Rosetta: cold switch May 2011 & too fast taper Feb 2017

[Elyssa143]

@Rosetta

 

Hi sweet friend, how are you doing?

[Rosetta]

Hi @Elyssa143 Thank you for visiting.  I’m struggling a lot right now.  I am under a great deal of stress trying to reduce the clutter.  I won’t list all the ways I am affected, but things are not good.  It takes a lot to try to overcome everything that has happened to me and the consequences of every mistake I have made.  I’m not sure I can do it, and I’m afraid.

[wantrelief]

9 hours ago, Rosetta said:

I’m struggling a lot right now.  I am under a great deal of stress trying to reduce the clutter.  I won’t list all the ways I am affected, but things are not good.  It takes a lot to try to overcome everything that has happened to me and the consequences of every mistake I have made.  I’m not sure I can do it, and I’m afraid.

I am really sorry you are struggling, Rosetta.  You have been through so much and have proven your strength many times over.  I know this feels overwhelming but you will come through this time.  Please be gentle with yourself, my friend.  💕

[Rosetta]

Thank you, @wantrelief

[gentlehermione]

On 6/20/2023 at 1:18 PM, Rosetta said:

 I’m not sure I can do it, and I’m afraid.

 

Dear @Rosetta

 

I feel your fear and uncertainty and am sorry to hear you are struggling.

 

You've come so far and you will succeed. "The road is long with many a winding turn..."

 

I think we all have to strive to let the past go. Not an easy task, I know.

 

Thinking of you - hope things improve for you soon 🥰

 

 

[Rosetta]

Thank you, @gentlehermione  I’m in the thick of it.  I’m holding up, but it’s exhausting.

[gentlehermione]

Dear @Rosetta if it’s any consolation, I‘m in the thick of it, too 😕 Under a huge amount of stress (hubby in bike accident, had to have 3 of our 4 dogs pts over the past 3 months) but, like you, holding up. And yes, it is exhausting!

Here‘s to better days 🙏 They will come 😉😘

[Hope2001]

@Rosetta

What symptoms you did had on your pots? How long it took for pots to solve out? 

[Rosetta]

Thank you @gentlehermione.  I am better. I’m still having to pack and purge and deal with all kinds of deferred maintenance on the house.  It’s very hard, but I’m feeling better.  I have meltdowns at times.  The morning cortisol, fear laced wake ups have lessened a lot.  That makes life a lot easier.
 

@Hope2001 After standing up, I could not see.  All was black for several seconds.  I was dizzy and could not remain standing without something to lean against or hold.  I did not fall, but, several times, I almost fell.  I could not remember that this might happen.  Standing up very slowly or having something to hold on to is important, but I couldn’t remember to be prepared before I sat down somewhere.  Having a cane would have been helpful, in theory.
 

I don’t remember how long I had Pots, but it was a symptom that would appear and disappear for many months or even more than a year.   How long a symptom exists for one person will not help another person to know how long the symptom will exist.  Each person will have a few symptoms that reappear for a long period of time.  There are other symptoms that will appear very infrequently.  Some may happen once or twice, but never again.  You will know when you are mostly well which symptoms were the most prevalent for you.

 

 

 

[Rosetta]

I wrote this to someone today:
 

I understand why it matters so much to you WHY what is happening is happening.  I was obsessed with how and why my waves happened, what had happened in my brain to create the torture, and trying to figure out a way to control it.  Whether it was simply an OCD type reaction to my predicament or my natural personality, I read as much as I could and thought about the issue non-stop.  My brain did not reason very well, did not retain information very well, and the recurrent anxiety attacks made it very hard to think.
 

My understanding is that sometimes there may be a change in the brain that does not cause too much turbulence on the surface — where the symptoms show.  Maybe you feel worse, but it’s manageable.  Then, the healing brain makes a change that is quite consequential or possibly, several changes intersect, and wham! Suddenly, you are feeling much, much worse.  That is what seemed to be happening to me.  Whether the change was more significant or the result of the change was more intense, there were some waves that were devastating.  Many, many people report this phenomenon.  Because this pattern is different than most other types of healing (and because mental symptoms are often significant components), we are very distressed by the fact that we are feeling worse.

 

Personally, I think it’s likely to be the case that several changes intersect or pile up to make a particularly bad wave.  The reason I think this is because when someone is tapering, and they reduce the drug dose too soon after a previous reduction, they may feel stronger symptoms that would not have occurred if they had waited longer between reductions.  The only control the person has over how fast the brain is making changes is the timing of the dose reductions and the amount of the reductions.  

As cold turkeys 🦃, we have no control.  As adverse reaction people, we have no control.  The brain is doing its thing, and we are along for the ride.  Changes happen when the brain makes them.  They pile up or happen too fast, and it’s truly awful😞.   There are probably not too many natural substances that could put us in this type of danger.  Our bodies were never designed/never evolved to handle this situation.  They are carrying out a systematic repair procedure that is inadequate to provide a smooth or less rocky transition to normal brain function.  
 

The best analogy to what is happening to us is the healing of traumatic brain injury.  If you read the possible consequences of TBI, you will see a lot of similarities.  Of course, for us, the good news is that no structures have been destroyed permanently, but the trajectory of healing is very similar and just as frustrating and scary.  The neuroplasticity is the saving grace for both conditions. ductions.  The only control the person has over how fast the brain is making changes is the timing of the dose reductions and the amount of the reductions.

[Rosetta]

At one point, I realized that who I was had changed with each dose of drug that I missed or when the dose was raised, and that the same thing happened as I healed from what was, essentially, a cold turkey from three drugs.  I came to understand that “who I was,” what I believed, my moral code, my strongly held values, were not immutable.  I did not grow up and decide on these ideas or even change them with experience and careful consideration.  With horror, I came to understand that these drugs and withdrawal effect from them, could change who I was without my consent.

 

I wrote this to someone today:
 

As to other moral grey areas you may be struggling to handle, one thing that prolonged withdrawal has taught me is that my way of thinking and my sense of morality when I was young was mine alone.  There were things my parents accidentally taught me that they never intended to teach me and that no one else believed.  I believe this is true for everyone as there is no universal set of moral rules, and our parents stumble through parenthood with no manual, no education pertinent to the task, and very little advice that is useful to raising any particular child. What is acceptable in one location might be very, very wrong in another.  From one household to another the rules may be drastically different.  Often, by the time I figure out what is best for my child, she has grown, she has changed, and she has moved beyond the stage of development during which I could have “taught her correctly.”  Even when I think I am doing a good job, there are unforeseen consequences.  

Guess what? Navigating my ship through prolonged withdrawal has been very similar!  By the time I decided on the right course of action, the time had passed, the symptom is gone or changed, and my brain had made me a different person.  At times, I had no idea what I was going to regret having done, what I might feel sad about in the future, or who I wanted to be!  Who I wanted to be changed week to week or month to month as my brain was healing.  When I realized this was happening, I became afraid to do anything at all.  However, I learned, as time went on, and I was ready to implement a new technique the next time I had a symptom that caused me trouble.  I learned to avoid big decisions and wait for healing to happen.  I decided to continue to hold to many of the same values I knew before the massive destabilization of my nervous system because they were like a harbor in a storm.  For me it was the safest decision I could make, and I felt the least damage would occur from that decision.
 

My entire world changed because of ADs even before prolonged withdrawal.  My sense of right and wrong used to change with the change of a dose of medication.  Then it changed again, over and over, as my brain healed from a taper so fast that I call it a cold turkey.  I have done things that I regret — things that had consequences and things that did not, other than causing me continuing guilt.  
 

Ultimately, I had to base my sense of morality on whether what I did caused harm because I recognized that every person has been exposed to various environmental substances that affect the way his or her brain functions.  There is a study that determined that the use of Tylenol makes people less empathetic!  In the United States, a fungus on wheat consumed by people is believed to have created the circumstances that led to the Salem Witch Trials long ago.  Car accidents that cause traumatic brain injury cause changes in attitudes toward morality.  There are far less dramatic and lesser known ways in which our brains are affected all the time, without our knowledge.  There are many different ways our environment and the chemicals we are exposed to make us “who we are.”  Who we are changes all the time.  Was it always this way?  I do not know, but, today, it can happen, at least slightly, to anyone whether she or he took ADs or not.

 

Who are you, and who do you want to be?  That is not something you should decide during prolonged withdrawal.  Do you actually have complete control over that in any case?  Doubtful.  For now, try to be the person you used to be and put off making any decisions that are important for the future.  Do what you need to do to stay safe, and make only those compromises that you must to avoid greater risks.  
 

If I were you, I would not taper right now.  If you believe you have found a dose that is most comfortable for you, stay at that dose for at least 2 years (unless something changes a lot to make that dose a problem.) Let your nervous system calm down and give your brain a chance to stabilize your emotions and your body.  You will come through this horrible time wiser and more aware of who you want to be.  Whatever you do, do not let the doctors “win!”  Do not let their deliberate ignorance and reckless disregard for the safety of your brain stop you from staying safe now, healing, and coming through on the other side to live on!

[Rosetta]

Another PSA about the possibility of derailing one’s healing:

 

No amount of alcohol is a safe amount after quitting, a dose reduction, or during any taper of ADs or other psycho-active drugs.  One would think that one glass of wine would be fine.  No, it’s definitely not.  
 

Taking any other AD or psych drug is a very, very bad idea.
 

Sometimes I find it pretty irritating that no one warned me that using ADs would result in so many things being off limits. You may also have negative consequences from the adrenaline based numbing agents at the dentist’s office.  There is a non-adrenaline based agent that can be used, and I recommend that you insist on it based on my unfortunate experience.  I can’t even have a routine colonoscopy because of the sedatives.

 

Steroids, sleeping pills, anti-anxiety drugs, muscle relaxers, various antibiotics (an injury called floxxing can occur from certain antibiotics), and acne medications are also sometimes/often dangerous for people coming off of ADs.  A new trend is to make drugs that serve dual purposes such as a painkiller that includes an AD in the pill.  Prescribing ADs for pain without telling the patient that the pill is an AD is something that has been happening for years, as well.  Of course, MJ and any street drugs are quite dangerous.  
 

Essentially, if you are thinking of taking anything, check to see what other people have experienced by typing survivingantidepressants and then the name of the drug into any search engine.  At least it used to be that that would work better than using the search engine included in the site.

 

 

[modelarz71]

I'm sorry, last year escilatopram made me very active, it ruined my sleep (I didn't need it much) because I had a lot of ideas to implement (e.g. cleaning the basement). I bought a lot online and when I didn't manage to buy something, I was angry.

It was bad. Now I'm in WD. Unfortunately, sometimes I think that 5 mg would restore that condition, but I'm afraid.

[Happy2Heal]

On 9/21/2023 at 9:15 AM, Rosetta said:

Sometimes I find it pretty irritating that no one warned me that using ADs would result in so many things being off limits. You may also have negative consequences from the adrenaline based numbing agents at the dentist’s office.  There is a non-adrenaline based agent that can be used, and I recommend that you insist on it based on my unfortunate experience.  

yes I know what you mean! there are , at least theoretically, folks with a short exposure to ADs who are ok afterwards but how often do you hear about someone who had a dr only give them ADs for a short period of time? I mean without switching them to something else...

 

I think what is added to novocaine is epinephrine...which causes what feels like an adrenaline rush!

"Epinephrine causes the blood vessels to get smaller. This reduces blood flow around the injection site and keeps the anesthetic confined to that area for longer than usual."

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK11858/#:~:text=Epinephrine is widely used as,bleeding in the operative field.

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4340117/#:~:text=The clinical use of an,may benefit from shorter numbness.

 

 

while there are good reasons to use the epi, there are several reasons to avoid it if you can.

 

I have to request an epi free alternative and dentists hate that because it takes a long time to kick in and it doesn't work for long. But I tell them well if you want to risk me going into afib, go ahead!
When I've had afib, I have what's called rapid ventricular response, my heart rate goes so high I have to go to the ER to be monitored and to get beta blockers to slow it down (but they have to be very careful how much of those they use or they can make things worse) 

 

so I just say, you choose! the dentist always chooses the epi free anesthetic

 

what is harder to do is to refuse the benzos they give for pre sedation for surgeries and things like a colonoscopy.

I can handle Propofol but they can NOT give me Midazolam aka Versed and that REALLY pisses them off

I would be wide awake and dancing in the aisles if they gave me that- I have a paradoxical reaction to nearly everything that is supposed to cause sedation

I have a liver issue that means they have to be careful what anesthetic gas they choose too.

 

It's hard to find a dr willing to do it, but a sigmoidoscopy has been confirmed to be just as good in finding early colon cancer as the full colonoscopy but is much safer (and cheaper and no sedation is needed) 

you might want to request that if you are concerned about colon cancer.

 

 

yep I know what you mean about the long term effects of these drugs

 

no one cared when they were prescribing them and no one does now either, we almost need a medical degree to read up and learn about what things we need to avoid and why (sometimes if you don't know the why, you will get a lot of push back from a dr- ask me  how I know that LOL)

 

I need a total knee replacement and it's going to be so hard to find the safest anesthesia and the safest pain meds for me. But, so help them if they screw up and give me something I've told them NOT to use. though, so help them! (this has happened because "they knew better" and thought I was being ridiculous) 

 

so irritating that we weren't warned? yes that's a bit of an understatement I think lol

 

thanks for stopping by my thread

 

 

 

 

[willieverheal]

Hi! I read through some of your posts and noticed you also had akathisia while raising a little one. That’s my current state, I have a 5 month old and still sooooo bad after a setback that retriggered aka right before I got pregnant. I am happy you saw a lot of healing, I hope I will too because it’s so hard, but now it’s still pretty bad and even getting worse  I think it was probably due to the meds used in c-section because after a few weeks of a window in late pregnancy and early motherhood my symptoms got horrible!  

[Erell]

Dear Rosetta, 

We often feel powerless in the face of these withdrawal phenomena and sometimes despair at not being able to do anything to change the situation.

But the words of people like you and the support of people who got better make a real difference. 

Thanks to you, loneliness is lighter, and the feeling of being part of a huge community where people believe in and care for each other is heart-warming.

I hope that you have found a routine that suits you after the move.

I understand those moments when you look at your past self and wonder how you could have behaved in certain ways. It's really strange to realise that part of our life and identity has been influenced by psychotropic drugs.

I know that I'm lucky to know the person you are and that the values you incarnate are a real source of inspiration. ❤️ 

 

[Carmie]

Thinking of you @Rosetta, how are you doing? 🧡

[Rosetta]

@Erell Aww, Thank you!

 

@Carmie I’m ok.  I’ve had one or maybe two waves recently, but they were mild.  One was a bout of dystonia, and one was a bout of anxiety.  I’m able to handle things so much better now, emotionally.  I’ll check your thread.

 

@modelarz71  Hi.  I’m glad you are here at SA.  At least you found us!  And you understand why you had insomnia and anger and shopping compulsions.  Some people never know why.  I hope you are doing all right today.

 

@willieverheal  Hi. Welcome to SA.  Yes, I’m sure that having a C-section might have affected you.  I hope you will heal quickly!  

[Rosetta]

@Happy2Heal Nice to see your message.  Ooh, a knee replacement.  Well, stand your ground, and make them keep your brain as safe as possible.

[Carmie]

Dear @Rosetta, it’s so great to hear that you’re only getting infrequent mild waves. I’m very happy for you🧡

[wantrelief]

3 hours ago, Rosetta said:

I’ve had one or maybe two waves recently, but they were mild.  One was a bout of dystonia, and one was a bout of anxiety.  I’m able to handle things so much better now, emotionally.

This is so good to hear, Rosetta!  It has been wonderful to witness your healing over the years and to see how far you've come. 💖

[direstraits]

Happy for you @Rosetta

Keep healing. ❤️

[Rosetta]

@Carmie @wantrelief @direstraits  Thank you all!  It is very good to feel better, and I’m glad my recovery can help others see that it is possible.  I have various symptoms that remind me that I have to be careful, and that’s a good thing, I think, because it’s easy to forget that my system is more fragile than some other people’s systems.

[gentlehermione]

50 minutes ago, Rosetta said:

I’m glad my recovery can help others see that it is possible. 

 

Dear @Rosetta

 

So glad to hear you are doing better!

 

You're about six months ahead of me withdrawal-wise and I follow your progress closely. As a fellow long hauler it gives me hope.

 

Thank you 🥰

[gentlehermione]

PS Your posts about feeling overwhelmed by the clutter invariably bring a smile to my face. I can so identify! Everything gets blown way out of proportion in WD 🙄

 

Take care 🥰

[Rosetta]

Aww, thank you.  I’m sorry you are @gentlehermione going through this.  Hang in there!

 

 

[Rosetta]

Feliz Navidad and Happy New Year everyone! 🎄 Don’t forget that withdrawal is a temporary problem to be taken day by day or hour by hour, and things will always change.  Keep a journal so you can look back and see how you felt when things were better, and so you can remember they will get better again.  Hang in there; do not give up! You are worth it, and you are valuable enough to deserve to make it through.  Reach out if you need support.  The New Year will be better! 

[Giuly88]

2 hours ago, Rosetta said:

Feliz Navidad and Happy New Year everyone! 🎄 Don’t forget that withdrawal is a temporary problem to be taken day by day or hour by hour, and things will always change.  Keep a journal so you can look back and see how you felt when things were better, and so you can remember they will get better again.  Hang in there; do not give up! You are worth it, and you are valuable enough to deserve to make it through.  Reach out if you need support.  The New Year will be better! 

Thank you Rosetta for this 💕💕💕

[Mimi79]

@Rosetta

Thank you for cheering us up, as usual. And I know it comes from someone who’s walked through the fire…

I wish you a wonderful year 2024 with your family. 
Take care💜

 

Anne-Marie

[Rosetta]

I do not feel too many symptoms of withdrawal.  Everything has improved a lot regarding WD.  However, every Springtime, I have a lot of anxiety.  I have read that allergies can cause anxiety.  I do not have symptoms such as being stuffed up or pressure in my sinus cavities.  I sneeze infrequently, but as much as I love the flowers, I wonder if they are causing problems.  Could it be a form of kindling, and therefore related to WD, or did the anti-histamine effects of the antidepressants change my body?  Perhaps I have always felt this way in the Spring.  I don’t know.

 

All that said, I have many reasons to be grateful that withdrawal and PAWS is something the body and mind do heal from.
 

Thanks. @Giuly88 @Mimi79  I hope you are both well!  I’ll check your threads soon.

[Giuly88]

28 minutes ago, Rosetta said:

I do not feel too many symptoms of withdrawal.  Everything has improved a lot regarding WD.  However, every Springtime, I have a lot of anxiety.  I have read that allergies can cause anxiety.  I do not have symptoms such as being stuffed up or pressure in my sinus cavities.  I sneeze infrequently, but as much as I love the flowers, I wonder if they are causing problems.  Could it be a form of kindling, and therefore related to WD, or did the anti-histamine effects of the antidepressants change my body?  Perhaps I have always felt this way in the Spring.  I don’t know.

 

All that said, I have many reasons to be grateful that withdrawal and PAWS is something the body and mind do heal from.
 

Thanks. @Giuly88 @Mimi79  I hope you are both well!  I’ll check your threads soon.

@RosettaHi Rosetta, I’m so delighted to have an update from you. Very very pleased you are basically healed 😊. What are exactly the symptoms of the anxiety you are affected by? I think yes breathing can be due to allergies and also the sneezing and stuffed nose you are referring to. 
 

All of your efforts have paid off dear Rosetta and your perseverance 😊 well done.

 

💕

[Hibari]

Hi @Rosetta

 

I'm glad your are feeling symptom free and not noticing withdrawal. 

 

I think we become sensitized from withdrawal and that things we reacted to in the past, like seasonal allergies, are heightened for awhile. 

 

I had a lot of seasonal allergies the first time I came off Mirtazapine because it's and intense antihistamine at the lower doses. 

 

I didn't want to take any over the counter antihistamines because they are not good for the body and brain, especially post withdrawal. However, I ended up researching and using a tincture of Stinging Nettles in a non alcohol base. It worked really well and I have continued using it today. 

 

Wishing you well.

 

Hibari 

[Farm24]

On 1/15/2018 at 3:32 PM, Rosetta said:

 

I hope not!  Oh, I really hope not.  I had a cup of coffee.  

 

I hope you will be ok, Ali.  Good grief -- what have they done to us?!  Yikes, Ali -- bulletproof? That sounds intense!  Or is it just that it has butter in it?  That reminds me -- When I was in law school one of the professors had a huge mug he used for hot drinks (coffee, I assumed.).  It was made to look like a giant shotgun shell casing with a handle on the side.  He taught criminal law.  What a weird world.

 

Now that I CAN think again, I am always thinking about what could knock me backward such as being in a car accident and having surgery/anesthesia or needing an antibiotic or eating the wrong thing and getting food poisoning.  I need a filling replaced, but I'm too afraid to do it.  I suppose I better do it before it becomes a root canal situation.  That would be worse.

 

Thank you so much for chiming in, Ali.  It had just dawned on me two days ago that I might be going too fast on the caffeine taper.  Then, I forgot!!!  I just don't have the memory or the reasoning skills I used to have.  I think that years ago I would not have made that kind of mistake.  It's hard to figure out how much caffeine is in a cup.  It must be different in every cup.  It's not like having a pharmaceutical pill.  I was foolish to think that because I didn't feel anything right away, it was going well.  How could I have thought that after all I've learned?

 

Ha ha, we are ALL science experiments!  That was set in motion long ago.  Yesterday, I saw that the man who pioneered the use of lithium for mood disorders died recently.   My mother was given lithium after I was born.  She said it made her catatonic.  He was only 13 years older than she is!  How did he affect her life like that?!  My life?!  It's irrational, but I feel so much animosity toward him despite the fact that he's dead.  For all I know he thought he was doing a good deed, and he might be horrified at the long term results of his work.  According to the obit, his research caused the change in the DSM to classify some disorders as bi polar instead of a newly discovered form of intermittent schizophrenia.  He had diabetes from the age of 19, and he was responsible for the chemical imbalance theory/mood disorders need medication "just like diabetics." I couldn't help but notice that his family chose to list in his obit that he had homes on Manhattan, in Southampton, NY and in Florida.  Well, that worked out well for him!  Meanwhile, I'm sitting here feeling that my mind is damaged and not my own.  Quite irritating to say the least!  Except that now it's all meaningless to him.  I suppose his kids are very proud, and none of this is their fault.  

 

Have a great day, Ali, even if you are wired!!

 

Rosetta

(This is turning into a journal entry, Ali,)

 

I woke up feeling fine.  I had no cortisol spike, but my daughter is very whiney today.  She is sick with the flu or a cold for the second day -- stuffed up, dry eyes, no interest in food, bloody nose because she can't leave it alone, headache, gurgles in her tummy, and needing a lot of liquids and a lot of attention.  I started feeling anxious, and I thought it was from listening to all the whining and reading about someone who is feeling quite awful from WD right now.  However, also, I snuggled my daughter all day yesterday.  

 

I had no sunlight, no walk, no outside the house time at all.  I never feel good the next day if I stay inside all day.  I didn't even do yoga.  Very dumb.

 

My appetite has been missing for many days.  I have been eating very little.  An egg for breakfast, maybe some toast, caffeine, of course; then a little lunch meat, cheese and crackers for lunch and no dinner.  Saturday, I had no lunch and pizza and shrimp for dinner.  Not good.  I need nutrients.  The anhedonia surrounding food is probably the most insidious of all the symptoms.

 

Dystonia was worse last night.  I woke up in quite a lot of discomfort, but again, it went away until I started "typing" on this iPad.  

 

Right eye: One thing that is positive.  I think my right eye is working better.  I think it's regained its ability to focus.  For a while it seemed to be useless.  I had to patch it to read because trying to use it caused a headache.  Perhaps the eye itself had dystonia or dyskinesia.  I can read now without patching it -- at least for a while.

 

Lots of muscle tremors all over, completely random, sometimes painful, but always short lived.  This has been going on for years and years.  I wasn't aware of it before I realized it was a symptom of WD.  Now, I don't worry about them, and I have not had that painful tremor in my chest that made me wince in a very long time.  I once went to get an EKG for this back when I was taking Celexa - prior to May 2011.  I had it on Zoloft, too and I have had it a few times since I quit Zoloft.  

 

Lack of motivation still there; still relentless.  I'm not sure this symptom has let up for more than a few hours since the mania went away in 2015.  (I was in a mess before I quit Zoloft.  At some point it stopped working or I was kindled from missing doses -- not sure which -- or both.  My husband believes that things changed for the worst in 2006 or 2007.  That was 4 or 5 years before I switched with no cross taper to Zoloft.  Eleven years of poor cog function and increasing anxiety!)

 

Oh, how I wish these meds had never existed.  I might be dead, but if I wasn't, I think my life would have been very different.  I would like to believe that there would have been a better solution to my depression if the meds hadn't been an option.  I know I would not have lived through almost 16 years of unnecessary anxiety.  That's quite evident.

Thank you for keeping your story up to date. I'm currently dealing with the dystonia type muscle contractions.  Even worse is it causes me lack of sleep.  I'm not managing well.  It goes all the way up to the top of my head.  I'm only five months from last taper. Hopefully I can heal and come back and tell my stories for others.  For now though. I can barely get thru the day.  

 

I also have a hard time absorbing the water I drink. For two mo ths straight my urine was clear, I could even go an entire day without drinking water and it be clear!  That seems to be getting better.

[gentlehermione]

On 3/5/2024 at 2:52 PM, Rosetta said:

However, every Springtime, I have a lot of anxiety.  

Hi @Rosetta

Spring has often been the most difficult time of the year for me. My anxiety becomes heightened at the first sign of longer, warmer days. This started happening years ago just before I was first diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. I wondered for a while if it was reverse SAD.

Today is not too bad as we’re experiencing a temporary cold snap with clouds and rain. Oh the relief!

 

Glad to hear you’re not experiencing too many WD symptoms 🎉

 

Take care 🥰

[Carmie]

Dear @Rosetta

 

Thanks so much for checking up on me a number of times, you’re such a sweetie.

 

How are you doing? 💛