Sunita21: Anxiety!

[Sunita21]

Hello All,

 

First, I am FRIGHTENED!!!! I've been on SSRI's and Mood Stabilizer (Lamictal) with intermittent Benzo (however, I'm an addict~and I always end up abusing those) for 27 years. I've been diagnosed w depression, anxiety, and "soft" bipolar. This year has been sheer Hell and I've changed meds 5x. I was about to go on a 6th med~when I decided that I'd had ENOUGH! And so, I weaned for 3 weeks and then cold turkeyed for a week~at a drs. suggestion~I added back lexapro for about a week and now am off everything. I am ANXIOUS round the clock~even in my sleep. The sad thing is-my life is pretty nice!!!! And I can't enjoy a bloody moment of it.

Any SUGGESTIONS are welcome!

 

Sunita

Edited May 27, 2017 by scallywag
tags

[Dwell]

Hi Sunita,

I am only a member here but an admin or moderator should be around soon to help you. They will ask you to fill out your signature with history and Mg. Of each medicine and duration of use. All of your symptoms sound like eithdrawl from those meds and though they can be very frightening they are very normal! If it has not been too long since you cold turkeyed they may suggest a reinstatement of a low dose of the med so you can taper correctly. Just giving you some suggestions that they may give you. Here is a link to show you how to do your signature so when a modaerator comes along they know your meds.

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/12364-please-put-your-withdrawal-history-in-your-signature/

[Sunita21]

Hello,

 

I'm new to this site and am hoping to get support. I've been on SSRI's and Mood Stabilizer for 27 years. This year I have been on 5 different SSRI's and still battled round the clock Anxiety~I was about to go on a 6th med and yet another psych and decided to go off. I titrated for 3 weeks and then went off. I reinstated the Lexapro for 1 week-but that wasn't helpful. I don't know if I feel worse now or when I was on~I just know that my first conscious moment in the morning is AWFUL and remains that way the entire day. Nothing breaks it. A friend told me of a co name TRUHOPE who supply vit/minerals/Amino Acids - they claim to have successfully gotten thousands of people off meds. Anyone hear of them? It sounds impossible to me to think that ANY vitamin, etc.... is going to change the way I feel. Honestly, short of a morphine drip~I can't imagine anything taking this feeling away. Mind you, I was a yoga teacher, meditator, vegetarian, etc..... AND none of that is making 1 iota of difference. Any advice is welcome.

 

Sunita

Edited May 22, 2017 by ChessieCat
moved from the topic on reinstatement:

[bubble]

Welcome to Surviving antidepressants Sunita!

 

Please give us more details about your drug history as Dwell so kindly advised. What drugs you were on and how and when you stopped taking them.

 

What dose of Lexapro did you start to reinstate and when?

 

I can see that you have already started reading around here and I would warmly recommend some further reading:

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/603-what-is-withdrawal-syndrome/

 

I would particularly like to draw your attention to the following (adding that if we knew of any supplement that would help a brain to reverse all the changes it went  through over 27 years we would tell you for sure. Unfortunately that is not the case).

 

Medicine wants to believe the acute phase of withdrawal lasts only a few weeks. From what people have posted on the Web, it can last many months.

The inserts in all the newer antidepressants and many other psychiatric drugs advise reinstatement of the medication if withdrawal symptoms appear. This is all medicine knows about how to treat withdrawal.

What is known about reinstatement
from my reading and from patient experience as posted on online support sites:

• According to medical knowledge, reinstatement is the only way to alleviate withdrawal symptoms.
• Reinstatement is best done immediately upon appearance of withdrawal symptoms. The more time that passes, the less likely it is to work.
• The length of this window of opportunity varies according to the individual. Sometimes people can reinstate successfully months after quitting. Others cannot.
• Some find a partial dose will relieve withdrawal symptoms. If, for example, you were taking 20mg Paxil and quit rapidly only a few days ago, 5mg or 10mg may be enough. Others find they need a higher dose.
• Start low to see what you need. You can always increase if necessary. If you've been off the drug for a month or more, many people can find relief from antidepressant withdrawal symptoms by reinstating as little as 1mg-5mg.

Additional reasons to reinstate only a partial dose
Reinstating at a low dose reduces the risk of severe adverse reactions in case reinstatement does not work.

• Experiencing withdrawal may have sensitized you to drugs and a larger dose will cause an adverse reaction.
• These drugs are vastly more powerful than they need to be and you want to be taking only the lowest EFFECTIVE dose.
• Your receptors may have adjusted somewhat (upregulated) during the time you had withdrawal symptoms.
• If you can stabilize on a lower dose, you have less to taper when you finally do go off.
• If you had adverse reactions while you were taking the drug, a low dose may not trigger the adverse reactions but still reduce withdrawal symptoms. Adverse reactions tend to be dosage-related: The higher the dose, the worse the reaction.
• You can always adjust the dosage upward if you find you need to.

How long should you give reinstatement?

• It takes at least 4 days for your body to fully register the addition of a neuroactive drug. Unless you have an immediate bad reaction, observe your symptom pattern for about a week to see if the reinstatement is helping. If you have an immediate bad reaction, reduce or stop taking the drug.
• After reinstatement, the amount of time needed to alleviate withdrawal symptoms (stabilizing) varies according to the individual. Relief can be felt immediately, after some weeks, or after some months.
• Once you feel withdrawal symptoms are reduced after reinstatement, give your nervous system time to stabilize before attempting dosage reduction. Think in terms of months, not days.
• Be patient after you reinstate. Reinstatement may not immediately eliminate all withdrawal symptoms. You may still experience waves of symptoms, which usually lessen as time goes on. Do not attempt to taper again until you feel symptom-free, or at least until your withdrawal symptoms are mild and tolerable.
• The dose needed for effective reinstatement varies according to the individual.

This article helped me understand what my brain was going through:

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1160-brain-remodeling/

 

Once again welcome.

 

Bubble

Edited May 22, 2017 by ChessieCat
deleted quote, it's now the previous post

[ShakeyJerr]

Hi Sunita -

 

I am so sorry that you are in withdrawal. Your brain and body are trying to readjust to many years of being chemically altered.

 

I wanted to give you some emotional support and also let you know that I will be praying for you.

 

As for your anxiety - we all can sympathize with what you are experiencing.

 

Here are some things that many of us have found helpful.

 

Mindful Breathing: Take control of your breathing. You want to breath in through your nose and out through your mouth. And you want to make very sure that you are breathing deeply. Your belly should be expanding, not your chest.

 

Eating: Clean up your eating habits. Get rid of caffeine. And reduce your sugar intake as much as possible. Whole grains, fruits & veggies, and protein are best. Try to stay away from anything that can spike blood sugar, like rice and pasta.

 

Emotional Spirals: Read this thread - http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/13492-dealing-with-emotional-spirals

 

There is a lot of great helpful info on this site. Do not overwhelm yourself by trying to consume it all at once. And do not try to do too many changes at once - especially when it comes to adding supplements. Slow and steady and mindful is a key to healing.

 

We're here for you.

 

SJ