sicksagittarius: Lexapro/escitalopram withdrawal

[Sicksagittarius]

I have low b12 but have been overstimulated due to my birthday and holidays occuring. I'm also lowering my omeprazole amount right now and messing with my diet. How can I stop feeling depressed/suicidal without being able to experiment with adding b12 supplements right now due to an already overstressed nervous system and other changes happening right now? I'm eating lots of fish hoping it will get more b12 in me but have stomach issues so not sure if I'm absorbing it.

[Sicksagittarius]

Symptom update: I've had unfocused vision for about 5 months. Another member described my exact symptoms as well as "When I try to focus... I see some parts of what I am looking at focused and some parts unfocused, not blurred. If I look people in the face I can't cover their whole face... I can look in the eyes and see part of the face focused and part of it is unfocused."

 

I jumped off lexapro last April, unfocused vision occurred in July. Changes I've made involve diet additions and removals as I have various gut issues and intolerances from them. Started a whole new diet in July with new foods all at once, not educated on how food changes may impact WD. Foods unknowingly were candida killers, which I have and dropped large amounts of starchy carbs I was eating (ketosis?) In the last few weeks, I've been trying new foods in larger amounts that I've reacted to poorly but kept eating bc I'm reacting to my old safe foods now so I had no choice. Foods I changed are either candida feeding or candida killing antifungals (I didnt know this until recently) making me wonder if the stress of my body trying to detox with a congested liver is causing the vision to get worse. 

 

I've been weaning off of omeprazole. (11/2020 omeprazole 20 mg, 3/2021: omeprazole 40 mg, 9/2021 cutting by 25% a month, 10/20, another 25% cut, 11/11 accidental 60% cut wrong math, reinstated 11/14, 25% cut Dec 1) I've ate 3 foods (oatmeal, sunbutter, coconut oil) that may have caused candida die off on November 30, which I now know my adrenally fatigued body cannot handle yet. 

 

December 1 was the next day of my third omeprazole cut and I also had increased unfocused vision that day as well more so for things up close instead of just in the distance outside, I believe before i made the cut that day. As most changes may take a few days to show symptoms, I really think it was either food or stress causing the vision issue not the omeprazole drop, which can impact the amount of lexapro in one's system, hence why I am going so slow.

 

I need to drop omeprazole asap due to my complex gut issues and I don't need it at all bc I fixed my issues with diet. I don't know if this unfocused vision symptom was a few months delayed, stress induced, food induced, or getting worse with cuts of omeprazole.

 

I've been in a high state of stress these past months as well due to family issues, my health issues with my gut and AD WD, and trying to get back to work and socializing. I also am on the computer a lot, but have my screen color changed to a warmer tone on my phone and laptop to help blue light issues. I know a member probably can't tell me the root of the unfocused vision with so many factors, but any insight would be appreciated so I know how to not make it worse. 

 

Someone suggested increasing my lexapro, which I have held at the same dosage since May. I don't know if since its been so long if going up would even help the unfocused vision at this point. The fact that its getting worse mean my brain is recalibrating and healing even more so maybe it's a good sign that its going to get better very soon? Any advice? 

 

Edited December 11, 2021 by ChessieCat
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[Sicksagittarius]

Could magnesium and calcium chloride and potassium bicarbonate in alkaline water impact WD symptoms like taking a magnesium supplement? How would I measure the amounts of magnesium I get per day by drinking water with it in it to make sure I don't do too much to impact withdrawal symptoms?

 

 

Edited December 15, 2021 by ChessieCat
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[ChessieCat]

If you are taking magnesium for the calming effect it needs to be taken 2 hours apart from calcium.

 

The only way to know if your supplement/s is impacting you is to stop taking them and then to reintroduce them one at a time.  And no you wouldn't need to taper them.

[Frogie]

@Sicksagittarius

 

I'm posting the PM you send me on your page and going to answer you here:

 

Hi there! I noticed you discussed recently on a thread about magnesium. I noticed that the water I dirnk has minerals in it including magnesium chloride, calcium chloride, potassium bicarbonate, sodium bicarbonate, calcium citrate, magnesium oxide. could any of these minerals impact withdrawal symptoms? I had no idea they were in my bottled alkaline and purified water until recently and have been drinking them for months. I've had unfocused vision for several months and it makes me wonder if this is the cause. 

 

I don't think that the minimal amount of magnesium and potassium in the your water would have any affects on your vision problems. 

[Sicksagittarius]

11 minutes ago, Frogie said:

@Sicksagittarius

 

I'm posting the PM you send me on your page and going to answer you here:

 

Hi there! I noticed you discussed recently on a thread about magnesium. I noticed that the water I dirnk has minerals in it including magnesium chloride, calcium chloride, potassium bicarbonate, sodium bicarbonate, calcium citrate, magnesium oxide. could any of these minerals impact withdrawal symptoms? I had no idea they were in my bottled alkaline and purified water until recently and have been drinking them for months. I've had unfocused vision for several months and it makes me wonder if this is the cause. 

 

I don't think that the minimal amount of magnesium and potassium in the your water would have any affects on your vision problems. 

Thanks so much for your quick insight! Could those minerals in water have any impact on withdrawal symptoms as supplements of them may do? I drink them consistently and the unfocused vision is a withdrawal side effect ive struggled with 2 months after my lexapro wd began

[Frogie]

I would say that the Lexapro wd is causing the vision problems more than the minerals in your water. I had that happen when I was going through my tapering with Lexapro, but it did get better after I was done with my tapering. I still wear glasses, but that is just because I need them.

[Sicksagittarius]

4 minutes ago, Frogie said:

I would say that the Lexapro wd is causing the vision problems more than the minerals in your water. I had that happen when I was going through my tapering with Lexapro, but it did get better after I was done with my tapering. I still wear glasses, but that is just because I need them.

Its like an unfocused view other than blurry bc I’ve always worn glasses. I can’t see a clear image or anything only pieces of it. When i look at a face i only see eyes if i focus and other individual parts of the face but not the whole face clearly. Like an unfocused lense or double vision. Is this something you struggled with? Ive been holding at 2.5 mg since May will it not clear until I’m off? 

[Frogie]

That is exactly what I was experiencing when I was tapering Lexapro. I couldn't focus on anything except a small object and then that was a challenge. It took some time but it did go away.

[Sicksagittarius]

9 minutes ago, Frogie said:

That is exactly what I was experiencing when I was tapering Lexapro. I couldn't focus on anything except a small object and then that was a challenge. It took some time but it did go away.

I know it’s different for everyone, but how long did it take for it to go away for you? Did you have to be completely off the drug for it to start to heal or can I still be on a small amount and it will heal as long as I’m holding? It’s one of the reasons why I’ve been holding and not decreasing my dose for so long because it made me think I would make it and ive been waiting to stabilize that issue

[Frogie]

I found that it did get a little better as I got lower and lower, but it took a few months after being off before I saw a big improvement.

 

But just like you said everyone is different.

[Sicksagittarius]

9 minutes ago, Frogie said:

I found that it did get a little better as I got lower and lower, but it took a few months after being off before I saw a big improvement.

 

But just like you said everyone is different.

So I could continue my taper even with the unfocused vision, its not going against the slow steady stable rule? I was waiting till it got clear to continue in fears of making things worse. Did you have it for the entire duration of your taper (4 years?)

[Frogie]

You could certainly try a small taper and see if there are any improvement. As long as you don't have any other symptoms that are causing problems.

[Sicksagittarius]

1 minute ago, Frogie said:

You could certainly try a small taper and see if there are any improvement. As long as you don't have any other symptoms that are causing problems.

So potentially the lower I get the better the vision could get? Im currently tapering off omeprazole due to severe stomach issues and I know that can impact the amt of lexapro in my system so I was worried tapering off that could be making it worse

[Frogie]

I didn't read your signature. You need to only taper one medication at a time. So finish the Omeprazole first. Then wait a month or so and make a small taper of the Lexapro. I had problems tapering off Omeprazole. But found eating peppermint candy and drinking peppermint tea helped a lot. I ate very small frequent meals that weren't greasy also helped.

[Sicksagittarius]

31 minutes ago, Frogie said:

I didn't read your signature. You need to only taper one medication at a time. So finish the Omeprazole first. Then wait a month or so and make a small taper of the Lexapro. I had problems tapering off Omeprazole. But found eating peppermint candy and drinking peppermint tea helped a lot. I ate very small frequent meals that weren't greasy also helped.

Did you have any issues with the omeprazole taper lowering the amount of lexapro in your system, inducing Wd symptoms? I'm doing 25% cuts of omeprazole per month, how did you taper it? 

[Frogie]

If I remember (it's been a long time), I tapered 25% a week. But I took 40 mg of Omeprazole day. I had cut my Lexapro in 1/2 at that point from the old country Dr. I was in full wd from the Lexapro at that point. I don't think I can honestly say either had effects on each other.

[Sicksagittarius]

20 minutes ago, Frogie said:

If I remember (it's been a long time), I tapered 25% a week. But I took 40 mg of Omeprazole day. I had cut my Lexapro in 1/2 at that point from the old country Dr. I was in full wd from the Lexapro at that point. I don't think I can honestly say either had effects on each other.

I was on 40 mg too! Im at 12 beads out of 36 left.  I was going extra slow to be cautious but want to get off faster than this rate. Just been dealing with lots of other stressors in life and also dumping oxalates. so didnt want to push it. So you cut omeprazole even while in bad WD and didnt feel any impact? That makes me feel hopeful I can speed this up bc I have wd symptoms a lot but dont want to keep waiting until ive been stress free for awhile to continue. Those two drugs specifically can impact eachother by raising lexapro levels

[Frogie]

I felt impact. I'm sure it was from both medications, but I can't say it was both 100%. I tapered Omeprazole very quickly and was sicker than a dog. My main symptom was nausea throughout my Lexapro taper though. You could try tapering the Omeprazole a little faster and see if it helps.

[Sicksagittarius]

I'm in the process of getting back into working after not working for 1 year and 4 months. I was offered a position today that I think would be easy to do, however, it doesn't seem fulfilling whatsoever. For the purposes of withdrawal, do I choose a hopefully low stress job that may make me depressed bc I can't express my creativity or take the job bc it could be low stress?

[Frogie]

That's a choice only you can make.

 

I haven't worked for almost 10 years because of a disability. But if I were to go back to work I would chose a low stress job and then see how I did and go from there. That's just me though. I'm not a risk taker what so ever unlike my "hubby" that will take on the world if he thinks he can😊

 

I wish you luck in whatever decision you make.

[Sicksagittarius]

Thank you for the wonderful advice, I really appreciate it. Slow and low stress is definitely a priority. I'm also trying to get back into exercising because I feel like my muscle mass is deterorating. I get nervous with my histamine issues that even walks will trigger anxiety. Is there a certain schedule to slowly incorporate exercise back in and times in certain WD symptoms when I should not exercise? I was thinking a gentle walk starting once a week 5-10 minutes and then go up to twice a week. I walk around in stores very occasionally but my exercise has been limited to occasional restorative yoga. I'm nervous if I do strength building yoga i wil make my histamine reactions and AD WD reactions worse. Do I just test it out and journal my symptoms after? I deal with adrenal fatigue and don't want to worsen it.

[Frogie]

I would start with gentle walks. I take my dog for walk around the block and that's it for me. Walking in a mall is also good. Yoga is good, light stretching, although I've never done I do know members on here do. Keep a journal of everything, then you know what works for you and what to stay away from for a while. But most of all, you just need to take care of you.

[Sicksagittarius]

Can magnesium rich foods cause a poor reaction like magnesium supplements would if I can’t tolerate it? 

[ThatOneGirlStitch]

3 hours ago, Sicksagittarius said:

Can magnesium rich foods cause a poor reaction like magnesium supplements would if I can’t tolerate it? 

Foods naturally rich in vitamins are often better tolerated than the supplement itself. Especially for those of us that are sensitive to taking supplements. Usually if you can't tolerate a supplement it is recommend to try foods rich in that supplement.

[Sicksagittarius]

@JunglechickenHi there and Merry Christmas Eve!

 

I was doing some research about the effects of alkaline and acid in your body and saw your comments in a thread about this.

 

I'm in the middle of my lexapro taper and I know I'm not supposed to do anything detoxing, especially before healing my gut. Would alkaline water cause detox symptoms and negatively impact lexapro withdrawal? I hope you have a beautiful, healthy Christmas!

 

[Sicksagittarius]

can eating eating high amounts of "detoxing" foods, such as broccoli or olive oil everyday, increase of WD symptoms since we arent supposed to participate in liver detox methods? Trying to figure out why my symptoms are so much worse. 

[ThatOneGirlStitch]

20 hours ago, Sicksagittarius said:

can eating eating high amounts of "detoxing" foods, such as broccoli or olive oil everyday, increase of WD symptoms since we arent supposed to participate in liver detox methods? Trying to figure out why my symptoms are so much worse. 

Food is food. If you can, eat a variety. Protein will help if you can. Fish is great. Unfortunately we have to figure out what foods are bad for us as individuals. What affects you might not be a trigger for others. Eating food that are known to "detox" won't hurt you if your body is not sensitive to them. Just don't eat just/too much of those foods if you can. I read a bit of olive oil can help WD. Bone broth is good for you as well and it is usually easy for everyone to digest. Some of us can only eat the same five foods everyday. Not ideal but eat what you can. 

 

Some of us have sugar and carb intolerance. Some of us dairy intolerance. Some of us have certain food that cause a reaction or inflammation. which in itself can make WD symptoms worse.

 

This can be due to SIBO, histamine intolerance, the body developing food allergies or some sort of unbalance in the gut. 

Some people have more than one of these.
If you have any of these try to follow the guide lines for them.

 

Don't make the mistake I did (really stupid) and have like 3 tablespoons of oil at once. Your body will not thank you for it.

 

edit: There is a belief from a small group on the benzo buddies forum that broccoli can affect meds. I have not seen data on this, but some claim that it does from their own experience.  Broccoli seems to affect a small portion, but not others. The only way you can truly see if food is affecting you is through trial and error, unless you have a certain condition as mentioned above.

[Sicksagittarius]

22 hours ago, ThatOneGirlStitch said:

Food is food. If you can, eat a variety. Protein will help if you can. Fish is great. Unfortunately we have to figure out what foods are bad for us as individuals. What affects you might not be a trigger for others. Eating food that are known to "detox" won't hurt you if your body is not sensitive to them. Just don't eat just/too much of those foods if you can. I read a bit of olive oil can help WD. Bone broth is good for you as well and it is usually easy for everyone to digest. Some of us can only eat the same five foods everyday. Not ideal but eat what you can. 

 

Some of us have sugar and carb intolerance. Some of us dairy intolerance. Some of us have certain food that cause a reaction or inflammation. which in itself can make WD symptoms worse.

 

This can be due to SIBO, histamine intolerance, the body developing food allergies or some sort of unbalance in the gut. 

Some people have more than one of these.
If you have any of these try to follow the guide lines for them.

 

Don't make the mistake I did (really stupid) and have like 3 tablespoons of oil at once. Your body will not thank you for it.

 

edit: There is a belief from a small group on the benzo buddies forum that broccoli can affect meds. I have not seen data on this, but some claim that it does from their own experience.  Broccoli seems to affect a small portion, but not others. The only way you can truly see if food is affecting you is through trial and error, unless you have a certain condition as mentioned above.

@ThatOneGirlStitchThank you so much for your very helpful advice, I really appreciate it! I wasn't sure if any detox foods would disturb withdrawal symptoms by trying to push the drug out faster than it can handle, despite what my tolerance is to those foods. Do you recommend not eating too much detox foods in general, or just if I seem to react poorly to them? trying to see if things like herbs and other detoxing things I ate a lot of these past few months could be causing my unfocused vision that hasnt stopped in months or if my liver is so congested.

 

I'm eating only a handful of foods right now as well, rotating the same few items, with histamine, oxalate, salicylate, lectin issues due to gut imbalances and things like sibo. I ate those foods for months before understanding the pattern of intolerances, so maybe those caused worsening withdrawal symptoms of unfocused vision? 

 

What reactions should I look for to to see if they impact my lexapro, as you mentioned broccoli as a potential issue? I get bloating and inflammation at times and the anxiety and heart palpatations with too much oxalates, salicylates, and histamine which are tolerable but dont want to make my AD WD mental symptoms worse. What happened when you ate too much olive oil?

 

[ThatOneGirlStitch]

32 minutes ago, Sicksagittarius said:

Thank you so much for your very helpful advice, I really appreciate it! I wasn't sure if any detox foods would disturb withdrawal symptoms by trying to push the drug out faster than it can handle, despite what my tolerance is to those foods. Do you recommend not eating too much detox foods in general, or just if I seem to react poorly to them? trying to see if things like herbs and other detoxing things I ate a lot of these past few months could be causing my unfocused vision that hasnt stopped in months or if my liver is so congested.

 

I'm eating only a handful of foods right now as well, rotating the same few items, with histamine, oxalate, salicylate, lectin issues due to gut imbalances and things like sibo. I ate those foods for months before understanding the pattern of intolerances, so maybe those caused worsening withdrawal symptoms of unfocused vision? 

 

What reactions should I look for to to see if they impact my lexapro, as you mentioned broccoli as a potential issue? I get bloating and inflammation at times and the anxiety and heart palpatations with too much oxalates, salicylates, and histamine which are tolerable but dont want to make my AD WD mental symptoms worse. What happened when you ate too much olive oil?

 

I also have food sensitivities (I eat a handful of foods), histamine issues, and quite possibly SIBO or related. So I can understand how frustrating and scary it can be to not be able to feel like you can safely eat in WD. Especially at a time where our body needs it. 

 

Theoretically broccoli shouldn't hurt you eating a little. But all our bodies process differently so it would be hard to say how it would be affecting your meds. I have not seen data and it's just been hear-say from a few. I don't know if I can eat it because it is known to cause gas, something I have a problem with. Sometimes we can't be picky with what we eat. But if you are worried that they have an affect on your med, try googling to see if there could be an interaction. I stay on this forum, but have also googled "food benzo buddies" or "question benzo buddies" because they have similar symptoms to us. There can be a lot of conflicting information. Click the links you can find. See what applies to you or what is mostly agreed upon. This is where I got the eat spoonfuls of oil for calories (we try all sorts of things when we are desperate. If you can don't try things when you're desperate. you are more likely to make a mistake) To answer your question. I spent 3 hours of that night vomiting it back up. I pushed my body. It couldn't take that much oil at once. And lost a lot of other calories along with it.

Intolerance can worsen withdrawal symptoms. Recently I had something with a $#!# load of sugar in it. I knew the risk, because sugar is bad for all of us, but was hoping for a more minor reaction. I was so fatigued I couldn't move, it took effort to talk. I decided it was not worth the calories. 

 

Bloating and inflammation, anxiety and heart palpitations are common of food reactions. (fatigue and brainfog are common too) Hopefully you will know because you will experience them soon after eating. If you haven't eaten in like 5 hours and they show up anyway some of them might not be from food and could be from just WD.

 

Herbs can definitely worsen WD symptoms. I have heard so many stories on people trying herbs to fix one symptom or another and have bad effects. Sometimes they do fix the problem, but the effects are terrible and not worth it. If you want to be safe I personally would not test herbs.

 

Your unfocused vision could have been triggered by herbs/bad food as anything thats too much for the body can trigger a WD symptom. It could have been triggered by too much stress at once. But it is not uncommon to have random WD symptoms just show up because that it the nature of WD.

 

It is always good to try foods to observe if you react poorly. That is the way most of us in WD figure it out. Unless it's agreed upon, like sugar is bad, avoid fast food. I can't imagine eating a lot of detox foods at once can be good for meds. But I have no information on how detox food affect how we metabolize meds other than the hear-say I showed you. Google to see if the foods affect meds or how much you would have to eat for them to be affected (though imagine this is different for everyone). Test the food you are wary of one at a time. You can test them with foods that are safe. Some people test for two to three days and some people go "nope thats enough, my body defiantly can't handle it."

 

As for your vision it is a good idea to eat safe foods. It's possible something you eat can affect your vision, but remember this is a very common WD symptom all to itself. Sometimes we just have to wait for thing to get better.

 

Also this is something I had to learn. You already may know. Don't stress if people aren't answering your questions. They might have not figured out the answer yet or they are in bad WD and aren't able to put their energy there. Ask questions. Look around. Don't try to fix yourself so hard that you make it worse. 

 

Also I know I have not been able to answer all your questions directly, but hopefully this will give you something to add to your knowledge.

[Sicksagittarius]

How does everyone deal with the gaslighting and isolation from family members and friends who believe you're crazy for how sick you are? My family (mom and sister) who have previously struggled with eating disorders believe that my food intolerances and low weight are me being anorexic. They also think I'm crazy and don't understand my emotional symptoms from AD WD and why I isolate so much from everyone as I try to heal bc I'm embarrassed about my life, the way I act, the way I look. People say to cut out toxic people out of your life, but I feel like everyone I try to get close to will think these same things about me and not like me, just how my family doesn't like me anymore. I don't want to be completely alone. Any advice? It's so hard to find the meaning in all of this when the people you love turn your back on you instead of supporting you, traumatizing me from wanting to form any connection with anyone or even slightly opening up about what I'm going through.

[ChessieCat]

15 minutes ago, Sicksagittarius said:

How does everyone deal with the gaslighting and isolation from family members and friends who believe you're crazy for how sick you are?

 

There are topics about this in this area of SA:

 

relationships-and-social-life

[ChessieCat]

16 minutes ago, Sicksagittarius said:

It's so hard to find the meaning in all of this

 

finding-meaning

[Sicksagittarius]

Is my WD experience as a too fast of tapering similar to what people who go cold turkey would face? When I was weaning slowly I only had mild symptoms but I’ve beeb suffering since April to now when I went down fast according to drs advice, I went from 15 mg to 10 mg for 11 days, 10 mg to 5 mg for 8 days, then 0 for 6 days and reinstated at 2.5 mg holding since April. I haven't felt stabilized yet and havent cut due to it. I know the real healing starts once off and I want to start cutting the drug sooner than later but never feel ready to do so. *sigh* feeling really depressed and upset that this was done to me and how many years its gonna take to heal my brain and gut. I don’t want to live anymore bc Im not living at all, just surviving. If i would have stuck to my slow taper plan it makes me think i wouldnt be suffering so much. I need to work have my own place be able to eat all foods and socialize again. Ive felt this has stripped me of everything. I dont have the energy to learn how to heal my gut and brain anymore I feel like this will never end and I’m not gonna be able to survive another year of this

[ChessieCat]

Cold Turkey and Too-Fast Tapers

[Sicksagittarius]

I'm thinking about switching omega 3 fish pills from the original Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega 1280 mg daily to the ones made from algae due to histamine issues the originals could be causing. Is this something I need to slowly transition over to or can I just make the switch since its still fish oil just made with a few different ingredients?