ChelseaMorning: Amitriptyline accidental rapid taper

[ChelseaMorning]

Hi Everyone,

 

August 2021: After a period of stress I developed shingles. The doctor prescribed me 25mg Amitriptyline for the nerve pain, over the phone (due to COVID). I was in a lot of pain, but I don't remember being told that this medication was an antidepressant or any information about how to stop taking this drug. I had never taken prescription drugs before, and I felt the side effects were quite strong. Sedation, panicky, depersonalisation, heart palpitations, but helped a lot with sleeping. After 2 weeks the Amitriptyline started to work on the pain, but also made me feel overly numbed. At some point (can't remember the exact date) I started halving the 25mg pill, at the doctor's advice, as I felt my starting dose was too high and to try and reduce the side effects.

 

Nov 2021: I was keen to get off the amitriptyline as soon as possible. I received little to no information from the doctor as to how to do this. Instead I tried to follow guidance online, which I now know from reading this site, the recommendations for tapering are generally too fast. I tapered by halving or quartering 10mg tablets every 2 weeks. If symptoms or pain returned I went back up to the previous dose and maintained for another week.

 

Dec 2021: Taking 1/4 10mg tablet of Amitriptyline daily. Naively, I thought this was such a small dose, I could just stop taking it. Over Christmas I forgot to take my medication for a few days and felt fine, so I thought this was a good opportunity to stop all together. After 3-5 days I started to experience acute withdrawal symptoms: depression, depersonalisation, brain fog, flu-like symptoms. Having never heard about the long-term affects of antidepressant withdrawal, I pushed through the CT, and the acute symptoms passed after 1-2 weeks. I thought that it was over...

 

Jan 2022-April 2023: During my first menstrual cycle following withdrawal I experienced terrible mood swings, extremely painful breasts, insomnia and very painful period pains. Other symptoms included:

- Insomnia

- Intense anxiety / panic in the evenings and at night

- Head rushes / brain zaps when trying to sleep

- Depression with brain fog, dizziness and disorientation

- Weakness in left leg, and left hip pain that comes and goes

- Indigestion and heartburn

- Pelvic / bladder / ovary pain

- Skin rashes on face and chest, itchy skin, intolerance to high histamine foods

- Dry eyes

- Lack of motivation and interest in things I used to enjoy

 

August 2022: Because these symptoms seemed to worsen or be triggered by my menstrual cycle (during ovulation, week before period, during period) I put all of these symptoms down to PMS/PMDD.

 

October 2022: The doctor agreed and prescribed me Citalopram during the lutal phase only (2 weeks a month). I tried taking this medication for around 1 week. It did help straight away, however I was also getting brain fog that was affecting my work and, although it helped with the insomnia, I would be awake suddenly with a panic feeling and have strange dreams, so I stopped taking it after a week.

 

Jan/Feb 2023: I get a bad flu for 2 weeks followed by COVID. My PMDD symptoms worsen and become almost constant. I am obsessed with trying to find out what is wrong with me, lots of googling, I can't understand why this has started now and what has triggered the PMDD. This is very distressing for me, I started to feel a lot of health anxiety and depression and referred to CBT. I also have lots of other blood tests and physical exams, which all come back fine, which is a relief but also frustrating.

 

Mar/Apr 2023: I read an article in the guardian about the long-term affects of antidepressant withdrawal and I am stunned. Everything suddenly makes sense. I am both relieved that I have an explanation that makes sense for me and describes what I am going through. But also angry that no one ever explained to me that I was taking an antidepressant, that long-term withdrawal could be a thing and a lack of support in tapering. I stumble across this forum, and the information here is the best thing I could have found. Even though it's too late for me to taper slowly, it is the best feeling to have an explanation that fits and to know what is happening to me.

 

May 2023: Looking back to the first year of withdrawal, I can recognise that my symptoms are improving, and the anxiety is much milder now and I am getting longer windows. The worst symptom I'm still dealing with is the insomnia, which comes in monthly waves for 1-2 weeks at a time. The insomnia doesn't seem to be improving, but I think I cope better with it. Symptoms come in waves, and are always shifting. I still have hip pain and dry eyes affects my ability to drive long distances.

 

After 5 or so days of insomnia in a row, I use half a Nytol diphenhydramine tablet, otherwise I can't cope due to exhaustion. It works very well to relieve all of my symptoms instantly, however I only try to use this when the lack of sleep is having a very detrimental impact on my life and mental health. Usually this is about 2-7 days a month. I would like not to take this as I'm concerned of long term affects of this on memory, but I don't feel like I have another option at the moment.

 

I also practice CBT, mindfulness, meditation before bed and I take magnesium, omega 3, multivitamin, and quercetin supplements. They seem to help with the mood swings but I can't tell if they are improving sleep, hard to tell.

 

As I only just discovered that the amitriptyline withdrawal is the likely culprit of these symptoms (the brain zaps being the main indicator), I feel it is too late now to go back on to a low dose of amitriptyline and slow tapering. My symptoms do seem to be getting better, but it is frustrating slow and I don't know if I will take more years to recover. I have yet to speak to my doctor about this, as I don't know if there is anything they would be able to do to help and I am sceptical that they will be aware of long-term antidepressant withdrawal. However, I would love to talk to a specialist just to validate my experience if nothing else.

 

 

 

 

 

[ChelseaMorning]

14 months after the rapid taper / CT off amitriptyline, I'm still getting brain zaps when trying to sleep. On one hand I can see that the zaps are milder (they are more like a slower wave or a rush, with less panic associated with them than before). For me it is lying down / trying to sleep which causes them. I usually have to sit up in bed and read until the feeling passes (sometimes 30 mins other times 4 hours). However, I am worried for how much longer this will last. Did brain zaps last a long time for others? I have heard from others that is was one of the first symptoms to disappear?

 

One of the biggest things I struggle with is trying to get the motivation and consistency to build healthy practices (e.g. meditation, yoga, healthy eating ect.) Into my routine. The 2 week bouts of insomnia just ruin any discipline I have to start or continue these things. Plus one of my symptoms is also demotivation / apathy / lack of interest in my usual hobbies.

 

Sorry I haven't asked a specific question for help, but looking to connect with and hear stories from others who went through CT withdrawal from amitriptyline.

[ChelseaMorning]

Not sure if there is anything further I need to do to get this thread / comments approved, let me know if I need to do something further. Thank you.

[Altostrata]

Welcome, @ChelseaMorning

 

Very sorry to hear you're going through this. As you can see, many people have been caught in antidepressant withdrawal syndrome.

 

Yes, recovery is frustratingly slow and halting. But you've seen improvement, and that's a good sign. Strengthening your sleep may assist:

 

 

What is the sleep cycle?

 

Waking with panic or anxiety -- managing the morning cortisol spike

 

Tips to help sleep -- so many of us have that awful withdrawal insomnia

 

Path to Better Sleep FREE online for everyone from the US Veterans Administration

 

Music for self-care: Calms hyperalertness, anxiety, aids relaxation and sleep

 

White noise devices for sleep

 

Melatonin for sleep: Many people find it helpful

 

TV or computer use in evening can disrupt sleep: Bright light signals the brain that it's daytime

 

Strange sensations while falling asleep -- surges, zaps, jerks

 

Many people find these to be helpful:

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker 

Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) 

 

You might try a low dose of one at a time to see what it does for you. Please let us know how you're doing.

[ChelseaMorning]

Thanks @Altostrata for your reply.

 

Insomnia is my most challenging and persistent symptom at the moment. Thank you for the links, lots of useful advice there.

 

I've never really given some of the sleep training / hygiene methods a proper go, because the symptoms previously were too intense, there seemed no point in fighting against sleep. However, now I think I need to have another go at things like going to bed for 10pm, reducing screen time ect. I'd also be interested to give a low dose of melatonin a go, but unfortunately I don't think it is available in the UK. I already take omega 3 and magnesium, but I might look into some of the amino acid supplements that have worked for others.

[Altostrata]

Melatonin is available by prescription in the UK.

[ChelseaMorning]

@Altostrata yes I believe melatonin is available on prescription in the UK, however I think it is only prescribed to those aged 55+. I'm 34, so I am doubtful any doctor will prescribe it to me, but I can always ask and see what they say.

 

[Altostrata]

Hello, @ChelseaMorning, how are you doing?

[ChelseaMorning]

Hi @Altostrata, thanks for checking in with me.

 

I am cautiously optimistic that the last two months I have seen some significant improvements. My symptoms have not gone, but are more mild.

 

I've only had 3 nights of insomnia this month, instead of the usual 7-14 nights. I still experience hip pain and brain zaps, probably even more frequently, but they feel more like a slow wave or surge than a zap, and are accompanied by less anxiety. I also in the last few days started experiencing Hayfever for the first time, possibly unrelated but, generally I seem to experiencing varying mild allergies or sensitivities each month.

 

I've also been having some cyclical pelvic pain, which I think is unrelated to the withdrawal, which I'm talking to the doctor about.

 

At my last doctor's appointment, I brought up the possibility of long-term withdrawal symptoms, but it didn't get much reaction. My concern sometimes is I worry that something else is behind these symptoms, even though withdrawal is the most likely cause in my mind, I'm aware it's a self-diagnosis. I am getting a blood test for Lyme disease just to rule out this isn't the cause.

 

Are there any other test members would recommend to 'rule out' anything else that might be causing insomnia / brain zaps and other classic withdrawal symptoms?

[Comecloser80]

@ChelseaMorning it’s good to know that you are seeing progress in your recovery journey. 
I am experiencing pretty much similar symptoms as yours. My insomnia seems to be bit different though. I am stuck at waking up at 4:00 am everyday and can’t nap during day. 
I can see in your drug signature that you have taken some SSRI during Nov 22, I have read it somewhere that withdrawal starts from the last day of dose we have taken even though it has been for a very short time.

Have you taken Amitriptyline 20mg during Nov or some other SSRI? 
I may be wrong but you are only 7 months into withdrawal according to my calculation.

But it improvement you have seen so far is very encouraging. There is no harm doing other tests as I did my bloods recently which were all clear except for high cholesterol that I had since long time.

I believe, it’s all withdrawal that you are experiencing and we will heal with time.

 

 

[ChelseaMorning]

@Purae sorry to hear about the persistent insomnia. 4am is not a nice time to be waking up at! For me it is a problem of getting to sleep. I've had some talking therapy, that has helped me with acceptance of my symptoms and being aware of my thought patterns to try and cope better. I try to see the insomnia as an opportunity (wierd I know!) to do things like reading that I don't normally have time to do, or make a cup of herbal tea, do some relaxation ect. My hope is I can retrain my mind to associate the times of insomnia with relaxation rather than frustration or anxiety.

 

Yes I often forget about the SSRIs, I took a low dose of Citalopram for around 5 days only in November 2022. This was prescribed for PMS / PMDD, which I now think was actually withdrawal symptoms. I didn't notice any affects from stopping the Citalopram and it was for such a short time I didn't think much of it at the time. However now you mention it I wonder if the citalopram has lengthened or affected the withdrawal process, it's hard to know. Otherwise I've not taken any amitriptyline or other antidepressant medication.

[Katerina]

On 5/8/2023 at 9:51 AM, ChelseaMorning said:

14 months after the rapid taper / CT off amitriptyline, I'm still getting brain zaps when trying to sleep. On one hand I can see that the zaps are milder (they are more like a slower wave or a rush, with less panic associated with them than before). For me it is lying down / trying to sleep which causes them. I usually have to sit up in bed and read until the feeling passes (sometimes 30 mins other times 4 hours). However, I am worried for how much longer this will last. Did brain zaps last a long time for others? I have heard from others that is was one of the first symptoms to disappear?

 

One of the biggest things I struggle with is trying to get the motivation and consistency to build healthy practices (e.g. meditation, yoga, healthy eating ect.) Into my routine. The 2 week bouts of insomnia just ruin any discipline I have to start or continue these things. Plus one of my symptoms is also demotivation / apathy / lack of interest in my usual hobbies.

 

Sorry I haven't asked a specific question for help, but looking to connect with and hear stories from others who went through CT withdrawal from amitriptyline.

So sorry to hear about your Amitr problems. I was on this poison 5,5 years (3 years using and 2,5 years tapering). It has been 9months I am off. Still battling with insomnia, cortisol mornings and what Amitr “gave” me is histamine intolerance. Having been on strict diet for 4 months now. 
I hope that this won ´t be permanent… 

[ChelseaMorning]

Hi Katerina,

 

So sorry to hear you are also going through this.

 

Interestingly I also got histamine intolerance from Amitr withdrawal. For me this seemed to only affect me as a temporary phase of my withdrawal (3-6 months ish) and only during certain times during my cycle. But at the time it felt like it would last forever. I haven't had an histamine intolerances now for 2-3 months, apart from feeling a bit itchy when I can't sleep (fingers crossed). I hope it doesn't last too long for you and that it is all part of the healing process.

 

Also my update is I continue to feel 90% better, with only 2-3 days of insomnia a month. I really feel for you suffering from the insomnia, it is very challenging.

 

On 6/9/2023 at 10:46 AM, Katerina said:

So sorry to hear about your Amitr problems. I was on this poison 5,5 years (3 years using and 2,5 years tapering). It has been 9months I am off. Still battling with insomnia, cortisol mornings and what Amitr “gave” me is histamine intolerance. Having been on strict diet for 4 months now. 
I hope that this won ´t be permanent… 

 

[Chompoo]

@Katerina @ChelseaMorning I also developed histamine intolerance, but from another antidepressant, Mirtazapine. I've been off 4.5 months and still struggling with it. Did you ladies ever get a wave from high histamine food? I find myself in one now, after eating a bunch of rice crackers with MSG. My withdrawal symptoms ramped up (gurgling stomach, non-stop pin prick sensations all over, constant muscle spasms) and I didn't sleep a wink last night. I laid in bed for hours and my brain simply refused to shut down. If you got into a wave from histamine intolerance. how long did that wave last you? It's been a shock to me to lose my ability to sleep last night.

[Katerina]

@Chompoo I am so sorry about your HIT. It is quite new for me as well. I started the strong diet beginning February this year and so far I haven ´t got rid of symptoms unfortunatelly. I am just learning how to cope with this. And yes… I had several flare ups of symptoms after not eating clean or just after being more tired or stressed. I have been tapering benzo so I don ´t know whether my sleep disturbances are caused due to HIT or due to Diazepam taper. But many days I have been waiting hours for sleep to come. I do not have answers for you as I don ´t see any pattern yet. My insomnia gets a little bit better now but still having problems to nap during day eventhough I am exhausted majority of days. 
Try to keep diary of what you eat and what your main symptoms are. What severity of these symptoms you have and what helps. This can give you answers in longer term period. 
Katerina

[Chompoo]

@Katerina thank you for sharing your experiences. I'm sleeping poorly too. Good on some days, very bad on others. Up and down and up and down. No clear pattern. I also cannot nap in the afternoon no matter how tired I am form lack of sleep.
I hope we all recover from our insomnia and HIT soon. Please take care.

[jipavl]

3 hours ago, Chompoo said:

@Katerina thank you for sharing your experiences. I'm sleeping poorly too. Good on some days, very bad on others. Up and down and up and down. No clear pattern. I also cannot nap in the afternoon no matter how tired I am form lack of sleep.
I hope we all recover from our insomnia and HIT soon. Please take care.

Since my last drop of Olanzapine and later reinstatement, my sleep is all over the place, too. One day I slept 10 hours and several days later just 2–3 hours of very broken sleep.

[Chompoo]

@jipavl same here. It's frustrating, isn't it? I hope the sleep levels out soon for the both of us.

[ChelseaMorning]

Hi @Chompoo,

 

Sorry to hear about your histamine intolerance.

 

For me I found the histamine intolerance was a symptom of a wave rather than the cause of it. So high intolerance food would tip my already high histamine levels over the edge. Not taking high histamine foods didn't always help, but they could make it worse, if that makes sense. I wasn't strict with the high histamine diet, but I avoided the things I knew I reacted to, like alcohol, kimchi and smoked salmon. I now don't have a reaction to any of these, so I hope it improves for you too.

 

I found taking antihistamines before bed helped me, only on the nights when things were bad. I say this cautiously though, as I know some people experiencing PAWS don't react well to antihistamines and some people think they may not help the healing process. I think there is a thread about it on this forum. For me it was my emergency fallback option, when I felt like I couldn't function anymore.

 

I also found natural antihistamines, like nettle tea before bed or in the middle of the night helpful, sometimes I think it was enough to send me off to sleep. Also sitting upright, I could fall asleep more easier, it slowed the palpitations in my ears.

 

Other nights nothing would work and I found the best thing was to just accept that, not fight against it and try to do something enjoyable or that would distract me, like reading.

 

I hope you feel better soon,

[Chompoo]

@ChelseaMorning thank you for taking the time to reply.

I am glad you got over your histamine intolerance. It gives me hope that this will be the case for me as well one day.

I have bad reactions that come almost immediately after eating high histamine food. So I don't eat them. Reactions like itching, burning sensations in my arms and legs and sometimes stomach. And in extreme cases, a headache and more heart palpitations (I have an extra heartbeat that comes and goes throughout the day as one of my symptoms). Somehow, the rice crackers with MSG did not give me an instant reaction and that was why I ate so many of them, thinking they were ok. That was what threw me into a wave. 

I take natural antihistamines in the form of quercetin, tumeric capsules and ginger tea. But I don't much relief from my histamine related symptoms from them.

Agree with you on practising acceptance on nights I can't sleep.

I've just passed the fifith night of my wave. The bad sleep has improved and the number of symptoms have gone down. It should be a couple more days when I'm back to my withdrawal normal.

I am going to be strict on my diet for a week or two. I now feel paranoid about eating.

I really appreciate your input. Wishing you a good day!

[ChelseaMorning]

A general update. The last 2-3 months have been good. I have for the first time in a year and a half felt almost normal. My symptoms have been mild during this time and only affect me about 2-5 days a month. I have mostly been able to predict when these days are (menstrual cycle related) and although not totally back to normal, it is manageable.

 

However for the past 5 nights I have gone slightly backwards. Back to having mild brain zaps (more like a tingle or flurry), and itchy skin around the face and neck, when trying to go to sleep. Again these are much milder than they use to be, but annoying enough to keep me awake at night. A non-drowsy antihistamine is usually enough to deal with the symptoms and will then allow me to sleep within 30 mins (nothing like the 5 hours of insomnia I had before or still get occasionally).

 

Overall things are great, but it is frustrating that I have these persistent symptoms that I can't quite shake off. It sets me back off into thought spirals of 'what is wrong with me?', 'what if this isn't withdrawal and another health condition' ect. Ect. The withdrawal seems to be the best fit explanation for what I've experienced, but there will always be a lingering doubt when your doctor can't tell you what's wrong.

[Nypeaches89]

Brain zaps are so typical of withdrawal so don’t even question it, it is withdrawal and it will pass! Happy to hear you’re doing better! Im also at 1,5 year off. So is your PMDD getting milder every month?  For me it’s still messy and I don’t see a linear progress but then again withdrawal progress never is linear. 

[ChelseaMorning]

Thanks @Nypeaches89, yes you are right, I need to remind myself that about the brain zaps / shivers. I also think the health anxiety is quite common for people going through withdrawal.

 

I would say I do not now have PMDD, which is amazing to say. I probably have something closer to PMS, feeling more irritable and getting insomnia 2-3 days before period and ovulation, which is fairly predictable and manageable.

 

However you are also right about the non-linear improvement. I was getting much better for 2 months, but I've made a slight back step this month. I've now had 7 days in a row of insomnia / brain shivers, that doesn't match the usual pattern / timing that I would expect. Still better than it used to be, as it's not accompanied by the same anxiety / panic feeling. But frustrating because I thought I'd conquered the insomnia problem.

 

I've got a bit lazy with general things I would do to look after myself, like no alcohol/caffeine, sleep hygeine ect. because I was doing better. So will start bringing that back in again.

 

Sorry to hear your progress is still up and down. I hope things ease up soon. Do you find your symptoms are the same intensity as always, and do you notice any difference in length of 'windows'? I keep a detailed symptom diary, using a period tracker app, to help me keep track of how things are improving. I find I often can't remember the frequency of my symptoms very accurately, so it's useful to refer to. However for some people, tracking their symptoms in this way may trigger health anxiety or hyperfocus on the issue.

 

1 hour ago, Nypeaches89 said:

Brain zaps are so typical of withdrawal so don’t even question it, it is withdrawal and it will pass! Happy to hear you’re doing better! Im also at 1,5 year off. So is your PMDD getting milder every month?  For me it’s still messy and I don’t see a linear progress but then again withdrawal progress never is lnear.

 

[Nypeaches89]

On 7/9/2023 at 11:11 AM, ChelseaMorning said:

Thanks @Nypeaches89, yes you are right, I need to remind myself that about the brain zaps / shivers. I also think the health anxiety is quite common for people going through withdrawal.

 

I would say I do not now have PMDD, which is amazing to say. I probably have something closer to PMS, feeling more irritable and getting insomnia 2-3 days before period and ovulation, which is fairly predictable and manageable.

 

However you are also right about the non-linear improvement. I was getting much better for 2 months, but I've made a slight back step this month. I've now had 7 days in a row of insomnia / brain shivers, that doesn't match the usual pattern / timing that I would expect. Still better than it used to be, as it's not accompanied by the same anxiety / panic feeling. But frustrating because I thought I'd conquered the insomnia problem.

 

I've got a bit lazy with general things I would do to look after myself, like no alcohol/caffeine, sleep hygeine ect. because I was doing better. So will start bringing that back in again.

 

Sorry to hear your progress is still up and down. I hope things ease up soon. Do you find your symptoms are the same intensity as always, and do you notice any difference in length of 'windows'? I keep a detailed symptom diary, using a period tracker app, to help me keep track of how things are improving. I find I often can't remember the frequency of my symptoms very accurately, so it's useful to refer to. However for some people, tracking their symptoms in this way may trigger health anxiety or hyperfocus on the issue.

 

 

I don’t have the waves and windows pattern anymore, unless you consider  PMDD as waves and windows .. 
My PMDD this month was bearable, it was bad the day after ovulation, then more okay, although I still have the very unpleasant depression when I wake up. It feels like my brain is under oxygenated or something, like a broken machine that doesn’t start up normally. 
I repeatedly notice my PMDD is better when I’m in nature, physically active, busy with things. It doesn’t cure it but I focus on it less. 
I track my symptoms very loosely on the Apple health app. I also note any significant progress, but I keep a good distance with all the tracking in general to not obsess over it. 
I’m so glad to hear you start to seem free of PMDD, that’s giving me some hope! 
 

 

[ChelseaMorning]

All of my symptoms got substantially better over the summer, to the point where I thought this is finally over. However, I'm disappointed that over the last 3 months the symptoms associated with my cycle (insomnia, heart palpitations, mood swings, hip pain ect.) Have all come back and worsened. 

 

I now don't know if the pmdd was underlying and worsened by the amitriptyline withdrawal or if the withdrawal has triggered the pmdd. Either way it now seems to me that the withdrawal symptoms seemed.to have come to an end but I fear the pmdd is hear to stay. It's incredibly frustrating and upsetting, and very little the doctor seems to be able to do to help. I've been waiting to see a specialist for 9+ months.

 

I continue to take antihistamines on nights where I can't sleep, which helps in the moment. But I don't know how good this is into continue doing in the long-term.

[Nypeaches89]

Hey sorry your pmdd worsened. My biggest fear was/is that it’s a consequence of wd that is here to stay. But if that can give you some hope, my menstrual cycle has been easier and easier since September. What I called pmdd now is more akin to pms, it’s much much lighter, there’s been a lot of progress. I don’t know if it’s related but I’ve started taking a bunch of supplements during luteal, maybe that’s why I’m better. I take vitex, magnesium, zinc, B complex , calcium. 

[ChelseaMorning]

Thanks Nypeaches for sharing. Yes I was taking supplements before and that seemed to help particularly with mood / deppression, and then I stopped taking them when I was doing better over the summer. So I will try that again and see how it goes.

[Nypeaches89]

Hey ! How are you doing now with premenstrual and post menstrual?

[ChelseaMorning]

Honestly it is continuing, but I have found some ways of coping with it.

 

Looking back at the past 2+ years, I believe I have been suffering from an overlap of antidepressant withdrawal, sensitivity to hormonal changes, and endometriosis (suspected).

 

As my withdrawal symptoms gradually eased (approx 1-1.5 years) I was left with sensitivity to hormonal changes PMS/PMDS. Now I still have insomnia, rapid heartbeat, head rushes, mood swings, mostly in the week after my period, during ovulation, sometimes in the week before (not as bad). This is combined with pain and inflammation during various times of the month (hip, knee, pelvic, bladder, back and chest) which I believe is endometriosis (investigations ongoing).

 

I don't think antidepressant withdrawal necessarily caused/triggered the hormonal sensitivity in me, but amplified it. I think I was already somewhat sensitive to hormones, then shingles/post-herpatic neuralgia further sensitised my nervous system and then antidepressant withdrawal was the cherry on the cake that really exacerbated things. Further to this I think PMS can worsen as you age.

 

There are days where I don't cope and it's awful. Other days a combination of magnesium, antihistamines and herbal teas can help. I try to plan ahead for the days I expect to be bad. I am considering going on to the progesterone only pill, as this has helped previously with endometriosis and PMS by keeping hormones stable. 

 

I hope this helps. What I have learnt is antidepressant withdrawal can easily be blamed for every symptom you have, but in my case I believe it is interacting/amplifying existing conditions. However I will never know for sure what came first or the initial cause.

[Najla]

في 4/2‏/2024 في الساعة 16:20، قال تشيلسي مورنينغ:

بصراحة، إنه مستمر، لكنني وجدت بعض الطرق للتعامل معه.

 

بالنظر إلى أكثر من العامين الماضيين، أعتقد أنني كنت أعاني من تداخل الانسحاب المضاد للاكتئاب، والحساسية للتغيرات الهرمونية، وبطانة الرحم (مشتبه به).

 

مع تخفيف أعراض الانسحاب تدريجيا (حوالي 1-1.5 سنة) تركت مع حساسية للتغيرات الهرمونية PMS/PMDS. الآن ما زلت أعاني من الأرق، وسرعة ضربات القلب، واندفاع الرأس، وتقلبات المزاج، ومعظمها في الأسبوع الذي يلي دورتي الشهرية، أثناء الإباضة، وأحيانا في الأسبوع السابق (ليس سيئا). يقترن هذا بالألم والالتهاب خلال أوقات مختلفة من الشهر (الورك والركبة والحوض والمثانة والظهر والصدر) والتي أعتقد أنها بطانة الرحم (التحقيقات مستمرة).

 

لا أعتقد أن الانسحاب المضاد للاكتئاب تسبب بالضرورة في/تسبب في الحساسية الهرمونية في داخلي، ولكنه تضخيمها. أعتقد أنني كنت بالفعل حساسا إلى حد ما للهرمونات، ثم زادت القوباء المنطقية / الألم العصبي بعد الهربة من حساسية جهازي العصبي ثم كان الانسحاب المضاد للاكتئاب هو الكرز على الكعكة الذي أدى إلى تفاقم الأمور حقا. علاوة على ذلك، أعتقد أن الدورة الشهرية يمكن أن تزداد سوءا مع تقدمك في العمر.

 

هناك أيام لا أتأقلم فيها وهذا فظيع. في أيام أخرى، يمكن أن يساعد مزيج من المغنيسيوم ومضادات الهيستامين وشاي الأعشاب. أحاول التخطيط مسبقا للأيام التي أتوقع أن تكون سيئة. أفكر في الذهاب إلى حبوب البروجسترون فقط، لأن هذا ساعد سابقا في بطانة الرحم والدورة الشهرية عن طريق الحفاظ على استقرار الهرمونات.

 

آمل أن يساعد هذا. ما تعلمته هو أنه يمكن بسهولة إلقاء اللوم على الانسحاب المضاد للاكتئاب لكل أعراضك، ولكن في حالتي أعتقد أنه يتفاعل/يضخم الظروف الحالية. ومع ذلك، لن أعرف أبدا على وجه اليقين ما الذي جاء أولا أو السبب الأولي.

I suffer from the same symptoms. Before my menstrual period, dizziness and nausea. The ovulation period is the most difficult. I suffer from difficulty in stool and getting rid of waste. Pain in the hip and pain in the knee. There is something new. I feel like something is stuck in my throat, and even though I went to the ear, nose, and throat doctor, he told me that there is nothing. Something, there are strange symptoms, pain in the thigh bone that comes suddenly and lasts for half a day or a day and then disappears. I cried today because of the strange symptoms that hospitals cannot find a diagnosis for.