BAT: Is it anxiety or withdrawal?

[ChessieCat]

From best-description-of-healing-process

 

"Temporal Lobe  These lobes are on the side of your brain on each side near your ear. It makes up the whole left and ride side of your brain.  This is where auditory information is processed, including hearing itself, but also the "Meaning" of what we are hearing, as well as part of speech and language, emotion, and buncha other stuff.  In early recovery, someone was talking to me and I couldn't tell you what they said past the first sentence.  My auditory processing was ALL messed up.  I couldn't picture what a person was saying to me in real time - and by the time I caught up to them, I was lost and they were talking about something else! Also - When I was laying there in bed, I could "hear" things that weren't there in the noise of my box fan. I'd hear the fan blowing -but I also "heard" like sickening circus music. I believe this is because there is noise coming into my ear - but my brain cannot adequately "prune" what it is hearing at different frequencies because there is not enough GABA to inhibit it to create something meaningful.  There was all this "noise" and my brain was just firing off glutamate.  So instead of actually "processing" the noise - it was firing off ideas about what it was hearing - and they were ALL wrong.  I would be hearing what sounded like circus music - and at the same time, my poor brain was looking through my hippocampus to find all the memories I ever had of being at the circus ..."

 

[BAT]

Has anyone had or have ears issues due to tight muscles in head, face, jaw, neck and shoulders?  I believe this is what is causing mine. I try to stretch, relaxing breathing, meditation, massage but no relief. Has anyone had this for a while and it's gone away? It even bothers me to lay on my side like on my ears..

[ChessieCat]

Here's a topic:  face-jaw-tongue-muscle-tension-and-pain

 

[BAT]

Anybody have or had symptoms, specifically like head and ear symptoms just on one side? Or it's worse one side?

 

Thank you in advance for any replies.

[Alice1]

I have ear and especially head sxs .. head sxs are the most distressing to me . ears are clogged and pressurized , ringing etc etc ..but its always worse on the left side ..

[LexAnger]

Me too, always on left side majority symptoms including numb, sharp pain, stoned, pressure, strange twisted feeling and paralysis  etc.  Only needling pain is everywhere on head, face, and entire upper body. I often feel my left head is non existing.

 

[BAT]

Hello.  I'm 13 months off antidepressants and almost 4 months since last time I took a xanax dose.  I'm still having bad panic, anxiety, agoraphobia along with other symptoms. Does anyone recommend trying to reinstate?

[ChessieCat]

Q:  What other symptoms are you experiencing?

 

Have you tried Magnesium?  I have found that it takes the edge off my anxiety.  Several times I have stopped taking it and the anxiety worsened.  When I have restarted the anxiety lessened.  It might be worth trying this.

[BAT]

CheesueCat thank you for replying.

 

Other symptoms are..

Head tightness/pressure headache

Ear pressure, clogged feeling (loud white noise at times)

Muscle/Body stiffness/pain

Muscle twitching

Vision issues

Tingling, burning, numbness

Out of breath doing something

Chest/throat/face tightness

Increased heart rate at times

Very low stress tolerance (if any)

Health anxiety o

Panic/anxiety

Muscle loss

Weight loss (like 7 pounds)

Depressed because I'd still feeling bad

Crying at times

Bad agoraphobia

Think worse case scenario

No energy/motivation

Stomach making noises

Fear of being alone

(Not sure if being cold is a symptom)

 

That's what I can think of right now..

 

I have not tried magnesium. I'm nervous to try anything.. 

 

Not sure what to do. I have tried to stay off medicines but I'm not seeing improvements. I'm worse now then the first 6 months off. 

 

[ChessieCat]

16 minutes ago, BAT said:

have not tried magnesium. I'm nervous to try anything.. 

 

 I can understand that.  However, you could try a small amount and see how you go.  Some people dissolve it in water and sip it throughout the day.

 

And if it were me in your situation, I would be trying magnesium before ever considering reinstating.  It one of only 2 things which SA recommends, the other being  Omega-3 Fish Oil.   But only try 1 thing at a time.

[BAT]

ChessieCat thank you again for replying.

 

Can all of these be from medicine withdrawal?

Why would I be worse this far off?

Is this normal, does this happen to people? Does everyone really heal?

 

Forgot the internal vibrations..

 

[ChessieCat]

From what I have read about the experience of benzo users, the withdrawal can last a long time and it may be that taking the Xanax 8 times more recently has set your healing back.

[BAT]

CheesieSt

 

Are all these common withdrawal symptoms?

[BAT]

FSL

 

My life has changed drastically this year when I started getting worse. I have my husband and kids support, I meditate, do Relaxation breathing, stretching. It's been really hard to do anything.  I was doing so much more the first 6 months off.  The last two months have been the worst.

I do not work I had to quit. 

[BAT]

FSL 

 

At this time I can't leave the house.

 

Will I not heal if I stay off?

 

If I reinstate what dose? I have 25mg of zoloft.  When I was on it I was taking 12.5mg.

[ChessieCat]

Reinstatement of Zoloft most probably would not help if your withdrawal symptoms are from getting off the benzo.  In fact it might even cause more issues.

 

I suggest that you read topics of members who have taken Xanax.  I will add the drug tag which you can click on (top left, below the topic title) and you will be able to find other members who have the same tag.  Understanding that what you are experiencing is not unusual may help.  Learning to accept that it is what it is at the moment and taking care of yourself and trying to stay calm and keep stress to a minimum (even good stress) and allowing time for your brain to regain homoeostasis.

 

Try the magnesium and see if that helps.  If you take a calcium tablet, you will need to take them several hours apart.

[ChessieCat]

You can find members' experiences with benzos here:  Members-only benzo forum

 

[BAT]

Chessie Car

 

Thank you for your reply.

 

How am I suppose to know what this is from? Before I stopped the zoloft I had stopped Prozac also.  I stopped xanax before stopping the antidepressants but then took those 8 other doses from Dec 2016-June 2017.

 

I know when I stopped zoloft back in Dec 2015 the biggest issue I had was getting panic attacks but these now are way worse and after a few weeks I was having good days and bad days. I did not have all these symptoms like I do now.  Then I made a stupid decision to try hypnotherapy in May 2016 because I want 100% healed (impatient) and that was a disaster, I could not relax when she was counting backwards and that's when my sleep messed up and went on xanax..  I know I noticed issues taking everyday after a couple weeks that I didn't experience before.  Like bad panic,  freaking out, a couple times loud sounds made me freak out, swallowing issues this is while I was taking it. I was on it for 2 months. After two months tried liquid Prozac and when I went up to 10mg was dry heaving in the morning and sick to my stomach and switch to zoloft.  So I don't know what is causing what...i don't want to make a wrong decision because I feel like I have made a lot of them already..

[ChessieCat]

We often feel like we should be doing something when what we might need to do is stay off the drug/s and give our brain what it needs to heal - time.

 

15 minutes ago, BAT said:

So I don't know what is causing what

 

Neither does anyone else.  It is an unanswerable question.  Unfortunately sometimes all we can do accept that it is what it is at this time and realise that we have no other option except to go through the suffering.  In order to do this you may have to take one day at a time, sometimes when it is bad you might need to just take it hour by hour and sometimes minute by minute.  I realise that you probably don't want to be told this, but I believe that the sooner we come to terms with this fact, stop fighting against it, which actually causes stress and I believe it slows healing because the brain has to deal with the stress, and learn how to get through it instead of eliminating it the better it is for our brain.

[BAT]

Cheesie Cat

 

Does everybody really heal from this? Does your body and brain go back to normal Before meds?

 

I mean the very first time I went on medicine I told the doctor I was feeling a little sad.  When I say a little sad I mean an hour before my Dr. Appt (which was a follow up for something else).  My mom passed away, two weeks later my dad goes unresponsive in front of me and I did have panic when that happened that made me go to the hospital.  Some people tell me that's what is causing this traumatic events.  I didn't have symptoms like this..

[ChessieCat]

2 minutes ago, BAT said:

Does your body and brain go back to normal Before meds?

 

We may not go back to what we were before meds, but this is actually hard to assess because we change.  It is normal for people to change over time and our reaction to life changes us.  What we have to go through during withdrawal also changes us.  But I do believe that we heal.  The brain is an amazing thing but we need to treat it well and give it the environment that it needs in order for this to happen.

 

I suggest you check out this area of the site:  Success stories: Recovery from withdrawal

 

And also check out Intro topics which have a "sun" symbol in their title.  These indicate members who are healing.

[BAT]

FSL 

 

Thank you for your reply.

[BAT]

Can anyone tell me what this was or if this has happened to you.

 

I was sleeping and there was a loud thump noise (which ended up being my daughter falling out of bed. She is 14 and is ok) my husband went to go see what it was and my insides were shaking so bad, my chest so tight hard to breath,  it was a scary feeling. I have the internal vibrations so I don't know if it was that really bad but it felt more like bad shaking inside from head to toe.  Maybe it's the same thing...

[BAT]

FSL

Thank you for replying. 

 

Is that from the medicines and my CNS being so sensitive?

 

Or do I really have an anxiety disorder now??

[BAT]

FSL

 

Thank you for your response 

[BAT]

Cheesie Cat

 

Curious on your thoughts about my last two posts.. Thank you.

[Waiting12]

7 hours ago, BAT said:

Can anyone tell me what this was or if this has happened to you.

 

I was sleeping and there was a loud thump noise (which ended up being my daughter falling out of bed. She is 14 and is ok) my husband went to go see what it was and my insides were shaking so bad, my chest so tight hard to breath,  it was a scary feeling. I have the internal vibrations so I don't know if it was that really bad but it felt more like bad shaking inside from head to toe.  Maybe it's the same thing...

 

This was how I woke up every morning for a very long time. Also, for me a very high pulse. Now it only happens when I am startled awake (dog barking/phone ringing) or if I try to take a nap during the day it turns bad on me. It’s definitely CNS stuff and just needs time and gentle care to settle down. 

[BAT]

I am planning on reinstating zoloft.  I have been off antidepressants for 14 months, last xanax 4.5 months. I am doing really bad.  This is the worst I have been since being off.  Anyone that has reinstated this far out and had good results? I have zoloft 25mg pills, I was planning on cutting into 4 pieces and starting at 6.25mg.  I don't know how to get it lower, don't want to do liquid and don't have a scale. 

How long does one wait?? Can a lot of people say they are worse this far off then the first 6 months?? 

Any comments, advice, information is greatly appreciated!!

[apace41]

BAT,

 

Sorry to hear that you are struggling so badly right now.  I know the feeling and it sucks.  As you know if you've read the topics on reinstating, when you are this far out from getting off nobody can tell you how your body will react to a reinstatement.  There are certainly people who go back on the med at a lower level or even at the same level and do well with that, however, there are also people who find their CNS has been so sensitized that the medicine no longer does anything for them and may, in fact, have a paradoxical reaction.  There is simply no way to know how you will react to this.

 

I think we would probably recommend that you start even lower than 6.25mg if you want to try reinstating, e.g., 1 or 2mg perhaps, but if you are not in a position to get that amount measured out consistently, 6.25 may be the best you can do.  Since sertraline comes in a liquid form, however, I'm not sure why you are opposed, but it is not my intent to try to convince you to go with the liquid.  

 

We ordinarily say that you should give any change in meds 4-5 days for it to get into the bloodstream and see how it is acting, however, in this case, given your time off, I would probably extend that to a week or so.  Obviously, if you feel worse in the short term, e.g., you have an adverse reaction to the drug, it would be advisable to stop as that would be an indication of an oversensitized CNS that can't handle the drug.  If you feel the same after a week you can extend the trial.  Hopefully, you will notice some improvement if you go forward with the reinstatement.

 

Best,

 

Andy

[BAT]

Can anyone describe their heart palpitations?

I just had something happened and was wondering if that is what it was.

It was like my heart beat was really hard that made me grab my chest. Happened like for 2 beats. Then I got hot in the face, not sure if that was from panic.

[BAT]

Any one??

[Hellbutrin]

47 minutes ago, BAT said:

Any one??

Hi BAT,

 

It sounds like a lot of what you are experiencing can be directly related to withdrawal symptoms. The anxiety that you get from ruminating about the physical symptoms can make your over all anxiety worse and cause your symptoms to heighten. I've had heart palpitations A LOT during my acute phases so far. I know it sounds impossible right now but do your best to calm yourself as much as you can. You might not see an immediate improvement, but the easier you are on yourself the easier it will be for your CNS to try to start healing. Acceptance is the key to healing, be okay with not being okay. Happy healing, we are all with you. *hug

[BAT]

45 minutes ago, Hellbutrin said:

 

 

It sounds like a lot of what you are experiencing can be directly related to withdrawal symptoms. The anxiety that you get from ruminating about the physical symptoms can make your over all anxiety worse and cause your symptoms to heighten. I've had heart palpitations A LOT during my acute phases so far. I know it sounds impossible right now but do your best to calm yourself as much as you can. You might not see an immediate improvement, but the easier you are on yourself the easier it will be for your CNS to try to start healing. Acceptance is the key to healing, be okay with not being okay. Happy healing, we are all with you. *hug

Hellburtin

 

Thank you for your reply. I appreciate it.  What I describe is palpitations?

Is that how yours were? How long did they last and did they go away?

 

I know the physical symptoms do cause me to panic.  I just didn't ever feel stuff like this prior to being on and off all these medicines.

[Hellbutrin]

Just now, BAT said:

Hellburtin

 

Thank you for your reply. I appreciate it.  What I describe is palpitations?

Is that how yours were? How long did they last and did they go away?

 

I know the physical symptoms do cause me to panic.  I just didn't ever feel stuff like this prior to being on and off all these medicines.

Yes, they did eventually go away. They were pretty severe during my acute phases, but if I just ignored them they usually went away pretty quickly. These drugs do strange things to our bodies and effect our physiology in ways we don't understand. I didn't feel anything like this prior to being in withdrawal either, and I can't say that I'm pleased that I have a good solid year at minimum before I'm likely to see an improvement in my symptoms. So I'm just doing my best to allow myself time to heal by eliminating any additional stressors that I can. I can't tell you what to do because your situation is vastly different than mine and we are all in charge of our own journey into healing. But I would advise that you try to stay away from any scary reports and forums that will only serve to increase your anxiety and thereby set you back in your healing. Be kind to yourself and give yourself the time that you need to get better. This condition is not fair and hopefully we will all be around long enough to see the system fall that is responsible for all of our suffering. But until then just know that you are not alone and this site can provide an immense amount of valuable information and feedback. Be relentless in your journey to get your life back, but do it by being making small changes to your life that will help you heal. 

[BAT]

17 hours ago, Hellbutrin said:

Yes, they did eventually go away. They were pretty severe during my acute phases, but if I just ignored them they usually went away pretty quickly. These drugs do strange things to our bodies and effect our physiology in ways we don't understand. I didn't feel anything like this prior to being in withdrawal either, and I can't say that I'm pleased that I have a good solid year at minimum before I'm likely to see an improvement in my symptoms. So I'm just doing my best to allow myself time to heal by eliminating any additional stressors that I can. I can't tell you what to do because your situation is vastly different than mine and we are all in charge of our own journey into healing. But I would advise that you try to stay away from any scary reports and forums that will only serve to increase your anxiety and thereby set you back in your healing. Be kind to yourself and give yourself the time that you need to get better. This condition is not fair and hopefully we will all be around long enough to see the system fall that is responsible for all of our suffering. But until then just know that you are not alone and this site can provide an immense amount of valuable information and feedback. Be relentless in your journey to get your life back, but do it by being making small changes to your life that will help you heal. 

 

Thank you again for your reply.

 

Just one more question the way I describe how it feels, is that how you would describe yours or different?

[BAT]

I have another new symptom if someone can please help me out..  

 

I started having like falling asleep, numbness type feeling in my right hand for a couple days then moved through my arm.  The other day I noticed I lost sensation I can't feel cold or hot..

It feels like asleep, numbing, weak feeling. In my hand and arm.  I can't feel hot or cold sensations.  It's pretty much My right side. My hands does get cold or hot..  Can these medicines cause this? I went to the er yesterday and the stuff they dr said was fine but follow up with a neurologist and family doctor for other tests. I just hate because evertime I go out I have to take xabax because I started having agoraphobia after these medicines.  So I feel like I won't ever be completely off. I have been off antidepressants and Xanax  everyday for 16 months. But I have taken Xanax 11 different times in a year.

 

Any information would greatly be appreciated.

 

This is freaking me out!!