matha18: Intro

[matha18]

Hi, my name is (removed by Emonda), I’m from Venezuela but currently live in Spain, so sorry for any mistake or misspelling.

 

My story begging when I stopped cold turkey a benzo that my family doctor prescribed over the phone for some anxiety and stress, I didn’t know I couldn’t do that so my withdrawal started very quickly, but not knowing anything about this topic I didn’t know it was withdrawal, end up in the emergency room for a panic attack and suicidal thoughts (that never in my life I had). The emergency psychiatric Up my benzo dosage and give me an antidepressant I also had and surgery at this time, so nothing change I just felt worse and worse, I started researching snf finally I knew what happened to me, I was on withdrawal, my doctor doesn’t believes me so a I started my taper by myself after only 2 months of use it has been trial and error, withdrawals has been brutal but im almost at the end of a year of what i think is a slow tapper for my short use.  I finished my benzo it has been hard since I stopped but manageable still I’m tapper my antidepressants cause I stared that last.

i have a question but I don’t know where to post it.

 

 

 

[matha18]

Hi, my name is (removed by Emonda), I’m from Venezuela but currently live in Spain, so sorry for any mistake or misspelling.

 

My story begging when I stopped cold turkey a benzo that my family doctor prescribed over the phone for some anxiety and stress, I didn’t know I couldn’t do that so my withdrawal started very quickly, but not knowing anything about this topic I didn’t know it was withdrawal, end up in the emergency room for a panic attack and suicidal thoughts (that never in my life I had). The emergency psychiatric Up my benzo dosage and give me an antidepressant I also had and surgery at this time, so nothing change I just felt worse and worse, I started researching snf finally I knew what happened to me, I was on withdrawal, my doctor doesn’t believes me so a I started my taper by myself after only 2 months of use it has been trial and error, withdrawals has been brutal but im almost at the end of a year of what i think is a slow tapper for my short use.  I finished my benzo it has been hard since I stopped but manageable still I’m tapper my antidepressants cause I stared that last.

i have a question but I don’t know where to post it.

0.5 mg of alprazolam 2 times a day 

1 mg of trankimazim 2 times a day

takin for 2 months as prescribed then I started the tapper at July of 2023 end of  the tapper April of 2024.

25mg of sertraline 1 a day. Started the tapered on November of 2023 after 6 months of use. Still tapering but want to be off soon.

 

 

 

 

[matha18]

Hi, 

so I have a question I’m tapering sertraline for the past 8 months after a 6 month use,  I’m almost at the end (method use, water taper) Saturday I was on a friends house, who have 2 dogs I had allergic reaction to cats but never dogs, I came home and had mild allergies that went way,  the next day i was normal but when I took my dosage of sertraline that day and my allergies ramp up I got a itchy rash all over my body my face got swollen and I had to go to the emergency room they put me on a corticoide and a antihistamínico, I refuse to take the meds they prescribed and instead I bought and antialérgico over the counter.

 

yesterday I woke up better so I didn’t take it but again when it got to take my dosage of sertraline my allergic reaction got worse than the day before l, the swollen got worse and all over my body, the red marks and itching, and i couldn't breathe right,  I felt like sh… so I’m scared now to take my dosage today.  

 

have any of you have gone  through this? 
 

What is recommended? I haven’t taken my dosage today. 

[matha18]

Name change! Thanks to you and the other moderator.

 

 

[Emonda]

Welcome @matha18

I'm glad we were able to get your name resolved. We are in different time zones, so there can be delays.

 

Could you please update your signature so that it is English.

 

On 6/4/2024 at 6:52 AM, matha18 said:

i have a question but I don’t know where to post it

 

All questions can be posted right here.

 

On 6/4/2024 at 7:08 AM, matha18 said:

withdrawals has been brutal but im almost at the end of a year of what i think is a slow tapper for my short use

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage? The reductions should get smaller and smaller each month, for example: 10mg, 9mg, 8.1mg, 7.3mg etc. Importantly, if you develop unpleasant side effects from tapering, halt the taper, give yourself time to settle, and once stable, taper more slowly and by smaller amounts moving forward.

 

When you taper faster than the above, WD symptoms are the likely outcome: Daily Checklist of Antidepressant Withdrawal Symptoms (PDF) 

 

4 hours ago, matha18 said:

the emergency room they put me on a corticoide and a antihistamínico, I refuse to take the meds they prescribed and instead I bought and antialérgico over the counter.

 

So you did take these meds at the hospital, but not since? I know that some drugs interact adversely. Also, when tapering, you can be very sensitive to something as simple as an over-the-counter medication.

 

4 hours ago, matha18 said:

I felt like sh… so I’m scared now to take my dosage today.  

 

You haven't taken the Sertraline, or the other meds your bought over the counter?

 

A few general links to assist you:

Windows and waves pattern of stabilization

Emotional Spirals

Non-drug coping strategies

We don't suggest many supplements, but two that many of us find helpful are magnesium and omega-3 fish oil. Here are the links for info about those. Add one at a time and start with a low dose to see how it affects you. 

Magnesium andOmega-3 fatty acids (fish oil)

 

Avoid alcohol.

Don't change the manufacturer of your AD.

This is your own Introduction topic.  Each member has only ONE Introduction topic.  Your own Introduction topic is the best place to ask questions and the place to journal your progress.  This keeps your history in one place and means you do not have to repeat your story. 

Once again, welcome to S.A.

Emonda

[matha18]

Hi, thank you for your reply and yes thanks for the help. 
 

Already change my signature to English.

 

yes I had to took the corticoide on the emergency room through an IV. They prescribed me to take home, 2 different antihistamines and 1 corticoide, I’m scared of taking them for seven days so I just took an over the counter anti allergy medicine.

 

and I haven’t taken today my dosage of sertralina because for two days now when a take it my allergy get worse to the point that I can’t breathe right. 
 

I just took 2 pills today of the antiallergic medicine.

 

im so scared.

 

[Emonda]

How long have you been taking Sertraline? Your signature says you are on 25mg, but tapering in November 2023. Is this right? Are you still on 25mg?

 

Have you recently changed manufacturer?

 

Stopping CT is going to be very unpleasant, but so is the reaction you have suddenly developed.

 

When you say you can't breathe, I wonder if you have tapered too quickly, and this is a WD symptom. I stuffed up with my taper back at the start and dropped 25% rather than 2.5%. I struggled to breathe. It felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. Is this the sort of feeling you have?

[matha18]

Hi, 

 

I’ve been tapering 25gm of sertraline that I took for 6 months  since November of last year, it wouldn’t be CT or I don’t think so. I was water tapering 1mm a day and holding if I felt too bad, so I don’t think is too quickly, what do you think? 
 I haven’t changed manufacturer it had always been the same one.

today is the second day that I didn’t took the dosage that I  was on because I’m scared of the reaction cause every time that it happened it got worse. So I think I’m in a little bit of trouble. 
 

 

 

[matha18]

28 minutes ago, Emonda said:

How long have you been taking Sertraline? Your signature says you are on 25mg, but tapering in November 2023. Is this right? Are you still on 25mg?

 

Have you recently changed manufacturer?

 

Stopping CT is going to be very unpleasant, but so is the reaction you have suddenly developed.

 

When you say you can't breathe, I wonder if you have tapered too quickly, and this is a WD symptom. I stuffed up with my taper back at the start and dropped 25% rather than 2.5%. I struggled to breathe. It felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. Is this the sort of feeling you have?

sorry I didn’t answer the last part I felt like is something stoked in my throat It felt like a balloon this has happened to me in WD but i can manage it because it’s jus uncomfortable, not painful or give me too much trouble. But this time it was this sensation combined with like it felt like asthma, coughing and itchy.

 

and one other thing sorry if I misspelled something or make a mistake. Still learning English 🫶🏻

[Emonda]

7 minutes ago, matha18 said:

and one other thing sorry if I misspelled something or make a mistake. Still learning English 🫶🏻

 

English is my only language, and I make heaps of spelling errors. You're doing just fine 👍

 

So, you were on 25mg. Now what? Please let us know each of the reductions and the dates you made those reductions.

 

 

[matha18]

🙏🏻🫶🏻

 

25 mg( the pill at this manufacturer size weighs 76gr)  I started the taper in November following the Ashton manual I was making reductions every 2 weeks of 10% it was a good pace for me I was functional, the WD symptoms were manageable. Then the pill got too little I couldn’t make the dry cut anymore so I decided to make a water taper, reducing 1ml of water a day, holding if I felt too bad, this month I’ve only had left like 10ml of the water I was holding because I’ve been having insomnia and it was a stressful month. 
 

Then all of this happened and I’m scared to continue the taper 

[Emonda]

Ok, I see. Dropping 20% per month will leave you with some very unpleasant WD symptoms. They would likely have crept up on you over time. Did you have a good read of this link: Daily Checklist of Antidepressant Withdrawal Symptoms (PDF) 

 

After reading this link, do you think you are having an allergic reaction, or, do you think the WD symptoms are starting to hit you? I'm no doctor, but I'd be expecting the latter...

 

If you come to the conclusion that you are experiencing WD symptoms, then you can either just hold at your current dose for an extended period (months), and stability should return. Or some people, slightly increase their dose...But I would want you list each of the reductions you have made and the dates so someone can try to assist more accurately.

 

What was your current dose (before you stopped 3 days ago)?

 

[matha18]

I have read the list, and I have experienced most of those symptoms but I should clarify that I was already in WD from my benzos that I’ll taper first that the sertraline, I was experiencing windows more and more,  symptoms have gone away then some came back then I’ll have periods where I felt fine. But this is entirely new and I’m already 8 months tapering the Ad. It’s hard for me to give exact dates of the reduction I’m sorry that I can’t be more accurate.

 

But I’ll try, since 1 of November of 2023 

 

sertraline weight was 76gm. (Sorry I got confused) but I was not reducing 10% every two weeks it was 1 gr every 3 days (what I told you earlier was the reducing of my benzo) so it was a smaller reduction. Then the pill got too small to cut dry or to weigh it so when the pill got the weight of 20gm I started a water tapered,  that was on April of 2024 I took every day 1 ml of water and hold if days got too hard (but overall I could manage) 

 

im sure this won’t help very much but like I said this reaction was the first time I have experienced it not on my benzo taper or in this 8 months of taper the AD or in my life before this hole thing happened.

 

again very sorry that is too messy.

 

i don’t know what to do because im afraid that it is the pill that is making this reaction and if I continue taking it I get worse with the allergy but im scared of withdrawal too because today a feel pressured on my brain and I haven’t felt that in months and I think THAT is wd. 

[matha18]

Ohhh and the water taper I was almost done 10mm of water.