poohstix: Lexapro, possible kindling and attempt at taper

[poohstix]

1 hour ago, Patient2022 said:

I’d say just pick up from where you are at the moment, accepting the decision with kindness. We’re all just trying to do the best we can for ourselves. 
 

When starting out it is easy to dream of your ideal self and imagine how amazing life will be without the meds. However it’s a process rather than something we’ll notice with a day to day difference. i just carry on taking daily not thinking about it much until  I think oh let me check my notes to see how long I’ve been on this dose and then change accordingly. it’s been over a year since doing a slow taper and it’s passed quite quickly. The other time I’m forced to think about it is when I get a wave, usually a week before my period starts and I panic that I may be heading back in to depression..but it passes and I see it as a pattern so I reassure myself. 
 

im sure everyone forms their own strategy to get through it. The main thing is get to get started, listen to your body, go slow and be kind to yourself

Thank you for your kind words. My situation is a bit different because I had side effects on the med and then withdrawal on trying to stop it, and sometimes it’s not clear what is an adverse effect and what is withdrawal, and now the med is stuck in me like a fish hook: bad to be on it, bad to go off it too fast. Sorry for the gory mental imagery!

 

I have symptoms of some kind every day. They could be worse and I can still live my life with them for the most part. I know it’s no use to long for the pre medication symptom free self. But It’s hard. Maybe this is just where I am right now emotionally and it is something, too, that I need to accept.

 

 

[poohstix]

47 minutes ago, Altostrata said:

 

As explained to you before, the reason you reduced your dose was to reduce the intensity of the adverse effects. Yes, they are qualitatively different now, that's how this works.

 

Anyway, if you want to put up with them, it's your choice. Please do not tag me unless you want to taper.

I do want to taper when it’s time, in early April. I’ll post an update once I’ve done that. 
 

Thank you for answering my questions. 

[JF46]

Can somebody please help me understand the concept of ‘kindling’ to me? I’m assuming it’s the phenomenon of past pain resurfacing (kind of like the drug reminding you of the pain it was designed to solve). I was on day 6 yesterday of my most recent drop and sporadically dealt with old memories (as in 20 year old memories) of pain and struggle that do not have a basis today. So weird and frustrating!

[poohstix]

Just now, JF46 said:

Can somebody please help me understand the concept of ‘kindling’ to me? I’m assuming it’s the phenomenon of past pain resurfacing (kind of like the drug reminding you of the pain it was designed to solve). I was on day 6 yesterday of my most recent drop and sporadically dealt with old memories (as in 20 year old memories) of pain and struggle that do not have a basis today. So weird and frustrating!

I think kindling is when you resume the med at too high a dose after a drop, or after being off it for a while, both of which can sensitize your system to the drug. I’m not sure if what you experienced is kindling, maybe neuroemotion? But I’m no expert, so I can let others chime in.

[getofflex]

42 minutes ago, JF46 said:

an somebody please help me understand the concept of ‘kindling’ to me? I’m assuming it’s the phenomenon of past pain resurfacing (kind of like the drug reminding you of the pain it was designed to solve). I was on day 6 yesterday of my most recent drop and sporadically dealt with old memories (as in 20 year old memories) of pain and struggle that do not have a basis today. So weird and frustrating!

Please ask questions about your own situation in your own thread, and do not hijack other members threads. Thank you.

[JF46]

Sorry about that! Will do. I don't think the term 'hijack' is helpful though since the thread relates to kindling and I'm also tapering Lexapro. I thought this was appropriate given the community aspect of this site. 

[getofflex]

I apologize.  I was harsh in using that term.  

Edited March 27, 2023 by getofflex

[getofflex]

17 hours ago, JF46 said:

Can somebody please help me understand the concept of ‘kindling’ to me? I’m assuming it’s the phenomenon of past pain resurfacing (kind of like the drug reminding you of the pain it was designed to solve). I was on day 6 yesterday of my most recent drop and sporadically dealt with old memories (as in 20 year old memories) of pain and struggle that do not have a basis today. So weird and frustrating!

Kindling is when going on and off drugs causes our nervous system to become sensitized, and then when we go on another psych med in the future, we have an adverse reaction due to this sensitivity.  These links explain more: 

 

Hypersensitivity and Kindling

 

Post Withdrawal Nervous System Hypersensitivity and Kindling

[bambam]

27 minutes ago, getofflex said:

Kindling is when going on and off drugs causes our nervous system to become sensitized, and then when we go on another psych med in the future, we have an adverse reaction due to this sensitivity.  These links explain more: 

 

Hypersensitivity and Kindling

 

Post Withdrawal Nervous System Hypersensitivity and Kindling

Can kindling occur years later? Say you stopped a medication successfully then tried to restart the same medication years down the line?

[getofflex]

Possibly.  

[poohstix]

Update and another request for help. Thank you so much to everyone for bearing with me. I still have a lot to learn with this medication business.

 

I may have made a mistake and added yet another change on top of everything. I know this forum does not recommend adding medications to deal with withdrawal… but I did not see that until recently. And I know I made a lot of med changes in the recent past. I still struggle with not making med changes to try and deal with or anticipate problems.
 

I was still having trouble sleeping through the night, and sleep seemed to be getting worse. I was also getting concerned about the valerian not working as well as it once did, not being well studied in its effects and interactions, and did not want to increase my dose substantially, so I started on gabapentin 100 mg nightly with the aim of phasing valerian out. I thought I’d been on it some years ago, should be fine. I should have known better with what I now know of the sensitized nervous system! It seems I’m having some new adverse effects: more thirst and dry throat, nausea, hard time eating (my stomach and esophagus do not seem to want to accept food), tingling and cold paraesthesias at times. I guess this could be delayed lexapro withdrawal but timing wise it seems more likely to be the gabapentin. The gabapentin did seem to help sleep at least a little: I did sleep through the night at least one night, and it does make me drowsy. But for the first time in a really long time I’ve had some alerting symptoms in the middle of the night last night.
 

I am now conflicted on what to do with the gabapentin. Overall, I don’t think the benefits are worth it. Since I’ve read it can also be a really tough one to get off of, I don’t really want to continue it for much longer and give my system a chance to become dependent on it. Given the many recent changes and my sensitized nervous system, I don’t want to simply CT, and in fact further changes of any kind could cause more destabilization. However, with the short course so far on gabapentin, the 10% reduction every month that is typically recommended for getting off more long term meds may be too long. What would be a good intermediate solution?

 

 

For reference, last few days symptom logs:

3/29:

11:30pm: bedtime. Gabapentin 100, valerian 1/8 capsule (500mg). Slept through night until 10 am

 

3/30

10am: initially nausea and urge to have bowel movement then passed and turned into hunger. Cold in forearms. Then warm in thighs and forearms which are areas I worked out a few days ago. Mild sweat. Mild PGAD. hint of neuroemotion by late AM. Tired in AM.

lexapro 4.5. Hungry so had piece of bread.

12:30: protein shake. stomach mildly unhappy, mild PGAD and feel a bit off and tingle in arms. Tight in hands and back of mouth  

1-2pm: drive: mild PGAD, tingle down arms at times, more significant nausea, mild neuroemotion 

2pm: brief prickle across top of chest

2:30: feel good, a bit tired. Nausea improved. Not nausea now but just throat tightness making gut reluctant to accept food but not water. Cold backs of hands and wrists 

3pm: a bit chilled akin to fluishness, a tingle in feet 

3:10: tight across upper chest and back, mild PGAD with inner thigh tightness. Hungry again

4:15: eating. Feel generally a bit crummy. Hands cold. Temp 98.8. Upper throat a bit tight but ok. 

4:45: Some tightness in stomach, mild tingle in arms

5pm: better, mild PGAD. Cold and tired

5:15: another wave of upper stomach tightness and mild tingliness in hands. Had cup of peppermint tea

6pm: neuroemotion sad/anxious, tired, a bit warm, a bit anxious and inner arm, inner thigh, face tingling

6:15: mild cold symptoms, warm, tired. Just right hand tingly 

6:30: ice cream, followed by lower rib discomfort 

7pm: mild cold and back of mouth tightness, feeling a bit ick but no fever. Mild PGAD. Mild front of chest pain. Feeling happier and more talkative 

7:20: twinge in backs of hands and back of tongue, feet. Ate bell peppers. A bit of tightness in throat, mostly ok

7:30: less tired 

8pm: mild cold symptoms, more tired again, extremities feel a bit shaken up  

8:30-50: bread, apple eaten, gut symptoms there but lower grade. Left hand more warm. Still cold symptoms and some tiredness 

10pm: massage, still some gut symptoms worse with lying down 

11:45: stool, not loose then more loose. Sore throat feeling. Gabapentin 100 and valerian 1/8 capsule

12midnight: bedtime

1-3 am: awake, yawning but oddly alert for a while. Mild nausea. Sweats/warm feeling. Tingling inner thighs and neuropathic cold on hands, mild feeling of wanting to shake my hands out 

3-7am: slept 

 

*Of note: on 3/30, had thirst / dry mouth, and urinating a lot. Somewhat better by next day

 

3/31

8-10am: Mild PGAD, mild nausea, mild thirst, anxious, some sweats, mild feeling of wanting to shake hands out 

10: lexapro 4.5 (with bread)

10-1pm: dozed but not really. Nausea better. Warm paraesthesias in left hand more than right 

2pm: mild twinge in chest. Warm paraesthesias in left hand continue. Mild PGAD. Thirsty again. Brief prickle across top of chest and upper arms 

3pm: protein shake. No nausea, just stomach not wanting to accept food. Sad, a little fluish with warm skin

4pm: feel ok. Stool: large and not loose! Dry throat, drinking water

5:30: mild cold symptoms. Eating again. Have to stop occasionally due to gut tnot accepting food

6pm: a bit of tingling in face and arms, inner thighs, mild neuroemotion. Had more food. Feel ok but quick to feel full

6-9pm: eating. Mostly good. No symptoms

9pm: some dry throat again 

10pm: gabapentin 100, valerian 1/8

10-11pm: massage. mild gut spasm, mild tingle in left hand, mild thigh and belly tingle, mild brow sweat, yawning but oddly less tired than I expect to be  

bedtome: 11pm

11-12: slept with soft music. Woke when recording ended 

12-3am: nausea, palpitations, muscle tension, sweats, neuroemotion that snap me out of sleep 

7am: woke up. Cold paraesthesias in arms 

7-9am: dozed but not very successfully

[poohstix]

I will try to do more soft music listening at night. I love listening to soft music and found a playlist that I like. Now to figure out a way to put it on loop.
 

Also this is obviously not something I can do soon due to my many other changes, but I wonder if changing the time I take lexapro is going to help. with my impending return to work I’ve been shifting the lexapro earlier. I used to take my lexapro at 1 pm and be at 5 mg and wake up 4-6 am and now I take 4.5 mg at 10 am and wake up 12-3 am. I wonder if there is something going on with the timing of lexapro levels dropping that causes alerting at night. But the gabapentin question is more pressing.

[poohstix]

Of note, I did resume gabapentin in discussion with my psychiatrist.

[poohstix]

I do believe resuming gabapentin was not a good choice, and reflects how an urgency to solve problems by *doing something* creates more problems. I am learning this lesson but it’s hard going. I want to go off vs reduce gabapentin safely and use non medication means to manage insomnia, which is up there among my most troublesome symptoms.
 

With gabapentin I suspect I may be having interdose withdrawal, with midday itch and fluishness, since half life is only 5-7 hours. I’ll have to keep assessing if it’s causing a paradoxical reaction with middle of the night alerting.

 

I read that another member on this site has stabilized by dosing gabapentin three times daily so I am considering going the route of 30/30/30 (total dose 90, or 10% less of what I take), or 20/20/50 to avoid excessive daytime sedation.

 

Lexapro taper will be on hold for now. I appreciate everyone’s help on this website. Let me know your thoughts.

[getofflex]

20 hours ago, poohstix said:

so I started on gabapentin 100 mg nightly with the aim of phasing valerian out.

We need to know when you started the gabapentin, and how long you've been on it.  Did you use it nightly, or only off and on?  Please this info to your signature.  If you have been on gabapentin for less than 4 weeks, you can just stop it cold turkey.  

 

Please don't shift the timing of your Lexapro at this time.  It is very important to make only one drug change at a time.  If it were me, I would stop the gabapentin before becoming dependent upon it. 

 

17 hours ago, poohstix said:

Of note, I did resume gabapentin in discussion with my psychiatrist

I must tell you that in the vast majority of cases, psychiatrists are going to give you advice that conflicts with the goals of SA.  SA is a site for coming off drugs, and psychiatrists primary MO is to put people on drugs.  

 

Is your goal for being on SA to come off psych drugs?  

Edited April 2, 2023 by getofflex

[Shep]

19 hours ago, poohstix said:

I was still having trouble sleeping through the night, and sleep seemed to be getting worse. I was also getting concerned about the valerian not working as well as it once did, not being well studied in its effects and interactions, and did not want to increase my dose substantially, so I started on gabapentin 100 mg nightly with the aim of phasing valerian out.

 

14 hours ago, poohstix said:

With gabapentin I suspect I may be having interdose withdrawal, with midday itch and fluishness, since half life is only 5-7 hours. I’ll have to keep assessing if it’s causing a paradoxical reaction with middle of the night alerting.

 

Some of your problems may be drug interactions. Adding in gabapentin is only adding to that problem. See:

 

Drug Interaction Checker - gabapentin, valerian, lexapro

 

As @getofflex noted, if you've been on gabapentin for less than a month, you may want to get off it now. You can do a very rapid taper before dependency sets in. 

 

Also, in your signature, you have "valerian 75-150mg." Some of your symptoms may also be from using differing amounts of valerian, causing fluctuating levels of this supplement in your bloodstream. This may be causing problems. It's best to take the same amount every day. 

 

 

[getofflex]

14 hours ago, poohstix said:

I do believe resuming gabapentin was not a good choice, and reflects how an urgency to solve problems by *doing something* creates more problems.

Excellent insight.  I agree.  We just need to get out of the way and allow our nervous system to heal itself with the help of natural self care. 

[Altostrata]

Did you just start gabapentin? If it's been less than a week or so, you can simply stop taking it.

 

If you want to keep taking it, please discuss any adverse effects, including interdose withdrawal, with your prescriber. We don't provide free volunteer follow-up for this type of thing.

[poohstix]

Admittedly, adding gabapentin to my equation seems like a mistake. My overall goal is to have zero psych meds in my life. But, as my sleep quality has/had declined, my fear of insomnia has/had risen correspondingly. Feeling like I was between a rock and hard place, low-dose gabapentin (a med I’ve been on before without issue) felt like the least terrifying choice. In retrospect, though, I regret the complications I’ve invited. I am lucky, thought that my psychiatrist is very supportive of me tapering off my meds in a slow, controlled way. They also seem open to many of the ideas I’ve found here on SA — 10% taper, liquid formulations, etc. 

 

I’m hoping to move through my journey with the support of both SA and my psychiatrist.

 

I’ve updated my signature to specify my gabapentin start date. I would like to taper off that med in the near future. My plan for the immediate term is to have a low dose (preferably 90mg or lower) and spread it out over the day; the half-life of gabapentin is 8 hours, and if I take a full dose once a day, I think I can feel its absence after 6-8 hours, and have itch, thirst, nausea, and so on. Hopefully, smaller doses being spread out a bit will help the body not feel pulled about so much. I would then like to taper off.

 

I’m encouraged that people are saying it won’t be too bad to stop after a short time on gabapentin, but I’ll admit that it’s scary to abruptly stop something, even still. Although I haven’t had the WORST of luck in this process, I’m still anxious of any new door for Murphy’s Law to come crashing through.

 

I found this user’s story of being on gabapentin for less than a month, having an adverse reaction, tapering off fast and having fairly bad withdrawal and some other severe problems that did not resolve that we know of. He had also previously been weaning off mirtazapine. So this would be another reason to taper, since my system is already sensitized by lexapro withdrawal.

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/21899-mike1972-tapering-mirtazapine-and-gabapentin/

[Onmyway]

@poohstix

you seem to know what you are doing so I don't know what you expect from us. All the issues and dilemmas you have you can discuss with your psychiatrist if you get on well with him/her. Both you and your psychiatrist can use the information collected here but we don't want to be doing the emotional labor of hand holding through the choices you make that we have advised against. 

[poohstix]

55 minutes ago, Onmyway said:

@poohstix

you seem to know what you are doing so I don't know what you expect from us. All the issues and dilemmas you have you can discuss with your psychiatrist if you get on well with him/her. Both you and your psychiatrist can use the information collected here but we don't want to be doing the emotional labor of hand holding through the choices you make that we have advised against. 

I understand. I appreciate the sense of community on this site, which is why I come here. This process of

coming off meds is scary, because every time I learn something here there are still many nuances and caveats that are not immediately obvious.

 

Right now all I’m looking for is how best to taper off gabapentin quickly but not CT due to the short time I had been on it, based on the experience of this site with respect to short tapers. Also as I do future updates if someone sees an issue that could be caused by the gabapentin taper, I’d like them to be able to point it out.
 

In general, I also appreciate having other sets of eyes in reviewing symptom logs to see what might be causing/worsening them.

[poohstix]

Update: 

Things have stabilized a lot for me and overall my symptoms are not so bad when they happen. I have been doing a brass monkey slide since early April. I rate my symptoms daily from 1 to 5, with 1 being barely there and 5 being unbearable, I am usually at a 1 or 2. I also have windows where I have no symptoms at all, which is great. I’m back at work. Hopefully things will continue to be manageable like this. I am grateful to this site for showing me the right way to do things.

[Onmyway]

18 minutes ago, poohstix said:

Update: 

Things have stabilized a lot for me and overall my symptoms are not so bad when they happen. I have been doing a brass monkey slide since early April. I rate my symptoms daily from 1 to 5, with 1 being barely there and 5 being unbearable, I am usually at a 1 or 2. I also have windows where I have no symptoms at all, which is great. I’m back at work. Hopefully things will continue to be manageable like this. I am grateful to this site for showing me the right way to do things.

What wonderful news @poohstix, thanks for updating us! May you have lots more windows

OMW

[poohstix]

I've noticed something curious/weird. 

 

 

My waves tend to correlate with my menstrual cycle. I am more likely to get symptoms during the early to middle part of it, when ovulation is happening. On the other hand, when PMS is supposed to happen, the 1-2 weeks prior to my period, I am the most symptom-free. 

 

It's not a perfect correlation time-wise, but it is there. The symptoms do change a bit from wave to wave. For instance, the last two waves were mostly chest tightness and nausea and headache, while the most recent wave I've had a return to symptoms such as warm skin and excessive sexual arousal.

 

 

This never happened prior to my lexapro withdrawal. But now I wonder if the lexapro withdrawal is the whole story. Maybe something's not right with my hormones, though I know SSRIs can influence hormones also.

 

I'm not even sure what doctor to talk to, and I am not too optimistic about what they'll say. The cure for all ills with hormones seems to be oral contraceptives.

 

Not sure what to do - perhaps hold for a month to see if this is still happening? 

 

 

[Shep]

@poohstix If you haven't already done so, it may help to read what other members have written about navigating tapering and withdrawal around their cycle. 

 

PMS, PMDD, and menstrual cycle issues during withdrawal and after

 

 

[poohstix]

I have an update and a question.

I have been on lexapro 3 mg daily for the last 10 days as part of the Brass Monkey slide. I had been doing fairly well. Most days for 2 months, I had been having almost no symptoms and sleep was for the most part consistent through the night.

 

Yesterday, I accidentally *may have* taken a double dose of lexapro. This is unusual for me, but I could not recall if I took my morning dose, so I took the medication 2 hours later. As such, I either took my usual dose 2 hours late or took my dose twice for a total of 6 mg. That day I felt a little more symptoms than the prior days and last night sleep was worse (6 am awakening, could not get back to sleep). This may be for to a double dose, or maybe I have been due for a wave anyway. I’m not sure.
 

I am of course now going to implement more safeguards to ensure I don’t accidentally take a double dose in the future. Besides that, is there anything I can do at this point? What else can I expect, if I did in fact take a double dose one day?

[poohstix]

Here is my symptom log from the last several days:

 

10/26

9-10am: breath a bit off, warm skin 

10am: lexapro 3.0

4-5pm: mild chest heaviness 

7 pm: mild chest heaviness 

 

10/27

10am: take lexapro 3.0

7pm: mild tingling, may be from cold walk outside, mild PGAD, warm behind ears, mild chest tightness 

9pm: throat tightness 

 

10/28

10 am: take lexapro 3.0

4pm: warm skin behind ears

 

10/29

11:30am: warm skin, mild PGAD

12pm: a bit of chest tightness. take lexapro (accidentally double dose?)

1:30pm: feel a bit of warm skin, muscles tense, chest tightness, mild PGAD 

2:20pm: feel ok

3pm: mild PGAD 

3:30pm: suddenly anxious: mild shortness of breath, mild nausea, mild sweat and elevated heart-rate on my watch 

4pm: very mild PGAD, restless, warm behind ears and warm hands, mild itch 

5pm: mild headache 

5-6pm: mild tension in limbs and a tiny bit of restlessness 

7pm: mild itch 

7:30pm: mild itch 

9pm: mild warm behind ears

10pm: warm skin face and arms 

 

10/30

6am: wake up, warm skin, mild nausea

7am: sweat 

8am: sleep again

10am: wake up, take lexapro 3.0

11:15: mild headache, warm skin

12pm: warm skin in thighs 

[poohstix]

I did a bit of searching on this site, and it looks like the consensus is that a single extra dose may destabilize things for days to weeks, but does not generally cause long term problems. Let's hope that's the case with me too!

[getofflex]

5 hours ago, poohstix said:

I am of course now going to implement more safeguards to ensure I don’t accidentally take a double dose in the future. Besides that, is there anything I can do at this point? What else can I expect, if I did in fact take a double dose one day?

I don't think there is anything else that you can do.  I think you are doing a good job by putting additional safeguards in place, to prevent this.  

 

Could you please put your tapering history in your signature from April 5 to present?  This will help staff a lot.  We help a lot of people here, and we can't remember everyone's history.  Thank you!  

 

 

[poohstix]

On 10/30/2023 at 5:01 PM, getofflex said:

I don't think there is anything else that you can do.  I think you are doing a good job by putting additional safeguards in place, to prevent this.  

 

Could you please put your tapering history in your signature from April 5 to present?  This will help staff a lot.  We help a lot of people here, and we can't remember everyone's history.  Thank you!  

 

 

I updated my signature to include my microtaper off lexapro. 

 

As an update, I had a couple of brief, several-day waves, one 3 weeks ago and one just ending right now. I am not sure if this was due to my possible accidental extra dose of lexapro on 10/29 or another reason.

 

I am currently debating whether to get the newest COVID-19 vaccine, since there are more cases where I am, and there is a new COVID variant. I am not sure what would be worse for my nervous system - any side effects the vaccine might give me, or getting COVID itself. I do take extra precautions (for instance, I don't plan to travel at all and I wear a mask outside the home or when I'm with people who aren't part of my household) but there are unfortunately no guarantees.

 

I found the COVID-19 thread on this forum but unfortunately I'm still confused, and there seems to be no firm consensus on this issue.

 

I am grateful that my symptoms are relatively mild even during waves, and I can live a mostly normal life, but I would not want things to get worse. In fact, on an unrelated note, I've noticed that I'm decreasing my doses more rarely now. I started out doing a microtaper akin to a Brass Monkey slide but then, whenever I am more symptomatic than I would like, or when I am having a wave, I would just hold. Basically, when in doubt, hold. I wonder if this is overkill, but again, I would really like to not have to be where I was in early 2023.

[Rudbeckie17]

@poohstix 

 

Hi! can I ask if you still have a pgad? I took Zoloft in August for only 1 week and 5 days and I felt sensations similar to PGAD but without pain. I also have muscle spasms in my pelvis at times. Now it's been 4 months and I still have these symptoms but much less worse. My symptoms were strong the first month, after which they gradually went down. I only have them before, during, and a little after my ovulation and when I'm thinking about it too much or I'm anxious.

[poohstix]

1 minute ago, Rudbeckie17 said:

@poohstix 

 

Hi! can I ask if you still have a pgad? I took Zoloft in August for only 1 week and 5 days and I felt sensations similar to PGAD but without pain. I also have muscle spasms in my pelvis at times. Now it's been 4 months and I still have these symptoms but much less worse. My symptoms were strong the first month, after which they gradually went down. I only have them before, during, and a little after my ovulation and when I'm thinking about it too much or I'm anxious.

I get it in a very mild form from and briefly from time to time. It's one of the many symptoms that my body likes to pull out of a hat when it's in a wave.

 

When it comes I would not say it's truly PGAD, but more like a pain or tension in my genital area. It's weird, but for me some of the side effects of lexapro and withdrawal symptoms were similar, and PGAD has been associated with both. It looks like that might have also been the case for you and zoloft.

[Rudbeckie17]

@poohstix how long have you had this? 4 months seems like an eternity to me! I'd like to fast forward but from the stories I've read here, it's time that makes things right! It’s an intrusive symptom, disturbing when it happens! I also get random urinary infection sensations, have you had that too?

[poohstix]

Just now, Rudbeckie17 said:

@poohstix how long have you had this? 4 months seems like an eternity to me! I'd like to fast forward but from the stories I've read here, it's time that makes things right! It’s an intrusive symptom, disturbing when it happens! I also get random urinary infection sensations, have you had that too?

Well, I've been on this journey since January of 2023. I resumed lexapro after being off of it for several months, and that's when everything went off the rails.

 

I know it seems like a long time, but it really does get better. My symptoms now, whether PGAD or anything else, are far and away not as bad as they were in January. They're even better today than they were over the summer. There's definitely hope. I don't have urinary infection sensations, but considering all the nerves in the pelvic area may be connected, it is not surprising.

[Rudbeckie17]

@poohstix THANKS! It reassures me! I'll try to be patient then. Are your wave moments shorter over time? Surely you have more windows too? I try to record my variations on a calendar to track my improvements. Thanks again! Take care of you! 🌼💖

[poohstix]

Just now, Rudbeckie17 said:

@poohstix THANKS! It reassures me! I'll try to be patient then. Are your wave moments shorter over time? Surely you have more windows too? I try to record my variations on a calendar to track my improvements. Thanks again! Take care of you! 🌼💖

Yes, waves are shorter, symptoms overall are milder, and I do have windows that last days or even weeks. So that's great! I hope things keep stabilizing for you as well.