tomas: After 11 months withdraw I´m still suffering, please some advice.

[tomas]

Hi 

I´m 24 years old man from Czech Republic so excuse my english.

I suffer from social anxiety, OCD, derealization and sometimes depression and i´ve been on Sertraline for 8 years on 200mg but the problem is that about 3 years ago i try to stop it and i had extreme withdraw symtoms like extreme sky high anxiety that i cant leave the house because my anxiety disorders been on steroids, extreme sleepines like 15 hours a day, agitation, and all classic withdraw symtoms so i jump back on it but i start increase dosage too fast because i cant take the misery, so after 3 week i´ve been on 150mg. Days after that i had psychotic episode so they gave me some antipsychotics but it dont work so i must do ECT which help a little but some psychotics symtoms  stayed, they didnt realise that the psychotic episode was induce by to fast increase of setraline (neither do i at that time )and contine givin me setraline. So i been calm but the quality of life was bad and after like year on sertraline i´ve decided that i try to get of the drug so i did. I taper too fast like from 200mg to 0 in 1 month and guess what ? all psychotics  symptoms slowly desiper but the withdraw was so extreme so i try to distract myself all day by activitis becouse distraction really help me with withdraw and now i´m 11 months off setraline but the thing is if i cant distract mysefl for some reason i´m extremely miserably, its like i running a maraton of activities becouse i´m running from the withdraw and i cant run anymore ...So what you guys think i should do ? i´m thinkin reinstate but i´m afraid of the psychotic episode again, the thing is, for those 8 years i´ve been on setralin it did not good for me, not help with anything at all, all i have from this was 8 years of agitation and side effects but i was takin it becouse some relief from the anxiety was there but the side effects was too much.

Thank you for your advice

[Altostrata]

Welcome, tomas.

 

What is your current symptom pattern?

 

What do you mean by "psychotic symptoms"?

[tomas]

I have extreme anxiety, extreme agitation, deprresion, brain zaps, dry mouth and so on... psychotic sympstom means, i mean when i have psychotic episode i didnt have halucination or delusions, it was extreme agitation and anxiety and feelings like i have leave my body( depersonalization) i scream at all...it was so extreme that i want kill mysefl. Now i have this agitation but it gets beeter and better once i get setralin off, i´m calmer than the last 8 years on sertralin for sure but still very bad.

[Altostrata]

Those are not psychotic symptoms, that is severe withdrawal syndrome.

 

What is your current symptom pattern?

[tomas]

The thing is that i already have 11 months behind me and i´m never been "better" in 8 years what i´ve been on setralin but still very bad and reinstatement would "kill me" i dont want to do it! but i cant see any other options becouse if i must jump back on it i must be on it for like year to stabilizaise and then like 2 years tapering down thats 3 years of another hell.. i can´t work becouse of it, i can´t socialize because of extreme social anxiety what couse withdraw. i can´t sit still.  I really dont know what to do. 

[tomas]

My current symptoms are mostly anxiety, brain zaps, agitation deprresion, dry mouth, fatigue, tremor.

[Altostrata]

11 minutes ago, tomas said:

The thing is that i already have 11 months behind me and i´m never been "better" in 8 years what i´ve been on setralin but still very bad and reinstatement would "kill me" i dont want to do it! but i cant see any other options becouse if i must jump back on it i must be on it for like year to stabilizaise and then like 2 years tapering down thats 3 years of another hell.. i can´t work becouse of it, i can´t socialize because of extreme social anxiety what couse withdraw. i can´t sit still.  I really dont know what to do. 

 

Your assumptions are incorrect. If you want to try reinstatement, we suggest a very, very low dose, such as 1mg sertraline, to see how it affects you. You'd stabilize on that for some months and then taper off by tiny amounts. See

 

What is withdrawal syndrome?
 
About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms
 
The Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

 

This topic explains how to take a small amount of sertraline Tips for tapering off Zoloft (sertraline)

[Altostrata]

To help us out, see these instructions Please put your drug and withdrawal history in your signature

[tomas]

Thank you but the thing is i never been stabilizese on setraline, its been like a rollecoaster of moods, anxiety and all...so when i should see how it that 1mg affects me? Like right after i eat the tablet or few days? 

[Altostrata]

5 hours ago, tomas said:

My current symptoms are mostly anxiety, brain zaps, agitation deprresion, dry mouth, fatigue, tremor.

 

^ These are withdrawal symptoms. A little sertraline may help them. It is not going to fix your moods.

 

It will take at least 4 days for the dosage to get to steady-state in your bloodstream. If get an immediate bad reaction, stop. Otherwise, take your dose at the same time each day and let us know how you are doing.

[DMV64]

14 hours ago, tomas said:

My current symptoms

Ho Tomas. I am sorry you are feeling so bad. There is a lot of help here. The moderators really are so knowledgeable!

-D

[tomas]

Ok before i post on this site i was already reinstate on 12,5mg (i cut hafl of half of 50mg pill ) i´m on day 5 and i can see improvement but with lots of side effects like raising agitation, blured vission... but its definitely improvement, i feel like a need more but that doesnt make eny sense. I dont want to by on this drug anymore.

[Altostrata]

Do your symptoms follow any daily pattern? Please keep daily notes on paper about your symptoms, when you take your drugs, and their dosages.

[tomas]

The extreme anxiety and deprresion is improve definetely but right now is not stable i have better moments definitely than in 11months i´ve been off the drug, we´ll see as it goes further. Do you think 12,5mg is too high ? I´m afraid of the next days that its get worse.

[tomas]

Since i reinstate 5 days ago a can see some good moments with less anxiety and deprresion that i haven´t feel in 11 months of withdraw but that is likely an hour or 2 through the day, the rest of the day is still worse and anxiety is higher than usually. 

[tomas]

Ok day 6 and the anxiety is sky high and its very bad so 12,5mg is defitely too high, shloud i taper this down slowly or should i try jump down maybe max 1 - 5mg and stay a few days ?

[tomas]

Anyone ? 

[Rosetta]

Please don't change anything until a mod responds.  

 

Keep bumping your post up every time it moves to the second page.  Just write "Bump" and post.  Anxiety being high may or may not be evidence of an adverse reaction.  I don't know, but I've had very high anxiety without reinstating.  

 

Try to post what time you take your drug and what happens in the first hour after.  Then tell us when the anxiety gets its worst and when it calms down.  The timing between when you take the dose and what happens after is important to the Mods.

 

Peace, Rosetta

[tomas]

Hi. I need some help (sorry for my english)

 

When i started taking sertraline 8 years ago i was suffering from social anxiety, OCD and derealization so i went to psychiatrist a she took me on sertralin every 3 months 50mg higher to a max dose 200mg. In that time i start feel this hallucination or psychosis or whatever it was but it was very strange. It was like i see my anxiety in front of me in form of some "mass" so basicily my anxiety disorders then disconect from me and i it took place in front my eyes so i was anxiety free but the anxiety stay behind some mass (that what i see) i was extreme agitated and it was forst feeling in my life. I thougt that the antidepressant worikng because im anxiety free but the anxiety chance form in this psychosis or hallucinations.

 

Year later i try went of the sertralin and it was hell. After like 3 months cold turkey i had this feeling like im drug adict i literally shake my hands, have extreme anxiety linyng on the floor with my hands on my belly from anxiety that was so extreme  or it was psychosis ? i dont know.

 

So i jump back on it and after 3 weeks i was on 150mg and had full blown psychosis that the "mass in my mind fall on me and i had feelings that if the mass fall on me im gona die and it stole all my personality so i was suicidel and go to i hospital where i have this suicidel attacks when i cant control my body.The anger and emotional rollercoaster was so extreme that i cant take it.

 

Interesting is that i never had hallucinations like "classic" psychosis are, like thinking im god or devil or seeing some unbeleviable things i was so it say in reality but the "mass" in my head was the problem. I literaly felt fyzical mass in my mind. 

 

So they took me on antipsychotics which didnt help so i must do ECT which help a bit. The problem is now im 15months of sertralin and when i look back on day 1 when i taper this "mass" fellling slowly disepar and now when i take antipsychotics this mass feeling geting better too with same antipsychotics which didt work back then and now they work. The ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THAT IM WITHOUT SERTRALIN that why now the antipsychotics works.

 

So the questation is im in withdraw or im in psychosis which is slowly diseaper? 

 

 

Edited August 14, 2018 by Songbird
make paragraphs

[Songbird]

Tomas, I've merged your new topic into your introduction topic to keep all your information in one place.  Please post all your updates and questions about your situation here in your introduction topic.  

 

Please create a signature containing a summary of your med history, including all drugs, doses and dates (starting and stopping).  Your signature appears below every post you make, and helps us see your situation easily without having to read from the top every time.   You could look at my signature for an example.  Instructions for creating your signature are here: Please put your withdrawal history in your signature.  You can edit your signature here: edit your signature in Account Settings