PsyGuy: SSRI withdrawal

[PsyGuy]

Hi Chessie,

 

I will add my new med descriptions.

 

Thanks KT, I won't take the 5htp while still on paxil.

[KarenB]

If it was me I wouldn't take the 5-htp.

 

And please do update your sig, as CC suggested, so we can be more accurate.  How long have you been on these new meds?  That's a lot of Paxil.

 

Zyprexa can have negative interactions with other drugs:  Read http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/3743-tips-for-tapering-off-zyprexa-olanzapine/

 

It would be a good idea to put all three new meds in the drug interraction checker and post the results here.

[Fresh]

From previous page:

 

"Thanks for the responses and advice. Can I take the 5-htp while I'm still on meds? Is it advisable to take it along with medication? After I was hospitalized I am now on a different medication schedule and I have a follow up with a new dr. In a few weeks. I'm now on
40mg paxil 
15mg zyprexa 
900mg gabapentin 

I desperately want off these meds and will talk to my new dr and see what they say."

 

Psyguy , this is not a good situation at all.    All 3 medications you are now taking interact with each other to produce

a range of adverse symptoms.

From www.drugs.com:

 

Moderate

paroxetine  gabapentin enacarbil

Applies to: Paxil (paroxetine), gabapentin enacarbil

Using PARoxetine together with gabapentin may increase side effects such as dizziness, drowsiness, and difficulty concentrating. Some people may also experience some impairment in thinking and judgment.

Moderate paroxetine  olanzapine

Applies to: Paxil (paroxetine), Zyprexa (olanzapine)

Using PARoxetine together with OLANZapine may increase side effects such as dizziness, drowsiness, and difficulty concentrating. Some people may also experience some impairment in thinking and judgment.

Moderate gabapentin enacarbil  olanzapine

Applies to: gabapentin enacarbil, Zyprexa (olanzapine)

Using gabapentin together with OLANZapine may increase side effects such as dizziness, drowsiness, and difficulty concentrating. Some people may also experience some impairment in thinking and judgment.

 

Do you really want to continue on them all until your doctors appointment?    

Hopefully Altostrata will be able to offer advice.  

[Altostrata]

It sounds like your nervous system was sensitized by going off Paxil. It's been so long, reinstatement is a long shot. If you decide to try it, you might want to try 1mg Paxil to start.

 

For taking very small doses, see Tips for tapering off Paxil (paroxetine)

 

....

I do have another question for everyone out there though. I'm currently on 60mg Buspar and when I went to the pharmacy to get my prescription of paxil filled I asked the pharmacist if I should continue to take the Buspar while going back on the paxil (as I and my psychiatrist completely forgot I was taking the buspar.) he said he didn't know, typically he said I would stop taking the buspar and go into the Paxil.

 

So I called my psychiatrist and asked her about the dosages and she said to take them together 60mg buspar and 40mg Paxil.

 

Has anyone taken those two medications together before and what were your experiences?

 

Hi guys,

 

Yes I'm on 40mg that's why my dr told me to reinstate with. Should I be cutting them in half and titrate up? Is it too much of a dose too soon? I'm at work right now and I'm freaking out from panic. I don't know what to do.

 

I dammed it I go off them and I'm damned if I go back on them. Talk about a double edged sword. This is like a living hell.

 

Hi everyone,

 

Thanks for the responses and advice. Can I take the 5-htp while I'm still on meds? Is it advisable to take it along with medication? After I was hospitalized I am now on a different medication schedule and I have a follow up with a new dr. In a few weeks. I'm now on

40mg paxil

15mg zyprexa

900mg gabapentin

 

I desperately want off these meds and will talk to my new dr and see what they say.

Psyguy, we recommend reinstating at a very low dose for very specific reasons: Your nervous system may be sensitized by withdrawal and higher dosages might cause adverse or paradoxical reactions.

 

When a person is in this sensitized state, an adverse or paradoxical reaction may feel like being overstimulated, anxious, and sleepless.

 

Very few doctors understand this or any aspect of tapering and withdrawal syndrome.

 

How long have you been taking Zyprexa and gabapentin? Did they help? Now that you're on a fairly substantial drug cocktail, how do you feel?

 

What happened to the Buspar?

[PsyGuy]

Hi Alto,

 

The hospital said they wanted me to stop the Buspar and switch to Zyprexa from Abilify. I've been taking the Zyprexa and Gabapentin since the day after Thanksgiving. I've taken Gabapentin in the past and it had absolutely zero effect on me, Zyprexa on the other hand makes me very tired and hungry. I can see how the antipsychotics can lead to massive weight gain which I certainly do not want to have.

 

Has anyone or anyone they know here been exposed to any antipsychotics? If so, do they manifest withdrawal symptoms like the SSRIs do?

[Fresh]

Lots of people on this site have been put on antipsychotics.  If you take them more than 4-5 days , you need to taper

them just like ssri's.

See Tips for tapering off Zyprexa (olanzapine)

[PsyGuy]

Happy Holidays everyone,

 

Has anyone on Zyprexa or any antipsychotics experienced massive memory loss? I've been on Zyprexa for a month now and I am forgetting everything. I'm talking forgetting massive chunks of my days and weeks. I went to go see the new Star Wars movie on Monday with friends and I only remember pieces of the movie and the dinner we had before the movie? It's like a dream I'm living in just existing and struggling to remember who I and and what I'm doing.

[ChessieCat]

Hi PG,

 

Just checked out your drug interactions and found that Atvian has a major interaction (this wasn't one that Fresh checked - all 3 of those included difficulty concentrating & impairment in thinking and judgment) so if you have been taking Atvian as well it could be what is causing the current issue:

 

Interactions between your selected drugs

Major     Ativan (lorazepam), Zyprexa (olanzapine)

Ask your doctor before using LORazepam together with OLANZapine. This can cause low blood pressure, shallow breathing, weak pulse, muscle weakness, drowsiness, dizziness and slurred speech. This may be more likely to occur in older adults or those with a debilitating condition. You should be counseled to avoid activities requiring mental alertness until you know how these medications will affect you. If your doctor prescribes these medications together, you may need a dose adjustment or special tests to safely use these medications together.

Moderate     Ativan (lorazepam), Cogentin (benztropine)

Using LORazepam together with benztropine may increase side effects such as dizziness, drowsiness, and difficulty concentrating. Some people may also experience some impairment in thinking and judgment. You should avoid or limit the use of alcohol while being treated with these medications.

Moderate     Ativan (lorazepam), Paxil (paroxetine)

Using LORazepam together with PARoxetine may increase side effects such as dizziness, drowsiness, and difficulty concentrating. Some people may also experience some impairment in thinking and judgment. You should avoid or limit the use of alcohol while being treated with these medications.

 

CC

[Happy2Heal]

Happy Holidays everyone,

 

Has anyone on Zyprexa or any antipsychotics experienced massive memory loss? I've been on Zyprexa for a month now and I am forgetting everything. I'm talking forgetting massive chunks of my days and weeks. I went to go see the new Star Wars movie on Monday with friends and I only remember pieces of the movie and the dinner we had before the movie? It's like a dream I'm living in just existing and struggling to remember who I and and what I'm doing.

Hi

I've taken zyprexa and massive memory loss like you describe was not an issue for me- but that does not mean it can't be or won't be for you.

I am having that kind of memory loss NOW from stopping and restarting and then tapering too fast, off of lexapro

 

If I am reading your signature correctly, it seems you were rapidly switched from one med to another to another, yikes. (that was done to me in the past as well, not fun)

I would *think* that may have more to do with your memory loss than the zyprexa, I don't know

 

oh wait, I see you are on ativan too, er, I have to look this up, but on some of those drugs there is something that happens that causes amnesia, I know I had it from ambien, it made it so that I could not recall ANYTHING that happened just before and just after taking the stuff. I was horrible.

 

ambien is a hypnotic med though, not sure about ativan, it's a benzo but,,,,,,,,,

well I don't see where I"m helping you much but I would say that there's a chance that one or more of your meds is causing this memory problem,

and it would be hard to say which one.

 

I can totally relate to the feeling of trying to hold on to who you are and what you are doing, I am going thru that now too.

I *wish* I knew what to say to help you!!

 

I have found writing things done helps a little bit but when I"m most confused I'm less likely to write things down

I have ppl telling me I did such and such and said this or that and I have NO memory of it at all.

I think the best we can do is to stay around people we feel safe with. I don't feel able to protect myself in this state, I feel like I almost don't exist and ppl could do whatever they wanted and I would not react

[KT38]

How are you doing PsyGuy?

[Justin332]

I’d really Like to know what happened to psyguy, our situations are exactly the same. Anyone know?