ikam: tapering escitalopram

[ikam]

I need to stop omeprazole...I have developed severe nausea and  long term cough. I think it is elated to omeprazole. I don't know how to stop it...Shall I replace it with something?

I have something called Enterosgel...http://enteromed.co.uk/ Seems good...

[ikam]

Last year this time was only 5th day of my decrease...

 

I have managed quite well....

 

When my life will become more stable (I hope) I will start my next tapper...

[ikam]

I have been on 2.5mg for one year. Still waiting for my life to stabilise...

[LexAnger]

Was actually thinking of you.

How are you doing lately.

[ikam]

Thanks. I am OK, just tired as my new work requires a lot of driving (+700 miles week). Also I have been offered a permanent position there, but still waiting for references. Getting a bit nervous, impatient in times.

When eventually everything will be sorted out with the job, I want to move out of my flat, closer to work...

 

Waiting is really tiring...

 

When I will hopefully get more settled I want to start tapering. As I have had lots of changes I cannot afford any derailment...

 

And how are you doing?

I don't visit the site often, as I used to get very scared that I would never get over my symptoms...I see you have been holding for some time...

[LexAnger]

So happy you are doing ok!

I'm following your suits hoping to get stabilized with the long hold. So far not great feeling in deeper water hard to get each day through, constantly debating if I should make another cut as I feel the holding is more harmful and my body is resisting each drop of drug I take every day. I.icompletely understand how you think about further tapering. At this moment, I tend to think holding forever as long as I can stabilize and function.

 

Such a killer.

 

You have been holding so strong and well going through lots in life on top of this difficult process. How do you think of the long hold? I have been at the same dose since the most dramatic hit for 4.5 months feeling worse sometimes.

 

Stay well and best luck to your job and house situation!

 

Lex

[Songbird]

I need to stop omeprazole...I have developed severe nausea and  long term cough. I think it is elated to omeprazole. I don't know how to stop it...Shall I replace it with something?

I have something called Enterosgel...http://enteromed.co.uk/ Seems good...

 

Did you manage to stop omeprazole?  I've read that some people get bad w/d symptoms and that it needs to be slow tapered.  Wouldn't you know it.  This is the drug that doctors handed out to everyone for years claiming how safe and "benign", now the research is revealing it has some very nasty long term effects.  Gee, where have we seen that story before.  I've never heard of enterosgel before, it sounds interesting.  Did you try it?

[ikam]

So happy you are doing ok!

I'm following your suits hoping to get stabilized with the long hold. So far not great feeling in deeper water hard to get each day through, constantly debating if I should make another cut as I feel the holding is more harmful and my body is resisting each drop of drug I take every day. I.icompletely understand how you think about further tapering. At this moment, I tend to think holding forever as long as I can stabilize and function.

 

Such a killer.

 

You have been holding so strong and well going through lots in life on top of this difficult process. How do you think of the long hold? I have been at the same dose since the most dramatic hit for 4.5 months feeling worse sometimes.

 

Stay well and best luck to your job and house situation!

 

Lex

Thank you Lex,

Now, I think I have done well with deciding for a long hold. I did try to decrease at some point, but did not feel well. I see from my signature that it was in April. That time I just wanted to have this poison out of my system. I took me long to stabilise. I had symptoms on and off...but slowly becoming calmer...

I am feeling more stable at present, despite of many external problems...

Today I think my decision was correct...but I remember how much I wanted just to stop...

 

Warm wishes...

[ikam]

 

I need to stop omeprazole...I have developed severe nausea and  long term cough. I think it is elated to omeprazole. I don't know how to stop it...Shall I replace it with something?

I have something called Enterosgel...http://enteromed.co.uk/ Seems good...

 

Did you manage to stop omeprazole?  I've read that some people get bad w/d symptoms and that it needs to be slow tapered.  Wouldn't you know it.  This is the drug that doctors handed out to everyone for years claiming how safe and "benign", now the research is revealing it has some very nasty long term effects.  Gee, where have we seen that story before.  I've never heard of enterosgel before, it sounds interesting.  Did you try it?

 

 

I think PPI are very addictive and I get lots of rebound related problems.

 

I have not managed to stop omeprazole, I have had such a bad reflux. Enterosgel brings some relief.

 

I went to GP, they swapped one PPI to another one and referred me for endoscopy. I think I need to do it, as I have been a bit concerned about some digestive track symptoms (e.g. swallowing problems, severe reflux).

 

I think PPI are addictive and I have lots of rebound related problems...

[LexAnger]

Thanks Ikam for your kind assurance about long hold! I think I am going to hold even with waves coming back.

 

I was switched from PPI to a H2 blocker which is milder than my original PPI ( 94% vs 99% blocking effect), I remember I got immediate worsening of WD symptoms of SSIR although still manageable, then one month later I suddenly stopped the H2 blocker all hell broke which led me to increase lexapro guessing around how much I need to increase to cover the PPI effect then got the worst hit as I think I increased too much. My journey took a complete new route since then downward sliding.

[ikam]

I remember your story. This is the reason why I have been careful...

[LexAnger]

great! I just want to make sure it wont happen to you or anyone else.

[ikam]

Seems that Nexium helps me better than Omeprasole. I also have a referral for endoscopy...

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

I got a permanent contract. Yuppie!!! Starting in May, this will be the same job I am in at present, but permanent. And I like it

I will move closer to work, as at present I drive weekly around 800miles- ouch! Bit tired...But much, much happier...    

[LexAnger]

Congratulations Ikam! You are doing so great and I'm really happy for you!

[ikam]

I had a car accident yesterday. Nothing happened to me, just a shock.

The car suddenly started skidding, I did not drive fast, maybe around 20miles an hour, it was close to work. And I lost control over the car and ended up in the ditch...

People were very helpful, as I lost my ability to talk and understand...not completely...

 

Eventually, my car was pulled out from the ditch, there is a damage to the side of a car, + there was a radiator liquid pouring out...

 

Interestingly, after all this shock, when I reconnected to feelings, I had some pins and needles in my hands, so I think maybe we feel this symptom when we began to feel our body after being switched off with AD...

[LexAnger]

Oh no, so sorry about the accident! Glad you are ok and hope the repair won't be too much hassle.

It must be the stress causing the needles pins.

 

How are you doing otherwise?

[ikam]

Thank you. I am generally OK, but the accident has derailed me a lot. I have these feelings of powerlessness, especially now when waiting for the insurance company to decide.

 

I was really lucky, as I did not hit any tree, I ended up kind of "cushioned" in the bushes...

 

My mind keeps bringing the picture, and I still cannot figure out how did it happen...

[ikam]

The accident has shaken me more that I expected. My life had been kind of organised, but got so much derailed. I also started to have strange symptoms (autonomic nervous system over-stimulation), such as itching head, strange (paraesthesia type) sensations on my head and problems with concentration...

I have restarted driving, but I have been more nervous and actually don't want to do this anymore...

If I could I would hide away from anything and anybody...

 

Still dealing with an insurance company, they found that my car was altered in some way and they are trying to make me responsible for the accident. I worry a lot that they will ask me to pay all the costs...

[LexAnger]

So sorry about the situation and how it impacted your nerve system!

Is it possible for you to take some days off work just relax at home to rest your system? Accident happens and it will be fine if you can think it that way instead of thinking too much about it.

[ikam]

Since the accident I have been so tired...my recovery from it takes so long...my nervous system does not heal well...it has been damaged...

[ikam]

Hi,

I am really embarrassed about this. I am addicted to Doxepin and other sedative meds. Every so often I take higher dose in order to cot me off everything. It happened again in last two days...

 

I don't know what to do anymore...It is as if I have to sabotage my progress...

 

Would anybody know any group that deals with people abusing prescription meds...?

 

I have been doing pretty well until the accident. People expect me to recover quicker from this even. And on a surface I appear well...I was OK with driving up to the accident, I even enjoyed it...

Since the accident I am so tired...

 

I have managed to find a different accommodation closer to work. But I am so scared of moving...it would be in two weeks...

 

I feel so "depressed"...so low...

I wonder if I take overdoses in the time I am in the wave?

I don't seem to be able to recognise this moment. I do when it is too late, namely when I already swallow the meds...

[ikam]

Update

Move house once more, from studio flat in London to two bedroom house with a garden. Seems nice and quiet area at last. Much closer to work.

Seems the matters in my life are settling.

I would like to get back to tampering esc in a week or two.

I think it is a good time at last to get back to my protocol...

I will do this slowly...

[ikam]

I went to see my GP as I have had problem with swallowing, she sent me for endoscopy (all clear!), but because I am low with iron plus have a bit increased sugar (I did not fast before test), she has been preoccupied with finding a cancer/or any illness in my body! As she said, I am losing iron somewhere. So sent me for colonoscopy!

She did not listen that I have had over one year of long-term stress, driving around 500miles a week, living in a shabby accommodation,etc.

Moreover, I am convinced, I have problem with absorption, not losing it! I read a lot about leaky gut syndrome and it fits the picture.

I told her I cannot take iron tablets (I get very sick), but she prescribed me tablets! (I used to have iron injections in the past)...

She is very young and quite arrogant; does not listen at all...

 

So I am back dealing with the swallowing problem on my own...

 

I am 56 years old and feeling so old; hardly can get energy going...I used to be very active, walked a lot...I have been staying indoors most of the time...

I wonder, if the change in my life style (driving long hours, sitting a lot, hardly doing any exercise) for over one year, could have contributed to my tiredness? I went shopping yesterday, and came back exhausted. My joints are so painful, and I am constantly covered with sweat, even with the slightest task...

 

I have just started a new job, moved house over one month ago (still need to do unpacking!), and instead of feeling better I actually crashed into a kind of exhaustion...

Could it be related to having a lot of stress and now "just relaxing"?

It is nice and quiet here, I have more space and it is not so hot and dusty...So maybe I am just catching up and one day I will get better???

 

Any thoughts, I would really appreciate this, as I don't understand the way I feel and I am worried that I will just crash and die...

 

I have not changed anything with my medication...

[cymbaltawithdrawal5600]

Ikam,

 

Oh how I wish I could say something to you to let you know that I think things will turn out ok but not sure I can. I don't have the time to read back through your thread so what I say might not totally fit your experience but you take anything from it you think may fit.

 

I think your body developed what we call 'withdrawal syndrome' which is really a catch-all term to explain a lot of weird stuff that happens when we take psychoactive drugs of any sort and we attempt to try to quit them. The body develops a kind of 'evil' adaptation to them and must be given a very long time to change back over to the way it should be. Unfortunately, that is very difficult for it to do because when it reacts the way it does, we are panicked at what it does. And there's the problem that concurrently we are aging too. But it eventually sorts itself out.

 

My guess, and only because I went through it too, is that your swallowing difficulty is because of nervous system upset which has to sort itself out but you focus on it (how could you not???) and it becomes more pronounced. If the doc did tests and say there is nothing there then this is a case of you just having to bear with it till something either comes on stronger or it starts going away. You did the right thing in having the doc check it out.

 

The iron thing is, I think, is something where she might be trying to apply a laboratory value to a human body and tryng to make it fit. If you cannot take the pills, don't take them if you know ahead of time they won't work for you. Iron is difficult to treat with pills. Are you very pale, getting short of breath, are your nail beds and lips blue, gums white? Those are all some symptoms of severe low oxygen and and one reason for low oxygen in the body is low hemoglobin which is where iron comes in. Your hemoglobin can be low but still ok for you if you look at the fact that you were taking a drug that could affect absorption of iron (omeprazole or something?) and because of the stress you have been living under, have been eating poorly and demanding more from your body than it has in reserve to give. Never underestimate how hard stress is on the body. Add wd syndrome and oh yuck, it feels really bad.

 

It will take a long time of lowered stress and good rest and eating but things will gradually get better. A year ago I had to get out of the house and start doing something. I spent a month in agony because up till that time I had been doing nothing but sitting. Because I was sitting all of the time, one of the problems wd syndrome brings on is panic when you try to do anything, we tend to shut down and stop moving. Everything freezes up and I had been an active person too. That activity benefit to the body sure depletes very quickly when we just vegetate. But I had to force myself to get active and it gradually got better. Yours is the opposite, you were under a lot of stress and now a lot of it has been taken away (better environment, less driving) and now your body has to adapt but the crash when it changed is a normal reaction. Body processes don't turn on a dime. All those excess stress hormones don't just stop the minute things change.

 

You have to remember that doctors often cannot do much except hand out meds. While it may be very true that you have a 'leaky gut' I do not think that is your biggest challenge at the moment. You were able to hang on and get yourself into a better place and now you have to hang on some more to give your body time to adjust.

 

For the swallowing, make sure you eat moist easy to swallow foods (duh!) and of course foods high in iron. (You know, the dreaded 'green leafies'. If they made ice cream or doughnuts out of lettuce kale and broccoli we'd all be better off, but that is not how it works....) You know what the American pioneers used to do to get iron? They pushed iron nails into apples, let the iron leach into the apple and then ate the apples. At least I think that was true, lol. We can't do that nowadays, we are civilized, we have PILLS. We may not be doing much better by trying to make a pill out of it, though. I get totally bound up if I take iron so if I ever take a multivit, I have to make sure it has no iron in it. You should avoid drinking lots of liquids either with meals or during. That will just dilute the stomach acid you need for digestion and remember, if you are still doing the acid blocking med you'll have to either taper it off or wait till your body normalizes it if you went cold turkey off it. See, when we are given drugs to correct some 'problem', instead of fixing that it just makes the system have to do something else to compensate. People complain about the excess acid that is the body's response when you stop taking them. Well, what do we expect it to do? It takes months for these things to change.

 

I just know you'll be all right eventually, you've got a hard row to hoe but you are one tough cookie I can tell and it will all sort itself out into something better, if not perfect. Just go easy on yourself and try to establish new routines and cope the best you can without stressing your body further by throwing pills at it if you don't have to. We panic because we want quick results and pills will do that but they are very hard on the body and doubly hard on one wracked with stress and wd syndrome. And then they throw the body out of whack and things are worse.

 

The body is very wise and can heal itself if we let it. Doctors are good for some stuff (like setting broken bones or cutting out the bad parts), but some of their medicine is not the best idea (like serotonin reuptake inhibitors!) We have to be the judge and that's a hard thing but we know our bodies better than they do. If your doc is an arrogant azz, well get another one. She'll learn eventually, but let her practice on someone else.

[Martina23]

Ikam, if you drink daily 1 liter pure red beet juice, this will also improve your iron values, and dont drink any coffee, coffee causes that the iron can not absorb itself properly. I also can not take tablets, I tried once and I started vomitting so much I had to call myself emergency.

[Martina23]

There are a lot of people which get problems with iron. And it surely does not mean that everyone has a cancer.

[ikam]

Ikam,

 

Oh how I wish I could say something to you to let you know that I think things will turn out ok but not sure I can. I don't have the time to read back through your thread so what I say might not totally fit your experience but you take anything from it you think may fit.

 

I think your body developed what we call 'withdrawal syndrome' which is really a catch-all term to explain a lot of weird stuff that happens when we take psychoactive drugs of any sort and we attempt to try to quit them. The body develops a kind of 'evil' adaptation to them and must be given a very long time to change back over to the way it should be. Unfortunately, that is very difficult for it to do because when it reacts the way it does, we are panicked at what it does. And there's the problem that concurrently we are aging too. But it eventually sorts itself out.

 

My guess, and only because I went through it too, is that your swallowing difficulty is because of nervous system upset which has to sort itself out but you focus on it (how could you not???) and it becomes more pronounced. If the doc did tests and say there is nothing there then this is a case of you just having to bear with it till something either comes on stronger or it starts going away. You did the right thing in having the doc check it out.

 

The iron thing is, I think, is something where she might be trying to apply a laboratory value to a human body and tryng to make it fit. If you cannot take the pills, don't take them if you know ahead of time they won't work for you. Iron is difficult to treat with pills. Are you very pale, getting short of breath, are your nail beds and lips blue, gums white? Those are all some symptoms of severe low oxygen and and one reason for low oxygen in the body is low hemoglobin which is where iron comes in. Your hemoglobin can be low but still ok for you if you look at the fact that you were taking a drug that could affect absorption of iron (omeprazole or something?) and because of the stress you have been living under, have been eating poorly and demanding more from your body than it has in reserve to give. Never underestimate how hard stress is on the body. Add wd syndrome and oh yuck, it feels really bad.

 

It will take a long time of lowered stress and good rest and eating but things will gradually get better. A year ago I had to get out of the house and start doing something. I spent a month in agony because up till that time I had been doing nothing but sitting. Because I was sitting all of the time, one of the problems wd syndrome brings on is panic when you try to do anything, we tend to shut down and stop moving. Everything freezes up and I had been an active person too. That activity benefit to the body sure depletes very quickly when we just vegetate. But I had to force myself to get active and it gradually got better. Yours is the opposite, you were under a lot of stress and now a lot of it has been taken away (better environment, less driving) and now your body has to adapt but the crash when it changed is a normal reaction. Body processes don't turn on a dime. All those excess stress hormones don't just stop the minute things change.

 

You have to remember that doctors often cannot do much except hand out meds. While it may be very true that you have a 'leaky gut' I do not think that is your biggest challenge at the moment. You were able to hang on and get yourself into a better place and now you have to hang on some more to give your body time to adjust.

 

For the swallowing, make sure you eat moist easy to swallow foods (duh!) and of course foods high in iron. (You know, the dreaded 'green leafies'. If they made ice cream or doughnuts out of lettuce kale and broccoli we'd all be better off, but that is not how it works....) You know what the American pioneers used to do to get iron? They pushed iron nails into apples, let the iron leach into the apple and then ate the apples. At least I think that was true, lol. We can't do that nowadays, we are civilized, we have PILLS. We may not be doing much better by trying to make a pill out of it, though. I get totally bound up if I take iron so if I ever take a multivit, I have to make sure it has no iron in it. You should avoid drinking lots of liquids either with meals or during. That will just dilute the stomach acid you need for digestion and remember, if you are still doing the acid blocking med you'll have to either taper it off or wait till your body normalizes it if you went cold turkey off it. See, when we are given drugs to correct some 'problem', instead of fixing that it just makes the system have to do something else to compensate. People complain about the excess acid that is the body's response when you stop taking them. Well, what do we expect it to do? It takes months for these things to change.

 

I just know you'll be all right eventually, you've got a hard row to hoe but you are one tough cookie I can tell and it will all sort itself out into something better, if not perfect. Just go easy on yourself and try to establish new routines and cope the best you can without stressing your body further by throwing pills at it if you don't have to. We panic because we want quick results and pills will do that but they are very hard on the body and doubly hard on one wracked with stress and wd syndrome. And then they throw the body out of whack and things are worse.

 

The body is very wise and can heal itself if we let it. Doctors are good for some stuff (like setting broken bones or cutting out the bad parts), but some of their medicine is not the best idea (like serotonin reuptake inhibitors!) We have to be the judge and that's a hard thing but we know our bodies better than they do. If your doc is an arrogant azz, well get another one. She'll learn eventually, but let her practice on someone else.

 

Yes, I have been on PPI long-term (Omeprasole) and read that PPI contributes to anaemia.

Apart from exhaustion, excessive sweating, getting easily tired and lethargic, I have not many symptoms of iron deficiency.

Apart from iron, she got preoccupied with me being "pre-diabetic"...I guess, she wants to fix it...I don't, but she got me panicking...

I am not taking iron in tablets, refuse to do it! Did not tell her...she does not need to know everything, as I don't think she can get beyond her medical knowledge (fixing)...

With "leaky gut", this is my own diagnosis, as it fits many symptoms I have...

But what you said, about withdrawal syndrome fits the picture even better. I have many, many symptoms, lots of pain, at present it seems like arthritis...

I am so scared that I will become severely ill...

Apart from physical symptoms I seem to be having concentration, memory problems...so I thought maybe I will develop dementia soon...

 

Last 5 years have been very difficult...left job because of bullying and harassment 5 years ago, have changed 10 different jobs, until the present one (permanent), moved house 4 times, my relationship broke down (but still need to deal with a divorce), had a major surgery for a benign tumour in y leg (under general anaesthetic and lots of strong painkillers)...I have no support in my family of origins, have no contact with them...etc, etc... 

In last five years I got from "0" medications (after tapering them over at least three years) to lots of painkillers, including codeine, PPI, beta-blocker, tricyclic and SSRI...

 

It is a very first time after five years that I feel "at home", more settled, able to plan...

That is why I am surprised that instead of organising my new place and life I just crashed...mostly lying down...

 

I need to make a plan of slow reintroduction of some physical activities...I bought a bike...still feel too tired, but I will be even more tired from...resting (?)...

 

I am panicking, thinking I should be fixed by now...

But in the past 1.5 year I managed to get to 2.5mg escitalopram; but abused badly doxepin on few occasions...(last time in april...)...

 

I bought a blender, Nutribulet, I drink smoothies every day (as I have problem with my teethes I cannot eat many things; it is so much better making my smoothies now!)...

I am restarting cooking (I did not cook for 10 months, as I had no facilities for this)...it is taking so much time, as I am somehow "lazy"...

 

My friend told me about apple and nails- and she is Polish...so not only in America!!!

 

You so right, I need to be more patient with myself...looks my body knows I need more rest after last crazy 5 years, and last year (driving around 500miles a week!, living in a noisy, dusty studio flat...)...

I just need to trust that I will get better, which is a bit difficult, as I have had so many symptoms...

[ikam]

Ikam, if you drink daily 1 liter pure red beet juice, this will also improve your iron values, and dont drink any coffee, coffee causes that the iron can not absorb itself properly. I also can not take tablets, I tried once and I started vomitting so much I had to call myself emergency.

 

 

There are a lot of people which get problems with iron. And it surely does not mean that everyone has a cancer.

Thank you Martina, yes I know about beets, but I would get diarrhoea from them. I bought a blender and last week I have been making my smoothies daily, adding bee pollen and nuts to them...

 

I have the feeling that doctors look for illness and cannot see a normal process...

[cymbaltawithdrawal5600]

See? I knew you had a good head on your shoulders. You'll be all right, just do things in moderation and be lead by your body instead of the internet and well meaning doctors.

 

You know Ockham's Razor? Look it up. Stop imagining (it's called 'catastrophizing' in CBT terms) the worst like cancer and diabetes. If they come they come. But wd syndrome can mimic all that so it's too soon to tell anyway.

 

Be patient, get off the drugs and gradually rebuild your life with the better knowledge you have now.

 

(PS. You do not need to quote a response to answer to it, just start typing your post in the box at the bottom of the page.)

[ikam]

I am so prone to catastrophizing, as my mother was always panicking...she has been constantly ill in the past few years, going from one illness to another...but she herself has been on a cocktail of meds...

I cut off recently from her, as she was constantly talking about her pain...it was so toxic...

It is more difficult to cut off from "internal mother"...

I may need to write again for some time, to "hear my thoughts", to hear others...

 

 

(is this possible to have more lines in signature than 12? I would like to update it with my other meds)

[cymbaltawithdrawal5600]

I'll answer these last few things and leave you to your thoughts.

 

Please limit your sig to 12 lines, you have lots more in there than is needed to carry around on the site. Take out what is not needed other than a brief history and your current meds only. Summarize the rest in a post then put a link to that post in your sig. (The link to a post is that little number with the sideways triangle with balls thingie to the extreme right of the bar where your name is located in the post in your thread). Mine leads to my 1st post which was my summary when I got here.

 

I know how hard it is with the mom thing. I am living with my 91 y.o. one and it's rough. Lots of childhood stuff rises up and I'd rather it did not. But that's life.

 

If your mom is hindering your recovery, leave her be for awhile till you are stronger. You come first.

 

Be well!

[ikam]

I disconnected from my mother, as when I was calling she was all the time talking about dying, stating many symptoms; I used to send her money when I was able, but in February, after my car accident, I refused. She stopped writing. Then, after I sent her card for the mothers day, I received a nasty, full of rage letter. I sent her letter back, asking to think what she wants...

 

I don't feel guilty...

I need to concentrate on my life,,,

[ikam]

There is one symptom that worries me a lot, for about two months I have had very painful joints in my hands, my hands are also stiff and I hear clicking in my joints...

I think that maybe it is to do with lack of oxygen, or peripheral neuropathy. is this reversible?

 

Cimbalta, you mentioned that you also led quite inactive life and then you re-started going out. Did you have lots of pain in your legs, body? Did you feel almost like "no real"?

I am in a different "reality", as I moved house, also for many, many months I was travelling by car almost everywhere. When I walk now, I feel surreal, also as if the world has become so crowded...

When I go to shop, I feel overwhelmed with the quantity of things, I have problems with decision if I need something or not...

It is as of I lost touch with reality...

[cymbaltawithdrawal5600]

Ikam,

 

It was completely awful. I went to help out at a flower shop and there was a lot of walking, carrying buckets of water and flowers. Everything screamed with pain. My back was the worst, I could feel all my spine bones grinding on each other but I stayed careful and made sure I did not herniate anything, like a disk. I had been sitting in the chair frozen again for about 4 or 5 months, maybe longer, because I was so depressed and suicidal after leaving the previous place I tried to volunteer at.

 

I bought those support belts for my back like they wear at the lumber stores and my heating pad never left my chair or my bed. I gradually got to where I did not need the support belt anymore. Oh did it ever hurt. I took the magnesium again for the pain, stayed away from the ibuprofen.

 

If your nerve upset in your hand bones is not something from the car accident, could it be from some stressful position you keep your hands in? The driving is the most likely culprit. You could now have arthritis in the joints and there's no cure for that. But those icy hot creams help as does alternating warm soaks 20 min 4 times a day with ice baths for your hands too. The ice can dampen the pain response. But if the ice hurts don't use it and don't let the water be too hot. It can cause spasms instead of increasing the circulation. Have you ever tried one of those exercise balls and gentle stretching of your joints a few times a day? Too much mousing on the computer is not good either.

 

Other than that, you'll probably have to go see a doc for a work up. Be careful if they want to put you on drugs for that, even NSAIDS taken chronically are not good. I am surprised I have as few aches and pains as I do seeing as how I've worked my body like a pack mule all these years.

 

Could you also have something wrong in your neck and I would also look at what kind of a pillow you use. It might be compressing a nerve in your neck or shoulder that is affecting your hands. You'll have to be a detective and see if there is any other cause than repetitive stress injury (the driving can do that), spinal problems or old age rheumatiz.

 

Unfortunately, that's all I have. I know you've asked about it before, I am out of ideas.

[ikam]

I remember flower shop...so you felt depressed, as it was so difficult...

This is how I have been feeling...I have managed to get me to the place of stability, to discover that my body is full of pain...

I know the belt, I have been using it when driving...

I guess my hands are so painful from a repetitive movement and strain when driving. I had an accident in Feb, had to buy another car and the steering wheel seems much harder...

But there is also this strange clicking in my fingers...

I have been using turmeric, it helps with inflammation...

But,

all this has made me feeling so depressed and almost suicidal...

I used to be so physically able, walking a lot, going for active holidays...

I have aged in last year...I feel old and cannot see that I will ever get better...Every day is full of pain...my hands, my back...other odd pains and body sensations...

And this is all in the time when I have just started changing things for better...

 

I also use a glucosamine gel on my hands regularly. It has been better, but it is not as it used to be...

 

I isolate a lot, as when I go out it reminds me that there is "something wrong" with me...

 

at work, I feel I don't perform as I used to...I have memory and concentration problems....

 

and I am still on a cocktail of meds, don't really know where to start...or possibly, I still need to wait...although, I think that the meds just poison my body...I pften feel so trapped, slave of my past decisions...I cannot change it...

[ikam]

I read about a burn out syndrome, and that it happens not only in relation to job, but also lifestyle...

The stress I had was ongoing for many years and huge. I knew if had I stopped working I would have been in huge troubles. It was all about survival; having completely nobody to relay on. And actually, having somebody (ex-husband) who from to time caused some nuisance. Having mother, who demanded being looked after. Having brother who stopped talking to me...

I was exhausted, but yet had to get to the car and drive to work and back...and of course, perform well at work...

The place I used to live in was awful. Big warehouse in front of my window, dust and noise since early morning (builders depot)...and very hot (I never switched on heating during the winter time)...also, I had a lift behind my wall...

I used to put music on, in order to disconnect from other noises...used to sleep with ear plugs with fan and noise cancelling machine on...

Getting up, driving, working, driving, back "home"...etc. etc...

 

So possibly, when I moved in here I just crashed...I feel as if depressed...cannot get on with many things...still have some unpacked boxes...

I have been here 5 weeks, and it seems I have been getting lower and lower in my mood...

 

How long does the burn-out last?