Ashachand28: antidepressant withdrawal symptoms

[Ashachand28]

Hi guys! I wanted to share out something that has happened to me from taking 75 mg Amitryptyline.

 

However, prior to stating what has occurred, I want to give you a background of who and how I was before starting those pills. So I used to be a very emotional Individual, someone whom you would say so when in love. Also, I was an individual who suffered from severe social anxiety and regular anxiety. I had natural fear talking to nearly anyone other than my family. As a matter of fact, due to that, I was very quiet and had a hard time talking to individuals as I also had a hard time remembering things or having much of an interest in things as anything that I viewed, read, etc did not stay in my mind. Thus, I had a lot of learning issues and did not have many friends either.

 

I was diagnosed with ADHD, but that did not seem as the answer to my issues going on. So time goes by and I discuss to my psychiatrist my depression issues that I was dealing from school and a relationship at the time and he issued me amitryptyline. I did not feel anything when I was given it until I hit 75 mg, where everything changed from there. I immediately started to feel happier, energetic, social, and even felt that I was doing better academically as I was actually remembering everything that I was reading and actually focusing, something never happened before.

 

However, I did remember feeling apathy towards the things that I did care for, like my ex boyfriend at the time as the day before I started taking the new dosage I was dealing with severe depression and ended up not caring about him or the situation I was dealing with at all the day after. I also experienced nearly no anxiety over anything and started to care less about other things that I once plunged on, such as my faith with God, gaining interest in new people, etc, as I was dealing with less emotions and more happiness. I had a great time on the medication as it was being one of the best aids that I had ever been given as I was finally being the me that I wished I was before,

 

however, I ignored the one issue going on with it and now I’m stuck being in the emotional numbness state that I am with no antidepressant usage at the moment. I had to stop cold turkey due to having severe allergies and not being able to combine both as I would have a severe reaction from it. I do remember not having much typical withdrawal symptoms as others would typically have, such as emotional outbursts, paranoia, anxiety, nausea, etc, which surprised me as I stopped the medication.

 

However, as time has gone by, the emotional numbness (feels like anheonida is must be) does not go away. It is the most debilitating thing that I can be dealing with as the girl who once felt a lot no longer does, no matter what she does. My brain feels so platonic as it can no longer get a reaction from much things, even things that would once give me anxiety as I seem very much anxiety less over things except my health at moments. I cannot believe this could occur either, I would have thought that maybe I would be in my old state again, however, that is not the case this time with myself. I am in the worst state any individual can be in and would like to have your input over this... anything. If you have dealt with this, have found a cure, know what it can be, etc please share below your thoughts. I hope this can help anyone else out there. 

 

 

Edited January 13, 2019 by ChessieCat
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[ChessieCat]

Hi Ashachand and welcome to SA,

 

Unfortunately withdrawal symptoms can last for a long time.  I will give you some information in my next post which you may find helpful.

 

So the we can see your drug history at a glance lease 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

 

 

This is your own introductions topic where your can ask questions about your own situation and journal your progress.

[ChessieCat]

You might find these topics helpful:

 

anhedonia-apathy-demotivation-emotional-numbness

 

disconnect-between-interest-and-actionmotivation

 

derealization-or-depersonalization-dr-and-dp

 

 

Here's some additional information which might help you to understand what is happening:

 

Recovery isn't linear it happens in a Windows and Waves Pattern

 

Withdrawal Normal Description

 

When we take a psychiatric drug, we are adding chemical/s to the brain.  The brain then has to change to adapt to getting the chemical/s.  It might have to change something to do with A and then once that change has been made it affects B so another change has to be made and so on down the line.  It is a chain reaction, a domino effect.

 

The same thing happens when we take the drug away.  That's why it's possible to experience such a vast array of withdrawal symptoms, and they can change, and be of different intensity.  These explain it really well:

 

Video:  Healing From Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery

 

are-we-there-yet-how-long-is-withdrawal-going-to-take

 

On 8/31/2011 at 5:28 AM, Rhiannon said:

When we stop taking the drug, we have a brain that has designed itself so that it works in the presence of the drug; now it can't work properly without the drug because it's designed itself so that the drug is part of its chemistry and structure. It's like a plant that has grown on a trellis; you can't just yank out the trellis and expect the plant to be okay. When the drug is removed, the remodeling process has to take place in reverse. SO--it's not a matter of just getting the drug out of your system and moving on. If it were that simple, none of us would be here. It's a matter of, as I describe it, having to grow a new brain. I believe this growing-a-new-brain happens throughout the taper process if the taper is slow enough. (If it's too fast, then there's not a lot of time for actually rebalancing things, and basically the brain is just pedaling fast trying to keep us alive.) It also continues to happen, probably for longer than the symptoms actually last, throughout the time of recovery after we are completely off the drug, which is why recovery takes so long.

 

AND

 

On 12/4/2015 at 2:41 AM, apace41 said:

Basically- you have a building where the MAJOR steel structures are trying to be rebuilt at different times - ALL while people are coming and going in the building and attempting to work.

It would be like if the World Trade Center Towers hadn't completely fallen - but had crumbled inside in different places.. Imagine if you were trying to rebuild the tower - WHILE people were coming and going and trying to work in the building!  You'd have to set up a temporary elevator - but when you needed to fix part of that area, you'd have to tear down that elevator and set up a temporary elevator somewhere else. And so on. You'd have to build, work around, then tear down, then build again, then work around, then build... ALL while people are coming and going, ALL while the furniture is being replaced, ALL while the walls are getting repainted... ALL while life is going on INSIDE the building. No doubt it would be chaotic. That is EXACTLY what is happening with windows and waves.  The windows are where the body has "got it right" for a day or so - but then the building shifts and the brain works on something else - and it's chaos again while another temporary pathway is set up to reroute function until repairs are made.  

 

[ChessieCat]

We strongly encourage members to learn and use non drug coping techniques to help get through tough times.

 

Understanding what is happening helps us to not get caught up with the second fear, or fear of the fear.  This happens when we experience sensations in our body and because we don't understand them we are scared of them and then start to panic.

 

This document has a diagram of the body explaining what happens in the body when we become anxious:

 

https://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/docs/AnxietySelfHelp.pdf

 

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

 

Audio FEMALE VOICE:  First Aid for Panic (4 minutes)

 

Audio MALE VOICE:  First Aid for Panic (4 minutes)

 

Non-drug techniques to cope

 

dealing-with-emotional-spirals

 

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

 

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)

 

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.