jkun41: Discontinuation symptoms - panic & anxiety

[DMV64]

Sorry to hear it is rough like this! let us know what happens with your counselor!

 

Edited October 5, 2017 by ChessieCat
Extracted response from quote

[ChessieCat]

14 minutes ago, jkun41 said:

Im thinking of trying another medication.

 

How were you feeling when you were taking Zoloft?  Did you feel better than you do now?

 

Instead of trying a new drug, if it were me I'd be more inclined to try a very tiny dose of Zoloft (if you had no issues with it previously).  You could try 1mg and see how that went over a week or two and if you felt no improvement and had no bad reaction you could increase it by a tiny bit more.

 

Please read Post #1 of About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

[jkun41]

27 minutes ago, ChessieCat said:

 

How were you feeling when you were taking Zoloft?  Did you feel better than you do now?

 

Instead of trying a new drug, if it were me I'd be more inclined to try a very tiny dose of Zoloft (if you had no issues with it previously).  You could try 1mg and see how that went over a week or two and if you felt no improvement and had no bad reaction you could increase it by a tiny bit more.

 

Please read Post #1 of About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

 

The first few weeks on Zoloft seemed fine. I was actually going to stop it because I wasn't really noticing a difference. 

 

My wife said at the time I seemed a bit more sociable and less tired, but I had also started a lifestyle change (exercise and healthy eating.) 

 

Things took a turn when I bumped from 50mg to 100mg for one dose, got the flu, and then missed two doses. I had a massive panic attack and my health anxiety has been on high alert ever since. I had multiple panic attacks after, and eventually did a rapid taper. 

 

Prior to this ordeal my OCD was largely under control; to the point that I wasn't even formally diagnosed with OCD. In retrospect I can see multiple things that I did that were OCD, but again, they weren't getting in the way of my life. 

 

Now my OCD is ridiculous. Every obesessional thought seems to just turn into a new one. The existential ones are the worse. 

 

I understand why my topic doesn't get very many replies, I doubt very many people worry/obsess about spontaneously losing their memory, spontaneously losing control of their actions, questioning why they're a good person and NOT a lunatic, etc. 

 

EDIT:

To answer your question, prior to the panic attack I felt much better. After the panic attack, the anxiety was on par or worse than it is now, but the obesessional thoughts weren't as bad. 

 

EDIT2: Zoloft also only comes in 25mg at the lowest dose. How would I get all the way down to 1mg?

[AliG]

There are various ways of taking Zoloft at that dosage. You can make your own liquid by dissolving your tablet or you could get a compounding pharmacy to make up a liquid.

How to make a liquid from tablets or capsules

 

I agree that it would be a better idea to stick with Zoloft than trying a new drug.

[jkun41]

I don't think Canada offers liquid, but I guess I could do the 25mg capsule in liquid. 

 

Im feeling a bit better. God willing this continues. Going to bed soon. Hoping for a better day tomorrow. 

[jkun41]

Hi all. The weekend hasn't been nice. 

 

My wife had her wisdom teeth out on Friday and I felt so drained trying to get everything do for her before/after. I also slept horribly the night before. 

 

What I assume is the flu came back with pretty bad body aches, especially my back. I woke up with our daughter on Saturday and had anxiety all morning. Felt really dizzy and achy and the health anxiety set in. My poor wife barely slept and woke up before noon and told me to go to the clinic/urgent care cause she could see how anxious I was. 

 

I went, it took longer than we thought. My blood work came back okay, ECG was fine, was told it was probably the flu and for all my other issues (I. E. Weight loss) to continue seeing my doctors at school. My poor wife got no rest, and we had to clean for Thanksgiving Sunday. 

 

Instead we were woken up to our daughter having a barky cough at 4am. Croup. Thanksgiving was cancelled, and our daughter looked fine most of the day. 

 

Unfortunately she had a super rough night. Broken sleep with the longest stretch being 3 hours. Our sleep was worse. We are taking her to the hospital now because she has asthma and we need to see if she needs a steroid. 

 

I did my best to care for her through the night. She wanted me whenever she woke up and needed to lay on me to sleep. 

 

My anxiety has been steady. I feel like I'm in a haze. Idk if it's withdrawal, flu, lack of sleep or what. 

 

Im also pestered by my OCD thoughts of whether I truly care. Or love. Or whatever. I mean, I know logically actions speak louder than words (thoughts) and my actions have shown that I care. But I just feel so... Off. 

 

I've been researching other medications I could try cause I'm just scared this isn't withdrawal and I need something. 

[jkun41]

Hoping to get a couple opinions. 

 

I had a two day window last week. It was wonderful. Then the depression and OCD came back worse. "Why" questions about existence, purpose, meaning, to the extent of questioning nearly everything I do (why am I sitting at home right now, what's stopping me from leaving and just losing control, etc.) 

 

When I started Zoloft my OCD was not even remotely close to this bad. So I'm going to assume it's a withdrawal issue. That said, I have had OCD prior to Zoloft, so it's not completely new. 

 

I see my therapist on Thursday and am considering asking for another medication. Today my head felt so overwhelmed. I was out and felt like I was just going to go crazy cause I was being flooded by questions of "why I do what I do" in regards to basically everything. I took an Ativan for the first time in 26 days. 

 

I have three options if I try another medication:

 

Low dose of Zoloft by getting 25mg capsules and making my own solution. 

 

Try a different SSRI, most likely Cipralex or Prozac. 

 

Try a different class of drug in Anafranil which is apparently really good for OCD, but can potentially cause more side effects. 

 

 

[jkun41]

Hello everyone. 

 

Last time I posted here was probably my darkest. Things have brightened in some ways though remain stagnant in others. 

 

I went to my therapy appointment shortly after my previous post fully expecting to go on another medication. I prayed beforehand and made peace with the fact that I was going to do what my therapist advised. 

 

He suggested I don't take anything. Probably shocking for many here considering your experiences with doctors. So, I didn't start anything. 

 

After that I went a month without Ativan. Had a panic attack where my bpm went up to about 150, took one and headed to the ER. Everything was fine. 

 

Shortly after that I got an endoscopy and colonoscopy done. All checked out. And then I called in to confirm my MRI, and managed to get my appointment two months early due to a cancellation and went in that night. All was good again. 

 

After losing 60 pounds my weight and appetite have stabalized. I've gained 10 pounds and have to watch my eating again (the weight loss was one of the VERY few positives of this experience. I managed to pass all my courses last term which is a bit shocking. 

 

Im posting today because it's been two months since I've taken an Ativan. If you read through my benzo thread you'll see I took them sparingly but surely felt their effects. I barely take Tylenol and Advil anymore. 

 

Physically I feel pretty decent. I still have panic attacks but have been doing my best to work through them. I wake up with anxiety sometimes but usually manage to roll over and fall back asleep. I still deal with my health anxiety and OCD, but think I'm doing a bit better. 

 

My biggest struggle BY FAR are my thoughts. Especially existential thoughts. It's hard to know if my thinking is "me" or a byproduct of the withdrawal, or even both. I find myself asking why about nearly everything, and my next step to recovery is to stop the ruminations. I feel like I've made some progress, but still have a ways to go. Depression is new to me, so the dark thoughts they bring mixed with my OCD is hard to navigate. 

 

I find myself triggered by many of things on this site so I probably won't frequent it very often, but wanted to update for anyone who comes across my thread. 

 

God Bless. 

[DMV64]

2 minutes ago, jkun41 said:

My biggest struggle BY FAR are my thoughts.

Oh boy do I relate to this!! Yes! And the OCD and depression! You are not alone!

[jkun41]

Hi everyone. Things continue to chug along... In some ways I am feeling more calm. In others I feel a bit spaced out. My main focus has been changing my behaviours and reactions to the anxiety, but the thoughts continue to pester.

 

I made a small update to my signature.

 

I hope you're all doing well. God bless.

[jkun41]

April 1st marked one year off Zoloft. I've been feeling improvement the past few months but find myself in a wave. 

 

I haven't felt a ton of physical symptoms for awhile now (mostly mental) but have been having alot of health anxiety; especially the past few days. Eyes burning, brain fog, visual disturbances, ear pain and pressure. Fatigue has been bad. Usually I'm tired everywhere, other times it feels like just my head is tired... If that makes sense. Like my eyes and brain feel heavy.  Edit: also feeling very nauseous. 

 

This we may have been brought on with the departure of my doctor/therapist. 

 

We were dialing things back already, but it was a bit sudden. He had a baby and is cutting down on some commitments so is no longer making the commute to my school. I think I'm more sad than anything about this, as he was with me since the start of all this. 

[DMV64]

Sorry to hear you’re having a wave. It does sound like maybe it was triggered by the departure of your doctor. I know for me I have all of my safety scaffolding and one one of the things move I can really throw me off.