ikam: tapering escitalopram

[Junglechicken]

Ikam,

 

I'm thinking of you too.

 

Ali talks a lot of sense, and there are enough people here who have been through all these scares only to find out it was WD all along.

 

I'm even sorrier you have been subjected to this before Xmas.

 

Lots of love,

JC

[AliG]

Good luck Ikam. I hope it goes well.   

[Frogie]

Wishing you the best.

 

Take care,

Frogie xx

[ikam]

Thank you.

 

 

It will be after Christmas, so still waiting...

 

I am going to have a GOOD CHRISTMAS!

[Frogie]

Good for you

[ikam]

i was pain free in the morning, until now...it is a different pain, kind of stinging in my groin...

when it happens my fear of cancer is back...

 

i had my first different breakfast today, a protein shake with greens and veg...

i have to avoid carbs and grains...

 

I am thinking about trying a very small dose of liquid ionic iron later on...

 

I have an increased dose of turmeric...

[ikam]

Maybe, hopefully all is down to iron deficiency:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/478084-iron-levels-peripheral-neuropathy/

[Frogie]

Maybe, hopefully all is down to iron deficiency:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/478084-iron-levels-peripheral-neuropathy/

I will be keeping my fingers crossed for you.

 

Take care,

Frogie xx

[ikam]

i have been much better today, almost no pain, just tired...

 

I ate no bread, no grains...

 

Had my first shake/smoothie in the morning...

 

Started Mega Mag twice a day, 2ml

 

Started Ionic Iron- once a day, 2ml

 

I am doing everything very, very slowly...and one thing at a time...

 

Going to add tomorrow Burdock Root Tincture, 1ml, once a day

 

I keep diary of all of these changes and additions

 

I am holding with tapering, I need to get a better energy...I will restart after colonoscopy...

[Martina23]

Hello Ikam, you are already on 22 mg, that is gorgeous, I think it is great achievement. When I was last time on the forum, you were starting tapering, remember? That is great. It is good that you feel well. I actually dont feel well from yesterday, as I gained two kg yesterday and before yesterday.  Before I had a stomach flu and lost two kg, I was already so happy, that I am now so thin and now it is back. I think it is from cabbage soup yesterday + carp with potatoes. But it was very good. Mjam, mjam, mjam. Iron is good, I also have iron deficiency, but I dont take anything as I can not take tablets because they make me sick. We will see. So nice Christmas and Happy New Year!

[ikam]

Hi martina, thank you. Good to hear from you. I am on 2.25mg, not 22mg...My starting dose was 2.5...but 2 years ago it was 10mg...

 

I have to take iron, I feel so exhausted...But I bought some different type of iron (Liquid Ionic Iron)...

I take it slowly,

Oh, I made mistake in my previous post, I have started frok 0.2mg...

 

Christmas ussually is time when people put on weight! So do not worry, you will lose it again...

 

HAPPY CHRISTMAS and NEW YEAR

[Frogie]

Ikam:

 

Just have a wonderful holiday and think about other things later.

 

That's what I'm doing.

 

I will be thinking of you.

 

Take care,

Frogie xx

[ikam]

very low...anxious (re: doctor's hypothesis about a cancer)...feeling detached...

[ikam]

how to distinguish anxiety related pain, from a pain that requires attention???

[Frogie]

how to distinguish anxiety related pain, from a pain that requires attention???

I wish I could answer you. But everyone is different.

Hopefully one of the mods can help you.

 

Take care,

Frogie xx

[ikam]

Went to see my gp, she did not think it was anything "serious", but referred me for USG scan...

 

Looks like a nerve playing up...

 

It is just so strange, throbbing this time...that is why I thought it was something with my organs...

[Flowers]

Glad you got it checked out and your GP has organised a scan. Not sure what a USG scan is?

 

I get nerve pain too and it always plays havoc with my mind worrying about it.

 

xxxx

[ikam]

USG= ultrasound

 

It is so painful in times, just constant stabbing, throbbing...

 

It is difficult to think that it is nothing with my body, just the nerve sending wrong impulses...

 

I am so tired of this ongoing pain...

 

I had  a sciatica for over one year, it is better now, but this one replaced it, it is in my groin but also a bit in a back, just stabbing...

 

Will I ever be pain free???

[Flowers]

Oh sorry Ikam - ultrasound of course - silly me!

 

Being in pain is so tiring. I get pain in my groin too. Sometimes when it goes down my leg I can't put any weight down. It is nerve pain so not much I can do. 

 

The only good thing is for me it's not there all the time.

 

xxxxx

[ikam]

I just have a pain "attack" now...dont know what to do...

 

She said (GP) to take paracetamol regularly...

It is difficult to believe that nothing is wrong with my body...

 

It gets better when I lie down...worse, when I sit...but I have to sit in fron of my desk at work...ouch...

[Flowers]

Does getting up from your desk and walking around ease it?

[ikam]

Yes, it does. Also when I lie down it seems better...

 

Also TENS machine helps...

[Flowers]

Mine is the same! Maybe we have the same problem! If only I knew a way to get rid of it!

 

xxx

[ikam]

hmm...i dont wish anybody this kind of pain

 

I have just set my TENS machine, it seems to be helping, or maybe just masking the pain...

[Flowers]

I went to an osteopath who said it was something to do with my sacro ileac joint. He gave me exercises to do which do help sometimes. GP's seem to concentrate on giving you drugs to control the pain and I have trouble tolerating anything now.

 

Still it is good that you are being checked out and once you have had the scan maybe you would consider going down this route.

 

Just read about your TENS machine. Maybe this is the answer for you.

 

xxx

[ikam]

I also need to monitor what I eat; could chocolate trigger the pain? I ate lots of chocolate today...

 

Yes, TENS seems to be helpful...

 

I wonder what homeopatic remedies are good for pain?

[ikam]

I am in pain...it has been really long now and I feel sometimes I cannot cope any longer. I dont understand this pain...or, I do: I hear it is WD and I want to believe it is WD and damage from many years of being on AD and other meds....But when it hits I am in agony...Recently this has been a stabbing, throbbing pain in my groin, it actually seems to be coming from my back sometimes, as if somebody hit me with a knife and left it there...and it is throbbing...especially when I sit down...

For over one year I had sciatica type of pain, but this one is much worse...My foot is still painful when walking, but I am somehow used to this, change my shoes to walking boots that protect me feet better...

But this stabbing/pulsating/throbbing brings anxiety that "something must be wrong in that area of my body"...I went to see GP yesterday, she said she cannot find any explanation, sends me for USG...

Another doctor insists on colonoscopy, as I aslo have very low iron (to him it means I am bleeding internally)...So when he mentioned a "possible cancer" I keep thinking that maybe this pain = cancer...

 

I have problem with believing that it is "just WD" and I am looking for the "illness" explanations...

If I was able to say "this is WD" this would be easier...I hope...

But, I dont believe, every time I get "stabbed" I get kind of doubtful that this is "only WD", "just" nerves, etc.

 

It is better when I walk or lie down...although this is not a rule, as I had it last night...

 

I did have a severed pain when stopped Effexor...

 

It is a mistery, but because I am "in it", I have problem with detaching myself...each "stabb" means "I may be termibally ill", as "I would not be in such pain... and for so long..."

 

How to get myself to believe that this is WD???

[ikam]

29 Dec 2016

I just read an article on a link between iron deficiency and pain. I have been taking, successfully Liquid Ionic Iron. I feel I have more energy, so I hope it will also help with my pains.

http://www.wellnessr...e_chronic_pain/

http://www.wellnessr...f_chronic_pain/

[Flowers]

Hope it eases the pain Ikam.

 

Would you go to a Chiropractor or Osteopath to see if there is anything they could do to help with the groin pain? It may be something is out of alignment in your spine and needs tweeking.

 

xxx

[pocketnurse]

Ikam

 

i have been reading your posts, I am so sorry you are having these problems. I too have had the most horrendous pains whilst tapering Escitalopram (Lexapro). My pains mainly affected to bottom half of my body and were random in that they were aches, stabbings and shooting pain along with cramp and muscle twitching and weakness. I am a 48 year old female and i also have a low ferritin (anaemia). i recently had a sigmoidoscopy for rectal bleeding and at least a 12 month history of gastric problems. Although I am vegetarian so my low ferritin could be attributed to that I too was terrified I had bowel cancer. I paid privately for my sigmoidoscopy as because I am below the age of 50 I did not fit the "2 week rule" for an urgent appointment however I was not prepared to wait. I did wait 2 weeks to have the investigation done and during that time all my symptoms were magnified massively purely as I was so worried.

The point I am trying to make is that thousands of people have symptoms ssuggestive of bowel cancer and are investigated but only a small minority are actually found to have it. WD causing havoc to the digestive system which isn't surprising when you consider around 90 % of serotonin is housed in the digestive tract. 

Currently you are in sever emotional distress as you are worried for your health, constantly in pain and trying to manage withdrawal too. I think having the colonoscopy will put your mind at rest and allow you to focus on your withdrawal and making that easier and in turn this may help your pain. I believe that when we have emotional pain it can and does sometimes manifest itself in physical pain and we can't underestimate the severity of it.

With regard to the bowel prep the only advice I can give is to go ahead with it- what you don't want is to turn up for the procedure and find that the bowel prep was not effective enough as the technician will need a good view of the colon and if it is not clear you may have to go back again. Benign polyps are quite common over 50 and are usually easily removed- once gone they cannot cause you any problems later on.

I really really sympathise having been through this myself recently but try to keep things in perspective.There is an excellent short film on Youtube by Lynn faulds Wood (Scottish TV presenter) who has had colon problems and is filmed having a check up colonoscopy. Take a look as i think it will help you see that it isn't anywhere as bad as you think.

Please keep us all up to date, stay calm, we are all here fr you.

 

Lots of love 

 

PN xx

[brassmonkey]

I"m so sorry to hear about your constant pain Ikam.  I suffered with it for a long time (not from WD, but for other reasons) and know how frustrating it can be.  I had a lot of WD pain too but it was transient in windows and waves, but still.  The drugs we have/are taking work on the nervous system to do their "job".  This causes the entire nervous system to be thrown out of whack.  While the nervous system repairs itself it will send out false pain signals.  The pain you're feeling is actually healing taking place as the nervous system sorts itself out.  We all want a concrete explanation as to why we hurt, but sometimes it's just "because we hurt" and nothing more.  If you haven't read it yet please look over my thread on Dealing with Emotional Spirals, Dealing With Emotional Spirals it may be helpful in dealing with it.

 

 

For the pelvic pain, pay attention to how you may be crossing your legs when you sit.  It's a subtle thing but can cause a lot of trouble.

[ikam]

Thank you ever so much for your kind answers and understanding. It means a lot to me. Being in pain is such a lonely experience.

Last night it woke me up. I was considering to go to a&e, but I knew I would get not much help there. Eventually it got better...

This pain has shifted from my back/sciatica type to the front, but below my ovary. And it has been more throbbing recently. It is often in a back and front...a clear point...but no organs there...

But I thought about buying stronger painkillers today. Plus I may decide to go to emergency...

If it was something more serious I think I would also have other symptoms...

I hope it is a sign of healing. As it is now more defined and affects one point (It seems that back and front point are the same).

Yes, I have noticed that crossing legs when sitting makes it worse, so I don't do it...

 

I will go for colonoscopy, and I will have use scan...

 

All this waiting and doctors suggest nothing for pain

 

Plus I really have lots of stress...

 

I am in my Epsom salts bath now...

I think changing diet and adding iron had helped with my energy...

I want to have one day pain free!

[ikam]

Hope it eases the pain Ikam.

 

Would you go to a Chiropractor or Osteopath to see if there is anything they could do to help with the groin pain? It may be something is out of alignment in your spine and needs tweeking.

 

xxx

I will look into this in new year. Not much available now.

You possibly right, as when I had sciatica I definitely was walking differently to avoid pain and something may have shifted there...

[ikam]

Ikam

 

i have been reading your posts, I am so sorry you are having these problems. I too have had the most horrendous pains whilst tapering Escitalopram (Lexapro). My pains mainly affected to bottom half of my body and were random in that they were aches, stabbings and shooting pain along with cramp and muscle twitching and weakness. I am a 48 year old female and i also have a low ferritin (anaemia). i recently had a sigmoidoscopy for rectal bleeding and at least a 12 month history of gastric problems. Although I am vegetarian so my low ferritin could be attributed to that I too was terrified I had bowel cancer. I paid privately for my sigmoidoscopy as because I am below the age of 50 I did not fit the "2 week rule" for an urgent appointment however I was not prepared to wait. I did wait 2 weeks to have the investigation done and during that time all my symptoms were magnified massively purely as I was so worried.

The point I am trying to make is that thousands of people have symptoms ssuggestive of bowel cancer and are investigated but only a small minority are actually found to have it. WD causing havoc to the digestive system which isn't surprising when you consider around 90 % of serotonin is housed in the digestive tract.

Currently you are in sever emotional distress as you are worried for your health, constantly in pain and trying to manage withdrawal too. I think having the colonoscopy will put your mind at rest and allow you to focus on your withdrawal and making that easier and in turn this may help your pain. I believe that when we have emotional pain it can and does sometimes manifest itself in physical pain and we can't underestimate the severity of it.

With regard to the bowel prep the only advice I can give is to go ahead with it- what you don't want is to turn up for the procedure and find that the bowel prep was not effective enough as the technician will need a good view of the colon and if it is not clear you may have to go back again. Benign polyps are quite common over 50 and are usually easily removed- once gone they cannot cause you any problems later on.

I really really sympathise having been through this myself recently but try to keep things in perspective.There is an excellent short film on Youtube by Lynn faulds Wood (Scottish TV presenter) who has had colon problems and is filmed having a check up colonoscopy. Take a look as i think it will help you see that it isn't anywhere as bad as you think.

Please keep us all up to date, stay calm, we are all here fr you.

 

Lots of love

 

PN xx

My pain is from my pelvic area down to my leg...

It has changed shifted, so I have started worrying about my ovary, but the pain is lower than this organ.

I am so puzzled and anxious in times. Although more able to observe it sometimes instead of rushing to the emergency room.

I will try stronger painkillers today, something with codeine...Maybe...

I was also thinking about budcopan as it relaxes the muscles...

[pocketnurse]

Ikam

Just remember that sometimes pain that is felt in one area is actually referred pain from elsewhere. This is particularly true of lower back problems. What you describe could well be coming from a lower back problem especially as you have leg involvement, it could be a disc problem. Ovarian cancer tends to be fairly quiet, pain is possible but for a lot of women other symptoms show up and so far you haven't mentioned them. You could have some arthritic changes going on in the lower back. Sorting the cause of pain unless very obvious is like a process of elimination really and it doesn't mean you have some terrible disease! I know it's easy to say but try not to jump to the worst conclusion. Do you have a date for your scan and colonoscopy yet?

 

PN x

[ikam]

PN, thanks. This is how I think, that I don't have any other problems that could be associated with pelvic floor organs.

Yes, I know about referred pain and I was actually surprised that gp did not mention this possibility. She just said that there are no organs in the area I have pain.

 

I had pain free morning, and it is beginning to throb now, in my back...

 

Until I have the investigation done I am not going to get anything from the doctors...

 

I was considering emergency at night, but then thought I would not get much from them...

Then I was free of pain in the morning...

It seems it is triggered by sitting...

 

Post - effexor I had that excruciating pain in my pelvic area, in rectum. I was unable to sit...

Now the pain is more on my right side...

 

No, I don't have a date for colonoscopy, neither usg...

Waiting...

I am a bit angry with myself as I had it scheduled but refused few months ago...