SertralineAnxiety: can't cope with sertraline withdrawal, should I increase dose?

[SertralineAnxiety]

Hi, I am 31 years old, and been taking Sertraline 50mg since 2005, for generalised anxiety disorder. 

 

I attempted to taper several times in the past, all unsuccessful.

 

In January 2018, I thought I was mentally in a good place to try and reduce the dose again.

 

I started tapering by taking 25 mg 1 day a week(50 mg 6 days) for one month, then 25 mg for 2 days a week for another month etc. I have now been on 25mg everyday since June 2018. 

 

Initially I had occasional, mild withdrawal symptoms like vertigo and sensory sensitivities.

 

But I had major, unexpected negative life changes and multiple bad news over the summer of 2018, and have been (understandably) more and more emotional. My anxiety has been getting more, and now it has become unbearable for me. I keep randomly crying, and feel extremely worried All. The. Time. 

 

I cannot relax or calm down, and feel a shortness of breath most of the time. Random anxiety attacks followed by diarrhea have become a regular thing. I am worried about leaving the house on my own. 

 

I am thinking about increasing the dose again, as I just can't cope with the debilitating fear and worry anymore, but then I will have suffered all these months for nothing.

 

I thought I was in a stable point in my life when I started the taper, but now, after having dealt with a very difficult year(unrelated to the taper), I feel like now is actually the worst time for this. I have no support as all my family live abroad(and my parents&close relatives themselves could do with emotional support right now), my kids are very young and they constantly need me(and nursing a toddler is draining as it is...), we are in the process of selling our house and moving (not sure where to yet), I haven't had therapy or counselling in years and don't really have anyone to confide into...

 

Should I just give up, go up to 50mg and try again when my life is stable? Has anybody had life events interfering with their taper like this? 

 

Edited October 22, 2018 by ChessieCat
spacing

[ChessieCat]

Hi SertralineAnxiety and welcome to SA,

 

5 hours ago, SertralineAnxiety said:

I started tapering by taking 25 mg 1 day a week(50 mg 6 days) for one month, then 25 mg for 2 days a week for another month etc. I have now been on 25mg everyday since June 2018. 

 

Thank you for creating your drug signature.  The information you have provided (quoted above) is not very clear.  Please add the dates and doses to your signature like this:  date dose, date dose, date dose etc. so we can see exactly what changes you have made.  This will give us a clearer picture and allow us to make a suggestion about what dose you could try.

 

Dr Joseph Glenmullen's Withdrawal Symptoms

 

Please note, if you have been taking 25mg sertraline every day since June 2018, do not go back up to 50mg.  It will be too much for your brain and may cause major issues.  Please read Post #1 of this topic which relates to updosing as well as reinstatement:  About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms.  It is better to increase by a small amount (eg 1mg - these drugs are strong, and we can't tell how much your brain has already adapted) to see if things improve than to risk taking to much.  It takes about 4 days for a dose change to get to full level in the blood and a bit longer for it to register in the brain.  You can increase by another small amount if needed.  The idea of reinstating isn't to get rid of withdrawal symptoms all together, but to bring them to a bearable level.  Keep notes on paper of your symptoms so you can see how updosing is helping your symptoms and can help you decide if you need to updose. 

 

It is important not to panic, but to try and stay calm and patient and not updose again too quickly or by too much.  It's helpful to learn and use Non-drug techniques to cope.  This topic explains how to get small doses of your drug:  Tips for tapering off Zoloft (sertraline)

  

SA recommends tapering by no more than 10% of the previous dose followed by a hold of about 4 weeks.  Why taper by 10% of my dosage?  This is a harm reduction method which allows the brain to adapt to not getting as much of the drug.  The withdrawal symptoms occur when the drug is taken away too quickly.  This is because when we take the drug the brain changes.  This might help you to understand what and what this is happening:

 

On 8/31/2011 at 5:28 AM, Rhiannon said:

When we stop taking the drug, we have a brain that has designed itself so that it works in the presence of the drug; now it can't work properly without the drug because it's designed itself so that the drug is part of its chemistry and structure. It's like a plant that has grown on a trellis; you can't just yank out the trellis and expect the plant to be okay. When the drug is removed, the remodeling process has to take place in reverse. SO--it's not a matter of just getting the drug out of your system and moving on. If it were that simple, none of us would be here. It's a matter of, as I describe it, having to grow a new brain. I believe this growing-a-new-brain happens throughout the taper process if the taper is slow enough. (If it's too fast, then there's not a lot of time for actually rebalancing things, and basically the brain is just pedaling fast trying to keep us alive.) It also continues to happen, probably for longer than the symptoms actually last, throughout the time of recovery after we are completely off the drug, which is why recovery takes so long.

This is your own Introduction topic where you can ask questions and journal your progress.

 

[SertralineAnxiety]

Dear Chessicat, thank you for your very quick response. I wrote my signature as this:

2005-2018: Sertraline 50mg

January 2018: Started taper

Since June 2018: Sertraline 25mg

 

The full taper history would be:

January 2018: 50 mg 6 days a week, 25 mg 1 day a week

February 2018: 50 mg 5 days a week, 25 mg 2 days a week

March 2018: 50 mg 4 days a week, 25 mg 3 days a week

April 2018: 50 mg 3 days a week, 25 mg 4 days a week

May 2018: 50 mg 2 days a week, 25 mg 5 days a week

June 2018: 25 mg everyday

 

I did this taper before I came across Survivingantidepressants. I am not planning on reducing the dose any further at the moment.

. 

I read through all the links in your post. I am trying non-drug techniques, but it is extremely difficult when I know I have underlying issues from my childhood and ideally need therapy, or at least someone to talk to. I am not getting any help from doctors, they kept advising me to increase the dose to 100mg, so I haven't even mentioned the taper at all.

Since I have been taking 25mg for over 4 months, I assume the anxiety is a relapse rather than withdrawal. I recognise these feelings and worries from before I started taking antidepressants.

The only thing I would label a "symptom" of something is the constant shortness of breath and excessive yawning. This got worse in September and not got better since. 

The only time I felt like this in the past was when I had iron deficiency 4 years ago, and it was cured with prescription iron tablets. But last month I had my iron,ferritin, B12  and Vit D levels checked and they are not that low. I might have some other deficiency, as I had two pregnancies and have been breastfeeding non stop for the last 6 years, so I started a multivitamin supplement last week, just in case. I also had full blood count and ultrasound, and physically all my internal organs appear fine. So I can't find a reason for the shortness of breath other than stress and anxiety  

 

After reading your post, I decided not to go up to 50mg, but to increase by just 2mg for a week or two, and see what happens. I just want to be able to breathe normal again  

I am worried about doing yoga breathing exercises because I read about something called Buteyko Method and taking deep breaths is actually supposed to make shortness of breath worse and that we all need to breathe shallower and not deeper? So much information out there that I don't even know where to start sometimes.

[jozeff]

Hi sertralineanxiety,

 

Welcome!

 

When did you get this randomly crying? As soon as you started taking 25 mg one day per week? 

As soon as a tragic event happens your WD symptoms get worse. I've had some personal disappointments while tapering citalopram and that ramped up my symptoms immediately.

 

My wife got pregnant very surprisingly and that scared the hell out of me. Immediately I had  symptoms like panic, nausea etc. We have a 7y old boy so I know what it's like😉

 

I understand how you tapered. You thought of this method and just started tapering. Unfortunately your method causes daily fluctuations that we want to avoid. 

 

I started a citalopram taper in April 2018 and decreased 0.1 mg every day. After 85 days I crashed so I stayed on 16.5 mg for a couple of weeks. I felt so bad that I updosed to 18 mg to feel better. That didn't really help because my body had to get used to that dose also. I'm on 18 mg citalopram now since August 14th 2018. 

 

I created this taper myself but unfortunately it was too fast. Found this website after that...

 

 

You halved your dose in 6 months with this method and that is not crazy fast but too fast for you probably and not the best method.

 

i hope someone can give you some proper advice about dosage. Since you still take 25mg it might be possible to updose somewhat. I don't know about this.

 

The crying is a typical WD symptoms I have noticed. I cannot cry but I have the feeling which is nasty.

 

Having young kids is intense! Together with WD this is very tough I can imagine. I hope you'll find a way to deal with this. What helped me was not to pay too much attention to the symptoms. This sounds hard and it is. Sometimes I think: the hell with the symptoms it's just not me!! This helps me sometimes to push the symptoms to the background.

 

You will heal! You probably just went too fast. It takes time and strength!

 

Hold on and keep on moving!!

 

I wish you the very best and I hope someone gives you some good advice about your medication.

 

 

Jozeff

 

[ChessieCat]

9 hours ago, SertralineAnxiety said:

January 2018: 50 mg 6 days a week, 25 mg 1 day a week

February 2018: 50 mg 5 days a week, 25 mg 2 days a week

March 2018: 50 mg 4 days a week, 25 mg 3 days a week

April 2018: 50 mg 3 days a week, 25 mg 4 days a week

May 2018: 50 mg 2 days a week, 25 mg 5 days a week

June 2018: 25 mg everyday

 

Please put the above in your drug signature so that we can see exactly how you tapered.  Thank you.

[SertralineAnxiety]

Thank you Jozeff. 

The crying started recently, I think the life events kept coming at me and the stress and anxiety got too much to cope with. 

I am trying to find a therapist, as my family members and friends really don't understand what I'm going through. All I need is some support and understanding, but I guess most people just don't know how to do that. They want to help me but sometimes things they say make me more worried and hopeless

 

My physical symptoms are better but mental ones are worse now. I really hope this is withdrawal and will eventually fade. I really wish that I had found this site earlier and tapered slower... 

 

[SertralineAnxiety]

Hi,

I am feeling much better, and really glad that I didnt go back up to 50 mg. I'm staying here at 25mg for a while, as I don't want to risk hitting rock bottom again. The worst thing was the feeling depressed, because it wasn't "me". I never had anything like depression, and I could tell it was the withdrawal making me feel this hopelessness that just didnt come from me.  

I will do an extremely slow taper over a couple of years, hoping I can avoid the worst of the withdrawal. 

 

I get bad days or weeks with anxiety, weakness and sadness sometimes, but they are getting less and less. And at least I know about the windows and waves, so I just try to wait it out. 

 

Thank you so much for having this forum, without it I wouldnt know how to taper. And reading experiences and patterns makes it so much easier to put up with the withdrawal symptoms.

 

[Aquarius]

Glad you are feeling better i virtually ct d sertraline10 months ago ...i was great for 6 months then it started to hit ...reluctantly i went on Mirtazapine recently which helped with sleep and appetite...unfortunately after three weeks i wish i hadnt and just carried on ...i think sometimes my mind is stronger than tbese pills i have to sometimes not listen to it as i will end up doing a ct again ...wish you all the best with your stabilisation...

[SertralineAnxiety]

Hi,

I am starting a taper from Sertraline and I just realised that the box of tablets I will be taking from tomorrow has an expiry date of 03/19. 

I should be taking that box for the next 2 months...

Will it be okay, or would the potency be decreasing near the expiry date? 

I've had this particular box in the house since last August 2018. I always have 1 or 2 boxes spare, and I must have used newer ones and forgotten this at the back of the shelf.

I am worried that it will be weaker and this might have an affect on my taper?

Has anybody got any experience with this?

Should I use it or discard it? 

 

[ChessieCat]

Alternating doses/skipping days to taper is not recommended.  The brain likes consistency.  Skipping Days vs Every Day Dosing Graph

 

This topic explains how to get the dose you need:  Tips for tapering off Zoloft (sertraline)

 

We have a topic here that you might like to post in:  storing-capsules-tablets-or-liquids-look-for-expiration-date

 

If it was me, I'd use them.  If they were 6 months past the expiry I'd be getting fresh ones.

 

However, if it concerns you and you are know it will make you worried and anxious, it would be better to get fresh ones, just so that you don't become stressed about it.

[SertralineAnxiety]

Thank you ChessieCat. I think I will worry too much about it, so it might be best to use a fresh box to avoid more anxiety.

 

I am going to use Brassmonkeys slide method this time. I didnt know about this forum or anything about tapering before, otherwise I wouldnt have taken the risk of destabilising myself with alternating doses. Thank god I am a lot more informed now. 

 

I will try reducing 10% every 8 weeks, but will make smaller weekly reductions to reach the 10% , like Brassmonkey describes. Hoping this will be slow and steady enough. 

 

 

[SertralineAnxiety]

On 2/8/2019 at 12:02 PM, Aquarius said:

Glad you are feeling better i virtually ct d sertraline10 months ago ...i was great for 6 months then it started to hit ...reluctantly i went on Mirtazapine recently which helped with sleep and appetite...unfortunately after three weeks i wish i hadnt and just carried on ...i think sometimes my mind is stronger than tbese pills i have to sometimes not listen to it as i will end up doing a ct again ...wish you all the best with your stabilisation...

 

Thank you Aquarius. From what I read in the forums here, the withdrawal seems to get to its worst after several months, which is what also happened to me. Cold turkey must have been a lot harsher, I hope you are feeling better on Mirtazapine, or is it not helping much?

 

 

[Aquarius]

It has been five weeks on Mirt and its been a bit bumpy i think the wheels are starting to come off the doctor has advised i take the 40mg propranalol i was prescribed as well i think my system is still messed up from the sertraline ...have good days but am still having long crying sessions which seem to be getting worse 😥

[SertralineAnxiety]

It's so so hard to cope with reduction, so I can't imagine how you feel after cold turkey...

Did you consider

if it would have been better to reinstate  small  dose  of Sertraline instead of other new meds? 

I had the sudden crying spells, and I do think it's best to cry when you can, it is very healing. It says on 'Psychology Today', that "...Dr Frey discovered that reflex tears are 98% water, whereas emotional tears also contain stress hormones which get excreted from the body through crying. After studying the composition of tears, Dr. Frey found that emotional tears shed these hormones and other toxins which accumulate during stress. "

https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/emotional-freedom/201007/the-health-benefits-tears

 

 

 

[Aquarius]

I did consider it but felt under pressure to do something and at rhe time reinstating seemed too difficult as i was in a bad place ..i have done so much crying i think its a combination of all the traumas ive had in the last seven years and yes i have heard its a stress releiver ...todayactually is a good day im hoping the combination if the mirt and propranolol is actually kicking in ....im so Glad you are coming off sensibly ...i know we all get there in the end but coming off fast as i did was a big mistake so please don't hurry it if you are feeling ok ..when the time comes i will definitely be going slowly...i wish you all the best and take it slow....looking back i did stress over everything so as they say on here if you can just accept it it will may your journey a lot smoother ...

[Carmie]

Hi SertralineA, 

 

Just wanted to wish you all the best with the brassmonkey slide. Keep us posted. 

 

Sending hugs🤗

[SertralineAnxiety]

Thank you very much Carmie. 

I am on 22.5 mg Sertraline at the moment.

In the last few weeks I have been feeling itchy with dry skin every now and then, and had some health anxiety, worrying about allergic reactions. But I have no symptoms that prevent me from living a normal life at the moment. Also have some muscular issues, but I am having massage and physiotherapy and doing okay,

I have been having therapy, which helped massively. Also trying to have a good diet, sleep enough (as much as I can with the kids waking me up several times every. single. night. I feel very lucky to not have insomnia though.) and keep active. Been reading books from Katy Bowman, a biomechanist, and been trying to gently change the way I move/exercise in daily life. 

I haven't had any waves in ages, I think I stabilized well on 25mg because I was on that dose for 9 months. 

Hoping I haven't jinxed it, I will keep on Brassmonkey slide method. 

[Carmie]

Hi SertralineAnxiety, 

 

You sounds like you have everything well in hand.💚

[SertralineAnxiety]

Tablets inside/mixed with food?

 

Hello,

 

I was wondering, does anybody mix their pills with food at all? Not in dissolved liquid form. Just powder/crumbs mixed inside a small, bitesize piece of soft food like banana, boiled potato etc?

 

I am finding it hard to take the crumbs from my Sertraline tablets. I cut the tablet into small pieces, mix them around and then weigh what I need.

I do this, in case the active ingredient isn't evenly distributed among the fillers. 

 

However, small pieces stick to my tongue or inside of my mouth. I don't want to put them into capsules, as I find it very difficult to swallow big capsules, and they tend to give me indigestion. 

 

So, does anybody hide their pills within food? Is there a reason why they shouldn't be taken in this way? 

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

Edited May 9, 2019 by ChessieCat
added topic title

[ChessieCat]

It shouldn't be a problem, but don't put it into a hot food.  Also, I would only add the drug to the food immediately prior to ingesting.

 

You could use apple puree or custard or yoghurt.  Maybe use baby food which come in small containers.  If you find that too expensive you could buy a larger container and freezer into ice cube trays.  Do not add the drug to the ice cubes.  Apple puree and yoghurt would freeze okay.  If you have a blender you could puree tinned peaches or apricots or mangoes.  You would probably only need 1/2 of an ice cube for 1 dose so you could either put less in the ice cube tray or fill and use for 2 days.  I would take out the ice cube and put in a covered container in the fridge so it is thawed ready for the next day's dose.

[SertralineAnxiety]

Thank you very much ChessieCat, really appreciate your help. I will continue with this method then, until I switch to DIY liquid at some point the future... Can I also ask you, is there any way of adding tags like "Zoloft" or "Sertraline" to my topic? I use tags a lot now, and noticed I didn't add them to mine when creating the topic. 

[SertralineAnxiety]

Not doing great.

Mild dizziness, fullness in ears, teeth grinding, temperature regulation issues and blood sugar drops. All very mild though. I probably wouldn't think much of them if I didn't know about withdrawal. But they cause health anxiety sometimes.

 

More problematic are the sudden intrusive thoughts and accompanying anxiety. 

I should have expected it though.

I received a couple of bad news recently, and had some stressful time. I had to stop therapy for a while unfortunately. And I had to end a close friendship. Also had some other private issues, all of which contributed to feeling like poop... Yet I have two little kids to look after, and have no family nearby, so I don't get a chance to process negative events or just feel sad. No wonder it all accumulates and forces me to acknowledge that I need to just take a break...

 

Anyway, I have to admit that it feels like relapse more than anything. The intrusive thoughts are all very familiar core fears in new disguises. They are slowly returning now that the numbing effect of Sertraline is less. I am so glad to be tapering slowly, which gives me time to learn to deal with it. 

 

I'll hold my current dose of 20.5 mg for a while. 

Then I'll probably slow down the taper, to around 2% every month. I just need to keep reminding myself that there is no rush. Feeling as normal as possible is the priority, especially because I don't even know what kind of person I am without Sertraline. I was 17 when I started, and I'm 31 now, so I've never been an adult without the drug. If it was up to the doctors, I'd be on it forever. Just because it's easier. 

 

[brassmonkey]

Hi SA--  I'm sorry to hear about all the "real life" problems that have sprung up lately.  They can be such a problem especially during a taper. If things are adding up too much an extra several weeks of hold might help.  Why throw symptoms on top of everything else.  When Life settled down a bit and you've had time to process things you could start back up with the taper.

 

I would be careful with putting your dose into food to take it.  There is a good possibility that some of the dose could be missed in that manner.  Have you tried getting some empty gelcaps and putting your dose in them?  They are inexpensive for a bag of 1000 from amazon, and make things a lot easier.

[SertralineAnxiety]

Thank you for your post Brassmonkey. I haven't been on for a while, things have been very busy. I have started taking the pieces of the tablets on their own again, as I am worried about the change in absorption rate when taking them in a different form. 

 

[SertralineAnxiety]

I am going through a big wave right now. We moved to a different country last week.

The months before the move were very difficult. We had to sell all our furniture as well as repair and clean the rental house that we were in, with our 2 little children constantly on our case, because we have no family or friends nearby who could help us. 

Luckily we managed everything and left for the journey to the new country.

We drove all the way in a car, and the journey took 7 days(we only drove 6-7 hours a day, due to the children). The journey was extremely stressful and tiring. 

 

I managed to get through the journey without any incidents. But a couple of days after we arrived in our new home, my anxiety slowly went out of control. It started with some diarrhea and nausea. Then health anxiety. Then full blown panic attacks. 

I feel like I'm running on adrenaline for the last couple of days. 

I feel cold, I feel hot, I feel like crying, I feel tired, I feel restless.

I get periods of depersonalisation & derealization. I try to push past it and act normal.

It's all just so overwhelming, I don't know where to start with anything. 

 

 

 

[SertralineAnxiety]

I am down to 16 mg of Sertraline now. I had to change brands, so I slowed my taper down. I am reducing at a rate of approximately 3% every month, but sometimes less, sometimes more. Depends on how I feel. I sometimes get excited about being free from drugs and want to taper faster. Then I remind myself how much of a hell life can become if I destabilize my system. So I have been going slow for a long while. I have also been on a optimal health research journey, and am hoping to bring all the information together for easy access. Regular and informed sun exposure, limiting screen time and artificial light after sunset, cutting out all junk food and drinks, trying to walk and move more, have all helped a lot with my physical symptoms. Things aren't perfect, but I feel big improvement with my blood sugar levels. Or maybe it's just the usual up and down pattern of withdrawal symptoms. Whatever it is, I still feel much better when I know I am doing the best I can for my health. 

Another random discovery has been that hypermobile people (people with loose joints = lax ligaments) like me, are 16 times more likely to have panic or anxiety. I used to think this was only because of sensitivity. But apparently we have more adrenaline in our system to balance the laxity.

According to an expert in the field, Dr Alan G Pocinki, "To compensate for stretchy blood vessels and increased venous pooling (too much blood collecting in over-stretched veins) most people with hypermobility appear to make extra adrenaline, which may account for the high-energy, always-on-the- go lifestyles of many hypermobile people." 

When I have time, I'll try to add this consideration to a suitable thread in the forum, since anxiety and panic, sleep disorders, digestive issues, cold hands and feet, POTS, headaches, CFS are all relevant to this. And people could have it without knowing. This document is very helpful: https://www.dynainc.org/docs/hypermobility.pdf

 

As always, psychiatry doesn't consider underlying issues like this, when they diagnose people with mental disorders. 

Funnily enough, you could say that producing too much adrenaline is a "chemical imbalance", but it is only one small piece of a big puzzle, and the first/only treatment option should certainly not be SSRIs. 

 

[SertralineAnxiety]

Hello,

I feel like every autumn I go through a big wave. 

This time I am having issues with my stomach. Mainly silent reflux and shortness of breath. 

I had the silent reflux for a while now, but I wasn't paying too much attention to it. I had accepted the frequent throat clearing and indigestion as normal. 

I now suspect I have(and had for a while) Gastroparesis. Food seems to sit in my stomach forever, especially protein. This wouldn't be too much of an issue, and I could just eat stuff that are easy to digest. BUT I also have histamine issues. I also seem to react to bananas and all types of melons, which may be becasue of an oral allergy syndrome. Needless to say, none of this existed before Sertraline. Well, I had stomach issues every now and then, but nothing severe and long lasting like this. And I definitely had no allergy or sensitivity issues whatsoever, before Sertraline. 

Now I don't know what on Earth I can eat. Even water makes me feel terrible. I could do with an elimination diet, but I do not know what is safe to eat and will not bloat me. 

I haven't eaten any junk food in many months, I do not drink anything other than water(sometimes sparkling mineral water, but I stopped that last week). 

Now I just cut meat and fat out for the moment being, and all acidic fruits and veg, since they irritate my throat. 

It's a nightmare. 

Oh of course I went to the hospital. 2 days ago I went to emergency department because I was exhausted and dehydrate from not being able to eat or drink. They gave me a drip, which made me feel better. I then had blood tests and ultrasound to rule out any issues with internal organs, and everything seems fine. The only thing I haven't done is a gastroscopy. Partly because I don't want to be sedated, and partly because I think it will not reveal anything that will be useful. 

 

I am not sure if my digestion issues got worse, or if my health anxiety made it worse. It's a vicious circle. 

[anna7887]

I am having similar issues. I’ve been on setraline for over a decade. The last few months I’ve had severe stomach issues, gerd, food intolerances etc. I’m getting to full GI work up and considering an endoscopy. Ugh so stressful. Like you I have major health anxiety. Message me if you need support. I hope it’s just the taper. 🙏🏻 

[bunchesofoats]

On 10/3/2020 at 5:52 AM, SertralineAnxiety said:

I feel like every autumn I go through a big wave.

 

Hey @SertralineAnxiety, I go through this, too! I've had this my whole life, even before medication, but have noticed it makes WD much worse. I'm curious how many of us there are, and if we have common reasons.

 

Regarding your GI issues, have you ever fully tried an elimination diet? I read about whole 30 a few years back but haven't tried it myself. They do have a lot of good recipes. Maybe scroll through and see if anything sounds even remotely appetizing and start there?

 

I've had a couple of upper GIs and found that I had a hiatal hernia. At times I felt like I could have gastroparesis but really it was just trouble with digestion. Lifestyle changes have helped some, but I've noticed some stomach issues returning after many years being nearly recovered. I actually hadn't connected it to the SSRI. I do know someone with gastroparesis and he can't keep anything down and has a tremendous amount of trouble getting enough nutrients or gaining weight. I'm not sure if any of this information helps. I hope you get some clarity on your symptoms and find some relief.

[SertralineAnxiety]

Thank you very much Anna 7887. I had everything ruled out now, except allergies/intolerances. I might look into tests for those soon. It feels like health anxiety always finds something new to scare me with... It got much worse since I started tapering the Sertraline. Hope you are doing ok.
 

Bunchesofoats, I don't remember if all my breakdowns were in autumn in the past, but there is definitely a pattern since tapering. I don't know if it is the change of temperature and length of days, which maybe triggers something in our hormonal system? Who knows. I think you are right about it not being gastroparesis. I do keep the food down, but it just isn't digesting. 

 

I had the upper GI endoscopy yesterday. I asked to have it without sedation, and they accepted. Then they sprayed a numbing thing in my throat, and I wasn't able to swallow. Well that brought on some major panic lol. My heart rate went crazy so they took the monitor off. I was lying down, but I got up, and started saying, "I can't do this, I'm panicking, please sedate me instead". But somehow they managed to talk to me and calm me down and even motivate me. They even said if I had managed to give birth to a baby on my own without drugs, this should be nothing in comparison(While I was waiting before the procedure, we were chatting and the subject of childbirth had come up), and then I was like "Ok, yes, I can do this, I'm strong" lol So I had it done all awake, and it was a really horrible feeling as I expected, but I didn't panic again. I was just uncomfortable. It only lasted 2-3 minutes. If I had to have it again, I would choose to do it without drugs again. 

 

As I expected, nothing significant came up in the endoscopy. There is no visible reason for my stomach to not work. The doctor gave me digestive enzymes and some other stuff(not PPIs or antacids)

 

I always had a sensitive stomach which would play up if I had very stressful times or used strong medications. It used to be just stomachache though. It usually hits around my period(It did this time as well). Since I have been looking into hypermobility issues, I found out anxiety and digestive issues go hand in hand with hypermobility. 

 

I have been eating very little (and lost 4 kilos in the last week or two, which isn't good, I'm almost officially underweight) to give my stomach a rest. I will do an elimination diet and see what I can tolerate best. At the moment I eat boiled potatoes&carrots, and homemade smoothies. I am trying tiny amounts of protein every now and then. I have been hungry for days. I think the hunger also makes me emotional, I feel ready to cry at every small thing. Or maybe it's the withdrawal. 

I think the worst thing I have been doing for years was to eat large, protein rich meals soon before bed, and eat them so fast that I hardly chewed the food. It feels like my stomach gave up on me now. So that's something I'm changing permanently. 

 

[SertralineAnxiety]

I have been experiencing more and more withdrawal symptoms that I hadn't had for a while. I think my digestive issues have triggered a bad wave.

The shortness of breath, excessive yawning and a painful lump feeling in the throat/swallowing issues are the worst ones for me at the moment. 

Apart from those, dry throat, spells of dizziness, palpitations, eye problems, joint pains, brain fog, depersonalisation, randomly crying, hot flushes, anxiety. The brain fog is very annoying, I can't focus on anything or find the words to express myself. And health anxiety is present as always. 

On top of that, I am constantly starving. My stomach never feels full and satisfied, even straight after eating, and even if it's all bloated. Very strange. 

 

I'm really looking forward for a window. 

 

[anna7887]

Wow! An endosocpy without sedation!? You’re my hero. I literally can’t talk myself into getting one but I know I probably need should to rule out anything serious. I’m starting to have constant rib pain, night sweats, etc. I’m going to try whole 30 beginning Monday and hope this helps. I also read cabbage juice first thing on an empty stomach repairs then gut quickly?

[SertralineAnxiety]

22 hours ago, anna7887 said:

Wow! An endosocpy without sedation!? You’re my hero. I literally can’t talk myself into getting one but I know I probably need should to rule out anything serious. I’m starting to have constant rib pain, night sweats, etc. I’m going to try whole 30 beginning Monday and hope this helps. I also read cabbage juice first thing on an empty stomach repairs then gut quickly?

The endoscopy really wasn't that bad. The throat spray is the worst. And the sore throat for the day or two after, is very irritating.

I haven't tried anything like cabbage juice, the bloating is too much. 

I am trying to heal my throat and not lose anymore weight at the moment. I am trying the digestive enzymes that the doctor prescribed. Seems to help. 

[SertralineAnxiety]

And the autumn 2020 wave is the gift that keeps on giving. I managed to hit my head today. I was lying on the floor in the balcony, browsing on my phone, and a large foldable chair was leaning on the balcony railings nearby. Sudden gust of wind pushed the chair, and it fell on me. The metal corner hit my temple. As soon as I felt the pain, I was panicking. I started worrying about a brain injury straight away.

A similar minor head injury occurred last year. A plastic door hit the back of my ear. Back then I Google'd my head off, then went to the ER two nights in a row in the middle of the night to get my head scanned. I had a headache for days, and nausea. I was obsessed with having a brain bleed. It all slowly went away.

And now, a year later, here it is again. Since I hit my temple two hours ago, all I have been doing is reading about different brain injuries and blood thinning properties of SSRIs, then checking the size of my pupils, then checking for bruises etc. I have a headache and nausea and tired eyes, and I am worrying like mad. I'm trying to decide if I should go to the hospital for it. Obviously I'm well enough to write here now, but I can't stop thinking "What if there is a bleed inside my skull which is slowly getting worse right now?" Ugh it's so horrible. I hate health anxiety. 

[SertralineAnxiety]

Ok, it gets even better.

So, I went to the hospital and got a scan for my head injury. It's all fine. Brain and skull okay. So I should be all happy and not anxious anymore, right?

No. Not today, apparently. Guess what? My blood pressure was too high. For the first time in my life. It was always low before. Just last week it was measured normal, on two different days.

Anyway, so now I'm back home googling the symptoms and complications of hypertension. Thinking I might have  a stroke from high blood pressure any minute. All my other symptoms come together now to make me paranoid about blood pressure. I feel like screaming. 

Oh for gods sake, wont this health anxiety give me a freaking break!  

[SertralineAnxiety]

I had a huge crazy panic attack Sunday night. I was just drifting off to sleep, then a racing heart and panic woke me up. I couldnt calm down for ages, my heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest. I washed my face with cold water several times, kept going outside to cool down, watched anxiety calming videos and EFT videos. I managed to bring the level of panic down a bit. So I wanted to go back to bed. But everytime I fell asleep, I woke up with panic straight away. So I gave up and watched a film on my phone, then spent the rest of the night reading about anxiety online. Might have slept half hour in total. 

The next night I tried EFT from an app before going to bed. I slept really well after that. Maybe it was the tiredness and lack of sleep though, I dont know. 

 

I started a therapist today. I really need someone to talk to, who will just listen without judging and without telling me "just stop worrying". 

 

About the withdrawal symptoms:

The shortness of breath is very annoying. It makes me worry about eating, because bloating makes breathlessness worse. 

The food issues are actually driving me crazy. My mother and my husband dont understand any of this, and are almost treating me like an anorexic. As if I am refusing food by choice. It's so frustrating because I just want to go back to eating normal. 

I have had a very very limited diet for a little while. I realised that I definitely react badly to all acidic foods. But also to high histamine foods. And some other random fruits, like melons and bananas. I'm thinking this cant be just a digestive issue. Because I ate an apple earlier today, and my lips, the inside of my mouth, my throat are still hurting. Feels like I ate something corrosive. I cannot believe what withdrawal can do to a person.