buzon624: aka Andy

[buzon624]

My name is Andy.  I have cPTSD after being committed to a cash for teens behavior mod program back in the late 80's. that was based on the 8 tenants of corrosive thought control used in POW camps.  it is all documented at this point but the damage was done to me and thousands of other kids back in the 80's when the war on drugs cranked up.    I was held for 720 days and subjected to physical, mental abuse, food deprivation, sleep deprivation, physical restraints etc.....it was a violent place.  I my parent gave up  custody of me when I was 16 to this cult like program...its was shut down by the government for child abuse in the mid 90's. I lived on the streets for 5 years after I was released and experienced a myriad of death and suicide living homeless, stuff people dont believe or only see in movies.  I eventually got my life together, got married, put myself through school up to getting my Masters Degree in Strategic Management.   Life was good.  Then things when sideways.  

 

My symptoms came when I was 42, the memories and panic attacks came almost overnight.  I was really against pharma when it all unraveled so I did  yoga and meditation and EMDR and weekly therapy for several years and was talked into a "small dose" of lexipro and Kpin to calm me down. That has lead to being on 10 mg of Lex, 2 mg of Kpin and tazadone for sleep. I have been training to become a yoga instructor and finished my master reiki practitioner training this fall. My support team (Doc and therapist) agreed I had out grown the meds so I am very excited about my progress with cPTSD but now Im struggling with the med withdrawal.  

 

I tapered down to 1mg of kpin and am holding steady there at the same time I tapered 3 weeks on 5mg (down from 10mg)  of lexipro and today makes 14 days on zero lexipro. The first 8 days were good and i was very encouraged. Day 12-14 the brain zaps came hard.  It feels like I have a shutter like strobe effect in my head and it creates vertigo and disorientation.   I was debilitated for a day until I heard about Kratom to ease the symptoms. I took two tea spoon fulls in the morning and it stops the brain zaps within an hour...then I have to take it again in the evening if I have more responsibilities to do. I dont like the kratom but it seems to help with the brain zaps and lack of motivation. once i stabilize on the lex, Ill finish the kpin taper. 

In addition to my traditional yoga certification and reiki practice,  I am getting certified to lead Y12SR sessions (Yoga 12 Step Recovery) which is a great way to pull in people with all kinds of trauma via way of their vise. Whether its overeating, alcohol, opiates, sex...the slogan is "the issues are in our tissues". this will put me in a good place to help others who have trauma and medication issues. I am called to help, but I need to get clear of all the SSRI's to move forward.   I feel discouraged that the med withdrawal seems to be dragging on and Im not sure when Ill feel "normal" again.  

 

I want to use my jacked up life to help others. Thanks for offering this forum to the community.

 

Thank you all for being here.  This seems to be a really solid group and I look forward to contributing.  

 

All the best,

 

Buzon624 

"Andy"

 

[Gridley]

Welcome to SA, buzon624.

 

To give members the best information, we ask them to summarize their medication history in a signature -- drugs, doses, dates, and discontinuations & reinstatements, in the last 12-24 months particularly.

 

Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature.

 

You tapered much faster than the 10% every four weeks we recommend, which is why you are experiencing the withdrawal symptoms you described.

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

To help you understand the symptoms you are experiencing, here is some information on withdrawal.  The withdrawal time doesn't necessarily correlate with the time you were on the drug.  These drugs alter the architecture of the brain, and the time necessary to heal the brain and return to homeostasis is, unfortunately, impossible to predict.  

 

What is withdrawal syndrome.

 

Glenmullen’s withdrawal symptom list.

 

 The Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

 

When we take medications, the CNS (central nervous system) responds by making changes over the months and years we take the drug(s). When the medication is discontinued, the CNS has to undo all the changes it made. Rebuilding the neurotransmitter production and reactivating the receptor and transporter cells takes time -- during that rebuilding process symptoms occur.  

 

Youtube video, 4 minutes: Healing from antidepressants

 

At this time, reinstatement of a very small dose of the original drug, in your case, Lexapro, is the only known way to help alleviate withdrawal syndrome.  The only other alternative is to try and wait out the symptoms and manage as best you can until your central nervous system returns to homeostasis.  Unfortunately no one can give you an exact timeline as to when you will start feeling better and while some do recover relatively easily, for others it can take many months or longer.  

 

Reinstatement isn't a guarantee of diminished symptoms for everyone but it's the best tactic available.  You're still in the time period where reinstatement predictably works, up to 3 months after last dose.  It is best to reinstate as soon as possible after withdrawal symptoms occur. We usually suggest a much smaller reinstatement dose than your last dose.  These drugs are strong, and when reinstating it is better to start with a small amount and increase if symptoms remain unbearable. Your system has become sensitized and If you take too much it may be too much for your brain and can cause you become unstable.  Sometimes it can be hard to regain stability after this happens.  Then, once you've stabilized on that dosage, you can begin a 10% per month taper down to zero.   Please read:

 

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms. -- at least the first page of the topic.

 

If reinstating a very small dose of Lexapro is something you're interested in considering, please let us know and we can suggest a dosage.  Please do not reinstate without letting us know.

 

SA does not support the use of Kratom.   Please read this link:

Beware of Kratom - Symptoms and self-care - Surviving Antidepressants 

This is your introductory topic where you can ask questions and post updates.

[buzon624]

Thanks for you response.  I guess I can or cannot participate in the group.  It shows "Your content will need to be approved by a moderator".  Gotcha.  Good luck all.

 

Andy 

[ChessieCat]

When a member first starts at SA their first few posts need to be approved.  This ensures that a moderator is a first responder.

 

You are welcome to continue posting.

[buzon624]

Thank you so much!  That means a lot and show how well this forum is run.  Truly unique forum.  

 

I appreciate you clearing that up....what a big relief.  

 

Sometimes its the small contacts that make the biggest difference.  

 

Much appreciation...

 

Andy 

[ChessieCat]

Yes, SA is different to many other forums.  We encourage members to visit other members topics and support each other.  Just remember that each member's Intro is the record of their journey so any posting should be mainly about the member not about yourself.  If they want to find out more about you they can visit your Intro.  If a member's topic gets cluttered with chit chat if they need assistance it can be overlooked because of the busyness of their thread.

 

And there are many existing topics on the site.  We prefer to keep like information in the one place so it is easier for members to find. I prefer to use google and add survivingantidepressants.org to my search term.  Please search before creating a new topic.  And if you can't find a topic, ask about it here in your Intro and someone will generally provide the link if it exists.

[ChessieCat]

Have you made a decision about whether to reinstate a small amount of Lexapro.  I don't think Gridley gave you this link:  Tips for tapering off Lexapro (escitalopram)

[buzon624]

Im on the fence about reinstatement, I think its my ego though.  I have read through a lot of the information you guys provided and I really set my self up for this by not going the 10% route.  I was so excited to get the green light to come off the meds, I let my ego get in the way.  There seems to be a honeymoon period for the first week to ten days, then the real symptoms kicked in.  Im going to talk with my therapist tomorrow and probably get back on a better taper plan vs. white knuckling it for who knows how long the way I have chosen to basically go CT.    I meet with my Rx Doc in january but I dont think I will wait that long before I come back up to 2.5mg.  Actually I read some more of the info you provided about reienstatment and make sure if that seem logical.  I went from 5mg to 0mg vs 2.5 which was my plan.  I know Im not making the best decisions right now as I get foggy then impulsive so Im going to probably go back on the meds but with a plan.  Thanks so much for the follow up. 

 

[buzon624]

44 minutes ago, ChessieCat said:

Yes, SA is different to many other forums.  We encourage members to visit other members topics and support each other.  Just remember that each member's Intro is the record of their journey so any posting should be mainly about the member not about yourself.  If they want to find out more about you they can visit your Intro.  If a member's topic gets cluttered with chit chat if they need assistance it can be overlooked because of the busyness of their thread.

 

And there are many existing topics on the site.  We prefer to keep like information in the one place so it is easier for members to find. I prefer to use google and add survivingantidepressants.org to my search term.  Please search before creating a new topic.  And if you can't find a topic, ask about it here in your Intro and someone will generally provide the link if it exists.

I totally respect and understand what you are saying.  Ill do some more research on the topics before I post anything unique.  Again, really well run forum.  Kudos.  You guys are a life saver. 

[Gridley]

buzon,

 

Reinstating 2.5mg would likely be too much.  During the time you've been off the drug, your brain has made adjustments to not having the drug.  Flooding the brain with too much Lexapro could easily be too much for your system to handle.  The dosage I was going to suggest would be 0.5mg (1/2 mg.)  It doesn't sound like much,  but as I wrote earlier, these drugs are very strong (especially Lexapro).  If symptoms remain unbearable, you can always increase (little by little).  That's much better than reinstating too much.

 

On 12/22/2018 at 5:14 PM, Gridley said:

These drugs are strong, and when reinstating it is better to start with a small amount and increase if symptoms remain unbearable. Your system has become sensitized and If you take too much it may be too much for your brain and can cause you become unstable.  Sometimes it can be hard to regain stability after this happens.  Then, once you've stabilized on that dosage, you can begin a 10% per month taper down to zero.

 

[ChessieCat]

58 minutes ago, buzon624 said:

Im on the fence about reinstatement, I think its my ego though. 

 

That's not uncommon.  I think it is mainly because we think we should be strong enough, or disciplined enough, to get through it.  I will tell you of my own experience, which I think is fairly unique because I had a benchmark.  It might help you to understand what these drugs do, what happens when they are removed too quickly and what happens when we give the brain some of the drug it is used to getting.

 

It's important to note that the sooner reinstatement is made the better chance there is of it being successful.  It's worthwhile reading Post #1 of the Reinstatement topic a few times so that you fully understand your options.

 

I reduced my Pristiq 100mg for 2 weeks and experienced severe cog fog where even walking took my whole concentration.  At the end of the two weeks I was unable to type.  I've been a professional typist for 40+ years so when this happened I knew that something was very wrong.  Thankfully I had joined SA a few days before this happened and they had suggested increasing my dose.  When I couldn't type I took extra Pristiq.  After only about 4 hours I was able to type again and the cog fog was lifting.  There was no way this was placebo or wishful thinking.  It was like night and day.  After stabilising I've been tapering following SA's protocol and I'm now down to 5mg.  Yes, five, not 50mg.  It's taken me 3 yrs 2 mths to get to this dose and will probably take another 2 years before I'm off.  But I'm very glad that I have done it this way and kept withdrawal symptoms to a minimum and at a bearable level.

 

My other experience was of cold turkeying citalopram.  I felt really great for a 2-3 months and then bam! I was bedridden for 2.5 weeks with what seemed like the flu, aches and pains, unable to eat and lost 8kgs but it never seemed like the proper flu.  I now believe that it was delayed withdrawal from the cold turkey.  Back then I did not know about withdrawal and of course thought I had relapsed and ended up on Pristiq.

 

BTW the information I provided wasn't a "telling off".  It was simply an explanation of how this forum works as I am aware that on other forums people seem to start new topics whenever they make a post and they can get very confusing and out of hand and information can be hard to find.  We try to run a "tight ship" here so that there is less work for the moderators to do trying to tidy things up.  😊

 

I hope you find the information and support on this site useful and helpful.

 

I suggest you check out these topics before seeing any medical professionals:

 

How do you talk to a doctor about tapering and withdrawal?

What should I expect from my doctor about withdrawal symptoms?

[buzon624]

That makes a lot of sense.  I think I underestimated the strength of Lexipro because getting on it from 0mg to 5mg to 10mg was really easy.  No side effects I always heard of and I really did not have  dramatic change in mood...until I stopped taking them for a few days about a year ago. 

 

I always felt like the "brain zaps" were my line in the sand but by the time I get to that point Im so foggy I dont make good decisions.  Especially making the important med decisions in a vacuum basically.  My doctor is  really help not much with tapering and ADWD because he just does not understand.  He is very kind and i know has my best interest at heart, he is just unqualified in the nuance of this type of discountenance withdrawal.  I have to remember he did not do this to me, i needed something when I was reeling from cPTSD, he just did what he was trained to do.  Helps me not get upset with them and quit going.  

 

I like the idea of going back on at .5mg and ease up to where I can stand it and stabilize there, then taper from there.  

 

PS - Thanks for helping with the forum.  I have never seen a forum run so well (on any topic) ....very very helpful.   You guys have kindly shown me the ropes and given more support than I usually have to pay for.  

 

Buzon

[ChessieCat]

It takes about 4 days for a dose change to get to full level in the blood and a bit longer for it to register in the brain.  It is best to keep daily notes so that you can be objective about your symptoms.  If you do need to increase it will only be a small amount.  Please let us know how things are going, and we can assess whether you might need to increase.  Providing your notes will help with this.

 

This is an example:

 

6 a.m. Woke with anxiety
8 a.m. Took 2.5mg Lexapro
10 a.m. Stomach is upset
10:30 a.m. Ate breakfast
11:35 a.m. Got a headache, lasted one hour
12:35 p.m. Ate lunch
4 p.m. Feel a bit better
5 p.m. Took 2.5mg Lexapro
6 p.m. Ate dinner
9:20 p.m. Headache
10:00 p.m. Took 50mg Seroquel
10:20 p.m. Feeling dizzy
10:30 p.m. Fell asleep
2:30 a.m. Woke, took 3mg Ambien (NOT "took 1/2 tablet Ambien")
2:45 a.m. Fell asleep
4:30 a.m. Woke but got back to sleep

 

 

Once you get stable you might want to use these.  There are printable and computer monthly sheets with a scale to rate your symptoms.  There are also blank ones if you want to write your own symptom list.  Dr Joseph Glenmullen's Withdrawal Symptoms

[buzon624]

18 minutes ago, ChessieCat said:

It takes about 4 days for a dose change to get to full level in the blood and a bit longer for it to register in the brain.  It is best to keep daily notes so that you can be objective about your symptoms.  If you do need to increase it will only be a small amount.  Please let us know how things are going, and we can assess whether you might need to increase.  Providing your notes will help with this.

 

This is an example:

 

6 a.m. Woke with anxiety
8 a.m. Took 2.5mg Lexapro
10 a.m. Stomach is upset
10:30 a.m. Ate breakfast
11:35 a.m. Got a headache, lasted one hour
12:35 p.m. Ate lunch
4 p.m. Feel a bit better
5 p.m. Took 2.5mg Lexapro
6 p.m. Ate dinner
9:20 p.m. Headache
10:00 p.m. Took 50mg Seroquel
10:20 p.m. Feeling dizzy
10:30 p.m. Fell asleep
2:30 a.m. Woke, took 3mg Ambien (NOT "took 1/2 tablet Ambien")
2:45 a.m. Fell asleep
4:30 a.m. Woke but got back to sleep

 

 

Once you get stable you might want to use these.  There are printable and computer monthly sheets with a scale to rate your symptoms.  There are also blank ones if you want to write your own symptom list.  Dr Joseph Glenmullen's Withdrawal Symptoms

Thats a great idea.  Just in the past 2 weeks of CT i have a hard time explaining or remembering how I felt from day to day.  Ill checked out the list of symptoms and kinda freaked me out but it helped me to see other subtle symptoms vs just the glaring ones I tend to only focus on.   This is all a big mess .... I feel like im just messing with my brain chemistry and have probably already messed it up with by trying to go too fast      Ill try the reinstatement and journaling...it seems to be the right thing to do at this point. Thanks so much

~a 

[ChessieCat]

Yes, there are some symptoms which we get that we don't realise are from withdrawal.  When I first reduced Pristiq I had an upset stomach for a few days and just thought it was a tummy bug.  Once I checked out Glenmullen's WD symptom list I noticed that it was on the list so now think that was a WD symptom too.

 

It can be a bit scary when you see the list of symptoms, however it is to good to know what you might experience because then when something happens you can think ah that might be from withdrawal, and just observe without getting stressed about it.  Obviously if it continues and it concerns you then you should go and get it checked out just in case it is something else.  The more knowledge we have about something the less scared we generally are of it.

 

It's important to understand that healing isn't linear.  It follows a Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

 

Be prepared that it might be several months before you can start tapering.  It is better to hold for longer than to risk reducing again too soon.  You will need to be patient and try and be calm and keep stress to a minimum and accept that you are doing something by giving your brain time to adjust, even though you will probably get the urge to do or take something so you feel like you are doing something.  This is common.

 

Video:  Healing From Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery

 

It's important to learn and use non drug coping techniques to get through the times of discomfort.  Even with a careful taper you will most likely experience symptoms at times, and if there is additional stress or you get sick, or even overdo things like exercise or eat certain foods, or have a bad night/s sleep, these can increase your symptoms.

 

Non-drug techniques to cope
 

The diagram in this anxiety document shows what happens to our bodies when we become anxious.  It's good to be able to recognise them so that you can nip it in the bud:  https://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/docs/AnxietySelfHelp.pdf   This site has some really good things.

 

Other good stuff:

 

Audio:  First Aid for Panic (4 minutes)

 

Dr Claire Weekes suffered from anxiety and learned and taught ways of coping.  There are videos available on YouTube.

 

Claire Weekes' Method of Recovering from a Sensitized Nervous System

 

Audio:  How to Recover from Anxiety - Dr Claire Weekes
 

Anxiety Stuff - all kinds of stuff about anxiety attacks and things that help ...

 

Acceptance

 

dealing-with-emotional-spirals

 

Neuro Emotions

 

Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) for anxiety, depression

CBT Course:  An Introductory Self-Help Course in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

 

Resources:  Centre for Clinical Interventions (PDF modules that you can work through, eg:  Depression, Distress Intolerance, Health Anxiety, Low Self-Esteem, Panic Attacks, Perfectionism, Procrastination, Social Anxiety, Worrying)

 

And if nothing else works this is a good one:

 

On 4/28/2017 at 4:03 AM, brassmonkey said:

 

AAF: Acknowledge, Accept, Float.  It's what you have to do when nothing else works, and can be a very powerful tool in coping with anxiety. The neuroemotional anxiety many of us feel during WD is directly caused by the drugs and their chemical reactions in the brain.  Making it so there is nothing we can do about them.  They won't respond to other drugs, relaxation techniques and the like.  They do, however, react very well to being ignored.  That's the concept behind AAF.  Acknowledge, get to know the feeling involved, explore them.  Accept, These feelings are a part of you and they aren't going anywhere fast. Float, let the feeling float off as you get on with your life as best as you can.  It's a well documented fact that the more you feed in to anxiety the worse it gets.  What starts as generalized neuroemotinal anxiety can be easily blown into a full fledged panic attack just by thinking about it.

 

I often liken it to an unwanted house guest.  At first you talk to them, have conversations, communicate with them.  After a while you figure out that they aren't leaving and there is nothing you can do to get rid of them.  So you go on about your day, working around them until they get bored and leave.

 

It can take some practice, but AAF really does work.  I hope you give it a try.

 

 

 

[buzon624]

Im so glad this site is available.  Just by doing some searches I found out that several of the "supplements" have been recommended over the past few months/years are really causing me problems.  I have been drinking Kava tea daily for 2 years....like all day long.  I was an obsessive coffee drinker for most of my career until the anxiety hit 4 years ago.  I weened off the coffee and just have a cup in the morning (an actual 8oz cup) and then would drink Kava tea.   Its as bad as some of the med i  have been prescribed. 

 

I was using Kratom to get the brain zaps to go away and it worked great, but that is a nasty drug in itself.  Ive discontinued using that as well after reading about how it can interact with other meds.  

 

I am doing better then last week.  The brain zaps seem to have subsided now, without kratom....only a brief shutter feeling when i first wake up.  My main symptoms of withdrawal are sweaty palms and feet, tingling in my scalp and overall feeling like i drank too much coffee...creepy.  No suicidal thoughts and have been in an ok mood, just tired.   Foggy brain but can make business meeting but have to keep good notes or I get lost.  

 

I have not reinstated the lexipro...yet. My symptoms are slowly getting better and I see my doctor on Jan 3rd.   I need either liquid or a scale to get to a small enough dose based on the info I have read and received on this site.   I dont think my doc gets how these tapers really work so I am going to read through the "talking to doctors" portion of the site.  

 

Thanks again for everyone's support and advise.  A bright light in a sea of bad information out there.  

 

Much love and light,

 

Andy

[ChessieCat]

These are the links:

 

How do you talk to a doctor about tapering and withdrawal?

What should I expect from my doctor about withdrawal symptoms?

 

You could write a script and rehearse what you want to say to the doctor.

[buzon624]

15 hours ago, ChessieCat said:

You could write a script and rehearse what you want to say to the doctor.

 

Great idea.  The conversation always goes so fast I walk out never feeling like we actually communicated and i agreed to somthing I did not want.  Thanks for the links! 

 

Buzon

[ChessieCat]

I posted this to another member.  I've posted something more recently but can't find it.  This may be helpful though.  I don't have the brain power to type up a new response for you, sorry.

 

On 9/22/2016 at 7:35 AM, ChessieCat said:

Rehearse what you are going to say before seeing the doctor.  Something like:  "I have considered this carefully and decided that I want to reduce my drug slowly so I need a prescription for compounded Pristiq in 5mg capsules (or whatever dose/s you decide on) with slow release formula."

 

Don't be emotional, be assertive, but not arrogant.  Basically know what you want and go in and request it.  If he questions or ridicules you further say you have read The Icarus Project's The Harm Reduction Guide to Coming Off Psychiatric Drugs (just make sure you have read it though ) and you could suggest he read it.  Something like:  "I've read The Icarus Project's Harm Reduction Guide to Coming Off Psychiatric Drugs and it says ... or I'd rather reduce cautiously.  The Guide is available free online if you want to check it out."

 

...

 

I hope this gives you some ideas of how to approach this.  Remember you are the customer.  You have a right to ask for what you want.  Even though doctors have studied and do know a lot, they are human beings and (unfortunately) don't know everything.

 

[buzon624]

Hello everyone.  Its been helpful to read through all the posts the past month...  I don't feel quite qualified to post on others topics as the community here is deep with experience and knowledge.  I feel bad for just reading and not interacting but at the same time I am learning so much through others experiences and the responses from the group.  Again, kudos to this Forum.  

 

 

I am 38 days with out Leixpro.  My visit with my Doc was postponed and finally happened this week.  I had gotten through the nightmarish symptoms of SSRI withdrawal before I got to the appointment.  He was very compassionate and did not agree with my quick taper, he said I probably came off too fast.  In his experience some of his patience can come off quicker and some it takes months or years to wean.  I was surprised he understood how hard it is to get off these meds.   He recommended that at this point to stabilize for 6 weeks or more before trying to come down on the kpin.   He did not recommend reinstatement of Lexipro.  I updated my Quick Taper in my profile to get it accurate and have dropped most of my supplements.  I was taking too many supplements that had interactions to where i could not figure out what was making me feel bad.  I feel good with a B Complex and Fish Oil for energy and clarity. 

 

As for me, I am feeling great.  My energy has come back and the brain zaps have not resurfaced.   I feel 'fragile' if that makes sense.  Very sensitive but am able to handle intense conversations and situations.  I have started up a new company which I have been trying to get of the ground for months.  We will be breaking ground in February on the facility.   I am back going to yoga in studios. I was too unbalanced to go at the peek of the SSRI withdrawal.  It feels good to be back in a community of people vs grinding this out by myself.  I have continued to go to therapy every Monday and we do EMDR and Tapping in addition to talk therapy.  

 

I was so confused and scared that I had screwed up my brain permanently by Quick Tapering.  I feel so much better i dont think I am going to have protracted symptoms and if i do Ill deal with it at that time.  I've come to far to add back any SSRI.  My system is so sensitive now its a big gamble on how it will affect me going back on. For now, I'm going to stick with what i have and stay off lexipro.  

 

I'm not recommending anyone do what I did.  It was just how it worked out for me.  I am still early in the recovery so I may have symptoms pop up down the road, but for today and the past week, i feel very optimistic that i have made it through the worst of the symptoms.  

 

Thanks for everyone's support,

 

Andy 

[buzon624]

Hello all,

Its been 75 days since my last dose of Lexipro.  I weaned off of the Klonopin and today was my first day benzo free.  I am so grateful for my friends and family (on and off line) who knew what I was attempting to do and have continued to support me.  I don't think I would have been able to do this while still going to the office daily.  I have been able to work from home the past few months and it really allowed me to feel like crap and not have to leave work.   I feel more alive and present than I have in years.  My anxiety is heightened and I am still cautious about putting myself in stressful situations but as for today, when I truly assess how I feel...I am great.  I don't feel like I need medical attention or chemical interventions for my anxiety at this point. No massive panic attacks the past few weeks coming off the kpin which is amazing.  I have been expecting the worst, but for me the Lexipro withdrawal was far worse and bewildering than the benzo taper. 

 

Thanks for all who keep this site available.  It has been a Godsend to see everyone's experience and really excellent advice from the moderators.  I will update as I get farther along and see how the long term withdrawal effects manifest themselves.  I don't feel 100% by any means (far from it) but I am making progress.  

 

Much love,

 

Andy 

[Altostrata]

You're welcome, Andy. Please continue to let us know how you're doing.

[buzon624]

28 minutes ago, Altostrata said:

You're welcome, Andy. Please continue to let us know how you're doing.

Thanks for your response.  Sorry if i was out of line.  

[buzon624]

My taper was way to fast.  I am 100 days off SSRI's and 27 days off benzo's.  I think I mess myself up. 

 

I was  extremely anxious and had chest pains so I  stopped at a pharmacy yesterday... they took my blood pressure and sent me to a urgent care who sent me to the ER.  I did not have a heart attack but my BP is all over the place.  Between by brain and my body I cannot seem to keep it together.  Once my chest gets tight my brain takes over and I rattle out of control.  The mental symptoms become physical.  The hospital did not recommend reinstating the meds but told me to speak with my doctor.  My doctor is not a good resource.  Although a well meaning person, he is not versed on half the information I have found on this site.   I have a follow up tomorrow with him in the morning.  

 

My anxiety is over the top at times.  Way worse than before I was put on all the meds.  I am overly emotional and have been "lashing out" which is why I was put on the meds in the first place.  

 

All the docs and nurses at the ER asked why I came off the meds because it was obvious my anxiety was debilitating.  It comes in waves though.  By the end of the night I was calm and BP came down and the released me ( after a chest CT, enzyme test for heart attach and test for blood clots). 

 

If anyone is thinking of coming off quick, DON'T.  Take your time.  It may seem discouraging to see it take people a long time to get off meds but there is good reason. 

 

I will probably suffer longer because I was to arrogant to listen to advise.  

 

I do have good days,  enough to keep going... but I am still struggling.  Now I don't know from which of my "tapers" am I having symptoms.  When I look back at my profile I came off way way too fast.  Hind sight is 20/20.  Ill see what they say in the morning but I am not optimistic about my Dr at this point.  

 

Feeling better today but not stable by any means.  

 

[Priscilla]

 

On 12/23/2018 at 4:42 PM, buzon624 said:

Excellent Advise.  Thanks so much for putting this together.  I wish I would have read this before I started my mass exodus from SSRI's.  Simple, slow, stable....thats a great mantra. 

 

Again, thanks to all who put time into this forum.  Seems to be helping a lot of people.  

 

All the best,

 

Andy 

How has the lion's mane been working for you?

[buzon624]

16 hours ago, Priscilla said:

 

How has the lion's mane been working for you?

For mental clarity it works great.  I took it daily for a month to get a baseline on how it made me feel.  I found that the recommended 100mg was too strong for me.  It is great on days where i have brain fog or lack of energy.  On days where I am already anxious I skip it.  It can feel a bit speedy if I take it on days when my anxiety is already height.  For days where I need to get things done and am cloudy it works fantastic.  I would recommend to start with a lower dose and work up if anxiety is an issue.  As I continue to heal I know I have it in my supplement tool kit and how it reacts to my system.  I am so glad I found Lions Mane but for me it is not a daily supplement at this point.  I should update my profile and mark it "as needed".