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Kristyb1130: Introducing


Kristyb1130

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Hi everyone I am trying to navigate through this new group. I am not doing well. Lol 

I am 53 .  Was in great health before taking an antidepressant. I  have been struggling since 09/2020.

I have been searching for help. I have a list of issues since I Went off all antidepressants. I am wondering if anyone has had issues with no reflexes ?

 Such as gag, cough, or blink?  Or not being able to feel pain? 

Use to take Xanax half .25 for stress And anxiety as needed 

In 2020 started  Lexapro  .10 mg for 3 days.  Hospital gave me Attivan .50 mg 

Then relapsed they gave me Zoloft .50mg for one day passed out  3 days later given Celexa  had crazy side effects back to hospital put me on Mertazipine 

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Welcome to SA, Kristyb1130.

 

Could you revise your signature into a list format to add dates and doses for the Lexapro, Ativan, Zoloft, Celexa and Mirtazapine?  Here's a sample format for you with questions for you to answer:

 

Xanax, dates and how often you took it

Lexapro 10mg, month in 2020? Only 3 days?

Zoloft, 50mg, date?  Only one day?

Celexa, dose? dates?  How long on Celexa? Did you taper of stop abruptly?

Mirtazapine dose? dates? Are you still on it?

What psychiatric drugs, if any, are you currently taking?  Date started and doses?

 

Here's the link for you to revise your signature:

 

Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature.

 

Once you've completed this signature, we'll be better able to offer suggestions.

 

Question, please: when did the symptoms you describe begin?  Who you say you're not able to feel pain, could you explain?  Are you talking about physical pain or not being able to feel emotions?

 

We don't recommend a lot of supplements on SA, as many members report being sensitive to them due to our over-reactive nervous systems, but two supplements that we do recommend are magnesium (glycinate is a good form) and omega 3 (fish oil). Many people find these to be calming to the nervous system. 

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker 

 

Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) 

 

Add in one at a time and at a low dose in case you do experience problems.

 

This is your introduction topic -- the place for you to ask questions, record symptoms, share your progress, and connect with other members of the SA community.   I hope you’ll find the information in the SA forums helpful for your situation.  I'm sorry that you are in the position that you need the information, but I am glad that you found us.

 

 

 

 

Gridley Introduction

 

Lexapro 20 mg since 2004.  Begin Brassmonkey Slide Taper Jan. 2017.   

End 2017 year 1 of taper at 9.25mg 

End 2018 year 2 of taper at 4.1mg

End 2019 year 3 of taper at 1.0mg  

Oct. 30, 2020  Jump to zero from 0.025mg.  Current dose: 0.000mg

3 year, 10 month taper is 100% complete.

 

Ativan 1 mg to 1.875mg 1986-2020, two CT's and reinstatements

Nov. 2020, 7-week Ativan-Valium crossover to 18.75mg Valium

Feb. 2021, begin 10%/4 week taper of 18.75mg Valium 

End 2021  year 1 of Valium taper at 6mg

End 2022 year 2 of Valium taper at 2.75mg 

End 2023 year 3 of Valium taper at 1mg

Jan. 24, 2024: Hold at 1mg and shift to Imipramine taper.

Taper is 95% complete.

 

Imipramine 75 mg daily since 1986.  Jan.-Sept. 2016 tapered to 14.4mg  

March 22, 2022: Begin 10%/4 week taper

Aug. 5, 2022: hold at 9.5mg and shift to Valium taper

Jan. 24, 2024: Resume Imipramine taper.  Current dose as of Oct 15: 3.2mg

Taper is 96% complete.  

  

Supplements: multiple, quercetin, omega-3, vitamins C, E and D3, magnesium glycinate, probiotic, zinc, melatonin .3mg, iron, serrapeptase, nattokinase, L-Glutamine, milk thistle, choline


I am not a medical professional and this is not medical advice. It is information based on my own experience as well as that of other members who have survived these drugs.

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Hey all, 

Looking to meet anyone who may have lost pain receptors or emotions.

I have lost my gag/ cough reflex.  Which makes eating scary.   Anybody else have these issues?  Did anybody recover from them?  Just asking :( 

Use to take Xanax half .25 for stress And anxiety as needed 

In 2020 started  Lexapro  .10 mg for 3 days.  Hospital gave me Attivan .50 mg 

Then relapsed they gave me Zoloft .50mg for one day passed out  3 days later given Celexa  had crazy side effects back to hospital put me on Mertazipine 

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  • manymoretodays changed the title to Kristyb1130: Introducing

I am suffering from a problem that happened I believe from an antidepressant.  I never liked taking any medications.  But I suffered from anxiety and panic attacks when I was under stress.

I was in family court for 11 years.  I would take a half a .25 mg of Xanax only when I would go to court.

In 2020 I lost my job,  I was having financial problems and was extremely stressed out.  I took .25 mg of Xanax 2 times a day.

My regular doctor said take Lexapro instead it’s less additive. I gave in and took it.  I Had a very weird reaction.  I  Was more anxious and out of it .  My friend took me to the hospital where they admitted me. 

They stopped the Lexapro and gave me attivan.  Said it was like Xanax 

I took that for the 5 days, I was in the hospital and then after getting released I stopped everything.

I relapsed and ended up back in the hospital.  This time I was given Zoloft  I actually passed out for the entire day.  The doctors said it must have been too strong so they waited about 2 days and started me on  Citalopram.  I was on that for about 5 days and was having horrible headaches, body shakes And  insomnia.

I stupidly stopped all  medications  when I got home. 

I had almost a buzzing and zap in my head and then the headache stopped.

But I came to realize that I suffered from some kind of damage to my nerves/ brain.

*My emotions are gone.  I can not cry or laugh.  

*I can no longer feel any kind of pain of any kind.  You can burn myself and not feel it.  My dog scratched my leg and I felt nothing. 

*no gag/ cough reflex,  

*no blink reflex,  

*no hunger or thirst.  *

*I can’t feel hot or cold.  

*My heart rate jumps around and so does my blood pressure. 

 

I can still think and communicate, I am writing this message. But my memory is horrible.

I am 52 years old.  Up until Sept 8 2020,  I was a healthy lady who got anxiety and stress  from time to time. 

I am pretty sure the starting and stopping of the antidepressants caused this.

Edited by Shep
reduced font size

Use to take Xanax half .25 for stress And anxiety as needed 

In 2020 started  Lexapro  .10 mg for 3 days.  Hospital gave me Attivan .50 mg 

Then relapsed they gave me Zoloft .50mg for one day passed out  3 days later given Celexa  had crazy side effects back to hospital put me on Mertazipine 

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  • Moderator Emeritus
1 hour ago, Kristyb1130 said:

I stupidly stopped all  medications  when I got home. 

 

Please note I merged the above post from another thread. Please continue to ask questions here in your intro/update thread.

 

Did you just stop the antidepressant or did you also stop the Ativan? 

Are you currently taking any psychiatric drugs? 

 

 

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I have stopped all medications.  But I have the issues from stopping. 

Use to take Xanax half .25 for stress And anxiety as needed 

In 2020 started  Lexapro  .10 mg for 3 days.  Hospital gave me Attivan .50 mg 

Then relapsed they gave me Zoloft .50mg for one day passed out  3 days later given Celexa  had crazy side effects back to hospital put me on Mertazipine 

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  • Moderator Emeritus

It's possible you might benefit from a reinstatement of one or more of these drugs, but from your current signature, it's hard to tell when you started and stopped each of your drugs. We would need this information in order to give you more advice.

 

Here is the thread on setting up a signature, which shows you what we need: 

 

How to Summarize Your Drug History in Your Signature

 

Here is a direct link to your signature:

 

Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature

 

Please list the names of the drugs, the doses, and the dates that you started and the dates you stopped each of your drugs. 

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi all,
Please take a moment to read my long post. First, I would like to say I am so sad to read some of the heartbreaking stories on here.  My prayers and thoughts go out to everyone and their families going through the pain.🤗🙏

I need to just share my story to some people who never heard it or maybe just add some details. 
To some who have.
In 9/2020,  I took an  antidepressant for anxiety prescribed by  regular doc.  Many people take these meds everyday. And it causes no harm 
I had a adverse reaction.
I will say it wasn’t just one medication it was several because my family took me to the hospital because of how the medication made me act.  The hospitals answer is to try different meds.  now  I have major nerve and autonomic disfunction.
I compare my situation to a blind person who has no cane or seeing eye dog.  The chances of crashing into a wall or down the stairs is very high.
Let me explain.  My body is not working the  way it’s supposed to.   I have no emotions. I can not feel small nerve pain, I have no hunger or thirst, I have no gag/ cough reflex.  I do not sweat when I’m hot and I have no blink reflex.  I can not feel pain from a heart attack I can not feel the temperature of water in a shower.  I can not feel the heat of a stove.
On January 7 l, I was in a horrible accident,  I did feel the pain of the broken pelvis. But it was very brief and not typical at all.
The doctors and nurses all said I should be in much more pain according to my X-rays
I know that many of you in this group are in horrible pain and again my heart goes out to you. 
But the complete opposite and feeling nothing is so dangerous. 
I joined this group because my illness is chronic.  My symptoms and malfunctioning system is never going to repair itself.
I am not on any meds at the moment except Bayer aspirin to thin the blood from clottting since I am in bed from the accident.
My situation is very weird and very scary.  The orthopedic surgeon did a test on me and  confirmed that I can not feel pain.  He explained to me how dangerous this is .
So I know I don’t have hospice or palliative  care. I don’t have cancer or some actual diagnosis out of a book.  What I have is weird and like a blind person I have no working bodily signals to tell me I am sick or in danger.
I also have very bizarre blood pressure readings they are very low  or will randomly spike and don’t make any sense for my activities. 
My liver alt numbers are high and my bun for kidneys is off too
I can’t feel full in my stomach and I can’t feel any sensations.
I had a bad uti. I only knew I had it because  my urine was very cloudy and I had some bleeding. 
The doctor asked if I had burning or pain and y answer was no. Since I have been in rehab and stuck in bed due to the fractures pelvis I have lab tests done weekly.  

Most times we go to our doctors and they ask how we feel. Our symptoms are what helps  the diagnosis. I am scared and I know that you need these functions to live.
My family doesn’t understand because there is not one Mri, catscan, eeg or X-ray that shows the damage.  But a simple pain test by my orthopedic doc did confirm.

Use to take Xanax half .25 for stress And anxiety as needed 

In 2020 started  Lexapro  .10 mg for 3 days.  Hospital gave me Attivan .50 mg 

Then relapsed they gave me Zoloft .50mg for one day passed out  3 days later given Celexa  had crazy side effects back to hospital put me on Mertazipine 

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  • Moderator Emeritus

@Kristyb1130I have moved your post from the Symptoms and Self Care portion of the website to your own intro thread. Your own introduction topic is where this belongs - the Symptoms and Self Care forum is for discussing symptoms and various options people have tried. Please do not start any new threads in there. 

"Nothing so small as a moment is insurmountable, and moments are all that we have. You have survived every trial and tribulation that life has thrown at you up until this very instant. When future troubles come—and they will come—a version of you will be born into that moment that can conquer them, too." - Kevin Koenig 

 

I am not a doctor and this should not be considered medical advice. You can use the information and recommendations provided in whatever way you want and all decisions on your treatment are yours. 

 

In the next few weeks I do not have a lot of capacity to respond to questions. If you need a quick answer pls tag or ask other moderators who may want to be tagged. 

 

Aug  2000 - July 2003 (ct, 4-6 wk wd) , citalopram 20 mg,  xanax prn, wellbutrin for a few months, trazodone prn 

Dec 2004 - July 2018 citalopram 20 mg, xanax prn (rarely used)

Aug 2018 - citalopram 40 mg (self titrated up)

September 2018 - January 2019 tapered citalopram - 40/30/20/10/5 no issues until a week after reaching 0

Feb 2019 0.25 xanax - 0.5/day (3 weeks) over to klonopin 0.25 once a day to manage severe wd

March 6, reinstated citalopram 2.5 mg (liquid), klonopin 0.25 mg for sleep 2-3 times a week

Apr 1st citalopram 2.0 mg (liquid), klonopin 0.25 once a week (off by 4/14/19- no tapering)

citalopram (liquid) 4/14/19 -1.8 mg, 5/8/19 - 1.6 mg,  7/27/19 -1.5 mg,  8/15/19 - 1.35, 2/21/21 - 1.1 (smaller drops in between), 6/20/21 - 1.03 mg, 8/7/21- 1.025, 8/11/21 - 1.02, 8/15/21 - 1.015, 9/3/21 - 0.925 (fingers crossed!), 10/8/21 - 0.9, 10/18/21 - 0.875, 12/31/21 - 0.85, 1/7/22 - 0.825, 1/14/22 - 0.8, 1/22/22 - 0.785, 8/18/22 - 0.59, 12/15/2022 - 0.48, 2/15/22 - 0.43, 25/07/23 - 0.25 (mistake), 6/08/23 - 0.33mg

 

Supplements: magnesium citrate and bi-glycinate

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  • Moderator Emeritus

@Kristyb1130 please do not start any new threads on this topic - you already have one.  Please see the rules for starting posts in the Symptoms and Self Care portion. Having to clean up these extra threads takes a lot of our efforts. You have been seen by a neurologist for this issue who does not seem to be worried about it. The community is not able to diagnose and treat things especially given that not having a gag reflex seems to be a common issue in general - I posted statistics above that 30% of the population does not seem to have a gag reflex. 

 

Please, carefully review the rules about posting in the Symptoms and Self Care Forum:

 

Edited by Onmyway

"Nothing so small as a moment is insurmountable, and moments are all that we have. You have survived every trial and tribulation that life has thrown at you up until this very instant. When future troubles come—and they will come—a version of you will be born into that moment that can conquer them, too." - Kevin Koenig 

 

I am not a doctor and this should not be considered medical advice. You can use the information and recommendations provided in whatever way you want and all decisions on your treatment are yours. 

 

In the next few weeks I do not have a lot of capacity to respond to questions. If you need a quick answer pls tag or ask other moderators who may want to be tagged. 

 

Aug  2000 - July 2003 (ct, 4-6 wk wd) , citalopram 20 mg,  xanax prn, wellbutrin for a few months, trazodone prn 

Dec 2004 - July 2018 citalopram 20 mg, xanax prn (rarely used)

Aug 2018 - citalopram 40 mg (self titrated up)

September 2018 - January 2019 tapered citalopram - 40/30/20/10/5 no issues until a week after reaching 0

Feb 2019 0.25 xanax - 0.5/day (3 weeks) over to klonopin 0.25 once a day to manage severe wd

March 6, reinstated citalopram 2.5 mg (liquid), klonopin 0.25 mg for sleep 2-3 times a week

Apr 1st citalopram 2.0 mg (liquid), klonopin 0.25 once a week (off by 4/14/19- no tapering)

citalopram (liquid) 4/14/19 -1.8 mg, 5/8/19 - 1.6 mg,  7/27/19 -1.5 mg,  8/15/19 - 1.35, 2/21/21 - 1.1 (smaller drops in between), 6/20/21 - 1.03 mg, 8/7/21- 1.025, 8/11/21 - 1.02, 8/15/21 - 1.015, 9/3/21 - 0.925 (fingers crossed!), 10/8/21 - 0.9, 10/18/21 - 0.875, 12/31/21 - 0.85, 1/7/22 - 0.825, 1/14/22 - 0.8, 1/22/22 - 0.785, 8/18/22 - 0.59, 12/15/2022 - 0.48, 2/15/22 - 0.43, 25/07/23 - 0.25 (mistake), 6/08/23 - 0.33mg

 

Supplements: magnesium citrate and bi-glycinate

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I’m having difficulty finding things.  A friend told me to post this so I can find people with similar issues. I didn’t see your response to my post. I’m sorry 

Use to take Xanax half .25 for stress And anxiety as needed 

In 2020 started  Lexapro  .10 mg for 3 days.  Hospital gave me Attivan .50 mg 

Then relapsed they gave me Zoloft .50mg for one day passed out  3 days later given Celexa  had crazy side effects back to hospital put me on Mertazipine 

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  • Mentor

@Kristyb1130  I can't imagine what you are going through.  Did the loss of feeling and such start when you started the drugs or the start and stopping them?

How scary.  Did you explain this to the doctors?  What was their thoughts on this?  These drugs are very potent.  Many people have bad reactions to them.

Did you use a  Xanax  steady before all this happened?  If so how often?

I would guess that if this was a ADR then time is your answer to heal.

 

Take care and let us know how you are doing🌞 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/24894-greatful-is-this-withdrawal-or-to-many-med-changes-at-once/

1995? Prozac,  tried several Paxil, Serzone, St John's Wart back to Prozac and Trazodone ct:d Traz

 Lexapro. Tried to stop Crash in 2015  Kindled   Hospitalized, Vybrid, Seroquel, Effexor, Abilify  Pristiq, Wellbutrin-- 2016  ended back on   Prozac and Lamictal 200mg

5/2020  thru 12/2020 taper from 20mg  Prozac  down to 3mg.  Crashed  12/13/2020 Zoloft 50mg 1/29ct  1/29/2021 Seroquel 50mg ct  2/12/2021 Wellbutrin 75mg.  Became hypo manic 2/1  6ct Trazodone 50mg 4/25  25mg 2/5/ 2021 Lamictal 150mg.  2/24  100mg   4/9  75mg   4/21 37.5 

2/16/2021 Seroquel 50xr  3/3 100mg  3/17  150mg  side effects ct   4/3 2021 Lexapro 5mg  4/14  7.5mg  4/30 10mg  5/10  7.5mg 

2021/ 5/16  5mg Lexapro   37.5 Lamictal   25mg trazadone,   xanax  .0625mg  3x a day   

Lexapro  Taper> Sept/01/2021  4.90mg>  Sept/25  4.75mg>   Oct/19 4.69mg > Nov/14 4.2mg    Jan/30/2022-- Split dosing 2x a day All liquid  4.2mg  (2.20mg at 8am & 2mg at 4pm) 2/17 4mg>  2/24  3.8mg  slow taper to  Aug/12/2022 2.04mg  2023> 2mg,  1.90mg, 1.80mg, 1.70mg, 1.5mg, 1.4mg, 1.3mg 1.2mg, 1.1mg, 1mg, 0.9mg, 0.8mg, 0.7mg 0.65mg, 0.6mg, 0.55mg, 0.5mg, 0.45mg, 0.4mg, 0.35mg, 0.3mg, 0.25,mg, back to once a day dosing 0 .1mg, 0.07mg , 0.05mg 4/1/2024   0

Lamictal  taper  4/17/ 2022 25mg, 9/9/ 22 -20mg, 9/25/22- 15mg , 10/20/22-   0

 Trazodone..2023.>down to 14mg, 7mg, 6mg  July 2023  0

Xanax  0.0625mgai 3 x a day,  2023>  0.042mgai 3x a day  2024=going to straight daily total as I'm taking Xanax 3 times a day,  tapering doses can vary throughout my 3 times a day dosing     .102mgai> .1mgai>  .098mgai>  .096mgai>  .094mgai>  .092mgai > .09mgai > .087mgai > .084mgai >.081mgai > .079mgai > .077mgai

Supplements  Magnesium glycinate, magnesium citrate,  Omega 3, D/K2 , zinc, 

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16 minutes ago, Greatful said:

@Kristyb1130  I can't imagine what you are going through.  Did the loss of feeling and such start when you started the drugs or the start and stopping them?

How scary.  Did you explain this to the doctors?  What was their thoughts on this?  These drugs are very potent.  Many people have bad reactions to them.

Did you use a  Xanax  steady before all this happened?  If so how often?

I would guess that if this was a ADR then time is your answer to heal.

 

Take care and let us know how you are doing🌞 

Hi yes these drugs can be horrible!  I would say that it happened when I stopped them.

but my situation is bad because I was in the hospital and everything kinda spiraled out of control.  I am off everything since Nov 2021.  But I am still the same. 😢

Use to take Xanax half .25 for stress And anxiety as needed 

In 2020 started  Lexapro  .10 mg for 3 days.  Hospital gave me Attivan .50 mg 

Then relapsed they gave me Zoloft .50mg for one day passed out  3 days later given Celexa  had crazy side effects back to hospital put me on Mertazipine 

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...
On 4/1/2023 at 8:48 PM, Kristyb1130 said:

Hi all,
Please take a moment to read my long post. First, I would like to say I am so sad to read some of the heartbreaking stories on here.  My prayers and thoughts go out to everyone and their families going through the pain.🤗🙏

I need to just share my story to some people who never heard it or maybe just add some details. 
To some who have.
In 9/2020,  I took an  antidepressant for anxiety prescribed by  regular doc.  Many people take these meds everyday. And it causes no harm 
I had a adverse reaction.
I will say it wasn’t just one medication it was several because my family took me to the hospital because of how the medication made me act.  The hospitals answer is to try different meds.  now  I have major nerve and autonomic disfunction.
I compare my situation to a blind person who has no cane or seeing eye dog.  The chances of crashing into a wall or down the stairs is very high.
Let me explain.  My body is not working the  way it’s supposed to.   I have no emotions. I can not feel small nerve pain, I have no hunger or thirst, I have no gag/ cough reflex.  I do not sweat when I’m hot and I have no blink reflex.  I can not feel pain from a heart attack I can not feel the temperature of water in a shower.  I can not feel the heat of a stove.
On January 7 l, I was in a horrible accident,  I did feel the pain of the broken pelvis. But it was very brief and not typical at all.
The doctors and nurses all said I should be in much more pain according to my X-rays
I know that many of you in this group are in horrible pain and again my heart goes out to you. 
But the complete opposite and feeling nothing is so dangerous. 
I joined this group because my illness is chronic.  My symptoms and malfunctioning system is never going to repair itself.
I am not on any meds at the moment except Bayer aspirin to thin the blood from clottting since I am in bed from the accident.
My situation is very weird and very scary.  The orthopedic surgeon did a test on me and  confirmed that I can not feel pain.  He explained to me how dangerous this is .
So I know I don’t have hospice or palliative  care. I don’t have cancer or some actual diagnosis out of a book.  What I have is weird and like a blind person I have no working bodily signals to tell me I am sick or in danger.
I also have very bizarre blood pressure readings they are very low  or will randomly spike and don’t make any sense for my activities. 
My liver alt numbers are high and my bun for kidneys is off too
I can’t feel full in my stomach and I can’t feel any sensations.
I had a bad uti. I only knew I had it because  my urine was very cloudy and I had some bleeding. 
The doctor asked if I had burning or pain and y answer was no. Since I have been in rehab and stuck in bed due to the fractures pelvis I have lab tests done weekly.  

Most times we go to our doctors and they ask how we feel. Our symptoms are what helps  the diagnosis. I am scared and I know that you need these functions to live.
My family doesn’t understand because there is not one Mri, catscan, eeg or X-ray that shows the damage.  But a simple pain test by my orthopedic doc did confirm.

Did you take any meds for the pelvis?

 

I have very similar symptoms. 

Sertaline- tried 50 mg beginning of June 2023. Caused hyperreflexia.  So stopped after one dose. Tried several smaller doses that month.  Had burning and twitching so just stopped. 

Lexapro

June of 2023' 2.5 mg for two weeks 

July of 2023 5 mg for two weeks

July of 2023 7.5 mg for 2 weeks

August to mid September 10 mg

Mid September reduced to 7.5

October to October 15 reduced to 5

October 15 to October 30 reduced to 2.5 

October 30-off

 

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