Jacks Posted July 25, 2023 Share Posted July 25, 2023 My partner is suffering from start up symptoms from Changing to sertraline and citalopram and back to fluoxetine all within about a year along with then increasing the dose and decreasing fluoxetine rapidly under the GPs advice. We found a support group online and recognised that he is suffering from this along with withdrawal symptoms. He has been trying to stabilise at 20mg for over 4 months before we taper slowly as recommended 5% The mornings are awful. Severe anxiety, nausea,shaking which takes up to 6 hours to improve. We have added magnesium and zinc, L theanine, caffeine free green tea one at a time to try and help but nothing really has. We need some advice as to what to do now. Do we reduce 5% and see what happens? Do we reinstate at a higher dose? Do we make a bigger reduction? We have read up on cortisol spikes and sleep in a dark room, no phones, no light etc Any help appreciated. Many thanks My partner was started on fluoxetine 20 plus years ago for chemical imbalance. Has come off cold turkey in the past and then had increased depression and anxiety so started again. About 3 years ago the GP suggested increase in dose as didn't seem to be working. This led to worsening anxiety so changed to sertraline after 7 days off fluoxetine. Worsening symptoms again to 7 days off and tried citalopram. Symptoms then ramped up massively. Brain fog.speech problems, unsteady,shaking,nausea, palpitations, joint pain . The GP suggested to go back on fluoxetine at an even higher dose. Over the last few years in liason with the GP he has increased and decreased the dose continuously. The awful symptoms prompted him to ask to get off the drug and he was advised 30mg one day and 20mg the next for a few weeks before going down to 10mg. We found a support group at this point and recognised the withdrawal effects so have been trying to stabilise before we taper. Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted July 27, 2023 Administrator Share Posted July 27, 2023 Welcome, @Jacks On 7/25/2023 at 11:27 AM, Jacks said: The mornings are awful. Severe anxiety, nausea,shaking which takes up to 6 hours to improve. Does this occur before or after your partner takes 20mg fluoxetine (?)? To help us out, follow these instructions Please summarize your partner's drug and withdrawal history in your signature You may need to use a computer to do this. This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment
Jacks Posted July 28, 2023 Author Share Posted July 28, 2023 It's just after he gets up. He then takes his fluoxetine about an hour later. I've read about cortisol spikes and we are doing whatever we can to mitigate that. My partner was started on fluoxetine 20 plus years ago for chemical imbalance. Has come off cold turkey in the past and then had increased depression and anxiety so started again. About 3 years ago the GP suggested increase in dose as didn't seem to be working. This led to worsening anxiety so changed to sertraline after 7 days off fluoxetine. Worsening symptoms again to 7 days off and tried citalopram. Symptoms then ramped up massively. Brain fog.speech problems, unsteady,shaking,nausea, palpitations, joint pain . The GP suggested to go back on fluoxetine at an even higher dose. Over the last few years in liason with the GP he has increased and decreased the dose continuously. The awful symptoms prompted him to ask to get off the drug and he was advised 30mg one day and 20mg the next for a few weeks before going down to 10mg. We found a support group at this point and recognised the withdrawal effects so have been trying to stabilise before we taper. Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted July 29, 2023 Administrator Share Posted July 29, 2023 19 hours ago, Jacks said: He then takes his fluoxetine about an hour later. What happens after that? Please summarize your partner's drug and withdrawal history in your signature You may need to use a computer to do this. This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment
Jacks Posted July 29, 2023 Author Share Posted July 29, 2023 nothing that we can relate to actually taking the drug specifically. He wakes up, is ok for a short time and then the nausea,shaking,anxiety etc kick in, he has breakfast and takes meds but doesn't improve for anything from 3 to 6 hours. The improvement is still nothing major, he's dragging his feet,struggling with speech,brain fog,pain in joints until evening when he does improve a little further. My partner was started on fluoxetine 20 plus years ago for chemical imbalance. Has come off cold turkey in the past and then had increased depression and anxiety so started again. About 3 years ago the GP suggested increase in dose as didn't seem to be working. This led to worsening anxiety so changed to sertraline after 7 days off fluoxetine. Worsening symptoms again to 7 days off and tried citalopram. Symptoms then ramped up massively. Brain fog.speech problems, unsteady,shaking,nausea, palpitations, joint pain . The GP suggested to go back on fluoxetine at an even higher dose. Over the last few years in liason with the GP he has increased and decreased the dose continuously. The awful symptoms prompted him to ask to get off the drug and he was advised 30mg one day and 20mg the next for a few weeks before going down to 10mg. We found a support group at this point and recognised the withdrawal effects so have been trying to stabilise before we taper. Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted July 29, 2023 Administrator Share Posted July 29, 2023 Before further discussion, Please summarize your partner's drug and withdrawal history in your signature This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment
Jacks Posted July 30, 2023 Author Share Posted July 30, 2023 I've done this .thank you My partner was started on fluoxetine 20 plus years ago for chemical imbalance. Has come off cold turkey in the past and then had increased depression and anxiety so started again. About 3 years ago the GP suggested increase in dose as didn't seem to be working. This led to worsening anxiety so changed to sertraline after 7 days off fluoxetine. Worsening symptoms again to 7 days off and tried citalopram. Symptoms then ramped up massively. Brain fog.speech problems, unsteady,shaking,nausea, palpitations, joint pain . The GP suggested to go back on fluoxetine at an even higher dose. Over the last few years in liason with the GP he has increased and decreased the dose continuously. The awful symptoms prompted him to ask to get off the drug and he was advised 30mg one day and 20mg the next for a few weeks before going down to 10mg. We found a support group at this point and recognised the withdrawal effects so have been trying to stabilise before we taper. Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted July 31, 2023 Administrator Share Posted July 31, 2023 Please add approximate dates to all the events in your signature. Please keep daily notes of times o’clock your partner takes his drugs, their dosages, and his symptoms throughout the day. We need to know how he feels before and after taking each drug, and any significant symptoms in between. Post 24 hours of notes at a time in this topic, in a simple list format with time o’clock on the left and notation (symptom or drug and dosage) on the right. This can help us understand what's causing the symptoms. This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment
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