Lizard-Looking for General Advice and Support

[Lizard]

I'm 6 months and two weeks into my CT of Prozac; this drug debilitated me in important areas of my life, so I had to stop taking it. I'm also taking 5mg of Adderall XR and 2000ius of Vitamin D3 daily to help with energy while I'm in school, I've got to take it or I would be really debilitated from this CT. I've been getting better progressively over the past 6 months; it's been slow though. Right now, I have Mild Anhedonia, Sexual Dysfunction, Residual body numbness, Visual Perception issues, Depression and Confusion all of these symptoms are getting better but slowly. I was wondering if there was any way I could improve, where I'm at, really not sure though. Also for the moderators who see this please pm me, I'd like to be more specific about some of my symptoms but I'd also like privacy as well.

[Jane318]

Greetings @Lizard, and welcome to SA!  We are a community of volunteers providing peer support in the tapering of psychiatric medications and their associated withdrawal syndromes. 

 

Thank you for completing your signature.

 

I am sorry for all you are enduring right now.  ADs are powerful drugs to which our brains/bodies quickly adapt.  Cold turkey stops are extremely stressful to the central nervous system.    We have seen that several withdrawal often "kicks in" weeks or even months after stopping.  Here as SA, we recommend a slow, controlled taper to avoid this.  The symptoms you describe are common withdrawal symptoms.  It is encouraging that you say you are getting better.  The symptoms are temporary - Your body will heal, but it may take several more months.

 

Reinstatement of a very small dose of the original drug is the only known way to help alleviate withdrawal syndrome.  It is best to reinstate as soon as possible after withdrawal symptoms occur, within three months typically.  Given that you are six months since your last dose and since you are improving, I would not necessarily recommend reinstatement for you, but it is an option to try if you want to do so.  If so, reach out for more information on this.

 

The only other option is to wait it out - TIME + PATIENCE, while supporting your body's healing as best you can through good nutrition, rest, staying hydrated, gentle exercise, and eliminating alcohol, caffeine, recreational drugs, and other prescription and OTC drugs as much as possible.  The important thing is to trust your body, that it knows how to heal and never give up Trust Your Body: Learning to Heal.

 

You may want to learn more about withdrawal and healing from ADs:

 

What is withdrawal syndrome.

Brain Remodelling 

Video:  Healing From Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery

 

 

As you heal in withdrawal, it is very normal to have periods where you feel better, and periods where you feel terrible.  This is what we call the windows and waves pattern of stabilization.  This is actually a good sign of healing!  Read more about windows and waves here:   The Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

 

 

I recommend that you keep tabs on your symptoms.  This will help you identify your windows and waves and reveal your progress, which is encouragement we need!  You can use the following list of typical withdrawal symptoms to track the severity of your symptoms over time:  Daily Checklist of Antidepressant Withdrawal Symptoms (PDF).  You will see that it lists they symptoms you report.

 

We have many threads on how to cope with symptoms – I encourage you to check out the various forums / links on the SA.org home page.

 

 

We don't recommend a lot of supplements on SA, as many members report being sensitive to them due to our over-reactive nervous systems, but two supplements that we do recommend are magnesium (glycinate is a good form) and omega 3 (fish oil). Many people find these to be calming to the nervous system.

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker 

Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) 

So if you decide to try a supplement, even those we recommend here, Add in one at a time and at a low dose in case you do experience problems.  If you tolerate it well, you can increase the dosage slowly over time.  

 

9 hours ago, Lizard said:

Also for the moderators who see this please pm me, I'd like to be more specific about some of my symptoms but I'd also like privacy as well.

Regretfully, our small, volunteer moderator team cannot respond to PMs.  Your Intro (this forum) is the right place to ask your questions and get answers.  This sharing of information also benefits all users of the site.

 

Do explore the rest of the forum – there is a lot of great information here.    You can click through the topics listed on the home, browse the various forums (menu at top) or search the site.  The best way to search this site for specific information is to use your favorite search engine. Type in survivingantidepressants.org then the symptom, treatment, supplement or information you wish to search for.

 

Also, feel free to read and comment on the intro threads of other members.  This is how you build a community of people who understand what you are dealing with.   It is so helpful to connect with others who are experiencing the same things.

 

This is your introduction topic.  Each member gets one intro topic- please post updates and questions here, in this thread.

 

I look forward to following your journey, and helping out in any way I can.  Best wishes.

[Lizard]

All good concerning the PM's. Got a couple of questions: 

• Should I try to get off of Adderall? -Could this possibly increase recovery? also If I do try to get off Adderall how should I taper?
• Sounds kind of bad but I'd like to drink Alcohol at some point in the future, I haven't drank any sense starting AD's. At what point do people start drinking again? When they feel fully recovered? or is it like you can't drink for the rest of your life? Really curious.
• Same question above but swap Alcohol with weed.
• How do I find people in my relative location?- Trying to build community

[Jane318]

22 hours ago, Lizard said:

Should I try to get off of Adderall? -Could this possibly increase recovery? also If I do try to get off Adderall how should I taper?

SA supports the safe discontinuation of all psychotropic drugs.  So yes, we would encourage you to slowly taper off Adderall at some point, but if I were you, I would wait until I had stabilized from the Prozac CT.  Adderall is known to be addictive.  The additional stress from Adderall withdrawal would be like throwing gasoline on a fire.  You can learn about how to taper off Adderall here:  Tips for tapering off Adderall.

 

23 hours ago, Lizard said:

At what point do people start drinking again?

SA recommends against use of alcohol and weed during tapering / withdrawal.  I've read some posts by others that they were able to do so after they were sufficiently recovered.   I suspect others decide to permanently abstain for health or other reasons or find that they remain sensitized to these drugs even long after tapering.  As with all things, it is a matter of paying attention to your body's response and choosing to support health and healing.

 

23 hours ago, Lizard said:

How do I find people in my relative location?- Trying to build community

Do you mean geographical location?  If so, I am unsure whether there is a way to search for this, I will check.

If you mean people with similar experiences, you can search the site as described below. You might enter search terms such as Prozac, CT, cold turkey, Adderall.

On 11/23/2024 at 8:02 PM, Jane318 said:

 You can click through the topics listed on the home, browse the various forums (menu at top) or search the site.  The best way to search this site for specific information is to use your favorite search engine. Type in survivingantidepressants.org then the symptom, treatment, supplement or information you wish to search for.

If you use the SA search function, make sure you are on the SA.org home page so it searches the entire site. 

 

Also, when someone responds to you here or you find another member through the search function, you can click on the "following" menu at the top to get notified when they post something.

 

Hope this helps - Best wishes.

[Lizard]

I have another question- Have you kept your faith during this if so, how did you? Right now I can’t understand why withdraw exist, it’s so unnecessary for these drugs to effect people this way. 

[Jane318]

19 minutes ago, Lizard said:

Have you kept your faith during this if so, how did you? Right now I can’t understand why withdraw exist, it’s so unnecessary for these drugs to effect people this way.

Yes, I have kept my faith.  In fact, all that I have learned on this journey, the misery and regrets that I have experienced, and the deep suffering by others that I read about here every day only confirm for me the truths of Scripture.  That we live in a broken world, that evil is real, and that there are natural consequences of turning to the world's systems - which includes psychiatrists / doctors and their drugs - instead of to our Creator for healing, peace, and forgiveness.  Amazingly, God designed our bodies to heal and our minds to seek Him if we choose to!  As long as we draw breath, it is never too late.  He is merciful! 

 

So the above I know with certainty.  My feelings don't always follow right now.  Through decades of AD use and now in withdrawal, I have often felt disconnected from God as well as other people.  But I know what I know, and cling to that, despite my feelings.

Edited November 25, 2024 by Jane318

[Jane318]

How are you doing @Lizard?  Wishing you the best for the holidays.

[Lizard]

I’m doing good, Holiday Season has been a great relief. Taking a break from work has been good on my body. Hope your Christmas was great Jane !

[Jane318]

On 12/25/2024 at 8:02 PM, Lizard said:

I’m doing good, Holiday Season has been a great relief. Taking a break from work has been good on my body. Hope your Christmas was great Jane !

Great news!  Yes, I had a good Christmas, thank you.   Happy New Year!

[Lizard]

Update: Mood is getting better, sexual function still the same, Vision is getting better, Body Numbness is definitely better, confusion is also better. I will add I did have to come off Adderall at the start of December, it was making my Depression worse and driving my bp up. Felt like this was the right move for my body. 
 

Anyone who reads my forum, let me know if you have vision issues as well. For me it’s like my vision is too clear. Like I’m always seeing the world in 4K. Also my interpretation of light is different, like before I took SSRis light looked different than it does now. To add I wear contacts and glasses. My vision without glasses or contacts is better than before SSRis. I’ll take them off and I notice that my vision is clearer than before taking SSris. This is a really prevalent issue for me. Putting this out here to see if anyone could relate.