Csilover: What to do? Effexor

[Csilover]

@Altostrata That must have been it from the other day. I have been anxious a lot of the day and felt very dull. Not much myself. Lots of head pressure. Anxiety in stomach and crying in the evening. Feel very thrown off. My brain also feels like it's on fire. 

[Altostrata]

This probably will settle down in a week or two. Please don't be sloppy with your drug schedule.

[Csilover]

@Altostrata okay. I’m normally really good about it. It was just that one time, but I can see it has its effects. Should I still drop or wait for it to settle down?

[Altostrata]

Might be a good idea to wait a week.

[Csilover]

One thing that I have found helpful during this is to be helpful to others. I may not feel great, but I can make paintings for my friends and write notes. I think I will volunteer once things start opening up!

[Csilover]

May 22, 2020

 

9 am  take .5 Ativan

11 am feel anxious 

1 pm calm 

3 pm calm

4 head pressure intensifies

6 pm cries. Head pressure. Muscle twitches intensify. 

8 pm. Head pain

9 pm muscle twitches. Head pain

10:30 pm Fall asleep

sleep well

7 am wake up without anxiety

[Csilover]

I just started feeling more and more anhedonic this last week. I feel love for my family and stuff. But I have no interest in the things I normally like. It's like a depression. Despite my best efforts to be positive, it still looms over me. I think this stems from the adverse reaction. Idk. Not feeling good today though and crying a lot. 

[Altostrata]

Please remember you're still pretty well thoroughly drugged with psychotropics. A very common effect is to dull emotions.

 

Did you take all your drugs on May 22? Some are missing.

 

What are your thoughts when you're feeling sad?

 

On 5/22/2020 at 7:11 AM, Csilover said:

One thing that I have found helpful during this is to be helpful to others. I may not feel great, but I can make paintings for my friends and write notes. I think I will volunteer once things start opening up!

 

This is terrific. Keep doing this, it's a good way to change the channel and maybe brighten up someone else's day. Our members here probably would love to hear from you as well.

 

 

[Csilover]

@Altostrata I’m sorry. Yes I did. I took 75 mg seroquel and .5 mg Ativan.

I will just randomly get sad and then the thoughts will come. Usually about how I’m never going to get better and things will only get worse since I have to taper. I’m trying to change the channel when I get these thoughts. Currently making a book of success stories. I think because I had an adverse reaction and it was immediate and I lost certain feelings and haven’t seen much of those feelings since, the only right after I drop and my body is under a lot of stress and then it levels out. (interest in men, hobbies, things I like). I can listen to music now but I don’t ever feel like turning it on.  I get really sad. Especially because I had windows every week last time and they were big. I just don’t see many Immediate adverse reaction and subsequent taper stories where people get better. Lots of regrets right now but deep down I know they get me now where. 

 

 

but yeah, usually I feel sad first and my head starts to hurt and feel pressure. Then the thoughts come

[Csilover]

7 am woke up feeling pretty good. Slept well

9 am took .5 Ativan 

11 am feel okay

3 pm feel head pressure

4 irritable

5 start to cry 

7 emotional 

8 head pressure. 
9 pm took 75 mg seroquel and .5 Ativan 

10:45 fell asleep

6 am woke up without anxiety. Fell back asleep 

7 am woke up with anxiety. Lots of head pressure. Irritable and sad feelings. 

 

[Shep]

Csilover, are you able to get outside for at least 30 minutes for a walk every day? That can help a lot over time, not just the exercise, but also with getting natural vitamin D. 

 

How are you doing with your diet? Are you still eating a healthy high protein, low sugar diet? Eating breakfast first thing in the morning? Getting enough water throughout the day? 

[Csilover]

@Shep my family has been over this weeekend. We have a lake and have been out on it. So I’ve been getting quite a bit of sun. I do need to start walking more though. 
 

uce been eating lots of veggies and avoiding processed food. I could probably cut down on the fruit though 

[Csilover]

I’ve been crying all day and feel more and more apathetic.  Why would I be getting worse? I’m trying to be positive but the emotions just hit me and I can’t stop. @Altostrata @Shep

[Altostrata]

What are your thoughts when you are crying? Do you enjoy being with your family at the lake?

 

Fresh fruit is good for you.

[Csilover]

@Altostrata I  feel worthless and dumb for my mistakes and trusting psychiatrists. I think about how I normally am compared to how I am now and miss the old me. I fear the future. It usually starts with a feeling of sadness and then the thoughts consume me.  I have this positivity book I’m working on that I read. It helps for a bit but then my mood will flip like a switch out of nowhere. I just feel more moody lately despite trying to be positive and do all these positive things.

[Altostrata]

You need to tell your critical self to shut the heck up.

 

This is not a withdrawal symptom. This is a habit of mind. You can change a habit by substituting another habit. Such as, when these thoughts come into your head, talk back to them. Or sing them a song. Do a headstand. Just about anything to change the channel, including the exercises from your positivity book.

[Csilover]

@Altostrata you’re right. I’ll fight the thoughts. Thank you Alto. I do enjoy being with my family a lot. This is just always looming over me but I can control that. 
 

do you think I could do my reduction now?

[Altostrata]

Let's have a few more days of good sleep, okay?

[Csilover]

8 am woke up without anxiety 

9 am took .5 ativan

10 am feel calm 

11 am feel calm

3 pm feel anxious and overwhelmed. 
5 crying

6 calm down

9 pm  take 75 mg seroquel and .5 Ativan, have a drink feeling 

10:30 fall asleep

wake multiple times in the night

mot restful sleep 

7 wake up anxious 

 

I didn’t sleep well and am

anxious. I went swimming in the lake got the first time in a while yesterday. I might have been overstimulated? I got burnt, despite wearing some organic sunscreen. Then I took pictures for my family in a field and broke out in some hives. Also had some tea that had a tiny bit of caffeine in it and didn’t realize. @Altostrata

[Shep]

18 minutes ago, Csilover said:

I went swimming in the lake got the first time in a while yesterday. I might have been overstimulated? I got burnt, despite wearing some organic sunscreen. Then I took pictures for my family in a field and broke out in some hives. Also had some tea that had a tiny bit of caffeine in it and didn’t realize.

 

Yes, all of this could have been a bit much for your sensitive nervous system.

 

Perhaps have a day of downtime with some healthy distractions and see how you do. 

 

19 minutes ago, Csilover said:

11 am feel calm

3 pm feel anxious and overwhelmed. 

 

Do you know anything that could be causing this? Did you remember to eat a healthy lunch?

 

Sorry for harping on the diet issues, but they are so key during withdrawal. If that's not the case, then it could just be the general windows and wave pattern, or perhaps, if this was within the timeframe of the overdoing it you mentioned, than it could be from that. 

 

Keep working with your non-drug coping skills and learning to "change the channel" when your thoughts go all anxious and dark. 

 

20 minutes ago, Csilover said:

8 am woke up without anxiety 

9 am took .5 ativan

10 am feel calm 

11 am feel calm

 

This is a great sign that you woke up without anxiety and you stayed calm all morning. 

[Csilover]

@Shep I’ve been eating but not much. I have felt very depressed so my appetitive has been down a lot

[Shep]

Try snacking on a handful of almonds, have a glass of milk, or eat some plain unsweetened yogurt with fresh fruit added (unless you have any allergies to these, of course). Just small bits of high protein, low sugar foods. You don't have to have a large meal. But every couple of hours, just try a small, healthy snack. 

 

If this is low blood sugar, you'll feel better quite quickly after eating. 

 

If you're too anxious to eat, try going through this video before your snack:

 

4-7-8 Breathing Exercise by GoZen video (3.5 minutes)

 

You can follow this animation for the 4-7-8 breathing:

 

Synch your breathing to the circle

 

Let us know if this helps. 

[Csilover]

I have a question about stabilization. 
@Shep @Altostrata 

for example: I have had a few days, a few moments where I’ve felt myself and wanted to do things. 
Would stabilization be feeling like that most of the time? 
I know the adverse reaction has thrown things off a lot. I’m sure things would be easier without that. When I took the Paxil it felt like something exploded in my brain and I immediately didn’t feel things. 
 

Things have improved a lot. At the time I couldn’t listen to music or feel much.  Now I feel things like love for my family. I can enjoy some things. Mostly just feel depressed and not completely myself a majority of the time. Feel unstable  Blank mind feeling. Not creative. Have trouble reading,

[Altostrata]

Yes, you are stabilizing, with typical waves and windows. You are also taking 2 powerful drugs, which may cause their own effects.

[Csilover]

Okay. @Altostrata should I be feeling myself more consistently then before I drop?

[Shep]

12 hours ago, Csilover said:

Okay. @Altostrata should I be feeling myself more consistently then before I drop?

 

This post may help:

 

Withdrawal Normal

[Csilover]

@Shep

my normal had been feeling worse. Especially the last two days not sleeping well and waking with anxiety? Could the seroquel drop and all the changes be catching up to me?

[Shep]

11 minutes ago, Csilover said:

my normal had been feeling worse.

 

Your withdrawal normal is a baseline. If you're feeling worse, it means you need to stabilize more. But your withdrawal normal won't change. It's that baseline of stability that means you're stable enough to taper. Please let me know if this makes sense. 

 

14 minutes ago, Csilover said:

Especially the last two days not sleeping well and waking with anxiety? Could the seroquel drop and all the changes be catching up to me?

 

Could be. Or it could be normal teenage emotions (you have a right to have them!). It could be the stress of the pandemic (seems like everyone is on edge these days). It could be some hormonal shifts. And it could be all of the drug changes combined with everything else. 

 

Have you seen this post? 

 

Acceptance

 

It's hard for us to accept the length of this journey, but the sooner you can come to this space, the easier it will be. Learn what you can control and work toward that. Learn what you can't control, and learn to let it go. Some things we will never know for sure. 

 

But that doesn't mean you won't get off these drugs and heal. 

 

[Csilover]

@Shep okay thank you. This helps a lot! I was probably I. Withdrawal normal in the beginning of the week but I think I overstimulated my nervous system with the family over and everything 

[Csilover]

I found this cute free app called Plant Nanny where every time drink water, you mark it and it “waters” the plant. Your plant grows every time you get your water intake based on your weight. It’s helping me keep track and it’s a cute incentive to watch the plant grow 💐🌷 it’s helping me remember to get my water in!

[Csilover]

https://www.100percentpure.com/products/french-lavender-whipped-body-butter?src=sas&sscid=51k4_sp16m
 

@Altostrata @Shep would this lotion be safe?

[Csilover]

 
wonderful ted talk! Made me reframe things a bit. Instead of thinking “this sucks. I hate feeling like this.” I can say “this will make me appreciate life so much more.” “My suffering now may help others some day.”

[Csilover]

9 am took .5 ativan very anxious

10 am really anxious and irritable. stomach in knots. Feeling of overwhelm

12 pm cry

1 pm really nervous

2 pm calm down 

5 pm feel anxious

8 pm feel anxious. Head pressure and apathy increases

9 pm take 75 mg seroquel and .5 Ativan. Head pressure increases. Apathetic. Almost feel drunk

10 pm fall asleep

woke up a lot 

7 am woke with anxiety. 

[Csilover]

Question, I've noticed splitting my 200 mg tablets into 1/4ths has made them a little uneven. Some are slightly bigger than the others. I was wondering, should I ask my doc for more 25 mg tablets, that way they are always equal? or 50 mg tablets and 25 mg tablets?  Currently I take 1/4 of a 200 and 1 25 mg. That way I can just take 3, 25 mgs? or 1, 50 mg and 1, 25 mg? If not, I will try my best to get as even as possible. 

I just got refilled but maybe he’ll do it if it’s necessary 

 

@Altostrata

[ChessieCat]

4 hours ago, Csilover said:

would this lotion be safe?

 

We can't answer that question because we do not know.  When trying anything new SA recommends trying only a small amount to see how you react to it.  Also it is recommended to only make one change at a time so that you are better able to work out what is causing any issue/s if they arise.  So for example you wouldn't make a change in drug dose at the same time you try out the lotion.

 

Some members have found that something they have used, eaten, drunk or taken for a long time, or something they used to, they have become sensitive to it.

 

the-rule-of-3kis-keep-it-simple-keep-it-slow-keep-it-stable

 

[ChessieCat]

1 hour ago, Csilover said:

Question, I've noticed splitting my 200 mg tablets into 1/4ths has made them a little uneven. Some are slightly bigger than the others. I was wondering, should I ask my doc for more 25 mg tablets, that way they are always equal? or 50 mg tablets and 25 mg tablets?  Currently I take 1/4 of a 200 and 1 25 mg. That way I can just take 3, 25 mgs? or 1, 50 mg and 1, 25 mg? If not, I will try my best to get as even as possible. 

I just got refilled but maybe he’ll do it if it’s necessary 

 

Yes, getting smaller tablet doses would be a good idea.  It is important to be as consistent and as accurate as possible with your dose.