Thankfully the twitchyness in my hands and feet seems to go away when I am exercising.

 

Interestingly, a glass of milk at bedtime seems to give me a little better rest. I am so freaked out about trying anything that I haven't tried the peptides, but maybe the milk is good too. I can get a five to six hour stretch with a glass of milk at bedtime. Luckily I am able to go back to sleep pretty quickly now if I do wake.

 

I still can't believe how long this is lasting from something over the counter. I had no idea, but never again.

Link to comment
  • Administrator

Excellent, sounds like you're on a good track.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

Link to comment
  • 3 weeks later...

Well, the six month mark came and went. I am still not back to normal. The last two days I was a little jittery but got some good exercise last night so that kind of helped to settle things down a little from where they I was. I am so stress intolerant right now that any kind of stress kicks in my withdrawal symptoms. I am still pretty dizzy and head spinny, but it is changing to a different kind of dizzy than in the past. My sleep is still wacky, waking up at 1 & 430 are routine again. Last night I woke at 11 because my husband was banging around in the house hanging a rack with nails, pounding the wall, and that woke me up and seemed to eliminate my 1:00 am wake up, but 430 still happened.

 

My vision is still effected, where sometimes it's as if my eyes are moving faster than the world, like a jerky darting kind of feeling. It's like my biggest anxiety symptom manifests in my vision.

 

I still have twitching, quite regularly. My feet are kind of pulsing as I type this. My hands have been quieter, but still crawl involuntarily here and there, but nothing like when I get lots of Omega from fish. I sure hope that resolves because I love salmon!

 

Ears still ringing but not as loud.

 

Palpitations are less but still around, maybe once or twice a day, which is pretty normal for me, though I am much more aware of them than I used to be, thanks to anxiety symptoms.

 

I am resigned to get through this (the only way out is through) but I wish I had some barometer to know how much further I have to go.

Link to comment
  • Administrator

On the plus side, you are improving.

 

Are you taking melatonin? That could help sleep.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

Link to comment

I am improving! I find that writing down my symptoms helps me see the progress. I have also started using the 43-item DESS to keep watch on what's improving. Generally the quality of my sleep is approximating normal again (except for the sleep tremors I now have), it's just that I wake up a lot more than usual. I have significantly improved from waking up with several panic attacks a night! A week or so ago I actually took a nap on a Saturday afternoon; I was so hypervigilant before that there was no way I was getting any naps in. It's just such a slow, slow recovery I can't believe it is happening like this. I wonder sometimes if my week or so of Prozac & Ativan when this first hit set me back, but I am glad I know I am clear of all psych substances now and will be forever no matter what.

 

I haven't tried melatonin because, well, I am chicken! I do have some from Trader Joe's in the cabinet. I am afraid of the hungover feeling the next day. I also wake up so dizzy some nights I actually tripped one time, so I am afraid of adding substances.

 

If you told me standing on my head three hours a day while humming works wonders, I would try it today!! :-)

Link to comment
  • Administrator

Your mileage may vary regarding humming and standing on your head.

 

However, a very low dose of melatonin might help without the hangover. See Melatonin for sleep

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

Link to comment

LOL! I wish it were just as easy as standing on our heads! That was a fad in the 70's, I remember when my mom was doing it when I was young.

 

The melatonin doesn't sound too bad, maybe I will try 1/2 of the trader joes tablet and see if I sleep better. I do have the next week off work so now would be a good time, although I tend to get better sleep with breaks from work anyway. Thanks, I so much appreciate what you do for this community. I am sure I would have insisted on a bunch of useless testing (well, more than the multiple blood tests and brain MRI I had) to figure out what's going on in my body. I truly appreciate it.

Link to comment
  • Administrator

Thank you for your contributions, Romido.

 

If the melatonin tablet is 1mg, a half-tablet would be about right for a start. Even a quarter-tablet.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

Link to comment

Romido-

 

Thank you for telling us all you story. Your strength and tenacity comes through strongly!

 

Please remember to give yourself a pat of the back for going through 6 months of h**l and still working and still being the breadwinner for your family. :) You were able to practice mindfulness and the ability to keep moving and motivated through such an incredibly difficult experience.

 

You are a source of admiration!

 

Elizabeth

Years:150mg Wellbutrin (to concentrate) 20-30 mg Celexa (rumination).

CT 8/2011 during a pregnancy attempt under MD orders. (Idiot!!!) Pregnancy hormones allowed it.

Felt great with 6 mg of melatonin per night to sleep plus preggo hormones-didn't last:(

Best time of my life. Botched IVF in Dec 2011.Stress.

Bone chilling exhaustion and told to go back on celexa and wellbutrin.

4/9/2012 Back on celexa wb for some relief, wb gave me heart palps so dropped and only need 6.6 mg celexa and 1/4 melatonin pill...IMPROVEMENT because my doses are much lower!

REMEMBER to get your thyroid and hormones checked/out of whack ones can appear LIKE MOOD DISORDERS!!

Link to comment

Thank you Elizabeth! I am getting stronger! I think there is more to go but I have come far. I even had salmon on Saturday and I didn't get twitchy, I hope that's the end of that phase, though maybe not as things seem to come & go. I will just continue on this journey... B)

Link to comment
  • Moderator Emeritus

Hello Romido,

 

A little late, I know, but welcome, and thank you for sharing your story. Maybe it will spare someone like myself from unnecessary problems with OTC supplements. I considered Sam-e a while back but read something, somewhere that deterred me. Now, I'm so thankful I never tried it.

 

I'm so glad that you're improving! I'm tapering off Risperdal right now and am beginning to see some improvement since my last taper. I've found I must move at a snail's pace probably, more so, due to a CT effort in September. Who would've imagined what you're going through from an OTC supplement! I hope you continue to improve at Godspeed.

 

Teresa

Link to comment
  • Moderator Emeritus

Thank you for your contributions, Romido.

 

If the melatonin tablet is 1mg, a half-tablet would be about right for a start. Even a quarter-tablet.

 

I am generally very conservative about advising melatonin. Given your history I would not take more than a quarter tablet at first and see how that goes. It's like with SAM-e--some people love it and have no problems.

 

For me, it can cause increased a.m. cortisol and anxiety, if I take 0.75 mg or more.

 

These supplements like SAM-e and melatonin, even though they are sold over the counter, can actually have powerful effects. They aren't the same as vitamins like, say, vitamin C, or gentle herbs. Melatonin, for example, is a hormone. So I'd recommend, given your history, starting cautiously.

Started on Prozac and Xanax in 1992 for PTSD after an assault. One drug led to more, the usual story. Got sicker and sicker, but believed I needed the drugs for my "underlying disease". Long story...lost everything. Life savings, home, physical and mental health, relationships, friendships, ability to work, everything. Amitryptiline, Prozac, bupropion, buspirone, flurazepam, diazepam, alprazolam, Paxil, citalopram, lamotrigine, gabapentin...probably more I've forgotten. 

Started multidrug taper in Feb 2010.  Doing a very slow microtaper, down to low doses now and feeling SO much better, getting my old personality and my brain back! Able to work full time, have a full social life, and cope with stress better than ever. Not perfect, but much better. After 23 lost years. Big Pharma has a lot to answer for. And "medicine for profit" is just not a great idea.

 

Feb 15 2010:  300 mg Neurontin  200 Lamictal   10 Celexa      0.65 Xanax   and 5 mg Ambien 

Feb 10 2014:   62 Lamictal    1.1 Celexa         0.135 Xanax    1.8 Valium

Feb 10 2015:   50 Lamictal      0.875 Celexa    0.11 Xanax      1.5 Valium

Feb 15 2016:   47.5 Lamictal   0.75 Celexa      0.0875 Xanax    1.42 Valium    

2/12/20             12                       0.045               0.007                   1 

May 2021            7                       0.01                  0.0037                1

Feb 2022            6                      0!!!                     0.00167               0.98                2.5 mg Ambien

Oct 2022       4.5 mg Lamictal    (off Celexa, off Xanax)   0.95 Valium    Ambien, 1/4 to 1/2 of a 5 mg tablet 

 

I'm not a doctor. Any advice I give is just my civilian opinion.

Link to comment

Thanks Rhi, I haven't tried it yet as I am still a bit chicken about anything. I hate the morning cortisol surges and wouldn't want to bring those on again. I am sleeping pretty well the last few nights, I think it's my week off. I have a fair amount of work stress and have to wake up at 5 when I am working, so I think some of my waking might be anxiety about missing my alarm going off.

 

Now that I am familiar with extreme anxiety from withdrawals, I do recognize now more that I have general anxiety. I still get chest soreness and palpitations as symptoms of my anxiety which I think are still withdrawal related. So in general, I will try to avoid all that might bring on anxiety.

 

Thanks for the input!

Link to comment

I am six months out and didn't get even a smidgen of my usual winter cold or flu the past year. I thought I read our immune systems are on hyper alert state when dealing with withdrawal problems, so I wasn't surprised when I didn't get any colds or allergy symptoms for months.

 

In the last few days, I have a terrible sinus pressure from allergies or just maybe it might be a cold, I can actually hear my sinuses draining and filling in my head. It is my allergy sensitivity season so i suspect its mostly allergies. When I bend over, it feels like the right side of my head might explode. I have been too scared to take anything due to my extreme sensitivities, but yesterday I couldn't take it anymore and was hopeful I had come far enough in my withdrawal that I could tolerate Claritin. It did give me some relief of the excruciating headache from the sinus pressure, but messed up my sleep again (I had three or four wake-free nights in the last week).

 

So my question is, does this sort of indicate I am getting further along? Allergies are a sign things are returning to "the old me"? (I am starting to feel it in my mood, with some of the frustration and depression feelings coming back, but I will deal with those without meds.)

Link to comment

Ro,

I read through your intro...your visual symptoms sound so much like mine!!! They are scary, I swore I was going insane when they first started!!! It's extremely hard with the kids. I have a 5 and almost 3 year old. I'm dizzy a lot. No balance. My brain freezes. It's foggy. I could go on and on. What state are you in? How are you doing these days?

Everything was ok. And then it wasn't.

 

Med History

11/2009- 50 mg Zoloft (1st ad ever) in combo w/.50 xanax for 2 weeks then use xanax as needed (1st benzo ever)

9 days on Zoloft, I was awake for 9 days straight C/T Zoloft

11/2009- trazadone to sleep for 2 weeks c/t Trazadone

12/2009 start 10 mg Lexapro w/ Xanax as needed

5/2010-3 week taper off lexapro

9/2010? back to Lexapro 10 mg after 5 or 6 weeks c/t leapro

12/2010-10mg paxil

5/2011-6 week paxil taper

8/2011 5mg lexapro

last lexapro pill January 7 2012

all this as per doc orders Thanks Doc!

Link to comment

I am holding steady with getting better but still dealing with a lot of symptoms. Finally Claritin wore off and had a good night sleep, but today I am nervous feeling. I have such a low stress tolerance. This morning I am jittery, but gave up coffee last fall. My vision stuff is still around but getting better. My head hurts a lot, pretty much constant headaches. I too had an mri, clear of course! I am in my 7th month of dealing with this terrible state of being.

Link to comment

I don't get it. 7 months? My God, how am I going to do this? I have such a hard time distinguishing the difference between withdrawal and any actual sickness. But given my history with docs, I refuse to go for anything anymore. It's such a battle everyday. Sometimes I just want to drive myself to the er and commit myself to the paychologist ward. But like a therapist once said to me, if you were crazy, your be having a lot more fun. Lol

 

Having a bad day today but trying to get over it. Mostly dizziness, a bad headache and my husband pissing me off. Both my kids are sick with bronchitis. So that's that. How do you deal? I have that Claire weekes book, its very good. Do you ever have derealization?

Everything was ok. And then it wasn't.

 

Med History

11/2009- 50 mg Zoloft (1st ad ever) in combo w/.50 xanax for 2 weeks then use xanax as needed (1st benzo ever)

9 days on Zoloft, I was awake for 9 days straight C/T Zoloft

11/2009- trazadone to sleep for 2 weeks c/t Trazadone

12/2009 start 10 mg Lexapro w/ Xanax as needed

5/2010-3 week taper off lexapro

9/2010? back to Lexapro 10 mg after 5 or 6 weeks c/t leapro

12/2010-10mg paxil

5/2011-6 week paxil taper

8/2011 5mg lexapro

last lexapro pill January 7 2012

all this as per doc orders Thanks Doc!

Link to comment

I had derealization in the beginning, but its pretty much over. Every once in a while I get that detached feeling, but never more than for a minute or two at this point.

 

I have to laugh about having more fun crazy than in this state. I had so many subtle halucinations in the first two or three months, seriously I thought I was becomming schizophrenic. I talked to a psych and other psychology folks in the beginning and asked them if I was going crazy. Would I be pushing a shopping cart down the street with my treasures in it soon? One said those who are actually pushing them see nothing wrong with that like sane people do. You wouldn't be worrying about it, you would be dumpster diving like its the best idea ever (well, some do dumpster dive and find good stuff, but just illustrating my point). If you were crazy, you would be bathing in it like a sunny day!

 

I have always had the feeling that this is not really me, just a state my brain is in that is wrong. It is like a bad hangover that won't go away, or an LSD trip that won't end. I remember telling one Dr I thought someone had poisioned me. That's what's so hard is that there is nothing you can actively do to make it better faster, and for impatient me that just blows.

 

But when it is over, I have no doubt we will likely never do this path again.

 

You are very early in this. Looking at the 43 item DESS helped me see just how many things happening are withdrawal related. Even anger, tearfulness, excess sweating, funny smell sensations, etc.

 

Try to be patient with yourself. I am sure we all wake each morning hoping today will be the day this nasty veil is gone.

Link to comment

Oh and how do I deal... I totally fake it. I put one foot in front of the other and pretend I am okay. I have to go on. I schedule time off at work as I can. I try not to over commit, I asked my husband for more help (we both have to work full time). We stay home more. I try to avoid stress. When it was really bad, I withdrew to a lot of home time.

Link to comment

I think I am holding steady with getting better. The week off work helped. Taking Claritin set me back a little bit, it really chopped up my sleep. Once that wore off I am sleeping again. Also had to eliminate nutrasweet, I think it was giving me palpitatations. One night while laying down my heart was consistently fluttering for about an hour, after palpitating intermittently all day. I was drinking Crystal Light the last few days before this. So now off that and actively avoiding nutrasweet and palps so much better. I am so sensitive!

 

This week I am back and able to deal better. I am still dealing with some dizzying senses, but not as bad as it was before. Tremmors seem to be gone, finally. Ears still ringing a bit.

 

Vision stuff still around, trouble focusing eyes, but hallucinations gone. Occasional flashes of light come and go.

 

My mood is better, I feel like I don't think as much about feeling bad as I used to, there is more room to think about other things. Had a nervous spell Monday, but it passed. I am getting regular exercise, which I think helps. Love Rodney Yee yoga videos!

 

I think full recovery is in the future, I would give it six months or so more to say I am there.

Link to comment

This sounds promising and I am filled with hope for you, me and all of us!!! Keep posting....

Everything was ok. And then it wasn't.

 

Med History

11/2009- 50 mg Zoloft (1st ad ever) in combo w/.50 xanax for 2 weeks then use xanax as needed (1st benzo ever)

9 days on Zoloft, I was awake for 9 days straight C/T Zoloft

11/2009- trazadone to sleep for 2 weeks c/t Trazadone

12/2009 start 10 mg Lexapro w/ Xanax as needed

5/2010-3 week taper off lexapro

9/2010? back to Lexapro 10 mg after 5 or 6 weeks c/t leapro

12/2010-10mg paxil

5/2011-6 week paxil taper

8/2011 5mg lexapro

last lexapro pill January 7 2012

all this as per doc orders Thanks Doc!

Link to comment

Today marks day 200 since I quit Sam-e and things are much improved over earlier days, but problems with an unstable nervous system are still around.

 

I definitely have more get up and go than early withdrawal. I am keeping up with my house, job, kids, kids activities, and usual obligations. I don't want to crawl under a dark rock and shake in fear. Everything is much better, but symptoms come and go still.

 

This morning is another anxious nerves day, with sweaty palms & slight fear showing up on my way to work today. I think it is Monday blues or something, seems to happen regularly on Monday mornings.

 

I also had a terrible night's sleep, waking up a lot and nightmares (carjacking at gunpoint! And some other bad stuff that's fading now). I still wake a fair amount of times, but can usually get back to sleep without remembering waking up much. I feel like I had been sleeping pretty well, but last night was bad and interrupted.

 

Stress is flaring up, my husband is getting laid off this week. We have known for a month, but now its coming tomorrow.

 

Today I feel a bit out of my head and detached, like looking through a veil of floaters. Yesterday I was feeling like this hellride might be close to over, but today I don't feel as good. It's still unpredictable. I still have lots of palps, but chest soreness seems lessening. I have good days and bad days.

 

Also had lunch yesterday with a friend who has been open with me about being on ssri herself, that I talk to about my withdrawal. She is actually on two SSRI drugs, and was given xanax when she started getting panic attacks on the meds. She wants to be on them her lifetime, but hated the xanax feelings , so doesn't take. Another friend was given Ativan when she wasn't sleeping well for a spell due to stress from dealing with her teenager. Just made me feel like this is the dr's answers to everything.

Link to comment

Hey Ro, I'm having a pretty tough day myself. But...200 days is Awesome!!!! Stay strong !!!!

Everything was ok. And then it wasn't.

 

Med History

11/2009- 50 mg Zoloft (1st ad ever) in combo w/.50 xanax for 2 weeks then use xanax as needed (1st benzo ever)

9 days on Zoloft, I was awake for 9 days straight C/T Zoloft

11/2009- trazadone to sleep for 2 weeks c/t Trazadone

12/2009 start 10 mg Lexapro w/ Xanax as needed

5/2010-3 week taper off lexapro

9/2010? back to Lexapro 10 mg after 5 or 6 weeks c/t leapro

12/2010-10mg paxil

5/2011-6 week paxil taper

8/2011 5mg lexapro

last lexapro pill January 7 2012

all this as per doc orders Thanks Doc!

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

Ending my seventh month in this hell. I do feel like things are calming down, but I am still struggling. Some days I get windows of absolutely normal, and other days I am still wanting to crawl under a rock. I still have dizzying spells and wooshy head feelings, and nervous tension pretty much all the time. I think the twitchy parkinson-like symptoms are actually gone, though I feel slight pulses in my feet occasionally. Nothing like before where my hands would crawl involuntarily.

 

My vision is still affected, some days I get floaters but its getting better. The changing light perceptions and hallucinations are much better or gone entirely.

 

I still have a lot of derealization most days, that seems to be the hardest to get better and its the most upsetting of the symptoms that are left. I was talking to a friend the other day and just had a wave of it come over me. It happens a lot, just from out of the blue. I get nervous and disoriented when this happens, but I just try to keep telling myself its going to get better one day.

 

I am sleeping much better. I can usually get a seven hour uninterrupted stretch in every night lately. I was set back this past month on sleep when I took allergy meds, and another day when I had a tiny sip of a martini, but I will continue to avoid those things to keep sleep going better. Still entirely off caffeine.

 

Heart palps come and go. I cut out nutrasweet and all fake sugar, but I still get them some days. Seems to be stress related ay this point, but just the tiniest little bit of stress makes my heart beat funny in a scary way, but it passes.

 

I am still trying to cope, but its still hard. I do actually feel like my brain is healing but this is an incredibly long process.

Link to comment
  • Administrator

Very good to hear your sleep is almost normal. This will help your healing a lot.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

Dare I say it... I think I have turned a corner. The last couple weeks have been better. I don't constantly think about how I am feeling from second to second, but instead have been mostly able to just get on with life. I have felt like doing more things and socializing more because I am not fearing panic symptoms or the dreadful body sensations. I have more energy, though I do still get tired pretty easily. I think my dis-regulated nervous system is calming down, finally. My heart palpitations are mostly gone, very rare to feel them anymore. I am much less sensitive to flourescent lights, even the big box stores are getting more tolerable on my eyes. I am still slightly bothered, but it's a lot improved. I am sleeping just about normally, if I am still waking up I don't remember it & i can sleep seven or eight hours no problem. I still get little waves of derealization, but it's not accompanied by panic any more so I try to just ride it out and it passes. Now I have more normal windows than bad windows, but the bad windows aren't nearly as bad as they were. Yesterday I had a day with vertigo, but it is more tolerable than early stages. The panic was the worst thing, but that's gone now.

 

I am not sure what's helping. Maybe it's time, but I am also exercising three to four days a week (cardio, mostly), eating healthy, and making sure I get regular sleep. I also still avoid caffiene, alcohol and artificial sweeteners. I have to eat regularly, low blood sugar brings on symptoms more, so I snack a lot so good thing I am exercising!

 

I feel like I am going to make it. I am going to take the Prozac and Ativan I had from this adventure back to the pharmacy and ask them to destroy it. I also have a refund to get for my remaining box of Sam-E. When I was first hit hard by withdrawals, I called Nature Made and asked them if they had ever had reports of withdrawals like mine and what to do. They said never (something tells me that's BS), and offered me postage paid shipping to return unused product for a refund. I was such a mess I couldn't get it together to mail it. Now I think I can, for the closure.

 

I think I am almost there! I hope it's not much longer!

Link to comment

So happy for you ;) What an ordeal and you've turned a corner.

 

Right now I need to jump on board with your daily plan of no caffeine, no artificial sweeteners, regular exercise and healthy eating. I don't drink so that's easy.

 

Thank your for sharing and much happiness for your healing from all of this.

 

Hugs

Intro: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1902-nikki-hi-my-rundown-with-ads/

 

Paxil 1997-2004

Crossed over to Lexapro Paxil not available

at Pharmacies GSK halted deliveries

Lexapro 40mgs

Lexapro taper (2years)

Imipramine

Imipramine and Celexa

Now Nefazadone/Imipramine 50mgs. each

45mgs. Serzone  50mgs. Imipramine

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