Depresstothecore: Struck after lexapro adverse reaction

January 12, 2016

Hi DEpressontothecore,

Don't give up so quickly. I heard so many saying our brain have amazing recover ability only that it takes long time to regain the normal functionalities. I have been tapering in the past 2.5 years hitting all types of wall all the time, going through each minute with great struggle. Even with my micro taper and extreme self care, I only got a window after 4 month holding.

This whole thing is u doubtfully the most difficult experience for human, but it won't kill us. You will be rewarded with patience and endurance. Unfortunately we got a life like this, but we have to live it.

Remember you are not alone, every time I feel I'm losing strength, I think of others here and how strong they have been, and also try to re-read successful stories to keep hope and stay positive.

You will feel better and those sxs will eventually subside if giving time.

January 12, 2016

Can anybody tell me if i switch to some other ssri. Whether my withdrawal symptoms be controled or it can cause same reaction.

January 12, 2016

Nobody can say that for sure but generally we don't recommend it. Antidepressants are not the same and while discontinuing one and starting the other people end up having withdrawal from the original one.

However, my psychiatrist believed that newer generations of ADs were better so she switched me from prozac to zoloft to lexapro. I was lucky to have stabilised eventually.

There was a member here on lexapro who was having lots of difficulty and then seems to have stabilised on other drugs. He went through real hell. We haven't heard from him for a while.

Unfortunately there are no hard and fast rules. Your case is further complicated by all those drugs you were taking and which seem to have affected your brain.

I'm sorry I can't help you more. Maybe somebody else will have other ideas.

Was there any change in your symptoms today?

January 12, 2016

Hi D.T.C. That's probably not a great idea, as your system has " modeled itself " around this particular drug, and to change it swiftly , without warning is asking for trouble. Would you mind updating your Sig? You reinstated Lexapro on the 9 /1/16 - 0.5 mg ? Is that correct ? You might read this link . It can help explain this process. How are your symptoms?

How psychiatric drugs remodel your brain

Ali

January 12, 2016

Ali i reinstated but could not tolerate. So i quit today .though my sleep was improved but i had intense nausea and vomiting .my body parts started to numb .so i quit it today.

January 12, 2016

Hi DTTC. I'm so sorry. How are you feeling now. So, you're off everything? You reinstated 0.5 mg for 3/4 days ? However , it didn't work for you ? That's ok. There are plenty of non- drug ways to cope with all this. Maybe, read through this. It could help. You will get through this. There is plenty of support , here.

Non-drug techniques to cope with emotional symptoms

Ali

January 12, 2016

Hi im really sorry that your goin through hell . Sounds like you had adverse reaction same thing hsppened to me 3 years ago . I no the hell you must be goin through if i can give you any advice stay away from anymore ssri s they could make you a lot worse . Your nervous system was shocked leaving you with horrible symptoms . Time and patience is your only healer and try stay as healthy as you can .

January 14, 2016

Somehow got some 6 hours sleep last night. Anxiety was also less .was taking homeipathic medicine. No panic attack in last 24 hours.nausea has also decreased.but shaky vision is what is the main concern .there was some numbness in night but now it is not there .brought some multivitamins today.shaky vision according to my ophthalmologist is called oscillopsia.it can be due to vestibular damage .but according to him it is usually during ototoxic drugs.i have stopped taking any drug 3 and half month ago.so it must be due to withdrawal.he checked my eyes but find nothing wrong.according to him it can improve or become worse .he cant say.then i went to neurologist he said it may be due ti anxiety.he performed some test for my balancing system but find nothing wrong.he prescribed me fluoxitene.bug i did nt take it .i cant risk further deterioration of my condition.these drugs are really dangerous .it brings lot of changes at micro level in brain.

January 14, 2016

So happy you got a break!

Sending more healing a!

January 14, 2016

Hi DTTC, that is improvement! Wonderful news! Just keep focusing on the improvements. You have been checked out and so nothing serious, so a withdrawal symptom with the eyes. The nerves are everywhere in the body of course, and so these drugs affected us all over our bodies, not just the brain. Once those nerves have healed, made the adjustments back to balance, I'm sure that symptom will disappear, probably sooner!

As someone else (or many have) said, when you feel symptoms, say to yourself "there's that danged withdrawal again, but it will pass"

I hope your window continues to brighten!

SG

January 16, 2016

Thanks sg.

But this shaking vision is frightening me ti the core.yesterday night also have slept for 6-7 hours.but on awakening again thus vision problem gave me all sort of negative thoughts like i am going to be blind , what if sgaking increase further, who will take care of me. Then started crying.but one thing i know it is useless to cry because nothing will improve. Though my anxirty is less , depression is less , sleep is better. Racing thoughts before sleep is also less.but ringing in ear same.shaking has increased little bit.having vibrating feeling in my whole body like i am sleeping on vibrating bed.hoping for improvement in vision problem.praying ti god day and night.

January 16, 2016

Does any senior member of this forum ever heard of shaking vision as a withdrawal symptom.or i am having some other disorder.it was not there before withdrawal.it has started just few days back.

January 16, 2016

HI DTTC ,

As for the magnesium, you can take it more than once a day, once you have determined that it doens't have a negative effect on you. I take mine twice a day, was taking 400 mg of the glycinate twice a day, but then got bulk powder of the same and filled capsules (yes, I'm a glutton for punishment LOL!) so probably get about 500 mg twice a day.

And yes, improvement if sleep was better! Your nervous system has a lot of shaking out to do, getting itself reorganized after the onslaught it has endured. Is there anything that you can do in your day to day to distract yourself from how you are feeling? It is totally normal in withdrawal to hyperfocus on how we are feeling and become more and more distraught as we do so. Remember, our thoughts cause our suffering. The situation is what it is, but it is how we think about it that causes the suffering. Try to think compassionately upon yourself, that your poor body is going through healing, and healing looks ugly sometimes. You must do whatever it takes to ease your suffering. Since you can't force the withdrawal away, the only thing you can do right now is work on the mind, doing anything and everything you can to relieve it of the perceived agony.

I've had those odd twitching/vibrating sensations. I observe and think, isn't that odd? But they pass, and I know it is withdrawal now and I know it is just a symptom of the healing.

I find it helpful to think about the body and all the chemical reactions that are taking place at every moment, it is no wonder that changing one variable via these drugs causes a cascade of reactions throughout. I think of it as Newton balls. I love this video: Turn the audio down if loud music bothers you LOL!

There are periods of chaos, and periods of synchrony, followed by chaos again! I think of that as the windows and waves of healing in withdrawal, with the balls representing all the different chemical reactions that are inter-related with our neurochemistry. Just keep reminding yourself that at the moment you are in one of the chaotic spells, but that it will pass, eventually! There is no permanence here.

It is hard to meditate when the mind is being disobedient, but you keep gently nudging it back to the breath, right? Without judgement.

I know you have muscle pains and what-not, but it might still do you good to take a walk, look at life around you without judgement, observe. That in itself can help take the focus off of your experience.

Hang in there! You can do this!

SG

I love the wave! It just seems to be how my brain is healing, goes all over the place, but it actually does have a pattern, I just do not notice it, until it all lines up again, into a more comfortable pattern.

Anyway, welcome Depress..........

Hang in there, things do improve. Just take it one day at a time, or sometimes, one minute at a time........ We all heal, but it takes time. So you are with your mother, you have some one to support you, that is good.

I understand the mornings, vomiting, I had that also, it took about 4 weeks to improve, but it did improve. It only happened in the mornings, for me.

I also have problems with my eyesight during this time............. I can not focus my eyes very well, I need to use magnifying type reading glasses, some days I need them, other days my vision is fine. I have had so many physical symptoms, i believe they are all withdrawal related. They all eventually pass.

I am so glad you are feeling a bit better.

January 16, 2016

There was one member Goldielock who was on Lexapro and had a vision problem.

His story was difficult and in the end he stabilised on some other drugs.

The point is that he stabilised and is doing well now so you might check his story. This will be a confirmation for you that people develop severe vision issues related to Lexapro and most importantly that this is not permanent. He visted loads of eyes specialist but it is obvious it was withdrawal related.

January 16, 2016

Does any senior member of this forum ever heard of shaking vision as a withdrawal symptom.or i am having some other disorder.it was not there before withdrawal.it has started just few days back.

This is his thread but bear in mind we are all different with different drug histories so don't be tempted to think your story has to be as painful as his.

Take it just as a confirmation of Lexapro related vision issues that pass: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6982-goldieloc-my-introduction-trying-to-stop-lexapro-more/

January 16, 2016

Very painful indeed. I also having some similar problems like shaking, floaters in front if eyes.but my main problem is that my vision is shaking sometimes trembling and sometimes zigzag.it is asign of vestibular dysfunction .vestibule is an organ in ear which sends impulses to the brain about our head position and also srnd branch to eyes .my vestibular system is behaving abnormally. Because it has receptors for serotonin . Maybe because of that it is happening .it is making me nauseated also.sometimes i have a thought that my end is near.

January 16, 2016

That sounds very plausible.

When I stopped zoloft I had a dreadful vertigo. It all shows it's a consequence of withdrawal and it will pass.

The most we can do for ourselves is try to calm down as much as possible while we are waiting for this to pass.

January 16, 2016

Agreed, Bubble!

DTTC, you are in that place of catastrophizing that is also a wd symptom. You must do your best to talk yourself out of it because it isn't helping you at all to hyper-analyze everything and get yourself fearful. I know, it is very hard. But if there were any cases of people going blind on this forum, you'd be sure to have found it or someone would have found it by now. Yes, there are serotonin receptors everywhere and they perform different functions throughout the body, leading to the potential for all kinds of symptoms. But the fact remains that healing will occur. I've had the jiggling eyes, though it was temporary. A friend wd'ing from Lexapro told me about that and floaters, but she doesn't have that anymore, 20 months out. She has used homeopathy to deal with symptoms early on that have never reappeared. She also went through catastrophizing but is doing incredibly well now, just some physical reverberations that don't bother her to any degree now. So, you've got to remind yourself that although this sucks right now, it won't be forever, and to just do everything you can to help yourself relax and accept what is at this moment.

Watch the bead video ang replied to above - you are at a place where the beads are going cattywampus, but they come together again in some kind of harmony, a window! You will get there!

SG

January 16, 2016

I had floaters, bright lighting, zig-zag vas ion multiple times immediately after cutting a tiny dose. It always happens in my sleep very disturbing and wakes me up every time. It also is accompanied by a light sensation of panic attack and heart attack. That is when I know I either cut too much or too early and has to hold. It usually disappears after a few days when my system catching up with the reduction.

It's one of the lex side effects not anything wrong with your ear or other parts. I believe it will improve as your system gradually calms down.

Like bubble said, worrying will make everything even worse. Try to live with it and believe it will go eventually, just like we deal with all the other symptoms.

January 17, 2016

Same as the previous night .slept for 7 hours .no depersonalisation , no derealisation.anxiety was there. In middle of night i got the feeling like my brain was jumping inside my skull.i thought i am going to have seizures but didnt. It continued for around an hour.it was very scary .but it subsided then i went to sleep.on waking up in morning when i went out from my room . Everything in the room was shaking . Started crying ,it is very scary. I dont think i will be able to post after few days , if written language also started to shake like rest of things. Something is seriously wrong with me.oscillopsia can also be because of brain hyperactivity.dont know whether it will cease or not .since last 1 week it has been increasing. All the day i am questioning myself that is it really happening to me.i was totally fine just 2 months ago.

January 17, 2016

Thanks sg

For video but i am having very difficulty in watching video of this shaking vision .it is increasing day by day.i havent touched any drug in last few months .dont know why it is happening to me.it is usually a symptom of ototoxicity due to some drugs .but i didnt take any ototoxic drug. My antitubercular treatment stopped in august. Escitalopram was the only drug which i take upto mid october.these days i am just praying to god to atleast stop its progression but it is continuing to worsen .i dont want to live anymore.i am just living because of my family.they cant bear the trauma of my departure.

January 17, 2016

An extremely important thing at the moment is that you are sleeping. 7 hours is great. When I'm hit with a particularly scary symptom I keep repeating to myself: this is withdrawal, it will pass.

And then also: I'm healing with every moment I endure.

The most important thing you can do for yourself is to try to calm down as much as possible. Like a sailing boat caught at the sea in the storm: pull down your sails, keep still, endure the violent rocking and wait for the storm to blow away...

Do you have any strategies to calm yourself down? Guided relaxation videos or something like that works for me. It's not that because I can meditate at such times but simply hearing a reassuring and calming human voice helps to counteract my own inner dialogue filled with fear, panic and catastrophising.

January 17, 2016

Unfortunately it could've been reinstatement of Lexapro which caused this. This means it will go away now once you stopped.

It helped me to think about horrible periods like this: I will give myself a week to endure all the horrors of this just as they are. I will fully accept them, give in fighting, take it as it comes and just survive.

I will see what happens after a week.

January 17, 2016

Same as the previous night .slept for 7 hours .no depersonalisation , no derealisation.anxiety was there. In middle of night i got the feeling like my brain was jumping inside my skull.i thought i am going to have seizures but didnt. It continued for around an hour.it was very scary .but it subsided then i went to sleep.on waking up in morning when i went out from my room . Everything in the room was shaking . Started crying ,it is very scary. I dont think i will be able to post after few days , if written language also started to shake like rest of things. Something is seriously wrong with me.oscillopsia can also be because of brain hyperactivity.dont know whether it will cease or not .since last 1 week it has been increasing. All the day i am questioning myself that is it really happening to me.i was totally fine just 2 months ago.

Before, you were talking about your eyes shaking and being worried about going blind. Now it is your brain, but did the eyes stop, because you didn't mention it here. Also, you had other positive things to note: slept 7 hours, no DP/DR. The shaking went on for an hour and then stopped and you went back to sleep. These are all good things, and then shaking did stop, so it is not a permanent thing, but something to endure until it heals. I think it would be good to keep a chart by the hour of the symptoms, when they start, when they stop, so that you can see their pattern.

Many times on this forum people have been in the pits of hell and want to end it, only to come out the other side - months later they report that things are much better. It would be such a shame to end your life when the end of the torment could be right around the corner!

Have you seen your homeopath about the shaking symptoms? As I said before, a friend from here had her homeopath work on symptoms that went away and never came back. I am quite the skeptic but have consulted a homeopath about a chronic condition I have had for a year, and it is subsiding, so I am open to anything when it comes to things that allopathic medicine can't address. Can you tell us in the meantime about anything that your homeopath has helped you with? I'm interested to know!

SG

January 18, 2016

Sg

My shaking in head had stopped after 1 hour.but my vision is shaking to and fro and rt lt .getting feeling like i am in a boat.causing nausea and balancing problem .right now i am able to balance but i have to voluntarily control my balance .it is very scary to see thinks shaking ,when in reality they are not.this symptom was not there when i visited my homeopath. I will go to meet him today.homeopathy helped me with my anxiety problem and sleep problem.also depression.i dont know whether it is due to homeopathy or i have entered in window phase.but now this new problem is again increasing my anxiety.one thing i know that there is correlation between my shaking vision problem and escitalopram .beacuse it was not there before.same trembling is i am feeling in my body.though other people cant see it.

January 18, 2016

These things are weired .if i tell people about i am vibrating from inside and in my head .most of them will declare me insane.though i am not .i am talking normally with my family members .they dont found any abnormal behaviour.only the people who went through this trauma can understand .atleast you all nice friends here can understand ,what i am going through.

January 23, 2016

Today again i went to neurologist .he told me that i am having symptoms like multiple sclerosis.my symptoms which are quite similar to multiple sclerosis are vibration in body,shaking viaision, blurred vision,numbness in various part of the body, now the new symptom is irregular heart beat . He asked me to have mri scan both with contrast and without contrast.after mri he found nothing.my brain scan is normal.then i went to ent department .according to them shaking vision can be a sign of bilateral vestibular dysfunction but in that case there should be vertigo and intense nausea.i have some nausea few days back but it is not present now.he said my balance is ok and in the absence of nausea theere cannot be vestibular function.he told me to consult neurologist .i told him that i already had a brain scan .so after spending thosands today ,both ent and neurologist dont know whats wrong with me.so now neurologist said i am a casecof extreme anxiety and depression .he prescribed me now mertazapine 30mg +desvenlaflaxine +zolpidem.so now i am back to the place where i started.as my brain cant tolerate 0.5 mg escilaopram then how can i tolerate such a high dose.as far as my other symptoms are concerened - sleep 7 hours , now dr/dp,no panic attack, some crying spells , depress because of vision, no racing thoughts.hope this shaking vision is also withdrawl effect and ends one day.

January 23, 2016

Hi DTTC,

I hope that these medical results can give you some type of relief, because they mean WD is the culprit and you can heal. I know that it is very difficult to accept that you are having these symptoms and that no one can say how long it will go on for, but they are due to a wave, and after a wave comes a window. The key is to do everything you can find to support yourself through this wave, to "be" with it, not fight it. Time and time again I have read people's posts saying that when they reached acceptance their symptoms began to alleviate. You are still caught up in the secondary fear which keeps it all alive. I've been sharing this post and hopefully it will bring some insight to you:

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/3533-acceptance/?hl=%2Beckhart+%2Btolle#entry40178

It happens to be with regards to Eckhart Tolle, my favorite spiritual leader, but who delivers the message is really not the point.

It is very common for health fear to be stirred up by withdrawal, but I think you have done all the testing needed to show that your symptoms are from withdrawal and not some other devastating disease, and that recovery is absolutely possible!

SG

February 9, 2016

Hello friends

Posting after so many days. In last few days some problems has increased .i have developed visual snow. Few Floaters have turned from white to grey in colour. Shaking vision is still there. One another symptom which i have developed is random shooting pain in any body part ,which continue for few minutes to about an hour then subsided on its own.cant drive because of shaking illusion.sleep is normal .shaking in brain is still there .senior members please put some light on my new symptoms .have anybody got relief from visual snow or is it permanant. How common is this.

February 9, 2016

Hi DTTC. It's just another W/D symptom. Try not to stress.

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6380-vision-symptoms-floaters-snow-blurred-or-dimmed-vision-etc/page-3

Ali

February 9, 2016

Thanks aliG .i want to know do any one recovered from visual withdrawal symptoms or they are due to permanant damage to nervous system.

February 10, 2016

Hey anyone have some information on visual snow susided on its own.

February 10, 2016

Hi DTTC,

You might want to go to the symptoms and self-care forum and then do a search for "visual snow" or "floaters." This will pull up threads where these have been mentioned. You can then try to contact the members who posted and ask how they are doing.

This is very much a withdrawal symptom. From the little reading I have done on it, those who were checked out by doctor's were found to have nothing wrong, everything normal. Very much a situation caused by nerves jangled by withdrawal. And in that respect, relatively temporary.

Monica Cassini, of BeyondMeds, put up a 6 year anniversary video yesterday, 6 years off of a cocktail that left her bed-ridden for 2 years! I'm sure she had every symptom you've listed; she said she easily had 60 symptoms at a time! You might find comfort in watching that video, and by surfing around her website (though I find the organization of it a little chaotic :-)

http://beyondmeds.com/2016/02/09/6years-off/

Keep in mind she was on a cocktail of something like 6 meds!

SG

February 11, 2016

I had and still get all kinds of eye issues after my withdrawl and adverse reactions. Floaters, snow, wobbly eyes, trouble focusing when in wave. It all goes away when your cns calms down. Don't worry your not going blind.

February 11, 2016

Trust me its not perminent damage, lots of people have floaters and they just don't bother people as much when not in a hyperactive cns state. When I was stable all but the floaters went away and I had all the same eye issues as you.

February 11, 2016

Thanks @ djones1984

For reply.do you have visual snow and shaking vision problem.whenever i fix my eyes on something it started jumping up and down.in my field of vision i can see lot of tiny dots like tv static.sometimes it looks like snow or drizzling in front of my eyes.flaoters are additional problem.cant leave home alone because of vision problem.cant drive.

Depresstothecore: Struck after lexapro adverse reaction

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