HealthHopeHappiness: sertraline withdrawal - will the side effects ever go?

[HealthHopeHappiness]

Can anyone share their experience of COVID during w/d? I am on day 8 and still testing strong positive. My main symptoms have been fever, debilitating headaches and severe muscle pain. The muscle pain is mostly in my legs, it feels flu like but also an increase in muscle twitches and burning pain. It’s there in my arms and hands too but to a lesser extent. Have tried taking paracetamol and ibuprofen to help with the muscle pain, hot magnesium baths, etc, but it makes no difference. Is it normal for COVID to affect the muscles more during w/d? 

[Strugglingmama]

Hi @HealthHopeHappiness

 

I had Covid back in September. I found it hard to distinguish the difference between withdrawal and Covid. For me, I would say Covid intensified one of my main w/d issues: tachycardia. My heart was wild. I know Covid itself can cause heart issues so I never knew what was to blame. I always just thought Covid made my existing issues worse.  My husband had Covid and had severe muscle aches. It’s kind of a mixed bag. Hoping you feel better soon. 

[HealthHopeHappiness]

15 hours ago, Strugglingmama said:

Hi @HealthHopeHappiness

 

I had Covid back in September. I found it hard to distinguish the difference between withdrawal and Covid. For me, I would say Covid intensified one of my main w/d issues: tachycardia. My heart was wild. I know Covid itself can cause heart issues so I never knew what was to blame. I always just thought Covid made my existing issues worse.  My husband had Covid and had severe muscle aches. It’s kind of a mixed bag. Hoping you feel better soon. 

Thanks @Strugglingmamasorry to hear you’ve had covid too and about your tachycardia. My heart rate was rapid for the first 3 days of the infection. Interesting about your husband having the muscle aches too. Hope he is better now. I am so confused about what is w/d and what is virus related, all I know is I’m in an intense wave right now. 

[SandCastle]

@HealthHopeHappiness I had a virus back in November that I would have sworn was covid - fever, chills and night sweats for about 3 or 4 days plus the worst cough I’ve ever had. On the 7th day I took a covid test and it was negative, so the doctor thought it might be RSV. But during that time I had pretty bad hearth palpitations also, even while just laying down. I was also getting dizzy spells frequently and that feeling like you’re walking on a dock when it’s swaying sometimes while I was walking around the house. I’m pretty sure that’s when I started itching all over too. I do, however, agree with you that some things went away during that illness. I remember most that my GI issues went away or at least seriously reduced. Recently I had a cold and had intense muscle cramps in legs, arms, hands and feet. I guess you just never know what you’re going to get… I am sorry to hear that you’re still doing poorly. I hope you recover soon!

[HealthHopeHappiness]

I’ve been having a lot of bother with my eyes recently. My eye muscles feel sore and tired and I have almost constant light eyelid twitches. During covid my eye symptoms worsened and I had a lot of stinging and dry eyes. Most recently, I have found in the middle of the night when I wake up, there is a delay in me trying to open my eyes and them actually opening. Could this be dystonia? I continue to have a lot of floaters in my vision, either cobwebs or black squiggly lines. If I’m outside in the daylight my visual disturbances are a lot worse, also if there is a white background. 

[ChessieCat]

It may be that because of the stress your body is under recovering from Covid that some of your symptoms have worsened.

 

vision-symptoms-floaters-snow-blurreddimmed-vision-twitching-dry-eyes-and-pain

 

[HealthHopeHappiness]

Thanks ChessieCat for the above link.

 

I feel like this is never going to end. I am 17 months on from CT and I am still struggling, every day is a struggle. Physical symptoms continue to be the hardest part for me as they then trigger anxiety and panic. Constant muscle twitching, blepharospasm, burning muscles, tension, visual disturbances, slurred speech - these are just the worst ones, there are many others. My daughter will be 4 in June. I will have wasted 19 months of her precious life by that point and we fought so hard to get her here, enduring losses and gruelling IVF. It seems very ironic somehow. I go between being convinced I am dying of some progressive neurological illness, interspersed with moments of reassuring myself that this is recovery from WD/adverse reaction to the 3 SSRIs I was put on.
 

The whole situation is incredibly lonely, exhausting and terrifying. But I will continue on, and try to keep hope of healthier and happier times. Because one thing I know from experience, is that there is always hope. 

[Believer]

@HealthHopeHappiness

Hi,

Ive read your story and am so sorry to read that you continue to struggle. I have many of the symptoms you describe. 
 

You haven’t wasted the last 19 months, Be kind to yourself, you are doing the best you can under the circumstances. 
 

Hang in there, you got this.

 

Believer

[SandCastle]

@HealthHopeHappiness I’m so sorry to hear this is still happening. You certainly deserve a window at this point!! I do not believe you’re dying of a progressive disease, although I think MANY of us (including me!) have felt that way throughout this journey. How have your eye symptoms been since recovering from covid? Have you gotten any relief there?

[HealthHopeHappiness]

On 4/7/2022 at 6:39 PM, Believer said:

@HealthHopeHappiness

Hi,

Ive read your story and am so sorry to read that you continue to struggle. I have many of the symptoms you describe. 
 

You haven’t wasted the last 19 months, Be kind to yourself, you are doing the best you can under the circumstances. 
 

Hang in there, you got this.

 

Believer

Thank you @Believer. I really appreciate your kindness. I’m sorry to hear you’ve had similar symptoms too. I hope you are getting some respite from them. 

[HealthHopeHappiness]

22 hours ago, SandCastle said:

@HealthHopeHappiness I’m so sorry to hear this is still happening. You certainly deserve a window at this point!! I do not believe you’re dying of a progressive disease, although I think MANY of us (including me!) have felt that way throughout this journey. How have your eye symptoms been since recovering from covid? Have you gotten any relief there?

Hi @SandCastleIt’s so hard not to believe something else is going on, honestly I go hour to hour, sometimes minute to minute trying to calm and reassure myself. I dread when I wake in the morning and the rumination starts, or when I’m playing with my daughter and the scary ‘what ifs’ are circulating in the background. I’m there, but I’m never fully there. 
 

I would say my eyes are stinging less but the visual floaters are still there and the feeling of fatigue in my eye muscles. Maybe the twitching eyelid is slightly less today than yesterday, too. My allergies have really flared up, prior to WD I would take antihistamines but I don’t want to take anything at all and it’s particularly bad early morning, about 6am I am waking my husband and daughter up with sneezing and nose blowing. I’m using a saline spray for my nose and eyes but that’s about all I want to risk. I have a nut allergy so would obviously take an antihistamine in an emergency but would rather avoid for hay fever. I’m wondering if the allergy flare up is responsible for such intense symptoms. 
 

Thanks for always checking in. I really appreciate it. 💕

[HealthHopeHappiness]

My most random post to date… but today I took my daughter to a farm park and I decided, sod it, I am going to force myself onto the giant ‘jumping pillows’ (trampoline) and have fun with her. It was mind over matter as my legs felt like they were going to give way and adrenaline was pumping. Since coming home, every time I sit down or close my eyes, I feel like I am still bouncing. I have room spin and feel like you do when you’ve had too much alcohol, or when you’re on a boat. It’s awful. I’m too frightened to go to bed as I don’t want to close my eyes. Anything similar happened to anyone? Feeling so dizzy as I type this. 

[SandCastle]

@HealthHopeHappiness I have had many bouts of dizziness, but it’s mostly when I go from standing to sitting or am up walking around, eyes open. I have seen @Longroadhome talk about “floaty boat” symptoms, so maybe they can help here. I will say that allergy season drastically increases my symptoms and I definitely get a lot more twitching around my eyes at that time, not just the eyelids but also the inner corners. I’m glad to see you were able to get out and run around the park with your daughter! I wish it could have just been a good time without the negative consequences after.

[HealthHopeHappiness]

On 4/15/2022 at 2:34 PM, SandCastle said:

@HealthHopeHappiness I have had many bouts of dizziness, but it’s mostly when I go from standing to sitting or am up walking around, eyes open. I have seen @Longroadhome talk about “floaty boat” symptoms, so maybe they can help here. I will say that allergy season drastically increases my symptoms and I definitely get a lot more twitching around my eyes at that time, not just the eyelids but also the inner corners. I’m glad to see you were able to get out and run around the park with your daughter! I wish it could have just been a good time without the negative consequences after.

Thanks @SandCastleI am pleased to report the drunk sailing boat feeling passed! Unfortunately everything else is still going strong. I had fun playing with my daughter in the sea over the weekend, we both laughed and I felt joy. So I’m holding onto that feeling and wishing for many more moments like that. Will pop over to your thread to see how you are. 💞

[SandCastle]

@HealthHopeHappiness That’s great news!! I’m so happy to hear you had a good time and weren’t held back by withdrawal symptoms. I really hope this continues for you and things just naturally start to improve!

[HealthHopeHappiness]

I saw the image and quote below and thought it was quite fitting for those of us going through WD.
 

Right now I am facing a steep uphill struggle and the view at the top feels very out of reach and uncertain. Hay fever season is upon us in the UK and it has made my symptoms 100 times worse. Slurred speech, facial twitches, my left hand is permanently closed in a tight fist, painful fingers and toes, body twitches all over, panic, tremors, palpitations, painful inflamed sinuses, eye twitches, dry eyes, burning skin, burning muscles, weak legs and feet, crawling sensations especially in my head, forehead tingling, tardive dyskinesia in my hands and face, I could go on and on. It’s unbearable yet I continue on, going into work and doing my best to support the children and families I work with. Trying to be a present and fun mum to my daughter when inside I am in a constant state of panic. I fight the urge every day to seek medical help and reassurance, yet the thought of coming face to face with the profession that put me in this mess makes me feel sick. I continue taking magnesium glycinate, omega 3 fish oil and vitamin E. I waste so much money on magnesium salts, pouring them in the bath like they will be the magic cure when really they make next to no difference. I feel stuck. But I will keep climbing the hill, hoping to see a magnificent view when I reach the top. 

[arbor]

Dear @HealthHopeHappiness--I'm tearing up reading this moving post.  Thank you for sharing.  You are more than strong--big-hearted as well.  I have no doubt that you will with time make it (along with Tiny Dragon and Big Panda--)

 

I have questions about your sleep.  How long do you think you sleep at night?  The reason I ask, is that more studies are showing the benefit of melatonin in neurological recovery.  W/d may interrupt the functioning of melatonin in our systems.  Therefore, I suggest trying supplementation at a low dose to begin with before bed, to see if it might deepen your sleep.  I am finding it useful for lessening my symptoms.  Another thing, if this is useful: a balanced supplement of Vitamin E (one that includes tocopherols and tocotrienols) can be important to its ability to work.   

Melatonin for sleep 

You will make it, HHH.  It will get better.  You're amazing.

Big hugs,

Arbor

 

 

[HealthHopeHappiness]

Hello @arborthank you for your kindness. My sleep has been terrible. 3am wake ups for a week and unable to get back to sleep. Will look into melatonin, thank you. Keeping you in my thoughts 💞

[HealthHopeHappiness]

Things are terrible. Really bad. I’m as bad as I was at the start of WD and I am in a constant state of panic that something else is the cause of my symptoms. I read an article on the news that really triggered me about a young mum who was diagnosed with MND (ALS), it spoke about her symptoms of muscle twitching, slurred speech, etc and I am now unable to rationalise that my symptoms are WD. I had a major panic attack last night and can’t shake the feeling something is amiss. I’ve had an EMG a year ago and several neuro check ups, the last one was July 2021, and all was ok. But I feel like I’m getting worse. 😢

[arbor]

How incredibly frustrating w/d is.  It's terrible what you're having to endure--

Many hugs @HealthHopeHappiness--

Arbor

[Strugglingmama]

Hi @HealthHopeHappiness

 

i just wanted to stop by to say I’m sorry you are having a rough so. I had quite severe muscle twitching when I came off Nortriptyline and it gave me a lot of anxiety. I also couldn’t sleep because my body felt twitchy and restless. This is random, but the only thing that took the edge off was a small dose of Benadryl at night every now and then. Not suggesting this necessarily but it did give me a little reset. 
 

I live in Canada, so our health care system is ‘free’. Not sure where you live, but if it is covered would it make you feel better to have another check up to assure you nothing is seriously wrong? My sister has never taken antidepressants but has quite severe benign fasiculation syndrome. She has seen a neurologist a few times, had EMG testing etc but also worries it’s ALS or something bad when it really flares up. I try to assure her it’s not. Stress really triggers and flares her symptoms. Hers wax and wanes a lot. 
 

hugs to you! You are strong and you’ll get through this! 

[HealthHopeHappiness]

39 minutes ago, Strugglingmama said:

Hi @HealthHopeHappiness

 

i just wanted to stop by to say I’m sorry you are having a rough so. I had quite severe muscle twitching when I came off Nortriptyline and it gave me a lot of anxiety. I also couldn’t sleep because my body felt twitchy and restless. This is random, but the only thing that took the edge off was a small dose of Benadryl at night every now and then. Not suggesting this necessarily but it did give me a little reset. 
 

I live in Canada, so our health care system is ‘free’. Not sure where you live, but if it is covered would it make you feel better to have another check up to assure you nothing is seriously wrong? My sister has never taken antidepressants but has quite severe benign fasiculation syndrome. She has seen a neurologist a few times, had EMG testing etc but also worries it’s ALS or something bad when it really flares up. I try to assure her it’s not. Stress really triggers and flares her symptoms. Hers wax and wanes a lot. 
 

hugs to you! You are strong and you’ll get through this! 

Thank you @Strugglingmamahow are you doing? Been thinking about you. 💞

 

It’s strange, this time a year ago I would have needed to see a neurologist for reassurance. But now, the thought of seeing one again terrifies me because of what they might tell me. I often think I’d rather not know because what if it was bad news, how would I cope when I am in the midst of WD. I used to be such a strong person, I have overcome a lot of health issues over the last few years - pneumonia & sepsis, ruptured ectopic pregnancy, gruelling IVF treatment and then a miscarriage during covid. I always coped, was always level headed and positive. Not now, now I am just riddled with fear. I have lost so much faith in every single medical professional, the ones who told me ‘everything was fine’ when I knew something was wrong during my pregnancies, the ones who almost discharged me from hospital before realising I had pneumonia and sepsis, and those who handed me SSRIs without explaining the risks associated with them then left me to deal with the life-changing consequences. 
 

I am so sorry to hear that your sister suffers from BFS, what a stressful and anxiety provoking condition. I am sure having your reassurance helps her. 
 

Thanks again for reaching out. 

[Strugglingmama]

@HealthHopeHappiness

 

i feel like we are similar people.  I was always the rock of our family, level headed, confident, smart …. Set your mind to it and accomplish anything kind of person. All my family members are surprised ‘this’ happened to me. These last few years have changed me. The panic, fear, self-doubt…. I recently had a big window and I was able to see the true me start to come back. I know she is still in there. We just need to remind ourselves that… 

 

I understand not trusting health care. Its a flawed system. I had an MRI brain done a few years ago. They actually found something of unknown significance. I obsessed about it for a while… googled it to death….. My neurologist ‘assures’ me it’s a random finding that shouldn’t affect me…. But due to the lack of trust I always wonder if one day it will. I try not to let my mind go down that rabbit hole. But I totally understand sometimes not wanting tests.  Anyways I’m just rambling now. 
 

but hugs to you! 

[HealthHopeHappiness]

On 4/30/2022 at 8:40 PM, Strugglingmama said:

@HealthHopeHappiness

 

i feel like we are similar people.  I was always the rock of our family, level headed, confident, smart …. Set your mind to it and accomplish anything kind of person. All my family members are surprised ‘this’ happened to me. These last few years have changed me. The panic, fear, self-doubt…. I recently had a big window and I was able to see the true me start to come back. I know she is still in there. We just need to remind ourselves that… 

 

I understand not trusting health care. Its a flawed system. I had an MRI brain done a few years ago. They actually found something of unknown significance. I obsessed about it for a while… googled it to death….. My neurologist ‘assures’ me it’s a random finding that shouldn’t affect me…. But due to the lack of trust I always wonder if one day it will. I try not to let my mind go down that rabbit hole. But I totally understand sometimes not wanting tests.  Anyways I’m just rambling now. 
 

but hugs to you! 

We sound very similar @Strugglingmama I hope we both find our old selves again. Maybe with a new and improved view of life. 
 

Re your findings on your MRI, my mum had something similar years ago. ‘White matter’ found on an MRI scan - the neurologist told her to go and enjoy her life and that if the general population were to have an MRI a high number of people would have the same random findings. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 
 

Will pop over to your thread to check in with how things are for you right now. 💞

[HealthHopeHappiness]

Documenting this here for my own reference. My most pronounced symptom right now is slurred speech, tension at the side of my neck/throat almost like I’m being strangled, twitching/spasms in my jaw at both sides, electric shock sensations on my tongue, constant eye twitching both eyes and tingling/crawling on my scalp. Also getting food stuck when I swallow again which I’ve not had for a good while now. It seems my face, head and neck are taking the hit right now. It feels like I’ve been in a wave forever and that it will never pass. Praying it will. 

[HealthHopeHappiness]

Also want to add that I have noticed my heart racing a lot recently, especially if I have a bath. It was particularly bad last night and I felt very dizzy so I checked my HR using the oximeter I bought when I had covid. My HR was 148 resting when I came out the bath, it took 5 minutes for it to go down. Assuming this is WD related too. 

[HealthHopeHappiness]

A positive update from me for a change! I went for my second acupuncture session today and left feeling the best I have in months. My acupuncturist is the same person who helped me throughout my fertility struggles and she is amazing & very calming. She has been working on my ‘liver wind’ points as she said a blockage in energy flow in the liver can cause tics throughout the body, which is obviously my most problematic symptom. Once the needles were in, both of my legs went crazy- goosebumps, twitches and tingling. The most noticeable change for me when I left though was a reduction in visual floaters. Usually when I walk outdoors I am bothered terribly by cobwebs and wiggly black lines in my vision but these were barely noticeable. I know this won’t be a ‘miracle’ cure and the relief I feel tonight may be short-lived, but I feel it’s important to document here when things are better, as well as when they’re worse. 

[SandCastle]

@HealthHopeHappiness your last update is so great to hear!! I’ve been considering non-traditional methods, and this gives me some hope! I hate to hear all the struggles you went through before the acupuncture, but I know we both struggle with allergies and are set off during the spring season, so hopefully you can attribute all the uptick in symptoms to allergy season and things will ease up soon.

[HealthHopeHappiness]

Another post from me to allow me to keep track of what’s been happening. For most of last week I had a near constant twitch in my left eye, along with tearing from my left eye and a dry patch of red skin at the outside corner of my eye. It was twitching so hard that people in work were commenting on it. Then it stopped suddenly. I’ve had a real increase in my gastro symptoms which I’ve not had for a while - acid reflux, loose bowel movements, stomach cramps and a horrible taste in my mouth. I remember I had this at the start of WD. Had session 3 of acupuncture and it’s the highlight of my week. It is definitely the only thing I have found helpful during WD so far, it quietens my thoughts and calms my nervous system. I realise I am privileged to be able to do this as it’s not cheap and I have a car so can drive myself there. I’m grateful for that. 

[SandCastle]

Hi @HealthHopeHappiness I tried to find an old picture, but around July of 2020 I had the same dry red patch at the corner of my eye. It was like a line straight out from the outside corner, and I even went to the dermatologist for it because I don’t think I fully recognized at that point that I was in some state of withdrawal. It appeared off and on for a while after that, maybe over a year or so, and sometimes it would pop up in the inner corner or under my eye also. I’m not getting it anymore. At some point I decided it was from wearing a mask since air you breathe out tends to escape right under your eyes and causes humidity. Later on, I did find someone else on here that had an eye rash and now I’m assuming withdrawal was the cause. I’m glad it’s gone but the eye twitching is a constant come and go for me. I’m also going through a wave of acid reflux right now. I hope your last acupuncture session helped a little.

[RemeronHell]

@HealthHopeHappiness How much healing do you think has occured after a bit over 1year now? 

[HealthHopeHappiness]

On 5/23/2022 at 8:01 PM, SandCastle said:

Hi @HealthHopeHappiness I tried to find an old picture, but around July of 2020 I had the same dry red patch at the corner of my eye. It was like a line straight out from the outside corner, and I even went to the dermatologist for it because I don’t think I fully recognized at that point that I was in some state of withdrawal. It appeared off and on for a while after that, maybe over a year or so, and sometimes it would pop up in the inner corner or under my eye also. I’m not getting it anymore. At some point I decided it was from wearing a mask since air you breathe out tends to escape right under your eyes and causes humidity. Later on, I did find someone else on here that had an eye rash and now I’m assuming withdrawal was the cause. I’m glad it’s gone but the eye twitching is a constant come and go for me. I’m also going through a wave of acid reflux right now. I hope your last acupuncture session helped a little.

How bizarre! Honestly @SandCastle, we are definitely WD twins! Such strange symptoms that you wouldn’t think could possibly be related to taking those tiny pills all these months ago, and yet here we are. 

[HealthHopeHappiness]

12 hours ago, RemeronHell said:

@HealthHopeHappiness How much healing do you think has occured after a bit over 1year now? 

Hmmm… honestly, I don’t know. I find it hard to monitor my progress, sometimes I feel like I have really improved in some areas, then I feel like I’m the worst I’ve ever been. What I would say is, at the start of WD I was off work and aside from a daily walk to the park with my daughter, was more or less housebound. I was scared of everything, having intense cortisol awakenings and numerous panic attacks through the day and night. I had terrible whole body restlessness, akathisia I assume. These symptoms have definitely lessened and I have been back at work full time for the last 15 months. I am still affected badly by muscular and neurological symptoms but more often I am able to cope with the symptoms and continue to function, although I am riddled with fear and anxiety about the ‘what ifs’. 
 

Healing has definitely occurred, it’s just slow and not linear. But I am hopeful that I will see continued progress over the next 6 months. 
 

How are things for you right now? 

[SandCastle]

@HealthHopeHappiness yes we definitely are withdrawal twins 😆

[HealthHopeHappiness]

No improvement in my ferritin levels over the last 3 months despite improving my iron intake and taking spatone iron water. In fact, it’s gone down. It’s very low. Having some gynae investigations done to check there’s no underlying cause. I’m having terrible black visual floaters, these have intensified and are now appearing in my peripheral vision too. Not sure if it’s due to lack of ferritin or WD, or both. I’m absolutely wiped out. Will continue with my acupuncture, up my iron intake even more and just hope an improvement happens over the next 3 months. Lots of facial twitching over the last week, my cheeks and chin especially. Burning arms and tremors in my arm and hand muscles. Continued twitching throughout my body. I’m now 18 months on since CT Sertraline and I’m hopeful that over months 18-24, I see some more improvement. 

[arbor]

Hello @HealthHopeHappiness--I'm sorry to hear your ferritin is still low.  I struggle to get mine up as well.  I personally believe the problem is related to AD's for me, as it started while I was taking Sertraline.  It has improved quite a bit since I've been off all AD's.  Hopefully, as you say, there will be improvement for you with more time.  We were certainly people not meant to take these drugs...😦!

I send you hugs and a body-suit of healing energy💜

Arbor