allez Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 Hey, I am severely depressed lately and feel a general sense of confusion. Three months ago I was prescribed mirtazapine (Remeron) for panic disorder and depression, but have been too anxious to take them so far. I am considering starting them again, but not sure if I should still go the natural route. What are your thoughts on this medication? I've tried ssris in the past (prozac, lexapro, celexa) with not much success. I've also tried an anti-psychotic and beta-blockers. Not much help from those either. Thanks, Andrew Celexa 40mg 2010-2013; withdrawn in one week. Prozac 40mg 2012; took it for a month and switched back to Celexa. Lexapro 15mg 2013-2014; withdrawn in one month. Seroquel 50mg 2013; took it for a month and quit it. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Fresh Posted December 2, 2015 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 2, 2015 Hi allez , welcome to the site. Could you give us a little more information about your past medication use? When was the last time you took any of the medications you mentioned? Try filling in your signature. I think most people on this site would recommend steering clear of psych. meds. because of the dreadful side effects and withdrawal effects they can cause. Welcome aboard , Fresh 1987-1997 pertofran , prothiaden , Prozac 1997-2002 Zoloft 2002-2004 effexor 2004-2010 Lexapro 40mg 2010-2012Cymbalta 120mg Sept. 2012 -decreased 90mg in 6months. Care taken over by Dr Lucire in March 2013 , decreased last 30mg at 2mg per week over 3 months. July 21 , 2013- last dose of Cymbalta Protracted withdrawal syndrome kicked in badly Jan.2014 Unrelenting akathisia until May 2014. Voluntary hosp. admission. Cocktail of Seroquel, Ativan and mirtazapine and I was well enough to go home after 14 days. Stopped all hosp. meds in next few months. July 2014 felt v.depressed - couldn't stop crying. Started pristiq 50mg. Felt improvement within days and continued to improve, so stayed on 50mg for 8 months. Began taper 28 Feb. 2015. Pristiq 50mg down to 45mg. Had one month of w/d symptoms. Started CES therapy in March. No w/d symptoms down to 30mg. October 2015 , taking 25mg Pristiq. Capsules compounded with slow-release additive. March 2016 , 21mg Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus ChessieCat Posted December 2, 2015 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 2, 2015 Hi allez, Welcome to SA. This is a great site with lots of information and supportive members. It would be helpful if you put your drug history (dates/doses) in your signature block. This will enable people to be better able to suggest what to do. Please put your Withdrawal History in Signature OR Complete your Signature from Phone or Tablet Whilst you are waiting for one of the more knowledgeable site members to pop in, I suggest you read the following which will help you to understand what and why they suggest something. Also, please don't take/stop anything until you get some advise on what to do. One of the mods will put your Username at the beginning of the Topic you started and you can use your Intro topic to ask questions and keep a journal. Wishing you all the best. CC (edited - links taken out because not applicable) * NO LONGER ACTIVE on SA * MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: (6 year taper) 0mg Pristiq on 13th November 2021 ADs since ~1992: 25+ years - 1 unknown, Prozac (muscle weakness), Zoloft; citalopram (pooped out) CTed (very sick for 2.5 wks a few months after); Pristiq: 50mg 2012, 100mg beg 2013 (Serotonin Toxicity) Tapering from Oct 2015 - 13 Nov 2021 LAST DOSE 0.0025mg Post 0 updates start here My tapering program My Intro (goes to tapering graph) VIDEO: Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome and its Management Link to comment
allez Posted December 2, 2015 Author Share Posted December 2, 2015 Thanks Celexa 40mg 2010-2013; withdrawn in one week. Prozac 40mg 2012; took it for a month and switched back to Celexa. Lexapro 15mg 2013-2014; withdrawn in one month. Seroquel 50mg 2013; took it for a month and quit it. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Fresh Posted December 2, 2015 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 2, 2015 Thanks for doing your sig. What month did you finish your Lexapro taper? It looks like you may have had withdrawal syndrome after stopping Celexa abruptly in 2013. Most doctors don't understand this and advise you it will be fine to cut the dose in half , then stop. A bit later , when the w/d symptoms start , they tell you it's your original condition returning . . . hence Lexapro. You may find some symptom relief by reinstating a tiny dose of lexapro , like 1 or 2mg. See About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms and What is withdrawal syndrome? There are loads of ideas and suggestion in the Symptoms and Self Care section that involve natural activities and supplements. 1987-1997 pertofran , prothiaden , Prozac 1997-2002 Zoloft 2002-2004 effexor 2004-2010 Lexapro 40mg 2010-2012Cymbalta 120mg Sept. 2012 -decreased 90mg in 6months. Care taken over by Dr Lucire in March 2013 , decreased last 30mg at 2mg per week over 3 months. July 21 , 2013- last dose of Cymbalta Protracted withdrawal syndrome kicked in badly Jan.2014 Unrelenting akathisia until May 2014. Voluntary hosp. admission. Cocktail of Seroquel, Ativan and mirtazapine and I was well enough to go home after 14 days. Stopped all hosp. meds in next few months. July 2014 felt v.depressed - couldn't stop crying. Started pristiq 50mg. Felt improvement within days and continued to improve, so stayed on 50mg for 8 months. Began taper 28 Feb. 2015. Pristiq 50mg down to 45mg. Had one month of w/d symptoms. Started CES therapy in March. No w/d symptoms down to 30mg. October 2015 , taking 25mg Pristiq. Capsules compounded with slow-release additive. March 2016 , 21mg Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus ChessieCat Posted December 2, 2015 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 2, 2015 Hi Allez, From what I have come to understand since I've been a member here is that if you come off your antidepressants too quickly, or cold turkey you can end up with protracted withdrawal. In your case, your depression, general sense of confusion and anxiety/panic may not be a recurrence of your former problems, but are in fact part of the withdrawal. This link may help you understand what is happening to your brain and why withdrawal can take so long: Brain Remodelling CC (Hi Fresh!!!) * NO LONGER ACTIVE on SA * MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: (6 year taper) 0mg Pristiq on 13th November 2021 ADs since ~1992: 25+ years - 1 unknown, Prozac (muscle weakness), Zoloft; citalopram (pooped out) CTed (very sick for 2.5 wks a few months after); Pristiq: 50mg 2012, 100mg beg 2013 (Serotonin Toxicity) Tapering from Oct 2015 - 13 Nov 2021 LAST DOSE 0.0025mg Post 0 updates start here My tapering program My Intro (goes to tapering graph) VIDEO: Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome and its Management Link to comment
allez Posted December 2, 2015 Author Share Posted December 2, 2015 I stopped taking lexapro in January 2014. I was actually doing fine until a string of really bad panic attacks that left me home bound the past eight months. I have severe agoraphobia and depression atm that I did not have earlier this year. Celexa 40mg 2010-2013; withdrawn in one week. Prozac 40mg 2012; took it for a month and switched back to Celexa. Lexapro 15mg 2013-2014; withdrawn in one month. Seroquel 50mg 2013; took it for a month and quit it. Link to comment
nz11 Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 I stopped taking lexapro in January 2014. I was actually doing fine until a string of really bad panic attacks that left me home bound the past eight months. I have severe agoraphobia and depression atm that I did not have earlier this year. I agree with Fresh you are suffering withdrawal symptoms. These can go on for years for some people especially so if one has done a cold turkey or too fast taper. What you are calling agor. and 'd' are in actual fact withdrawal symptoms. Healing from this pharmaceutical assault follows a windows and waves trajectory ...recover is nonlinear. http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/82-the-windows-and-waves-pattern-of-stabilization/ not sure if I should still go the natural route. Do the natural route, it could be very dangerous to consult a doctor during this time. What are your thoughts on this medication? These drugs have no right to be called 'medication' implying they are doing something useful like penicillen, they are very damaging brain altering addictive chemicals and unlike useful medicines like penicillen their drug trials are littered with dead bodies. welcome. 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
AprilShowers Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 Welcome Allez and sorry you're having a hard time right now. You are not alone. It looks from your sig like you never took medications for very long? It's not clear how long you were on the celaxa after switching back to it from the prozac before you started lexapro. Did you continuously take them or was there a break? It looks at the moment like you stay on medications for as little time as possible and they don't much help you so I'd be cautious about adding more. There are other ways to manage your struggles and you don't want to do yourself any more damage. This post on Neuro emotions might be useful to you: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/9809-neuro-emotions/ Personally I had an horrific experience with mirtazapine and with trying to switch around different drugs looking for *the one* that would work (none of them worked, most made me far, far worse and mirtazapine almost killed me) and I wouldn't recommend anyone following in my footsteps. Please save yourself from risking what I went through and don't take them. Use the support here instead. 2010: Adverse reaction to citalopram/suicidal. 2010-2014: Venlafaxine doses 75-150-300. Began to cause heart palpitations. 2014: Adverse side effects from Sertraline 2014: Adverse reaction to Mirtazipine/suicidal. CT withdrawal. 2014: Accute adverse reaction to one prozac pill. Body & brain went on fire. Full WD 2015: Half dose of Lorazepam restarted all the WD symptoms. 2017: Bad reaction to stopping propranolol beta blockers. Violent shaking WD again. 2023: Severe adrenaline surges triggered by low frequency sound/vibration next door. Heart rate going dangerously high so now 25mg atenolol. Current Supplements: Omega 3 & Vitamin C, magnesium. Current other medications: Metformin (type ii diabetic), Lymecycline (for rosacea), Atenolol 25mg. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus KarenB Posted December 3, 2015 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 3, 2015 Hello Allez and welcome to s/a, I think you are wise to question whether meds are the right path for you. Meds will often mask an issue, but they cannot heal it. For healing that will continue in the long-term it is best to learn tools and techniques for managing whatever issues are bothering you. You might find this link useful: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1112-non-drug-techniques-to-cope-with-emotional-symptoms/ I would say it has been much too long since you last took meds for a reinstatement to work. If I were you I'd make my focus learning to manage depression and anxiety. Perhaps get face to face counseling. From personal experience I can say that much healing can happen, but that drugs can tend to interfere with that. Have a read of those links, and if you have any further questions please come back here to ask them - this thread can be like your own journal. Best wishes, KarenB 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 December - Now on 5 micro-beads Effexor. Minimal symptoms but much more time needed between drops. Symptoms begin to increase. 2024 April - Updosed to 6 microbeads - immediate increase in symptoms for 4 days. Decreased to 5 microbeads. 'The possibility of renewal exists so long as life exists.' Dr Gabor Mate. Link to comment
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