Joeindians: Came down off Lexapro now chronically fatigued

[Joeindians]

I stopped my reinstatement dosage about a month ago and my symptoms are worse.
I know it’s my fault because

-I didn’t stop after my initial bad reaction from the initial dose ( high anxiety for a day  )

-I started at too high of a dose (1.0 mg of lexapro) 

- my wonky sleep schedule 

 

my symptoms are:

-still feel like I’m on Lexapro 😡 😡 😡 (lack of feelings positive or negative)

-tinnitus 

-vivid dreams 

-gas/bloating 

-chronic fatigue 

-sleeping 10-12 hours a night 

-lethargy 

When will I finally feel the “cellophane wrap” being released from my mind and I can finally experience typical withdrawal symptoms (ie neuro emotions). ?? I experienced this when I first got off lexapro 4 days after the last dose, last year. 

 

How much damage did I do to myself for doing this sloppy reinstatement?

 

how much days/months/years  will this sloppy reinstatement add to my recovery? 

very frustrated right now. 
I don’t wanna feel like I’m “on” lexapro for the rest of my life even though I haven’t had a dose in 4 weeks. 

*i dont  take any other drugs including caffeinated coffee besides 5 mg of melatonin a night 

[Altostrata]

I'm sorry you're going through this. Quite often, people feel emotional anesthesia after stopping antidepressants. It's an after-effect of the drug that very gradually goes away over many months, as do the other withdrawal symptoms you've described.

[Joeindians]

Is there any similar cases to mine? (A person who reinstated who is having hypersensitive reactions with lexapro after stopping for 2 months no with no "windows"). If so, what is the timeline?...

[Altostrata]

We sometimes see people reacting badly to a low-dose reinstatement.

 

When you first started Lexapro in February 2021, how did it affect you?

[Joeindians]

I was lethargic by like June 2021. 

[Altostrata]

You were taking 10mg at the time you experienced an adverse reaction to Lexapro, correct? 

 

Since your symptoms got worse after you quit 1.0mg Lexapro, you went off too fast, too soon. You might reinstate 0.5mg for several months and taper more gradually off that.

[Joeindians]

yes and Thank you for the advice, but I hit a "window" so I feel should wait. I was on antibiotics earlier this month and a few days after I stopped taking them, but sympotms got better by like 25%. 

[Altostrata]

Yes, a recent spike in symptoms probably was due to the antibiotics. Many people here have reported this.

[Joeindians]

4 months from the last dose. symptoms are pretty much the same, tiredness, brain fog, visual disturbances, tinnitus, anhedrian, burping all the time. The only thing that changed in the four months is that I am not so sick (diarrhea, nasal inflation) and I don't have so many "night sweats". 

 

I should have mentioned that my nervous system has always been "high" for most of my life. I know this diagnosis is true because I have tight pelvic fascia tissue that causes nocturia every night for the last 12 years after a sexual mishap. I've been to Santa Rosa, California for the "stanford protocol" conference. It sounds fancy but its just 4 day conference from a gentleman named Dr. Wise who studied under Edmund Jacobson who created a relaxation technique called "paradoxial relaxation". At this conference you learn how to do the relaxation technique and fascia release. You can read his book called "A headache in the Pelvis". This relaxation technique does work although it took me approximately 3 years to understand how to do it because of you need to be well rested before accomplishing the session. If I can't do the relaxation technique I do a 5x5x5x5 breathing exercise to calm my nerves in my body especially my extremities. 

 

Anyway, Im trying to do as much exercise as possible, but the limits are very contingent. For example, I did approximately 5 minutes of anaerobic exercises that includes (push ups, air squats, etc) one day. By the next day, I had developed flu like symptoms for about a week. Does anaerobic exercises cause more stress to the body? should I just stick to aerobic exercises like plyometrics? 

 

Also I dont have a clear plan of what and what not to eat. My diet right now is not good.  I do fast once a week for 24 hours.  thats about it. Can anyone help me with this?

 

Regardless, of all the stupid things I am going through, I am not as depressed as I once was two months ago. I think it may have to do with the fact that there is a pattern to this lexapro withdrawal. I've read very similar withdrawal symptoms from different people who have posted in this forum. I hate to say it but I think that most of the symptoms will subside after about a year or two years at the latest due to my age (39) and relatively short time I was on Lexapro (20 months total). I know that I shouldn't have hope but it makes sense from my perspective. I've only read a few outliers where people have a relatively short term on lexapro and experienced withdrawals lasting 4 years. Also when my antibiotic usage faded in late January, I had a window that lasted for 3 days in which I felt 90% reovered!!

 

I could be wrong however because I am now 225 lbs (100kg) and have always had a "high" nervous system. Also the reinstatement that I did 8 months ago made things 2x as worse. That scares me a little. 

 

I know I am rambling in this section but I don't talk to anyone about this, friends or family so this is my outlet for me. 

 

Pray for me

 

Joe S.

[Soup]

Have you ever tried Bowen works therapy for the tight  fascia ? 

[Joeindians]

I’ve had a lot of Pt but not that one in particular 

[Altostrata]

What are your currrent symptoms that you attribute to psychiatric drug withdrawal?

[Joeindians]

symptoms are tiredness, brain fog, visual disturbances, tinnitus, anhedrian, burping all the time.

[Altostrata]

That sounds like protracted withdrawal syndrome, all right. See the Symptoms and Self-Care forum for tips about coping.

[Caesar65]

53 minutes ago, Joeindians said:

symptoms are tiredness, brain fog, visual disturbances, tinnitus, anhedrian, burping all the time.

Same as with me😢I hope for you, it will get better, I pray for you🙏 

[Joeindians]

9 hours ago, Altostrata said:

That sounds like protracted withdrawal syndrome, all right. See the Symptoms and Self-Care forum for tips about coping.

What’s the average time that a person experienced protracted withdrawals?

[Altostrata]

Protracted withdrawal can last several years.

[Joeindians]

On 3/16/2023 at 6:32 PM, Altostrata said:

That sounds like protracted withdrawal syndrome, all right. See the Symptoms and Self-Care forum for tips about coping.

What’s the average time that a person experienced protracted withdrawals?

[Joeindians]

Does that mean I have permanent brain damage ?

[Altostrata]

We cannot tell you when protracted withdrawal might end. No, it's not permanent brain damage, many people have recovered.

 

What was the last time you drank alcohol?

[Joeindians]

Dec 23 rd I had two glasses of wine. Today I had a half a glass of wine with dinner. That’s all I had for 4 months 

[Altostrata]

What we have seen is when people are sensitized by withdrawal, even small amounts of alcohol can have an effect that worsens withdrawal symptoms. You may have intermittently done this. After all, alcohol is a drug.

[Joeindians]

Would watching explicit sexual material affect the withdrawal periods or symptoms? I know it can affect dopamine receptors 

[Altostrata]

Dopamine receptors are irrelevant. Your drinking is a far more likely destabilizer.

[Joeindians]

Am I crazy to think that I am functioning better by being a night owl? I feel more cognitive aware when I have a sleep schedule that consists of sleeping throughout the day. If I try to wake up "early" my immunity suffers and my brain function suffers. Is this common? 

[Altostrata]

Not crazy, but being a night owl works against your natural circadian rhythms. If you are a habitual night owl, you might have actually changed your circadian rhythm to the point that you cannot sleep at night at all. Drinking may make symptoms worse.

 

See What is the sleep cycle?

 

Tips to help sleep -- so many of us have that awful withdrawal insomnia

 

Path to Better Sleep FREE online for everyone from the US Veterans Administration

 

Music for self-care: Calms hyperalertness, anxiety, aids relaxation and sleep

 

White noise devices for sleep

 

Melatonin for sleep: Many people find it helpful

 

TV or computer use in evening can disrupt sleep: Bright light signals the brain that it's daytime

 

[Joeindians]

Should I just try to grind it out and sleep at night during the withdrawal period if the symptoms are worse when I am doing a normal sleep schedule? Can I get better from PAWS if I do a night owl sleep schedule? I can go to sleep at night. Thats not the issue. The issue is a feel worse during having a normal sleep schedule.

[Altostrata]

What is your sleep pattern? What do you do late at night?

[Joeindians]

Go to bed at 6am. Wake up at 12 pm. Take a nap from 4-6 pm. I do some accounting work for a family business, online poker, and other side work for $ so its usually pretty productive until like 4 am when I get tired. 

[Altostrata]

If this is the way you want to do it, we cannot view any sleep problems or daytime fatigue as related to withdrawal, it could be your inverted sleep pattern.

[stech]

@Altostrata is sofa okay?

[Joeindians]

10.5 month update:

 

Most of symptoms have probably subsided by about 10% since April. That may be to the fact that I am eating a lot better and exercising though. I am a little bummed that this may  take at least two years to completely recover . My symptoms are tinnitus, fatigue, excessive burping, depersonalization to name a few of the more extreme ones.

 

The average recovery for PAWS is 18 months according to addictioncenter.com . However this forum had a poll in which it takes about 26 months to fully recover. This website might be where the more extreme cases of PAWS and withdrawal are displayed on the web. 

 

Good news is that I am getting healthy (25 lb weight loss since May from 235 lb -210 lbs) . Also,  I am more consistent with going to Church and Confession. 

[Altostrata]

Good to hear from you, @Joeindians How far along in recovery do you think you might be, 50%?

[Joeindians]

That's a good question. I'm definitely a lot better from when the symptoms peaked in January so I'm probably 50% better from that. I haven't had any waves or windows since then. I've very gradually gotten better and little

change if any since late 

April. Is it a good or bad sign that I haven't had any noticeable waves/windows in a while? 

[Altostrata]

54 minutes ago, Joeindians said:

That's a good question. I'm definitely a lot better from when the symptoms peaked in January so I'm probably 50% better from that. I haven't had any waves or windows since then. I've very gradually gotten better and little

change if any since late 

April. Is it a good or bad sign that I haven't had any noticeable waves/windows in a while? 

 

This sounds like a good sign overall.

[Joeindians]

13 months from last dose: no change

I'm just thinking to myself, that I should have gotten off my reinstatement early. This is because I initially started experiencing symptoms of tinnitus, burping, lucid dreaming after 3 months of reinstatement.  Hopefully these long-term symptoms go away soon. God bless