☼ Junglechicken

[Junglechicken]

So you last reduced in February and your gut issues are in response to that reduction?  What was your taper plan?

 

Lg, I've had a lot of psychiatric support and spent a small fortune on supplements and alternative healthcare, as well as not having to work.

 

I think personal circumstances play a big part in recovery time, also I've only been on Lexapro and my time on ADs was 4 yrs.

 

You have huge mental fortitude yourself, but it's too easy to forget how strong you are as you are distracted by symptoms etc.,

 

Xx JC

 

[Littlegrandma]

Hi JC

Thank you so much!

[Frogie]

Hi:

 

I tried to send you a PM and it said you didn't accept them?

 

It's important that I reach you. Can you check and see why?

 

Thanks JC.

 

Take care,

Frogie xx

[Junglechicken]

5 minutes ago, Frogie said:

Hi:

 

I tried to send you a PM and it said you didn't accept them?

 

It's important that I reach you. Can you check and see why?

 

Thanks JC.

 

Take care,

Frogie xx

 

Hi Frogie,

 

Try again, its probably because I had used my file limit.

 

Have deleted some messages now so you should be ok.

 

TC,

JC xx

[Junglechicken]

This is the WORST hay fever I have had in years.

 

Wake up every morning, eyes streaming, runny nose, coughing and sneezing.

 

Grim.

[Junglechicken]

Just what I thought, HIGH pollen count in the south of the UK.

 

I am suffering ☹️

 

Runny nose, sneezing, watery eyes etc., DESPITE having taken an anti-histamine first thing this morning.

 

Oh God help me!

[brassmonkey]

Saline spray several times a day to wash things out and a dust mask.

[Junglechicken]

17 minutes ago, brassmonkey said:

Saline spray several times a day to wash things out and a dust mask.

 

Thank you Brass, appreciate that.

 

Its particularly bad first thing in the morning.

 

Sounds like you are all too familiar.

[brassmonkey]

Had it really bad many years ago.  Funny thing is that it cleared up over time and doesn't bother me much any more.  My favorite thing was to go swimming and "wash a pool full of water through my nose"  it always helped.  My other favorite is eye drops for itch, watery eyes.  They go through the tear ducts into the nose and apply the medication right where it's needed.

[Junglechicken]

Just now, brassmonkey said:

Had it really bad many years ago.  Funny thing is that it cleared up over time and doesn't bother me much any more.  My favorite thing was to go swimming and "wash a pool full of water through my nose"  it always helped.  My other favorite is eye drops for itch, watery eyes.  They go through the tear ducts into the nose and apply the medication right where it's needed.

 

Lucky that you "grew out of it" Brass.

 

I've had it really bad my whole life, and wonder when I'll grow out of it.

 

A trip to the pharmacy me thinks.  Anti-histamines alone don't do the trick with such a high pollen count.

[Skeeter]

JC,

Have you tried a neti pot, or there is also a squeeze bottle version, if you cannot turn your head slightly from side to side, but the saline spray is great advice to have with you, too!  Your sinuses are like a tunnel, literally! You put the neti pot in one nostril, and the water comes out the other.  Saline packets you mix with water mage it gentle for the mucous membranes.  My Aunt, who has very severe seasonal allergies, swears by them, she does it a few times a day. Here is a picture, and an article.  Use distilled or bottled water only, unless you have well water you know is safe:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/common-cold/expert-answers/neti-pot/faq-20058305

Just a different way to put a pool full of water through your nose!

 

Good luck!

Skeeter

 

[Junglechicken]

1 minute ago, Skeeter said:

JC,

Have you tried a neti pot, or there is also a squeeze bottle version, if you cannot turn your head slightly from side to side, but the saline spray is great advice to have with you, too!  Your sinuses are like a tunnel, literally! You put the neti pot in one nostril, and the water comes out the other.  Saline packets you mix with water mage it gentle for the mucous membranes.  My Aunt, who has very severe seasonal allergies, swears by them, she does it a few times a day. Here is a picture, and an article.  Use distilled or bottled water only, unless you have well water you know is safe:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/common-cold/expert-answers/neti-pot/faq-20058305

Just a different way to put a pool full of water through your nose!

 

Good luck!

Skeeter

 

 

Thank you Skeets,

 

Yes, we have got a neti pot in our medicine cabinet.  Will dig it out, although I know my husband had difficulty with it.

 

Hope you're ok?

 

JC

[Skeeter]

JC,

Little run in with artificial sugar, specifically sorbitol this time, that put me back into benzo WD, last week did it again is Asulfate Potassium (did YOU know that was a "fake" sugar)?  NOW I do.  Still recovering, but am here, so am pleased!  Thank you for asking.

 

Want to laugh?  I am afraid of neti pots.  Something about drowning...lol.  I wonder if your husband has an issue with his nasal septum, that can give issues.  Most people should have little issue (barring phobias, of course...lol).

I do hope it works!  I hate it when you are miserable!

Be Well!

Skeets

Edited June 1, 2018 by Skeeter
punctuation!

[Junglechicken]

2 hours ago, Skeeter said:

JC,

Little run in with artificial sugar, specifically sorbitol this time, that put me back into benzo WD, last week did it again is Asulfate Potassium (did YOU know that was a "fake" sugar)?  NOW I do.  Still recovering, but am here, so am pleased!  Thank you for asking.

 

Want to laugh?  I am afraid of neti pots.  Something about drowning...lol.  I wonder if your husband has an issue with his nasal septum, that can give issues.  Most people should have little issue (barring phobias, of course...lol).

I do hope it works!  I hate it when you are miserable!

Be Well!

Skeets

 

Oh no Skeets,

 

Thats really bad luck, those artificial sweeteners are nasty.  No, I didn't know that Asulfate Potassium was a fake sugar....have never even heard of it.

 

Will be visiting a pharmacy tomorrow to stock up on essentials.

 

Dont blame you for being afraid of neti pots, kind of like snorkelling or ski a diving on land?!

 

Anyway, hang in there, and hope you feel better soon.

 

JC

[Skeeter]

JC,

You are a doll!  Put saline packets on your shopping list, unless you like to make your own!  I think the link I gave you had a recipe, and grab a gallon(?)/couple of liters/ a stone? (lol) of water, if you need!

 

Nice to hear from you!!

Skeets

[Junglechicken]

Most notable WD symptoms:

 

Mood:

Extreme irritability (directed at my husband or at service providers that are unreliable)

Emotionally numb

Extreme sadness (about relationship with my mother, and how my life has turned out)

Nightmares

"Flog" myself to do more and more

 

Physical:

TOTM currently 7 days late and increasingly irregular (previous 2 months @ 22 days)

Dizziness

Headaches

Nausea

GI issues (Candida related)

No libido

 

Mental:

Memory loss 

Confusion

 

[Junglechicken]

3 hours ago, Junglechicken said:

Most notable WD symptoms:

 

Mood:

Extreme irritability (directed at my husband or at service providers that are unreliable)

Emotionally numb

Extreme sadness (about relationship with my mother, and how my life has turned out)

Nightmares

"Flog" myself to do more and more

 

Physical:

TOTM currently 7 days late and increasingly irregular (previous 2 months @ 22 days)

Dizziness

Headaches

Nausea

GI issues (Candida related)

No libido

 

Mental:

Memory loss 

Confusion

 

 

TOTM arrived @ 34 days into cycle - guess its peri-meno irregularity.....

[ikam]

Hi, when I look at your signature, you did 50% drop, is this right? "Just curious, nothing more... 

I do 1% at the time from a starting dose of 2.5mg of escitalopram... 

[Junglechicken]

46 minutes ago, ikam said:

Hi, when I look at your signature, you did 50% drop, is this right? "Just curious, nothing more... 

I do 1% at the time from a starting dose of 2.5mg of escitalopram... 

 

Hi Ikam,

 

Yes, I did 50% drops.

 

Best,

JC

[ikam]

I have been tempted to get more than I do, but unsure...

I know we all differ and what works for one person may not work for another...

Why did you decide for 50%? What about a severity of symptoms?

[Junglechicken]

1 minute ago, ikam said:

I have been tempted to get more than I do, but unsure...

I know we all differ and what works for one person may not work for another...

Why did you decide for 50%? What about a severity of symptoms?

 

I couldn't do the liquid route, as the liquid escitalopram concentration available over here was too low to be able to dilute accurately.  The quantities were so minute I would have needed a chemistry lab to perform the titrations.

 

In the end, I just decided to "take the bull by the horns" and do a bigger drop.

 

Per my previous update, I haven't gotten away with this with no symptoms.

[ikam]

I am unsure how accurate i am when making a liquid from tablets, but it seems to be working...

i dilute 10 mg tablet...

 

i thought you are in UK, same as me...

 

i would like to go a bit faster, but I am concerned about symptoms...

i have to work full time, + I am completely on my own with everything...

[Junglechicken]

1 minute ago, ikam said:

I am unsure how accurate i am when making a liquid from tablets, but it seems to be working...

i dilute 10 mg tablet...

 

i thought you are in UK, same as me...

 

i would like to go a bit faster, but I am concerned about symptoms...

i have to work full time, + I am completely on my own with everything...

 

Ah, I mean the liquid escitalopram (comes in a bottle).

 

I gave up on that, and went on to 5mg tabs which I then broke into 4 pieces.

 

From then on it got ridiculous in regards to achieving accuracy - wasn't possible.

 

I had so much stress going on at the time I just couldn't mess around with scales etc.,

 

I am where I am now....for better for worse.

[ikam]

I get 10 mg tablet diluted in 4x10ml syringe...and then take out what I need...

Unsure, how accurate it is, but if I keep to the same procedure i achieve some consistency...

I cannot achieve the last dose, so I always get it from 2.5 mg as a base...

It is so complicated at the small dose...

 

Good luck...symptoms are always there, but you are managing!

 

[Junglechicken]

14 minutes ago, ikam said:

I get 10 mg tablet diluted in 4x10ml syringe...and then take out what I need...

Unsure, how accurate it is, but if I keep to the same procedure i achieve some consistency...

I cannot achieve the last dose, so I always get it from 2.5 mg as a base...

It is so complicated at the small dose...

 

Good luck...symptoms are always there, but you are managing!

 

 

I'm glad its working for you Ikam, you're a better "chemist" than me, lol!

 

I couldn't cope with the additional stress of dealing with ultra-small doses.

 

You could say I've been countering the effects as much as possible by alternative medicine (Naturopathy).

[ikam]

I also noticed that if I manage to observe my symptoms rather than engage with them (which is not always easy), I am able to distract myself and feel less... 

I used to be preoccupied with symptoms... 

This is the reason why I don't read other people's posts, as I would start being anxious and expected to have symptoms...

Whereas now, I try to treat them as they come...and they go away, to come back... 

For example, I have started to treat my morning anxiety as my normal morning, so I do not give extra power to the anxiety... If possible, I try to connect to external noises... It is not easy at as it wakes me up around 5am...

So, I tend to go to sleep earlier, if possible... 

 

I am not saying that symptoms are not there and that They are easy to manage... But they are easier if I don't get over-attachged to them, if I don't panic over having symptoms... 

[Junglechicken]

27 minutes ago, ikam said:

I also noticed that if I manage to observe my symptoms rather than engage with them (which is not always easy), I am able to distract myself and feel less... 

I used to be preoccupied with symptoms... 

This is the reason why I don't read other people's posts, as I would start being anxious and expected to have symptoms...

Whereas now, I try to treat them as they come...and they go away, to come back... 

For example, I have started to treat my morning anxiety as my normal morning, so I do not give extra power to the anxiety... If possible, I try to connect to external noises... It is not easy at as it wakes me up around 5am...

So, I tend to go to sleep earlier, if possible... 

 

I am not saying that symptoms are not there and that They are easy to manage... But they are easier if I don't get over-attachged to them, if I don't panic over having symptoms... 

 

As my Naturopath says "Focus on health not symptoms", its easier said than done.  

 

She also says that when we focus on the fact we might get this, that, or the other {INSERT SYMPTOM}, then we are inviting disease, as our neuroses will eventually result in dis-ease.

 

Sounds like you're on track Ikam!

[ikam]

Your naturopath seems good, does she know about antidepressants and withdrawal?

 

I  do try to focus on health, it is possible...as long as I do not have any extras...

i also tend to spend lots of time in my own, as it is easier to regulate triggers, as long as I do not isolate, which makes things worse...

Trying to get things balanced...

 

i am on protein and supetgreens, as I was low on iron + providing and curcumin...

 

[Junglechicken]

1 minute ago, ikam said:

Your naturopath seems good, does she know about antidepressants and withdrawal?

 

I  do try to focus on health, it is possible...as long as I do not have any extras...

i also tend to spend lots of time in my own, as it is easier to regulate triggers, as long as I do not isolate, which makes things worse...

Trying to get things balanced...

 

i am on protein and supetgreens, as I was low on iron + providing and curcumin...

 

 

Yes, she has a number of Clients who are coping with the effects of WD and also AD use.

 

I agree that "extras" are what can throw us out completely despite all our efforts to try to be positive and improve our health.

 

My new "therapy" is being in the garden, I love it!!  There is always something to do, which suits my character.  Never get bored.

[ikam]

Does your naturopath do Skype sessions? 

[Junglechicken]

1 minute ago, ikam said:

Does your naturopath do Skype sessions? 

 

Yes she does Ikam, I can give you her details by PM if you like?

[Junglechicken]

Feeling very conflicted.

 

Had a tough therapy session.

 

There is no doubt my husband suffers from depression.  My therapist reckons he should see a doctor, and be on medication (ADs).  He has terrible mood swings, and will suddenly fall down the "rabbit hole" and be under the proverbial "black cloud" we a all know too well.

 

I cannot support this given what I've been through, however, my therapist reckons only a very small percentage of us have adverse reactions to these drugs.  

 

I dont think any of us on this forum can accurately say what % of people in the world on ADs have reacted badly trying to come off them, or indeed from side effects.

 

She also said my mood will have been hugely affected by my mother's cruel rejection of me a few weeks ago, so I have been self-sabotaging by not coming to therapy due to stuff arriving for the house.

 

I can't tell you how s**t I feel today, even though the sun is shining etc.,

[Scorpio]

Hi jc

 

well it doesn’t sound as though you had a very uplifting therapy session today, is she supposed to be making you feel better or have I got the wrong idea?  

 

Your husband has to make his own decisions regarding his depression.  He is a grown man and only he knows how bad he feels and what can help him. 

 

You have both been through an awful time with your parents compounded by the move which is a huge thing to cope with. 

 

Hugs

[ikam]

Hmmm, I often wonder why therapists make some comments that are painted by their own assumptions? 

My therapist allows me to have my own view, he assists me rather than impose his own meanings on me... 

 

[Junglechicken]

Thank you Scorpio and Ikam,

 

I don't know, I thought therapists were supposed to empower us enough to help us make the best decisions for ourselves?

 

I rather got the impression she was annoyed because I hadn't been showing up for therapy (meaning she doesn't get paid??).

 

Still confused friends.

[ikam]

If I do not show for therapy, I have to pay anyway, this is in my contract. 

I think that therapist should not respond from so called countertransference, meaning should appear uninvolved on their personal level. 

 

It may also be that you have felt guilty therefore you may have perceived her as angry. 

This happens to me sometimes, I feel something and kind of project my meanings to others. 

 

Still, I think she should not have stated so strongly that WD affects only small percentage of population. This would upset me if somebody invalidated my feelings this way. I would feel inadequate and hurt...