Kronos18: Lexapro withdrawal

[Gridley]

I would start off slowly and see how it goes.

Edited March 11, 2019 by Gridley

[Kronos18]

Ok i will.thank you very much for response

[Kronos18]

I’m in 7th week of withdrawal after using Lexapro for 2 months and my main symptoms are fatigue which is powerful, depression symptoms( i never had them before taking pills), anxiety, muscle tension, feeling dizzy, DR/DP, lethargy.Why it seems like it is getting worse instead of better?I can barely function

[ChessieCat]

this post

On 2/23/2019 at 6:08 AM, Altostrata said:

Nobody knows, Kronos.

 

I think what you want to know is when you'll be through all of this. All we can predict for you is that recovery will be very gradual, slow, and frustrating.

 

Altostrata is the founder of SA.  She has done a lot of research and is familiar with the experiences of probably thousands of people who have taken psychiatric drugs, had adverse (bad) reactions and are going off them or have gone off them, by tapering, fast taper or CT.

 

When she says that recovery will be very gradual, slow and frustrating she is also speaking from personal experience. 

 

☼-about-altostrata-withdrawal-syndrome-since-2004

 

You have already been given a lot of information so please go back and read the responses and read the links which have been provided. 

 

Please make sure that you read this post and the links provided in that post.

 

 

 

Edited March 12, 2019 by ChessieCat

[Altostrata]

On 3/7/2019 at 5:26 AM, Kronos18 said:

Hi.I’m currently in my 6th week off Lexapro after being in it for 2 months, and I literally feel like I’m losing the contact with reality.It was better until It all started gradually since 3 days ago.I literally feel like I’m losing my mind.Majority of the physical symptoms subsided, but these psychological symptoms makes me feel like i’m losing the contact with the world.I feel panicky because of that, everything seems so blurry and it’s so hard to think

 

On 3/9/2019 at 6:16 AM, Kronos18 said:

My symptoms from now are improving a bit apart from derealization which seems to get much powerful.

 

Since you went off Lexapro in February, have your symptoms improved? What do you mean by derealization?

 

You need to get that worrying under control and you need to get at least 1/2 hour of gentle exercise each day.

 

You seem to have a habit of catastrophizing, which affects your ability to accurately convey your symptoms. Be very careful not to exaggerate, it makes it hard for us to tell what's going on and you're winding your anxiety up as well.

 

We understand how distressing this is. You appear to have average withdrawal syndrome. Typically, you may have spells of unpleasant symptoms in The Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

 

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.

 

If you find your symptoms intolerable, reinstatement of a small amount of Lexapro, such as 0.5mg, or Prozac, such as 1.0mg might reduce withdrawal symptoms. Shep mentioned reinstatement more than a month ago:

 

[Kronos18]

Hi Alto.Some symptoms have improved, they come and go, in intensity they are milder aswellvertigo, diziness, anxiety has subsided aswell a bit.I wake up almost every morning with racing thoughts, and the derealization is my main problem.I try to exercise but it’s a little harder now, I will try to join gym again.About worrying, I do worry about this situation, believe me i’m only 21 years old is so hard for me, I’m thinking about the pills did something wrong to my body and brain and I will never be the same...

[Kronos18]

I don’t want to imagine being like this for at least one year after using the pills for 2 months

[Kronos18]

By derealization i mean that everything around me seems so unreal

[PerAsperaAdAstra]

7 hours ago, Kronos18 said:

Hi Alto.Some symptoms have improved, they come and go, in intensity they are milder aswellvertigo, diziness, anxiety has subsided aswell a bit.I wake up almost every morning with racing thoughts, and the derealization is my main problem.I try to exercise but it’s a little harder now, I will try to join gym again.About worrying, I do worry about this situation, believe me i’m only 21 years old is so hard for me, I’m thinking about the pills did something wrong to my body and brain and I will never be the same...

 

The thought that the pills did something wrong to your body and brain and you will never be the same can be very well attributed to withdrawal. I had these feelings for several months when I ct'd   Paxil and they will definitely dissipate once you stabilise and begin feeling better. And you will! 

[Kronos18]

Thank you for response.I know it’s early for me, i’m only 6 weeks off pills, anyway the most disturbing symptom i’m having in derealization.Feeling of unreality makes me so anxious, thinking that i will never be the same again or that it will take a lot of years gets me crazy.

[PerAsperaAdAstra]

Yeah. I can definitely relate to what you're saying. It's scary as hell!

 

What really helped me through these grim days was to write in a journal to what extent I had a bad day. I.e. feeling bad from 7AM thru 1PM and feeling better from 3PM to xPM and then rate the day as good or bad based on the number of bad versus good hours. It turned out that several days still had more good moments than I thought they had. And I started seeing that I often started feeling better in the latter part of the day. 

 

Being aware of these things makes it a bit more easy to think of alternative ways of looking at negative thoughts like "I will never be well again" since I could definitely see that each day still had some good moments and that also bad parts in a day were only temporary.

[Kronos18]

This is a very good idea.Thank you very much.I will try it

[PerAsperaAdAstra]

Cheers! And I hope you will discover several additional means of self-care that help you to deal with your current situation until the time you stabilize.

[Kronos18]

I started having panic attacks suddently

[Kronos18]

I hope i will start to stabilise asap, it’s the first time since i dont take pills anymore when i started having panic attacks

[PerAsperaAdAstra]

12 minutes ago, Kronos18 said:

I started having panic attacks suddently

 

Pay attention to your breathing. Extend the out-breath versus the in-breath in order to stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system (i.e. the break of your nervous system when likened to a car).

 

And don't buy into the thoughts that may arise now, they are an effect of the panic attack and only say that you're nervous.

[Kronos18]

Hi guys, I don’t know what is happening but since 4 days ago I feel like i felt in the beginning of withdrawal.Very tense, anxious, panicky,can barely sleep and function again, dissociation more intense, burning in skin, aggitation, brain fog, vidual problems.Is this normal to happen?

[PerAsperaAdAstra]

3 hours ago, Kronos18 said:

Hi guys, I don’t know what is happening but since 4 days ago I feel like i felt in the beginning of withdrawal.Very tense, anxious, panicky,can barely sleep and function again, dissociation more intense, burning in skin, aggitation, brain fog, vidual problems.Is this normal to happen?

 

I just read this success story and I thought about you Kronos18! 

He writes about the fact that he got a wave so bad that it felt like "in the beginning of withdrawal." From there he healed.

Sometimes you just feel really awful before feeling better.

[Kronos18]

Thank you very much.I also have read his story, it’s aswsome, I talked to him aswell in pm, the problem is that my derealization and other symptoms are still here and i am hyperarousal, kind of panicky over everything.is hyperarousal a symptom of withdrawal?

[Kronos18]

I’m feeling very bad in the moment

[Kronos18]

I really can’t believe how much one has to suffer after only 2 months of antidepressants use.I can’t imagine being like this for at least one year after this short term use.I am only 21, not drinking, no drugs use, only smoking tobacco.

[PerAsperaAdAstra]

5 minutes ago, Kronos18 said:

Thank you very much.I also have read his story, it’s aswsome, I talked to him aswell in pm, the problem is that my derealization and other symptoms are still here and i am hyperarousal, kind of panicky over everything.is hyperarousal a symptom of withdrawal?

 

When I withdrew from Diazepam I went through an awful period in which I was massively affected by light, sound and movement. People talking around me really hurt and doing groceries wasn't something I particularly liked. Furthermore it felt as if the ground beneath me was wobbly and just seeing before me was more difficult, like my surroundings were warping a bit.

So yeah, that's definitely a symptom.

[Kronos18]

I’m so sorry you went through it.I believe that these periods of time when we experience feeling awful really makes us stronger.How do you feel now?

[PerAsperaAdAstra]

2 minutes ago, Kronos18 said:

I really can’t believe how much one has to suffer after only 2 months of antidepressants use.I can’t imagine being like this for at least one year after this short term use.I am only 21, not drinking, no drugs use, only smoking tobacco.

 

Yeah, it's a shame these psychotropic drugs target us all regardless of our age. In that sense I feel a pity you have to go through this. 

But I'm happy you have a lot more information handy than I had when I was your age.

[PerAsperaAdAstra]

1 minute ago, Kronos18 said:

I’m so sorry you went through it.I believe that these periods of time when we experience feeling awful really makes us stronger.How do you feel now?

 

I feel quite fine, thank you! After my last CT (september 2018) I have been in hell until February of this year. Especially tapering benzodiazepines has been hellish but I feel all the more happy now that I've survived that.

 

You'll be a real resilient and strong person too! And you will have so much more tools in your toolbelt when you have dealt with your situation to cope.

[Kronos18]

I used to be a very happy and positive person, and going through this makes me feel awful, hopeless, lonely and sad.I am trying to be as positive as I can, thinking about the future, I have a life to live and everything is going to be fine.I just have to wait for time to pass so I can get healed

[PerAsperaAdAstra]

2 minutes ago, Kronos18 said:

I used to be a very happy and positive person, and going through this makes me feel awful, hopeless, lonely and sad.I am trying to be as positive as I can, thinking about the future, I have a life to live and everything is going to be fine.I just have to wait for time to pass so I can get healed

 

Yeah. Understandably you're mourning a bit about the old person (happy and positive) you have seem to lost. But just like a beautiful butterfly transitions from a not so beautiful caterpillar I'm sure this period will function as a means to get to a place where you will look back and notice you've become an even better person.

 

And feeling awful and hopeless is so connected to the withdrawal situation you're now in. It proves to be fleeting once you heal or experience windows.

[Kronos18]

Wow, that really sounds nice and true.Mainly I am a happy person, I laugh, joke, not as much as I used to do because of the derealization which is far the worse symptom for me, but I try to stay as positive as I can

[PerAsperaAdAstra]

4 hours ago, Kronos18 said:

Wow, that really sounds nice and true.Mainly I am a happy person, I laugh, joke, not as much as I used to do because of the derealization which is far the worse symptom for me, but I try to stay as positive as I can

 

That's a good attitude my man! And before soon you will have all the more reasons to be positive. You got this!

[Kronos18]

Thank you for your support, you are awesome!!I hope it will be soon, I read many stories and can’t imagine myself like this for years after being on the pills for 2 months.Right now i feel like i’m a psycho, visual disturbances, panic, severe dr/dp, vertigo, tiredness, agitation, headache, head pressure, weakness, can’t feel my legs when walking.I’m literally going mental.

[Kronos18]

Hi.Today’s update.Is a pretty bad day full of panic, agitation, vision problems, fear, enxiety, dr/dp, tremors, blured vision, weakness, head pressure and fatigue.All of them are pretty severe.

[PerAsperaAdAstra]

Seems like a quite unpleasant potpourri of side-effects you got there.

It's equally bad all day or does it sometimes decrease a bit?

 

You're a strong guy, being able to endure this! 

[Kronos18]

Not equally bad and not everyday, some days are better than others.Today i made 7 weeks since i left pills, i took them for 2 months, I am so desperate as I am only 21 years old and spending most of the time inside the house because of these symptoms

[PerAsperaAdAstra]

1 minute ago, Kronos18 said:

Not equally bad and not everyday, some days are better than others.Today i made 7 weeks since i left pills, i took them for 2 months, I am so desperate as I am only 21 years old and spending most of the time inside the house because of these symptoms

 

Yeah. It definitely doesn't always feel good to go outside of the house when dealing with the symptoms you shared. Especially in London I reckon it must be too much with the hustle and bustle of the city. I do hope you experience some sense of safety in your house, even if it's during windows and less distressing parts within waves.

 

Nonetheless I hope you will experience some good times the next couple of days for I've seen some nice days with sun are coming up where you live.

[Kronos18]

Thank you so much for the support, you are so nice and I really appreciate it.I an really afraid that these pills will let me disabled and derealized, i am afraid of the damage they did to my brain after 2 months

[PerAsperaAdAstra]

1 minute ago, Kronos18 said:

Thank you so much for the support, you are so nice and I really appreciate it.I an really afraid that these pills will let me disabled and derealized, i am afraid of the damage they did to my brain after 2 months

 

No problem at all Kronos! Just here to help since I've been feeling awful too and I feel compassion for you since you have to deal with it too. I'm happy that you share your struggles here and that you've found a place where people can relate to what is happening to you.

 

I'm absolutely positive you will fully recover! You are so lucky to be able to read here and hear stories of people that went through similar ordeals. But the symptoms you're describing are just plain scary so it's more than normal that you fear remaining in this place forever. I'm sure you won't. And since you're still young you have the potential to learn how to deal with these issues way earlier on than I did. So I'm sure you will make it to the other side!