nz11 Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Frequently is ends up being best not to even discuss it with your doctor. Just use them as a supplier for what you need to take and control the dose yourself. As far as my doctor knows I'm still on 40mg of paxil. oh my goodness ...this is pure genius!! 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
Coopergirl1 Posted October 29, 2015 Author Share Posted October 29, 2015 Yes, first prozac 20, lexapro 10,20, zoloft 50..combined with Xanax when needed. Started Prozac 20 MG March 2014-Sept 2014 New doctor switched me to Lexapro 10 MG and it helped from Sept 2014-Feb 2015 and then I felt the Lexapro wasn't helping as much so he changed the dose to 20 MG and I took that from Feb 2015-July 2015 when I decided to get off pills completely.I had to reinstate as I was feeling so bad and very pressured to go back on pills. My Dr put me on 50 MG zoloft and I took it for about a week..made me feel brain dead. Went down to 25 before I really learned the trouble of fast tapering..finally got a jewelry scale to properly weigh out my pills. Looking to just feel OK. Unsure where to go next. Link to comment
Coopergirl1 Posted October 29, 2015 Author Share Posted October 29, 2015 Brass monkey is very smart I agree! Started Prozac 20 MG March 2014-Sept 2014 New doctor switched me to Lexapro 10 MG and it helped from Sept 2014-Feb 2015 and then I felt the Lexapro wasn't helping as much so he changed the dose to 20 MG and I took that from Feb 2015-July 2015 when I decided to get off pills completely.I had to reinstate as I was feeling so bad and very pressured to go back on pills. My Dr put me on 50 MG zoloft and I took it for about a week..made me feel brain dead. Went down to 25 before I really learned the trouble of fast tapering..finally got a jewelry scale to properly weigh out my pills. Looking to just feel OK. Unsure where to go next. Link to comment
nz11 Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Sorry coopergirl...i am too lazy to read back through your thread but are you on 50mg zoloft?? plus a benzo ???...and lex?? Thats not in your drug sig. 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
Coopergirl1 Posted October 29, 2015 Author Share Posted October 29, 2015 I just got put on 50 mg zoloft to get rid of withdrawal symptoms and then I am going to do a taper from that and then the Xanax taper after that. Quit lex 3 months ago Started Prozac 20 MG March 2014-Sept 2014 New doctor switched me to Lexapro 10 MG and it helped from Sept 2014-Feb 2015 and then I felt the Lexapro wasn't helping as much so he changed the dose to 20 MG and I took that from Feb 2015-July 2015 when I decided to get off pills completely.I had to reinstate as I was feeling so bad and very pressured to go back on pills. My Dr put me on 50 MG zoloft and I took it for about a week..made me feel brain dead. Went down to 25 before I really learned the trouble of fast tapering..finally got a jewelry scale to properly weigh out my pills. Looking to just feel OK. Unsure where to go next. Link to comment
Coopergirl1 Posted October 29, 2015 Author Share Posted October 29, 2015 I will update my sig Started Prozac 20 MG March 2014-Sept 2014 New doctor switched me to Lexapro 10 MG and it helped from Sept 2014-Feb 2015 and then I felt the Lexapro wasn't helping as much so he changed the dose to 20 MG and I took that from Feb 2015-July 2015 when I decided to get off pills completely.I had to reinstate as I was feeling so bad and very pressured to go back on pills. My Dr put me on 50 MG zoloft and I took it for about a week..made me feel brain dead. Went down to 25 before I really learned the trouble of fast tapering..finally got a jewelry scale to properly weigh out my pills. Looking to just feel OK. Unsure where to go next. Link to comment
nz11 Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 I am sorry to hear this when did you start the Zoloft , 3 months ago or three days ago ? When did you start the xanax ? i am sorry but i cant help feeling disappointed for the mods sake. Why not get the mods to give you a second opinion before you take such advice they have been walking with you on this... 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
Coopergirl1 Posted October 30, 2015 Author Share Posted October 30, 2015 Zoloft 3 weeks ago and Xanax just here and there when I have really bad anxiety. I know you are right I should've asked first before reinstating. I am at 25 mg Zoloft and going to taper off that as slowly as I can..withdrawal is hell. Started Prozac 20 MG March 2014-Sept 2014 New doctor switched me to Lexapro 10 MG and it helped from Sept 2014-Feb 2015 and then I felt the Lexapro wasn't helping as much so he changed the dose to 20 MG and I took that from Feb 2015-July 2015 when I decided to get off pills completely.I had to reinstate as I was feeling so bad and very pressured to go back on pills. My Dr put me on 50 MG zoloft and I took it for about a week..made me feel brain dead. Went down to 25 before I really learned the trouble of fast tapering..finally got a jewelry scale to properly weigh out my pills. Looking to just feel OK. Unsure where to go next. Link to comment
nz11 Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 withdrawal is hell. yes it is. Welli i have read your intro from page 1 and i hope you can stabilize. Does your boy friend know you have done this What did he say One of my favorite books is 'psychiatric drug withdrawal' by p breggin. It may be in your local library. It may shake one to wake one regarding the true nature of the the shiny red apples being peddled by doctors. nz11 3.40 am withdrawal sucks!! 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
Coopergirl1 Posted October 30, 2015 Author Share Posted October 30, 2015 I am feeling better but I want off completely. I cold turkey'd off lex which I know now was stupid but I wanted relief. I know now that I am on a low dose of zoloft, the lowest there is and will slowly taper off to not shock my nervous system again. Yes my boyfriend knows and we are working together to get off it for good. I can't believe the miracle drug they gave me almost made me ruin my relationship. I will get that book and read it. Any advice on how to taper off 25 MG zoloft? Started Prozac 20 MG March 2014-Sept 2014 New doctor switched me to Lexapro 10 MG and it helped from Sept 2014-Feb 2015 and then I felt the Lexapro wasn't helping as much so he changed the dose to 20 MG and I took that from Feb 2015-July 2015 when I decided to get off pills completely.I had to reinstate as I was feeling so bad and very pressured to go back on pills. My Dr put me on 50 MG zoloft and I took it for about a week..made me feel brain dead. Went down to 25 before I really learned the trouble of fast tapering..finally got a jewelry scale to properly weigh out my pills. Looking to just feel OK. Unsure where to go next. Link to comment
nz11 Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Any advice on how to taper off 25 MG zoloft? Did the doctor advise you how long you should be on this and how to taper off and side effects ? Did he advice how he will taper the xanax? I think the best thing and the first thing is to decide where are you going for your instructions and if its the doc then run with that. Secondly going forward on sa, if you genuinely want help, you need to be honest in what you are or are not taking ...unless i am missing something, im seeing a lot of inconsistent info in these postings (read post 86 vs 113 ) . ..and thats the politest way i can say it. i know in wdl our brains cant think straight but are you on 50mg or 25 mg of zoloft? So you started zoloft ?mg 3 weeks ago and xanax as needed. Are you able to define 'as needed' In other words i have been taking xanax ?? mg every day for 3 weeks . Be great if you could put this in the drug sig. So sorry you are in this difficult position. 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
Coopergirl1 Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 Hello all. Feeling OK today, I am currently down to 20 MG zoloft..my Dr reinstated me to 50mg and I told her I felt it was way too high so she said go down to 25 and I did as told. I stayed on that for 2 weeks and am currently now on 20..I am going to hold here another 2 weeks. The emotional anesthesia is the first thing I worry about recovering from but as you all have said it will get better. May I ask does anyone else feel like running away from home and hiding until it's over? Am I alone on this? Trying to be brave. Thanks for any input Started Prozac 20 MG March 2014-Sept 2014 New doctor switched me to Lexapro 10 MG and it helped from Sept 2014-Feb 2015 and then I felt the Lexapro wasn't helping as much so he changed the dose to 20 MG and I took that from Feb 2015-July 2015 when I decided to get off pills completely.I had to reinstate as I was feeling so bad and very pressured to go back on pills. My Dr put me on 50 MG zoloft and I took it for about a week..made me feel brain dead. Went down to 25 before I really learned the trouble of fast tapering..finally got a jewelry scale to properly weigh out my pills. Looking to just feel OK. Unsure where to go next. Link to comment
Moderator brassmonkey Posted November 9, 2015 Moderator Share Posted November 9, 2015 I refer to it as "going to hide under my rock" and the way I feel this morning I really wish I was there. Please don't rush your taper, that drop from 25 to 20 was really big and needs more than a couple of weeks to settle in before you consider dropping again. 20 years on Paxil starting at 20mg and working up to 40mg. Sept 2011 started 10% every 6 weeks taper (2.5% every week for 4 weeks then hold for 2 additional weeks), currently at 7.9mg. Oct 2011 CTed 15oz vodka a night, to only drinking 2 beers most nights, totally sober Feb 2013. Since I wrote this I have continued to decrease my dose by 10% every 6 weeks (2.5% every week for 4 weeks and then hold for an additional 2 weeks). I added in an extra 6 week hold when I hit 10mg to let things settle out even more. When I hit 3mgpw it became hard to split the drop into 4 parts so I switched to dropping 1mgpw (pill weight) every week for 3 weeks and then holding for another 3 weeks. The 3 + 3 schedule turned out to be too harsh so I cut back to dropping 1mgpw every 4 weeks which is working better. Final Dose 0.016mg. Current dose 0.000mg 04-15-2017 "It's also important not to become angry, no matter how difficult life is, because you can loose all hope if you can't laugh at yourself and at life in general." Stephen Hawking Link to comment
Coopergirl1 Posted November 9, 2015 Author Share Posted November 9, 2015 Brass-I hope you are alright? I am sorry to hear this morning was rough. I will pray for you. Sometimes I think we all count on you so much we forget you have problems of your own. As always I will listen to you and stay here for weeks before dropping again. I just want a quick fix but with these drugs there is no quick fix. Started Prozac 20 MG March 2014-Sept 2014 New doctor switched me to Lexapro 10 MG and it helped from Sept 2014-Feb 2015 and then I felt the Lexapro wasn't helping as much so he changed the dose to 20 MG and I took that from Feb 2015-July 2015 when I decided to get off pills completely.I had to reinstate as I was feeling so bad and very pressured to go back on pills. My Dr put me on 50 MG zoloft and I took it for about a week..made me feel brain dead. Went down to 25 before I really learned the trouble of fast tapering..finally got a jewelry scale to properly weigh out my pills. Looking to just feel OK. Unsure where to go next. Link to comment
Moderator brassmonkey Posted November 9, 2015 Moderator Share Posted November 9, 2015 Hi CG-- I'll live (he said melodramatically), it just looks like it could be rather uncomfortable for a while, who knows it may clear up tomorrow, it's been known to happen. It's a prime example of why we say not to go too fast. I did an 8% drop two weeks ago and have been doing great, then this morning.... I feel like I did over a year ago. It really caught me off guard so it will take a little time to get my head back into the rhythm of coping with it, slow down, concentrate on the little moves, watch my back at all times and write everything down while I work. Of course the timing is perfect too, we just signed a huge contract today which means everything I was told to put on the back burner is now due yesterday. So I get to work with our upper management and the customers upper management while I can't string together a coherent sentence. But enough of that, thanks for letting me rant. 20 years on Paxil starting at 20mg and working up to 40mg. Sept 2011 started 10% every 6 weeks taper (2.5% every week for 4 weeks then hold for 2 additional weeks), currently at 7.9mg. Oct 2011 CTed 15oz vodka a night, to only drinking 2 beers most nights, totally sober Feb 2013. Since I wrote this I have continued to decrease my dose by 10% every 6 weeks (2.5% every week for 4 weeks and then hold for an additional 2 weeks). I added in an extra 6 week hold when I hit 10mg to let things settle out even more. When I hit 3mgpw it became hard to split the drop into 4 parts so I switched to dropping 1mgpw (pill weight) every week for 3 weeks and then holding for another 3 weeks. The 3 + 3 schedule turned out to be too harsh so I cut back to dropping 1mgpw every 4 weeks which is working better. Final Dose 0.016mg. Current dose 0.000mg 04-15-2017 "It's also important not to become angry, no matter how difficult life is, because you can loose all hope if you can't laugh at yourself and at life in general." Stephen Hawking Link to comment
Coopergirl1 Posted November 14, 2015 Author Share Posted November 14, 2015 Hi guys..I am currently at 20 MG zoloft and tapering slowly..is 20 MG zoloft still able to blunt emotions? If yes I would really feel much better knowing so..thank you!! Started Prozac 20 MG March 2014-Sept 2014 New doctor switched me to Lexapro 10 MG and it helped from Sept 2014-Feb 2015 and then I felt the Lexapro wasn't helping as much so he changed the dose to 20 MG and I took that from Feb 2015-July 2015 when I decided to get off pills completely.I had to reinstate as I was feeling so bad and very pressured to go back on pills. My Dr put me on 50 MG zoloft and I took it for about a week..made me feel brain dead. Went down to 25 before I really learned the trouble of fast tapering..finally got a jewelry scale to properly weigh out my pills. Looking to just feel OK. Unsure where to go next. Link to comment
Theon Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 is 20 MG zoloft still able to blunt emotions? Coopergirl, in my opinion that question does not make too much sense, mainly because your psychological state does not only depend on the medication and the amount of medication you are at this moment, it also depends (and to a grater extent) on your medication history. (and it also depends on you own psychollogy, drugs are not all) What I mean is that your medication history affects much more to your current state of mind than what are you taking at the moment. So, you took ssri (prozac and lexapro) for 17 months, and you stopped them 5 months ago and you started zoloft 25mg 1 month ago, which you are still taking. Your emotional anesthesia (that seems to be your main problem) comes from the usage of prozac and lexapro during 17 months and the zoloft has little to do with it, that's why I think your question does not make too much sense,, so I think you will have to wait... And, emotional anesthesia is my main problem too, now I already see it getting better but it is being replaced by anxiety (fear) sometimes... so expect more anxiety when your feelings start to come back. About me ------------------------ College student with a history of anxiety, excessive worrying and health anxiety. April 2014 - May 2015---------- Prozac 20mg On and Off. Second time on it I developed apathy, changes in personality, asexuality. May 2015 - July 2015----------------- Tappering off prozac. Still no feelings,anhedonia, apathy, no libido, asexuality. Current symptoms-------- pssd (asexuality in my case). Anxiety and depression developed some months afer stopping prozac, could have been caused by obsessing and beating myself up too much when I found myself unable to like girls again. The best thing to do with pssd (which in my case is asexuality) is accept it and move on. Link to comment
Theon Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 is 20 MG zoloft still able to blunt emotions? Coopergirl, in my opinion that question does not make too much sense, mainly because your psychological state does not only depend on the medication and the amount of medication you are at this moment, it also depends (and to a grater extent) on your medication history, (and it also depends on your own psychology, drugs are not all) What I mean is that your medication history affects much more to your current state of mind than what are you taking at the moment. So, you took ssri (prozac and lexapro) for 17 months, and you stopped them 5 months ago and you started zoloft 25mg 1 month ago, which you are still taking. Your emotional anesthesia (that seems to be your main problem) comes from the usage of prozac and lexapro during 17 months and the zoloft has little to do with it, that's why I think your question does not make too much sense,, so I think you will have to wait... And, emotional anesthesia is my main problem too, now I already see it getting better but it is being replaced by anxiety (fear) sometimes... so expect more anxiety when your feelings start to come back. About me ------------------------ College student with a history of anxiety, excessive worrying and health anxiety. April 2014 - May 2015---------- Prozac 20mg On and Off. Second time on it I developed apathy, changes in personality, asexuality. May 2015 - July 2015----------------- Tappering off prozac. Still no feelings,anhedonia, apathy, no libido, asexuality. Current symptoms-------- pssd (asexuality in my case). Anxiety and depression developed some months afer stopping prozac, could have been caused by obsessing and beating myself up too much when I found myself unable to like girls again. The best thing to do with pssd (which in my case is asexuality) is accept it and move on. Link to comment
Theon Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 ups I posted it twice, sorry About me ------------------------ College student with a history of anxiety, excessive worrying and health anxiety. April 2014 - May 2015---------- Prozac 20mg On and Off. Second time on it I developed apathy, changes in personality, asexuality. May 2015 - July 2015----------------- Tappering off prozac. Still no feelings,anhedonia, apathy, no libido, asexuality. Current symptoms-------- pssd (asexuality in my case). Anxiety and depression developed some months afer stopping prozac, could have been caused by obsessing and beating myself up too much when I found myself unable to like girls again. The best thing to do with pssd (which in my case is asexuality) is accept it and move on. Link to comment
Coopergirl1 Posted November 14, 2015 Author Share Posted November 14, 2015 Theon-thank you!!!!!!!! Started Prozac 20 MG March 2014-Sept 2014 New doctor switched me to Lexapro 10 MG and it helped from Sept 2014-Feb 2015 and then I felt the Lexapro wasn't helping as much so he changed the dose to 20 MG and I took that from Feb 2015-July 2015 when I decided to get off pills completely.I had to reinstate as I was feeling so bad and very pressured to go back on pills. My Dr put me on 50 MG zoloft and I took it for about a week..made me feel brain dead. Went down to 25 before I really learned the trouble of fast tapering..finally got a jewelry scale to properly weigh out my pills. Looking to just feel OK. Unsure where to go next. Link to comment
Coopergirl1 Posted November 15, 2015 Author Share Posted November 15, 2015 Theon I appreciate your feedback. I was just telling my boyfriend I feel I have a friend online who helps me out when I'm feeling down and reassuring me it'll be ok. How strange is it to use to tell yourself you're sick and it's not the real you yet..having small small windows..those few moments of clarity help me see the light. 17 months seems so short but taking a pill every day can cause damage. Started Prozac 20 MG March 2014-Sept 2014 New doctor switched me to Lexapro 10 MG and it helped from Sept 2014-Feb 2015 and then I felt the Lexapro wasn't helping as much so he changed the dose to 20 MG and I took that from Feb 2015-July 2015 when I decided to get off pills completely.I had to reinstate as I was feeling so bad and very pressured to go back on pills. My Dr put me on 50 MG zoloft and I took it for about a week..made me feel brain dead. Went down to 25 before I really learned the trouble of fast tapering..finally got a jewelry scale to properly weigh out my pills. Looking to just feel OK. Unsure where to go next. Link to comment
Coopergirl1 Posted November 16, 2015 Author Share Posted November 16, 2015 Really scared right now..I am having very strange harmful thoughts..I never in my life have felt this way. I know I would never harm myself or anyone else but has anyone else experienced violent thoughts while tapering off ssri? Please help. Started Prozac 20 MG March 2014-Sept 2014 New doctor switched me to Lexapro 10 MG and it helped from Sept 2014-Feb 2015 and then I felt the Lexapro wasn't helping as much so he changed the dose to 20 MG and I took that from Feb 2015-July 2015 when I decided to get off pills completely.I had to reinstate as I was feeling so bad and very pressured to go back on pills. My Dr put me on 50 MG zoloft and I took it for about a week..made me feel brain dead. Went down to 25 before I really learned the trouble of fast tapering..finally got a jewelry scale to properly weigh out my pills. Looking to just feel OK. Unsure where to go next. Link to comment
Moderator brassmonkey Posted November 16, 2015 Moderator Share Posted November 16, 2015 Hi CG-- We have to stop meeting like this. We must be on the same schedule 'cause I seem to be checking in just about the time you're posting something. Harmful/violent thoughts are one of the scariest and more common symptoms there is in WD. They are so scary because people don't believe that they could think things like that, and under normal conditions they wouldn't. These drugs have a bad habit of digging into the deepest, darkest, never visited corners of our minds, making up the weirdest stuff, magnifying it 10X, then showing it to us over and over again. Trying to make us believe it's real. At the same time they lower our defenses so it is super hard not to believe what we are thinking. I use to get very strong feelings of violence against loved ones or the inclination to self harm. Best thing I could do was close my eyes, give my head a shake and say "dang, where did that come from?" and then try to forget that it even came up. It's along the lines of doing AAF like I've mentioned before. For most people the thoughts some and go as they will. They will be around for several weeks and then go away for a while then come back. But they do diminish as your taper progresses. It's one of those times you have to believe in your innate goodness and core values, and know that the thoughts are false and not your true self. WD is really scary stuff, but you're handling it really well. (((((((((((((((((((((((HUGS))))))))))))))))))))) 20 years on Paxil starting at 20mg and working up to 40mg. Sept 2011 started 10% every 6 weeks taper (2.5% every week for 4 weeks then hold for 2 additional weeks), currently at 7.9mg. Oct 2011 CTed 15oz vodka a night, to only drinking 2 beers most nights, totally sober Feb 2013. Since I wrote this I have continued to decrease my dose by 10% every 6 weeks (2.5% every week for 4 weeks and then hold for an additional 2 weeks). I added in an extra 6 week hold when I hit 10mg to let things settle out even more. When I hit 3mgpw it became hard to split the drop into 4 parts so I switched to dropping 1mgpw (pill weight) every week for 3 weeks and then holding for another 3 weeks. The 3 + 3 schedule turned out to be too harsh so I cut back to dropping 1mgpw every 4 weeks which is working better. Final Dose 0.016mg. Current dose 0.000mg 04-15-2017 "It's also important not to become angry, no matter how difficult life is, because you can loose all hope if you can't laugh at yourself and at life in general." Stephen Hawking Link to comment
Coopergirl1 Posted November 16, 2015 Author Share Posted November 16, 2015 Thank you so much for answering me I can't thank you enough. I was just so scared and my boyfriend is telling me it is from the taper and it will go away. I am not a harmful thinker normally I can't believe I could be having these thoughts! You really don't know how much your reply means to me. I almost told Jeremy to drive me to the hospital..but what would they do? Double my dosage and strap me to a bed....I took a benadryl instead and am going to eat something for dinner. Your words saved me from a lot of confusion and maybe even a 3 day confinement. God bless you you are truly a special angel. Started Prozac 20 MG March 2014-Sept 2014 New doctor switched me to Lexapro 10 MG and it helped from Sept 2014-Feb 2015 and then I felt the Lexapro wasn't helping as much so he changed the dose to 20 MG and I took that from Feb 2015-July 2015 when I decided to get off pills completely.I had to reinstate as I was feeling so bad and very pressured to go back on pills. My Dr put me on 50 MG zoloft and I took it for about a week..made me feel brain dead. Went down to 25 before I really learned the trouble of fast tapering..finally got a jewelry scale to properly weigh out my pills. Looking to just feel OK. Unsure where to go next. Link to comment
Theon Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Hi Coopergirl, I had very strange a weird thoughts in May/June/July/August 2015, when I was still on prozac or tappering. I think those were the most dangerous days in my life, far more dangerous than my anxiety/depression problems (that was just worrying too much) that I had before starting any ssri. Those thoughts were sooooo weird, I actually had the thought of biting the flesh my arm and eating it (I know, it sounds very messed up, but I had that thought several times), and the idea sounded good for a part of my mind, like WTF?, also I had the thought of jumping out of the window, or doing other messed up staff, very messed up, not that I wanted to do that, but somehow it sounded right for a messed up part of my brain. Luckily I didn't follow any of those strange thoughts, I knew they were not right and I realized they were related to the drug.... SSRI change your personality, and some thoughts that normally wouldn't come to your mind, can come, at least it was like that for me. I also had anger outburst in the period May-September, I think my neighbours (I live in an apartment) think I am very crazy since that time, because I used to punch the walls and throw books to the floor because my mind felt so weird with those messed up thoughts that I just couldn't accept it and all that frustration came out in the form of anger, becasue I was also so emotionally flat that I couldn't feel sad to let that frustration go to the outside, so I just used to cope with the frustration by breaking things or punching walls... As I said it was the worst time of my life. If I could come back to that time, I would try to avoid the breaking and punching things, because now my neighbours look at me weirdly when they see me in the stairs or the elevator, and i feel guilty.. but I have always been such a pacific person, I am the kind of guy that always avoid conflicts by any means , and those months I was just not myself, I became a monster... Now I am not completely recovered, but definitely much better than then. I am still quite emotionally flat, but I don't get those messed up thoughts anymore, and I have not felt that anger for some time... But phew, it was sooo bad, sorry that I am writing such a long post, but I am just remembering those days (from April/May to August/September) and I realize how bad I was... About me ------------------------ College student with a history of anxiety, excessive worrying and health anxiety. April 2014 - May 2015---------- Prozac 20mg On and Off. Second time on it I developed apathy, changes in personality, asexuality. May 2015 - July 2015----------------- Tappering off prozac. Still no feelings,anhedonia, apathy, no libido, asexuality. Current symptoms-------- pssd (asexuality in my case). Anxiety and depression developed some months afer stopping prozac, could have been caused by obsessing and beating myself up too much when I found myself unable to like girls again. The best thing to do with pssd (which in my case is asexuality) is accept it and move on. Link to comment
Theon Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 And another thing to add up to that cooment ; Until things get better, you need to come in terms with how you are the the moment.. because things change so gradually that you can't realize that things are better until you compare your situation at a moment with your situation several months before... so try to relax and accept the present, because the future will come, but very slowly. About me ------------------------ College student with a history of anxiety, excessive worrying and health anxiety. April 2014 - May 2015---------- Prozac 20mg On and Off. Second time on it I developed apathy, changes in personality, asexuality. May 2015 - July 2015----------------- Tappering off prozac. Still no feelings,anhedonia, apathy, no libido, asexuality. Current symptoms-------- pssd (asexuality in my case). Anxiety and depression developed some months afer stopping prozac, could have been caused by obsessing and beating myself up too much when I found myself unable to like girls again. The best thing to do with pssd (which in my case is asexuality) is accept it and move on. Link to comment
DaddyCee Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 And another thing to add up to that cooment ; Until things get better, you need to come in terms with how you are the the moment.. because things change so gradually that you can't realize that things are better until you compare your situation at a moment with your situation several months before... so try to relax and accept the present, because the future will come, but very slowly. very true. 1997 - 2001 Seroxat 10mg 2001 - 2013 Escitalopram 10mg Gradual taper from 10mg to 5mg over 2.5 years (between 2011 - 2013) Last taper from 5mg to 0 under advice from doctor done in 1 month (too damn fast!) - included missing out days. Have been drug free since Oct 2013. - Yep 5 years drugs free Link to comment
Coopergirl1 Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 I can't thank you all enough for responding..still having these thoughts today at work but they will pass you say? I feel so odd! I keep telling myself this is just the withdrawal and taper struggle. It is nice to know I'm not alone Started Prozac 20 MG March 2014-Sept 2014 New doctor switched me to Lexapro 10 MG and it helped from Sept 2014-Feb 2015 and then I felt the Lexapro wasn't helping as much so he changed the dose to 20 MG and I took that from Feb 2015-July 2015 when I decided to get off pills completely.I had to reinstate as I was feeling so bad and very pressured to go back on pills. My Dr put me on 50 MG zoloft and I took it for about a week..made me feel brain dead. Went down to 25 before I really learned the trouble of fast tapering..finally got a jewelry scale to properly weigh out my pills. Looking to just feel OK. Unsure where to go next. Link to comment
Theon Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Those thoughts were sooooo weird, I actually had the thought of biting the flesh my arm and eating it (I know, it sounds very messed up, but I had that thought several times), and the idea sounded good for a part of my mind, like WTF?, also I had the thought of jumping out of the window, or doing other messed up staff, very messed up, not that I wanted to do that, but somehow it sounded right for a messed up part of my brain. Luckily I didn't follow any of those strange thoughts, I had really weird thoughts but it was like: one weird thought came to my mind like "what if I jumped out of the window?" and I then I thought: "why am I thinking this?", it was not like I was psychotic or something, I dont want to scare you haha. But yes, I got quite weird thoughts that were not like my real self at all at the begining of the tappering and on my second round of prozac, because my second round on prozac was actually an adverse reaction I think, it didn't do me any good. About me ------------------------ College student with a history of anxiety, excessive worrying and health anxiety. April 2014 - May 2015---------- Prozac 20mg On and Off. Second time on it I developed apathy, changes in personality, asexuality. May 2015 - July 2015----------------- Tappering off prozac. Still no feelings,anhedonia, apathy, no libido, asexuality. Current symptoms-------- pssd (asexuality in my case). Anxiety and depression developed some months afer stopping prozac, could have been caused by obsessing and beating myself up too much when I found myself unable to like girls again. The best thing to do with pssd (which in my case is asexuality) is accept it and move on. Link to comment
Theon Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 I can't thank you all enough for responding..still having these thoughts today at work but they will pass you say? I feel so odd! I keep telling myself this is just the withdrawal and taper struggle. It is nice to know I'm not alone They will pass but it will take a while; months, not days. About me ------------------------ College student with a history of anxiety, excessive worrying and health anxiety. April 2014 - May 2015---------- Prozac 20mg On and Off. Second time on it I developed apathy, changes in personality, asexuality. May 2015 - July 2015----------------- Tappering off prozac. Still no feelings,anhedonia, apathy, no libido, asexuality. Current symptoms-------- pssd (asexuality in my case). Anxiety and depression developed some months afer stopping prozac, could have been caused by obsessing and beating myself up too much when I found myself unable to like girls again. The best thing to do with pssd (which in my case is asexuality) is accept it and move on. Link to comment
Coopergirl1 Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 I want to thank you from the bottom of my messed up heart lol Started Prozac 20 MG March 2014-Sept 2014 New doctor switched me to Lexapro 10 MG and it helped from Sept 2014-Feb 2015 and then I felt the Lexapro wasn't helping as much so he changed the dose to 20 MG and I took that from Feb 2015-July 2015 when I decided to get off pills completely.I had to reinstate as I was feeling so bad and very pressured to go back on pills. My Dr put me on 50 MG zoloft and I took it for about a week..made me feel brain dead. Went down to 25 before I really learned the trouble of fast tapering..finally got a jewelry scale to properly weigh out my pills. Looking to just feel OK. Unsure where to go next. Link to comment
starcontrol2 Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Hi Coopergirl1 again! Finally writing in your thread. I see some really weird similarities. I was on lexapro and got transitioned to zoloft, as of 10/10/2015 no lexapro and 37.5mg zoloft. Mind, that I transitioned from lexapro to zoloft from end of August to 10/10 slowly. On 16th of October, I got bad intrusive thoughts, that I have never experienced before. Is it lexapro withdrawal? is it zoloft? is it both? Now, I was suffering all the way from May from lexapro withdrawal and failed reinstatement in July but the intrusive thoughts were something new. I hope that it was lexapro withdrawal as in the summer I never made it to 0 lexapro. I have been thinking what to do about stupid zoloft, I want to taper it, I know 37.5 may not be a big dose but I am on it!!! I will update my own thread for advice there. I feel in my case zoloft is not helping but maybe things could be worse? I know my days alternate between bad and terrible, maybe if no zoloft all days would be terrible, hard to say... But, from what I read here is that it is better to try to stabilize, whatever that may mean, changing the does quickly is like playing with fire. It has been 1 month and 10 days since my last change. I only started documenting my symptoms as of 10/12/2105 and until the 16th, my days were manageable. Was it a window? was it that a little bit of lexapro I was still taking along with zoloft was making something happen, I don't know. Feel free to pm me. 10/2012 - Lexapro 10mg 2013/2014 - Started experiencing visual disturbances, like visual processing was slow, feeling drunk all the time 9/2014 - Lexapro 5mg, didn't notice any withdrawal, drunk feeling went away 2015 - Drunk feeling came back 5/2015 - Lexapro 2.5mg - 1.25mg - insomnia started 6/2015 - Lexapro 0.625mg 7/2015 - Severe symptoms started, in desperation on advice of pdoc restarted 5mg Lexapro - total disaster 8/2015 - Lexapro 5mg, disoriented, sleepless zombie 9/2015 - Very reluctantly started transitioning to Zoloft as of 10/10/2105 - no lexapro, 37.5mg Zoloft 12/14/2015 - 35mg zoloft, 1/16/2016 - 34mg Link to comment
Coopergirl1 Posted November 18, 2015 Author Share Posted November 18, 2015 Hi you guys. Hope everyone is ok. Still haven't gotten out of bed yet today. I was wondering had anyone tried Benadryl to lessen the withdrawal symptoms? I am almost laughing at the fact that my mom is telling me stop crying and get back on your meds completely. I REFUSE. I told her the meds are the reason I feel like this in the first place! Started Prozac 20 MG March 2014-Sept 2014 New doctor switched me to Lexapro 10 MG and it helped from Sept 2014-Feb 2015 and then I felt the Lexapro wasn't helping as much so he changed the dose to 20 MG and I took that from Feb 2015-July 2015 when I decided to get off pills completely.I had to reinstate as I was feeling so bad and very pressured to go back on pills. My Dr put me on 50 MG zoloft and I took it for about a week..made me feel brain dead. Went down to 25 before I really learned the trouble of fast tapering..finally got a jewelry scale to properly weigh out my pills. Looking to just feel OK. Unsure where to go next. Link to comment
oskcajga Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Benadryl works for helping me sleep when I'm desperate. I usually take between 1 and 1.5 tabs and it just completely sedates me and I'm able to sleep through the night. The problem with benadryl is that it causes tolerance VERY quickly. Within 1-2 days there are no longer any effects unless I up the dose. Link to comment
Coopergirl1 Posted November 18, 2015 Author Share Posted November 18, 2015 Thank you O..how are you feeling and I just read your signature..I feel better knowing I'm not the only one to reinstate but now I want off completely..need patience. Started Prozac 20 MG March 2014-Sept 2014 New doctor switched me to Lexapro 10 MG and it helped from Sept 2014-Feb 2015 and then I felt the Lexapro wasn't helping as much so he changed the dose to 20 MG and I took that from Feb 2015-July 2015 when I decided to get off pills completely.I had to reinstate as I was feeling so bad and very pressured to go back on pills. My Dr put me on 50 MG zoloft and I took it for about a week..made me feel brain dead. Went down to 25 before I really learned the trouble of fast tapering..finally got a jewelry scale to properly weigh out my pills. Looking to just feel OK. Unsure where to go next. Link to comment
Coopergirl1 Posted November 21, 2015 Author Share Posted November 21, 2015 Hi everyone! Just wanted to say thank you for all of your help lately. I could not get through without you. Also I became friends with a new member and we have been talking everyday and helping each other. I encourage the buddy system as we all are going through this and it helps so much to have a friend to talk to. I wish you all well. P.s I can't wait for my next 10% drop Started Prozac 20 MG March 2014-Sept 2014 New doctor switched me to Lexapro 10 MG and it helped from Sept 2014-Feb 2015 and then I felt the Lexapro wasn't helping as much so he changed the dose to 20 MG and I took that from Feb 2015-July 2015 when I decided to get off pills completely.I had to reinstate as I was feeling so bad and very pressured to go back on pills. My Dr put me on 50 MG zoloft and I took it for about a week..made me feel brain dead. Went down to 25 before I really learned the trouble of fast tapering..finally got a jewelry scale to properly weigh out my pills. Looking to just feel OK. Unsure where to go next. Link to comment
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