AmyChanDoll Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Hello all, I have been in major protracted SSRI withdrawal for just under a year and a half after being on SSRI's for over twelve years. Needless to say, like many of you know, it can be HELL! Throughout the beginning of this horrible condition and initial year of withdrawal I was convinced I had a serious illness. Went to more than a few doctors and only one of them was smart enough to admit I was "probably" in major, long-term withdrawal. All tests were clear. If I had only known what these drugs were capable of I NEVER would have even touched them! The strangest part is that years ago, in my early 20's (now 30), I had withdrawn successfully before from these evil things. The WD then lasted a few weeks to a few months at the most! Brain and body zaps were a daily occurrence but I welcomed them since I could feel the drugs leaving my system for good. If only that had been the case when I was forced to stop 1 1/2 year ago due to feelings of intense head pressure and chemical overload sensations and worsening depression, anxiety, and paranoia...to name a few. I have just recently started to feel the slightest brain and body zaps and I AM HOPING AND PRAYING that this is FINALLY the beginning of the end!! Please tell me that it is! Link to comment
Hopefull Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Hi AmyChanDoll, Sorry to hear that you are going through a bad WD hell. I am not an expert in regards to WD symptoms as I am still learning about the whole process. You will heal at the end. It might take a a while. The pressure in the head and the weird chemical feeling in the head is a typical wd side effect. Worsening of the Anxiety, depression etc. is something that is also very common. You are not alone in this. Best wishes, Hopefull. DRUG HISTORY: November 2013- Zoloft, ( Bad reaction). January 2014 - March 2014 Seroquel.( Quit Cold Turkey). January2014- Mirtazapine, I was taking 15mg at one stage, reduced to 7.5mg, Pgad reactions to Mirtazapine. Doctor kept increasing it to 37.5mg, until July 2014. No improvement, experiencing panic attacks, on 37.5 mg. I had enough by October 2014. Began tapering. October 2014- Started tapering Mirtazapine from 37.5mg. September 2015- Down to 4mg of Mirtazapine. Crashed. September 16th- Up dosed to 5mg. Held this dose for almost 5 months. Stabilised. February 2016- Began tapering again. From 5mg to 4.5mg of Mirtazapine. (Rocking the boat, again)! Lol. Link to comment
tgirl Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Hello ACD, Glad you found your way here. A mod should be along to help you soon. In the meanwhile could you please put your past and current drug history in your signature? Also take some time to look around the site. There is a lot of useful literature to help you. West wishes, Tgirl April 2014 remeron 45mg. June 2014 abilify 2.5 remeron wasn't working so abilify was then added September 2014 woke up with anxiety x 100!!!! Pdoc then took me from 45 to 7.5 within a month and took abilify from 2.5 to 0 Currently Remeron 7.5 Vitamin d 5,000 iu taking for about 3 years October 2014 added fish oil/omega 3 1000 mg per day Levothyroxitine 100 10 years or so Dec 2014 started tapering 10% every 10 days-no problems. August 2015 down to 0.1 mg Woke up with severe anxiety-sleep issues-racing thoughts-depression. 9/9/15 up dose 1 mg. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus dalsaan Posted October 7, 2015 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted October 7, 2015 Hello all, I have been in major protracted SSRI withdrawal for just under a year and a half after being on SSRI's for over twelve years. Needless to say, like many of you know, it can be HELL! Throughout the beginning of this horrible condition and initial year of withdrawal I was convinced I had a serious illness. Went to more than a few doctors and only one of them was smart enough to admit I was "probably" in major, long-term withdrawal. All tests were clear. If I had only known what these drugs were capable of I NEVER would have even touched them! The strangest part is that years ago, in my early 20's (now 30), I had withdrawn successfully before from these evil things. The WD then lasted a few weeks to a few months at the most! Brain and body zaps were a daily occurrence but I welcomed them since I could feel the drugs leaving my system for good. If only that had been the case when I was forced to stop 1 1/2 year ago due to feelings of intense head pressure and chemical overload sensations and worsening depression, anxiety, and paranoia...to name a few. I have just recently started to feel the slightest brain and body zaps and I AM HOPING AND PRAYING that this is FINALLY the beginning of the end!! Please tell me that it is! We cant really say this is the beginning of the end but if your symptoms have diminished markedly its a good sign. Many people experience recovery in a windows and waves pattern. In other words they have periods of much less symptoms followed by periods or more intense symptoms followed by periods of much less symptoms ... How has it been for you? Dalsaan Please note - I am not a medical practitioner and I do not give medical advice. I offer an opinion based on my own experiences, reading and discussion with others.On Effexor for 2 months at the start of 2005. Had extreme insomnia as an adverse reaction. Changed to mirtazapine. Have been trying to get off since mid 2008 with numerous failures including CTs and slow (but not slow enough tapers)Have slow tapered at 10 per cent or less for years. I have liquid mirtazapine made at a compounding chemist. Was on 1.6 ml as at 19 March 2014. Dropped to 1.5 ml 7 June 2014. Dropped to 1.4 in about September. Dropped to 1.3 on 20 December 2014. Dropped to 1.2 in mid Jan 2015. Dropped to 1 ml in late Feb 2015. I think my old medication had run out of puff so I tried 1ml when I got the new stuff and it seems to be going ok. Sleep has been good over the last week (as of 13/3/15). Dropped to 1/2 ml 14/11/15 Fatigue still there as are memory and cognition problems. Sleep is patchy but liveable compared to what it has been in the past. DRUG FREE - as at 1st May 2017 >My intro post is here - http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/2250-dalsaan Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Petunia Posted October 7, 2015 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted October 7, 2015 Welcome AmyChanDoll, I'm sorry you have been going through a rough time with withdrawal, hopefully this decrease in symptoms means that you are getting to the end of your recovery process. Often recovery happens in a windows and waves kind of pattern, have you noticed anything like this? You were lucky to find a doctor who recognized antidepressant withdrawal, most of them don't. It would be great if you would put your drug and withdrawal history in your signature. Doing this helps people understand your context, it appears below each of your posts. Here are instructions for how to do it: http://survivinganti...your-signature/ Please feel free to write whenever you want, you will find a lot of friendly help and support here. Petunia. I'm not a doctor. My comments are not medical advise. These are my opinions based on my own experience and what I've learned. Please discuss your situation with a medical practitioner who has knowledge of tapering and withdrawal...if you are lucky enough to find one. My Introduction Thread Full Drug and Withdrawal History Brief Summary Several SSRIs for 13 years starting 1997 (for mild to moderate partly situational anxiety) Xanax PRN ~ Various other drugs over the years for side effects 2 month 'taper' off Lexapro 2010 Short acute withdrawal, followed by 2 -3 months of improvement then delayed protracted withdrawal DX ADHD followed by several years of stimulants and other drugs trying to manage increasing symptoms Failed reinstatement of Lexapro and trial of Prozac (became suicidal) May 2013 Found SA, learned about withdrawal, stopped taking drugs...healing begins. Protracted withdrawal, with a very sensitized nervous system, slowly recovering as time passes Supplements which have helped: Vitamin C, Magnesium, Taurine Bad reactions: Many supplements but mostly fish oil and Vitamin D June 2016 - Started daily juicing, mostly vegetables and lots of greens. Aug 2016 - Oct 2016 Best window ever, felt almost completely recovered Oct 2016 -Symptoms returned - bad days and less bad days. April 2018 - No windows, but significant improvement, it feels like permanent full recovery is close. VIDEO: Where did the chemical imbalance theory come from? VIDEO: How are psychiatric diagnoses made? VIDEO: Why do psychiatric drugs have withdrawal syndromes? VIDEO: Can psychiatric drugs cause long-lasting negative effects? VIDEO: Dr. Claire Weekes Link to comment
Nomoreheadmeds Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 welcome 'amychandoll' I wish you well Sertraline 100mg amytrip 60mg diazepam 4mg (and when needed) since late 90's.Reduced all meds over 6 wks (too short) last doses 13 wks ago.Still having withdrawals.I would have done it differently 5th august 2015 reinstated 5mg amytripiline.increased to 10mg amtrip 9th sept 2015. Link to comment
NoMoreADs Posted October 22, 2016 Share Posted October 22, 2016 Hello all, I have been in major protracted SSRI withdrawal for just under a year and a half after being on SSRI's for over twelve years. Needless to say, like many of you know, it can be HELL! Throughout the beginning of this horrible condition and initial year of withdrawal I was convinced I had a serious illness. Went to more than a few doctors and only one of them was smart enough to admit I was "probably" in major, long-term withdrawal. All tests were clear. If I had only known what these drugs were capable of I NEVER would have even touched them! The strangest part is that years ago, in my early 20's (now 30), I had withdrawn successfully before from these evil things. The WD then lasted a few weeks to a few months at the most! Brain and body zaps were a daily occurrence but I welcomed them since I could feel the drugs leaving my system for good. If only that had been the case when I was forced to stop 1 1/2 year ago due to feelings of intense head pressure and chemical overload sensations and worsening depression, anxiety, and paranoia...to name a few. I have just recently started to feel the slightest brain and body zaps and I AM HOPING AND PRAYING that this is FINALLY the beginning of the end!! Please tell me that it is! Hi, I wish someone had explained to me that I could be in long term withdrawal. Did you have any insomnia during the time you have been off? How has that progressed over this past year and a half 1992-Feb. 2016- Took almost every antidepressant on the market. Cold turkeyed most of the medications I took. Stopped taking Paxil February 8 2016. I tapered the dose from 50 mg to 0 over the course of about 10 weeks On no medications as of Feb. 8, 2016 As of 10/23/16-Still unable to sleep more than 4 to 5 hours a night, sometimes less Link to comment
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