kayjaydee: clomipramine

[kayjaydee]

I've gone back to 33mg and feeling more settled; I plan to reduce back to 25mg in stages. I don't know if it was the increase that made me feel rough or just the general anxiety - no way of telling. The point of trying to increase the dose was the hope it might reduce the anxiety I already had, but I think I'm better settling at 25mg for the time being.....if that's stable, anything else is me!

[kayjaydee]

My GP has now decided I need to wean myself off the clomipramine, because it's lowering my sodium. She suggested a cross-taper with an SSRI but I'm not having that, too much risk of interactions. So I'm back to tapering; I suspect the drop from 41 to 33mg 2 weeks' ago was a bit big, I'm rather spaced-out and hyper and slightly nauseous. I've since dropped again - before the withdrawal symptoms started - to 29mg, but 3 days on I'm thinking it was a mistake and plan to go back to 33.

[kayjaydee]

Just before Christmas, I had a minor heart attack. As a consequence, the cardiologist stopped the clomipramine....apparently it's a bad one to be on after a heart attack. So now dealing with the withdrawal.....after 10 days I had a week of "cold" symptoms, then diarrhoea, then it settled. I've been anxious - a combination of my general tendency to worry and catastrophize, the shock of having had a heart attack and then withdrawal on top.....but I seemed to be managing. Now 4 weeks off the drug, but feeling worse again. The cardiologist prescribed sertraline as an alternative, but I've not taken it as yet - for one thing, I would like to be free of antidepressants, for another I'm scared of having a bad reaction to it and making the situation worse. Any advice? Would a SSRI help with withdrawal from a tricyclic, given that they act differently? The thing that bugs me the most is an unpleasant shuddering/shivering which comes and goes.

[kayjaydee]

A dreadful night, virtually no sleep - diazepam helped a bit, but obviously I don't want to take it all the time. Waiting for the GP surgery to get back to me - don't know whether to try the sertraline or not.

 

[Catina7]

On 1/28/2024 at 9:41 AM, kayjaydee said:

Would a SSRI help with withdrawal from a tricyclic, given that they act differently?

 

Hi @kayjaydee, from what I understand taking another drug to help with withdrawal symptoms from another one is not recommended as it can make matters worse.

[kayjaydee]

That's rather what I thought. I plan to keep plodding along and try to just get off the clomipramine.

[Catina7]

20 minutes ago, kayjaydee said:

That's rather what I thought. I plan to keep plodding along and try to just get off the clomipramine.

 

Sounds like a good plan.  I hope all goes well.   

[kayjaydee]

Neither of the GPs I saw had much understanding of withdrawal...one reckoned this couldn't be withdrawal-related as it was too long after I'd stopped the drug...! But at least the other gave me an extra prescription for diazepam, so I have a fall-back for when I really can't sleep. I had a great night Monday, on 4mg diazepam - last night less good on 2mg.....I'm all too aware of the possibility of dependence, so try to use as little as possible. It basically feels like really bad anxiety, plus going hot and cold and shaking - especially at night, when there's nothing to distract me.

[kayjaydee]

I guess this is just a consequence of having to stop the clomipramine abruptly - tho I had got down to 14.6 mg with tapering. I can't reinstate, as is contraindicated if one's had a heart attack....so I just have to bear it as best I can, and hope it doesn't feel like this for too long.

[kayjaydee]

I started sertraline 4 days ago, and think it's making it worse....I may stop it again, I suspect my nervous system can't cope with any more disruption.

[kayjaydee]

Stopped the sertraline.

 

[kayjaydee]

Still feeling b****y awful - severe anxiety, feeling I can't stand much more of this, agitation, sleeping badly. Diazepam helps a bit, but the GP will only allow me so much. Odd tearful spells.....how long will this go on? So far, about 10 days at this level. Too scared to try another AD in case it makes matters worse. Would it have been easier if I'd tried another AD before the withdrawal from clomipramine kicked in? (not that that will help now). Currently nearly 6 weeks off the clomipramine. Finding it very hard to cope.

[Sinanz]

Hello there , You should avoid eating foods with high glutamate, like beans, some bread with high in gluten , nuts, fruit with citrus, and also histamine fruit and foods! And control your blood sugar because of your nerves system is now so much sensitive can't tolerate with low index food. 

And please don't try benzos!!! you wish that even never hear the name! Benzos is evil and nasty I abrupt/CT 7  psychatric pills which include Klonopin all of a sudden and you can guess  what happened to me next almost 2 years and it is still goes on ! Be careful and take care

[Sinanz]

Hello there , You should avoid eating foods with high glutamate, like beans, some bread with high in gluten , nuts, fruit with citrus, and also histamine fruit and foods! And control your blood sugar because of your nerves system is now so much sensitive can't tolerate with low index food. 

And please don't try benzos!!! you wish that even never hear the name! Benzos is evil and nasty I abrupt/CT 7  psychatric pills which include Klonopin all of a sudden and you can guess  what happened to me next almost 2 years and it is still goes on ! Be careful and take care

[Sinanz]

Hello there , You should avoid eating foods with high glutamate, like beans, some bread with high in gluten , nuts, fruit with citrus, and also histamine fruit and foods! And control your blood sugar because of your nerves system is now so much sensitive can't tolerate with low index food. 

And please don't try benzos!!! you wish that even never hear the name! Benzos is evil and nasty I abrupt/CT 7  psychatric pills which include Klonopin all of a sudden and you can guess  what happened to me next almost 2 years and it is still goes on ! Be careful and take care

[Sinanz]

Hello there , You should avoid eating foods with high glutamate, like beans, some bread with high in gluten , nuts, fruit like citrus, and also histamine fruit and foods! And control your blood sugar because of your sensitive nerves system and can't tolerate with low index food. All above revs symptoms

And please don't try benzos!!! you wish that even never heard the name! Trust me on that, Benzos is evil and nasty I have had experienced with that you can see my sign I abrupt/CT 7  psychatric pills which include SSRI, Klonopin all of a sudden and you can guess  what is happened next, almost 2 years wd symptoms  and it is still goes on ! Be careful and take care

[kayjaydee]

I restarted the sertraline 15th February at 50 mg.......no improvement, hard to say if I felt worse. The GP wanted me to up it to 100mg, which I did yesterday.....and by the evening I felt appalling.....dreadful anxiety, just "didn't know what to do with myself". Slept till about 5am with the help of the 4mg diazepam the GP allows me (and 2mg I'd taken during the evening). Still feeling very anxious, agitated - haven't had any sertraline today, I'm either going back to the 50mg or going to come off it again - at present just waiting for the dose increase to wear off. I started it to try to help with the withdrawal symptoms from the clomipramine, which was stopped 8 weeks ago - is it generally a bad idea to take another antidepressant to help once withdrawal symptoms have started? Or maybe sertraline is not one I can tolerate?

[Sinanz]

On 2/24/2024 at 2:08 PM, kayjaydee said:

I restarted the sertraline 15th February at 50 mg.......no improvement, hard to say if I felt worse. The GP wanted me to up it to 100mg, which I did yesterday.....and by the evening I felt appalling.....dreadful anxiety, just "didn't know what to do with myself". Slept till about 5am with the help of the 4mg diazepam the GP allows me (and 2mg I'd taken during the evening). Still feeling very anxious, agitated - haven't had any sertraline today, I'm either going back to the 50mg or going to come off it again - at present just waiting for the dose increase to wear off. I started it to try to help with the withdrawal symptoms from the clomipramine, which was stopped 8 weeks ago - is it generally a bad idea to take another antidepressant to help once withdrawal symptoms have started? Or maybe sertraline is not one I can tolerate?

Hello again did you checked yeast infection candida? Maybe that is the problem... What are your symptoms now except dread witch is normal cause you up dose your meds sertraline not a good  choice because it stimulate GABA a! But you already on it so... pls Just don't up and down your meds so quickly you will experience new waves !!! 

[Sinanz]

On 2/24/2024 at 2:08 PM, kayjaydee said:

I restarted the sertraline 15th February at 50 mg.......no improvement, hard to say if I felt worse. The GP wanted me to up it to 100mg, which I did yesterday.....and by the evening I felt appalling.....dreadful anxiety, just "didn't know what to do with myself". Slept till about 5am with the help of the 4mg diazepam the GP allows me (and 2mg I'd taken during the evening). Still feeling very anxious, agitated - haven't had any sertraline today, I'm either going back to the 50mg or going to come off it again - at present just waiting for the dose increase to wear off. I started it to try to help with the withdrawal symptoms from the clomipramine, which was stopped 8 weeks ago - is it generally a bad idea to take another antidepressant to help once withdrawal symptoms have started? Or maybe sertraline is not one I can tolerate?

I assume that maybe just maybe you've had long covid ... I had that and it is so much look like SSRI/benzos/COVID-19/yeast infection. all of them makes waves and stimulate GABA a glutamate plus covid and yeast infection cause encephalitis due to toxicating neurons system and shrinkage amigdala. Two years I just red about any articles some how connected to our problems and red people experience like us in survivingantidiprassant / benzos buddies to prehend what is going on hear and for god sakes what about us , What's wrong with us?... At the end I suspect couple of things but Iam not sure.

 

[kayjaydee]

I was on clomipramine for almost 30 years, until late December 2023. I had to stop it - I'd tapered to 14.6 mg - because I had a minor heart attack and the cardiologist told me it wasn't safe to continue on it. I was offered sertraline as an alternative, but decided to see if I ccould come off it altogether at that point. I had some withdrawal symptoms after about 10 days (manageable), but after about 4 weeks I began to get really unpleasant symptoms - mostly anxiety, agitation and insomnia. I tried the sertraline after another  2 weeks, but it made me more anxious etc, and gave me diarrhoea as well. I came off it after 2 weeks at 50mg - my GP wanted me to increase the dose, but I was finding it difficult to tolerate the 50mg. After 5 days, she gave me mirtazapine 15mg - I've only taken it twice, first night a really good sleep, 2nd night not so - a sort of half-awake stupor. My question is, does chopping and changing ADs when already in withdrawal make things worse? The GP seems to think treatment for "depression" will work, but I wonder if the state of my brain when already in withdrawal makes a new AD just destabilise things.