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Brain fog: blank mind, comprehension, concentration, cognitive, and memory problems


Denstar51

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Meditation has been proven to improve cognition

Paxil from 2005 to July 2013. 30mg. 

Very short taper. 

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i am 30 months off and still suffering. If you want some hopeful stories there was a guy named Challenge on PP who had severe cognitive issues. Horrible memory inability to concentrate etc. He completely healed but it took around 4 years to start seeing real improvement by 5 years he was ok. His wa so bad that he told me he didn't recognize the house he grew up in or where his room was.

 

For myself I took Cerebrolysin a while back and it almost completely cleared the fog but it made me way too nauseas and I could not function so I only took it one day.

"They added that the treatment is not widely used because it must be given by intravenous infusion and requires a long-term and demanding treatment schedule" 

Did you have it intervenously?

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/778765

WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG
Had a car accident in 85
Codeine was the pain med when I was release from hosp continuous use till 89
Given PROZAC by a specialist to help with nerve pain in my leg 89-90 not sure which year
Was not told a thing about it being a psych med thought it was a pain killer no info about psych side effects I went nuts had hallucinations. As I had a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion in 85 I was sent to a head injury clinic in 1990 five years after the accident. I don't think they knew I had been on prozac I did not think it a big deal and never did finish the bottle of pills. I had tests of course lots of them. Was put into a pain clinic and given amitriptyline which stopped the withdrawal but had many side effects. But I could sleep something I had not done in a very long time the pain lessened. My mother got cancer in 94 they switched my meds to Zoloft to help deal with this pressure as I was her main care giver she died in 96. I stopped zoloft in 96 had withdrawal was put on paxil went nutty quit it ct put on resperidol quit it ct had withdrawal was put on Effexor... 2years later celexa was added 20mg then increased to 40mg huge personality change went wild. Did too fast taper off Celexa 05 as I felt unwell for a long time prior... quit Effexor 150mg ct 07 found ****** 8 months into withdrawal learned some things was banned from there in 08 have kept learning since. there is really not enough room here to put my history but I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things especially any of the drugs mentioned above.
One thing I would like to add here is this tidbit ALL OPIATES INCREASE SEROTONIN it is not a huge jump to being in chronic pain to being put on an ssri/snri and opiates will affect your antidepressants and your thinking.

As I do not update much I will put my quit date Nov. 17 2007 I quit Effexor cold turkey. 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1096-introducing-myself-btdt/

There is a crack in everything ..That's how the light gets in :)

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It really scares me to hear that you still have brain fog.

 

But the good news is that you can hold down a job. I can't even pick our my own clothes right now.

 

Please can someone give us a silver lining?

Dont be scared, Wigglelt.

 

 

In my case I cannot say if it is protracted wtihdrawal or anxiety.

 

+ I am in a better place today that I was 30 months ago. I even took a 8 hours' flight to NY, USA from Germany and visited my sister for a week. This would have been impossible 2 years ago.

 

I am reading "the panic switch" by Jeffrey Hammes right now and it might be that I am just left with anxiety and I have to change my thinking. I can recommend you that book. But most of it you can get on his website for free anway.

Cold turkeyed Paxil in May 2012  :ph34r:

 

Finally recovered / see success story :)

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i am 30 months off and still suffering. If you want some hopeful stories there was a guy named Challenge on PP who had severe cognitive issues. Horrible memory inability to concentrate etc. He completely healed but it took around 4 years to start seeing real improvement by 5 years he was ok. His wa so bad that he told me he didn't recognize the house he grew up in or where his room was.

 

For myself I took Cerebrolysin a while back and it almost completely cleared the fog but it made me way too nauseas and I could not function so I only took it one day.

"They added that the treatment is not widely used because it must be given by intravenous infusion and requires a long-term and demanding treatment schedule" 

Did you have it intervenously?

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/778765

 

I was sure I read your answer to this post yet I don't see it here and the number of the post is in order... i am not sure about this site if deleting a post throws the numbers off...maybe not.  I can't imagine why it would be delted?

WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG
Had a car accident in 85
Codeine was the pain med when I was release from hosp continuous use till 89
Given PROZAC by a specialist to help with nerve pain in my leg 89-90 not sure which year
Was not told a thing about it being a psych med thought it was a pain killer no info about psych side effects I went nuts had hallucinations. As I had a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion in 85 I was sent to a head injury clinic in 1990 five years after the accident. I don't think they knew I had been on prozac I did not think it a big deal and never did finish the bottle of pills. I had tests of course lots of them. Was put into a pain clinic and given amitriptyline which stopped the withdrawal but had many side effects. But I could sleep something I had not done in a very long time the pain lessened. My mother got cancer in 94 they switched my meds to Zoloft to help deal with this pressure as I was her main care giver she died in 96. I stopped zoloft in 96 had withdrawal was put on paxil went nutty quit it ct put on resperidol quit it ct had withdrawal was put on Effexor... 2years later celexa was added 20mg then increased to 40mg huge personality change went wild. Did too fast taper off Celexa 05 as I felt unwell for a long time prior... quit Effexor 150mg ct 07 found ****** 8 months into withdrawal learned some things was banned from there in 08 have kept learning since. there is really not enough room here to put my history but I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things especially any of the drugs mentioned above.
One thing I would like to add here is this tidbit ALL OPIATES INCREASE SEROTONIN it is not a huge jump to being in chronic pain to being put on an ssri/snri and opiates will affect your antidepressants and your thinking.

As I do not update much I will put my quit date Nov. 17 2007 I quit Effexor cold turkey. 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1096-introducing-myself-btdt/

There is a crack in everything ..That's how the light gets in :)

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DizzyGirl, thank you for the reassurance.  I think I will look for that book!  I do notice that I think better when I am calm and I've been trying to meditate every day.

 

Btdt, I can still see the original above that you have quoted, so I'm not sure if anything got deleted.  Weird.  

*I'm not a doctor and don't give medical advice, just personal experience
**Off all meds since Nov. 2014. Mentally & emotionally recovered; physically not
-Dual cold turkeys off TCA & Ativan in Oct 2014. Prescribed from 2011-2014

-All meds were Rxed off-label for an autoimmune illness.  It was a MISDIAGNOSIS, but I did not find out until AFTER meds caused damage.  All med tapers/cold turkeys directed by doctors 

-Nortriptyline May 2012 - Dec 2013. Cold turkey off nortrip & cold switched to desipramine

-Desipramine Jan 2014 - Oct. 29, 2014 (rapid taper/cold turkey)

-Lorazepam 1 mg per night during 2011
-Lorazepam 1 mg per month in 2012 (or less)

-Lorazepam on & off, Dec 2013 through Aug 2014. Didn't exceed 3x a week

-Lorazepam again in Oct. 2014 to help get off of desipramine. Last dose lzpam was 1 mg, Nov. 2, 2014. Immediate paradoxical reactions to benzos after stopping TCAs 

-First muscle/dystonia side effects started on nortriptyline, but docs too stupid to figure it out. On desipramine, muscle tremors & rigidity worsened

-Two weeks after I got off all meds, I developed full-blown TD.  Tardive dystonia, dyskinesia, myoclonic jerks ALL over body, ribcage wiggles, facial tics, twitching tongue & fingers, tremors/twitches of arms, legs, cognitive impairment, throat muscles semi-paralyzed & unable to swallow solid food, brain zaps, ears ring, dizzy, everything looks too far away, insomnia, numbness & electric shocks everywhere when I try to fall asleep, jerk awake from sleep with big, gasping breaths, wake with terrors & tremors, severely depressed.  NO HISTORY OF DEPRESSION, EVER. Meds CREATED it.

-Month 7: hair falling out; no vision improvement; still tardive dystonia; facial & tongue tics returned
-Month 8: back to acute, incl. Grand Mal seizure-like episodes. New mental torment, PGAD, worse insomnia
-Month 9: tardive dystonia worse, dyskinesia returned. Unable to breathe well due to dystonia in stomach, chest, throat
-Month 13: Back to acute, brain zaps back, developed eczema & stomach problems. Left leg no longer works right due to dystonia, meaning both legs now damaged
-7 years off: Huge improvements, incl. improved dystonia

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  • 1 month later...

How about this for starters 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/786-papers-about-post-ssri-sexual-disorder-pssd/#entry129531

post #22

 

This was a bit of my day... I played a video game with a kid I babysat last night ... I was always lost could not get out of where I was... would maybe not have noticed if the kids did not tease me so much about it.  Lately had issues getting lost not being able to find places again. 

 

For a bit of science on memory and Ad use see this 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/8219-verbal-and-spatial-memory-impairment/

 

Hope you are well. 

peace

WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG
Had a car accident in 85
Codeine was the pain med when I was release from hosp continuous use till 89
Given PROZAC by a specialist to help with nerve pain in my leg 89-90 not sure which year
Was not told a thing about it being a psych med thought it was a pain killer no info about psych side effects I went nuts had hallucinations. As I had a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion in 85 I was sent to a head injury clinic in 1990 five years after the accident. I don't think they knew I had been on prozac I did not think it a big deal and never did finish the bottle of pills. I had tests of course lots of them. Was put into a pain clinic and given amitriptyline which stopped the withdrawal but had many side effects. But I could sleep something I had not done in a very long time the pain lessened. My mother got cancer in 94 they switched my meds to Zoloft to help deal with this pressure as I was her main care giver she died in 96. I stopped zoloft in 96 had withdrawal was put on paxil went nutty quit it ct put on resperidol quit it ct had withdrawal was put on Effexor... 2years later celexa was added 20mg then increased to 40mg huge personality change went wild. Did too fast taper off Celexa 05 as I felt unwell for a long time prior... quit Effexor 150mg ct 07 found ****** 8 months into withdrawal learned some things was banned from there in 08 have kept learning since. there is really not enough room here to put my history but I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things especially any of the drugs mentioned above.
One thing I would like to add here is this tidbit ALL OPIATES INCREASE SEROTONIN it is not a huge jump to being in chronic pain to being put on an ssri/snri and opiates will affect your antidepressants and your thinking.

As I do not update much I will put my quit date Nov. 17 2007 I quit Effexor cold turkey. 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1096-introducing-myself-btdt/

There is a crack in everything ..That's how the light gets in :)

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PS 

In my teenage years I had a memory people envied.  I could not forget things and aced exams took highest marks in my school for more than one subject.  Honor student. I learned trigonometry on the bus on the way to school wrote and aced the exam. ahh my a brain is a sad thing to waste.  

WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG
Had a car accident in 85
Codeine was the pain med when I was release from hosp continuous use till 89
Given PROZAC by a specialist to help with nerve pain in my leg 89-90 not sure which year
Was not told a thing about it being a psych med thought it was a pain killer no info about psych side effects I went nuts had hallucinations. As I had a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion in 85 I was sent to a head injury clinic in 1990 five years after the accident. I don't think they knew I had been on prozac I did not think it a big deal and never did finish the bottle of pills. I had tests of course lots of them. Was put into a pain clinic and given amitriptyline which stopped the withdrawal but had many side effects. But I could sleep something I had not done in a very long time the pain lessened. My mother got cancer in 94 they switched my meds to Zoloft to help deal with this pressure as I was her main care giver she died in 96. I stopped zoloft in 96 had withdrawal was put on paxil went nutty quit it ct put on resperidol quit it ct had withdrawal was put on Effexor... 2years later celexa was added 20mg then increased to 40mg huge personality change went wild. Did too fast taper off Celexa 05 as I felt unwell for a long time prior... quit Effexor 150mg ct 07 found ****** 8 months into withdrawal learned some things was banned from there in 08 have kept learning since. there is really not enough room here to put my history but I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things especially any of the drugs mentioned above.
One thing I would like to add here is this tidbit ALL OPIATES INCREASE SEROTONIN it is not a huge jump to being in chronic pain to being put on an ssri/snri and opiates will affect your antidepressants and your thinking.

As I do not update much I will put my quit date Nov. 17 2007 I quit Effexor cold turkey. 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1096-introducing-myself-btdt/

There is a crack in everything ..That's how the light gets in :)

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi i was wondering if any of u have had worsening brain fog. I feel like im in a wave and probably better than i was a year ago but after 13 months off remeron i still feel like certain symptoms are worse. Its probably the agnososia but have yall ever wondered if the brain fog ever degenerates til ur a vegetable like with Alzheimer's. I doubt this happens but my fears always go there. Not trying to scare anyone.i have come a long long way from a year ago. Thanks. Peace love and healing.

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hi strongereachday,

I have experienced worsening brain fog since stopping antipsychotic meds last sept. Are you having trouble concentrating, focusing on tasks, reading and or cpmprehending what you are reading, stunted intelligence and loss of vocabulary?

Abilify 5 mg ,25 mg - 07/2014 /quit cold turkey 08/2014. Depakote 500 mg - 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014.

Olanzapine 10 mg twice daily - 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014. Trazodone 200 mg nightly- 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014

Zolpidem 10 mg nightly -07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014. Clonazepam 0.5 mg -07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014

Hydeoxyzine 50 mg three times a day-07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014. Lithium 600 mg twice daily 900 mg  nightly- 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014. Risperdone 1 mg twice daily- 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014

Zyprexa- 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014. Ativan- 07/2014/quit cold turkey 08/2014

Lamictal 25mg to start then upped to 50 mg- 11/2014-12/20/2014. Zoloft 50 mg 01/2015 quit CT at 50mg then started taking it again in the beginning of febuary- No longer taking Zoloft

Trazodone 100 mg 02/2015- present. Vistril 25-50 mg 02/2015-02/2015

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yes dreamchaser, I am definitely having all of those. feels like a really bad wave where the suicidal thoughts r coming back. cant experience a moment of joy sometimes. its like a damn maze, when im feeling like im finding my way I lose it again. I have a hard time speaking. I have a thought in my mind and I open my mouth and cant articulate. I cant understand whats going on on a tv show im watching sometimes, and im short with people when theyre speaking with me. feels like im getting worse, so damn scary. cuz I just had a window about a month ago or so

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I feel your pain, im still struggling everyday here is some advice from a thread i created. I just started taking the fish oil and magnesium and it does help with brain zaps but i am hoping things will get better with time. Also try looking at other threads in the symptoms and self care section you may find a lot of useful info there. Please do stay in touch,I will do the same

 

Here is a description of the effects of these drugs on the brain, and why we recommend such a cautious approach.  I will emphasize, these drugs are not like asprin, you can't just quit them and move on.  They will continue to rattle through your system long after the "half ife" of the drug is expended.  This is because they change your brain, and you want your brain back.  

 Rhi's description of healing the brain

 

If you are in a hurry and want to heal your brain RIGHT NOW (I sense that you do, most people do), you can start by taking magnesium, which will help heal your neurotransmitters:

http://survivinganti...hannel-blocker/

 

and fish oil, which will help smooth the firing of your neurons:

http://survivinganti...acids-fish-oil/

 

The biggest healer, as you go through this is time.

Abilify 5 mg ,25 mg - 07/2014 /quit cold turkey 08/2014. Depakote 500 mg - 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014.

Olanzapine 10 mg twice daily - 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014. Trazodone 200 mg nightly- 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014

Zolpidem 10 mg nightly -07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014. Clonazepam 0.5 mg -07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014

Hydeoxyzine 50 mg three times a day-07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014. Lithium 600 mg twice daily 900 mg  nightly- 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014. Risperdone 1 mg twice daily- 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014

Zyprexa- 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014. Ativan- 07/2014/quit cold turkey 08/2014

Lamictal 25mg to start then upped to 50 mg- 11/2014-12/20/2014. Zoloft 50 mg 01/2015 quit CT at 50mg then started taking it again in the beginning of febuary- No longer taking Zoloft

Trazodone 100 mg 02/2015- present. Vistril 25-50 mg 02/2015-02/2015

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thanks so much dreamchaser. I was prescribed magnesium, b vitamins, d vitamins, and fish oil by my naturopath. unfortunately, the last couple weeks I haven't take them. that might be one of the reasons I feel worse. im going to start taking them again. ill definitely stay in touch. may I ask you, how long you have been off your drugs and whether brain fog has improved for you. I definitely sense that brain fog might be a protective mechanism of the brain as its healing, and i know its very hard to track recovery even though it is happening. i really hope that the brain fog improves because the longer im in it, the more bitter i get and am no fun to be around. i realize time is the most important thing to rely on though and have accepted the pain may be with me for awhile. atleast the muscle pains are tingling sensations throughout the body. they left pretty quickly and that's a huge improvement. thanks. peace, love, and healing

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I stopped the hard antipsychotics in september of last year and i just stopped taking zofloft and vistril last month, currently i am still taking trazodone to help with sleep. My brain fog has improved slightly but I am nowhere near close to my pre-med self. And I agree with you the longer the brain fog persists the more bitter and frustrated i get because I know who I used to be and I want nothing more in life than to get back to who I was and doing the things i used to enjoy doing. I feel like this has brought my life to a stand still, I just graduated from college in may of 2014 and had a very promising future and then boom all this happened and now im stuck in this state until my brain/nervous system repairs itself. I wish there was some kind of times table as to when we will go back to normal that would give us all a peace of mind. what other symptoms are you experiencing???

Abilify 5 mg ,25 mg - 07/2014 /quit cold turkey 08/2014. Depakote 500 mg - 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014.

Olanzapine 10 mg twice daily - 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014. Trazodone 200 mg nightly- 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014

Zolpidem 10 mg nightly -07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014. Clonazepam 0.5 mg -07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014

Hydeoxyzine 50 mg three times a day-07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014. Lithium 600 mg twice daily 900 mg  nightly- 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014. Risperdone 1 mg twice daily- 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014

Zyprexa- 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014. Ativan- 07/2014/quit cold turkey 08/2014

Lamictal 25mg to start then upped to 50 mg- 11/2014-12/20/2014. Zoloft 50 mg 01/2015 quit CT at 50mg then started taking it again in the beginning of febuary- No longer taking Zoloft

Trazodone 100 mg 02/2015- present. Vistril 25-50 mg 02/2015-02/2015

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im sorry youre experiencing such pain, especially at such a crucial time in your life. im 23 and hoping to go back to college to finish my associates degree. only half way through. unfortunately, I believe I should wait to heal maybe another six months before im able to handle academic work. at least im able to work part time but even that is a struggle. some other symptoms im having are hardcore daydreaming, like ill be completely spacing out and almost forget im on planet earth like a semi coma. then my friends and family think im angry or something but im just hardcore spaced out. also its like I have no mental filter sometimes. I talk about inappropriate things at inappropriate times like sex out of the blue. never used to be like this. sometimes I laugh really really loud and I think it freaks people out, at least it freaks me out. its like it induced a mild temporary tourettes or something. ive read that autistic like symptoms can appear, but of course theyre not permanent. lately, ive been getting severely angry. on the positive side, im not isolating anymore and a lot of my ptsd symptoms seem to be more manageable. I got on the antidepressant for ptsd, but after the hell of the withdrawal ptsd seems like a cakewalk and im better able to handle that.

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hey strongereachday,

 

sorry for the late response its been a hectic week, we are in the same boat i want wait until things get back to normal before i persue progressing in my current career field. like you i am also working and i agree it can be a struggle at times not being able to focus or remember things.I did experience some of your symptoms while i was on meds like the not having a mental filter and saying whatever came to my mind no matter if it was appropriate or not and that can put you in some awkward situations. After stopping the meds this did go away for me but was replaced by depression and higher than normal anxiety. Can i ask what has been causing you to feel so angry as of late and also what experience led to you having ptsd?

Abilify 5 mg ,25 mg - 07/2014 /quit cold turkey 08/2014. Depakote 500 mg - 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014.

Olanzapine 10 mg twice daily - 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014. Trazodone 200 mg nightly- 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014

Zolpidem 10 mg nightly -07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014. Clonazepam 0.5 mg -07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014

Hydeoxyzine 50 mg three times a day-07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014. Lithium 600 mg twice daily 900 mg  nightly- 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014. Risperdone 1 mg twice daily- 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014

Zyprexa- 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014. Ativan- 07/2014/quit cold turkey 08/2014

Lamictal 25mg to start then upped to 50 mg- 11/2014-12/20/2014. Zoloft 50 mg 01/2015 quit CT at 50mg then started taking it again in the beginning of febuary- No longer taking Zoloft

Trazodone 100 mg 02/2015- present. Vistril 25-50 mg 02/2015-02/2015

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ya sounds a lot like what im going through. as for the anger, I just feel like people misperceive me like when im quiet they think im angry but its cuz im in a dense brain fog. its so hard for people to understand even though I tell them what im going through they don't understand my moods. therefore I feel very betrayed, and the thought that even my family could leave me in the dust like this just tears me up. im going to see a therapist for the anger. as for the ptsd, I had an incident of relocation where I was pretty isolated and developed severe panic. after that incident I was a different person with an anxiety disorder pretty badly traumatized. that's why I went on the antidepressant in the first place. and then this withdrawal syndrome I feel like is traumatizing because its so isolating. no one can understand except me cuz most people have never been through it. and every day there is a frustration. when I add up all the frustrations and misunderstandings, bullying, and rejection due to my condition its left me extremely bitter, possibly traumatized, and just pessimistic in some ways. I have a lot of hope for the future and have an ok attitude most of the time but its so hard to feel like im treading through quicksand. peace, love, and healing

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I agree 100%, its hard for people to understand what we are going through I have tried explaining to my mother and a few close friends but no one really gets it.  Being in a constant brain fog makes it rather difficult to lead a normal life day to day it makes it hard to work, hard to maintain, and start new social relationships, focus on work or try to learn anything new. I am sincerely sorry that you had to go through those traumatic events in your life bringing you to where you are now but there is light at the end of the tunnel it wont be an easy journey but we can make it through stay strong!

Abilify 5 mg ,25 mg - 07/2014 /quit cold turkey 08/2014. Depakote 500 mg - 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014.

Olanzapine 10 mg twice daily - 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014. Trazodone 200 mg nightly- 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014

Zolpidem 10 mg nightly -07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014. Clonazepam 0.5 mg -07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014

Hydeoxyzine 50 mg three times a day-07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014. Lithium 600 mg twice daily 900 mg  nightly- 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014. Risperdone 1 mg twice daily- 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014

Zyprexa- 07/2014/ quit cold turkey 08/2014. Ativan- 07/2014/quit cold turkey 08/2014

Lamictal 25mg to start then upped to 50 mg- 11/2014-12/20/2014. Zoloft 50 mg 01/2015 quit CT at 50mg then started taking it again in the beginning of febuary- No longer taking Zoloft

Trazodone 100 mg 02/2015- present. Vistril 25-50 mg 02/2015-02/2015

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • Administrator

merged similar topics

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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I've been off effexor for 6 months and a collection of benzos before that. My cognition and memory are at there worst right now. It seems to have only gotten worse since I came off. I keep thinking its dementia or Alzheimer's. I had a MRI in Jan that came back normal. I hope this is all normal for healing... At least I can still remember my wife and kids names

40 year old male - First panic attack in May 2012

May 2012 Atenolol (beta blocker)25mg, Ativan 2mg
August 2012 Rapid taper ativan, started zoloft 25mg
Dec 2012... rapid taper zoloft,
January 2013 Xanax 1mg for 1 month
February 2013 Klonopin 1mg
April 2013 to May 2013 Rapid Taper Klonopin to 0.5mg
June 10th 2013 jumped from 0.5 Kpin and Atenolol 25mg
July 2013 two days of Ativan 1mg b/c of hospital visit
September 2013 started Effexor 75mg (this was a mistake i think)
July 2014 to October 2014 tapered off Effexor...

July 2015 - Reinstated zoloft 50mg

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  • Administrator

if you read this topic from the beginning, you will see this is very common in withdrawal syndrome.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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I've been off effexor for 6 months and a collection of benzos before that. My cognition and memory are at there worst right now. It seems to have only gotten worse since I came off. I keep thinking its dementia or Alzheimer's. I had a MRI in Jan that came back normal. I hope this is all normal for healing... At least I can still remember my wife and kids names

 

Shelby unless some genius docto/scientist comes up with a miracle cure for this... yes I jest

 

There is nothing to do to fix it that I know of it there were we would all be doing it. 

WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG
Had a car accident in 85
Codeine was the pain med when I was release from hosp continuous use till 89
Given PROZAC by a specialist to help with nerve pain in my leg 89-90 not sure which year
Was not told a thing about it being a psych med thought it was a pain killer no info about psych side effects I went nuts had hallucinations. As I had a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion in 85 I was sent to a head injury clinic in 1990 five years after the accident. I don't think they knew I had been on prozac I did not think it a big deal and never did finish the bottle of pills. I had tests of course lots of them. Was put into a pain clinic and given amitriptyline which stopped the withdrawal but had many side effects. But I could sleep something I had not done in a very long time the pain lessened. My mother got cancer in 94 they switched my meds to Zoloft to help deal with this pressure as I was her main care giver she died in 96. I stopped zoloft in 96 had withdrawal was put on paxil went nutty quit it ct put on resperidol quit it ct had withdrawal was put on Effexor... 2years later celexa was added 20mg then increased to 40mg huge personality change went wild. Did too fast taper off Celexa 05 as I felt unwell for a long time prior... quit Effexor 150mg ct 07 found ****** 8 months into withdrawal learned some things was banned from there in 08 have kept learning since. there is really not enough room here to put my history but I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things especially any of the drugs mentioned above.
One thing I would like to add here is this tidbit ALL OPIATES INCREASE SEROTONIN it is not a huge jump to being in chronic pain to being put on an ssri/snri and opiates will affect your antidepressants and your thinking.

As I do not update much I will put my quit date Nov. 17 2007 I quit Effexor cold turkey. 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1096-introducing-myself-btdt/

There is a crack in everything ..That's how the light gets in :)

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Any one else get the brain freezing thing just after waking up? It's like you can't think at all and you don't exist. I had it often after Benzos. It wears off after about 15 minutes. Very scary but is it dangerous?

40 year old male - First panic attack in May 2012

May 2012 Atenolol (beta blocker)25mg, Ativan 2mg
August 2012 Rapid taper ativan, started zoloft 25mg
Dec 2012... rapid taper zoloft,
January 2013 Xanax 1mg for 1 month
February 2013 Klonopin 1mg
April 2013 to May 2013 Rapid Taper Klonopin to 0.5mg
June 10th 2013 jumped from 0.5 Kpin and Atenolol 25mg
July 2013 two days of Ativan 1mg b/c of hospital visit
September 2013 started Effexor 75mg (this was a mistake i think)
July 2014 to October 2014 tapered off Effexor...

July 2015 - Reinstated zoloft 50mg

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Nope it can't be dangerous shelby because I used to have it every morning and I don't any more! I would wake up and it felt like waking up from a coma. Mind was completely blank. Didn't know who I was, where I was, like my entire essence of self had been wiped. So terrifying but harmless and it will go away, I promise!

Diagnosed: Pure O Ocd, Severe Anxiety Disorder NOS, PMDD

 

November 2009 - May 2013- CIPRALEX 20mg

C/T off 20mg Cipralex

Went into dark depression (never experienced before med)

September 2013 - March 2014- PROZAC 20mg

Weaned down to 10mg and held

October 1st 2014 C/T off 10mg Prozac

Protracted withdrawal - 8 months of the most horrific suffering imaginable

June 1st 2015 - ZOLOFT 25mg

June 26th 2015 - Dose increase to 50mg of Zoloft (taken at night after dinner). Slowly improving but still have severe OCD/ruminating, intense DP/DR, and brain fog. Just trying to stabilize at this point.

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Does it lift? The brain fog? Does the memory ever get better after these poisons? Even a little?

40 year old male - First panic attack in May 2012

May 2012 Atenolol (beta blocker)25mg, Ativan 2mg
August 2012 Rapid taper ativan, started zoloft 25mg
Dec 2012... rapid taper zoloft,
January 2013 Xanax 1mg for 1 month
February 2013 Klonopin 1mg
April 2013 to May 2013 Rapid Taper Klonopin to 0.5mg
June 10th 2013 jumped from 0.5 Kpin and Atenolol 25mg
July 2013 two days of Ativan 1mg b/c of hospital visit
September 2013 started Effexor 75mg (this was a mistake i think)
July 2014 to October 2014 tapered off Effexor...

July 2015 - Reinstated zoloft 50mg

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When did go away for you?

40 year old male - First panic attack in May 2012

May 2012 Atenolol (beta blocker)25mg, Ativan 2mg
August 2012 Rapid taper ativan, started zoloft 25mg
Dec 2012... rapid taper zoloft,
January 2013 Xanax 1mg for 1 month
February 2013 Klonopin 1mg
April 2013 to May 2013 Rapid Taper Klonopin to 0.5mg
June 10th 2013 jumped from 0.5 Kpin and Atenolol 25mg
July 2013 two days of Ativan 1mg b/c of hospital visit
September 2013 started Effexor 75mg (this was a mistake i think)
July 2014 to October 2014 tapered off Effexor...

July 2015 - Reinstated zoloft 50mg

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For some people it seems to go away completely. 

I read this all again today as I have memory issues I noticed fish oil and mag are suggested with links... I took fish oil a long time till my hair was so greasy every day even after washing I could not stand it same for my skin. My liver is not so hot maybe it just could not do anymore fish oil.  Mag and me have never agreed... first time I took it I thought I had found one thing that noticeably helped but within days it reacted on me ... I do try it again from time to time just to check the last time I laid on the couch for days after taking with really heavy arms and legs felt like I was drugged. 

 

I do tend to react to everything many medications that I use to be able to take like gravol adult dose I would not even dream of taking now. I still get enough of a dose from a quarter to a half of a child dose of gravol ... just one example whatever is off in me that reacts to everything is still off 7 years later my memory can seem ok for a time only to crash and burn sometimes I can see a reason for it an illness or drug reaction extreme stress like death of a loved one I would expect it.. in all those circumstances.  There are other times I can see no reason for it unless I am simply having windows and waves 7 years later.. I don't know if that is possible or not. I just don't know. I do wonder about diabetes or some other metabolic thing or thyroid.. all checks so far came up empty. 

 

I am an odd one tho Shelby and I was drugged for 18 years... many drugs many stops and starts and I quit cold turkey ... if there were a list of all the things NOT to do if you want an easy wd all of those things would be on it. So you see I am not a good one to compare yourself with when it comes to short term use and I never had a successful taper so I don't talk much about it tho you can be here and not learn the basics.  

 

Perhaps I am a good one to look at if you want to know something about putting up with wd symptoms and keeping on going.. maybe not as I am not the most cheerful person here and not that inspiring... I will however always tell you the truth.  If I am looking for something I am good for maybe that is it. 

 

it is way to soon for you to thinking this will not end cause it will odds are in your favor.... 

 

It will end the brain fog all of it .. struggling against it as fighters always do just tires you out... tho I can't say the word acceptance as I don't have an ounce of it not really I am just waiting for it to be done... acceptance is what I have after days of not sleeping when I choose to lay still as it helps me more to do that than to not do it... that is the best I have for acceptance. 

 

I wish you peace

WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG
Had a car accident in 85
Codeine was the pain med when I was release from hosp continuous use till 89
Given PROZAC by a specialist to help with nerve pain in my leg 89-90 not sure which year
Was not told a thing about it being a psych med thought it was a pain killer no info about psych side effects I went nuts had hallucinations. As I had a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion in 85 I was sent to a head injury clinic in 1990 five years after the accident. I don't think they knew I had been on prozac I did not think it a big deal and never did finish the bottle of pills. I had tests of course lots of them. Was put into a pain clinic and given amitriptyline which stopped the withdrawal but had many side effects. But I could sleep something I had not done in a very long time the pain lessened. My mother got cancer in 94 they switched my meds to Zoloft to help deal with this pressure as I was her main care giver she died in 96. I stopped zoloft in 96 had withdrawal was put on paxil went nutty quit it ct put on resperidol quit it ct had withdrawal was put on Effexor... 2years later celexa was added 20mg then increased to 40mg huge personality change went wild. Did too fast taper off Celexa 05 as I felt unwell for a long time prior... quit Effexor 150mg ct 07 found ****** 8 months into withdrawal learned some things was banned from there in 08 have kept learning since. there is really not enough room here to put my history but I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things especially any of the drugs mentioned above.
One thing I would like to add here is this tidbit ALL OPIATES INCREASE SEROTONIN it is not a huge jump to being in chronic pain to being put on an ssri/snri and opiates will affect your antidepressants and your thinking.

As I do not update much I will put my quit date Nov. 17 2007 I quit Effexor cold turkey. 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1096-introducing-myself-btdt/

There is a crack in everything ..That's how the light gets in :)

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Does anyone else have giants gaps in their memory? Most of what I've read from SSRI users, I believe, is short term memory problems (I have that too) but I have almost no memory of my entire life.

 

I've always had a bad memory. When I was a teen or in my early twenties, I couldn't remember anything before 13 years old. I used to think some trauma must have happened but I highly doubt it now. But now I can't remember hardly anything of my life. When I read people's stories that have had ECT, I can relate. It's like someone has erased years of my past and I only have very tiny glimpses. It makes it hard to feel like a normal human. I can barely hold a conversation, I have so little to share.

 

I wonder if this has more to do with the 8 years I took Lamictal than with SSRI's. Unfortunatly, when I try to look into the issue, I mostly come up with patients questioning and not getting real answers.

I do remember my life in episodes, but after quitting ssri my memory is very bad. i can forget things ive done in a day and sometimes everything goes totally black, I had many periods in the early w/d were I completly lost my memory and I got so scared. Iam much improved now

2007 - 2013: was on citalopram (tried to quit a few times, never worked, always went back on. max dose 40mg)

2012-2013: was tapering my citalopram all down to 2,5 mg then quit.
2013/aug: Took  my last pill 

W/D hit me bad after a few weeks off my medicine.

2014/August: 12 months off (much improved)

2015/April: 20months off. ( much improved, still some symtoms comes in waves, but not so intense.)

2015/june: 22months off. FELT different than before, all shakings suddenly stopped, feel much better. a fantastic feeling!

2016/Feb : 2 years and 6 months off, END of my suffering. I feel perfectly fine and back to normal. 
2018/Oct: Iam still feeling great. It is hard to believe my own story when I read back, what I went through!

 

 

 

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  • 2 months later...

Ever since i was on olanzapine i've had persistent memory problems. I hope it's not permenent. Do memory problems eventually go away as you're off the med?

I was on 20 mg of olanzapine for about two years.  For a month i took 10 mg then after a month of that I stopped taking it.

I'm currently on no medication and have been for about 2 months.

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Hi! I don't think they will be permanent...it just will take a looong time to heal. If you read the stories here we talk about months or years....

It's very hard to wait so much, but what else could we do?

 

Hang in there!

M.

06/2012 - 02/2015 CIPRALEX 10 mg (for somatic abdominal pain + reflux) - prior to this NOT any significant episode of anxiety/depression

on medication: emotional-sexual numbness, total inability to cry, +8 kg, fatigue -> abdominal pain gone

02/2015 - 1/04/2015 tapering from 10 mg to 0 mg doctor advised

05/05/2015 huge anxiety, burning skin sensation, panic, fear, not able to cry again, never-had-before insomnia, totally lost appetite, little loss of vision in one eye, sweating, chest pain, short breath, restlessness, accelerated heartbeat, mild akathisia legs-feet

30/05/2015 reinstated 8mg (I was suggested 5 mg here)

middle 07/2015 general improving

10/2015 start disastrous too long taper 7mg  11/2015 6mg  12/2015 5mg 1/2016 4mg  2/2016 4mg  3/2016 3mg ->FAIL back to 4mg .... 8/2016 3mg 8/2017 2mg  (short wave in summer '17) 8/2018 2mg stable  8/2019 1mg  1/2020 0.6 mg 

1/APRIL/2020 0mg FREE!

7/2020 - 10/2020 MILD WAVE(mostly anxiety, poor sleep)

6/2021 - 9/2021 WAVE (anxiety, severe insomnia, total loss of appetite, deep depression, internal restlessness, anhedonia)  0.125g triazolam  2 times

18/03/2022 WAVE (anxiety, severe insomnia, total loss of appetite, PAIN in muscles and nerves, arms and right leg,cannot exercise,hard to walk) 0.125g triazolam 3 times

7/5 rein 0.1mg

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  • 3 weeks later...

Aside from fish oil, what other supplements are safe to use to improve short term memory?

Partner suddenly died 2014. Severe depression AGAIN (had previous episode 10 years ago). I was given escitalopram but could not bear the side effects, so i ask for an ECT (not sure if this helped). During the treatment and my hospital stay I was given Depakote mood stabilizer.  PDOC says I need to take it for two years. After 4-5 months I have a hard time with the Depakote. Hard to get up in the morning. Depression again or Depakote effects? So stopped Depakote (did not know about tapering then)

 

Januray 21, 2015. Severe depression again, started Pristiq 50mg and clonazepam 0.5 mg nightly. Had confusion, suicidal thoughts, thoughts about death, and find it hard to understand the TV, much more type in a computer.

 

Had adverse reaction to most antidepressants: muscle pain/spasms, irritablity, restlessness. Also Tried Prozac, Zoloft, Escitalopram years ago.

Started to taper pristiq and clonazepam after four months:

5th month:

2 weeks - 3/4 tablet PRISTIQ   (deducting the clonazepam also, so hard to cut)

2 weeks - 1/2 tablet PRISTIQ   (crumbs of clonazepam nightly)

2 weeks - 1/8 or less (hard to cut really) (zero clonazepam)

Then jump off pristiq.

I just wonder why I was cured during the 10 year period (2004-2014) I have no depression symptoms and no meds either. Pdoc said I might be biploar 2 but it is a "grey" area. Aren't bipolars supposed to be on maintenance meds?! Damn this diagnosis. I am tapering Pristiq either way.

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Aside from fish oil, what other supplements are safe to use to improve short term memory?

lion's mane mushroom

Summer 2013: started on Prozac for OCD

Fall 2013: started Lexapro due to Prozac zombie effects

 

Stopped Lexapro because of lack of empathy/emotion,anxiety,lack of concentration etc.

Fall 2014: switched to zoloft 

 

February 2015: started effexor quit C/D after 2 weeks.

April 2015: was on zoloft for a month again to try and wean a bit more slowly. DID not work.

May 2015: dumped all of my medications

July 2015: Struggling day to day with withdrawal symptoms but hopeful that I'll be better at the end of august for the next school year.

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Aside from fish oil, what other supplements are safe to use to improve short term memory?

it promotes healing of your nervous system too

Summer 2013: started on Prozac for OCD

Fall 2013: started Lexapro due to Prozac zombie effects

 

Stopped Lexapro because of lack of empathy/emotion,anxiety,lack of concentration etc.

Fall 2014: switched to zoloft 

 

February 2015: started effexor quit C/D after 2 weeks.

April 2015: was on zoloft for a month again to try and wean a bit more slowly. DID not work.

May 2015: dumped all of my medications

July 2015: Struggling day to day with withdrawal symptoms but hopeful that I'll be better at the end of august for the next school year.

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  • 2 months later...

Hello everyone, has anyone experienced loss of intellegence, unable to comprehend, difficult thinking(unable to use critical thinking), slow speech, memory impairment, and loss of prefrontal cortex functions. I am 22 months off and my brain function and fog is like how it was during acute wd and I feel I am getting worse. I feel like i have intellectual disability but hopefully it's just wd because I was not like this before. What are some of the things that may help with this? Do people get better?

Celexa 20mg 2008-2012 for Social Anxiety

Failed attempt to stop reinstated

1 year taper skipping doses

Celexa free 12/2013

1/2014-5/2014 took 5 htp every other day

Failed Reinstatement 5mg of Celexa on 12/2014 for 5 days only

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Topics merged.

 

Purplestars, this is a common withdrawal symptom, please read through this entire topic. Like all withdrawal symptoms, it will get better over time.

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

 

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

Im new to this site and have been going through "Brain Fog" for sometime, and I was wondering if any of you have experience long term memory problems. I used to be able to add things to conversations because it would just come to me, ideas, and i would also be able to remember experiences better about my life. Now I have a problem with thinking about my past, it seem to be unorganized. Im scared all the time hoping things will clear up. Im scared I'll never be myself again. I remember hearing '"you don't know what you have untill you loss it" will I know I loss my recall ability, ruminating about my past, and just lossing the experiences of the emotions that followed with the memory both sad and happy. I want my memory intact because they are me, I love me. Does anybody have any experiecne with this. Will my memories return to me. WIll I wake up one day and feel like me again.

Short Term Case: 7 pill of 10 mg of Modafinil in a 3 month span, but last 3 I took back to back causing severe withdrawals, lasting 3 weeks. Than 2 pills lexapro to help withdrawal lead to more withdrawal.  I have most symptoms Pssd, emotional loss, cognitive issues, nerve damage in legs.  Also 2 benzodiazepines.  Not much to damage me long term...

 

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This is a big problem for me and I have read that there's at least one other person here with this issue.

 

I wonder how many others have it though?

I continue to experience memory problems and I am sure it must tie to this but in acute withdrawal when my memory in some ways was way worse I didn't seem to have this as badly.

 

Lately, though, say in the past few years? it has been an issue.  I can't think before I speak, I have great difficulty planning things, even simple things...It's like there's a wall between me and my future.

 

I realize this probably just fits under cognitive problems and maybe I'm asking too much but, is there anything that can be done to specifically address this particular problem? 

 

I can't count the number of times I've said stupid things to people not even realizing what the impact would be...Like for instance a little while ago I was out with some people I had just met and they offered to buy me some drinks and of course I just can't risk drinking alcohol after having had such a hard time with benzos...So I told them that I didn't drink.

 

No explanation given, in fact even had I wanted to I probably couldn't have explained myself.

 

You could have heard a pin drop after I said it too...Imagine telling a whole crowd of strangers in a bar that you don't drink, the implication being they are all alcoholics...Even though I really didn't care in the least if they drank or not!  It was so embarrassing.  And I continue to do "open mouth insert foot" things like this on a regular basis. 

 

It's at a point where sometimes I think I'd be better off not saying anything but as my memory is poor I can't even remember to do that strategy. 

 

 

I am not a medical professional and nothing I say is a medical opinion or meant to be medical advice, please seek a competent and trusted medical professional to consult for all medical decisions.

 

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