JakeS96" what supplements are okay to use, if any?

[JakeS96]

New to the community here. I'm 22 years old and the past 5 years I've been on and off various antidepressants, tried an SNRI once, antipsychotic once or twice briefly, and benzodiazapines. I managed to wean off everything about 2 years ago but I just never felt the same. My symptoms are mainly chronic fatigue, joint pain, anxiety, extreme social anxiety, insomnia, depression, borderline binge eating, and obsessive thoughts. I've also developed just in the last 2 years some myoclonic jerks which kind of scare me cause it makes me think it's the symptom of something extremely serious but I'm almost certain it's been caused by previous use of antidepressants. I've seen many doctors and they all just told me it's depression and advised i go back on antidepressants, so I did. Then the cycle began where I'd try taking Lexapro for like a few weeks to a month and end up stopping cause side effects or feeling like I need to fight this thing on it's own and then i get off them and then a month or so goes by and I just can't take the "withdrawals" or whatever it is and end up cycling again and trying them again.

 

So I've spent an absurd amount of money over the years on supplements, research, and trying to find a "cure" or at least something to help me get through the days. I've become EXTREMELY sensitive to supplements and drugs. Anything I touch I'm extremely sensitive to now. Alcohol, caffeine, weed, etc. I don't touch any of that stuff anymore cause they make all my symptoms worse. My question is judging based on my history above what supplements should I stick to? I've read on here that some say just take Fish Oil and Magnesium and stay away from any brain boosting stuff like 5 HTP, L Tyrosine, etc.

 

So in conclusion, does this sound like I'm still going through withdrawals even after Ive long been tapered off meds? Does it really take years to make a recovery? And What supplements should I take to make my recovery easier or speed it up?

 

Thanks,

Jake

 

[Altostrata]

Welcome, Jake.

 

What we see is that going on and off psychiatric drugs and having adverse reactions to drugs makes your nervous system hypersensitive to drugs and sometimes supplements and even foods.

 

It sounds like your nervous system is still settling down from all the drug changes. If you avoid irritating it, you can encourage it to continue to settle down. At least a half-hour a day of gentle exercise such as walking; no alcohol or caffeine; good fresh food with no artificial additives can help it along.

 

We're very conservative about supplements. A lot of people find fish oil and magnesium supplements helpful, see
https://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/36-king-of-supplements-omega-3-fatty-acids-fish-oil/
https://survivingantidepressants.org/topic/15483-magnesium-natures-calcium-channel-blocker/

 

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

 

See our Symptoms and Self-care forum for suggestions about how to cope with symptoms.

 

How's your sleep?

[JakeS96]

Thanks for the response. My sleep is aweful. Sleeping like 10-13 hours a day and waking up still not feeling rested. Tried taking melatonin but even less than .5 mgs gives me nightmares. I also take thyroid medicine for hypothyroid. Rn 5 htp seems to help a little and I also take CBD oil which helps a bit too but other than that and magnesium fish oil and a multi i dont take anything else. Looking to get a sleep study soon too. Def need to get my sleep and diet under control.

 

[Altostrata]

What is your sleep schedule, what times do you go to bed and when do you get up?

 

It doesn't sound like you need a sleep study. At least you're sleeping. It sounds like you need to get your body healthier to assist your nervous system healing. How much exercise do you get?

 

When you say 5-HTP helps, what do you mean? How often do you take it?

 

To help us out, follow these instructions Please put your drug and withdrawal history in your signature You may need to use a computer to do this.

[JakeS96]

It varies but I usually go to bed around 2-4 am and wake up around 11-2 pm. My job requires to be pretty active always moving and I've always been really active and in decent shape my whole life. I'm not overweight at all and would like to hit the gym 3-4 times a week but with this chronic fatigue I just don't have the energy to do so especially working full time too. I def think my cardio could be stronger. The last week I've been taking 200-400 mgs of 5 htp a day and I think I can tell it helps with anxiety and some of the aches and pains and my mood. I also take 500-1,000 mgs of CBD oil as needed every now and then.

[Altostrata]

Can you go to bed and get up at a regular hour, such as 11 p.m. -- 9 a.m.? It's better for your body clock to sleep on a dark-to-dawn schedule.

 

You need to get off the computer early in the evening, too. That could be affecting the quality of your sleep.

 

What is the anxiety like? Does it occur at any particular time of day?

 

See

 

Tips to help sleep -- so many of us have that awful withdrawal insomnia

 

Waking with panic or anxiety -- managing cortisol spikes

 

What is the sleep cycle?

 

Melatonin for sleep: Many people find it helpful

 

TV or computer use in evening can disrupt sleep: Bright light signals the brain that it's daytime

Music for self-care: Calms hyperalertness, anxiety, aids relaxation and sleep

 

 

[JakeS96]

Yea that's my goal is to really try and discipline myself to go to bed at a reasonable hour and get up at one. So one big issue that effects my ability to fall asleep is just I have racing thoughts, not necessarily anxiety but just obsessive thoughts like role-playing a conversation I'm gonna have with someone tomorrow or just things I did or said today or even stuff I'm gonna do in the future. Trying to discipline myself to meditate more so I can control these thoughts. Also which idk if it's unrelated to withdrawal but I've been having really bad prostatitis for over 6 months now which makes it even harder to fall asleep at night cause I get up like 8-10 times to go to the bathroom. Been seeing a urologist for that for a while now and tried all the drugs for it and it still hasn't really gotten better. Looking into getting an MRI and alternative treatment for it very soon. Once again i doubt that could be caused by withdrawal but who knows

 

[Altostrata]

How was prostatitis diagnosed?

 

Meditation will help manage those racing thoughts. See

 

Easing your way into meditation for a stressed-out nervous system

 

Music for self-care: calms hyperalertness, anxiety, aids relaxation and sleep

[JakeS96]

I've seen two different urologists. The first one didn't give me the time of day and just told me I was too young to have prostate problems and it's just overactive bladder and said i should get botox injected in my bladder. I got a second opinion and after hearing all my symptoms he said I have chronic prostatitis. I took 2 different rounds of antibiotics and neither seemed to help. I also took an alpha blocker Flomax and that didn't do much either. Seeing my urologist again tomorrow to ask if there is anything else he can do for me in terms of blood tests or mri s or whatever but I'm honestly looking into starting a whole food plant based diet, acupuncture, meditation, and massages to help further me along with my recovery as a whole but also with dealing with this prostatitis. Between the recovery from ADs and this prostatitis my life has been pretty rough and I know there's gotta be more to life then worrying about and dealing with these problems at 22 yrs old.

 

 

[ChessieCat]

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