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Rosetta: cold switch May 2011 & too fast taper Feb 2017


Rosetta

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low is anything less the 22 , but i see a lot of talk about it and 22 is very low and we should be at a way higher level , i believe when its low it mimics anxiety , theres a woman on youtube whos trying to bring awareness to this 

 

2021:  started celexa 10mg feb 2nd 

feb 25th took my last 10g; feb 26th 5mg; feb 27th 5mg; feb 28th 2021 cold turkey 

currently taking mag

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I wanted to tell this story about my trip to the country to visit my Grandmother who i always visit but this time i stayed a week because i was just mentally exhausted and i needed some tlc , the whole time i was there i didnt talk about my withdraw i just reached out to SA and two other friends, but the day i left i sat with my grandmother and started talking about it, 

 

She told me she went through it too , she said she took ssri's for 7 years because she couldn't sleep well and when she had stroke in 2017 and moved to the country with my mom her new doctor said she didn't even need to be taking those and gave her better ideas for getting better rest , anyway she told me that she had all a lot of WD symptoms and didn't know what she was going through , so she told her new doctor about it and she , and he told her to take walks and pay attention to the trees and the birds and the colors , or take a hot shower , and be gentle on her self . I mentioned to her about the hearing sensitivity and she said she also had that and the windows and waves.. I remember about a year ago she also started telling me how she all the sudden missed my grandfather who passed away when she was taking the ssri and that she was finally able to cry for him and miss him , at the time she didn't understand why all the sudden , but now we think its because she was getting her emotional state back after being on the ssri and going through WD's , it seems like she was going through Wd's for about 2 years , i asked her how did she get through all alone and she said she just ignored them and they slowly lessened , she didn't even know that it was WD's... She told me in the town she lives in the doctors don't prescribe ssri's so easily or pain meds and i think that's awesome compared to the where i live.... but it does hurt my heart that she went through this all alone...and survived and i'm so glad she didn't end up going back on the srri...  i guess that's her success story and some hope for everyone here including myself that we all will , get through , by the way she's 77 years old.... 

 

 

2021:  started celexa 10mg feb 2nd 

feb 25th took my last 10g; feb 26th 5mg; feb 27th 5mg; feb 28th 2021 cold turkey 

currently taking mag

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Wow.  Your poor grandmother.  There is a thread in Success Stories where people can post other success stories they have heard.  Maybe you can post this story there?

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/16629-rosetta-ct-may-2011-too-fast-taper-feb-2017/?page=25

2001-2011 Celexa 10 mg raised to 40 mg then 60 mg over this time period

May 2011 OB Doctor's Cold switch Celexa 60 mg to 10 mg Zoloft sertraline (baby born)

2012-2016 - Doctors raised dose of Zoloft up to 150 mg

2016 - Xanax prescribed - as needed - 0.5 mg about every 3 days (bad reaction)

2016 - Stopped Xanax

Late 2016- Began (too fast) taper of Zoloft

Early 2017 - Trazodone prescribed for bedtime (doseage unknown)

Feb 2017 - Completed taper/stopped Trazodone

Drug free since Feb 2017

2017 - Unisom otc very rarely for sleep

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i gotta see if i can figure out how to do it 

2021:  started celexa 10mg feb 2nd 

feb 25th took my last 10g; feb 26th 5mg; feb 27th 5mg; feb 28th 2021 cold turkey 

currently taking mag

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Well, the Dystonia is back.  It’s been back about 4-5 days.  It’s not present all day, but after I wake in the morning it gets stronger and stronger, and I have to get out of bed or it gets worse.  One night, I woke up in the night with it being quite strong.  I think that, perhaps, trying to breathe at night while having a cold made that happen.  Muscle tension.  Reading makes it worse. Typing makes it worse.  
 

I have a hoarse voice now.  Headache on the dystonia side, and pressure in my sinuses.  Upset tummy from the cold.  I’m tired, but I have an appetite, and I feel that this is a normal cold.  I have never had a fever during this particular cold.

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/16629-rosetta-ct-may-2011-too-fast-taper-feb-2017/?page=25

2001-2011 Celexa 10 mg raised to 40 mg then 60 mg over this time period

May 2011 OB Doctor's Cold switch Celexa 60 mg to 10 mg Zoloft sertraline (baby born)

2012-2016 - Doctors raised dose of Zoloft up to 150 mg

2016 - Xanax prescribed - as needed - 0.5 mg about every 3 days (bad reaction)

2016 - Stopped Xanax

Late 2016- Began (too fast) taper of Zoloft

Early 2017 - Trazodone prescribed for bedtime (doseage unknown)

Feb 2017 - Completed taper/stopped Trazodone

Drug free since Feb 2017

2017 - Unisom otc very rarely for sleep

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sorry to hear that @rosetta  , i keep trying to look for your updates on your self but i cant seem to find them , i only can see like when you comments on others posts :(

2021:  started celexa 10mg feb 2nd 

feb 25th took my last 10g; feb 26th 5mg; feb 27th 5mg; feb 28th 2021 cold turkey 

currently taking mag

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I don’t post many updates these days. I’m very slowly improving, and it’s not very noteworthy from day to day.
 

 @Phoenixmama Low iron symptoms do overlap with WD symptoms.  There must a be a thread in Symptoms about it.  Everything is out of wack, potentially, when the autonomic nervous system is destabilized.  Even if you eat enough iron, it may not be used properly.  
 

Iron is one the few vitamins that can be dangerous in “high” doses.  Iron toxicity is very dangerous, and most people aren’t aware of that, but it happens in children who eat bottles of vitamins like candy.  In an adult, 20 mg per kilogram of body weight can cause poisoning.
 

There is a liquid iron supplement you can buy called Floradix, but it has several B vitamins and C in it.  So, it is a multivitamin (that’s not recommended), and B vitamins can cause problems for people in WD. 


Eating iron rich foods is the only way I would try if I were you.  I know that hard to do in WD.  It’s hard to eat well.

 

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/16629-rosetta-ct-may-2011-too-fast-taper-feb-2017/?page=25

2001-2011 Celexa 10 mg raised to 40 mg then 60 mg over this time period

May 2011 OB Doctor's Cold switch Celexa 60 mg to 10 mg Zoloft sertraline (baby born)

2012-2016 - Doctors raised dose of Zoloft up to 150 mg

2016 - Xanax prescribed - as needed - 0.5 mg about every 3 days (bad reaction)

2016 - Stopped Xanax

Late 2016- Began (too fast) taper of Zoloft

Early 2017 - Trazodone prescribed for bedtime (doseage unknown)

Feb 2017 - Completed taper/stopped Trazodone

Drug free since Feb 2017

2017 - Unisom otc very rarely for sleep

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thanks @rosetta i will try only natural foods to get my iron in because i am too scared to mess up my withdraw🥴

2021:  started celexa 10mg feb 2nd 

feb 25th took my last 10g; feb 26th 5mg; feb 27th 5mg; feb 28th 2021 cold turkey 

currently taking mag

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Wow.  I have been so sick, but my Covid test was negative.  I would say that I have bronchitis, but I have not had a fever.  I’m hoping this is my last day of being really low.  The coughing is intense.  
 

I had a terrible, terrible headache day before yesterday in the evening.  I took one Tylenol, and a hot shower helped.  Last night, I had a headache again, but it was not as bad.  In middle of the night, there was a terrible coughing fit for about 20 minutes.
 

I think that sitting around contributed to my headache and dystonia.  My jaw and chest and neck tensed up a lot and really hurt.  Dystonia is always waiting to come back if I read or type.  It’s really uncomfortable.

 

The wonderful thing is that I have been able to sleep enough.  I would like more, but it has been enough.  I had one more nap, but it didn’t last long because of the noise in the house.

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/16629-rosetta-ct-may-2011-too-fast-taper-feb-2017/?page=25

2001-2011 Celexa 10 mg raised to 40 mg then 60 mg over this time period

May 2011 OB Doctor's Cold switch Celexa 60 mg to 10 mg Zoloft sertraline (baby born)

2012-2016 - Doctors raised dose of Zoloft up to 150 mg

2016 - Xanax prescribed - as needed - 0.5 mg about every 3 days (bad reaction)

2016 - Stopped Xanax

Late 2016- Began (too fast) taper of Zoloft

Early 2017 - Trazodone prescribed for bedtime (doseage unknown)

Feb 2017 - Completed taper/stopped Trazodone

Drug free since Feb 2017

2017 - Unisom otc very rarely for sleep

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Sorry you have been ill @Rosetta Sending healing vibes and kind thoughts from Bonny 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 . 🙏🏻💕

Prozac  60mg ( 1998-2014).  

Also between (1998-2000) Short instances on Lithium, Risperidone, Quetiapine, Lamictal. Off all antipsychotics in (2000).  Prozac stopped and switched

Duloxetine(2014-Feb 2021) - after failed withdrawal from Prozac- misdiagnosed as 'Relap

2015 - approx 3 mths  Lamictal 

Duloxetine:(Feb 21) Tapered from 60mg of Duloxetine over approx 6wks. (8th April 2021) Reinstat Duloxetine (1mg)

16/05: Updose Duloxetine (2mg) 6mg Diazepam prn 

20/06: stopped Duloxetine.

Started On 10mg Fluoxetine12/07: Updose 20mg

6/08Switch to liquid fluox 4.5ml/18mg. 20/09: 4ml/16mg

Supplements:Omega,Vit D.

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Aww, thank you, Scottish Lass @ScottishLass

 

I find this so bizarre:

 

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/dash-xclusive-issues-voluntary-nationwide-recall-imperia-elita-vitaccino-coffee-due-presence/

 

Sibuttramine, a recalled drug that affects noradrenaline, dopamine and serotonin AND Prozac we’re both put in this slimming coffee that has been recalled!

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/16629-rosetta-ct-may-2011-too-fast-taper-feb-2017/?page=25

2001-2011 Celexa 10 mg raised to 40 mg then 60 mg over this time period

May 2011 OB Doctor's Cold switch Celexa 60 mg to 10 mg Zoloft sertraline (baby born)

2012-2016 - Doctors raised dose of Zoloft up to 150 mg

2016 - Xanax prescribed - as needed - 0.5 mg about every 3 days (bad reaction)

2016 - Stopped Xanax

Late 2016- Began (too fast) taper of Zoloft

Early 2017 - Trazodone prescribed for bedtime (doseage unknown)

Feb 2017 - Completed taper/stopped Trazodone

Drug free since Feb 2017

2017 - Unisom otc very rarely for sleep

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Hello @Rosetta

 

Really glad to know your test is negative, and happy to read you manage to sleep as coughing makes it tricky !

Time for a hot milk with honey 🤗

 

Sending healing vibes your way ☀️

 

(While reading you I'm realising that I haven't had a cold since 2 years while being hugely destabilised.

It's like if our bodies are so busy and in chaos, they don't have time for a cold.

It might sounds silly, and it's only a wandering of my mind, but I also like this idea because it would mean that now you've healed enough so your body can deal with a cold, your immune system is back on track. 

I like pretty stories 😉 )

2006 : 20mg Paxil+Bromazepam. 2008 : cold turkey of both. 2010 : Reinstatement 20mg Paxil + Bromazepam.

2014-June2017 : Switch from Bromazepam to Prazepam, slow taper to 0mg.

2018 to August 2019 : Paxil 20mg taper (3% every 15 days). 22 Aug 2019 updose to 10mg (was at 8.4mg).

25th Sept 2019 To April 2020 : found SA, holding at 10mg Paxil. 

April 2020 : Paxil 10mg to Prozac 7mg bridge. Details topic/21457

 

Current Supplements : magnesium citrate + fish oil

Current medication :

* 7pm Diazepam  : 0.85mg (15 Aug 2022) / 0.95 mg (24 April 2022) / 1mg Diazepam (since 29 Aug 2020)

* 8am Prozac : 6.16mg (25 oct 2022, feel awful, slight updose) / 6.08 mg (9 oct 2022) / 6.24mg (11 July 22) / 6.44mg (22 May 22) / 6.64mg (4 Nov 21) / 6.72mg (8 oct 21) / 6.8 mg (15 Sept 21)6.88mg (14 Aug 21)/ 6.92mg (23 Jun 21)

 

I am not a professional, I don't give medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

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Thank you @ScottishLass  Thank you, @Erell

 

About the immune system: obviously it works through all this.  I couldn’t live with a child between the ages of 5-10 and survive if my immune system had been offline this whole time.  Nonetheless, the reaction to common colds must be very different than when I was not in withdrawal.  Of course, I was 18 the last time I was not in some degree of withdrawal.  My signature doesn’t go back that far, but it all started with an appendectomy, and an antidepressant, Nortriptyline, after that which I didn’t take long as it made me very upset.
 

I have had colds here and there, but for many years I didn’t have the congestion that comes with a cold.  I must have had them, but I didn’t know that’s what they were because they didn’t present with congestion.  This is the second year (or third?) that I have not had an allergic reaction to the flowering trees outside my house.  That Spring that I quit Zoloft, I had the worst allergies.  I even had an inhaler.  Since then, no colds.  I guess my body just didn’t produce the reaction, but with a child in school who had colds, I must have been exposed.

 

Anxiety:

 

Here’s something I wrote about how the overreaction if the nervous system  becomes less severe over time as we abstain from all substances that mess around with GABA and glutamate:

 

You will start to see the feelings you have as something separate from who you are.  Anxiety will become like having an itch or a stomach ache.  Sometimes it’s poison ivy; sometimes it’s just an slightly annoying itch that won’t go away no matter how much you scratch.  At both times, it does not mean you are broken or in need of fixing from the outside.  
 

It means you have a physical condition that is either caused by a real world event (if the wind blows over the tree next to you) or, in the case of WD, an overreaction by your nervous system.  (One theory is that when a receptor comes back online, the body overcompensates with a surge of adrenaline or cortisol.  I’m not well educated on how those two work.)
 

Anxiety is unfortunate and uncomfortable, sometimes very uncomfortable, but it does not mean you might die.  You don’t need to run or hide or fight. It will pass, and your body can reassess and deal with it just it fine.  It won’t deal with it quickly enough when you are in WD.  That’s the whole problem.  You will feel bad for far too long.  It won’t resolve the way it would for a normal person, but you will come to know that there’s nothing behind it.  You are just feeling protracted withdrawal, and, very slowly, it will lessen until you are back to normal someday.  

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/16629-rosetta-ct-may-2011-too-fast-taper-feb-2017/?page=25

2001-2011 Celexa 10 mg raised to 40 mg then 60 mg over this time period

May 2011 OB Doctor's Cold switch Celexa 60 mg to 10 mg Zoloft sertraline (baby born)

2012-2016 - Doctors raised dose of Zoloft up to 150 mg

2016 - Xanax prescribed - as needed - 0.5 mg about every 3 days (bad reaction)

2016 - Stopped Xanax

Late 2016- Began (too fast) taper of Zoloft

Early 2017 - Trazodone prescribed for bedtime (doseage unknown)

Feb 2017 - Completed taper/stopped Trazodone

Drug free since Feb 2017

2017 - Unisom otc very rarely for sleep

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1 hour ago, Rosetta said:

Anxiety is unfortunate and uncomfortable, sometimes very uncomfortable, but it does not mean you might die.  You don’t need to run or hide or fight. It will pass, and your body can reassess and deal with it just it fine.  It won’t deal with it quickly enough when you are in WD.  That’s the whole problem.  You will feel bad for far too long.  It won’t resolve the way it would for a normal person, but you will come to know that there’s nothing behind it.  You are just feeling protracted withdrawal, and, very slowly, it will lessen until you are back to normal someday.  

 

So true! This is exactly what I keep trying to remind myself every time my anxiety flares up 🙂

Effexor XR 75mg 1997-2012 

Effexor XR 37.5mg 2012-2017 (tapered off over six months - finished taper July 2017)

SCA Aug 12th, 2017

Cymbalta 30mg Aug 2017 - Nov 2017 (CT Nov. 17th for medical reasons)

Metoprolol 50mg Aug 2017 - Feb 2019 tapered down to 25mg June 2019 then tapered down to zero. Off Metoprolol as of Jan 2020        

Amiodarone (anti-arrhythmic med) 200mg Nov 2017- May 2018

Supplements: Omega 3, vitamin D3, magnesium

What helps me: Manual lymphatic drainage massage, acupressure, meditation, homeopathy (my psychiatrist is also a certified homeopath), a healthy diet when possible organic, yoga, walking my dogs every day and gardening.

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This upper respiratory infection just keeps going on.  I suppose I can trust that my COVID test was actually negative, but I do wonder.  I was up half the night.  I could not sleep because I woke up to a coughing fit.  
 

My eye is swollen.  I think a mosquito bit me on the eyelid.  It bothered me all night, too.  My lips are swollen and cracked.  They became that way day before yesterday.  I’m not sure whether all these things are linked or not.  
 

I have an appetite.  Food tastes good.  No fever.  
 

I’m drinking water and putting cream on my lips.  I’m trying not to scratch my eye.  I’m tired.  I don’t feel very anxious about any of this.  I’m very uncomfortable, but I’ve had a lot of practice with that, haven’t I? Hopefully, I can nap.

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/16629-rosetta-ct-may-2011-too-fast-taper-feb-2017/?page=25

2001-2011 Celexa 10 mg raised to 40 mg then 60 mg over this time period

May 2011 OB Doctor's Cold switch Celexa 60 mg to 10 mg Zoloft sertraline (baby born)

2012-2016 - Doctors raised dose of Zoloft up to 150 mg

2016 - Xanax prescribed - as needed - 0.5 mg about every 3 days (bad reaction)

2016 - Stopped Xanax

Late 2016- Began (too fast) taper of Zoloft

Early 2017 - Trazodone prescribed for bedtime (doseage unknown)

Feb 2017 - Completed taper/stopped Trazodone

Drug free since Feb 2017

2017 - Unisom otc very rarely for sleep

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  • Moderator

Hi Rosetta-- I'm sorry to hear that you are feeling so bad. Breathing problems are the worst.

 

A mosquito bite should  clear in a day, if not I would suspect an allergic reaction to something else. Topical Benadryl gel might help.

 

My goto for nighttime coughs is Thyme tea. A spoon full of the cooking herb steeped in boiling water for 4-5 minutes. Let the water boil and the steep off of the heat. Let it cool enough to sip and enjoy then right back to bed. The taste is a bit different but not bad. I've used it for many, many years. Also sleeping with your head and shoulders elevated on a wedge really helps. When it's really bad I will end up sleeping in my recliner for a night or two instead of lying flat.

20 years on Paxil starting at 20mg and working up to 40mg. Sept 2011 started 10% every 6 weeks taper (2.5% every week for 4 weeks then hold for 2 additional weeks), currently at 7.9mg. Oct 2011 CTed 15oz vodka a night, to only drinking 2 beers most nights, totally sober Feb 2013.

Since I wrote this I have continued to decrease my dose by 10% every 6 weeks (2.5% every week for 4 weeks and then hold for an additional 2 weeks). I added in an extra 6 week hold when I hit 10mg to let things settle out even more. When I hit 3mgpw it became hard to split the drop into 4 parts so I switched to dropping 1mgpw (pill weight) every week for 3 weeks and then holding for another 3 weeks.  The 3 + 3 schedule turned out to be too harsh so I cut back to dropping 1mgpw every 4 weeks which is working better.

Final Dose 0.016mg.     Current dose 0.000mg 04-15-2017

 

"It's also important not to become angry, no matter how difficult life is, because you can loose all hope if you can't laugh at yourself and at life in general."  Stephen Hawking

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Thanks @brassmonkey  I will try the tea.  I have been using Ricola cough drops.

 

My eye is still swollen, and itchy, but the other eye did not swell up.  The other eye itches a little bit.  There’s a moth caterpillar here whose hair causes allergic reactions, and I found half of one on the table before my eye swelled up.  (Western Tussock Moth) The dog brings these in on his fur.  Maybe after I threw the caterpillar away I touched my eye.

 

My lips are still bothering me.  After all the water I drank yesterday dehydration can not explain this.  They are cracked, flaking, and they itch and hurt around the edges.  This is definitely an allergic reaction.  I have been putting Spanish olive oil on them.

 

I’m perplexed as to why one eye is so much worse.  I’m wondering if the caterpillar caused the eye problem and eating white grapefruit caused the problem with my lips.

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/16629-rosetta-ct-may-2011-too-fast-taper-feb-2017/?page=25

2001-2011 Celexa 10 mg raised to 40 mg then 60 mg over this time period

May 2011 OB Doctor's Cold switch Celexa 60 mg to 10 mg Zoloft sertraline (baby born)

2012-2016 - Doctors raised dose of Zoloft up to 150 mg

2016 - Xanax prescribed - as needed - 0.5 mg about every 3 days (bad reaction)

2016 - Stopped Xanax

Late 2016- Began (too fast) taper of Zoloft

Early 2017 - Trazodone prescribed for bedtime (doseage unknown)

Feb 2017 - Completed taper/stopped Trazodone

Drug free since Feb 2017

2017 - Unisom otc very rarely for sleep

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☹️ I wish you get relief soon 💗

2021:  started celexa 10mg feb 2nd 

feb 25th took my last 10g; feb 26th 5mg; feb 27th 5mg; feb 28th 2021 cold turkey 

currently taking mag

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https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/16629-rosetta-ct-may-2011-too-fast-taper-feb-2017/?page=25

2001-2011 Celexa 10 mg raised to 40 mg then 60 mg over this time period

May 2011 OB Doctor's Cold switch Celexa 60 mg to 10 mg Zoloft sertraline (baby born)

2012-2016 - Doctors raised dose of Zoloft up to 150 mg

2016 - Xanax prescribed - as needed - 0.5 mg about every 3 days (bad reaction)

2016 - Stopped Xanax

Late 2016- Began (too fast) taper of Zoloft

Early 2017 - Trazodone prescribed for bedtime (doseage unknown)

Feb 2017 - Completed taper/stopped Trazodone

Drug free since Feb 2017

2017 - Unisom otc very rarely for sleep

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  • Moderator

Did a quick google and the grapefruit might be the problem. If you had a little oil or juice on you fingers it could spread to your eye very easily. If it is should clear pretty quickly. Hope you feel better soon.

20 years on Paxil starting at 20mg and working up to 40mg. Sept 2011 started 10% every 6 weeks taper (2.5% every week for 4 weeks then hold for 2 additional weeks), currently at 7.9mg. Oct 2011 CTed 15oz vodka a night, to only drinking 2 beers most nights, totally sober Feb 2013.

Since I wrote this I have continued to decrease my dose by 10% every 6 weeks (2.5% every week for 4 weeks and then hold for an additional 2 weeks). I added in an extra 6 week hold when I hit 10mg to let things settle out even more. When I hit 3mgpw it became hard to split the drop into 4 parts so I switched to dropping 1mgpw (pill weight) every week for 3 weeks and then holding for another 3 weeks.  The 3 + 3 schedule turned out to be too harsh so I cut back to dropping 1mgpw every 4 weeks which is working better.

Final Dose 0.016mg.     Current dose 0.000mg 04-15-2017

 

"It's also important not to become angry, no matter how difficult life is, because you can loose all hope if you can't laugh at yourself and at life in general."  Stephen Hawking

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Thanks, Brass!  I used a little of the cream you suggested.  I think it helped.

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/16629-rosetta-ct-may-2011-too-fast-taper-feb-2017/?page=25

2001-2011 Celexa 10 mg raised to 40 mg then 60 mg over this time period

May 2011 OB Doctor's Cold switch Celexa 60 mg to 10 mg Zoloft sertraline (baby born)

2012-2016 - Doctors raised dose of Zoloft up to 150 mg

2016 - Xanax prescribed - as needed - 0.5 mg about every 3 days (bad reaction)

2016 - Stopped Xanax

Late 2016- Began (too fast) taper of Zoloft

Early 2017 - Trazodone prescribed for bedtime (doseage unknown)

Feb 2017 - Completed taper/stopped Trazodone

Drug free since Feb 2017

2017 - Unisom otc very rarely for sleep

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Hey @Rosetta I’m sorry to see your so sick 😔 but I am very glad to hear of all your improvements! I’m coming up on 3 years completely pharma free and 38 months into Withdrawl! Things are a lot better which is huge for me as you know it’s been horrific hell. But I still struggle with the inner aka, depression and si. But I have much better days and more and more normal times. Doesn’t make it any easier to have the aka or si. I was curious as to when both went for you? I know we’re different but it helps calm my mind sometimes. Hugs to you I hope you feel better ❤️🙏🏼

13 months on 25 mg of sertraline.

Fast taper in march 2018, reinstated 12.5mg

Cold turkey sertraline april 17,2018

Zyprexa 5mg april 17,2018

Zyprexa taper to lamictal May 4-13 (life threatening rash)

Back on zyprexa 5mg for 10days & tapered over 5 weeks.

21 months off sertraline 

19 months off zyprexa

22 months into withdrawl 

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@Elyssa143  I’m at 4 years 3 months post rapid taper.   It’s really hard for me to give you a straight answer.  My best guess is that aka reached a tolerable level right about 2 years ago.  There were flares of it after that that lasted several days, and there are bad days when a few hours of misery occur mostly due to interpersonal issues intensifying my experience of aka.  If I were alone, I think it would be less severe when it did occur.  
 

The worst times — when I would just sit on the floor and scream while thinking I couldn’t go on another minute — probably stopped happening at sometime prior to my 2nd anniversary.  (There was a delay in WD reaching it’s peak.  The worst time was from the 8 month mark to the 13th month, I think.)

 

The SI is very, very rare now, and only happens when there is a distressing situation intersecting with aka.  It can be pretty strong as an emotion, but it’s not anything that I’m afraid I will act upon.  At the time it’s happening, I’m almost able to see the difference between the sort of “epileptic shudder” in my head and the emotion of wanting to die.  They are not two separate things in the moment, but afterward, I recognize that they were separate.  I realize then that the circumstances did not warrant that extreme emotional response and that if I had not been having aka at the same time as the argument or scare, I would not have had SI.  I’m not sure that makes sense.  It’s so hard to put into words.
 

Physical aka exists now without mental aka.  It is so mild now that other than the PTSD part — feeling my arms and legs get electrified and shakey reminds me of full blown aka — I don’t get too upset about it.  There is no more terror.  The terror went away about — I’m not sure — at least 2 1/2 years ago, maybe.  It could be 3 1/2 years.  I don’t know.  I would have to look back.   All of these aspects of aka gradually lessened imperceptibly over time.  While there are flares of stronger episodes here and there, I don’t fear them now the way I used to.  I don’t expect them, and they are a complete surprise to me, but if I think carefully I can piece together the signs that a wave was coming.  It’s all tied to my cycle, I believe.  I start dropping things, and getting upset about insignificant things just like with PMS.  The intense irritability and anger has lessened, too.

 

I know that’s not the best answer, but it’s honest.  None of these symptoms turn off like a light, and they keep returning when it seems they had gone for good, but the degree of tolerability continues to improve.

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/16629-rosetta-ct-may-2011-too-fast-taper-feb-2017/?page=25

2001-2011 Celexa 10 mg raised to 40 mg then 60 mg over this time period

May 2011 OB Doctor's Cold switch Celexa 60 mg to 10 mg Zoloft sertraline (baby born)

2012-2016 - Doctors raised dose of Zoloft up to 150 mg

2016 - Xanax prescribed - as needed - 0.5 mg about every 3 days (bad reaction)

2016 - Stopped Xanax

Late 2016- Began (too fast) taper of Zoloft

Early 2017 - Trazodone prescribed for bedtime (doseage unknown)

Feb 2017 - Completed taper/stopped Trazodone

Drug free since Feb 2017

2017 - Unisom otc very rarely for sleep

Link to comment

Update:  I am getting my first vaccine shot today.  I am very scared.  I’m afraid it will cause akathisia.  I’m more afraid of getting COVID and needing drugs in the hospital, but that is not an immediate threat.  My state is going to drop the mask mandate mid-June.  So, I feel I need to be prepared with the first shot now.  
 

I’m quite angry that the mask mandate is being dropped.  There is no doubt more people are going to die and be injured because if it.  An increase in cases of Covid in children has me very worried.  Where I live, the attitude is that Covid is not a threat, and it is being taken advantage of to restrain liberties.  So, the number of unvaccinated people who will go maskless will be high.  I’m very disappointed in the attitude toward children in this country.  The idea — that kids should take every vaccine under the sun to protect the profits of their parents’ employers (by reducing absenteeism for child care when kids are sick), but wearing a mask for the protection of kids during a deadly pandemic is too much to ask?

 

My husband is very worried that I will catch Covid and end up going through another three years of akathisia after having sedatives in the hospital.  I keep thinking back to the dentist giving me epinephrine.  That was not pleasant, but did not cause the aka to come back full force.  It was moderate at the most, and the mild aka after that lasted only a few weeks, not for months.  So, hopefully my body won’t react to the vaccine any more severely.

 

At the moment, I’m dealing with hot flashes through the night — two to four, and a general lack of motivation.  I don’t get enough sleep because of those and some insomnia a couple of times a month.  I continue to have a bad cough, and that keeps me up at night.  I’m not having cortisol wake ups at the moment.  I can sleep late when I have been up at night.  Evening restlessness is mild.  Anxiety is tolerable when it occurs.  My cycle is probably going to give me a few episodes of less than tolerable anxiety, but the good news is that sometimes I feel completely relaxed.

 

I am falling asleep at odd times.  When I do, I don’t wake up with a jolt of adrenaline.  I wake up feeling irritable and wanting to isolate.
 

My eye never stopped itching, but it’s less irritated.  The other eye did stop itching.  Maybe I now have a very mild infection in the right eye.  The itching and watering are the only symptoms.  My lips finally returned to normal.  They had been very chapped, itchy and hurt a bit.  I think that was caused by an allergic reaction to something, and it might have been white grapefruit.

 

So, overall, I’m feeling better than I have been in a long time.  I really hate it that I have to get this vaccine, but people are still dying and having long-Covid.  I will regret it if I get very sick and end up intubated.

 

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/16629-rosetta-ct-may-2011-too-fast-taper-feb-2017/?page=25

2001-2011 Celexa 10 mg raised to 40 mg then 60 mg over this time period

May 2011 OB Doctor's Cold switch Celexa 60 mg to 10 mg Zoloft sertraline (baby born)

2012-2016 - Doctors raised dose of Zoloft up to 150 mg

2016 - Xanax prescribed - as needed - 0.5 mg about every 3 days (bad reaction)

2016 - Stopped Xanax

Late 2016- Began (too fast) taper of Zoloft

Early 2017 - Trazodone prescribed for bedtime (doseage unknown)

Feb 2017 - Completed taper/stopped Trazodone

Drug free since Feb 2017

2017 - Unisom otc very rarely for sleep

Link to comment

❤️

2021:  started celexa 10mg feb 2nd 

feb 25th took my last 10g; feb 26th 5mg; feb 27th 5mg; feb 28th 2021 cold turkey 

currently taking mag

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  • Mentor

Hi @Rosetta

I was also very scared of getting the vaccine, I completely understand you. The unknown is scary at times, especially when so many of us have had bad experiences with wd and the affects of medication. Know it’s normal to feel this way. You are going to be relieved when it’s done, at least that’s how I feel. 
 

3 hours ago, Rosetta said:

I’m quite angry that the mask mandate is being dropped.

I agree, it’s the same where I live, but I am still among few others that  still keeps their masks on. It takes the vaccine 2-3 weeks after the second shot to fully work. What is a few weeks more I tell myself.

There is always going to be people around us that we don’t agree with and actions they make that gets us upset.  Ignore it and know that you are doing your best in this situation,and taking responsibility and there’s nothing more that can be done. 

 

I have my fingers crossed for you that all will go well. 🙏

It would be good to hear how you are feeling afterwards.

 

All my best to you!

 


1999-2020  20 mg Paxil

Bridged with Fluoxetine to help me get off Paxil.

2022 Fluoxetine 15 mg 12/12 14mg 27/12  13mg jan 12mg feb 11mg mars 10mg, 9 mg 8,5 mg 7.6mg 7.0 mg 6,3 mg 5,6 mg 5,0 mg 4,5 mg 4,0 mg 3.6mg 3,2 mg 2,9 mg 2,6 mg 2,3 mg 2,0 mg

 


I am not a medical professional nor is this a medical advice. I only talk from my own experience.

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Thanks @Hanna72 and @Phoenixmama  I got the Moderna vaccine

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/16629-rosetta-ct-may-2011-too-fast-taper-feb-2017/?page=25

2001-2011 Celexa 10 mg raised to 40 mg then 60 mg over this time period

May 2011 OB Doctor's Cold switch Celexa 60 mg to 10 mg Zoloft sertraline (baby born)

2012-2016 - Doctors raised dose of Zoloft up to 150 mg

2016 - Xanax prescribed - as needed - 0.5 mg about every 3 days (bad reaction)

2016 - Stopped Xanax

Late 2016- Began (too fast) taper of Zoloft

Early 2017 - Trazodone prescribed for bedtime (doseage unknown)

Feb 2017 - Completed taper/stopped Trazodone

Drug free since Feb 2017

2017 - Unisom otc very rarely for sleep

Link to comment

Post-vaccine:

 

My arm is very sore to the touch.  Extremely swollen.  It doesn’t hurt very much to move it.  I think my cheeks and throat are a little bit swollen, too.

 

I do not like vaccines.  I think many are used too often for too many different illnesses, but this one is being used for the type of disease for which vaccines make sense.  That doesn’t mean I trust the pharmaceutical companies.  It means that I’m taking the risk because the danger is too great for my tastes.
 

Here is another WD symptom that has nearly disappeared: joint pain rarely happens for me these days.  It came and went for years, but now it’s pretty rare.  I think it was inflammationmich like what this vaccine has caused in my arm.

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/16629-rosetta-ct-may-2011-too-fast-taper-feb-2017/?page=25

2001-2011 Celexa 10 mg raised to 40 mg then 60 mg over this time period

May 2011 OB Doctor's Cold switch Celexa 60 mg to 10 mg Zoloft sertraline (baby born)

2012-2016 - Doctors raised dose of Zoloft up to 150 mg

2016 - Xanax prescribed - as needed - 0.5 mg about every 3 days (bad reaction)

2016 - Stopped Xanax

Late 2016- Began (too fast) taper of Zoloft

Early 2017 - Trazodone prescribed for bedtime (doseage unknown)

Feb 2017 - Completed taper/stopped Trazodone

Drug free since Feb 2017

2017 - Unisom otc very rarely for sleep

Link to comment

@Rosettajust wanted to let you know that your in my thoughts and prayers , I woke up today thinking about you hoping that your getting on well after your vaccination, I to need mine but waiting it out a bit , sending you love ❤️ light 🌞and  strength 💪🏻 

2021:  started celexa 10mg feb 2nd 

feb 25th took my last 10g; feb 26th 5mg; feb 27th 5mg; feb 28th 2021 cold turkey 

currently taking mag

Link to comment

Thanks @Phoenixmama  So far, so good.  The swelling in my arm went down, and yesterday, It started to hurt when I moved it, but now it doesn’t.  So, 48 hours after the shot, the reaction is starting to resolve.  I slept fine last night.  There was a bit of restlessness before bed, but it wasn’t even as bad as it has been recently.  
 

I may not get the next shot in 3 weeks.  I might wait longer with the hope that I will have a milder reaction.
 

My right eye still itches, but not as often nor as intensely.  We kept one of the caterpillars, and it became a moth.  A make moth came to visit yesterday.  Our moth has now laid eggs.  Next year in May, there will be 100 baby caterpillars (all with the potential to grow up and cause skin reactions.)  I’m thinking we should release them very far away.

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/16629-rosetta-ct-may-2011-too-fast-taper-feb-2017/?page=25

2001-2011 Celexa 10 mg raised to 40 mg then 60 mg over this time period

May 2011 OB Doctor's Cold switch Celexa 60 mg to 10 mg Zoloft sertraline (baby born)

2012-2016 - Doctors raised dose of Zoloft up to 150 mg

2016 - Xanax prescribed - as needed - 0.5 mg about every 3 days (bad reaction)

2016 - Stopped Xanax

Late 2016- Began (too fast) taper of Zoloft

Early 2017 - Trazodone prescribed for bedtime (doseage unknown)

Feb 2017 - Completed taper/stopped Trazodone

Drug free since Feb 2017

2017 - Unisom otc very rarely for sleep

Link to comment

I’m so happy to hear you are ok and I think it’s a good idea to space the doses as far out as possible.... 

2021:  started celexa 10mg feb 2nd 

feb 25th took my last 10g; feb 26th 5mg; feb 27th 5mg; feb 28th 2021 cold turkey 

currently taking mag

Link to comment

I wrote this to someone.  I think it is a very good way to help yourself get through the days with WD.
 

My suggestion is that you Create soothing rituals and do not give up on them if they don’t work.  Establishing a routine takes a couple of months.  Do a sequence of things in order— One for when you wake up, one for when you feel overwhelmed and one for when it is bedtime.  For instance, if you feel overwhelmed, 1. drink some water, 2. eat some protein, 3. go for a walk or do a moving meditation, 4. take an Epsom salt bath,  5. drink more water amd eat a bit more including protein, 6. paint or color or read (whatever you can do).  If you keep doing these things in a particular order you will come to find solace in that ritual.  

 

Do the same when you wake up and at “bedtime” which you could call “evening” if you don’t sleep.  You will start to feel comfort in these rituals.  They will make you feel in control and as if you know what is going to happen for the periods of times you are doing them. Waking up amd going to bed or having your normal bedtime arrive probably cause you a lot of anxiety.  Practice your ritual for anxiety at those times.


I used to play violin when I felt overwhelmed.  I started to realize that I did that at a particular time of day.  However, having some protein and water when one feels anxious and overwhelmed is important.  So, doing that first before you start the activity is a good idea.  Your blood sugar levels will stabilize while you are doing the distracting activity.  Eating after the activity will help to prolong the blood sugar level.

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/16629-rosetta-ct-may-2011-too-fast-taper-feb-2017/?page=25

2001-2011 Celexa 10 mg raised to 40 mg then 60 mg over this time period

May 2011 OB Doctor's Cold switch Celexa 60 mg to 10 mg Zoloft sertraline (baby born)

2012-2016 - Doctors raised dose of Zoloft up to 150 mg

2016 - Xanax prescribed - as needed - 0.5 mg about every 3 days (bad reaction)

2016 - Stopped Xanax

Late 2016- Began (too fast) taper of Zoloft

Early 2017 - Trazodone prescribed for bedtime (doseage unknown)

Feb 2017 - Completed taper/stopped Trazodone

Drug free since Feb 2017

2017 - Unisom otc very rarely for sleep

Link to comment

Hi @Rosettai just wondered how you are doing? I have read through your introduction post and see you have had a terrible time with TD. I just wondered how this affected your feet/hands? I am wondering if this is what I am suffering from but not sure. X

Mid-August 2020 - started 15mg Mirtazapine, increased to 30mg 2 weeks later. Late-September 2020 - switched to 20mg Paroxetine as Mirtazapine exacerbated RLS. October 2020 - stopped Paroxetine because of worsening RLS, muscle twitching and general restlessness.

Mid-October 2020 - Switched to 50mg Sertraline. Restlessness, muscle twitching and other symptoms even worse. Stopped taking it on 18 November following advice from GP - took every other day for a week before stopping completely. Mid-November 2020 - GP prescribed Propranolol to take as and when required for anxiety. Have only taken a few times as it makes me very light headed. January 2020 - currently taking magnesium citrate powder in evenings to help with RLS. Also taking high strength omega-3 fish oil. 
 

 

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I have been anxious, irritable and angry for the last 5 years of my daughter’s life.  It has had an impact on her.  It’s probably the worst thing about WD and having small child.  The guilt I feel is out of this world.  
 

I wasn’t very successful at keeping it from affecting my daughter, my relationship with her (and my relationship with my husband.)  I tried to counteract the problem by telling her I loved her, SHOWING her I loved her in as many different ways as possible, and apologizing to her when I had been irritable.  
 

This I know from experience: Do not expect a child to care for her own stuff, or do chores, or clean her room or make her bed.  It’s not going to happen and you are going to feel angry too often.  Teaching a child to take care of stuff can be a years long project from 3-18 or it can be a years long project from 10-18.  It does not matter under your circumstances.  She is not going to learn it when you are angry, and dealing with neuro-emotions.  She will simply shut down and avoid you and think that everyone who is a bit grumpy is very angry at her personally.  She will develop anxiety, avoidance coping mechanisms, become a procrastinator, and Yet she will not learn to take care of anything.  
 

How I am going to correct the damage I have done while in WD, I do not know.  I only know how I could have avoided it.  Maybe I would have created other problems, but either way, they have to be fixed now with helping her learn new coping mechanisms.

 

Simplifying your life and your child’s life to reduce stress is very important.  There were so many things I could not simplify.  So, do so when you can.  
 

For instance, I bought her plain, white socks and navy blue socks from Land’s End.  Nothing else.  No random socks to find.  In fact, I bought almost all of her clothes from Land’s End online.  No clothes shopping, trying things on, etc.  I bought a lot of navy, black, purple or dark green clothes to reduce worries about treating stains.  Land’s End has many navy and dark green sweaters, sweatshirts, t-shirts, polos, etc because it provides school uniforms.  I would put those with other clothes from the non-uniform section so that she didn’t look like she was wearing a uniform — jeans, skorts and leggings. There are purple, dark purple, and dark pink clothes in that section.
 

I regret throwing big birthday parties.  They stressed me out a lot.  She would have been just as happy with 3 little friends as with every friend invited.  I think that the negative memories she has from the time leading up to the big party was not worth it at all.  I know my negative memories were not worth it.  If I were feeling quite bad, making a birthday a time to do something big like taking one friend to the zoo or an amusement park and getting ice cream would have been better than any party at all.
 

Give up on teaching your child to be self sufficient right now.  All the chores and making the bed and earning her allowance — enforcing all of that is extra stress for people in withdrawal.  You cannot do all of that at this time.  Ignore your family’s criticisms.  Asking a child to do something for the 15th time is another way to make you feel irritable and angry and out of control.  Brushing her teeth is absolutely non- negotiatable.  Saying please and thank you are required.  Pretty much everything else — trying to enforce rules on those things — is just going to be an opportunity for you to get upset and frustrated and lose your temper.  
 

Kids can bathe 3 times a week and do just fine as long as you change their clothes once or twice every day.  Braid her hair and keep it braided or cut it short.  (Cut it short if at all possible.  I wish I had - oh, how I wish I had.  Give her some giant toy in exchange for her hair.  Save it in a zip lock forever.  Whatever you have to do, but don’t try to de-tangle her hair in your condition.)  I could not convince my daughter to give up her hair.  So, I braid it, but when I’m in wave, it turns into a rat’s nest.  It was literally torture to brush it out for her when I had akathisia.  Every sound from her increased the level of alertness in my body and brain and by the time I was done I had to retreat for hours and hours, unable to do anything at all.
 

Set out her clothes for her, keep track of her shoes for her, keep track of her backpack and homework, etc.  Do not try to teach her to be responsible right now (unless she is naturally that kind of kid and does it on her own.) Buy a lot of extra jackets and accept that she will not have any one of them for more than about 3 weeks, if that.  Buy extra shoes, too.  They will disappear.  Let it go.  Have two or three on hand at a time.  Extra lunch boxes.  You may need about 3 or 4 at a time.  You may lose one per week!  Let it go.  Taking the risk that you are going to yell at her for these things is just not worth it.  

You are not a normal parent who can discipline your child in a normal tone of voice.  Accept that.  I don’t mean yell all you need to.  I mean choose very carefully what you are going to be concerned about.  Reduce the number of times you say anything at all about something you did not like or want to correct.  The child’s reaction to being corrected is likely to make you even more irritated.  Take that into account.  Let as much as possible go.  Try to talk about things when you are feeling better - not at the time.  Yes, this may be a very ineffective way to discipline a child.  Oh, well.  You want to take a harm reduction approach.  
 

When it comes to material stuff, put away everything that is precious to you, buy stuff you don’t care about and budget to buy more stuff when it’s lost.  The fewer reasons you have to criticize her or correct her or discipline her the better.
 

When you get over this horrible experience, there will be plenty of time to teach her to do all of that and her maturity level will be higher.  Years of getting angry and losing your temper because she lost her shoes again is just NOT worth it.  That is far more damaging than having her be behind in the self sufficiency department.  

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/16629-rosetta-ct-may-2011-too-fast-taper-feb-2017/?page=25

2001-2011 Celexa 10 mg raised to 40 mg then 60 mg over this time period

May 2011 OB Doctor's Cold switch Celexa 60 mg to 10 mg Zoloft sertraline (baby born)

2012-2016 - Doctors raised dose of Zoloft up to 150 mg

2016 - Xanax prescribed - as needed - 0.5 mg about every 3 days (bad reaction)

2016 - Stopped Xanax

Late 2016- Began (too fast) taper of Zoloft

Early 2017 - Trazodone prescribed for bedtime (doseage unknown)

Feb 2017 - Completed taper/stopped Trazodone

Drug free since Feb 2017

2017 - Unisom otc very rarely for sleep

Link to comment

Thank you so much @Rosettayou really should write a self help book , specially for parents of young children, it would be so much help them a lot 

2021:  started celexa 10mg feb 2nd 

feb 25th took my last 10g; feb 26th 5mg; feb 27th 5mg; feb 28th 2021 cold turkey 

currently taking mag

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Hi Rosetta, 

 

Thanks for dropping around to my thread, how have you been doing? Sending hugs🤗

Been on APs, benzos, ADs and opiates, for chronic pain. Had Akathisia in the past that made me suicidal. Still on Seroquel. 2019:➡️ March10=7.25mg ✔️ April17=7.0✔️ June5=6.75✔️ July14=6.50✔️ Aug28=6.25✔️ Oct10=6.20  ✔️ Oct21=6.0✔️ Dec16=5.80 ✔️ 2020➡️ Jan 21=5.60 ✔️ April2=5.40 ✔️ May29=5.20 ✔️ Aug14= 5.0 ✔️Sep29=4.80✔️2021➡️ Jan31=4.60 mg✔️ April24=4.40mg✔️Jul17=4.30mg ✔️ Aug 28=4.20 ✔️ Oct 11=4.15✔️Nov1=4.10 ✔️ Nov21= 4.05✔️ Dec13= 4mg ✔️2022 ➡️ Jan8=3.95✔️ Jan31=3.90✔️ March2=3.85 ✔️ April4=3.80 ✔️ June16=3.75✔️ July26=3.70✔️ Sep2=3.65✔️ Oct21=3.60 ✔️ Dec8=3.55✔️2023➡️ Jan 26=3.50✔️ March 17=3.45✔️ June12=3.40✔️ July30=3.35✔️ Sep14=3.30✔️ Oct31=3.25✔️This is NOT medical advice.Consult your doctor.

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