Cherriekoke: advanced age and withdrawal

[Cherriekoke]

Currently 70 yr old On psychiatric meds most of my adult life ie.benzos and antidepressants. Started weaning off ER .5 mg 2x day in June 2018. Finished taper Sept 2 2019. Started weaning Lexapro 20mg 1x day in July 2020. Took last one Aug 18,2020. Took 
both Meds for Appx 15 Yrs. currently on NO psychiatric meds.
Hoping my age doesn’t make withdrawal more difficult.

Insomnia most nights.  Everything irritates me. Digestive  issues,  Depersonalization. Developed a psoriasis type very itchy rash  on scalp, and collarbone area. 2 months after my last Xanax. Have no clue if skin and digestive issues are indicative of withdrawal. Hoping this sight gives me more insight. Will it all eventually stop? 

 

 

Edited October 14, 2020 by Gridley
unbolded and deitalicised font

[Gridley]

Welcome to SA, Cherriekoke.  

 

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.  Please include the dates you started the Lexapro and Xanax along with the doses and the dates of your tapers, the rates at which you tapered, and dates you took your last doses.  This will appear beneath all your posts and is very helpful to the staff.  A list format is best.  Use the following link and press "save" when you're finished.

 

Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature.

 

Your taper of Lexapro was very fast, resulting in withdrawal.  The symptoms  you describe--insomnia, digestive issues, depersonalization and skin issues--are typical of withdrawal.  You will heal, but there is no way to predict how long it will take.  So that you have a better idea of what you're experiencing, here is some information on withdrawal and the healing process.

 

What is withdrawal syndrome.

 

Daily Checklist of Antidepressant Withdrawal Symptoms (PDF) 

 

When we take psychiatric 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.  

 

These explain the healing process really well.

 

Brain Remodelling 

 

Video:  Healing From Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery

 

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, as I said, 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.  At not quite two months since your last dose, you're still in the time period where reinstatement predictably works, up to 3 months after last dose.  We usually suggest a much smaller reinstatement dose than your last dose.  These drugs are strong, your system has become sensitized and If you take too much it may be too much for your brain.  Then, once you've stabilized on the reinstated dosage, which can take several months,  you can begin a 10% per month taper down to zero.  Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

Please read:

 

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

 

Is reinstatement of a very small dose of Lexapro something you might want to consider?  If so, let us know and I can suggest a reinstatement dosage.  Please do not reinstate without letting us suggest a dosage.

 

We don't recommend a lot of supplements on SA, as many members report being sensitive to them due to our over-reactive nervous systems, but two supplements that we do recommend are magnesium and omega 3 (fish oil). Many people find these to be calming to the nervous system. 

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker 

 

Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) 

 

Add in one at a time and at a low dose in case you do experience problems.

 

This is your Introduction topic, where you can complete your drug signature, ask questions and connect with other members.  We're glad you found your way here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cherriekoke]

Shep, I withdrew from 14+ years of xanax.   Started my taper May of 2018 and took my last one in Sept 2019.  Then in June of 2020 started taper of 15 yrs of 20mg Lexapro.  Took my last one Aug 18, 2020.  I have had waves and windows.   Now I’m in a horrid wave. since Nov.  No appetite and am ready to vomit at even the smell of food. Also I might add,  in Nov. my husband had a brain bleed but has since recovered.  That, with the added stress of Covid constantly out there is just too much.  I have health anxiety, so makes it even worse. Sleep is MAYBE a decent 3-4 hrs per night, if I’m lucky .  I’ve lost 14# since August.  My question is, could I possibly still have some protracted WD symptoms from the Xanax WD.  Or is this strictly SSRI WD ?   I did have an awesome 2 week window in Oct into November.  Also is this food issue normal.  Feeling like pregnancy morning sickness at age 70 is a nightmare in and if  itself. Thanks for ANY advice. 

[Shep]

13 hours ago, Cherriekoke said:

Shep, I withdrew from 14+ years of xanax.   Started my taper May of 2018 and took my last one in Sept 2019.  Then in June of 2020 started taper of 15 yrs of 20mg Lexapro.  Took my last one Aug 18, 2020.  I have had waves and windows.   Now I’m in a horrid wave. since Nov.  No appetite and am ready to vomit at even the smell of food. Also I might add,  in Nov. my husband had a brain bleed but has since recovered.  That, with the added stress of Covid constantly out there is just too much.  I have health anxiety, so makes it even worse. Sleep is MAYBE a decent 3-4 hrs per night, if I’m lucky .  I’ve lost 14# since August.  My question is, could I possibly still have some protracted WD symptoms from the Xanax WD.  Or is this strictly SSRI WD ?   I did have an awesome 2 week window in Oct into November.  Also is this food issue normal.  Feeling like pregnancy morning sickness at age 70 is a nightmare in and if  itself. Thanks for ANY advice. 

 

@CherriekokePlease note I moved this post from my success story over to your own thread, since you're asking questions about your own taper. 

 

It's really hard to tell if your symptoms are from the benzo or from the antidepressant. More likely, it's nervous system destabilization from both drugs. 

 

You may want to work on the health anxiety to see if that helps tone down some of the symptoms.

 

Health anxiety, hypochondria and obsession with symptoms

 

And you may find additional resources by googling "health anxiety" and seeking out non-drug ways of self-soothing during episodes. 

 

The fact that you had a window in October into November is a very good sign. If you tend to struggle more during winter, that may have ushered in a wave after that. So some of it may be due to the cold and dark. 

 

We don't recommend a lot of supplements, as many members report their nervous systems are simply too fragile to handle them. However, magnesium and fish oil tend to be calming to the nervous system and many people report they do help. Please only add in one supplement at a time and at a small dose. For more, please see:

 

 King of supplements: Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil)

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker

 

You may want to add in a bit of magnesium and see how you do. And then try a bit of fish oil. That may tone down some of the symptoms and make you more comfortable.