MPatron: Terrible symptoms - will Lamotrigine help?

[MPatron]

Hi

 

i weaned myself off Zoloft after 12 years and started getting symptoms so tried to get back on with terrible consequences - panic attacks, burning skin, burning brain and depression. My doctor kept upping the dose and things got worse and worse. She then changed me to Lexapro and that was as bad and she increased me again. She then introduced Mirtazapine. I went up to 30mg Mirtazapine and lowered Lexapro from 15mg to 7.5mg. 
 

my symptoms are still terrible. I know it’s not good to substitute for another medicine but I heard lamotrigine can help with withdrawal. Do you have experience with this and would it help me? Thanks

Edited April 26 by Emonda
Name to title

[Erimus]

Hello, and welcome to Surviving Antidepressants. We are a peer support forum to assist in tapering off psychiatric drugs safely, or recovering from psychiatric drug withdrawal.

 

Your first task is to create a drug signature, with the following:

 

• All current medication you take, the dose you take, when you started the drug, and when you made dose changes
• All current supplements you take
• An accurate history of recent drugs, taken in the last 12-24 months
• Dates for recent should be written as 7 Oct 2023, or Oct 7 2023, or early Oct 2023, or mid Oct 2023
• A history of drugs taken 24 months ago and beyond - if applicable
• Dates for historical drugs can simply be listed as start and stop years
• Please do not use 07/10/23 // 10/07/23 as this is intepreted differently around the world

 

• Please leave out symptoms and diagnoses. See my signature for example of clear and concise information.

 

• Click this link to edit your signature: Edit your signature here.

 

 

This topic is for anything relating to you, and any questions you have. Please do not start another topic.

 

We recommend tapering by no more than 10% of your CURRENT dose each month, to limit withdrawal symptoms. E.g. 10mg --> 9mg --> 8.1mg --> 7.29mg

 

All the answers you are looking for regarding tapering and antidepressant withdrawal are on this site. Please search around and continue to read as much as you can manage. Use the site search function to search for specific words or phrases, such as drugs or symptoms.

 

Here are a few of the most useful links:

 

Important topics in the Tapering forum and FAQ

 

Micro tapering

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

Taking multiple psych drugs? Which drug to taper first?

 

How to make a liquid from tablets or capsules

 

Using a scale to weigh and measure doses

 

We only recommend two supplements. Omega 3 Fish Oil and Magnesium. Both should be introduced separately and increased slowly.

 

Regards

Erimus

[Erimus]

9 hours ago, MPatron said:

Hi

 

i weaned myself off Zoloft after 12 years and started getting symptoms so tried to get back on with terrible consequences - panic attacks, burning skin, burning brain and depression. My doctor kept upping the dose and things got worse and worse. She then changed me to Lexapro and that was as bad and she increased me again. She then introduced Mirtazapine. I went up to 30mg Mirtazapine and lowered Lexapro from 15mg to 7.5mg. 
 

my symptoms are still terrible. I know it’s not good to substitute for another medicine but I heard lamotrigine can help with withdrawal. Do you have experience with this and would it help me? Thanks

Fill in your drug signature and I will get back to you. We don't suggest introducing new drugs, particularly if you are already taking two. Unfortunately you reach a point where no drug will stabilise your nervous system. It is best to stick with the ones you are currently taking, and taper off them slowly.

[MPatron]

Ok I’ve updated my signature hope this is correct. 

[Erimus]

On 4/26/2024 at 9:14 PM, MPatron said:

Ok I’ve updated my signature hope this is correct. 

Could you add the dates in when you started the current drugs and doses, and whenever you changed dose. Thanks.

[MPatron]

Done!

[Erimus]

3 hours ago, MPatron said:

Done!

I would highly recommend a period of stability, taking the same doses of each drug for a number of weeks and months. This will allow your brain and nervous system to stabilise somewhat from the catalogue of changes you have made over the last 6-12 months.

[MPatron]

On 4/27/2024 at 1:35 AM, Erimus said:

Fill in your drug signature and I will get back to you. We don't suggest introducing new drugs, particularly if you are already taking two. Unfortunately you reach a point where no drug will stabilise your nervous system. It is best to stick with the ones you are currently taking, and taper off them slowly.

Thank you Erimus. The symptoms are terrible at the moment. I guess just sticking with my current meds and dosages would be the way to go