Christian: Reinstatement Question

[Happy2Heal]

Thanks, Ali. I take only 25 MG for about two weeks. It's 50:50 wether I fall asleep on that low of a dose. It's in my mind kind of pointless to be on it with how bad it is for me. Especially if I csnt sleep with it anyways. But I csnt quit Seroquel or Ambien CT or I'll be worse.

Hi Christian

 

Just read thru your thread, what a journey

 

a few personal words about seroquel:

I was on, at one point, 600mgs of seroquel. I believe it is a bad bad drug. it was marketed illegally for all sorts of off label uses & Astra Zeneca ended up having to pay a fine for doing this http://www.genengnews.com/gen-news-highlights/astrazeneca-to-pay-520m-settlement-in-seroquel-lawsuit/78565333/

 

I was told that seroquel was very safe (*rolls eyes*) I ended up very overwt, with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high heart rate and now permanent heart damage (my heart muscle is stiffer and thicker than it should be) I believe it also contributed to at least one afib episode.

I was started out at 100mgs and the dose was rapidly increased because I was being given it for insomnia (and the insomnia was caused by the absurdly high dose of lexapro I was on- 40mgs)

I don't know if you can call it tolerance, like you would with a benzo, but with seroquel you need more and MORE and more of it to help you sleep. and that is how I ended up on 600mgs. IN spite of that high does, I did not sleep well and I had constant daytime anxiety that was nearly unbearable.

that's just my experience. just a cautionary tale, as it were.

 

 

Now about your journey!!

it is hard for me to read because there is very little written about the things that you can be doing that do NOT include something that you swallow,

to deal with your anxiety and sleep issues.

I am going thru WD too and insomnia is an issue for me too.

 

I have given up all expectations of having a "normal" life while I go thru WD. I am not thrilled about this but I have accepted it. Acceptance is a good first step!!

I know I can not count on a dr or a substance of any kind to help me thru this.

 

the good news is, I DON'T have to depend on anyone else for my recovery. It is totally within MY control. this may sound bad at first, til you realize how much freedom this gives you.

 

No one else is going to tell you what to do, when to do it, or why. You need to pay attention to your own life and what you do and what works and what does not.

You make changes or adjustments based on what you learn about yourself.

It's hard to change your way of thinking at first,

esp in this country, we are constantly told to "ask our doctors" or ask OTHERS what is best for us.

Guess what?

no one else knows!

no one knows us better than we do ourselves

 

Time spent getting to know yourself will be time well spent. It really is!!

 

here's a simple example of how medicine is getting everything wrong. I had some bad heart burn and for reasons I won't go into here, I was concerned that I might have a bleeding ulcer.

Rushed off to the doctor, all scared (partly due to the damn constant warnings in the TV ads for the pain med I take- "can cause stomach bleeding which can occur without warning and may cause DEATH" - you hear that on the TV over and over again, you get stomach pain, you are on that drug that "may cause DEATH" and yeh, you're scared and you run off to the dr. Now, I just turn off the TV)

 

but anyway- I digress. the dr says oh yeh, it's heartburn, here's a pill (prevacid) to reduce stomach acid, take this, you'll be fine.

 

what is missing in that whole exchange? what causes heartburn typically? does it come out of nowhere? you'd think so but NO- you get heart burn because of what you were eating, or from eating too much or from exercising/bending shortly after eating.

Guess what? he never asked about those things.

and guess what else?

I had been drinking a lot of coffee, and had eaten a very large meal, and then went to physical therapy, where the therapist had me bending at the waist to stretch out my back- when I had a stomach full of coffee and food.

and I have a hiatal (sp?) hernia

Of course I had heart burn.

Solution, pay attention to what I eat, how much I eat and what I do after eating. No pill required, just paying attention to MY OWN life and taking responsibility for what I do.

 

 

but you see my point here? I didn't need a damn drug, although it was a quick fix. (with lots of bad side effects including rebound, I think)

 

Not only do drs not ask about our life style choices, diet, exercise, etc, WE don't even consider them anymore. We have been brainwashed into thinking that there is a PILL or substance that you can ingest that will fix everything and anything

 

 

There are other ways, and the good thing is, the other ways to deal with problems are almost always free or considerably cheaper than drugs

and they are usually available to us all the time, and they are under OUR control.

 

so, you have trouble with sleep and you have trouble with anxiety.

here are some things to ask yourself:

 

where do you sleep? (I sleep on a sofa in the living room so this may not be as odd a question as it seems LOL)

is your bed or whatever comfortable?

what temp is that room? did you know that ppl generally sleep better in a slightly cooler room?

is the room totally dark? are you able to screen out disturbing noises? do you find you sleep better with white noise like a fan?

what is your bedtime ritual?

do you try to stay off the computer late at night, as the light from electronic devices can disrupt our circadian rhythm? our normal sleep/wake cycle

 

are you eating or exercising or doing other stimulating things near bedtime?

 

I do NOT want the answers to these questions. These are things for YOU to think about, because only YOU are in control of your own life. That means it is up to you and you alone to look around at the way you live and see what you can try to make your life better.

 

when I went of drugs cold turkey and had a year of severe anxiety and insomnia and a daily fight with intrusive thoughts that told me that I had to die, that there was no future for me, and that the world would be better off without me-

when I went thru that, and I MADE IT THRU THAT without any drugs, without any drs, I found ways to get from one day to the next

 

For me, it was keeping myself busy with purposeful activity. I stayed with my daughter and I cleaned and cooked and did yard work etc to keep busy. when I was tired, I slept. I watched tv to distract myself but only watched things that were neutral or funny, sitcoms etc , no dramas, nothing scary, nothing that would make things worse

 

 

so often we do things without even thinking about them, that keep us stuck or make things worse for us. it's only when you take a good honest look at your life, that you start to see these things.

 

 

I am sorry this is so long. I hope it will give you some ideas, though, about how to re focus your thinking and take control of your healing

 

I believe the body and the mind/brain are always striving toward health and healing, and our job is to not get in the way of that healing, and to help it along as best we can

 

the rest is just riding out the bad waves and holding on waiting for when things get better, knowing that they WILL get better.

and that stressing over when that might happen, is interfering with the very healing we want to have happen.

 

does that make sense?

[Christian]

Yes it does Catnapt. Thank you for your support and kindness.

[AliG]

  How are you , Christian ?

[Christian]

Hi Alig. I'm doing ok. How are you? Did you get any sleep last night ?

[AliG]

 C . Yes . I slept  for a bit . For me , it seems to be every second night , now . That is an improvement . How are you ?

[Christian]

I am very happy to hear its improving. Sleep is the key to this its seems. 

[Songbird]

H2H, that is a really great post!  Yes, modern medicine has become about treating symptoms with pills.  It really bugs me that so many doctors don't do any detective work to try to find the reasons behind things any more - what is actually causing the condition in the first place.  I also agree with you about taking responsibility for our own health - becoming informed and making our own decisions - and as you say, listening to your body.  I also agree with you about the TV shows, etc.  During my crash period, I ended up watching only game shows and reading romance books (which I never normally read).  Nothing scary or at all dramatic, no news, no dramas, no suspense books.  Nothing that would stir up the least little bit of adrenaline.

 

Christian, there's a lot of good info in H2H's post - worth reading several times!

 

Edited March 30, 2022 by ChessieCat
changed member name

[Christian]

I agree it was a wonderful post by H2H and I greatly appreciate it. I have mentioned this before......but as recently as November I was on no drugs. I was off Lexapro and all sleeping drugs and even quit booze. Then my Dr talked me into going back on Lexapro to help with some added anxiety from quitting booze. I did and now I am in my current situation. Yes, I made some mistakes including starting the Ambien again as well as accepting the Seroquel. But I have reduced my Ambien dose and will not increase my current Seroquel dose under any condition. My goal is to stabilize and maybe be drug free again by end of the year. But I need to stabilize first.       

 

Edited March 30, 2022 by ChessieCat
changed member name

[Happy2Heal]

I agree it was a wonderful post by Catnap and I greatly appreciate it. I have mentioned this before......but as recently as November I was on no drugs. I was off Lexapro and all sleeping drugs and even quit booze. Then my Dr talked me into going back on Lexapro to help with some added anxiety from quitting booze. I did and now I am in my current situation. Yes, I made some mistakes including starting the Ambien again as well as accepting the Seroquel. But I have reduced my Ambien dose and will not increase my current Seroquel dose under any condition. My goal is to stabilize and maybe be drug free again by end of the year. But I need to stabilize first.       

yes and that is not easy (stabilizing) ! I hope it goes well for you.

[Songbird]

My goal is to stabilize and maybe be drug free again by end of the year. But I need to stabilize first.       

 

That is a good goal, but I wouldn't put such a definite time frame on it.  Be determined to make it happen, but let go of the when it will happen.  Let your body determine the timing, because rushing only leads to more problems down the line.  Time and patience are the keys to stabilising and tapering.

[Fresh]

Moved from Ali4's thread:

Posted 14 February 2016 - 06:10 AM 

Hi Christian! I could not find another way of contacting you, I am not able to message you for some reason. I haven't been on this website since a few weeks after I posted what I did, but your message made it to my email account. I am sorry you are going through such bad withdrawal. I can't see the message I originally posted so don't remember exactly what I said. Unfortunately I went back on my medication just a month or so after I had a terrible panic attack. I can't even describe the intensity of what I was feeling or exactly what I was feeling. I just wanted to jump out of my own skin and run away. I felt psychotic. I went back on my Lexapro as I didn't know what else to do. That being said, I think that what actually began my panic episode, that literally lasted for about a month straight (I'm guessing due to my OCD, the feeling just got stuck in my head and I couldn't let go), is that I had one of those marinara edibles, it was a hard candy. And that night is when I had my panic attack that made everything so horrible. Looking back I think that may have been the main cause of everything, however I am guessing it was the fact that I was also withdrawing from Lexapro that made it all that much worse. I did slowly feel better over time, and wonder if I didn't even need to go back on my medication, I think it may have all been in my head. That being said, I still believe crazy withdrawal symptoms are very real and do not downplay what you are experiencing in the least. Before my panic attack, I had been off my med for probably about a month or so, and I definitely had crazy mood swings and irratibility. With my panic attack, I had the OCD symptoms for which I went on the med in the first place come back very strong and ended up going to counseling for awhile which did help.And I do think some of this was withdrawals for the med combined with the edible. It is very hard to say what exactly caused it all. Even though I am still on Lexapro (I wanted to use it to stabilize for a while) I would still like to get off of it and plan to do so at some point hopefully in the near future. However, I do feel infinitely better than I did at that low point last year, and more so than the Lexapro, I credit this to things I learned in counseling and from just taking a look at how to deal with things better. I am still struggling with depression that all of this led me into, although I realized that I think I had depression all along without realizing it. It became the norm so I didn't know any different. But, I would say if you can help it, try to stay off of your medication and wait it out; however, do what you feel you need to do for yourself. I definitely think you should feel better in time, nothing lasts forever, you will find a way to feel better. For me I just didn't know where else to turn because I felt completely terrified. Focus on doing good things for yourself such as eating well and exercising. I am sorry I don't have a better answer for you, being that I went back on my medication. I hope you begin to feel better very soon, hang in there, you can do it! If you ever need someone to talk to, I would be more than happy to chat with you. It is always extremely helpful to know you are not alone. Feel better. Love, ThisTooShallPass

[Altostrata]

Christian, until you can keep notes on paper about your daily symptom pattern, we can't give you any constructive suggestions here about adjusting your drugs.

 

I find it very annoying that you refuse to do this, but use the site liberally to complain about your symptoms.

[Christian]

I am sorry. I wasn't complaining just chiming in with sharing their pain with them. It anything I was being friendly and supportive. I didn't mean anything by it. Im trying not to dwell on my symptoms as much and find it helpful. I was going to come back to you at some point with an update.

[Altostrata]

How about a daily diary of your symptoms? If you haven't started doing that, you need to start it now.

 

And when I say a daily diary, I mean notes you take every day, not the fictitious reconstructions you've been giving.

As far as getting back to me with this information, or any information -- you may note there are a lot of people on this Web site who need help. If you don't get back to me, that is not going to bother me. What bothers me is seeing your complaining, and you not doing what you need to do to help yourself.

[Christian]

Alto,

I will start on the daily patterns tonight. The cliff notes version is I have increased my Lexapro to 7.5 MG based on both my Dr's and Psych's orders. This happened 2 weeks ago. They wanted me to go to 10 MG which I balked and still do.  I felt I needed to do this as I need them to sign off on disability papers. If I refuse treatment they could refuse to sign the paperwork. I felt a little better for the first week. Reduced anxiety. The 2nd week has been a struggle. I am completely fatigued all day. I cant walk a straight line or barely drive a car. My ambien is down to 3 MG a night and my Seroquel is down from 50 MG to 25 MG the last 4 days. I am hoping to lose one of the two. Based on what I have read about Seroquel, that might be the better bet. I made a mistake in taking that one. Also, up until today, I have been getting pulsating headaches and head pressure for the last 1-2 weeks. My vision also seems a little off. I will track this on the format you provided previously. I would be curious to get your feedback on which of the two I should taper? Or of the zombie like state I've been in for a week is because of the Lexapro increase? I know you need to see patterns. But the zombie like state is all day every day. Needless to say, concentration was improving, but back down the last week. It is like I went from a high anxiety and agitated person to more calm and zombie like. Could this be the Seroquel? The Lexapro increase? Insomnia just making me more exhausted. I know you need more data. I will provide the daily patterns. Do you want me to post the daily patterns daily on this thread? Or post them every few days but having all the days for you to review. I am trying to find out what is best for you.    

 

Lastly, I went to the local psych hospital and they assessed me. I am considering an outpatient program for group therapy. I am also looking for holistic pychs in my area so I can get off these meds and not forced any either. Ive made some mistakes but I am trying.                  

[Christian]

I'm really starting to think I need to drop my lexapro dose back down. I took the dose at 7 pm and noticing head pressure again at 9 pm for the first time today. Could the lexapro increase cause me to be so fatigued and zombie like? It's only been two weeks since the increase. Do I give it more time or drop back down before it's too late? I'm even less able to function for the last week.

[Altostrata]

I have no idea what to suggest. I need to know your daily symptom pattern for the last 4 days. Since you haven't been keeping notes, you'll have to start now.

 

Do not send me pms, either. You've absorbed enough of my time and Skyler's time without doing your part. Keep notes.

[Christian]

I understand. I only haven't done this because I didn't want to bother you anymore so I kept to myself. I have no intention of emailing you. I'll provide you what you ask for on this thread in 4 days like you suggested.

 

I only meant I know not to bother you with PMs.

[Altostrata]

On second thought, Christian. Don't bother. I'm not interested.

 

If you are having problems with your drugs, please see a doctor.

[Christian]

Understood Alto. Thank you for trying to help me. I'm sorry once again for any grief I caused. I know how busy you are and always greatly appreciated your help. I obviously upset you and that wasn't my intention. You have a wonderful site and sevice you provide.

[Christian]

Today I guess I'm signing myself up to potential disaster. Heading to the Psych hospital to detox off my meds. Everyone here has been so kind and supportive. I wish all of you luck with your recoveries!

[Ali]

Hi Christian

 

Sorry to read that things have not calmed down for you. I don't have an answer, just an observation and something you may want to consider:

 

You are consulting a site about coming off A/D's and other psych meds, and trying to obtain advice on what course of action you can take to reduce your suffering. The advice, from what I have read around the site, is geared towards an end result of being A/D free, or at least on as little as possible.

 

However, you are then presenting these symptoms to doctors and psychiatrists, whose main armour is drugs, and so this is what you are going to get. i completely understand them increasing your dose if you presented with your symptoms.

 

You then appear to return to the site asking again for advice on how to reduce your symptoms, and you talk about, and seek advice on reducing the same medication which has just been increased by the doctor. I think you are going around in circles and this is not helpful for you.

 

There are times in the past when have I felt rubbish for long periods, and wanted someone to take it away right then with whatever solution, just anything to make it stop, I didn't care. So I would run to the doctor and get the drugs, and then later complain about being on drugs and immediately start thinking of reducing, especially when the drugs had not given me the immediate outcome I wanted. It seems as though this is how you feel. That's just the impression I get from your posts, although I guess it is more complicated from what you say about needing disability notes signed?

 

However, I wonder if you need to consider for yourself which path of advice it is best for you to take at the moment, because consulting this site, and then the doctor on the same issue seems incompatible to me (unless the doctor also wants to bring you off the meds eventually). I recognise you said you took the increased dose because unless you did so, you thought the doc wouldn't sign your disability notes (I'm from the UK so not completely au fair with your system), but how is this going to work?

 

I mean well, Christian, and want the best outcome for you. This is your decision, but whatever that is, try sticking it out and be at peace with it.

 

With my very best wishes, Ali

[Ali]

Sorry Christian, was writing my post while you sent yours through. I hope it goes well for you.

[nz11]

Hi Christian just wanted to say there is hope for getting off these drugs. And you can do it.

 

There are proven ways sadly discovered by the patients in how to get off these drugs.

 

There is a taper book being written on how to get off these drugs right here on this site.

 

Let us know how the detox centre goes

[Christian]

Thanks NZ11. I've made more of a mess of things by these sleeping pills. I was trying to taper those but based on my headaches after taking lexapro and my inability to walk straight I may try to just decrease my lexapro dose from 7.5 my to 5 mg. it's only been two weeks since I increased it. I should have stood more firm with my doctor about not increasing. Now I'm not functional. Not that I was in good shape prior!

[nz11]

It may not be a wise idea to make changes while you are destabilized and nonfunctional.

 

You might want to hold off making changes until you get an opinion from the detox centre.

What do you think?

[Christian]

Ok. So let the detox center decide my path. Reduce or stay. I know now I can't increase anymore.

[romina95]

Will they taper you off slowly?

[Altostrata]

One thing that's absolutely essential about this site: If you want to go off psychiatric drugs, you must take responsibility for it. If you can't do what that, you end up leaving decisions to other people, probably doctors and hospitals.

 

I think in Christian's case, that is probably the best course of action.

 

I wish you the best, Christian.

[Christian]

Hello all,

 

Alto has agreed to give me a 2nd chance at this. Please forgive the brevity as fog and vision issues are a couple of my symptoms. I havent been on here since February. In late February, I checked myself into a Mental Health facility (I never even had a pysch before WD). What brought me there was more than likely the fact I went against Alto's wishes (not malicously-just scared) and increased my Lexapro reinstatement dose from 5 MG to 7.5MG three weeks prior. Even though I told them I was feeling a little better the doctors all felt my 5 MG dose was too low. One threatened not to sign disability papers if I didnt listen to her. Anyways, I went downhill steadily once the dose was increased. By end of February I became desperate and checked myself in. They started a two week (the wanted me to just stop it since I was only back on it for two months) taper of the Lexapro reinstatement. They also finished my tapers of Seroquel and Ambien. They put me on Remeron (15 MG) and Temazapam (15 MG) for sleep. I did not go through any WD. 

 

I improved a lot in the next two weeks as my dose went down. The sleep combo gave me 7 hours sleep (waking up 2-3 times) immediately. Much better than Seroquel and Ambien but still very bad for me I realize. Things were looking up and I had my first and only window a week after I left the facility. It lasted a couple of hours. I was two days off Lexapro at the time I believe. I went into CBT after the mental facility and the Psych thought based on some increasing anxiety that maybe Prozac might work for me.  I quickly declined. My symptoms during this time went from high anxiety, some fatigue, fog and insomnia to moderate anxiety, extreme fatigue, fog and insomnia.  

 

CBT ended after the month and I had to get a new psych as she felt I was ready to go back to work and I disagreed. I knew I wasnt stable enough as I still had insomnia that was only temporarily repaired by meds and I was still having severe symptoms. I think the CBT's outpatient goals are to get folks back to work ready or not. My new psych right away aknowleged i was in WD. She felt that I should never have been put on meds to begin with and should not go back to them. She agreed with me when I told her that I needed off the Prozac. I tapered that over two weeks and was on it a total of 5 weeks. The psych also felt that the Remeron was bad for me as it also was an anti depressant. She preferred I just use the sleeping pills.  

 

I am currently in not the best shape. I actually feel very much like I did in late February. Part of me thinks making a med change would change things for the better like it did before. The fatigue, drowsiness is from another world. I can barely walk my dog around the block. This is hard as I was always a fit/active guy. The fog improved very slightly and I would do cog games on my ipad daily. I also started reading again. But aside from my 30 minutes of daily exercise, I became pretty much bed ridden. My head is fused to the pillow, weak with fatigue. I still have some anxiety in crowds, but only because of my symptoms. I am tapering Remeron as I worry that it will make my WD worse. I also worry that it may be contributing to the overwhelming fatigue and lethargy. I took Temazapam for two months straight. A huge mistake. I cannot sleep without one or the other. I do rotate other sleep meds I have here instead of the temazapam.

 

I am looking for advice. I know common sense might be taper off the remeron and temazapam and suffer for the next few years. Im terrified of no sleep. I get jolted awake every time my body starts to doze off whenever i try to sleep without meds. Since I am in such bad shape should I just stay on Remeron? Stay on Restoril? I unstable. I havent been stable on Lexapro for one year. I am assuming that is out of the question, correct? I know the site does not recommend alternatives so I wont go there. Based on my symptoms, I doubt there are any drugs that could fix cog fog and extreme fatigue.

 

I will post my daily symptom pattern for just today on my next post and will do my best to post them daily. Its my ability to focus on the laptop that will cause me not to. I just wish I had severe anxiety. The fatigue and lethargy is just awful and having a hard time finding folks that have recovered from those symptoms.      

[cymbaltawithdrawal5600]

Welcome back, Christian.

 

You've got a complex situation with all of the med changes but if you gove the mods and Alto a chance to dig into this, they should be able to come up with a plan.

 

Getting off these drugs is never easy but I am a walking testimonial for the fact that it is possible. Some days you won't feel very good, some days not so bad, other days meh, and an occasional "hey, I feel pretty ok!" might sneak in there but there will be a gradual climb back to health.

 

Good luck to you! I believe you will recover completely but it will take time. Concentrate on yourself and do not give into the temptation to believe in the 'no recovery' stories, you (and no one else does either, with certainty) has any idea how things will turn out for you. Just keep your eyes focused on getting well.

[Christian]

Below is my symptom pattern for today only. Keep in mind my symptoms dont change and only take meds at bedtime. I also make mistakes by not taking meds consistently.      

 

Prozac-bedtime   10 MG                                                                        March 7-April 7

Remeron-bedtime 15 MG                                                                      Feb. 24 -May 24 

Remeron-bedtime 10 MG                                                                      May 25-June 1st

Remeron- bedtime 7.5 MG                                                                    June 1st to current                                                                     

Restoril-bedtime 15 MG                                                                         Feb 24-April 15th (now take 1-2 times a week) 

Klonopin- bedtime- .5                                                                             Jan to current- (1 times a week)

Ambien-bedtime- 12 MG                                                                        12/15/15-2/24- daily  

Ambien-bedtime 12 MG                                                                         April 15- current (2 times a week)

Lunesta-bedtime 3 MG                                                                           May 15- current (1-2 times a week)

 

One thing I forgot to mention is my sleep is declining. I was getting 7-8 hours of drugged, interrupted sleep. That became 6-7 when I started tapering and is now 5 hours since I have gotten to 7.5 MG. My symptoms today have been the same since I woke up at 5 AM. I know this looks pretty bad but I also never take anything more than a Remeron and one of the other meds listed above.  

 

For example, last night I had 7.5 MG of Remeron and 3 MG of Lunesta.  

 

Severe fatigue

Drowsiness

Cog fog

heavy head

visual issues (possibly just exhaustion)

Insomnia

nausea 

no appetite  

 

I am 2 months off of Prozac. 3 months off of Lexapro. Its tough to tell if this is the original WD, one of the reinstatement WDs or the current meds Im taking. To me its all 3. 

 

I was hoping for a suggestion.....perhaps one of these?

 

1. Stay on Remeron at current dose

2. Increase Remeron to 15 MG

3. Continue tapering Remeron

4. Pick a sleeping pill and stick with it consistently

5. Stop taking the sleeping pills ( I cannot sleep without them Ive tried it)

6. Reinstate Lexapro at 1 MG (probably not a good idea)

7. Celexa?

 

I will provide more detailed symptom patterns as I have my strength. Im kind of out of it so I am not sure when that will be.    

[Christian]

Welcome back, Christian.

 

You've got a complex situation with all of the med changes but if you gove the mods and Alto a chance to dig into this, they should be able to come up with a plan.

 

Getting off these drugs is never easy but I am a walking testimonial for the fact that it is possible. Some days you won't feel very good, some days not so bad, other days meh, and an occasional "hey, I feel pretty ok!" might sneak in there but there will be a gradual climb back to health.

 

Good luck to you!

Thank you. I want off badly. Im horrified of no sleep. I was drug free as recently as 11/23/15. Then my Dr suggested I reinstate.  

[cymbaltawithdrawal5600]

Just be patient and wait for the knowledgeable mods to weigh in. Take the meds you are supposed to take at the proper times, don't skip or take them late. Set alarms on your computer or cell phone to make sure you do this, ok?

 

Please understand I know exactly how you feel about the sleep issue, actually we all do. Alto knows, she had it bad so do please trust her and follow what she says. I had it, Dalsaan had it, mammaP is the 'queen of no sleep' and she is hanging in there, she will tell you. I had it too. We know, we really do and that is why we are here, to help you to help your body settle as best as it can while straightening out the drug issue. DO the best you can to relax (I mean that!), and rest. That means lying quietly even if you don't sleep. Rest is the key, your body will make do with that until you have your normal, natural sleep back again. It will take time (don't ask because we really don't know) but believe me it WILL come back.

 

Ok, hang in there and try not to spend all your time on the internet and this site. That is not helping you much at this point. You are back, so relax and rest.

 

Please put every single drug you have been on for the last year in your sig please and the approx dates and doses. Don't make it complicated, just a simple list, ok? And please don't get anxious if you don't see a lot of replies to your thread. It will take time for everyone to look at your situation and come up with a plan. The mods will help you, ok?

 

After you finish posting then turn the computer off and do something distracting, you've got to give your eyes and brain a rest.

[Christian]

I think I like you !!! Thank you for your kindness. I know others have had insomnia. I am paranoid that mine is gonna be around for awhile and I'll get zero sleep without anything. I never abused sleep meds. It's awful. I've read every thread on this site. It probably crashed my adrenals doing so. I've also read every success stories. Belsimo for example. I'm amazed at Shep's hell and ability to work. One guy I think the mods should reach out to is Pug to write a success story..He sent me a kind email early on. His thread is great cause he was specific with symptoms every few weeks and how we was improving until he eventually healed.

[cymbaltawithdrawal5600]

Christian, you need to stay off the computer and stop looking at others' stories. I have posted on your thread before and you most certainly did NOT like me!

 

Your sleep cannot be propped up without drugs indefinitely and without consequences. But we will figure out something for you to do.

 

Now please turn off the computer and do not log back on until tomorrow. I mean that. We will be here when you get up. Resist the temptation to come here in the middle of the night too, if you wake up. That is harming your sleep more than anything.