Simma intro

[simma]

Hey everyone, just wanted to introduce myself. I was on lexapro for a relatively short time, and recently got off about 2 and a half months ago as of making this post. I decided to come off due to sexual side effects, as well as realizing that I don't care about a lot of things the way I used to. I had the usual withdrawal symptoms at first of brain zaps, light sensitivity headaches, mood swings, crying episodes. I stabilized off of those symptoms by end of December. Around January 20 I noticed that I began getting some other Post Acute Withdrawl Symptoms (please correct me if this is the wrong term to use here). I noticed I wasn't laughing as hard, or feeling as much as I used to. I also noticed sexual dysfunction that I had never had a problem with before. I have OCD regarding health and bodily function and I fixated hard on these changes I was feeling and spiraled. I've had insomnia since Jan 20 (nightmares, waking in the middle of the night, waking up tired, waking up sweaty). There has been some improvement in the past week but overall still pretty bad sleep. 

 

Finding this site has brought me some relief, validating what I am going through. Looking forward to healing, no matter how long it takes (even though I'm impatient and I want to heal asap lol).

[getofflex]

Hello, and welcome to SA.  We are a volunteer-run community of people who have been or are getting off of psychiatric drugs.  It is common for symptoms to go away, but then have new symptoms appear.  The nervous system is extremely complex, which is why it happens like this.  The good news is, eventually your sleep will get better, given time, and proper self care, and not jumping back on psych drugs.  Insomnia was my worst symptom, and my sleep is much better now. 

 

 

Here is some important information about how these drugs actually work.  This explains why we get symptoms from going off of these medications.

 

How Psychiatric Drugs Remodel Your Brain

 

 

This helps you understand what withdrawal syndrome is: 

 

Video on Recovery from Psych Drugs

 

Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

 

 

Here is a link with checklists of common WD symptoms: 

 

Dr Joseph Glenmullen Withdrawal Symptom Checklists

 

 

Here are some techniques to cope with symptoms: 

 

Non Drug Ways to Cope with Withdrawal Symptoms

 

Stability is really important when we are tapering off psych meds.  Please read the link about stability:

 

Keep It Simple, Slow, and Stable

 

 

We don't suggest many supplements, but 2 that many of us find helpful are magnesium and omega-3 fish oil. Here are the links for info about those. It is suggested to add one at a time, and start with a low dose to see how it affects you. 

Magnesium

Omega 3 Fish Oil

 

Here are some non drug ways to help with insomnia:  

 

Tips to Help Sleep

 

Are You Taking Something That Causes Insomnia?

 

Here are things I did to help my body relearn how to sleep without drugs: 

 

1) don't get overly anxious about it.  Realize that eventually, your sleep will improve.  Insomnia won't kill you, although it can make you pretty miserable.  Anxiety about sleep just makes the problem worse.  I know, easier said than done. I don't always do this, but I try.  Practice acceptance.

 

2)listen to very soft relaxing music at a very low volume.  

 

3)don't worry about what time it is.  Don't look at the clock.  

 

4) I try to stay active during the first half of the day.  I take a walk (mine is one hour) after breakfast every day.  Then, as the day goes on, gradually slow down.  Several hours before bed, I only do very relaxing things, like read, or just sit and relax.  This helps to set our circadian rhythm.  Try to get outside and get some light exposure during the day, too. 

 

5) Avoid toxic, negative people.  Avoid stress when possible, although I know a lot of stressors are unavoidable.   For me, this can really help me to relax better.  

 

6) I stay away from MSG and aspartame.  These are exitotoxins which overstimulate the nervous system.  They are in a lot of our modern processed foods.  I try to eat more whole and natural, and not as many processed foods.  Also avoid processed meats with sodium nitrate, etc , such as hotdogs, ham, bacon, and sausage.  These can keep you up at night too.

 

7) avoid eating large amounts of sugar and processed carbohydrates.  This causes your blood glucose to spike up, which causes your pancreas to create insulin to control your blood sugar, which then causes your blood sugar to drop too low, and then your to create adrenaline to try to regulate your blood sugar.  Adrenaline keeps you awake because it is an activating hormone.

 

9) too much sodium (salt) can cause your blood pressure and heart rate to rise, and make it hard to sleep.

 

Edited February 17, 2023 by getofflex

[simma]

Thanks a ton getofflex. This past week I've practiced better sleep hygeine like no screens 2 hours before bed, blackout curtains, sleeping mask, chamomile tea before bed and I've had some good success with improvements. I still wake up every night, but I'm not waking up sweaty anymore. Dreams/nightmares are less vivid. 

 

I still wake up with palpitations but I am able to fall back asleep quicker now. Hoping to see continued progress here. Although I do have some trips coming up where I won't be able to have as great of sleep so I'm hoping it won't set me back.

 

I've also got muscle twitching which occurs pretty often. often in my legs or arms, today however its been happening in the same spot of my face for some reason. 

 

I think the biggest thing for me now is the sexual side effects, hoping to see some improvement there. I'm sure theres a part of it thats psychosomatic but I know there's also a definite difference which is occurring here. 

 

My blood pressure also rose about 20-30 points on the bottom number since getting off meds. I've had to start taking blood pressure medication for that, amlodipine. I saw a psychiatrist about all the symptoms I'm going through and he says that it seems like my body is super sensitive to medication since I've always been on a low dose. And that now getting off of it I'm still reacting strongly. 

 

I also seem to be strangely less affected by alcohol now. I used to get a good buzz off 1-2 drinks. Recently when I drink I barely feel it. On christmas and new years I had a lot, like 6+ drinks but barely felt it. If anything I was tired but didn't feel buzzed or dizzy. Anyone else feel something similar? 

[getofflex]

What you are describing sounds like remnants of withdrawal to me.  It can take a very long time for all the symptoms to resolve.  I'm 7 months off Lexapro after tapering very slowly and carefully the  last 2 years of the taper, and I'm still experiencing waves of symptoms at times.  These drugs are extremely powerful, and make profound changes to our nervous systems, and it takes a very long time to fully recover.  

 

Search the site to learn more about your symptoms, if you wish.  This link explains how.

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/25981-how-to-do-a-site-search-on-surviving-antidepressants/#comment-561534

 

Edited February 19, 2023 by getofflex

[simma]

Updating so I can document my progress;

 

I was able to have 2 nights of uninterrupted sleep! The past few days have been back to waking and insomnia, but those 2 nights gave me hope. I guess these are the windows and waves. I’ve also seen some improvement with sexual dysfunction as well as anhedonia. Right now I think I’m in a wave so symptoms are back a little, but I am seeing gradual improvement. 
 

My bp is also back to normal (although I have been put on bp meds, but before my bp would not change even with the meds so that is encouraging as well)

[simma]

Update: Feeling about 70% recovered all things considered.

 

Insomnia: I sleep all the way through the night at least once every couple of days. Way better compared to before, waking up multiple times in the night with palpitations, panic, and sweating. Still have intense dreams every night but the intensity and frequency are going down. There have been a couple of nights where I slept without dreams for the first time in weeks.

 

Sexual dysfunction: Also feeling about 70% better, won't get into details as I know it can be triggering for some.

 

Numbness/Anhedonia: In the 50-70% range. There are times when I can feel joy again, laughing a little more, a little more deep feelings.

 

Body Twitches: Probably 80-90% gone. It used to happen constantly, happens sometimes now, but much less frequent.

 

When I was at my lowest I felt like an 8/10 on the anxiety scale. I felt I was on the verge of panic at all times. The thing that really brought me back, and brought my anxiety down was journaling. Writing everything I feel, everything I'm scared of, not looking for an answer, just getting it out of my head. This helped especially with my OCD and rumination. When the PAWS got really bad I was ruminating all the time throughout the day. Journaling for the first time severely reduced the rumination and anxiety. I also made sure to write my anxiety on a scale of 1-10 every day, so that when my days are bad I can look back at see my progress and how I've slowly been improving.

 

I feel that I am trending upwards and that gives me hope. I know that relative to others I have only been going through this for a short amount of time (~3 months so far), but even then this is the hardest 3 months of my life. I feel for anyone who is going through this. One of the worst parts is that the medication really did help me at first, it just sucks that the negatives outweigh the positive so much. I feel traumatized by my experience going through this, and feel that I've lost a lot of confidence from this whole ordeal. I am slowly coming back to normal, and even though these past 3 months have been hard I feel that at the end of this I will come out stronger.