PsycheMedsAreDeath: hello....(Lexapro, Trazodone, and Klonopin)

[PsycheMedsAreDeath]

Around, 4 or 5 years ago I started seeing a psychiatrist. My brain felt normal, smart, etc...etc...I was only a little depressed, had very minimal anxiety, and insomnia. I never looked up anything about wd symptoms or even thought they existed. I only wish I had done some research. My first psychiatrist put me on a cocktail of Lexapro, Trazodone, and Klonopin. I was forced after 4 to 5 years to cold turkey all of the above due to my insurance changing. That was the biggest mistake of my life. My life has been a living nightmare for the past 5 months. My Klonopin dose was 4 mgs, cant remember my Lexapro dose, and my trazodone was 25 mg nightly. My new psychiatrist wants me back on Trazodone and Lexapro during the horrific benzo wd. I'm not going to take the Trazodone...just because I refuse. I honestly do want to take the Lexapro but I need a "better functioning" brain while all of my crazy symptoms are going on. Eventually, I plan on tapering the Lexapro very very very slowly. I was just wondering if anyone had any links or where I could go to read the horrific side effects from AD use. Thank you guys and I am sorry in advance.

[Petunia]

Hi PsycheMedsAreDeath,

Welcome to Surviving Antidepressants, I'm very sorry for all you've gone through.  Many of us are here because we came off these drugs too fast. No one should have to cold turkey off these medications, what symptoms are you having now?  Have they increased, decreased or stayed the same?

 

For a brief introduction to withdrawal please see: Intro to antidepressant withdrawal syndrome

 

Reinstatement of a small amount of the drug can often work well to alleviate withdrawal symptoms.  According to medical knowledge, reinstatement is the only way to alleviate withdrawal symptoms.  Reinstatement is best done immediately upon appearance of withdrawal symptoms. The more time that passes, the less likely it is to work.  Here is some information about reinstatement to help you decide if its something you would like to try:

 

http://survivinganti...rawal-symptoms/

 

Because you have been off the drugs for such a long time, reinstatement may not work, if you do decide to try, start with a very small amount, reading the link will explain why.

 

 

Eventually, I plan on tapering the Lexapro very very very slowly. I was just wondering if anyone had any links or where I could go to read the horrific side effects from AD use. Thank you guys and I am sorry in advance.

 

There is no need to be sorry. Here is our link for tapering off Lexapro for future reference:

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/406-tips-for-tapering-off-lexapro-escitalopram/

 

I'd highly recommend reading Anatomy of an Epidemic by Robert Whitaker. Psych meds can be pretty perilous and in my opinion should only be used for short times and very cautiously, if at all.

 

Other resources you may find helpful are Your Drug may be you Problem by Dr. Peter Breggin and Council for Evidence Based Psychiatry

 

Please put your drug and withdrawal history in your signature.  Putting a short version of your drug history in your signature helps people understand your context, it appears below each of your posts.  Here are instructions for how to do it:

 

http://survivinganti...your-signature/

 

I'm sorry to throw so much information at you, but I’m glad you found us, you will find a lot of friendly help and support here, take your time and have a look around the site. Once you get back to us with a little more information, we will be in a better position to offer support and suggestions.

 

You can use this thread as your ongoing journal to track progress and communicate with the community.

 

Petu.

[PsycheMedsAreDeath]

Thank you so much. I have had all of these going on at some point. I will point out what I can remember from the beginning.

*SYMPTOMS WHICH STILL ARE BOTHERSOME*

Dp/Dr, Hallucinations, loss of appetite, bad memory, Massive Anxiety, Massive Depression, Crying Spells, Brain Zaps. Vertigo, Sensitivity to Light, Isolation, Panic Attacks, Shaking, Gastric Issues, Cant feel my body(....I have transplants, Addisons disease, IBS...some other things physically so I should feel my body. I mean, I am used to having stomach aches every day, now, I hear it but I cant feel a thing, Wake up, take a shower and push myself to do things but still feel out of it...),

I mean, I never used to have any of this. I have always been really outgoing, loved being social, just hanging out with people and having fun. Now, I rarely walk outside my apartment. Im too freaked out too. I dont want to "have a spell" and have friends or anyone look at me like I am crazy. I feel crazy but I know I am not. For a while, it literally felt like I was having a bad acid trip. These symptoms come and go. They aren't there all the time. Its just when I get them, especially dp/dr, hallucinations and bad memory, I cry so bad because it scares the crap out of me.

Thank you so much for the links. I am supposed to start 5mg of Lexapro in the morning but if I notice any worsening of an effect Ill stop it immediately. Everything is just too much on me at once right now. Thanks again.

[Petunia]

Thank you for filling out your signature.

 

Yes, what you describe sounds like withdrawal syndrome.  Reinstatement of a small amount of Lexapro may help, please carefully read the link above about reinstatement.  I'm concerned that 5mg may be too much, especially because you have been off the drug for 5 months.  A significant characteristic of Lexapro is that milligram for milligram, it is much stronger than other SSRIs.

 

Start low to see what you need. You can always increase if necessary. If you've been off the drug for a month or more, many people can find relief from antidepressant withdrawal symptoms by reinstating as little as 1mg-5mg.

 

Other reasons to reinstate only a partial dose:

• Experiencing withdrawal may have sensitized you to the drug and a larger dose will cause an adverse reaction.
• Your receptors may have adjusted somewhat (upregulated) in the time you had withdrawal symptoms.
• These drugs are vastly more powerful than they need to be and you want to be taking only the lowest effect dose.
• You can always adjust the dosage upward if you find you need to.
• If you can stabilize on a lower dose, you have less to taper when you finally do go off.

If, upon reinstatement, you very soon feel worse, most likely you are sensitized to the drug and need to take a smaller dosage or, possibly, none at all.

 

1mg may actually be enough.

[mammaP]

Hi Psychmedsaredeath, welcome from me too. I don't have anything to add to the info that Petu has

given you but just wanted to say hi and I hope you can find some relief from the distressing withdrawal

symptoms, you have enough to cope with!  

[westcoast]

Hi and welcome. I know what you mean about feeling crazy and fearing the attention of others. You're not crazy; doctors who prescribe this junk without understanding effects and discontinuation are criminally liable. I hope you hang around and stick it out. You are most assuredly NOT ALONE.

[PsycheMedsAreDeath]

Hi guys! Unfortunately, I did get back on Lexapro. Trust me, I feel bad for it. I know these medications are evil. It is supposed to take a while to get in your system. By day 2, I felt better. I still had symptoms but I could function. That says to me that I was withdrawing from benzos and Lexapro. I didnt want to take it but I needed to be able to leave my apartment and just be human again. It sucks. But, I now know that after Im done with my other wd symptoms I will definitely slower than ever taper from Lexapro. Everything mixed was too overbearing on my brain. Especially because I know I really didnt need them to begin with. It saddens me to know that psyche doctors prescribe medications like these. They really alter your brain chemistry. Not to talk about anything illegal but I wish I would have just smoked green instead of going to the doctor years ago ....but I dont so I didnt. Granted I may have been burnt and fat, my brain would have felt fine. Yeah, I smoked alot way back in the day but, I quit that like 10 years ago. I really think that if people are depressed or a little anxious, these meds can make them worse. All I can say for a fact is never again. Once I taper the Lexapro, I'll never get back on anything that can mess with your brain. Its frightening and too much.  

[Altostrata]

Hello, PMAD.

 

No need to apologize. How much Lexapro are you taking? It will take about 4 days for it to register fully in your system.

[PsycheMedsAreDeath]

Right now I am taking 5 mgs. The doctor told me to go up to 10 after a week but Im probably not going to if I still feel ok. I basically just wanted to be able to function with wds from everything. I just think eventually getting off 5 would be easier than 10. Going through this experience, I'm just done. Chemicals are so bad. I never would have thought. It is good I did go through it though because it taught me things for sure. I'm just sickened by all of it. 

[Altostrata]

Correct, it would take longer to taper off 10mg. If 5mg works for you, if I were you, I wouldn't go any higher.

 

Give it some time to work, at least a couple of weeks.

[Rhiannon]

You may feel better and then feel worse again, but that's normal in withdrawal. Often people think they need to updose when the first "wave" hits, and they do it, and then find out that they are still having ups and downs, only now they're on a higher dose and having side effects and have more to taper off eventually. So I'd heed Alto's advice, give it a few weeks on 5 mg before considering going higher. And ride out a few ups and downs on that dose just to see if you can manage it.

 

Nothing to apologize for, most of us have had to restart or reinstate a med in withdrawal at least once! Plus, it's your life, we are here to support people, not to make them join a club or something.

 

Just take your time, take gentle care of your nervous system while you recover. Eventually you'll feel stable and strong (it may take a while, hang in there) and then if you taper very slowly you will be able to get off the Lexapro successfully and then be off these drugs for the rest of your life. Take it from me (lost 20 years to these drugs, with many attempts to come off without tapering slowly) it's worth taking the time to do it safely. When the time comes. 

 

Meanwhile, welcome to our little corner of the world, glad you found us!

[Rhiannon]

Oh, plus, read Anatomy of an Epidemic by Robert Whitaker. Your Drug May Be Your Problem, and Medication Madness, both by Peter Breggin, are also good. 

 

And there's tons of information about withdrawal and about how to take care of yourself and cope with symptoms, here on this forum. Just dig around. Read the "pinned" topics and follow the links in those.

 

Good luck to you, and again, welcome.

[westcoast]

I want to comment on "green" aka Cannabis. I live in a state where we can buy it legally with a doctor's recommendation. I have found it can be calming and sleep-inducing, but not always. Sometimes it gets my mind going in dark directions and I have to remind myself that I just used Cannabis, or my troubles overwhelm me. Plus, when used during the day, it typically reduces one to a sack of jelly. This can be good or bad, depending on what you have to do that day. It's said to interact badly with various psych meds, something I read about in first-person reports on a "drug" site called Erowid.org. By drug I mean "druggie." So, please proceed with extreme caution if you (not just PsychMedsAreDeath--anyone reading this) are wondering about it.