☼ shawny: off amitriptyline 10mg - need advice

[shawny]

Hi All , 

 

I need your help ! 

I was on low dose of Amitriptyline ( 10 mg ) from Sept 29 th to Nov 9th , approx for 1 month.

Was given this for low grade vascular headache 

 

Now I am 2 months off the drug , but still have issues.

 

Approx 2 weeks post stopping the drug i started having severe tinnitus in both ears and still have it now , light sensitivity , brain fog , difficulty in concentration 

 

I had anxiety which I feel has been reduced since beginning of January.

 

I got my tests done for MRI and all health tests everything came out clean , visual tests and macula degeneration tests also done

Opthamologist message : Amitriptyline is neuro and ototoxic : your body will wean it eventually , he said it will take a month and I was actually getting better  but BAM ! Jan 3rd week I was down in dumps again

 

November Post stopping the drug : No Changes , just little bit of fogginess , headache 

Dec 1st week to 2nd Week : Muscle pain /drowsiness 

dec 3rd week to Dec 4 th week ( worst ) : i had grainy vision ( visual snow ) only on walls may be and then night vision was pathetic , brain zaps 

I was miserable was in dumps .

Jan 1st week to 2nd week : On Jan 2nd when  I work up my anxiety was gone ( its been better ) and getting better  and my grainy vision I felt had subsided , I continued to move on ahead with the tinnitus and  less snow 

Jan 3rd week to now          : Suddenly I felt my vision dimness has got better ( I could feel this  ) , the places i thought was previously dim was bright , and along with this the snow also became more , for example I an see sparse dots in day light and also when I look at my computer screen , and the walls have gone bad, not sure why this happened, shoulder pain , eye fatigue , dizziness ,  like when I close my eyes I see patterns and circle , when I m in REM braiz zaps 

after images ( both negative and positive)[ the symptoms I faced in Jan was not faced before in my life ]

 

All the above symptoms 

Never had them in months of Oct, Nov 

 

Tinnitus : More 

Muscle Pain More 

Due to which : I'm nervous and anxious 

 

 

Issues I have now : Tinnitus more on left now , previously more on right ,  afterimages , vision snow ( bothers me the most  ) and I know its not more than many of ul here , lil bit anxiety due to all this issues

 

Disclaimer : I didn't know amitriptyline was an antidepressants until the 7th day of me taking it , I forgot to check it up online .

Never done drugs in past , not smoked , no alcohol , I was a independent girl doing things on my own but now I'm so dependant on my family for everything 

I hope I get over this , I'm only 29 never had issues like this .

 

 

 

 

[Shep]

Hi, Shawny.

 

Welcome to Surviving Antidepressants.

 

What you are describing are symptoms of antidepressant withdrawal, even after such a short use. 

 

Here is some information on tinnitus:

 

Tinnitus - What does all the noise mean?

 

Some people find that running a fan at night can help with sleep during episodes of tinnitus. Also, white noise can be helpful. You'll find more ideas in that thread. 

 

Information on visual snow and other eye issues:

 

Vision symptoms: floaters, snow, blurred/dimmed vision, twitching, dry eyes and pain

 

We don't recommend a lot of supplements, as many members report their nervous systems are simply too fragile to handle them. However, magnesium and fish oil tend to be calming to the nervous system and many people report they do help. Please only add in one supplement at a time and at a small dose. For more, please see:

 

King of supplements: Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil)

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker

 

You mention having muscle pain. You may benefit from stretching, gentle yoga, and / or epsom salt baths. You'll find more ideas here:

 

Non-drug techniques for dealing with body pain

 

Are you off all drugs now? Kindly set up a signature so moderators can easily see where you're at in your taper: 

 

Please add a signature.  Include drugs, doses, dates, and discontinuations & reinstatements in the last 12-24 months. Also include supplements. This will help us give you the most accurate advice we can. 

• Any drugs and supplements prior to 24 months ago can just be listed with start and stop years. 
• Please use actual dates or approximate dates (mid-June, Late October) rather than relative time frames (last week, 3 months ago) 
• Spell out months, e.g. "October" or "Oct."; 9/1/2016 can be interpreted as Jan. 9, 2016 or Sept. 1, 2016. 
• Please leave out symptoms and diagnoses. 
• A list is easier to understand than one or multiple paragraphs. 
• This is a direct link to your signature:  Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature.

Please continue to use this thread to document your symptoms and to ask plenty of questions. 

[shawny]

But I just took it for a month  

how can it be so severe

my ears have been ringing in and grainy vision is bad In morning and I can see it when I’m working on my laptop 

 

it’s been 2 months , when will I heal

[ChessieCat]

From are-we-there-yet-how-long-is-withdrawal-going-to-take

 

But I only took it for a Week

[shawny]

Tanx guys  

i know may be I will take a few months to recover .

 

but I will recover right ? 

Mit just scares me to live like this n I know most o us have come out  

 

i cant do anytyn much but patiently wait for my body to heal 

[shawny]

One thing I’m very curious abt how can I hit with this now ? My last drug was on nov 10 .

 

i realised I can’t goto doc as they are nt sure what’s up .

its not like I’m suffering like most o ul here 

 

but still have only tinnitus , floaters n snow ( I’m **** scared of this ) 

 

looks like nobody heals from visual snow n tinnitus .

 

my system wen i look at it it looks grainy  

 

like in dec i had same issues then in jan 2 weeks I was fine , now my symptoms are worse and more !

 

why ? I feel soo sorry about me and this thought practically creates a mess in my brain 

 

Can u Teme tat ppl have recovered from tat ? 

 

The linkss u sent ppl still have it  

pls help 

 

 

 

Edited January 20, 2019 by ChessieCat
unbolded

[Shep]

Yes, people do recover.  Please see:

 

Success stories: Recovery from withdrawal

[shawny]

Tanx shep ,

 

can i I ask U another question , might sound lil foolish but when I went thru the visual and tinnitus all say it’s remained or got worse 

 

any idea o approx how long it will take to fully recover , I know u can’t give me a fixed date but based on ppl and a few stats u mite have an idea how long will i take to get back to Normal

 

and is it possible to have worse symptoms come up in 2 months o withdrawal like my case my issues started of in dec end n continuing till now .

 

i was fine in nov (stopped drug on 10 nov )and dec .

 

in jan the symptoms become worse

[ChessieCat]

Here's some additional information which might help you to understand what is happening:

 

Recovery isn't linear it happens in a Windows and Waves Pattern

 

Withdrawal Normal Description

When we take a psychiatric drug, we are adding chemical/s to the brain.  The brain then has to change to adapt to getting the chemical/s.  It might have to change something to do with A and then once that change has been made it affects B so another change has to be made and so on down the line.  It is a chain reaction, a domino effect.

 

The same thing happens when we take the drug away.  It is a chain reaction, a domino effect.  That's why it's possible to experience such a vast array of withdrawal symptoms, and they can change, and be of different intensity.

 

These explain it really well:

 

Video:  Healing From Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery

 

are-we-there-yet-how-long-is-withdrawal-going-to-take

 

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.

 

AND

 

On 12/4/2015 at 2:41 AM, apace41 said:

Basically- you have a building where the MAJOR steel structures are trying to be rebuilt at different times - ALL while people are coming and going in the building and attempting to work.

It would be like if the World Trade Center Towers hadn't completely fallen - but had crumbled inside in different places.. Imagine if you were trying to rebuild the tower - WHILE people were coming and going and trying to work in the building!  You'd have to set up a temporary elevator - but when you needed to fix part of that area, you'd have to tear down that elevator and set up a temporary elevator somewhere else. And so on. You'd have to build, work around, then tear down, then build again, then work around, then build... ALL while people are coming and going, ALL while the furniture is being replaced, ALL while the walls are getting repainted... ALL while life is going on INSIDE the building. No doubt it would be chaotic. That is EXACTLY what is happening with windows and waves.  The windows are where the body has "got it right" for a day or so - but then the building shifts and the brain works on something else - and it's chaos again while another temporary pathway is set up to reroute function until repairs are made.  

 

[shawny]

Thanks Chessie , I will go through it .

[shawny]

@ChessieCat

@Shep

@Altostrata

 

Guys can u put me up some members who had visual issues and got better with time ?

I pinged a few but no response , I am sorry to trouble you guys
 

[Shep]

Shawny, when is the last time you had an eye exam? Even if you weren't having any problems related to withdrawal, it's always good to get your eyes checked every one or two years, depending on your age and any other health concerns. 

 

If your eyes check out normal, than you can rest easier knowing it's withdrawal.

 

If you read the Success Stories, you'll find posts like this one from Pug's success story - pug Your miracle is coming, hang on!

 

On 6/7/2018 at 1:16 PM, pug said:

Hello,

 

Yes my vision issues have cleared up other than a very rare occasion where I have blurry vision, but it is usually short lived.  It is a scary symptom and if you have any doubts go and see a doctor just to ensure nothing else is going on.  My eye exam was good with no issues, which was reassuring and let me know that the issues were due to withdrawal and recovery.

[shawny]

Hi Shep . 

 

I had a test done one month ago and he said my vision is absolutely normal and no issues , he said the peripheral vision  gets affected due to meds which happened in my case Shep .

I had one test done in Sept also , clean there also .

 

Thanks Shep for addressing my concerns , I will check Pugs journey .

Im just tired of going to doctors :( just want my vision to be normal ! kinda frustrating as I never had to wear glasses now due to the grainy vision Im scared to look at walls or my computer screen .

I dont have the full blown VS but its sparsely there .

 

I did read about the waves and windows so im assuming I am going through the WAve when my symptoms spike up ! Hope its over 

 

 

[Altostrata]

We don't know when you'll recover. It will be very slow, gradual, and frustrating.

 

A lot of people find fish oil and magnesium supplements helpful, see
http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/36-king-of-supplements-omega-3-fatty-acids-fish-oil/

http://survivingantidepressants.org/topic/15483-magnesium-natures-calcium-channel-blocker/

 

Try a little bit of one at a time to see how it affects you.

 

[shawny]

Tanx alto , will check it up, but we all recover right ? 

 

I saw saw some blogs which said 

@Altostrata

it takes years for some one whose been on drug for years but for some ppl who have been on drug for months , it’s  comparatively easy for body to adjust in few months ? 

 

Is tat true o depends on the body type ? 

 

I know you have seen a lot o cases here so wanted to know 

[Altostrata]

9 hours ago, Altostrata said:

We don't know when you'll recover. It will be very slow, gradual, and frustrating.

 

Could be months, could be years. We don't know.

[shawny]

That’s a very scary way to put it  

but im guessing we need to jus get through it .

i will b off for a month , document my symptoms and get back probably by end o feb to tell u how I’m feelin.

 

tat should be ok I’m assumin

[Altostrata]

If I could tell the future, I'd be doing much bigger things.

 

Please do consider

 

King of supplements: Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil)

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker

[ChessieCat]

We strongly encourage members to learn and use non drug coping techniques to help get through tough times.

 

Acceptance

 

Understanding what is happening helps us to not get caught up with the second fear, or fear of the fear.  This happens when we experience sensations in our body and because we don't understand them we are scared of them and then start to panic.

 

This document has a diagram of the body explaining what happens in the body when we become anxious:

 

https://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/docs/AnxietySelfHelp.pdf

 

Anxiety Stuff - all kinds of stuff about anxiety attacks and things that help ...

 

Audio FEMALE VOICE:  First Aid for Panic (4 minutes)

 

Audio MALE VOICE:  First Aid for Panic (4 minutes)

 

Non-drug techniques to cope

 

dealing-with-emotional-spirals

 

Dr Claire Weekes suffered from anxiety and learned and taught ways of coping.  There are videos available on YouTube.

 

Claire Weekes' Method of Recovering from a Sensitized Nervous System

 

Audio:  How to Recover from Anxiety - Dr Claire Weekes

 

CBT Course:  An Introductory Self-Help Course in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

 

Resources:  Centre for Clinical Interventions (PDF modules that you can work through, eg:  Depression, Distress Intolerance, Health Anxiety, Low Self-Esteem, Panic Attacks, Perfectionism, Procrastination, Social Anxiety, Worrying)

 

On 4/28/2017 at 4:03 AM, brassmonkey said:

 

AAF: Acknowledge, Accept, Float.  It's what you have to do when nothing else works, and can be a very powerful tool in coping with anxiety.  The neuroemotional anxiety many of us feel during WD is directly caused by the drugs and their chemical reactions in the brain.  Making it so there is nothing we can do about them.  They won't respond to other drugs, relaxation techniques and the like.  They do, however, react very well to being ignored.  That's the concept behind AAF.  Acknowledge, get to know the feeling involved, explore them.  Accept, These feelings are a part of you and they aren't going anywhere fast. Float, let the feeling float off as you get on with your life as best as you can.  It's a well documented fact that the more you feed in to anxiety the worse it gets.  What starts as generalized neuroemotinal anxiety can be easily blown into a full fledged panic attack just by thinking about it.

 

I often liken it to an unwanted house guest.  At first you talk to them, have conversations, communicate with them.  After a while you figure out that they aren't leaving and there is nothing you can do to get rid of them.  So you go on about your day, working around them until they get bored and leave.

 

It can take some practice, but AAF really does work.  I hope you give it a try.

 

 

[shawny]

I know I know , ur been Practical which makes sense .

 

i don’t want to take any supplements as my body is sensitive to everything I take .

 

so let me jus do mild excercise and see and IL get back to ul if I get low o feel down.

[shawny]

Hi All , 

 

@ChessieCat

@Shep

@Altostrata

 

 

I have an update for you guys , 

 

during my menstrual cycle like 2 days before it and during it , i feel anxious not to great extent but its there , its kinda weird cause I didn't have anxiety for the last 2 week and I was feeling much better but now I am in my 3rd day of period and im slightly anxious , its like heaviness in the chest.Is that normal ?

I used to be cranky before my periods and emotional but not anxious ?

just wanted to know if its normal or not.

 

Updates : 

1. Didn't take any supplements.

2. Walk for 20 min everyday for 1.5km

3.Sleep for 7-8 hours

 

 

Thanks

Yamini

[ChessieCat]

There are lots of existing topics on this site.  I like to use google and add survivingantipressants.org to my search term:

 

pms-and-menstrual-cycle-issues-during-withdrawal

 

[shawny]

Tanx a ton i will go thru it 

[Carmie]

Hi Shawny, 

 

Thanks for your PM. I’m sorry you have tinnitus, a lot of people on this site have it due to withdrawals. It will eventually go, but no one knows when. All our withdrawal symptoms will eventually go when our brains are healed, it just takes a lot of time for them to heal. What meds do to our brains is quite injurious. 

 

 The amount of time one has taken a medication for isn’t an indicator of how long withdrawals will last. Some people who have only been on meds for a short time have withdrawals for a short time. Other people who have also been on meds for a short time have withdrawals for as long as people who have been on the meds a long time.

 

As Alto said, withdrawals can last months or years. I’ve been tapering my meds for many years and have many, many years to go. We can’t escape withdrawals, so we have to find some good coping strategies and distractions to help us get through them. We will all heal one day, but for now we need to just take a day at a time and distract ourselves. Hope you can find yourself some good distractions. Panicking about our situation only ramps up our symptoms.

 

Wishing you all the best in your recovery.💚

[shawny]

Hi carnie , 

 

tanx for your your comment ! 

I do know ppl will heal and it will take time but I don’t see success stories on tinnitus ? 

 

Do anyone heal on tinnitus ? 

 

I know now the other visual symptoms I spoke to most o them and they told me it’s gone o got better but tinnitus I can hardly find people whose tinnitus has faded o gone away ! 

 

They got habituated to it is what I understand 

[Shep]

Shawny, I received your PM but I'm answering here.  I went into the Success Stories forum and searched for the word "tinnitus".

 

People do heal from this: 

 

On 12/19/2018 at 9:01 AM, Happy2Heal said:

in GOOD News, something that I also forgot to mention:  My tinnitus, which was still hanging on, esp in the evenings, is all but gone!! 

 

On 7/2/2018 at 1:57 PM, andy said:

Tinnitus is almost non existent but took a long time to go

 

On 3/30/2018 at 12:11 PM, Matisse said:

These are the symptoms I had that are gone now:

. . . .  .

tinnitus (get it occasionally now but was bad at times) 

 

 

[shawny]

Tanx guys , 

 

i cant talk u guys enuf ;( it’s like ur my invisible best frnds now  

mom glad I have ul now ! 

 

Makes me feel motivated  and take take each day as it comes 

[WiggleIt]

Hi Shawny,

You posted this on another thread, and since you asked specific questions about your symptoms, I figured the best place to house those questions was your thread:
 

"Hi Guys , 

 

I am also a sufferer of Amitriptyline 10 mg for 1 month ( can u believe that ) , i took it for a month ( 10mg ->0 mg ) i guess that CT but i took it for month not sure 

 

Withdrawal ( once the drug left my body , actually happened 2 weeks once i stopped it , let's say dec 1st week ) , ended up with 

 

1. floaters

2. anxiety

3. Grainy vision 

4. Tinnitus 

 

it's been 2 months now , i m healing i feel im healing but not there , but compared to what i what i was may be 5 % better .

 

@WiggleIt : u had grainy vision and tinnitus ? i started having afterimages also "

Okay, I'll address your concerns in order...

Even though you only took amitriptyline for a little over a month at a low dosage, I do personally consider it to be cold turkey when you stopped because you did not taper off. However, I don't want you to feel upset with yourself for doing it that way, because the fact is that A LOT of us did cold turkeys and/or fast tapers because we didn't know there was a better way and our doctors didn't know, either.  So don't worry about how you came off the amitriptyline.

Interestingly enough, when I cold-turkeyed off of my tricyclic antidepressant, the withdrawal hit me 11 days later.  So it hit me pretty fast, but not immediately.  Sounds like your withdrawal also hit you pretty quickly, but not immediately.  Rest assured, I had a similar pattern from my TCA withdrawal, and I have survived.

1.) Floaters - I did notice an increase in floaters, but this has resolved over the years.  I had a couple of floaters before psych meds, really small ones, and I still have those.  But the increased floaters that I noticed during withdrawal are now resolved.  My floaters were not terribly bad during WD, but I definitely know that there was a temporary increase.

2.) Anxiety - Oh, yeah, I definitely dealt with this majorly in WD, but I'm happy to say that no longer suffer any anxiety at all.  Seriously, none.

3.) Grainy vision - I did not personally suffer from grain vision in WD, but I know others who have.  I suffered the opposite, actually, which was vision that was too sharp and objects were distorted.  It was like Alice in Wonderland, where some things looked too big and others looked too small, and some objects seem to pop toward me, as if they were jumping at me in 3-D.  Sometimes, objects looked like they were floating or something.  I also used to see shapes that weren't there, like shadow people and shadow animals on the edge of my vision.  ALL of this has resolved for me.  They were pretty major vision problems, and they have improved so much, which makes me confident that your grainy vision will improve, too.

4.) Tinnitus - Basically, my tinnitus was really bad in withdrawal, and then it faded away until it was barely noticeable.  That was such a relief!!!  Unfortunately, I eventually caught a head cold a few years after WD, and the head cold re-triggered the tinnitus, and it has never faded away since then.  Now, tinnitus is an ongoing struggle for me, and my family helped me purchase something called "TRT" devices (Tinnitus Retraining Therapy devices) for my ears.  I wear them in my ears 2-4 hours each day, and they play soothing, soft sounds in my ears to help distract me from the tinnitus.  TRT devices look like hearing aids, and they're not noticeable at all to other people.  The TRT devices are immensely helpful with the tinnitus, but the tinnitus is always there.  I always wonder if I had never caught the cold if my ears would have stayed okay.  I also need to specify that I was using a Neti pot while I had the cold, and I suspect the Neti pot may have also played a role in re-triggering the tinnitus.  The tinnitus DID fade away to barely nothing after WD, so maybe if I had not caught the cold or if I had not used the Neti pot, then maybe my ears would have kept their recovery.

The main thing that's important for you to know is that you WILL get better.  You absolutely will.  You said you only feel about 5% better, but that's actually really good!  When I was 4 months off, I'd had 0 improvement, so the fact that you've ALREADY improved is incredibly hopeful news!    

     

 

  

[shawny]

@WiggleIt can u share ur into link here pls

 

wen u mentioned tat ur tinnitus was barely noticeable , did it go away completely or u had to listen hard to hear it ? 

 

I have heard ppl say tat it went away to normal level gradually 

[ChessieCat]

wiggleit-tardive-dyskinesia-from-tcas-and-benzo-rapid-tapers

 

[Gracee]

Hi shawny ,

Everyone is different with WD discomfort.  When I put tinnitus in a list of my most troubling WD symptoms, tinnitus is at the bottom.   I have  learned to live with mine.  If you've read my thread, you've noticed I've mentioned tinnitus a lot.  Simply put, it is always there but worse at night.  I sleep with ear-plugs ; they seem to help.  I had to try several varieties before I found ones that I like.   Sometimes it helps to keep soft music playing all the time and fall asleep with TV on low volume.   I'm told the tinnitus will eventually go away.  Guess I've have to wait and see.

Best wishes to you.   I hope you will find comfort.

G.

When I am in my head, I am in enemy territory.

[WiggleIt]

10 hours ago, shawny said:

@WiggleIt can u share ur into link here pls

 

wen u mentioned tat ur tinnitus was barely noticeable , did it go away completely or u had to listen hard to hear it ? 

 

I have heard ppl say tat it went away to normal level gradually 

I'd say it went away 99%.  I had to listen hard to hear it, and it was so faint that I wasn't even sure if it was there at all anymore!

[shawny]

@Gracee thanks a lot  

[shawny]

2 hours ago, WiggleIt said:

I'd say it went away 99%.  I had to listen hard to hear it, and it was so faint that I wasn't even sure if it was there at all anymore!

@WiggleIt @Gracee is it possible tat tinnitus can be more in one ear than the other I feel I can hear more noise In my right ear than my left ear .

 

left ear I can hear only when it’s quiet o when I goto sleep but right I can hear it more prominently 

[Gracee]

2 hours ago, shawny said:

@WiggleIt @Gracee is it possible tat tinnitus can be more in one ear than the other I feel I can hear more noise In my right ear than my left ear .

 

left ear I can hear only when it’s quiet o when I goto sleep but right I can hear it more prominently 

 

For me, tinnitus is more pronounced in my right ear.

[WiggleIt]

From chatting with others, it seems to usually be more pronounced in one ear than the other.  Same goes for me!