CKJ07: Help tapering or stabilizing

[CKJ07]

I'm looking for help. I'm 30 years old, male from upstate New York. Nice to meet you all. I was On Lexapro for 5 years from October 2016-Nov. 2021. Dose was 7.5 MG. I was tapered off in 10 weeks. Ended taper in Nov. 2021. Went 4 Months and ending up reinstating at a hospital from severe withdrawal and insomnia. This is in march 2022.

 

At Hospital I was also given Lithium for a week, a couple doses of Ativan, and then they Started the Lexapro again and stopped the other two. I was given oxcarbazepine and trazadone for sleep and "mood", hydroxyzine for anxiety.. then they stopped the trazadone and started Seroquel (quetiapine) after a week.

I just shake my head at this now. I do not believe the Lexapro really worked though I'm not entirely sure, So I tapered the Lexapro down to a small micro-dose pretty quickly, like in a month and a half or two and took the micro dose from about April/May 2022 until October 2022.

I also tapered the oxcarbazepine and Seroquel and hydroxyzine down to a very small little crumb over that time. I didn't really understand slow tapering obviously.

 

So right Now I have not taken the Lexapro since October, And I have not taken the tiny crumb of Seroquel in about a month, and I still take a tiny crumb of oxcarbazepine and hydroxyzine some nights if I can't sleep.

 

I felt my sleep improve a little and other tiny improvements possibly from about July until December, where I feel now most days I'm back at square one or in a bad wave or worse for about 3-4 weeks. I have had consistently severe depression/ anxiety/ horrible cognitive function, constant anhedonia, racing or ruminating thoughts at times and insomnia sometimes quite bad.

 

I guess I am wondering about reinstatement and if so should it be Lexapro or something else? My thought was maybe to try reinstating a tiny bit of another AD? like at .5 MG maybe?

Also, Can the brain still heal after reinstatement? I feel awful like it would be a waste of so much time after enduring this horrible time. Thanks for considering this with me.

I also know I am not being specific on doses of the Seroquel or oxcarbazepine or hydroxyzine because I truly don't know, I cut a very tiny crumb off of a normal size pill so I can't say for sure. In the beginning when I started to cut them I tried to be consistent and hold for a bit but I can't tell for sure what the doses were. Thanks again. 

 

I can write a signature but don't know how.

 

Edited February 1, 2023 by manymoretodays
name to title, just spacing in post for ease of readability

[CKJ07]

I'm looking for help. I'm 30 years old, male from upstate New York. Nice to meet you all. I was On Lexapro for 5 years from October 2016-Nov. 2021. Dose was 7.5 MG. I was tapered off in 10 weeks. Ended taper in Nov. 2021. Went 4 Months and ending up reinstating at a hospital from severe withdrawal and insomnia. This is in march 2022. At Hospital I was also given Lithium for a week, a couple doses of Ativan, and then they Started the Lexapro again and stopped the other two. I was given oxcarbazepine and trazadone for sleep and "mood", hydroxyzine for anxiety.. then they stopped the trazadone and started Seroquel (quetiapine) after a week. I just shake my head at this now. I do not believe the Lexapro really worked though I'm not entirely sure, So I tapered the Lexapro down to a small micro-dose pretty quickly, like in a month and a half or two and took the micro dose from about April/May 2022 until October 2022. I also tapered the oxcarbazepine and Seroquel and hydroxyzine down to a very small little crumb over that time. I didn't really understand slow tapering obviously. So right Now I have not taken the Lexapro since October, And I have not taken the tiny crumb of Seroquel in about a month, and I still take a tiny crumb of oxcarbazepine and hydroxyzine some nights if I can't sleep. I felt my sleep improve a little and other tiny improvements possibly from about July until December, where I feel now most days I'm back at square one or in a bad wave or worse for about 3-4 weeks. I have had consistently severe depression/ anxiety/ horrible cognitive function, constant anhedonia, racing or ruminating thoughts at times and insomnia sometimes quite bad. I guess I am wondering about reinstatement and if so should it be Lexapro or something else? My thought was maybe to try reinstating a tiny bit of another AD? like at .5 MG maybe? Also, Can the brain still heal after reinstatement? I feel awful like it would be a waste of so much time after enduring this horrible time. Thanks for considering this with me. I also know I am not being specific on doses of the Seroquel or oxcarbazepine or hydroxyzine because I truly don't know, I cut a very tiny crumb off of a normal size pill so I can't say for sure. In the beginning when I started to cut them I tried to be consistent and hold for a bit but I can't tell for sure what the doses were. Thanks again. 

 

I can write a signature but not sure where I type it?

[manymoretodays]

Hi CK107, I was just organizing some of the "waiting to get started Introductions".

And here is the link to the topic on doing your signature, it includes a link to get to your signature area.

How to Summarize Your Drug History in Your Signature

go to the first post there and you'll see

 

And then one of us will get you approved and started too.  This will happen ASAP, so just be patient.

[Altostrata]

Welcome, @CKJ07

 

It sounds like you might have withdrawal symptoms from any of several drugs, or more than one. If insomnia is your worst symptom, regular use of hydroxyzine at a consistent lowest effective dosage would be the least risky option. The other would be to take a little quetiapine (Seroquel).

 

How has your symptom pattern changed since you went off Seroquel recently? When was the last day you took it?

[j1290]

On 2/1/2023 at 8:26 AM, CKJ07 said:

Also, Can the brain still heal after reinstatement? I feel awful like it would be a waste of so much time after enduring this horrible time. Thanks for considering this with me.

Hi CKJ07!  Smarter people than me can offer advice, I can only offer my experience.  I spent a rough year trying to do a taper, and had to reinstate and felt defeated.  I wish I'd done it sooner, because it gave me back enough cognitive function to come up with a better plan.  I also wish I'd spent a month just studying this website and getting to learn everything I could about tapering.   When I finally did that,  I could see the big picture.  I still re-read different sections because I always find something new.   Setting alarms and whatnot to take my pills on time, and using a daily WD checklist(found on this site), I was able to carefully document my taper and symptoms so I knew exactly what was going on and how things were changing, etc.  

 

Upstate NY is beautiful, wish I were there.  Welcome aboard, please post often!

[CKJ07]

Thanks for the responses. Alright that is good to know about the hydroxyzine. The quetiapine I actually did take a small crumb a few times over the last month, even a few days ago. I know I stopped taking it consistently a month ago. Sometime in early January or later December I believe. My symptoms have not changed a lot I would say, but sleep has not been as consistent or good and the anxiety/ruminating thoughts and feeling "stuck in my head" seems worse.  

[CKJ07]

If I were to try a small reinstatement of around .5 mg, do you suggest Lexapro again or something like Citalopram?

[Altostrata]

On 2/4/2023 at 4:43 PM, CKJ07 said:

My symptoms have not changed a lot I would say, but sleep has not been as consistent or good and the anxiety/ruminating thoughts and feeling "stuck in my head" seems worse.  

 

How is your current symptom pattern different compared to how you felt in November 2022? How has your sleep pattern changed in the last month?

[CKJ07]

Sleep pattern I have just had a few more bad nights in the last month than quite some time. 

 

Since November overall It's hard to say I don't think a lot has changed, it's been a lot of the same symptoms persisting. 

 

 

 

 

[Altostrata]

On 2/5/2023 at 3:28 AM, CKJ07 said:

If I were to try a small reinstatement of around .5 mg, do you suggest Lexapro again or something like Citalopram?

 

You could take Lexapro or citalopram, they are closely related drugs. Citalopram is milder and may be more tolerable.

[CKJ07]

Okay. Is there one you would suggest? The Lexapro I think worked last time I reinstated but not the same. 

 

What about Fluoxetine? I guess I'm just asking in your opinion what the safest option is if I were to do a .5mg reinstatement?

 

Thanks 

[Altostrata]

How's your symptom and sleep pattern now?

[CKJ07]

I haven't noticed too much change really overall. Alot of emotional/physical exhaustion, Anxiety, depression, insomnia.

 

Sleep was quite bad last night, maybe 1 hour. Been having more nights like that.

 

Had some OK nights before that. 

 

 

[Altostrata]

Over the last 2 weeks, how often do you have nights of 3 hours sleep or less? What is your sleep pattern? 

 

How do you prepare for going to sleep? Late-night habits?

 

Have you tried these tips 

 

 

Many people find these to be helpful:

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker 

Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) 

 

You might try a low dose of one at a time to see what it does for you.

 

I would try the above before attempting reinstatement. Even a little improvement in sleep can set you on your way.