Finn Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 Has this happened to anyone else while on medication or during withdrawal? Cuz it never happened to me before recently. I used to be perfectly attentive, focused emotionally and cognitively, but now, Ill be talking and I'll either space out or my mind will wander and focus on something else while someone is talking to me. Like I disconnect from the conversation. When I'm reading or something else that requires focus, I can focus/ concentrate as long as I don't try to think about how well I am concentrating. Tapering Zoloft, Dec 2014 Started Lamictal Re-started Zoloft mid-Oct 2014, 25-50mg Stopped Zoloft end of Sept 2014 Started Zoloft July 2014, 50mg Stopped Prozac from 3mg May 2014 Stopped Effexor Dec '13 Started 10mg Prozac Reinstated Effexor 15mg on Nov 2013 Stopped from 21mg on Oct 2013Effexor 112.5mg, since Dec 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Emeritus mammaP Posted November 17, 2013 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted November 17, 2013 Hi Finn, I was like that for years after effexor pooped out. It was really embarrassing sometimes. Once I was chatting with my friend and as usual was zoned out. I was adept at making the right noises, or thought I was, but then she said my name to get my attention and said she just told me her daughter had miscarried . I had made some random comment but had not understood what she told me. It was like people speaking a foreign language and I was a bystander, not involved in the conversation at all. I started avoiding people in the end and was reclusive. It started to get better as I dropped in dose. It's much better now but I do still have a tendency to zone out after a while. It was the same with reading or concentrating on anything really, I would read words but not remember a single one. That can still be a problem, sometimes on here I have to read something several times before I get the sense of it, and still get it wrong! I have to give up and leave because the longer I struggle the harder it gets. These drugs cause so many problems most people aren't aware of. My family and I thought I was in the early stages of alzheimers I was so bad! **I am not a medical professional, if in doubt please consult a doctor with withdrawal knowledge. Different drugs occasionally (mostly benzos) 1976 - 1981 (no problem) 1993 - 2002 in and out of hospital. every type of drug + ECT. Staring with seroxat 2002 effexor. Tapered March 2012 to March 2013, ending with 5 beads. Withdrawal April 2013 . Reinstated 5 beads reduced to 4 beads May 2013 Restarted taper Nov 2013 OFF EFFEXOR Feb 2015 Tapered atenolol and omeprazole Dec 2013 - May 2014 Tapering tramadol, Feb 2015 100mg , March 2015 50mg July 2017 30mg. May 15 2018 25mg Taking fish oil, magnesium, B12, folic acid, bilberry eyebright for eye pressure. My story http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/4199-hello-mammap-checking-in/page-33 Lesson learned, slow down taper at lower doses. Taper no more than 10% of CURRENT dose if possible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finn Posted November 17, 2013 Author Share Posted November 17, 2013 Hmmm, it was effexor as the culprit for you too then. Crap. It's most embarrassing for me when my thoughts wander to something funny so I have to repress laughter about something unrelated to the conversation at hand. I just want to scream "why?!" Frustration. But you get me. With reading, if I see all the words on the page, I will mostly be able to remember them and what they mean, but sometimes, if I am not concentrating, I will skip over words or not be able to tell what's happening from context as fluently (this one in real life as well). Tapering Zoloft, Dec 2014 Started Lamictal Re-started Zoloft mid-Oct 2014, 25-50mg Stopped Zoloft end of Sept 2014 Started Zoloft July 2014, 50mg Stopped Prozac from 3mg May 2014 Stopped Effexor Dec '13 Started 10mg Prozac Reinstated Effexor 15mg on Nov 2013 Stopped from 21mg on Oct 2013Effexor 112.5mg, since Dec 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattinsmom Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 Hi Finn Spacing out is such a common thing for me that my friends and family already know that if I am not looking at them and physically engaged then I am not "with" them. My entire body tends to stop moving when my thoughts get to wandering. I also have trouble with reading. I say that I read every book at least twice because I have to continually re-read to keep up. Current: Lorazapam: 2mg: 4/9/15: 2mg - 1.5mg: already sick/nothing noticed. No changes in sleep noted after illness. Lamictal: 7/27/13 - 8/6/13: 400mg - 500mg(dr order) mouth sores, headache, cognitive/balance, heart palp...8/7/13 - 8/23/13: 500mg - 400mg; symptoms↓...10/10/13: 350mg; fever/flu-like <2-weeks...12/30/13: 325mg; fever/flu-like symptoms <1-week...2/10/17: 300mg; no significant changes noted. Discontinued: Omeprazole: 09/2103 40mg...5/1/14: 20mg... 8/21/14 = 0 Wellbutrin: 11/22/13: 300mg – 225mg...12/6/13 delayed reaction- mood swings, weight↓, heart palp/chest pain, alerting...12/14/13: 187mg; physical symptoms↓, neuro emotions ↑, weight stable...12/20/13: 225mg; physical symptoms return, emotions stable <1-week, weight↓...4/21/14: 187mg; weight↑...5/17/14 (neurologist ordered discontinue asap):168mg; headache, mood swings, ↑weight, sleep flux...5/24/14: 150mg; headache, mood swings, ↓cognitive/balance...6/2/14: 112mg; see above, weight stable, <3-weeks... 6/28/14: 100mg; moody...7/25/14: 87.5mg; family troubles... 8/4/14: 75mg; headaches; moody... 8/9/14: 50mg headaches... 8/12/14: 37.5mg; 8/17/14: 25mg...8/26/14 = 0 Hydroxyzine; 10mg: 5/20/15 *prn 4/5 times then dc'd. Mood changes/rage Buspirone: 7.5mg: 5/20/15 *prn 4/5 times then dc'd. No changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finn Posted November 27, 2013 Author Share Posted November 27, 2013 Since I reinstated, I no longer have this problem as drastically. Tapering Zoloft, Dec 2014 Started Lamictal Re-started Zoloft mid-Oct 2014, 25-50mg Stopped Zoloft end of Sept 2014 Started Zoloft July 2014, 50mg Stopped Prozac from 3mg May 2014 Stopped Effexor Dec '13 Started 10mg Prozac Reinstated Effexor 15mg on Nov 2013 Stopped from 21mg on Oct 2013Effexor 112.5mg, since Dec 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Emeritus mammaP Posted November 30, 2013 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted November 30, 2013 I was like that all the time, it started to lessen as I got down to low doses. It still happens sometimes, I can't concentrate and can feel myself drifting. My daughter complained that I was 'out of it all the time' . I am so so glad I decided to get off that poison! I still have a way to go and am not sure if I will ever get back to how I was, 20 years have passed so I'm that much older but am so much better than I was before tapering. **I am not a medical professional, if in doubt please consult a doctor with withdrawal knowledge. Different drugs occasionally (mostly benzos) 1976 - 1981 (no problem) 1993 - 2002 in and out of hospital. every type of drug + ECT. Staring with seroxat 2002 effexor. Tapered March 2012 to March 2013, ending with 5 beads. Withdrawal April 2013 . Reinstated 5 beads reduced to 4 beads May 2013 Restarted taper Nov 2013 OFF EFFEXOR Feb 2015 Tapered atenolol and omeprazole Dec 2013 - May 2014 Tapering tramadol, Feb 2015 100mg , March 2015 50mg July 2017 30mg. May 15 2018 25mg Taking fish oil, magnesium, B12, folic acid, bilberry eyebright for eye pressure. My story http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/4199-hello-mammap-checking-in/page-33 Lesson learned, slow down taper at lower doses. Taper no more than 10% of CURRENT dose if possible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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