BlueBird44 Short term Fluoxetine and still suffering

[BlueBird44]

Hello,

Never would I have ever thought that I would be making a post here but my symptoms are too unbearable.

I was prescribed Fluoxetine 20mgs for 2.5 months and Cold Turkeyed because I thought that it was too short for it to have any severe symptoms. As with many others, I was wrong. After 14 months I am still suffering from extreme tiredness and headaches which is debilitating to the point that I cannot concentrate on anything. From memory, I have taken Sudafed(for less than a week) which contains pseudoephedrine and while my symptoms did get worse, I took it around the 10 month mark and it should have healed by then. But now I believe that I have a sour taste intolerance. Last Monday I ate salmon with lemon sauce and in a few hours my entire body went haywire. I have done some research and I believe that eating sour food causes an increase in serotonin which might be why I reacted poorly. I had a big headache and also my left hand and left foot was trembling non stop and it felt like my central nervous system was going overdrive. The headache and tiredness is still prevalent to this day. Then I made a huge note of avoiding sour foods until today, I ate 4 pieces of blueberries which were unfortunately sour(possibly unripe) and the same blueberries that I had been eating for a long time, my body reacted worse than last Monday and now I have a massive headache and my body is trembling non stop(this will probably set back my healing journey for about a whole month). Also I would like to add that I took 1 pill of probiotics on the 13 months mark and I had a headache and extreme tiredness that lasted for a whole month. This is extremely disheartening since I was only on Fluoxetine for 2.5 months and off for 14 months and I am still experiencing an unstable cns and debilitating symptoms. Could anyone tell me what can I do now? I have very low hopes since it has been a very long time. 

Thank you for listening.

Edited February 11, 2023 by BlueBird44
added more information

[Onmyway]

Hi @BlueBird44

welcome to SA. I am so sorry that you are suffering with these symptoms. 

I haven't ever heard of sour foods causing issues but we are all different so it is entirely possible that you are reacting to some chemicals. I also wonder, however, whether these are coincidences in terms of something specific causing some symptoms. WD is known for its windows and waves course so the lemon/blueberries or the probiotic may just coincide with these waves. It is such a weird thing this WD that doesn't make sense with all its symptoms and we are hard wired to look for causal explanations for things. 

 

There is very little you can do at this stage except wait for your nervous system to settle down. For specific symptoms you can search the forums. There is a collection of non-drug  techniques to deal with emotional symptoms. 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/1112-non-drug-techniques-to-cope-with-emotional-symptoms/

 

The option to reinstate a small dose is available but this far out we don't recommend it. 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/7562-about-reinstating-and-stabilizing-to-reduce-withdrawal-symptoms/

 

Some people find benefit from using magnesium and Omega-3 and these are the only two supplements that we recommend. We advise against any other psychoactive substances incl. alcohol, pot, herbs etc., street drugs, prescription drugs, supplements - vit D and B can cause activation so we recommend them only in case of deficiency and even then at small doses to see how you will react.

 

It feels really unfair to suffer so long for taking a drug for such as short time but unfortunately that is the boat we all find ourselves in. Acceptance and patience are really the two things that help in this healing process. You WILL heal with time. 

 

OMW

 

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by Onmyway

[BlueBird44]

Hello @Onmyway,

Thank you for your detailed response and encouraging words. I believe that the lemon salmon was causing activation(further destabilising my nervous system) as usually a few hours after the painful headache I would feel very excited and unable to sleep for the whole night. It also pains me to say this but I have been eating the exact same salmon for the past 10 weeks! Which might be the reason why I made very little improvement over the 10 weeks. After thinking about it, it must be the lemon salmon causing my nervous system to go overdrive and push back my healing journey every time I took it but I never realised it since I was already feeling bad. This might be just it and from now on I will be very cautious about my diet and I have already told my parents not to buy that salmon from Woolies! Now I am confident that I can heal but it will take time as always. Thank you and I hope that you are doing well Onmyway.

[BlueBird44]

Unfortunately, hell broke loose. Today I have worsening symptoms than ever before. I woke up with a worse headache, extremely tired and my nervous system on overdrive. I blamed it on the ramen that I ate yesterday although could it be anything else? today I cried and my body absolutely failed me and my feet and hands were shaking uncontrollably and my I was gasping for air. I felt like I was going to faint and die. This is the worst reaction that I have ever felt even worse than I cold turkeyed. When I stopped crying it felt a bit better but still bad. Could this be my mental health? Since when I was crying I felt like I was going to feint and my body shaking uncontrollably for 20min. Is it food? I'm so lost right now. Can anyone please tell me what to do? I am thinking of reinstating 2mgs or 10mgs or tough it out but I'm scared that it will get worse. Please someone answer me. I'm feeling hopeless. It has been too long with no improvements 

Thank you for listening 

[BlueBird44]

Could it also be Windows and waves? But it has been worse than ever before .... I'm rlly confused.....When I cried I felt like fainting but when I stopped crying I don't have the urge to faint just the usual headaches. When I cried my entire nervous system went haywire. Non stop trembling, heart palpitations just so much pain. Generally I feel worse. Is this normal?

 

I would also note that I was stressed yesterday due to a group project. Does this mean that the next day I am going to crash onto a very deep and painful wave? 

Edited February 18, 2023 by BlueBird44
More details

[BlueBird44]

Hello, after 20months off from 2.5months of fluoxetine, I have barely made any improvements at all. Each day is extremely difficult, just wanting each day to pass quickly and I don't think that I have it in me anymore. Eating the exact same three foods for over 6 months due to extreme food sensitivities with no noticeable improvements and I think that my time is up. Just waking up everyday is so torturous and I can't take it anymore. I am thinking of reinstating fluoxetine for about 5mg and taking it for a year. Would appreciate anyone's help and if they would recommend me reinstating. Thanks

[Onmyway]

Hi @BlueBird44

reinstatement this far out is not recommended but if you were to try it out, we would recommend taking a very small dose - 1mg and see how you react to it - many of our members see quite big improvements improvements from small amounts. Pls do read the reinstatement thread above before you do it. Do you have the info on how to measure small amounts of fluoxetine? 
OMW

[BlueBird44]

Thank you, I do have information to measure small amounts of fluoxetine since I have dispersible tablets. It is a mystery as to how 2.5 months on the antidepressant with the longest half life can destroy my entire life for nearly 2 years with no signs of improvements since I am reacting to every food including rice and green vegetables. Tho I did cold turkey thinking that it would be ok since I was on it for a short amount of time compared to many members taking it for 5+ years. I am planning on taking 1mg for like a year before tapering extremely slowly or you can correct me if I'm doing it incorrectly. Much thanks

[BlueBird44]

For those who are curious, I was reacting to every single food and too many to even name. During the last 4 months I had to resort to rice, chicken and green vegetables with no improvements. Broccoli and lettuce, yes u heard that right, i was reacting to both of them and often an hour later I would have the most painful headache that will last the entire day until i wake up the next morning and well the cycle repeats. Being young this is extremely disheartening, limiting foods like hell and loosing 15kgs in 6 months. I didn't believe that it could be this bad and i tried literally everything to control this but to no avail. Like if there was any improvement during the last 20 months that would have been nice but reacting to everything and since eating is a necessity to live, I cannot take it any longer. I would have to starve in order to recover. Of course that is impossible. So yeah, 19 months ago I sworn that I would never take the medication ever in my life. And here I am... 

[BlueBird44]

I changed my mind. I will not be reinstating ever. I have accepted that this food sensitivity(and smell sensitivity) will be apart of my life. Something that I have to deal with and i will use all my efforts to minimize symptoms. 

[Elodie]

Hello Bluebird,

 

Can you work with thie problem? I think that i would stop. I can't concentrate

 

Elodie

[LostInCanada]

@BlueBird44 How have you been doing? Still issues with food? Have you tried to adhere to low histamine foods? Fluoxetine really messes with histamines for sure. Though I am on a different drug then you were, I have had some weird food issues with oatmeal, rice, whole grains, etc. 

The body will work it out. The only question is when. ♥️🙏👍