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Blondiee1915: 3 months off lexapro - does it get better?


Blondiee1915

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Happy New Year to everyone.  Hopefully it will bring healing and happiness.  

 

Update.  I did not feel better on lexapro and I decided to do a switch to luvox.  I started luvox 7 days ago.  I stopped lexapro 5 mg and next day started Luvox 25 mg pm and 25 mg am.  I feel a bit nauseous in the am, anxiety during the day, dizziness is still there and off balance feeling.  I feel more sleepy and drowsy.  I am losing optimism.  I feel like I was weak and why I did not last more than 3 months I have no idea.  I keep thinking that my anxiety is the underlying cause and that I cannot be better without medication.  I am discouraged and I do not know what to if I do not feel better at 50 mg of luvox.  

 

Any advice would be appreciated. 

 

B. 

04/10 Luvox 25 mg PM, Nortriptyline 1 mg PM

03/08/19: Buspar 2.5 mg AM, 5 mg PM

01/01/19: Xanax 0.125 AM 5 times a week. Occasionally, 0.125 twice a day AM & noon

12/18 Armour Thyroid 60 mg (for hypothyroidism) 

 

Supplements: B Complex, B12 (adeno), multi-vitamin, D, Adrenal Cortex, iron

  • Lexapro 20 mg 2007 - 2013 with various attempts to stop
  • 2013 found a new Dr and started trying other meds: Prozac, Notryptoline, Effexor, Buspar, Gabapentin, Paxil, Nardil
  • Lexapro 15 mg 2015 - 04/2016
  • Vibryiid 10 - 15mg 05/16-06/16 
  • NO MEDS 07/16 - 10/31/16
  • Reinstated 10/31/16 at 2.5 mg lexapro, increased to 5 mg   
  • 1/13/17 switched to Luvox 50 mg before bed
  • 1/20/17 Luvox 37.5 mg PM
  • 12/18 Luvox 10 mg PM, Nortriptyline 2 mg (started Nortriptyline 06/17 at 10 mg)
Link to comment

I dont have medical advice but I am in a similar situation as you, officially off lexapro 3 months, im having some wd that is being aggravated by school stress. I choose not to reinstate.

 

Youre not weak! , wdl is a special kind of hell. Im not sure what luvox is but it seems like stopping the lex and starting the luvox might be causing the icky feelings right now :( hopefully a mod can post soon to help you out

-started lexapro (Cirpalex) summer of 2013 for anxiety

-20mg for 3 years

-started tapering June/or July 2016 (memory foggy)

-tapered down by 5 mg every 2-3 weeks

-once at 5mg tapered to 2.5 for 2-3 weeks

- SSRI free since September 24th 2016

Link to comment

Hi lillylou - thank you for stopping by. Yea WD is something else, this is the hardest thing to experience and the unknown and all the symptoms are scary . I really hope we can all get better

04/10 Luvox 25 mg PM, Nortriptyline 1 mg PM

03/08/19: Buspar 2.5 mg AM, 5 mg PM

01/01/19: Xanax 0.125 AM 5 times a week. Occasionally, 0.125 twice a day AM & noon

12/18 Armour Thyroid 60 mg (for hypothyroidism) 

 

Supplements: B Complex, B12 (adeno), multi-vitamin, D, Adrenal Cortex, iron

  • Lexapro 20 mg 2007 - 2013 with various attempts to stop
  • 2013 found a new Dr and started trying other meds: Prozac, Notryptoline, Effexor, Buspar, Gabapentin, Paxil, Nardil
  • Lexapro 15 mg 2015 - 04/2016
  • Vibryiid 10 - 15mg 05/16-06/16 
  • NO MEDS 07/16 - 10/31/16
  • Reinstated 10/31/16 at 2.5 mg lexapro, increased to 5 mg   
  • 1/13/17 switched to Luvox 50 mg before bed
  • 1/20/17 Luvox 37.5 mg PM
  • 12/18 Luvox 10 mg PM, Nortriptyline 2 mg (started Nortriptyline 06/17 at 10 mg)
Link to comment

 

I can already picture how this will be.  I call my doctor and go see her.  She tells me the way I feel is that because my anxiety is back and I am depressed (I was never depressed or diagnosed with depression prior to starting Lexapro).  She will say "withdrawal side effects should have stopped after 3 months".  You need medication and let's do this one.  I will have a script in less than 30 mins of the visit will write 200$ check and go to the pharmacy to pick up druggies.  If it is back on lexapro i will enter zombie land and sleeping land again, if it is something new who knows?? 

 

I really wish we had doctors that actually want to help and guide you thru withdrawal inform you and monitor you instead of push medicine on you and tell you that you have to take it for life.  

 

I think by now you know the story....

I really hope this doesn't turn into a repeat of the 2013 fiasco.

 

Just out of interest were you taking 10 or 15 mg of lex in spring 2015- april 2016 (in some posts you refer to 15 mg of lex but the drug sig says 10mg)  and why the switch to viibryd and what dose was the viibryd.

Was it that you felt stable on 15 lex so  the doctor decided to take you off the lexapro (CT) using viibryd as a kind of taper bridge?? I dunno the docs thinking so im trying to guess it.

 

Sorry you are in this difficult position.

 

nz11

50 mg of luvox is equivalent in dose to 6.3 mg of lexapro

Thought for the day: Lets stand up, and let’s speak out , together. G Olsen

We have until the 14th. Feb 2018. 

URGENT REQUEST Please consider submitting  for the petition on Prescribed Drug Dependence and Withdrawal currently awaiting its third consideration at the Scottish Parliament. You don't even have to be from Scotland. By clicking on the link below you can read some of the previous submissions but be warned many of them are quite harrowing.

http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651   

Please tell them about your problems taking and withdrawing from antidepressants and/or benzos.

Send by email to petitions@parliament.scot and quote PE01651 in the subject heading. Keep to a maximum of 3 sides of A4 and you can't name for legal reasons any doctor you have consulted. Tell them if you wish to remain anonymous. We need the numbers to help convince the committee members we are not isolated cases. You have until mid February. Thank you

Recovering paxil addict

None of the published articles shed light on what ssri's ... actually do or what their hazards might be. Healy 2013. 

This is so true, with anything you get on these drugs, dependance, tapering, withdrawal symptoms, side effects, just silent. And if there is something mentioned then their is a serious disconnect between what is said and reality! 

  "Every time I read of a multi-person shooting, I always presume that person had just started a SSRI or had just stopped."  Dr Mosher. Me too! 

Over two decades later, the number of antidepressant prescriptions a year is slightly more than the number of people in the Western world. Most (nine out of 10) prescriptions are for patients who faced difficulties on stopping, equating to about a tenth of the population. These patients are often advised to continue treatment because their difficulties indicate they need ongoing treatment, just as a person with diabetes needs insulin. Healy 2015

I believe the ssri era will soon stand as one of the most shameful in the history of medicine. Healy 2015

Let people help people ... in a natural, kind, non-addictive (and non-big pharma) way. J Broadley 2017

 

 

Link to comment

Hi nz11, hope you are doing well

 

Yes I feel like I am back at It again :////

I was on 10 mg on lexapro winter 2015 and then spring 2016 I went up to 15 mg . Then I went on a retreat vacation and I was okay and happy and stable . But I was still suffering with fatigue very very tired , so the dr suggested switch to vibryid (I went up to 15 mg started in May or is and then withdrew with last small dose in July . My dr thinks that I have anxiety and have to be on meds forever . Each time I bring up a symptom she just says it is your anxiety and that's that .

I could not take lexapro anymore and gave in to trying Luvox to see if I can switch to that instead

Thank you for the dosage equivalent I knew it was a bit stronger but did not know exactly by how much .

04/10 Luvox 25 mg PM, Nortriptyline 1 mg PM

03/08/19: Buspar 2.5 mg AM, 5 mg PM

01/01/19: Xanax 0.125 AM 5 times a week. Occasionally, 0.125 twice a day AM & noon

12/18 Armour Thyroid 60 mg (for hypothyroidism) 

 

Supplements: B Complex, B12 (adeno), multi-vitamin, D, Adrenal Cortex, iron

  • Lexapro 20 mg 2007 - 2013 with various attempts to stop
  • 2013 found a new Dr and started trying other meds: Prozac, Notryptoline, Effexor, Buspar, Gabapentin, Paxil, Nardil
  • Lexapro 15 mg 2015 - 04/2016
  • Vibryiid 10 - 15mg 05/16-06/16 
  • NO MEDS 07/16 - 10/31/16
  • Reinstated 10/31/16 at 2.5 mg lexapro, increased to 5 mg   
  • 1/13/17 switched to Luvox 50 mg before bed
  • 1/20/17 Luvox 37.5 mg PM
  • 12/18 Luvox 10 mg PM, Nortriptyline 2 mg (started Nortriptyline 06/17 at 10 mg)
Link to comment

I could not take lexapro anymore

Excuse my ignorance but why do you say this.

 

So essentially you CT off 15 mg of lexapro in May this year.

I am hesitant to say this but your doctor is a clueless dangerous ignoramous.

I can see you are having a lot of trouble un-patienting yourself.

Thought for the day: Lets stand up, and let’s speak out , together. G Olsen

We have until the 14th. Feb 2018. 

URGENT REQUEST Please consider submitting  for the petition on Prescribed Drug Dependence and Withdrawal currently awaiting its third consideration at the Scottish Parliament. You don't even have to be from Scotland. By clicking on the link below you can read some of the previous submissions but be warned many of them are quite harrowing.

http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651   

Please tell them about your problems taking and withdrawing from antidepressants and/or benzos.

Send by email to petitions@parliament.scot and quote PE01651 in the subject heading. Keep to a maximum of 3 sides of A4 and you can't name for legal reasons any doctor you have consulted. Tell them if you wish to remain anonymous. We need the numbers to help convince the committee members we are not isolated cases. You have until mid February. Thank you

Recovering paxil addict

None of the published articles shed light on what ssri's ... actually do or what their hazards might be. Healy 2013. 

This is so true, with anything you get on these drugs, dependance, tapering, withdrawal symptoms, side effects, just silent. And if there is something mentioned then their is a serious disconnect between what is said and reality! 

  "Every time I read of a multi-person shooting, I always presume that person had just started a SSRI or had just stopped."  Dr Mosher. Me too! 

Over two decades later, the number of antidepressant prescriptions a year is slightly more than the number of people in the Western world. Most (nine out of 10) prescriptions are for patients who faced difficulties on stopping, equating to about a tenth of the population. These patients are often advised to continue treatment because their difficulties indicate they need ongoing treatment, just as a person with diabetes needs insulin. Healy 2015

I believe the ssri era will soon stand as one of the most shameful in the history of medicine. Healy 2015

Let people help people ... in a natural, kind, non-addictive (and non-big pharma) way. J Broadley 2017

 

 

Link to comment

Hi nz11,

I could not take lexapro anymore bc I felt like it stopped working since I was on it for a while and I felt like it was instead almost poisoning me . I know I lack patience at times. Another part of me hoped that a switch would makenl me feel better . I just wanted some relief from the symptoms .

04/10 Luvox 25 mg PM, Nortriptyline 1 mg PM

03/08/19: Buspar 2.5 mg AM, 5 mg PM

01/01/19: Xanax 0.125 AM 5 times a week. Occasionally, 0.125 twice a day AM & noon

12/18 Armour Thyroid 60 mg (for hypothyroidism) 

 

Supplements: B Complex, B12 (adeno), multi-vitamin, D, Adrenal Cortex, iron

  • Lexapro 20 mg 2007 - 2013 with various attempts to stop
  • 2013 found a new Dr and started trying other meds: Prozac, Notryptoline, Effexor, Buspar, Gabapentin, Paxil, Nardil
  • Lexapro 15 mg 2015 - 04/2016
  • Vibryiid 10 - 15mg 05/16-06/16 
  • NO MEDS 07/16 - 10/31/16
  • Reinstated 10/31/16 at 2.5 mg lexapro, increased to 5 mg   
  • 1/13/17 switched to Luvox 50 mg before bed
  • 1/20/17 Luvox 37.5 mg PM
  • 12/18 Luvox 10 mg PM, Nortriptyline 2 mg (started Nortriptyline 06/17 at 10 mg)
Link to comment

What do you think about the idea of changing doctor, someone who is not a marionette and someone who is able to do 10 mins of homework and who cares enough to read the drugs patient info leaflet giving it priority over the non-disclosed drugs prescribing kickback commissions  and someone who has had some informative (non-pharma) professional development sometime this century.  

What about this one

Laura Kelly, PhD, RN, APN-C, Eatontown and Asbury Park, NJ

 

I reckon this booklet would be well worth your time to printout and read with a highlighter pen.

Harm Reduction Guide to Coming of Psychiatric Drugs (The Icarus Project)

 

 

My dr thinks that I have anxiety and have to be on meds forever

Difficulty in stopping psychiatric drugs can lead misinformed or unscrupulous health professionals to tell patients that they need to take their drugs for the rest of their lives when they really need to taper and withdraw from them in a careful manner.   Breggin 2014.

 

Psychiatrists are being forced to face the evidence that SSRI withdrawal symptoms are indeed long lasting and damaging to physical and mental health. SSRI Withdrawal Effects Are Brutal and Long Lasting. Citizens Commission on Human Rights of Florida (CCHR Florida) 2015.

Thought for the day: Lets stand up, and let’s speak out , together. G Olsen

We have until the 14th. Feb 2018. 

URGENT REQUEST Please consider submitting  for the petition on Prescribed Drug Dependence and Withdrawal currently awaiting its third consideration at the Scottish Parliament. You don't even have to be from Scotland. By clicking on the link below you can read some of the previous submissions but be warned many of them are quite harrowing.

http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651   

Please tell them about your problems taking and withdrawing from antidepressants and/or benzos.

Send by email to petitions@parliament.scot and quote PE01651 in the subject heading. Keep to a maximum of 3 sides of A4 and you can't name for legal reasons any doctor you have consulted. Tell them if you wish to remain anonymous. We need the numbers to help convince the committee members we are not isolated cases. You have until mid February. Thank you

Recovering paxil addict

None of the published articles shed light on what ssri's ... actually do or what their hazards might be. Healy 2013. 

This is so true, with anything you get on these drugs, dependance, tapering, withdrawal symptoms, side effects, just silent. And if there is something mentioned then their is a serious disconnect between what is said and reality! 

  "Every time I read of a multi-person shooting, I always presume that person had just started a SSRI or had just stopped."  Dr Mosher. Me too! 

Over two decades later, the number of antidepressant prescriptions a year is slightly more than the number of people in the Western world. Most (nine out of 10) prescriptions are for patients who faced difficulties on stopping, equating to about a tenth of the population. These patients are often advised to continue treatment because their difficulties indicate they need ongoing treatment, just as a person with diabetes needs insulin. Healy 2015

I believe the ssri era will soon stand as one of the most shameful in the history of medicine. Healy 2015

Let people help people ... in a natural, kind, non-addictive (and non-big pharma) way. J Broadley 2017

 

 

Link to comment

Blondiee, have you noticed any hair thinning? Im curious about other lexapro users

-started lexapro (Cirpalex) summer of 2013 for anxiety

-20mg for 3 years

-started tapering June/or July 2016 (memory foggy)

-tapered down by 5 mg every 2-3 weeks

-once at 5mg tapered to 2.5 for 2-3 weeks

- SSRI free since September 24th 2016

Link to comment
  • Moderator Emeritus

Blondie, I hope the change to Luvox provides some relief for you. You will probably need to be patient as it may take many weeks for your CNS (central nervous system) to adjust.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.
1997-1999 Effexor; 2002-2005 Effexor XR 37.5 mg linear taper, dropping same #beads/week with bad results

Cymbalta 60 mg 2012 - 2015; 2016: 20 mg to 7 mg exact doses and dates in this post; 2017: 6.3 mg to  0.0 mg  Aug. 12; details here


scallywag's Introduction
Online spreadsheet for dose taper calculations and nz11's THE WORKS spreadsheet

Link to comment

What do you think about the idea of changing doctor, someone who is not a marionette and someone who is able to do 10 mins of homework and who cares enough to read the drugs patient info leaflet giving it priority over the non-disclosed drugs prescribing kickback commissions  and someone who has had some informative (non-pharma) professional development sometime this century.  

What about this one

Laura Kelly, PhD, RN, APN-C, Eatontown and Asbury Park, NJ

 

I reckon this booklet would be well worth your time to printout and read with a highlighter pen.

Harm Reduction Guide to Coming of Psychiatric Drugs (The Icarus Project)

 

 

My dr thinks that I have anxiety and have to be on meds forever

Difficulty in stopping psychiatric drugs can lead misinformed or unscrupulous health professionals to tell patients that they need to take their drugs for the rest of their lives when they really need to taper and withdraw from them in a careful manner.   Breggin 2014.

 

Psychiatrists are being forced to face the evidence that SSRI withdrawal symptoms are indeed long lasting and damaging to physical and mental health. SSRI Withdrawal Effects Are Brutal and Long Lasting. Citizens Commission on Human Rights of Florida (CCHR Florida) 2015.

 

Hi, 

I thought about switching doctors.  I have appointment with naturopath in few weeks and I am actually looking forward to it.  I do not have high expectations, but maybe I will be pleasantly surprised.  The reason why I am sticking with this doctor is because she does not push high dosages on me and also bc she is pretty responsive.  Few time in the past I called her cell crying and she returned the phone call within an hour.  I can always txt her etc and she responds within a day.  But I do agree that she is not informed about dangers of switching meds or her disbelief in protracted withdrawal or what happens to our bodies after being on meds for 10 -20 years etc.  The other main reason, actually the biggest one is that she has my drug history and I am not sure if she will share it with another doctor or me for that matter.  I was not smart and did not keep track of all the meds, dosages, and time periods so if I were to go to another doctor it will be a start from scratch and I am not doing that.  

 

Thank you for that booklet link.  I will take a look and print a copy.  

 

My goal is to stabilize on a small dose/get some relief and start working on strengthening my baseline so that I can start the taper again. 

04/10 Luvox 25 mg PM, Nortriptyline 1 mg PM

03/08/19: Buspar 2.5 mg AM, 5 mg PM

01/01/19: Xanax 0.125 AM 5 times a week. Occasionally, 0.125 twice a day AM & noon

12/18 Armour Thyroid 60 mg (for hypothyroidism) 

 

Supplements: B Complex, B12 (adeno), multi-vitamin, D, Adrenal Cortex, iron

  • Lexapro 20 mg 2007 - 2013 with various attempts to stop
  • 2013 found a new Dr and started trying other meds: Prozac, Notryptoline, Effexor, Buspar, Gabapentin, Paxil, Nardil
  • Lexapro 15 mg 2015 - 04/2016
  • Vibryiid 10 - 15mg 05/16-06/16 
  • NO MEDS 07/16 - 10/31/16
  • Reinstated 10/31/16 at 2.5 mg lexapro, increased to 5 mg   
  • 1/13/17 switched to Luvox 50 mg before bed
  • 1/20/17 Luvox 37.5 mg PM
  • 12/18 Luvox 10 mg PM, Nortriptyline 2 mg (started Nortriptyline 06/17 at 10 mg)
Link to comment

Blondie, I hope the change to Luvox provides some relief for you. You will probably need to be patient as it may take many weeks for your CNS (central nervous system) to adjust.

HI Scallywag,

Happy New Year!

I hope so too.  At this point I should be thankful I was able to switch over night from one med to the other and not get too sick.  I was able to go to work and just get through the days. So yes, patience is a virtue.  I cannot continue to jump from one med to the other.  I think that changing the meds so much have something to do with my nervous system being this sensitive.  

I hope withdrawal from Luvox will not be as hard as withdrawal from lexapro.  But again, patience, will address it once I get there. For now, I am hoping to stabilize on this dose and go from there. 

I am thinking of starting magnesium, is there a good brand for that or can I just purchase it at a pharmacy store (any brand)? Also, is reactive magnesium better than regular? 

 

Ty!

B.

04/10 Luvox 25 mg PM, Nortriptyline 1 mg PM

03/08/19: Buspar 2.5 mg AM, 5 mg PM

01/01/19: Xanax 0.125 AM 5 times a week. Occasionally, 0.125 twice a day AM & noon

12/18 Armour Thyroid 60 mg (for hypothyroidism) 

 

Supplements: B Complex, B12 (adeno), multi-vitamin, D, Adrenal Cortex, iron

  • Lexapro 20 mg 2007 - 2013 with various attempts to stop
  • 2013 found a new Dr and started trying other meds: Prozac, Notryptoline, Effexor, Buspar, Gabapentin, Paxil, Nardil
  • Lexapro 15 mg 2015 - 04/2016
  • Vibryiid 10 - 15mg 05/16-06/16 
  • NO MEDS 07/16 - 10/31/16
  • Reinstated 10/31/16 at 2.5 mg lexapro, increased to 5 mg   
  • 1/13/17 switched to Luvox 50 mg before bed
  • 1/20/17 Luvox 37.5 mg PM
  • 12/18 Luvox 10 mg PM, Nortriptyline 2 mg (started Nortriptyline 06/17 at 10 mg)
Link to comment

Blondiee, have you noticed any hair thinning? Im curious about other lexapro users

Hi - yes it is thinning and was breaking like crazy and falling out.  I started noticing it after stopping lexapro more.  I was not sure if it was related to stress or withdrawal or long term lexapro use.  I also, stopped dying my hair in order to prevent breakage, I do not use flat iron or curling iron either.  I also tried natural and sulfate free shampoos.  I use warm water took biotin and all that did not really help my hair situation.  

I had a hair appt in September and the hair dresser was saying how she never say so many little hairs growing out.  I guess alot of my hear broke off/fell out and new hair started growing. 

sorry for the long rant, but the short answer is YES

 

B.

04/10 Luvox 25 mg PM, Nortriptyline 1 mg PM

03/08/19: Buspar 2.5 mg AM, 5 mg PM

01/01/19: Xanax 0.125 AM 5 times a week. Occasionally, 0.125 twice a day AM & noon

12/18 Armour Thyroid 60 mg (for hypothyroidism) 

 

Supplements: B Complex, B12 (adeno), multi-vitamin, D, Adrenal Cortex, iron

  • Lexapro 20 mg 2007 - 2013 with various attempts to stop
  • 2013 found a new Dr and started trying other meds: Prozac, Notryptoline, Effexor, Buspar, Gabapentin, Paxil, Nardil
  • Lexapro 15 mg 2015 - 04/2016
  • Vibryiid 10 - 15mg 05/16-06/16 
  • NO MEDS 07/16 - 10/31/16
  • Reinstated 10/31/16 at 2.5 mg lexapro, increased to 5 mg   
  • 1/13/17 switched to Luvox 50 mg before bed
  • 1/20/17 Luvox 37.5 mg PM
  • 12/18 Luvox 10 mg PM, Nortriptyline 2 mg (started Nortriptyline 06/17 at 10 mg)
Link to comment

 The reason why I am sticking with this doctor is because she does not push high dosages on me and also bc she is pretty responsive.

She appears to have been too responsive maybe even allowing you to get what you ask for.

 

 The other main reason, actually the biggest one is that she has my drug history and I am not sure if she will share it with another doctor or me for that matter.  I was not smart and did not keep track of all the meds, dosages, and time periods so if I were to go to another doctor it will be a start from scratch and I am not doing that.

Well i would think the world over that it goes like this ; you sign an authority to release and transfer your file and health notes to another clinic and then that file is sent to the doctor of your choosing. Its your life your file your health its all about YOU.

If that doctor has not been keeping proper records then thats negligence.

Furthermore you are entitled to request a copy of your notes i mean they are your notes for goodness sake. Like me you might be quite surprised or rather disappointed at what has been covertly written.

Thought for the day: Lets stand up, and let’s speak out , together. G Olsen

We have until the 14th. Feb 2018. 

URGENT REQUEST Please consider submitting  for the petition on Prescribed Drug Dependence and Withdrawal currently awaiting its third consideration at the Scottish Parliament. You don't even have to be from Scotland. By clicking on the link below you can read some of the previous submissions but be warned many of them are quite harrowing.

http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651   

Please tell them about your problems taking and withdrawing from antidepressants and/or benzos.

Send by email to petitions@parliament.scot and quote PE01651 in the subject heading. Keep to a maximum of 3 sides of A4 and you can't name for legal reasons any doctor you have consulted. Tell them if you wish to remain anonymous. We need the numbers to help convince the committee members we are not isolated cases. You have until mid February. Thank you

Recovering paxil addict

None of the published articles shed light on what ssri's ... actually do or what their hazards might be. Healy 2013. 

This is so true, with anything you get on these drugs, dependance, tapering, withdrawal symptoms, side effects, just silent. And if there is something mentioned then their is a serious disconnect between what is said and reality! 

  "Every time I read of a multi-person shooting, I always presume that person had just started a SSRI or had just stopped."  Dr Mosher. Me too! 

Over two decades later, the number of antidepressant prescriptions a year is slightly more than the number of people in the Western world. Most (nine out of 10) prescriptions are for patients who faced difficulties on stopping, equating to about a tenth of the population. These patients are often advised to continue treatment because their difficulties indicate they need ongoing treatment, just as a person with diabetes needs insulin. Healy 2015

I believe the ssri era will soon stand as one of the most shameful in the history of medicine. Healy 2015

Let people help people ... in a natural, kind, non-addictive (and non-big pharma) way. J Broadley 2017

 

 

Link to comment
  • Moderator Emeritus

A very gentle hair care treatment: 

 

Mix 1 egg-yolk with 1 teaspoon honey in a small cup.  In a separate cup mix 1 tablespoon apple-cider-vinegar with 1/2 cup cold water. 

 

In the shower, wet hair.  Massage egg mixture all over scalp and into hair.  Leave for a few minutes or as long as you like.  It's also lovely smoothed onto facial skin. 

Rinse well with warm/hot water.  Slowly pour over the vinegar mixture, getting all of the scalp and hair.  Work it right through.  Rinse with warm/hot water.  (Keep your eyes closed tight - the vinegar stings!).

 

I've been using this weekly for about 2 years now as my only shampoo/conditioner, and my hair has returned to feeling as soft as it did when I was a teenager. 

 

Please note:  This isn't a cure, it's just a gentler way to care for your hair.

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

A very gentle hair care treatment: 

 

Mix 1 egg-yolk with 1 teaspoon honey in a small cup.  In a separate cup mix 1 tablespoon apple-cider-vinegar with 1/2 cup cold water. 

 

In the shower, wet hair.  Massage egg mixture all over scalp and into hair.  Leave for a few minutes or as long as you like.  It's also lovely smoothed onto facial skin. 

Rinse well with warm/hot water.  Slowly pour over the vinegar mixture, getting all of the scalp and hair.  Work it right through.  Rinse with warm/hot water.  (Keep your eyes closed tight - the vinegar stings!).

 

I've been using this weekly for about 2 years now as my only shampoo/conditioner, and my hair has returned to feeling as soft as it did when I was a teenager. 

 

Please note:  This isn't a cure, it's just a gentler way to care for your hair.

Hi KarenB - thank you for the info . I have heard about honey and egg yolk but not apple cider vinegar . Will have to try . I also used coconut oil with honey as a mask a few times, the hair did feel a bit greasy after though. I also got some dried chamomile flowers soaked them in hot water, drained and then used to water instead of a conditioner . It smells good also !

04/10 Luvox 25 mg PM, Nortriptyline 1 mg PM

03/08/19: Buspar 2.5 mg AM, 5 mg PM

01/01/19: Xanax 0.125 AM 5 times a week. Occasionally, 0.125 twice a day AM & noon

12/18 Armour Thyroid 60 mg (for hypothyroidism) 

 

Supplements: B Complex, B12 (adeno), multi-vitamin, D, Adrenal Cortex, iron

  • Lexapro 20 mg 2007 - 2013 with various attempts to stop
  • 2013 found a new Dr and started trying other meds: Prozac, Notryptoline, Effexor, Buspar, Gabapentin, Paxil, Nardil
  • Lexapro 15 mg 2015 - 04/2016
  • Vibryiid 10 - 15mg 05/16-06/16 
  • NO MEDS 07/16 - 10/31/16
  • Reinstated 10/31/16 at 2.5 mg lexapro, increased to 5 mg   
  • 1/13/17 switched to Luvox 50 mg before bed
  • 1/20/17 Luvox 37.5 mg PM
  • 12/18 Luvox 10 mg PM, Nortriptyline 2 mg (started Nortriptyline 06/17 at 10 mg)
Link to comment

Hi nz11 - thank you for the info . I did not know I could request my info from her and that she has to provide it . I am just worried that she might not provide complete medical info or that if another doctor requests it she will know I do not want her to be my dr anymore . And then if my new dr is not good and my old dr refuses to treat me what would I do . Basically I am just scarred. I know I have to think for myself and not worry about pleasing anyone .

04/10 Luvox 25 mg PM, Nortriptyline 1 mg PM

03/08/19: Buspar 2.5 mg AM, 5 mg PM

01/01/19: Xanax 0.125 AM 5 times a week. Occasionally, 0.125 twice a day AM & noon

12/18 Armour Thyroid 60 mg (for hypothyroidism) 

 

Supplements: B Complex, B12 (adeno), multi-vitamin, D, Adrenal Cortex, iron

  • Lexapro 20 mg 2007 - 2013 with various attempts to stop
  • 2013 found a new Dr and started trying other meds: Prozac, Notryptoline, Effexor, Buspar, Gabapentin, Paxil, Nardil
  • Lexapro 15 mg 2015 - 04/2016
  • Vibryiid 10 - 15mg 05/16-06/16 
  • NO MEDS 07/16 - 10/31/16
  • Reinstated 10/31/16 at 2.5 mg lexapro, increased to 5 mg   
  • 1/13/17 switched to Luvox 50 mg before bed
  • 1/20/17 Luvox 37.5 mg PM
  • 12/18 Luvox 10 mg PM, Nortriptyline 2 mg (started Nortriptyline 06/17 at 10 mg)
Link to comment
  • Moderator Emeritus

Doctors have new patients join their practice and long-standing patients leave for other doctors all the time. You're in the United States where both civil rights and patient rights have a long and strong history.  Your doctor likely will have no problem releasing your information to you and to a doctor of your choice. 

 

I wanted to get copies of my medical records a few years ago for legal reasons. I contacted my current doctor and 2 previous ones. I think one office, the doctor I hadn't seen since '04, asked me to cover the cost of file retrieval and copying.

 

I'm in a different country but our rules may be slightly different from those in the US. Yours are probably stronger on the side of the patient.

 

About magnesium: Many people do well on magnesium citrate forms of the mineral. Others with sensitive digestive systems prefer magnesium glycinate or bisglycinate, although it can be a little more expensive than citrate versions. Some companies say that their formulation is an amino acid chelate, that's a highly "absorbable" of magnesium too.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.
1997-1999 Effexor; 2002-2005 Effexor XR 37.5 mg linear taper, dropping same #beads/week with bad results

Cymbalta 60 mg 2012 - 2015; 2016: 20 mg to 7 mg exact doses and dates in this post; 2017: 6.3 mg to  0.0 mg  Aug. 12; details here


scallywag's Introduction
Online spreadsheet for dose taper calculations and nz11's THE WORKS spreadsheet

Link to comment
  • Moderator

I hope you feel better soon  :)

 

Take care,

Frogie xx

PREVIOUS medications and discontinuations: Have been on medications since 1996. 

 Valium, Gabapentin, Lamictal, Prilosec and Zantac from 2000 to 2015 with a fast taper by a psychiatrist.

 Liquid Lexapro Nov, 2016 to 31-March, 2019 Lexapro free!!! (total Lexapro taper was 4 years-started with pill form)

---CURRENT MEDICATIONS:Supplements:Milk Thistle, Metamucil, Magnesium Citrate, Vitamin D3, Levothyroxine 25mcg, Vitamin C, Krill oil.

Xanax 1mg 3x day June, 2000 to 19-September, 2020 Went from .150 grams (average weight of 1 Xanax) 3x day to .003 grams 3x day. April 1, 2021 went back on 1mg a day. Started tapering May 19, 2023. July 28, 2023-approximately .87mg. Dr. fast tapered me at the end and realized he messed up. Prescribe it again and I am doing "slower than a turtle" taper.

19-September, 2020 Xanax free!!! (total Xanax taper was 15-1/2 months-1-June, 2019-19-September, 2020)

I am not a medical professional.

The suggestions I make are based on personal experience.

Link to comment

Hi frogie - I am doing okay, hanging in there . Dizziness is not going away or the fatigue ☹️ Will give it some time hopefully will be okay

Thank you for stopping by , hope you are doing well

04/10 Luvox 25 mg PM, Nortriptyline 1 mg PM

03/08/19: Buspar 2.5 mg AM, 5 mg PM

01/01/19: Xanax 0.125 AM 5 times a week. Occasionally, 0.125 twice a day AM & noon

12/18 Armour Thyroid 60 mg (for hypothyroidism) 

 

Supplements: B Complex, B12 (adeno), multi-vitamin, D, Adrenal Cortex, iron

  • Lexapro 20 mg 2007 - 2013 with various attempts to stop
  • 2013 found a new Dr and started trying other meds: Prozac, Notryptoline, Effexor, Buspar, Gabapentin, Paxil, Nardil
  • Lexapro 15 mg 2015 - 04/2016
  • Vibryiid 10 - 15mg 05/16-06/16 
  • NO MEDS 07/16 - 10/31/16
  • Reinstated 10/31/16 at 2.5 mg lexapro, increased to 5 mg   
  • 1/13/17 switched to Luvox 50 mg before bed
  • 1/20/17 Luvox 37.5 mg PM
  • 12/18 Luvox 10 mg PM, Nortriptyline 2 mg (started Nortriptyline 06/17 at 10 mg)
Link to comment
  • Moderator

Sorry to hear about the dizziness and fatigue - I hear a lot of people get fatigue. I'm not tapered enough I guess.

I've had a few good days.

Hopefully you will feel better soon  :)

 

Take care,

Frogie xx

PREVIOUS medications and discontinuations: Have been on medications since 1996. 

 Valium, Gabapentin, Lamictal, Prilosec and Zantac from 2000 to 2015 with a fast taper by a psychiatrist.

 Liquid Lexapro Nov, 2016 to 31-March, 2019 Lexapro free!!! (total Lexapro taper was 4 years-started with pill form)

---CURRENT MEDICATIONS:Supplements:Milk Thistle, Metamucil, Magnesium Citrate, Vitamin D3, Levothyroxine 25mcg, Vitamin C, Krill oil.

Xanax 1mg 3x day June, 2000 to 19-September, 2020 Went from .150 grams (average weight of 1 Xanax) 3x day to .003 grams 3x day. April 1, 2021 went back on 1mg a day. Started tapering May 19, 2023. July 28, 2023-approximately .87mg. Dr. fast tapered me at the end and realized he messed up. Prescribe it again and I am doing "slower than a turtle" taper.

19-September, 2020 Xanax free!!! (total Xanax taper was 15-1/2 months-1-June, 2019-19-September, 2020)

I am not a medical professional.

The suggestions I make are based on personal experience.

Link to comment

Doctors have new patients join their practice and long-standing patients leave for other doctors all the time. You're in the United States where both civil rights and patient rights have a long and strong history.  Your doctor likely will have no problem releasing your information to you and to a doctor of your choice. 

 

I wanted to get copies of my medical records a few years ago for legal reasons. I contacted my current doctor and 2 previous ones. I think one office, the doctor I hadn't seen since '04, asked me to cover the cost of file retrieval and copying.

 

I'm in a different country but our rules may be slightly different from those in the US. Yours are probably stronger on the side of the patient.

 

About magnesium: Many people do well on magnesium citrate forms of the mineral. Others with sensitive digestive systems prefer magnesium glycinate or bisglycinate, although it can be a little more expensive than citrate versions. Some companies say that their formulation is an amino acid chelate, that's a highly "absorbable" of magnesium too.

 

Thank you scallywag, I will look into purchasing magnesium.  

 

I have to find a good doctor first as well.  I got recommendation from nz11, but it is far from me I am all the way in Northern part of NJ.  Is there a link for dr recommendations somewhere?

 

If only this dizziness went away   

04/10 Luvox 25 mg PM, Nortriptyline 1 mg PM

03/08/19: Buspar 2.5 mg AM, 5 mg PM

01/01/19: Xanax 0.125 AM 5 times a week. Occasionally, 0.125 twice a day AM & noon

12/18 Armour Thyroid 60 mg (for hypothyroidism) 

 

Supplements: B Complex, B12 (adeno), multi-vitamin, D, Adrenal Cortex, iron

  • Lexapro 20 mg 2007 - 2013 with various attempts to stop
  • 2013 found a new Dr and started trying other meds: Prozac, Notryptoline, Effexor, Buspar, Gabapentin, Paxil, Nardil
  • Lexapro 15 mg 2015 - 04/2016
  • Vibryiid 10 - 15mg 05/16-06/16 
  • NO MEDS 07/16 - 10/31/16
  • Reinstated 10/31/16 at 2.5 mg lexapro, increased to 5 mg   
  • 1/13/17 switched to Luvox 50 mg before bed
  • 1/20/17 Luvox 37.5 mg PM
  • 12/18 Luvox 10 mg PM, Nortriptyline 2 mg (started Nortriptyline 06/17 at 10 mg)
Link to comment

I would like to ask another questions (sorry in advance if this is repetitive).

 

I never experienced dizziness until I was placed on Lexapro (and fatigue for that matter).  I was on lexapro for 8/9 years on and off with some other meds in between (see history), but basically I never felt not dizzy on this medicine.  You know how some ppl say they start SSRI and then when it works for them it "cured" them and they feel normal and just like before a certain issue (depression/anxiety).  In my case I never felt normal or cured on any medication.  I got dizziness and this fainting like feeling for as long as I can remember plus anxiety!  I know dizziness and fainting can be anxiety related,  but is it possible that medication actually caused this symptom and now since my dose diminished significantly and I withdrew I got hit with such intense dizziness and fatigue even more?  

 

I am struggling with accepting current symptoms as they are and not to think that there is something else wrong with me. 

 

B.

04/10 Luvox 25 mg PM, Nortriptyline 1 mg PM

03/08/19: Buspar 2.5 mg AM, 5 mg PM

01/01/19: Xanax 0.125 AM 5 times a week. Occasionally, 0.125 twice a day AM & noon

12/18 Armour Thyroid 60 mg (for hypothyroidism) 

 

Supplements: B Complex, B12 (adeno), multi-vitamin, D, Adrenal Cortex, iron

  • Lexapro 20 mg 2007 - 2013 with various attempts to stop
  • 2013 found a new Dr and started trying other meds: Prozac, Notryptoline, Effexor, Buspar, Gabapentin, Paxil, Nardil
  • Lexapro 15 mg 2015 - 04/2016
  • Vibryiid 10 - 15mg 05/16-06/16 
  • NO MEDS 07/16 - 10/31/16
  • Reinstated 10/31/16 at 2.5 mg lexapro, increased to 5 mg   
  • 1/13/17 switched to Luvox 50 mg before bed
  • 1/20/17 Luvox 37.5 mg PM
  • 12/18 Luvox 10 mg PM, Nortriptyline 2 mg (started Nortriptyline 06/17 at 10 mg)
Link to comment
  • Moderator Emeritus

Lightheadedness and dizziness can be

  • start-up effects that abate, or
  • adverse effects that last as long as you are taking the medication, or
  • withdrawal symptoms.

You reinstated Lexapro, increased dosage, then switched to Luvox, so at this point it could be any of the above.

 

I had what I called "spacy-ness" for several weeks when I started Cymbalta. It went away after 4 weeks for me.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.
1997-1999 Effexor; 2002-2005 Effexor XR 37.5 mg linear taper, dropping same #beads/week with bad results

Cymbalta 60 mg 2012 - 2015; 2016: 20 mg to 7 mg exact doses and dates in this post; 2017: 6.3 mg to  0.0 mg  Aug. 12; details here


scallywag's Introduction
Online spreadsheet for dose taper calculations and nz11's THE WORKS spreadsheet

Link to comment

Recommended doctors link

Thought for the day: Lets stand up, and let’s speak out , together. G Olsen

We have until the 14th. Feb 2018. 

URGENT REQUEST Please consider submitting  for the petition on Prescribed Drug Dependence and Withdrawal currently awaiting its third consideration at the Scottish Parliament. You don't even have to be from Scotland. By clicking on the link below you can read some of the previous submissions but be warned many of them are quite harrowing.

http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651   

Please tell them about your problems taking and withdrawing from antidepressants and/or benzos.

Send by email to petitions@parliament.scot and quote PE01651 in the subject heading. Keep to a maximum of 3 sides of A4 and you can't name for legal reasons any doctor you have consulted. Tell them if you wish to remain anonymous. We need the numbers to help convince the committee members we are not isolated cases. You have until mid February. Thank you

Recovering paxil addict

None of the published articles shed light on what ssri's ... actually do or what their hazards might be. Healy 2013. 

This is so true, with anything you get on these drugs, dependance, tapering, withdrawal symptoms, side effects, just silent. And if there is something mentioned then their is a serious disconnect between what is said and reality! 

  "Every time I read of a multi-person shooting, I always presume that person had just started a SSRI or had just stopped."  Dr Mosher. Me too! 

Over two decades later, the number of antidepressant prescriptions a year is slightly more than the number of people in the Western world. Most (nine out of 10) prescriptions are for patients who faced difficulties on stopping, equating to about a tenth of the population. These patients are often advised to continue treatment because their difficulties indicate they need ongoing treatment, just as a person with diabetes needs insulin. Healy 2015

I believe the ssri era will soon stand as one of the most shameful in the history of medicine. Healy 2015

Let people help people ... in a natural, kind, non-addictive (and non-big pharma) way. J Broadley 2017

 

 

Link to comment

I would like to ask another questions (sorry in advance if this is repetitive).

 

I never experienced dizziness until I was placed on Lexapro (and fatigue for that matter).  I was on lexapro for 8/9 years on and off with some other meds in between (see history), but basically I never felt not dizzy on this medicine.  You know how some ppl say they start SSRI and then when it works for them it "cured" them and they feel normal and just like before a certain issue (depression/anxiety).  In my case I never felt normal or cured on any medication.  I got dizziness and this fainting like feeling for as long as I can remember plus anxiety!  I know dizziness and fainting can be anxiety related,  but is it possible that medication actually caused this symptom and now since my dose diminished significantly and I withdrew I got hit with such intense dizziness and fatigue even more?  

 

I am struggling with accepting current symptoms as they are and not to think that there is something else wrong with me. 

 

B.

When I first started Lexapro I experienced several bizarre and frankly troubling side effects that I never attributed to the drug until I started to withdraw and began experiencing them again. I've discussed some of them in my most recent posts on my thread. Dr. Peter Breggin calls it medication spellbinding. The immediate changes the drug make to the brain prevents us from recognizing how much worse we are getting while on it.

 

It sounds like we both may be re-experiencing some of these more disturbing side effects as withdrawal symptoms. The only difference is that as our minds are clearing in the absence of the drug we are seeing them for the monsters they are.

 

I believe, however, that the clarity we are experiencing now is evidence that our brains are healing and as they heal more, those monsters will lose their teeth and fall to pieces. Then we will see them not as monsters but as paper tigers. Until then all we can do is hang tight and envision this glorious future.

PatriciaVP@AbleWriterSays My Intro

 

Zoloft 150-200 mg- on and off between 1998 and 2004.

 

Lexapro 40 mg - 2004-2013 30 mg 2013 - August 2015 20 mg August 2015- September 2015 15 mg September 2015 - October 2015 10 mg October 2015 -Nov. 1 2015. Nov. 2015 increased dose to 12.5 mg to stabilize. Dec. 28 2015 11.25 mg March 29, 2016 10 mg. August 1, 2016 9 mg. October 23, 2016 8.1 mg. Nov. 29, 2016 7.5 mg. Feb. 25, 2017 7 mg. April 9, 2017 6.5 mg. June 2017 6 mg. Aug. 2018 5.75 mg March 2019 5.5 mg Apr. 2019 5.25 mg. June 2019 5 mg Sept. 2019 4.75 mg Nov. 2019 4.5 mg Dec. 2019  4.25 April 7 2020 4mg 

 

Depakote 1000 mg 2008-2013  750 2013-Dec 2015 500 mg Dec 2015 to Feb 2, 2016. Sopped completely Feb 2 2016.

 

Adderall 40mg 2004-Feb 29, 2016. Feb 29,2016 - reduced Adderall to 20 mg based on pdoc's recommendations. March 29, 2016 - Reduced Adderall to 15 mg. April 30 reduced Adderall to 10 mgs. May 28, 2016 reduced Adderall to 5 mgs.June 8, 2016 stopped taking Adderall due to extreme agitation.

 

Amphetamine 20mg 2008 - 1/16. 1/16 - Stopped Amphetamine completely because pdoc did not renew script.

WWW.PSYCHFREE.NET 

Link to comment

Recommended doctors link

Hi Nz11 - thank you for the link.  I found one that I am thinking of trying.  

04/10 Luvox 25 mg PM, Nortriptyline 1 mg PM

03/08/19: Buspar 2.5 mg AM, 5 mg PM

01/01/19: Xanax 0.125 AM 5 times a week. Occasionally, 0.125 twice a day AM & noon

12/18 Armour Thyroid 60 mg (for hypothyroidism) 

 

Supplements: B Complex, B12 (adeno), multi-vitamin, D, Adrenal Cortex, iron

  • Lexapro 20 mg 2007 - 2013 with various attempts to stop
  • 2013 found a new Dr and started trying other meds: Prozac, Notryptoline, Effexor, Buspar, Gabapentin, Paxil, Nardil
  • Lexapro 15 mg 2015 - 04/2016
  • Vibryiid 10 - 15mg 05/16-06/16 
  • NO MEDS 07/16 - 10/31/16
  • Reinstated 10/31/16 at 2.5 mg lexapro, increased to 5 mg   
  • 1/13/17 switched to Luvox 50 mg before bed
  • 1/20/17 Luvox 37.5 mg PM
  • 12/18 Luvox 10 mg PM, Nortriptyline 2 mg (started Nortriptyline 06/17 at 10 mg)
Link to comment

 

I would like to ask another questions (sorry in advance if this is repetitive).

 

I never experienced dizziness until I was placed on Lexapro (and fatigue for that matter).  I was on lexapro for 8/9 years on and off with some other meds in between (see history), but basically I never felt not dizzy on this medicine.  You know how some ppl say they start SSRI and then when it works for them it "cured" them and they feel normal and just like before a certain issue (depression/anxiety).  In my case I never felt normal or cured on any medication.  I got dizziness and this fainting like feeling for as long as I can remember plus anxiety!  I know dizziness and fainting can be anxiety related,  but is it possible that medication actually caused this symptom and now since my dose diminished significantly and I withdrew I got hit with such intense dizziness and fatigue even more?  

 

I am struggling with accepting current symptoms as they are and not to think that there is something else wrong with me. 

 

B.

When I first started Lexapro I experienced several bizarre and frankly troubling side effects that I never attributed to the drug until I started to withdraw and began experiencing them again. I've discussed some of them in my most recent posts on my thread. Dr. Peter Breggin calls it medication spellbinding. The immediate changes the drug make to the brain prevents us from recognizing how much worse we are getting while on it.

 

It sounds like we both may be re-experiencing some of these more disturbing side effects as withdrawal symptoms. The only difference is that as our minds are clearing in the absence of the drug we are seeing them for the monsters they are.

 

I believe, however, that the clarity we are experiencing now is evidence that our brains are healing and as they heal more, those monsters will lose their teeth and fall to pieces. Then we will see them not as monsters but as paper tigers. Until then all we can do is hang tight and envision this glorious future.

 

Hi Patricia - thank you for this insight.  I like that analogy "spellbinding".  I almost forget at times that before medication I only had occasional panic attacks.  I did not feel fatigue, I did not feel dizziness, this intense exhaustion etc.  I was convinced it is my condition or relapse as they call it etc. and just continued on lexapro for so many years with this dread of a feeling.  

 

I actually had about an hour or so of feeling not too dizzy and tired at work yesterday.  I was smiling inside and getting happy.  But towards the end of the work day it vanished.  But it was still very very nice.  Maybe luvox is providing some relief and it was a good decision after all to cross from lexapro.  Fingers crossed 

04/10 Luvox 25 mg PM, Nortriptyline 1 mg PM

03/08/19: Buspar 2.5 mg AM, 5 mg PM

01/01/19: Xanax 0.125 AM 5 times a week. Occasionally, 0.125 twice a day AM & noon

12/18 Armour Thyroid 60 mg (for hypothyroidism) 

 

Supplements: B Complex, B12 (adeno), multi-vitamin, D, Adrenal Cortex, iron

  • Lexapro 20 mg 2007 - 2013 with various attempts to stop
  • 2013 found a new Dr and started trying other meds: Prozac, Notryptoline, Effexor, Buspar, Gabapentin, Paxil, Nardil
  • Lexapro 15 mg 2015 - 04/2016
  • Vibryiid 10 - 15mg 05/16-06/16 
  • NO MEDS 07/16 - 10/31/16
  • Reinstated 10/31/16 at 2.5 mg lexapro, increased to 5 mg   
  • 1/13/17 switched to Luvox 50 mg before bed
  • 1/20/17 Luvox 37.5 mg PM
  • 12/18 Luvox 10 mg PM, Nortriptyline 2 mg (started Nortriptyline 06/17 at 10 mg)
Link to comment

Another question:

 

This morning I woke up with intense vertigo.  I never felt anything like this before.  Basically every time I moved my head I got a wave of intense nausea and intense dizziness/room spinning sensation.  I could not even move my head without feeling sick to my stomach/nauseous.  I went back to bed slept for maybe 40 mins woke up.  Started walking around for a bit was okay for maybe 5 mins and then again intense nausea with every movement and room spinning sensations returned.  I actually ran to the bathroom hoping I have to vomit but nothing came out.  So then I fell asleep for another 2 hours, woke up and feeling better - nausea is gone, dizziness is still there (always was), but the intense room spinning is gone.  I still have some ear ringing, tired and a bit weak, but nothing like I experienced this morning.  

 

Could this be luvox?  But I started the medication 10 days ago and I did not experience such intense symptoms then so why now?  Plus if it was only in the morning could this be something else? I am going to see my regular doctor tomorrow see if she thinks I should see vertigo/inner ear specialist.  I also texted my psychiatrist but did not hear back yet.  

 

 

Positive note:  yesterday during work for about an hour or so I actually felt less dizzy and not as tired and almost happy inside/somewhat normal.  It went away towards the end of the day.  But it was so nice to feel that little something for a bit.  

 

B.

04/10 Luvox 25 mg PM, Nortriptyline 1 mg PM

03/08/19: Buspar 2.5 mg AM, 5 mg PM

01/01/19: Xanax 0.125 AM 5 times a week. Occasionally, 0.125 twice a day AM & noon

12/18 Armour Thyroid 60 mg (for hypothyroidism) 

 

Supplements: B Complex, B12 (adeno), multi-vitamin, D, Adrenal Cortex, iron

  • Lexapro 20 mg 2007 - 2013 with various attempts to stop
  • 2013 found a new Dr and started trying other meds: Prozac, Notryptoline, Effexor, Buspar, Gabapentin, Paxil, Nardil
  • Lexapro 15 mg 2015 - 04/2016
  • Vibryiid 10 - 15mg 05/16-06/16 
  • NO MEDS 07/16 - 10/31/16
  • Reinstated 10/31/16 at 2.5 mg lexapro, increased to 5 mg   
  • 1/13/17 switched to Luvox 50 mg before bed
  • 1/20/17 Luvox 37.5 mg PM
  • 12/18 Luvox 10 mg PM, Nortriptyline 2 mg (started Nortriptyline 06/17 at 10 mg)
Link to comment
  • Moderator Emeritus

As your CNS (central nervous system) adapts to a medication, effects can change. It would be nice if they were the same from start to fully ramped up (6 weeks or so "they" say), but they're not.  I hope this passes for you before long.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.
1997-1999 Effexor; 2002-2005 Effexor XR 37.5 mg linear taper, dropping same #beads/week with bad results

Cymbalta 60 mg 2012 - 2015; 2016: 20 mg to 7 mg exact doses and dates in this post; 2017: 6.3 mg to  0.0 mg  Aug. 12; details here


scallywag's Introduction
Online spreadsheet for dose taper calculations and nz11's THE WORKS spreadsheet

Link to comment

You CT-ed off 5mg of lex thats equivalent to 10mg citalopram.

The wdl can be delayed and the new drug luvox may not cover the wdl off lex.

Thought for the day: Lets stand up, and let’s speak out , together. G Olsen

We have until the 14th. Feb 2018. 

URGENT REQUEST Please consider submitting  for the petition on Prescribed Drug Dependence and Withdrawal currently awaiting its third consideration at the Scottish Parliament. You don't even have to be from Scotland. By clicking on the link below you can read some of the previous submissions but be warned many of them are quite harrowing.

http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651   

Please tell them about your problems taking and withdrawing from antidepressants and/or benzos.

Send by email to petitions@parliament.scot and quote PE01651 in the subject heading. Keep to a maximum of 3 sides of A4 and you can't name for legal reasons any doctor you have consulted. Tell them if you wish to remain anonymous. We need the numbers to help convince the committee members we are not isolated cases. You have until mid February. Thank you

Recovering paxil addict

None of the published articles shed light on what ssri's ... actually do or what their hazards might be. Healy 2013. 

This is so true, with anything you get on these drugs, dependance, tapering, withdrawal symptoms, side effects, just silent. And if there is something mentioned then their is a serious disconnect between what is said and reality! 

  "Every time I read of a multi-person shooting, I always presume that person had just started a SSRI or had just stopped."  Dr Mosher. Me too! 

Over two decades later, the number of antidepressant prescriptions a year is slightly more than the number of people in the Western world. Most (nine out of 10) prescriptions are for patients who faced difficulties on stopping, equating to about a tenth of the population. These patients are often advised to continue treatment because their difficulties indicate they need ongoing treatment, just as a person with diabetes needs insulin. Healy 2015

I believe the ssri era will soon stand as one of the most shameful in the history of medicine. Healy 2015

Let people help people ... in a natural, kind, non-addictive (and non-big pharma) way. J Broadley 2017

 

 

Link to comment

I was hoping maybe I have vertigo and some inner balance issues, but it does make sense that it also can be luvox side effects or lexapro delayed withdrawal.  It only lasted a few hours.  Really hoping it will not be back tomorrow.  

 

thank you guys for all the support <3

 

B.

04/10 Luvox 25 mg PM, Nortriptyline 1 mg PM

03/08/19: Buspar 2.5 mg AM, 5 mg PM

01/01/19: Xanax 0.125 AM 5 times a week. Occasionally, 0.125 twice a day AM & noon

12/18 Armour Thyroid 60 mg (for hypothyroidism) 

 

Supplements: B Complex, B12 (adeno), multi-vitamin, D, Adrenal Cortex, iron

  • Lexapro 20 mg 2007 - 2013 with various attempts to stop
  • 2013 found a new Dr and started trying other meds: Prozac, Notryptoline, Effexor, Buspar, Gabapentin, Paxil, Nardil
  • Lexapro 15 mg 2015 - 04/2016
  • Vibryiid 10 - 15mg 05/16-06/16 
  • NO MEDS 07/16 - 10/31/16
  • Reinstated 10/31/16 at 2.5 mg lexapro, increased to 5 mg   
  • 1/13/17 switched to Luvox 50 mg before bed
  • 1/20/17 Luvox 37.5 mg PM
  • 12/18 Luvox 10 mg PM, Nortriptyline 2 mg (started Nortriptyline 06/17 at 10 mg)
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Hi Patricia - thank you for this insight.  I like that analogy "spellbinding".  I almost forget at times that before medication I only had occasional panic attacks.  I did not feel fatigue, I did not feel dizziness, this intense exhaustion etc.  I was convinced it is my condition or relapse as they call it etc. and just continued on lexapro for so many years with this dread of a feeling.  

 

The idea that a symptom we experience only after starting a brain-altering drug is caused by a worsening of any condition rather that a side effect of the new poison we recently introduced into our system is patently absurd! It's one of the many reasons I have come to view the entire "practice" of psychiatry as a crock.

 

The fact that we buy this absurdity is further evidence of the spellbinding nature of these drugs. Of course, I don't know what our doctors' excuse is. Unless they are also on the drug, their inability to see the ludicrousness of this idea is totally unfathomable.

 

I think, however, that your experience with Lexapro might provide you some insight into the symptoms you've been having since starting the Luvox. If certain symptoms only appeared after starting a new medication, even if it was several weeks after, odds are they are a side effect of the med and not another illness or a worsening of any preexisting condition. Remember Occam's Razor - The most obvious answer is usually the correct one.  

PatriciaVP@AbleWriterSays My Intro

 

Zoloft 150-200 mg- on and off between 1998 and 2004.

 

Lexapro 40 mg - 2004-2013 30 mg 2013 - August 2015 20 mg August 2015- September 2015 15 mg September 2015 - October 2015 10 mg October 2015 -Nov. 1 2015. Nov. 2015 increased dose to 12.5 mg to stabilize. Dec. 28 2015 11.25 mg March 29, 2016 10 mg. August 1, 2016 9 mg. October 23, 2016 8.1 mg. Nov. 29, 2016 7.5 mg. Feb. 25, 2017 7 mg. April 9, 2017 6.5 mg. June 2017 6 mg. Aug. 2018 5.75 mg March 2019 5.5 mg Apr. 2019 5.25 mg. June 2019 5 mg Sept. 2019 4.75 mg Nov. 2019 4.5 mg Dec. 2019  4.25 April 7 2020 4mg 

 

Depakote 1000 mg 2008-2013  750 2013-Dec 2015 500 mg Dec 2015 to Feb 2, 2016. Sopped completely Feb 2 2016.

 

Adderall 40mg 2004-Feb 29, 2016. Feb 29,2016 - reduced Adderall to 20 mg based on pdoc's recommendations. March 29, 2016 - Reduced Adderall to 15 mg. April 30 reduced Adderall to 10 mgs. May 28, 2016 reduced Adderall to 5 mgs.June 8, 2016 stopped taking Adderall due to extreme agitation.

 

Amphetamine 20mg 2008 - 1/16. 1/16 - Stopped Amphetamine completely because pdoc did not renew script.

WWW.PSYCHFREE.NET 

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Hi Patricia - I could not have agreed more.  It is so crazy how I blindly believed for so long that all of the symptoms were just my condition and that it just worsened.  I failed to remember on various occasions how before the medication I never experienced anything like that.  And every shrink I went to just said it is your anxiety, you relapsed, you developed more issues and you need medication etc etc.

 

I am hoping to stabilize on the luvox (I am taking the smallest dosage) and start to withdraw spring very very slowwwwwwww.  Still having a rough time just praying it will improve. Fatigue, dizziness, drowsiness, and anxiety, I just need a little break, hopefully soon 

 

B.

04/10 Luvox 25 mg PM, Nortriptyline 1 mg PM

03/08/19: Buspar 2.5 mg AM, 5 mg PM

01/01/19: Xanax 0.125 AM 5 times a week. Occasionally, 0.125 twice a day AM & noon

12/18 Armour Thyroid 60 mg (for hypothyroidism) 

 

Supplements: B Complex, B12 (adeno), multi-vitamin, D, Adrenal Cortex, iron

  • Lexapro 20 mg 2007 - 2013 with various attempts to stop
  • 2013 found a new Dr and started trying other meds: Prozac, Notryptoline, Effexor, Buspar, Gabapentin, Paxil, Nardil
  • Lexapro 15 mg 2015 - 04/2016
  • Vibryiid 10 - 15mg 05/16-06/16 
  • NO MEDS 07/16 - 10/31/16
  • Reinstated 10/31/16 at 2.5 mg lexapro, increased to 5 mg   
  • 1/13/17 switched to Luvox 50 mg before bed
  • 1/20/17 Luvox 37.5 mg PM
  • 12/18 Luvox 10 mg PM, Nortriptyline 2 mg (started Nortriptyline 06/17 at 10 mg)
Link to comment

Bought some Dr Teal Epsom salt today, took a 20 mins bath. Will see the results tomorrow . Also my dr got back to me saying that I am probably experiencing withdrawal symptoms from lexapro and that Luvox dose is not enough to help withdrawal and perhaps increasing Luvox will help minimizing lexapro withdrawal symptoms . I never had that kind of symptom withdrawing from lexapro and I think it could be Luvox instead so I am not going to increase the dose .

04/10 Luvox 25 mg PM, Nortriptyline 1 mg PM

03/08/19: Buspar 2.5 mg AM, 5 mg PM

01/01/19: Xanax 0.125 AM 5 times a week. Occasionally, 0.125 twice a day AM & noon

12/18 Armour Thyroid 60 mg (for hypothyroidism) 

 

Supplements: B Complex, B12 (adeno), multi-vitamin, D, Adrenal Cortex, iron

  • Lexapro 20 mg 2007 - 2013 with various attempts to stop
  • 2013 found a new Dr and started trying other meds: Prozac, Notryptoline, Effexor, Buspar, Gabapentin, Paxil, Nardil
  • Lexapro 15 mg 2015 - 04/2016
  • Vibryiid 10 - 15mg 05/16-06/16 
  • NO MEDS 07/16 - 10/31/16
  • Reinstated 10/31/16 at 2.5 mg lexapro, increased to 5 mg   
  • 1/13/17 switched to Luvox 50 mg before bed
  • 1/20/17 Luvox 37.5 mg PM
  • 12/18 Luvox 10 mg PM, Nortriptyline 2 mg (started Nortriptyline 06/17 at 10 mg)
Link to comment

My dr thinks that I have anxiety and have to be on meds forever . Each time I bring up a symptom she just says it is your anxiety and that's that .

 

 

 

 

 

 Also my dr got back to me saying that I am probably experiencing withdrawal symptoms from lexapro

 

 

 

Gee this doctor is a fast learner. Wow what a turn around and all in one week.

Maybe you gave her some professional development or she did 10mins homework. Either way she is now on board with withdrawal so thats good.

 

However sounds like she is going with the 'sledgehammer guessing'  approach of double the dose to relieve symptoms

and that Luvox dose is not enough to help withdrawal and perhaps increasing Luvox will help minimizing lexapro withdrawal symptoms .

Thought for the day: Lets stand up, and let’s speak out , together. G Olsen

We have until the 14th. Feb 2018. 

URGENT REQUEST Please consider submitting  for the petition on Prescribed Drug Dependence and Withdrawal currently awaiting its third consideration at the Scottish Parliament. You don't even have to be from Scotland. By clicking on the link below you can read some of the previous submissions but be warned many of them are quite harrowing.

http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651   

Please tell them about your problems taking and withdrawing from antidepressants and/or benzos.

Send by email to petitions@parliament.scot and quote PE01651 in the subject heading. Keep to a maximum of 3 sides of A4 and you can't name for legal reasons any doctor you have consulted. Tell them if you wish to remain anonymous. We need the numbers to help convince the committee members we are not isolated cases. You have until mid February. Thank you

Recovering paxil addict

None of the published articles shed light on what ssri's ... actually do or what their hazards might be. Healy 2013. 

This is so true, with anything you get on these drugs, dependance, tapering, withdrawal symptoms, side effects, just silent. And if there is something mentioned then their is a serious disconnect between what is said and reality! 

  "Every time I read of a multi-person shooting, I always presume that person had just started a SSRI or had just stopped."  Dr Mosher. Me too! 

Over two decades later, the number of antidepressant prescriptions a year is slightly more than the number of people in the Western world. Most (nine out of 10) prescriptions are for patients who faced difficulties on stopping, equating to about a tenth of the population. These patients are often advised to continue treatment because their difficulties indicate they need ongoing treatment, just as a person with diabetes needs insulin. Healy 2015

I believe the ssri era will soon stand as one of the most shameful in the history of medicine. Healy 2015

Let people help people ... in a natural, kind, non-addictive (and non-big pharma) way. J Broadley 2017

 

 

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