Brenmos: Citalopram 20mg, withdrawal, Trazodone

[LostInCanada]

@Brenmosso good to hear. The withdrawal symptoms are all so similar for us all. I get days of burning feet and then nothing and then it will back. Sleeping issues bother me as well. Glad the waves are shrinking and hopefully the SI will pass soon. Thankfully you haven't been on these meds for long. 👍

[Brenmos]

3 hours ago, LostInCanada said:

@Brenmosso good to hear. The withdrawal symptoms are all so similar for us all. I get days of burning feet and then nothing and then it will back. Sleeping issues bother me as well. Glad the waves are shrinking and hopefully the SI will pass soon. Thankfully you haven't been on these meds for long. 👍

Yeah my forearms will burn or they are very sensitive to cold objects. I can place something cold on them and the cold sensation will be amplified. It’ll even last for several minutes after the object touched my forearms.

 

How have you been doing during all of this?

[LostInCanada]

@Brenmosit's been quite the ride to hell and back a few times. I am getting more and more stable which is good news. The CT experience is terrifying... definitely don't want a repeat of that. Patience and acceptance is what I keep telling myself. Be kind to yourself.

[Brenmos]

42 minutes ago, LostInCanada said:

@Brenmosit's been quite the ride to hell and back a few times. I am getting more and more stable which is good news. The CT experience is terrifying... definitely don't want a repeat of that. Patience and acceptance is what I keep telling myself. Be kind to yourself.

Oh that’s good to hear!

[Brenmos]

Can massage therapy throw one into a wave?

[LostInCanada]

Honestly I think it could especially if it is deep tissue. It's one of those things that can be relaxing or stimulating. How are you doing?

[Brenmos]

I’m doing better today. I had a chair massage on July 16th. And it felt stimulating especially yesterday.

[Brenmos]

5 hours ago, LostInCanada said:

Honestly I think it could especially if it is deep tissue. It's one of those things that can be relaxing or stimulating. How are you doing?

How have you been doing? You’re tapering, right?

[LostInCanada]

@Brenmos thanks for asking. I am doing okay...not in a wave so that is always good. I just started tapering 2 1/2 weeks ago after a 7 month stabilization. So started with a very small reduction and am going to try to work my way up to find a tolerable tapering percentage. It's quite a learning curve. 

[Brenmos]

Has anyone had an itchy throat and excessive salivation forcing you to swallow continuously?

[LostInCanada]

@Brenmos paxil is an anticholinergic so it effects water retention and mucus production. Nasal drip, more urination, etc can occur as a symptom of withdrawal. It wouldn't surprise me if this is related as well. The itchy throat can be an allergy though. Anything change in diet? Paxil also has antihistamine properties so again it could be the effect of less drug. 

[Brenmos]

3 hours ago, LostInCanada said:

@Brenmos paxil is an anticholinergic so it effects water retention and mucus production. Nasal drip, more urination, etc can occur as a symptom of withdrawal. It wouldn't surprise me if this is related as well. The itchy throat can be an allergy though. Anything change in diet? Paxil also has antihistamine properties so again it could be the effect of less drug. 

Does Celexa as well? I seem to forget that I came off Celexa cold turkey at 20mg and dropped Paxil from 30mg to 10mg. What I believe really messed me up was stopping Celexa. As I was only on 30mg of Paxil for a week.

 

I’ve experienced the frequent urination during withdrawal. I do try to drink a gallon of water a day. Some days I don’t urinate that much and some days I urinate a lot.

 

I’m going to take an at home COVID-19 test today. I’m either sick or at that point of withdrawal where systems ramp up as it’s been a little over five months since I stopped Celexa.

[LostInCanada]

I am not sure about Celexa but probably has some similar properties. I pretty much figure everything weird that happens is linked to the withdrawal. These drugs ..... 

[Brenmos]

2 hours ago, LostInCanada said:

I am not sure about Celexa but probably has some similar properties. I pretty much figure everything weird that happens is linked to the withdrawal. These drugs ..... 

I actually think I have COVID-19 as I lost my sense of smell today…withdrawn and COVID-19?! How does that affect us? I’m still taking a test later today. 

[LostInCanada]

It is another stress on the system. Some have breezed through it and others have had an increase in withdrawal symptoms. Hopefully you won't have it. 

[Brenmos]

2 hours ago, LostInCanada said:

It is another stress on the system. Some have breezed through it and others have had an increase in withdrawal symptoms. Hopefully you won't have it. 

How have you been doing though?

[LostInCanada]

Thanks for asking. I've been in a long wave, about 6 weeks. Out of the blue had brain zaps 3 times today. Haven't dealt with that before. Just trying not to give myself added stress by trying to count my blessings and accept what I can't change. One day at a time. Let me know how that test turns out. 

[Brenmos]

21 minutes ago, LostInCanada said:

Thanks for asking. I've been in a long wave, about 6 weeks. Out of the blue had brain zaps 3 times today. Haven't dealt with that before. Just trying not to give myself added stress by trying to count my blessings and accept what I can't change. One day at a time. Let me know how that test turns out. 

What do your waves look like?

 

I’m going out right now to buy a test. The ones I have at home are all expired and the three tests I took said I was negative. I got them for free when they were giving them out .

[LostInCanada]

My waves are like mini cold turkey symptoms. I just feel off. Some dp/dr, crying easily, heart palpitations, anxiety, shakes, cortisol rush in the early morning, low mood, dizziness, balance issues, phantom smells, excessive urination, vision blurring. Not a good time. But not as bad as cold turkey. They say the expired tests can still be accurate. Here's hoping.

[Brenmos]

3 hours ago, LostInCanada said:

My waves are like mini cold turkey symptoms. I just feel off. Some dp/dr, crying easily, heart palpitations, anxiety, shakes, cortisol rush in the early morning, low mood, dizziness, balance issues, phantom smells, excessive urination, vision blurring. Not a good time. But not as bad as cold turkey. They say the expired tests can still be accurate. Here's hoping.

How long does it take do you to stabilize when you make a drop.

 

I took another test that I bought at the store tonight. I saw that you’re from Canada. This particular one is very popular in the United States and it can detect multiple variants. It’s called BinaxNOW COVID-19 Antigen Self-Test.

 

Well my result came back negative. It doesn’t explain the anosmia. Along with other classic COVID-19 infection symptoms.

 

[LostInCanada]

I have only done 4 drops since the beginning of July. Prior to that I was trying to stabilize from cold turkey a year ago. So after my last drop August 4, I still haven't stabilized. Since July 2 till August 4, I went from 5mg to 4.6 mg.

As far as covid symptoms, some mimic withdrawal such as losing taste and smell, nasal drip, body aches. Be glad you are negative. Cases are up and I am wearing a mask...not worth the risk. Sucks but it's my reality.

[Brenmos]

3 hours ago, LostInCanada said:

I have only done 4 drops since the beginning of July. Prior to that I was trying to stabilize from cold turkey a year ago. So after my last drop August 4, I still haven't stabilized. Since July 2 till August 4, I went from 5mg to 4.6 mg.

As far as covid symptoms, some mimic withdrawal such as losing taste and smell, nasal drip, body aches. Be glad you are negative. Cases are up and I am wearing a mask...not worth the risk. Sucks but it's my reality.

My smell and taste are back. It would come and go yesterday. But it sure does feel different when I actually had COVID-19 in June 2020. I lost my smell and taste for three weeks.

 

So you’re saying that these symptoms can be withdrawal? I didn’t realize withdrawal can cause loss of smell and taste. But I have had muscle aches and pain, loss of appetite, fatigue, cough, night sweats, sneezing, and a runny/stuffy nose.

 

Unfortunately I can’t sleep without taking 100mg of trazodone at night. I can’t even nap. 

[LostInCanada]

How have you been doing? Do you think you are in a wave or has it passed now ? I am having that stuffy nose, phantom smell thing strongly at present. Crazy how WD mimics so many things but it makes sense since these drugs affect every system in our body.

[Brenmos]

I'm doing better now. I was actually sick because I ended up passing it to my significant other. And all of COVID-19 tests came back negative of course.

[LostInCanada]

Glad you are feeling better. It's just so hard to know. Stay safe.👍

[Brenmos]

I was on medical leave since May 3rd and went back to work on September 24th. I travel for a living. But with the stress of the job and the fact I stayed in a different part of the county I couldn’t fall asleep at all. I came back home early on September 25th.

 

Of course my psychiatrist mentioned anxiety when I told him yesterday 🙄.

[LostInCanada]

Of course he did. Maybe he should read the side effects of these pills. I get highly activated driving more than 20 minutes, having a conversation for more than 10 minutes, watching tv. My CNS is so sensitive that any added activity just places stress there. It sounds like normal withdrawal for sure.

[Brenmos]

How would you describe activation?

 

I know 🙄. A little over 6 months of withdrawal and this is the first time he mentioned mental illness causing it. We’ve all heard and said it before, but I’ve dealt with generalized anxiety disorder most of my life and have had no issue with sleep.

[Altostrata]

Changes in time zones can affect sleep.

[Brenmos]

28 minutes ago, Altostrata said:

Changes in time zones can affect sleep.

I went from Mountain Standard Time to Pacific Daylight Time but the time remained the same. How does it affect sleep because it sure did for me?

[LostInCanada]

For me activation is like I am wound up. Can't relax or sleep. My mind is usually in overdrive. I can even feel shaky and like I want to cry. I think it is just overproduction of adrenaline.

[Brenmos]

I believe I’ve felt similar as well. But for me it’s like an internal pressure. Or what I’ve felt is mild akathisia. I can sleep thankfully.

 

I know that if I eat honey roasted cashews it affects my sleep 🤨. Even caffeine free Coca-Cola. But I can eat ice cream at 1:00 AM or drink Sprite and be fine. 

[LostInCanada]

Artificial sweeteners can be activating so I would stay away from any diet sodas. I am off refined sugar, so sad lol. 

[Altostrata]

On 9/14/2023 at 1:19 PM, Brenmos said:

I didn’t realize withdrawal can cause loss of smell and taste.

 

That is not a known symptom of withdrawal.

 

You might have had a covid-like virus that didn't register on a test, and are still recovering. This happened to me in June.

[Brenmos]

1 hour ago, LostInCanada said:

Artificial sweeteners can be activating so I would stay away from any diet sodas. I am off refined sugar, so sad lol. 

Yeah, unfortunately I can only sleep with 100mg of trazodone that I had already been taking before I stopped citalopram cold turkey. 
 

How are you doing?

[LostInCanada]

My sleep is horrible. I still wake up every 90 minutes to 2 hours. Most of the time I can fall back to sleep within 10 minutes thankfully. I get the cortisol shakes anytime between 3am-7am. I think I would do so much better if I could sleep. The dr wanted me on Trazodone or mirtazapine but I said no. Hopefully I will see change soon.  Day by day.