Upnorth: reinstating

[Upnorth]

 

@Altostrata @Frogie

Wednesday March 31st

9:00pm --agitated, muscle tension. Nausea is moderate. 

10:30pm -- 3.0mg zoloft.  1 slice of toast. Moderate nausea. Agitated. Air hunger .frustrated. 

11:30pm -- heart rate is up. Mild sweating, agitated, air hunger. 

Thursday March 31st. 

1:30am-- nauseous, agitated. 

2:30am -- nausea is a bit better,  still agitated. 

4:00am -- take 50mg anti nausea and go to bed. Flu like feeling. 

5:00am -- not really sleeping, restless,agitated. 

6:45am -- wake up with cortisol spike. Agitated. Restless. Nauseous. 

9:00am -- wake again, get up and get ice pack, back to bed 

Headache is medium. 

12:00pm -- get up and take 50mg anti nausea, 1 cup of coffee, nausea, agitated. 

12:30pm-- spoke to phyc Dr,  now I'm more anxious. 

1:30pm -- bowl of oatmeal, vit c 250mg, mag 150mg, probiotic, ginger pill. Nauseous, agitated. 

3:00pm -- nausea is bad today. Agitated. 

4:30pm -- 50mg anti nausea. Agitated, dizzy. 

6:00pm -- force down chicken and potato for supper.  Mag 250mg.probiotic, ginger pill.  Nauseous, agitated, weak , dizzy. 

8:00pm -- nausea is still bad. Ab muscle tension, flu feeling, agitated. 

[Upnorth]

@Altostrata @Frogie

Nausea has been bad today. Inner restlessness and muscle tension. Agitated.  Feeling sick. 

Is this from the zoloft?  Having a tuff time with my thinking. 

[Frogie]

@Upnorth

 

I hope you can get more than 30 days as you will become dependent on as little as 2 weeks. Can you get another dr to do this for you? I would say the nausea is from the Zoloft. 

[Upnorth]

10 hours ago, Frogie said:

@Upnorth

 

I hope you can get more than 30 days as you will become dependent on as little as 2 weeks. Can you get another dr to do this for you? I would say the nausea is from the Zoloft. 

@Frogie @Altostrata

That's the scary part.  The last time I talked to my gp she prescribed ondansetron,  which I haven't used because I think it would add to the stimulation.  Do you ladies think ondansetron would be stimulating? Should I taper off the zoloft or just hold for now? My thinking is all over the place. 

[Upnorth]

@Altostrata @Frogie

Thursday March 31.

9:30pm -- still really nauseous. Flu feeling. Ab muscles tense. 

10:30pm -- 3.0mg zoloft, 2 slices toast. Ab muscles tense,  nauseous. 

11:30pm -- slight sweating, agitated, nauseous. 

Friday April 1..

1:30am -- agitated, nauseous, dizzy. 

3:00am -- same.. agitated. 

4:00am -- wake up on couch.  Take 50mg anti nausea and go to bed. 

5:00am -- not really sleeping, restless, agitated. 

7:00am--  wake again,  cortisol spike, restless. Mild sweating. 

10:00am -- didn't sleep much.  Awake every hour. Get up and get ice pack and go back to bed. Mild headache. Agitated. 

12:30pm --  get up and take 50mg anti nausea. 1 cup coffee. Flu like feeling. Agitated. Nauseous 

2:30pm --  bowl of oatmeal, magnesium 150mg, vit c 250mg, probiotic.  Ginger pills.  Nauseous. Agitated. Air hunger, weak, unstable. 

4:00pm--same,  flu like feeling. 

5:00pm -- take 50mg anti nausea. Nauseous. Sit on the couch, flu feeling. 

6:30pm -- chicken and baked fries for supper. Mag 250mg, probiotic, ginger pill.  Nauseous, dizzy, weak. 

8:00pm -- heart rate up a bit. Nauseous, dizzy, air hunger, frustrated,  feeling hopeless. .

[Upnorth]

@Altostrata @Frogie

Wish I could get my system to calm down. Agitated and feel like I can't get enough air.  Feeling irritated and frustrated. 

[Frogie]

@Upnorth

 

They prescribe ondansetron for nausea and it can be stimulating to some people. It was to me that's why I did the other things suggested. You might try ginger tablets or ginger tea. They may help with the nausea a bit.

 

Air hunger, although annoying, is very common. I still get it once in a while.

 

@Altostrata will know the best plan for the Zoloft as she is working with you on that.

 

I would not start a benzo if you can not continuing getting a prescription though.

 

 

[Upnorth]

@Frogie @Altostrata

 Is the agitation and anxiety what causes air hunger? 

Also have a migraine today..not a good day. 

[Upnorth]

@Altostrata @Frogie

Friday April 1.

9:00pm--  nausea slightly better. Ab muscles tense. Fatigued. Dizzy. Weak. 

10:15pm-- take 3.0mg zoloft. 1 slice of toast.  Agitated. Dizzy. Air hunger. Restless. 

11:30pm -- mild sweating. Agitated. Air hunger. Headache.  Take 1- 325mg aspirin. 

Saturday April 2.

1:30am-- agitated. Ab muscles tense. Nauseous. 

3:30am -- nausea. Take 50mg anti nausea and go to bed. Toss and turn. 

6:30am -- wake up, cortisol spike. Sweating lightly. Restless. 

9:30am -- wake again.  Headache.  Get up and take 1-325mg aspirin and ice pack and back to bed. 

11:30am --- not really sleeping,  get up and change ice pack, back to bed. Headache, nauseous. 

1:30am -- get up and take 1-325mg aspirin and 50mg anti nausea. Headache, nauseous, agitated. 

3:30pm -- nauseous, agitated, air hunger. 

5:00pm -- agitated, bad headache, nauseous. 

6:30pm -- noodles for supper. Mag 150mg, probiotic, ginger pill. Headache,  agitated,  Ab muscle tension.  Slight sweating. Air hunger. 

[Frogie]

@Upnorth

 

Anxiety definitely can cause air hunger. Headaches are also a very common symptom.

 

It will ease eventually. It's just very annoying. I've been there, I know how you feel.

[Altostrata]

It appears that 3.5mg Zoloft was too much for you, and since you decreased to 3mg, it's wearing off.

 

It looks like reinstatement of Zoloft has only a slight effect on your withdrawal syndrome. It may be that you are not as sensitized to another SSRI, such as citalopram or fluoxetine, both of which have longer half-lives than Zoloft. But we do not know.

 

It may be that reinstatement of the antidepressant won't help your protracted withdrawal much. I see you have not started the Ativan. It may not take much to calm your system down, but you will need to have an ongoing prescription. Surely there is someone substituting for the doctor who went on leave?

 

As I said earlier, I do not know what effect ondansetron will have.

[Upnorth]

@Altostrata @Frogie 

I have on hand 30×0.5 ativan.  30x1.0 ativan. And from a different Dr (phyc ) 30x.25mg clonazapam. 

I took a 0.25mg ativan and waiting to see if it will help. 

Agitated and nausea are bad today. 

[Altostrata]

@Frogie, what are the rough equivalents of Ativan vs clonazepam?

 

@Upnorth if you choose to go this route, you will have to secure an ongoing benzo prescription. We cannot do that for you.

[Upnorth]

15 minutes ago, Altostrata said:

@Frogie, what are the rough equivalents of Ativan vs clonazepam?

 

@Upnorth if you choose to go this route, you will have to secure an ongoing benzo prescription. We cannot do that for you.

@Altostrata @Frogie

I understand.  Just wanted to see if it would help. I'm hardly sleeping and feeling sick. 

What do you recommend with the zoloft? 

[Frogie]

@Upnorth @Altostrata

 

0.5 mg of clonazapam is equal to 1 mg of ativan. Ativan lasts 10-20 hours in your system and clonazapam will last in your system 18-50 hours.

[Upnorth]

3 hours ago, Upnorth said:

@Altostrata @Frogie 

I have on hand 30×0.5 ativan.  30x1.0 ativan. And from a different Dr (phyc ) 30x.25mg clonazapam. 

I took a 0.25mg ativan and waiting to see if it will help. 

Agitated and nausea are bad today. 

@Altostrata @Frogie

I haven't felt any relief from the 0.25mgof  ativan. Took it 2.5 hours ago.  Ideas, suggestions? 

Can I mix the clonazepam and ativan,?    ie : take ativan for the early dose and clonazapam for evening dose? 

[Frogie]

@Upnorth

 

Can you get a running prescription of either? You just don't want to become dependent on it and not have access to it.

 

You could take the clonazepam an hour before bed and see if that might help.

[Upnorth]

11 minutes ago, Frogie said:

@Upnorth

 

Can you get a running prescription of either? You just don't want to become dependent on it and not have access to it.

 

You could take the clonazepam an hour before bed and see if that might help.

@Frogie @Altostrata

Yes, I  agree. I don't see my pc Dr until the 21st.  I know I don't want to use it regularly until I can confirm a regular prescription. 

I'm just having a terrible day so I thought I would try 0.25mg ativan to see if it would ease things a bit.  I don't think it did anything,  do you think it was too small a dose? 

[Upnorth]

@Altostrata @Frogie

Saturday April 2.

8:30pm -- heart rate is up a bit.agitated.muscle tension. Air hunger. 

10:15pm-- 3.0mg zoloft. 1 slice of toast. Agitated. Ab muscles tense. Air hunger. 

11:30pm --headache, take 1-325mg aspirin. Agitated. Muscle tension. 

Sunday April 3.

1:30am--slight headache. Muscle tension. Nausea is moderate. 

3:00am -- agitated. Restless. Muscles tense. 

4:45am--  headache,  take 1-325mg aspirin. 50mg anti nausea. Go to bed. 

7:30am -- wake up from cortisol spike. Restless,  light sweating. 

9:45pm --  awake every hour. Get up and take 1-325mg aspirin. Ice pack.  Back to bed. 

12:30pm -- toss and turn. Agitated. Get up and take 50mg anti nausea. Nauseous, air hunger. 1 cup coffee. 

2:00pm -- bowl of oatmeal. Vit c 250mg. Mag 150mg. Probiotic. Ginger pill. Agitated, nauseous, weak , unsteady. 

2:30pm -- take 0.25 ativan.

5:00pm -- 50mg anti nausea. Nauseous, dizzy, air hunger. Doesn't feel like the ativan has done anythings. 

6:00pm -- pork stew for supper, mag250mg, Probiotic. Ginger pill. Nauseous, dizzy, weak. 

7:30pm --  nausea is less severe. Slight headache. Fatigue. Air hunger.

[Upnorth]

@Altostrata

 @Frogie

Do I just hold at 3.0mg on the zoloft for now?

[Upnorth]

     Nausea is brutal today, again.  So tuff to do anything. . Wish I could find some relief. .

[Upnorth]

@Altostrata @Frogie 

Sunday April 3rd. 

9:00pm --nausea is a bit better. Moderate headache. Muscle tension. 

10:30pm --  take 3.0mg zoloft. 2 slices toast. Symptoms are the same .

11:30pm -- nausea is the about the same.  Slight headache. Fatigued,  air hunger. 

  Monday April 4th 

12:45am -- mild sweating. Nausea is moderate . Ab muscles tense. 

1:45am -- sweating stopped. Nausea is the same. Ab  muscles tense. 

3:30am -- woke uplease on couch,  take 50mg anti nausea and go to bed. 

4:30pm --.not really sleeping,  restless. 

6:45am -- wake up with cortisol spike. Restless, agitated. 

9:00am -- wake up again,  headache.  Get ice pack.Take 1-325mg aspirin and back to bed. Dark thoughts. 

12:30pm -- get up and take 50mg anti nausea,  1 cup coffee. Nauseous, muscle tension. 

1:45pm -- bowl of oatmeal, mag 150mg, vit c 250mg, probiotic, ginger pill. 

Nausea is bad at the moment.  Dizzy .weak. unstable. 

3:00pm--  same. Sitting on the couch and drinking ginger ale. 

4:30pm -- pretty much the same.  Take 50mg anti nausea. 

6:00pm -- left over pork stew for supper. Mag 250mg, probiotic. Ginger pill.  Nauseous, muscle tension. Weak. 

 

[Upnorth]

@Altostrata @Frogie 

Do you want me to hold at 3.0mg zoloft for awhile? 

[Altostrata]

On 4/3/2022 at 6:15 PM, Upnorth said:

I haven't felt any relief from the 0.25mgof  ativan. Took it 2.5 hours ago.

 

If you take this twice a day, 12 hours apart, it will take several days to a week for the dosage to take full effect. Just like other drugs.

 

We recommend changing only one drug at a time. You just decreased Zoloft. If you want to decrease it more, you might go off by reducing 1mg and see what happens. But you just took Ativan, so your symptom pattern will be confused.

[Upnorth]

1 hour ago, Altostrata said:

 

If you take this twice a day, 12 hours apart, it will take several days to a week for the dosage to take full effect. Just like other drugs.

 

We recommend changing only one drug at a time. You just decreased Zoloft. If you want to decrease it more, you might go off by reducing 1mg and see what happens. But you just took Ativan, so your symptom pattern will be confused.

@Altostrata @Frogie

Do you think it would be a better idea to hold at 3.0mg for awhile?  

I only took 1 dose of 0.25mg ativan on Sunday.  I thought it would act like a "rescue " dose and calm me down. 

[Altostrata]

I don't know. 

 

I understand that you're suspicious of both the Zoloft and Ativan. But if you feel you don't want to make any changes, don't make any changes.

[Upnorth]

@Altostrata @Frogie .

Monday April 4th. 

8:30pm -- nauseous. Heart rate up a bit. Agitated. Frustrated. 

10:15pm -- 3.0mg zoloft. 1 slice of toast..nauseous, agitated, air hunger. 

Tuesday April 5th. 

12:30am -- ab muscles tense, nauseous, feeling hopeless. 

2:30am -- same.

4:00am -- wake up on couch. Take 50mg anti nausea and go to bed. 

6:30am -- wake up with cortisol spike. Muscle tension,  fragmented sleep. 

9:30am -- wake again, headache,  get up and take 1-325mg aspirin,  ice pack and back to bed. Restless, air hunger. 

12:30pm -- get up and take 50mg anti nausea. Half cup coffee. Nauseous, agitated, muscle tension, feel like I can't breath. 

2:00pm -- bowl of oatmeal, mag 150mg, vit c 250mg, probiotic. 2 ginger pills. Nauseous, dizzy, air hunger. 

4:00pm -- nauseous, agitated. Muscle tension. 

5:30pm -- chicken noodle soup and tuna sandwich for supper. Mag 250mg. Probiotic, ginger pill. Nauseous, dizzy, agitated. 

7:30pm -- nausea is a bit better. Dizzy, agitated. Air hunger. 

9:30pm -- dizzy. Nausea is moderate, slight headache. 

Ab muscles tense. Heart rate up a bit. 

[Upnorth]

3 hours ago, Altostrata said:

I don't know. 

 

I understand that you're suspicious of both the Zoloft and Ativan. But if you feel you don't want to make any changes, don't make any changes.

@Altostrata @Frogie

I'm sorry Alto,  I must be dense.  It's not that I don't want to make changes.  I'm just wondering if I should hold at 3.0mg zoloft until I can confirm a prescription for ativan or taper off? 

[Frogie]

@Upnorth

 

If you can obtain a running prescription for the Ativan, then after you stabilize the we can address the Zoloft issue.

[Altostrata]

I thought you already have the Ativan?

 

What was the effect of your last Zoloft change, a decrease to 3.0mg from 3.5mg? Has the sweating decreased?

[Upnorth]

52 minutes ago, Altostrata said:

I thought you already have the Ativan?

 

What was the effect of your last Zoloft change, a decrease to 3.0mg from 3.5mg? Has the sweating decreased?

@Altostrata @Frogie

I have some ativan.  30x1mg and 30x0.5mg. I also have 30x0.25mg clonazepam. I don't have an ongoing persciption,  these were just random over the last several months and to help me out on bad days but I never used them. The clonazepam was prescribed by a psych Dr to help with increases in zoloft but I never used it cuz there's only enough to last 2 weeks. Just enough to get me in trouble. It's hard to get appointments so I would be left hanging. 

The drop to 3.0mg zoloft has helped decrease the  sweating, but the nausea and agitation are still bad. 

[Altostrata]

What do you want to do? You could start the benzo, you could reduce the Zoloft more, or you could not make any dosage changes.

[Upnorth]

1 hour ago, Altostrata said:

What do you want to do? You could start the benzo, you could reduce the Zoloft more, or you could not make any dosage changes.

@Altostrata @Frogie

I don't know what to do. So fatigued and lots of dark thoughts lately. 

If I start the benzo,  would I just hold on the current zoloft amount? 

 

[Frogie]

@Upnorth

 

 I would suggest you obtain a running prescription before you start taking it as you will become dependent in as little as 2 weeks and it is not something you can just stop.

 

As @Altostrata said that is up to you to hold on this dose of Zoloft or decrease the dose. Or not make any changes.

[Upnorth]

@Altostrata @Frogie

Tuesday April 5th. 

10:30pm --  take 3.0mg zoloft. Tuna sandwich. 

Muscle tension. Nausea is medium, air hunger , agitated. 

Wednesday April 6th. 

12:30am -- nausea is medium. Ab muscle tension. Air hunger. 

2:00am-- same. 

3:30am -- take 50 mg anti nausea and go to bed. Restless, agitated. 

4:30am -- not really sleeping, irritated. 

6:30am -- wake again, cortisol spike. Agitated. 

9:00am --  wake again, sleep is fragmented. Mild headache, get ice pack and back to bed. 

10:30-- lay in bed.  Headache has increased.  

12:30pm--- agitated, get up and take 1 50mg anti nausea. Cup of coffee.  Nauseous, muscle tension , 

2:00pm-- bowl of oatmeal, mag 150mg, probiotic.vit c 250mg.  Dizzy, weak, agitated. 

4:00pm -- feeling nauseous. Laying on couch. Agitated 

5:00pm -- medium headache. Take 1-325mg aspirin. Lay on couch .

6:00pm -- eggs for supper, mag250, probiotic, ginger pill,  nauseous, weak, .

8:00-- dizzy,  headache is still moderate. Flu feeling. Agitated. Weakness 

 

 

[Upnorth]

38 minutes ago, Frogie said:

@Upnorth

 

 I would suggest you obtain a running prescription before you start taking it as you will become dependent in as little as 2 weeks and it is not something you can just stop.

 

As @Altostrata said that is up to you to hold on this dose of Zoloft or decrease the dose. Or not make any changes.

@Frogie

Kinda what I was thinking. The last thing I want is to start down this path and be hung out to dry.  I'm suffering enough as it is. I think the phyc Dr doesn't have any idea about wd.  She prescribed 30x0.25mg clonazepam,  which by her instructions would last 15 days. This was to help with the zoloft updose.Then she said she was taking an indefinite leave and I would have to find a substitute. They just don't care ..