lovehorses313 What is happening to me?

[lovehorses313]

Hi, I am a 25 year old female. I was put on 5 mg lexapro after an acute anxiety attack. I only took it for a month and then my doctor basically said it was OK to take a half dose for a week and then stop. Not much better than CT. I have now been off the med about 5 weeks. Around week 3, I started to experience fire like sensations throughout my body ( intermittent), and a severe constant ear pain. Nothing has been able to relieve that ear pain so it has been debilitating. Ibuprofen/Tylenol does nothing. Does this sound like withdrawal? I only took the med for a month. Is there anything I can do to make the ear pain stop sooner?  Some people have suggested reinstating, but when I mentioned I was having body tremors while on the med they said it might not be wise to reinstate. Also since it's been a while since stopping the med, not sure if a reinstatement would even be effective. My PCP does not seem to support me getting back on the meds, so I doubt she would prescribe the meds I would need. Any thoughts? Similar experiences? Pain relief ideas? Thoughts on reinstating?

[lovehorses313]

I took 5 mg lex for 1 month. Dr basically suggested I go CT since I wasn't taking it very long. Did 2.5 mg dose for 3 days then stopped. While on the med I had internal trembling, which is why she said to quit. At first after quitting, I just had the internal trembling and that seemed to fade. However, about 3 weeks later, I started having severe ear pressure /pain, slight tinnitus, burning sensations all over my body. It is difficult to function. My doctor is not very supportive of the idea to reinstate but I'm not sure if that's what my body needs. I know the people of this forum have helped many people, so I am looking for guidance. I've been off the meds for 5 weeks now, so not sure if I should just try to power through or reinstate. The ear pain/pressure is somewhat seeming to get better over the last few days, but still pretty intolerable.

[Altostrata]

Welcome, @lovehorses313

 

When was your last dose of Lexapro? What happened after that? Did you get any other odd symptoms? How's your sleep?

 

Has an ear infection been ruled out?

 

To help us out, follow these instructions Please summarize your drug and withdrawal history in your signature You may need to use a computer to do this.

 

 

[lovehorses313]

Last dose five weeks ago. Most concerning symptoms are burning sensation ( only at night) and constant ear pressure. Also intermittent sinus pressure. 

 

Sleep is hit or miss. Most nights I wake up 2 or 3 times. Some nights I don't sleep at all. 

 

ENT has ruled out ear infection and said my ears looked very healthy. They tested the pressure in my ears and the one that bothered me more at the moment did show higher pressure. Pressure switches from one ear to the other ( and sometimes both)

[Altostrata]

It sounds like you have had withdrawal symptoms, and this ear symptom might be one of them. It's typical of withdrawal symptoms to come in waves, move around the body, and mutate into other withdrawal symptoms.

 

But it looks like you also had adverse effects while taking 5mg escitalopram. 

 

If the symptoms that could be withdrawal symptoms have gradually been getting better, you might just want to wait and see. Many people find fish oil and magnesium supplements helpful, see

 

https://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/36-king-of-supplements-omega-3-fatty-acids-fish-oil/

 

https://survivingantidepressants.org/topic/15483-magnesium-natures-calcium-channel-blocker/

 

You might try a little bit of one at a time to see how it affects you. Please let us know how you’re doing.

 

If withdrawal symptoms are severe or intolerable, we often suggest a very low-dose reinstatement of the drug. If you wanted to try this, I suggest trying 0.5mg citalopram, escitalopram's milder sibling.

 

Your call which you want to do. Please let us know how you're doing. 

 

 

[FindRest]

Have you ever been on any other psychiatric medication? Any benzos or sleep medication? Do you take any supplements?

Edited July 28, 2023 by FindRest

[lovehorses313]

The withdrawal symptoms somewhat seem like they're getting better but other times are way worse. I've found a few things that help make them tolerable ( bought some electric ear muffs and lidocaine spray for the burning sensation.

 

I've been taking fish oil and had tried magnesium for a few days.  May consider reimplementing it as it wasn't really causing any harm. I tried CBD a few days ago, but I feel like it may have made the burning sensation worse the next night. This is the first and only time I've ever taken a psych med. No benzo use. I've used melatonin off and on for years

[Altostrata]

12 hours ago, lovehorses313 said:

bought some electric ear muffs and lidocaine spray for the burning sensation.

 

Very good problem-solving! We've all had to figure out solutions like this. Hopefully, both of these symptoms will fade.

[lovehorses313]

Is 5 or 6 weeks after CT to late to reinstate at a low dose. Do you usually see success with a delayed reinstatement? Is it likely to get rid of withdrawal symptoms? What percent of people does reinstatement make it worse based on your experiences?

[Altostrata]

On 7/27/2023 at 5:32 PM, Altostrata said:

If withdrawal symptoms are severe or intolerable, we often suggest a very low-dose reinstatement of the drug. If you wanted to try this, I suggest trying 0.5mg citalopram, escitalopram's milder sibling.

 

Because antidepressants themselves can cause ear symptoms and tinnitus, I'd be very cautious about reinstatement.

[lovehorses313]

What about in light of the severe burning akathisia I am having? Reinstatement still a bad idea?? It is totally preventing me from sleeping and seems to be getting worse and worse over time. It is basically making me non-functional. You think it's better to try to ride out the wave drug free because of the ototoxicity of the drug? If so, I need help figuring out how to sleep despite the burning sensations. Lidocaine cream isn't working. Also tried a cold wet towel and all it does is make me feel icky with minimal relief. I'm seeing a neurologist Tuesday...They may recommend some other med for the burning nerve pain, but I'm VERY leery of starting anything else.

[Altostrata]

How would you feel if the tinnitus got worse but burning was reduced?

[lovehorses313]

I think the tinnitus is probably much more likely to be permanent right? I would rather avoid permanent damage, so getting back on the med kinda freaks me out now that I know what it can do to ears/in general. Just also started having insomnia a few days ago. Feel totally unable to fall asleep and haven't slept in 5 days. Does this seem withdrawal related? I've already tried a lot of the insomnia tricks listed ( melatonin, magnesium, Epsom salt bath, bedtime routine, no screen time before bed, blackout curtains, sound machine, etc). So far nothing has worked. I'm seeing a neurologist/ sleep specialist tomorrow and thinking they may end up prescribing something for the insomnia. Is this a really bad idea, even if I committed to taking it only after 3 or 4 sleepless nights and not regularly? The one I'm thinking may be worth trying is zopiclone, but I'm not sure what the doctor will suggest. I already know I don't want any different antidepressants or any benzos. Is there anything else outside of meds I can try to get some sleep?

[Altostrata]

Tinnitus of any type is mysterious. Since antidepressants can cause tinnitus, if I were you, I might focus on non-drug treatments for symptoms.

[lovehorses313]

Burning SO SO bad can't stand it. I can't sleep at all. It just HURTS. Will reinstatement help. Literally it is everywhere. EYES, ARMS, NECK, STOMACH, LEGS. LITERAL HELL. Dr gave me gabapentin but I'm scared to take it. I'm in so much pain. I had 24 hours pain free and now it BURNSSSSS worst than ever. Will it ever stop?! What do I do???

[Altostrata]

Drug- or withdrawal-induced tinnitus might go away.

 

On 7/30/2023 at 12:01 PM, Altostrata said:

How would you feel if the tinnitus got worse but burning was reduced?

 

On 7/27/2023 at 5:32 PM, Altostrata said:

If withdrawal symptoms are severe or intolerable, we often suggest a very low-dose reinstatement of the drug. If you wanted to try this, I suggest trying 0.5mg citalopram, escitalopram's milder sibling.

 

Do you want to try this for the burning? Citalopram comes in prescription liquid so you can take a very small amount with a 1mg oral syringe.

[lovehorses313]

I thought adding another different drug tends to make symptoms worse by destabilizing you more? Ive been off the drug more than 6 weeks at this point and was only on for a a month. I'm a bit worried that reintroducing anything after I've been off so long would just fire my body up more since it seems to be super sensitive.

 

Overall, I feel like certain things are getting better ( ears are more consistently "normal", less dizziness and nausea). While the burning just fluctuates a lot. It's not constant, but when it burns its awful. I'm just so at a loss of what to do. I feel like it has to go away eventually, but if there's something I can do that would for sure make it stop earlier I would do it. I got prescribed gabapentin, but was told by FB groups that adding that is a HORRIBLE idea.

[Emely]

@lovehorses313do you had Corona before ?

i also go through a rough time after being very well al lot of Years and I had Corona..

now for the first time tinnitus also ear pain and this burning in my Arms …

in never had Symptoms like this before .. it can be kind of withdrawel but maybe also Corona..my naturpath says it‘s the combination with Corona and withdrawel

 

[lovehorses313]

I had Covid over 2 years ago. I'm sure it could be a contributor, but never had anything like this until coming off the meds. Torture. Burning is all over my body for me

[Altostrata]

Citalopram is a sibling of escitalopram.

[Rosetta]

Hi.  I’m sorry you are suffering.  Taking gabapentin is a very bad idea.  At SA, the consensus is that adding a new drug is far too risky, and gabapentin is very difficult to quit, from what I have seen here.   
 

Your symptoms will slowly improve.  It’s very frustrating, but I believe you would delay that healing if you tried a new drug.  I hope you feel better soon.

 

Rosetta

[lovehorses313]

My burning symptoms seem to be getting worse, not better. It's worrying me that as time goes on I'm becoming more and more destabilized.  I'm debating a low dose reinstatement.  Like 0.5 mg of lex. Is it too late 7 weeks off the med? If I have immediate bad reactions after 1 or 2 doses should I stop? Or is that too risky. Trying to treat my body with as much care as possible. Do you think it's even worth a try reinstating? 7 weeks off a med I only took 4 weeks

[Altostrata]

On 7/27/2023 at 5:32 PM, Altostrata said:

If withdrawal symptoms are severe or intolerable, we often suggest a very low-dose reinstatement of the drug. If you wanted to try this, I suggest trying 0.5mg citalopram, escitalopram's milder sibling.

 

[lovehorses313]

I ended up reinstating lex earlier today, .25 mg. Within 30 minutes of taking the med the internal trembling I had while previously on the med came back. Not sure yet on the other WD symptoms since I just took it a short while ago. What would you advise? 

[modelarz71]

I'm also struggling with reinstall 0.50 esci. I have constant anxiety, greetings and wish you perseverance. I don't know what to do next.
 

[modelarz71]

I am sorry that there was no mistake in my previous message, i.e. I already had anxiety before reinstalling. Probably for me 0.50 mg is  too little
 

[littlebird]

On 8/6/2023 at 5:18 PM, Rosetta said:

gabapentin is very difficult to quit,

Very, very difficult. It's had a lot of side effects (both med and WD from med) and I'm emotionally hit quite hard with even a 2.5% drop in my already low dose.

 

On 8/5/2023 at 7:14 AM, lovehorses313 said:

I had Covid over 2 years ago. I'm sure it could be a contributor, but never had anything like this until coming off the meds. Torture. Burning is all over my body for me

Might still be contributing, nerve damage is something that happens with covid. When I've had burning, it was from an area where shingles permanently damaged my nerve cells. This has at times increased in this tapering journey but also has gotten cumulatively much better with time. Does anything (cold shower, warm bath, decreasing sensory inputs) help with the burning?

[lovehorses313]

Ice packs are the only thing ive found that help, but it only helps while directly applied and it's hard to manage the ice what with the burning being so wide spread. 

 

Still not sure what to do as far as whether or not to continue the reinstate. The trembling seems like an immediate adverse reaction, and especially since I already had the trembling before while on the med it is concerning. One of the FB support forums told me it might not even be WDs Im dealing with, but possibly a continued adverse reaction.

 

Since the reinstate earlier today none of the symptoms seem any better. Burning is honestly a little more intense than normal ( although it has gotten this high before so it could just be a normal wave). Based on what I'm hearing I'm thinking continuing the reinstatement may be a bad idea, but I'd like to hear others thoughts. @Altostrata if you are able, I hope you can respond to this before I have to decide about my next dose tomorrow 

[Altostrata]

As you may recall, I recommended citalopram rather than escitalopram because of the possibility you always got adverse effects from escitalopram.

 

If you don't like the result of taking 0.5mg escitalopram, you might stop it.

 

 

[Catzbestfriend]

I also had what I believe to be an adverse reaction to escitalopram and developed burning sensations 10 days in all over my body, these lasted only seconds but came in dozens of waves each day. Eventually as I tapered off the meds the burning discontinued but I still get the brain jolts/zaps and wave of a hot sensation that hits me where the burning used to be. I found the brain zaps/jolts got initially better when reducing a dose but then came back worse after 3 weeks and the hot sensation came back then too even though the burning has gone. I am still only 4 weeks off so will see if it stays the same or gets worse. I too am exploring what this could be and why only a few people seem to get the burning sensation on these meds. 

[lovehorses313]

I have been advised by multiple doctors that attempting Celexa probably will be harmful to me, because it is essentially 1/2 lex and my body is obviously super sensitive to it.  The pain is pretty unbearable all over my body though and I know CT tends to last way longer 😕 I went to see a holistic psychiatrist Friday. She seems to think my burning and other symptoms may be partially withdrawal,  but also potentially triggered by other things like yeast, long covid, etc.  The treatment plan she recommends is crazy with tons of supplements. It has magnesium and fish oil, which are generally good, but also a ton of other things including a special type of tea with a bunch of tinctures you add to it ( supplements that mix 5 or 10 things). Do you think this is too risky? I'm not sure what kind of problems this could cause ( new symptoms? worsened symptoms? longer healing time?). Looking for advice and insights regarding the introduction of supplements... my parents are really pushing me to try the full protocol which would be probably be like 10-15 different supplements 

[LotusRising]

I would hesitate to add all those things at once. Also, if you had no burning prior to taking medications and didn't experience burning when you had covid, I would find it hard to believe that covid was related. The burning and other symptoms seem directly related to the harm caused by the SSRI. But that's just my opinion of course.

 

If you're going to add any supplements, you should add them in one at a time. Imo, anyone suggesting 10-15 supplements at one time to someone who is clearly sensitive, isn't really considering the whole picture. There would be no way to know what is or isn't working with this approach. Surely, the holistic psychiatrist can pick out one or two to start with to see how things go. If you want to be cautious, you might even try tapering onto any new supplement that you want to try. 

 

In my experience with burning, it has gotten considerably better with time. 

[Altostrata]

On 7/26/2023 at 5:58 AM, lovehorses313 said:

While on the med I had internal trembling, which is why she said to quit. At first after quitting, I just had the internal trembling and that seemed to fade. However, about 3 weeks later, I started having severe ear pressure /pain, slight tinnitus, burning sensations all over my body. It is difficult to function.

 

How soon after starting Lexapro did you develop the internal trembling?

 

It appears that your system adapted enough in a month of 5mg Lexapro to experience withdrawal symptoms when you stopped.

 

 

On 8/20/2023 at 4:51 AM, lovehorses313 said:

I have been advised by multiple doctors that attempting Celexa probably will be harmful to me, because it is essentially 1/2 lex and my body is obviously super sensitive to it.

 

Escitalopram (Lexapro) is a close relative of citalopram (Celexa) and is several times stronger than citalopram. You may have been sensitive to escitalopram from the first dose.

 

Yet it appears that you developed withdrawal symptoms after going off Lexapro. Reinstatement of the drug is the most reliable way to reduce withdrawal symptoms, but it appears you had an adverse reaction to Lexapro. The reason I suggested citalopram is because it is CLOSELY RELATED to Lexapro but is a WEAKER version.

 

On 8/20/2023 at 4:51 AM, lovehorses313 said:

She seems to think my burning and other symptoms may be partially withdrawal,  but also potentially triggered by other things like yeast, long covid, etc.

 

Did you have covid? When did you have it?

 

It is unlikely you had symptoms that are very much like withdrawal symptoms when you went off the drug, but the symptoms are caused by something else you had for a long time, such as yeast, that did not cause those symptoms before.

 

It sounds to me like this doctor is not very knowledgeable about withdrawal but is selling you an expensive package of unnecessary supplements and other naturopathic remedies, which unfortunately is what many "holistic" practitioners will do. They get a cut of the supplement package price.

 

As @MedRN said, we advise against taking a batch of supplements or whatever at once, try a very low dose of each one at a time.

 

However, you may prefer to pursue treatment with this doctor. That's your decision.

[lovehorses313]

I developed the trembling within about a week of starting lexapro the first time. On the reinstate, within 30 minutes. Is it better to just minimize the number of supplements? Someone told me that each time you add or subtract one it resets yours body's clock on healing. I don't want to make things worse for myself, but my parents are really trying to shove supplements at me.

[Altostrata]

Among our members, we have a small group of people who never did get along very well with the antidepressant. Many have had severe adverse drug reactions (ADR) within a few doses.

 

These people, who are tagged "immediate ADR", have symptoms that are like protracted withdrawal syndrome but they don't have withdrawal syndrome, they have similar symptoms because their nervous systems were upset by taking the drug. Their recovery is slow, with frustrating waves and windows, like people with withdrawal syndrome, but it seems their recovery isn’t as long. Since they had a serious ADR to an antidepressant, they probably should not consider reinstatement.

 

Please read Immediate adverse reactions to an antidepressant or within a few doses? How long for recovery?

 

It appears you are suffering from these long-term effects from Lexapro and perhaps (but maybe not) withdrawal syndrome. We would not suggest any reinstatement of Lexapro in your situation. The drug adverse effects and withdrawal might have made you hypersensitive, which means you may react poorly to other drugs.

 

Your symptoms are likely to fade with time without drug treatment. You will have to cope with them in the meantime.

 

 

Many people find fish oil and magnesium supplements helpful, see

 

https://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/36-king-of-supplements-omega-3-fatty-acids-fish-oil/

 

https://survivingantidepressants.org/topic/15483-magnesium-natures-calcium-channel-blocker/

 

You might try a little bit of one at a time to see how it affects you. Please let us know how you’re doing.

 

 

 

[lovehorses313]

Hi @Altostrata I feel like I'm getting worse and worse all the time. At first it was just a few parts of my body burning, now its nearly everything all the time. Plus a new sore throat and the return of some of my earlier symptoms I thought had gone away. How do I know this is ever gonna get better. You said they are "likely" to fade with time, does that mean they might never go away? This burning is making me so miserable, I feel like I never get any relief, and the sore throat is just the cherry on top for misery.