Athosverona: Recovery from short term usage of Lexapro and what helped

[Athosverona]

Hi All,

 

I haven’t posted on here before but I’ve read posts while I was withdrawing and thinking I was going to die. I’m here to share some hope with you. One of the most difficult things when I was withdrawing was the thought “what if I’m like this forever”. That thought petrified me.  I almost didn’t post this because once I was healed I just wanted to get on with my life. But I came back because I felt you all needed to know that you will get through it just like I did as well as to share with you the different things I did.

 

I had withdrawals for two years approximately and in that period had depression, anxiety, an inability to sleep and constant heart palpitations. It sucks. I don’t think I’ve gone through anything harder in my life. It took me to the edge of sanity. The hardest thing with recovery is the constant swinging. I went back and forth between different symptoms. First anxious then depressed then anxious etc etc. What I’ve realised is that these changes are really just something healing in your brain and then the body goes onto the next thing. After a switch I often noticed that my thought process was better than before. It’s not going back and forth but really just around your brain healing you. It does cause a feeling of hopelessness unless you frame it as progress rather than just the body going in circles. 

 

The things I did to heal

 

1. Fasting (tricky one. At different stages this makes you feel better or worse but I’m sure it helps the healing process. It might be uncomfortable for you though depending on where you are. I did both dry and water fasting up to 3 days and intermittent fasting. 

2. Keto. If you have anxiety this should help bring it down. You will feal crap for a few days tho. After this depending on where you are in the healing process it could tip you into depression. 

3. Supplements Vitamin D, Iron, C, Fish Oil, Lions Mane, B. Once again depending on where you are on the healing curve these will have a different impact. Early on a Fish Oil pill have me anxiety for days. Now it’s fine and relaxing. You need to keep trying different things because your body keeps changing.

4. Worked out about 4 times a week for the 2 years. Weights mostly and some cardio.

5. Cold showers. Good for sleeping.

6. Meditation. Listen to Eckart Tolle. Do your mindfulness meditation. You will be stronger after going through this nightmare if you do. 

 

Anyway I wish you all luck. I’m sure I’ve said what other people have said before but make sure you take care of yourselves. 

 

Much love 

 A. 

 

 

 

Edited July 23, 2021 by manymoretodays

[ChessieCat]

Hi Athosverona and welcome to SA,

 

Thank you for joining in order to share your experience.

 

It would be helpful if you could provide information about the drug/s you were taking and how you stopped them.  This will give context to your experience.  Thank you.

 

Please create your drug signature using the following format.   Keep it simple.  NO diagnoses or symptoms please - thank you.

• details for last 2 years - dates, ALL drugs, doses
• summary for older than 2 years - just years and drug/s

Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature

[ChessieCat]

From how-to-write-your-success-story

 

On ‎11‎/‎17‎/‎2012 at 3:24 AM, Altostrata said:

Summarize who you are (age, medications you quit, your taper strategy) and, looking back, the pattern of your recovery, including how long each stage took, what helped you heal, and what you've learned from the experience.

 

[Altostrata]

Athosverona, thank you for visiting and posting your Success Story. 

 

We do need to know more about your drug history, that information is vitally important to our members.

 

Please come back and give us more details, also respond to any questions. Your experience can indicate ways people can aid their healing. These Success Stories give our members hope.

 

 

[GirlfromD]

Congratulations Athosverona! ☺️ And thank you for sharing your story and giving hope. Well done. 💕

[FarmGirlWorks]

On 1/10/2019 at 7:56 PM, Athosverona said:

I did both dry and water fasting up to 3 days and intermittent fasting.

Hi there and THANK YOU so much for your success story. I want to fast but do not know the difference between dry/water/intermittent. Can you explain? Thanks and congratulations for surviving this total crazy nightmare.

[ChessieCat]

On 1/17/2019 at 6:58 PM, Altostrata said:

Athosverona, thank you for visiting and posting your Success Story. 

 

We do need to know more about your drug history, that information is vitally important to our members. 

 

Please come back and give us more details, also respond to any questions. Your experience can indicate ways people can aid their healing. These Success Stories give our members hope.

 

 

 

[RusTW]

Athosverona what was the first signs in your recovery that you were getting there or close.

Near the end did you have Windows and waves. How did that pattern go or change.

Thank you Russ

[Athosverona]

I for many years would occasionally come to this forum when I was desperate and thought I was never going to recover. 

 

What we are going through is such an ordeal that the idea that we could be stuck in such a state forever is almost unbearable. As such I feel obliged to share my recovery. I believe that many people who are active on the forums disappear once they heal and don't look back as it is too painful, I didn't want to take without giving back.

 

My SSRI journey is short. I was on Lexapro for 3 months and had some abnormal nasty side effects from it. Hairloss, blood in my stool, huge anxiety getting on to it, brain zaps ... the works. My doctor said to stay the course and actually increased my dose, but I knew something was off. I was having a bad reaction to the drug. So I stopped cold turkey. For most people, they would be back to normal in no time after such a short dose. Due to my bad reaction, for me this was not the case. I stopped taking Lexarpo in July of 2017.

 

My withdrawal symptoms 

 

1. Rapid heart beat and a very heavy heart beat. About 110 resting heart rate - now 58 to 60

2. Initially very high levels of body anxiety and feeling like I was basically on fire. This lasted for about 3 months and then led to...

3. Depression. Very heavy depression. I couldn't think. I was in emotional agony.

4. I had some other symptoms, brain zaps, loss of self esteem, neuro emotions, performance anxiety, phobias etc. These came and went like the tides.

 

Then I would go in waves between depression and anxiety. It was about 1-3 months in each state and once in a while I would get a window in the beginning, a day of relative normalcy. This pattern continued for about 2 years without much change in its nature. Slowly the intensity of the suffering eased, however my mind was still not my own.

 

Then slowly the windows became bigger and the waves became smaller. I started to be able to think more clearly and a lot of the self talk (which is not us, it is just chemicals in the brain going crazy) softened and went away.

 

I am now 95% of the way recovered. I still have the odd day or anxiety or depression but now my primary state is windows and the waves are the odd events as opposed to it being the other way around. I am still seeing improvement and progress. 

 

On my journey I have done the following to heal (note that you should speak to a Dr if you are going to change your regime. I can't recommend anything to you I'm just telling you what I did.

 

1. LOTS of meditation. Mindful meditation and zen meditation. Check out Alan Watts and Eckhart Tolle. 

2. Exercise as often as I could. I read many studies which connect exercise with brain healing, increased neurogenesis, mood stability etc. I tried to do 30 minutes of cardio a day with some weights. 

3. Supplements. NOTE. In the beginning when I was super sensitive I had a 3 day anxiety attack from vitamin B. Then the same thing happened with Fish Oil. At different stages I was able to handle different supplements. Now I take Vitamin D, CBD Oil, Fish Oil, Green Tea, Boswellia, Vitamin C, Niacin, NAC, Resveratrol, Grape Seed Extract, Pine Bark Extract, Reshi Mushroom, Magnesium, Potassium, Probiotic, Prebiotic, Quercin, Turmeric, Black Pepper 

4. Fasting. I did both intermittent fasting and prolonged fasting. Intermittent fasting looked like eating every other day. Prolonged fasts were 3 to 5 days. (DO NOT TRY A PROLONGED FAST WITHOUT SPEAKING TO YOUR DR). For me, fasting felt like it healed me and stabilized my mood. Subjectively I think it really helped. 

5. Cold Showers X 2 each day. This is a great mood booster. It takes about 3 weeks for me to start to have effect +

6. Wim Hoff breathing every night. This is a great relaxation technique for me.

7. Healing gut and blood brain barrier with a Lectin free diet. Within 2 weeks of adopting this diet my symptoms improved 50% in a leap. It amazed me. Google the Plant Paradox. My opinion is that inflation has a big part to play in our issue and this is an anti-inflammatory diet which for me personally has done wonders. 

8. Sauna X 4 per week.

9. Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy 

10. Ketosis (sometimes). I also go in and out of Ketosis, I find this is a good mood booster and calms the mind.

11. Alpha Stim. This is a CES brain stimulation machine. I did this nearer to the end of my journey and found it helped with the anxiety and depression within 2 weeks of using it. 

 

 

I hope that some of this can help you. I know that you are suffering and that sometimes it feels like you can't go any further. I felt the same way and know that we can all heal. There is light at the end of this tunnel. Once you are through this you will be a stronger mother$#@% than you ever expected you could be. Hang in there. Be kind to yourself. You are not alone. 

 

Much love,

 

A xoxo

Edited July 23, 2021 by manymoretodays
merged to original topic

[Athosverona]

I've uploaded an updated version of my success story. I actually totally forgot I had written this one a couple of years ago. My new one has update supplements and some extra techniques I learnt along the way. Sorry for the double up. 

[Athosverona]

Hi Russ,

The first signs of recovery from my perspective was a changing of the problem. Ie not just having depression all the time but it changing from depression to anxiety to social anxiety to neuro-emotions. It felt like my mind was a marble was dropped into a wash basin and it was trying to find it's way home. There was a lot of suffering along the way but these changes gave me some comfort. When I had my first "normal" day. Then I was like... well if this can happen once when my brain obviously has the capacity to do this. I committed myself to making my body as healthy as possible so that my mind could follow. 

[Athosverona]

Farm girl works. Sorry for the late reply... You probably don't need the answers anymore but I'll go ahead anyway. 

 

Dry fasting is when you don't consume any water or food. I did this for 3 days. Can't recommend it at all mind you. It's just what I did. Many will say it is very dangerous.

A water fast is where you just consume water for a period of time. For example 3 days or 5 days is what I did. Speak to your doctor if you want to follow this protocol. 

Intermittent fasting is where you pick a protocol like eating one day and then only having water for the next day.

[manymoretodays]

topics merged, retitled (mmt), @Athosverona

[Jayy]

On 7/20/2021 at 6:05 AM, Athosverona said:

My withdrawal symptoms 

 

1. Rapid heart beat and a very heavy heart beat. About 110 resting heart rate - now 58 to 60

2. Initially very high levels of body anxiety and feeling like I was basically on fire. This lasted for about 3 months and then led to...

3. Depression. Very heavy depression. I couldn't think. I was in emotional agony.

4. I had some other symptoms, brain zaps, loss of self esteem, neuro emotions, performance anxiety, phobias etc. These came and went like the tides.

Hi,

 

We have sorta similar stories, I only took my AD for 1 month and suffering for the past 4 months. I'm not sure if I am going through withdrawal, but I know that I took Pristiq 50mg for 1 month, and I have terrible side affects. I cold turkey after 1 month because I couldn't sleep and other major issues.

 

My withdrawal symptoms for 4 months:

 

Extreme Anxiety 

Extremely depressed 

Headaches almost every day

Fatigued Daily 

And the worst one is Ringing in my head (tinnitus) its like a high power line sound constantly buzzing. 

 

I have a constant buzzing sound and sensation in my head, and it gives me more anxiety than I ever had. Its also a weird sensation of my nervous system buzzing and I feel like I am neurons are hyper active and like I constantly on edge or oversensitive to loudness and big crowds with a lot going on. When I go to the grocery store I feel like I'm buzzing and hypersensitive to everything and everyone around me.  Did you ever have ringing in your head? I'm praying it goes away. 

 

I also do intermittent fasting (usually fast 16 hours of the day then eat my daily calories in 8 hours)

Fish oil

Lots of water. 

I run 3-4 times a week. 

 

Thanks for your success story, be well

 

[Athosverona]

I don’t remember having a ringing… but the whole thing is such an overwhelming mess that I could have forgotten it.

 

Can definitely connect with being over sensitised tho. I used to think of it like being a frayed electrical cable. Like the insulation was missing. This passes.

 

Fish oil gave me anxiety at the beginning of my withdrawal. Just something to note in case it is happening to you too and you’ve missed it. 
 

Be kind to yourself during this state. I know this is scary as hell. Thoughts that you will be stuck like this might be terrifying you. But you will slowly get past this. 
 

Also try to remember that this crap that is going on is not you. You are inside this but it doesn’t define you. 
 

best of luck Jayy. Be strong 💪 you’re not alone. 

 

[Phoenixmama]

@Athosverona thank you for returning and reminding us suffering that we will make it through and it does get better ❤️ forever great full for your success story

[Phoenixmama]

@Athosverona hi , did you take cbd oil at any point in withdraw ??? 🙂

[Athosverona]

Hi Phoenix mama,

 

Yes I took CBD oil. I would say it definitely helped but in a subtle way. Like before I took it the world was very dull and lacklustre. After I took it, it was like a little bit of sunshine returned. It wasn’t a cure

all but I definitely think anything anti inflammatory helps.

 

The biggest thing that helped was probably diet. Going Keto and lectin free. Also eating beef liver boosted my mood too. I think that is due to the B12 in it. It’s the best source

of B12 in my opinion. Supplements don’t work as well. 

[Phoenixmama]

@Athosverona thanks for responding 🌞 i appreciate it very much

[Ruhik]

@Athosverona I'm almost in the same boat as you but with vision issues . How do you know if its getting normal the first time , visually

[Athosverona]

@RuhikI can’t remember any visual disturbance. My most pronounced physical symptom were heart palpitations and a racing heart. I thought it was going to kill me!

 

The body is a pretty amazing thing, one by one the symptoms slowly fade. Sometimes There is a waxing and waning but that’s part of the healing process.

 

I would check my eyes out with a professional just to be sure there isn’t another element to this. 
 

Also make sure that you are being as healthy as you can. Excercise, diet, sleep, supplements, therapies etc. Your body is a wonder it’ll get back on track!

[Kate2301]

Hello Athosverona

Thank you so much for taking the time to post your recovery here, I’m sure it’s helped so many people, including me.

I just wanted to ask if you ever felt like I do now…..

i CT Sertraline 1.5 years ago after 8 weeks of being on it and it gave me debilitating symptoms, I then experienced WD (didn’t have a clue) and was put on Mirtazapane i tapered fast and came off that 13 weeks ago. I have felt better gradually since coming off and have moments where I feel better however most of the time I feel a foggy brain, I find it hard to concentrate, o feel like I can’t relax, my mind isn’t clear it is constantly cycling and thinking about WD and asking myself why I feel so weird and still not like myself.

is this how you felt? My thumping g heart has faded and so has three intense anxiety I now just have an anxious mind that constantly thinks about WD. Is this normal in WD? I worry it’s me?! 
I was fine before I was put on any AD never felt weird or anxious before I my life, I had a baby just before Covid and had a bit of a melt down worrying and was put on sertraline. I just want to get back to pre-AD’s! Did u feel like this at any stage? 

 

[Phoenixmama]

@Kate2301 ❤️ my heart goes out to you , i too was on it for a short time

[Kate2301]

What are your symptoms now?

[Athosverona]

@Kate2301

 

I do remember obsessing over WD. It is normal. It is a very scary experience that pretty much no one around you will understand. It also effects how we function to such a high degree whilst being extremely unpleasant. I don’t know how anyone could have this and not feel that way in fact.

 

I definitely remember feeling anxious all the time and like I couldn’t relax. Brain fog was not an issue for me however. Our brains are amazing things. They are constantly healing and fixing themselves. We loose trust in them because of this experience but even in the midst of it all your brain is healing. Try not to worry about WD over the long term but take it day by day. Make sure you eat healthy, incorporate supplements that work for you, work out, do saunas etc. The best thing you can do is give your brain and body the right environment for healing. These things should also help you cope in terms of how you feel in the short term. 
 

Another thing. In this state our brains lie to us. They can have un rational thoughts that you wouldn’t have without the WD. Be on the look out for that and if you see it try and stay mindful and remind yourself that it is the WD not you. 
 

I wish you all the best on your road to recovery. I am positive that you will heal too (all humans are 99.99% genetically identical so if I can so can you). Much love,

Athosverona. 

[Kate2301]

Thank you again so much, your words help people get through!

I do try and tell myself when it hit a wave that this thinking is not me, that is not how I would normally think! I’m now calling it WD brain! 
I think I worry a lot because I hear of everyone’s “window and wave” pattern and as much as I do have that pattern mine is not so prominent, for example when I’m a window I can definitely do more / cope more and feel slightly

more comfortable however I still don’t feel like my mind is my own during that time. Then I hit a wave and everything is exaggerated and my appetite goes and I feel extremely anxious. So because I don’t feel “like myself” in a window it makes me worry that maybe I’m not in windows and waves and this is just me? I do hope not and can’t see why I would as I was never like this before, not even a little bit so I’m hoping it’s just my bodies way of recovering ❤️‍🩹 

 

thank you again for being here and helping people, I hope I can do the same one day 🙏

[jonah2001]

Hello, thank you so much for your store. 

I am off Duloxetin now for 9 month and I am going since 6 weeks through absolut hell!! Absolut! 

 

First I suffered depression and lot's of other symptoms.. 

 

And now out of nowhere I get every 60 minutes absolute aweful neuro emotions. 

Like pain, crying, anger, hopeless... 

and many more. 

 

You said that you also had a time, where the neuro emotions where a thing! 

 

You also didn't had it at the beginning?

How got it better? 

 

I have neuro emotions all the time now. All are extremely horrible and come and go and come and go.. 

 

How did you cope with them?

[Athosverona]

@jonah2001

yes I had neuro emotions. It is a very difficult and painful thing to go through. It is very scary and it feels like you have no control over your own mind. 
 

I tried to stay physically active and very healthy to manage some of the emotional pain. Other things I did included saunas, fasting, meditation, cold showers etc.

 

The process of getting through this takes time and is not easy. It hurts. But you will get through it.

 

One thing that helped me was the following though. 
 

I am going to heal from this and eventually my mind will return to normal. That means that there is a set number of times I have to experience a painful wave. Therefore each wave I go through now is one I have conquered and won’t need to go through later. It is my mind trying to heal and balance itself. 
 

Take it day by day, hour by hour. Don’t give up and don’t despair. Your brain is amazing and will get back to where it should be. Stay as physically healthy as you can and invest in self care. I wish you all the best. Remember you are

loved and important to this world. You are a mind soldier! 

[Athosverona]

Thought* 

[jonah2001]

Thank you so much for your answer! 

 

When did you get those Neuro-Emotions? 

 

Was it also later in the process? 

Because you talked about the stages? 

 

Because I didn't had emotions for many month. 

 

But thank you so much for your answer!!! 

[Athosverona]

@jonah2001 Hi mate, sorry on my delay. Not online as much these days.

 

I started to get the Neuro-Emotions within 3-6 months of stopping. I wouldn't try and match what I was going through in terms of order with other people though because we all had different drugs and our brains are different so certain areas of the brain might start to heal first in one person and another in another. 

 

My best advice to you is stay healthy, work our daily, each clear - look up Plant Paradox, AIP Diet or Carnivorish- diet. These are all anti-inflammatory. Sauna use also, fasting, supplementation if your body can handle it. I couldn't in the first year or so I was too sensitive. 

[Ariel]

@Athosverona

Thank you so much for sharing your success story! It's very helpful to read.

Thanks also for the many caring, supportive messages you continue to post. It always lifts my spirits to come across something you've written. 

I appreciate your perspective and your generosity. Thanks for your contributions and congratulations on healing!

Very best of luck to you <3

A. 

[Athosverona]

@Ariel

 

You are very welcome. I remember the fear and sadness that I experienced when this first happened to me and I felt hopeless, convinced that this would be my lot in life. Reading other people’s recovery stories gave me hope and the motivation to continue working on myself and on healing.  
 

What we go through with withdrawal is extremely traumatic. It was the hardest thing I went through in my life. Nothing else remotely compares. Unless you are part of this unfortunate little band of ours those are just words, they cannot convey the true horror of this experience. But we understand how painful this is. 
 

If you are still going through it remember you are not alone with you experience and you WILL heal. The strongest of swords are forged by the hottest of flames. 

 

Peace and love,

 

A. 

[Hawesome]

@Athosverona - Thank you so much for your story, it has given me much strength! 

This is my first post, as I'm now able to even engage on the topic. I have been a lurker on this site for the past 7 months. I took just 4 doses of Lexipro @ 2.5 milligrams and it flipped my world upside down. I ran 1,000 miles the year before lexipro, and was on top of the world. I had about 10 days of powerful anxiety and was desperate and my doctor suggested Lexipro. Right away I got very intestines Heart palpitations and my resting heart rate went through the roof, all very similar to what you experienced. After 7 months now I suffer much less but still have windows and waves, hard to believe all of this happened from 4 little tiny pills. 

Many stories have given me hope, but yours today really resonated with me because of how dedicated you are to your recovery. You and I would be great friends, because our plans are very similar and your mental fortitude is beautiful. 

My plan of action:
Cold showers daily (sometimes 2+)
weekly cold plunge (48 degrees for 10+ mins)
fasting
vitamins: Magnesium, Taurine
Working out: Push Ups, Pull Ups, Running
Growing closer to Jesus. I find deep prayer a highly satisfying meditation, He has really helped accelerate my recovery

Thank you again! Today i'm in a window, and it's glorious. I try to enjoy these moments ❤️