UpHillBattle Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 Hi there, thank god I found you guys! dont really know how to begin.. basically, at the beginning of July I went to see my doctor about my Social Anxiety Disorder that I've suffered with since I can remember. I was hoping he would refer me for CBT but instead he put me on 50mg of Sertraline. After 4 or so days on I had THE BIGGEST (my first ever one) panic attack. I was so convinced that I was dying that I called an ambulance. I went to the hospital and they confirmed it was a panic attack, caused by my anxiety. Of course I didn't question them because they're the ones who are supposed to know what they are doing. I came home and continued taking the pills, a few days after that I had a full day of waves of panic attacks - landing me in a&e AGAIN. I knew it had to be the Sertraline. I've never had panic attacks before, heck I didn't even know what one was! The following day I went to my GP and explained my situation but he was adamant that the Sertraline was not the cause of my problems. I went home disappointed and frustrated. These panics continued for 12 days until I decided enough was enough! I marched back to my GP and told him I wasn't going to take them anymore because they were causing mayhem. He laughed at me, BELLY LAUGHED and said in a funny tone "Well if YOU THINK these pills are causing your panic attacks then I'll give you something else" and he then prescribed me Citalopram. Now, I have been on Citalopram before (2013) for depression and had no problem with them so I was more than willing to try them again. BUT OH NO, They WORSENED the feelings I was already getting. So after 4 days of them, I stopped taking them. When I stopped them, I felt back to normal for almost a week.. Then withdrawals began. Swollen head feeling waves of panic stabbing pains in throat stiff muscles loose stools cramps pressure in ears tinnitus the list goes on.. of course I didn't know I was in withdrawals or that you could even have withdrawals because no information was given to me about them. It wasn't until good old Google informed me of these withdrawals just by me typing in SSRI.. And on the suggested list popped up SSRI Withdrawal. I am now on Day 36 of withdrawals and barely hanging on by a thread. Im Jodie, nice to meet you all. Link to comment
AliG Posted August 24, 2017 Share Posted August 24, 2017 Hi UHB. I'm so sorry that you have been treated this way by your doctor. Unfortunately, this is very common and a lot of us are also in the same position as a result of this negligence. We understand. Could you Please put your withdrawal history in your signature. All drugs /dates/ dosages etc so that we can see your situation whenever you post. How long have you been on Citalopram ? Was it only 4 days? How long were you on Sertraline? When you say they worsened feelings - what do you mean? What symptoms did you have? What dose did you start back on? Perhaps reinstating a small amount of Citalopram could help ease the symptoms. Please have a read of the link and then let us know what you think. About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms Welcome to SA. Many SSRI's and SSNRI's over 20 years. Zoloft for 7 years followed by Effexor, Lexapro, Prozac, Cymbalta, Celexa, Pristiq, Valdoxan, Mianserin and more - on and off. No tapering. Cold turkey off Valdoxan - end of May 2014 Psych Drug - free since May 2014 . Link to comment
nz11 Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 Any update? Thought for the day: Lets stand up, and let’s speak out , together. G Olsen We have until the 14th. Feb 2018. URGENT REQUEST Please consider submitting for the petition on Prescribed Drug Dependence and Withdrawal currently awaiting its third consideration at the Scottish Parliament. You don't even have to be from Scotland. By clicking on the link below you can read some of the previous submissions but be warned many of them are quite harrowing. http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651 Please tell them about your problems taking and withdrawing from antidepressants and/or benzos. Send by email to petitions@parliament.scot and quote PE01651 in the subject heading. Keep to a maximum of 3 sides of A4 and you can't name for legal reasons any doctor you have consulted. Tell them if you wish to remain anonymous. We need the numbers to help convince the committee members we are not isolated cases. You have until mid February. Thank you Recovering paxil addict None of the published articles shed light on what ssri's ... actually do or what their hazards might be. Healy 2013. This is so true, with anything you get on these drugs, dependance, tapering, withdrawal symptoms, side effects, just silent. And if there is something mentioned then their is a serious disconnect between what is said and reality! "Every time I read of a multi-person shooting, I always presume that person had just started a SSRI or had just stopped." Dr Mosher. Me too! Over two decades later, the number of antidepressant prescriptions a year is slightly more than the number of people in the Western world. Most (nine out of 10) prescriptions are for patients who faced difficulties on stopping, equating to about a tenth of the population. These patients are often advised to continue treatment because their difficulties indicate they need ongoing treatment, just as a person with diabetes needs insulin. Healy 2015 I believe the ssri era will soon stand as one of the most shameful in the history of medicine. Healy 2015 Let people help people ... in a natural, kind, non-addictive (and non-big pharma) way. J Broadley 2017 Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus ChessieCat Posted November 3, 2020 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted November 3, 2020 I'm wondering how you are now. We'd love to hear an update from you. * NO LONGER ACTIVE on SA * MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: (6 year taper) 0mg Pristiq on 13th November 2021 ADs since ~1992: 25+ years - 1 unknown, Prozac (muscle weakness), Zoloft; citalopram (pooped out) CTed (very sick for 2.5 wks a few months after); Pristiq: 50mg 2012, 100mg beg 2013 (Serotonin Toxicity) Tapering from Oct 2015 - 13 Nov 2021 LAST DOSE 0.0025mg Post 0 updates start here My tapering program My Intro (goes to tapering graph) VIDEO: Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome and its Management Link to comment
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