Gigi66: 30 years on antidepressants

[Gigi66]

I have been a member for a while here but I actually have never participated in the forum.  Quite frankly, the signature and history part is too overwhelming in the past for me to do just because going through it is admitting the longevity on my situation and bringing it up at any junction is painful.  I was wondering if someone can just guide me on what is needed.  I have been on antidepressants for 30 years.  I have been going through a rough patch (if that is what you want to call it ) on a set of new meds.  I have a history of bipolar.  I cant guarantee my participation or how fast I will respond but I will try.  I need some support overall.  

[Gridley]

Hello, Gigi66.  Let me see if I can simplify the signature process and make it less overwhelming.  How about if we just concentrate on the last two years?  I'll give you the link to use in a minute.  The most important things we need are the drugs you're on now, the dosage and the date (approximate is fine) you started.  Staying with just the last two years, also list any drugs you stopped and whether you did it cold-turkey.   Doing it as a list is fine.  You don't have to include diagnoses or symptoms, just drugs, dosage and date started or stopped during the last two years.  You can look at my signature as an example.  Here's the link:

 

Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature.

 

When you're finished, click on "save" in the lower left corner.  It will be better if you can do this on a computer rather than a phone.  If you have any questions, just write again.

 

 

Edited June 11, 2019 by Gridley

[laydefish]

Welcome to the Group!

[Altostrata]

Welcome, Gigi.

 

On 6/11/2019 at 2:08 PM, Gigi66 said:

I have been going through a rough patch (if that is what you want to call it ) on a set of new meds.

 

What kind of rough patch? Which drugs? When did you make changes?

[Gigi66]

I have been on this site as a watcher for a while.  I have never posted because quite frankly developing the signature seemed to overwhelming.   I wish I never started these drugs I am not sure I will ever be off.  I do suffer from depression and have had symptoms of bipolar since early teens.  Now in my 50's I realize multiple trauma has created a mental health situation.  So I am not necessary looking for total withdrawal I am looking for balance.  If I need something fine but I cannot be on multiple amounts of mind altering drugs.  A few months ago I embark on a journey to help with the debilitating and unrelenting depression I had fallen into .  I remind myself of this because i have fallen into a crisis since trying to make changes with a psychiatrist.  I am not worse off and not sure what to do.  I wake up every morning with a panic attack and the horrible feeling carries on  .  I am sure it is withdrawal from multiple meds but I thought bridging onto different meds would help.  My doctor seems to think if you only been on them a short time you can cut back faster because the belief is the body has not become dependent on them.  I know this not to be true but yet I kept following the instructions he was giving me.  In my signature it will tell where I stand now.  I am lost and sick.

[ChessieCat]

Please put all the drugs your are currently taking into the Drug Interactions Checker and copy and paste the results in a post here in your topic.

 

If you are unable to do this please list what drugs you are taking in a post (just drug names) and I will do it for you.

[Gigi66]

Interactions between your drugs

Moderate

LORazepam  lamoTRIgine

Applies to: lorazepam, lamotrigine

Using LORazepam together with lamoTRIgine may increase side effects such as dizziness, drowsiness, confusion, and difficulty concentrating. Some people, especially the elderly, may also experience impairment in thinking, judgment, and motor coordination. You should avoid or limit the use of alcohol while being treated with these medications. Also avoid activities requiring mental alertness such as driving or operating hazardous machinery until you know how the medications affect you. Talk to your doctor if you have any questions or concerns. It is important to tell your doctor about all other medications you use, including vitamins and herbs. Do not stop using any medications without first talking to your doctor.

Switch to professional interaction data

Moderate

LORazepam  brexpiprazole

Applies to: lorazepam, Rexulti (brexpiprazole)

Using LORazepam together with brexpiprazole may increase side effects such as dizziness, drowsiness, confusion, and difficulty concentrating. Some people, especially the elderly, may also experience impairment in thinking, judgment, and motor coordination. You should avoid or limit the use of alcohol while being treated with these medications. Also avoid activities requiring mental alertness such as driving or operating hazardous machinery until you know how the medications affect you. Talk to your doctor if you have any questions or concerns. It is important to tell your doctor about all other medications you use, including vitamins and herbs. Do not stop using any medications without first talking to your doctor.

Switch to professional interaction data

Moderate

estradiol  lamoTRIgine

Applies to: Estradiol Patch (estradiol), lamotrigine

Talk to your doctor before using lamoTRIgine together with estradiol. Combining these medications may reduce the blood levels and effects of lamoTRIgine. You may need a dose adjustment if you have been taking lamoTRIgine and are starting treatment with estradiol. Similarly, if estradiol is discontinued, your dosage of lamoTRIgine may need to be readjusted. Contact your doctor if your condition changes or you experience loss of seizure control during treatment with these medications. When estradiol is stopped or interrupted briefly, be alert to potentially increased side effects of lamoTRIgine such as dizziness, drowsiness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, blurred vision, incoordination, tremor, restlessness, irritability, depression, anxiety, and mood or behavior changes. It is important to tell your doctor about all other medications you use, including vitamins and herbs. Do not stop using any medications without first talking to your doctor.

Switch to professional interaction data

Moderate

progesterone  lamoTRIgine

Applies to: progesterone, lamotrigine

Talk to your doctor before using lamoTRIgine together with progesterone. Combining these medications may reduce the blood levels and effects of lamoTRIgine. You may need a dose adjustment if you have been taking lamoTRIgine and are starting treatment with progesterone. Similarly, if progesterone is discontinued, your dosage of lamoTRIgine may need to be readjusted. Contact your doctor if your condition changes or you experience loss of seizure control during treatment with these medications. When progesterone is stopped or interrupted briefly, be alert to potentially increased side effects of lamoTRIgine such as dizziness, drowsiness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, blurred vision, incoordination, tremor, restlessness, irritability, depression, anxiety, and mood or behavior changes. It is important to tell your doctor about all other medications you use, including vitamins and herbs. Do not stop using any medications without first talking to your doctor.

Switch to professional interaction data

Moderate

gabapentin  brexpiprazole

Applies to: gabapentin, Rexulti (brexpiprazole)

Using gabapentin together with brexpiprazole may increase side effects such as dizziness, drowsiness, confusion, and difficulty concentrating. Some people, especially the elderly, may also experience impairment in thinking, judgment, and motor coordination. You should avoid or limit the use of alcohol while being treated with these medications. Also avoid activities requiring mental alertness such as driving or operating hazardous machinery until you know how the medications affect you. Talk to your doctor if you have any questions or concerns. It is important to tell your doctor about all other medications you use, including vitamins and herbs. Do not stop using any medications without first talking to your doctor.

Switch to professional interaction data

Moderate

lamoTRIgine  brexpiprazole

Applies to: lamotrigine, Rexulti (brexpiprazole)

Using lamoTRIgine together with brexpiprazole may increase side effects such as dizziness, drowsiness, confusion, and difficulty concentrating. Some people, especially the elderly, may also experience impairment in thinking, judgment, and motor coordination. You should avoid or limit the use of alcohol while being treated with these medications. Also avoid activities requiring mental alertness such as driving or operating hazardous machinery until you know how the medications affect you. Talk to your doctor if you have any questions or concerns. It is important to tell your doctor about all other medications you use, including vitamins and herbs. Do not stop using any medications without first talking to your doctor.

Switch to professional interaction data

Minor

gabapentin  lamoTRIgine

Applies to: gabapentin, lamotrigine

Consumer information for this minor interaction is not currently available. Some minor drug interactions may not be clinically relevant in all patients. Minor drug interactions do not usually cause harm or require a change in therapy. However, your healthcare provider can determine if adjustments to your medications are needed. 

For clinical details see professional interaction data.

No other interactions were found between your selected drugs. This does not necessarily mean no other interactions exist. Always consult your healthcare provider.

[Gigi66]

Looking for reinstate information that this site provides

[ChessieCat]

Q:  How often do you take lorazepam?

 

Q:  What drug are you considering reinstating?

[Gigi66]

I take the lorazepam 1 /2 at night and as needed during the day 1/2.  

100-200 mg. gabapentin as needed if anxiety is uncontrollable , this regime is very rock bottom in keeping things in control .  I am almost completely non functional.I see doctor on 5th.  I was thinking of reinstating prozac but it does have a major interaction with the rexaulti but I am currently taking .5 mg as of last night.   I need to do something to get back to base line of functional.  It has been such a bad summer since I tried to make this changes.   I figure prozac is similar to zoloft to reinstate.  I have prozac left over but just dont want to take it because of the Rexaulti interaction which I knew about.

[ChessieCat]

8 minutes ago, Gigi66 said:

100-200 mg. gabapentin as needed if anxiety is uncontrollable

 

So you don't take the gabapentin every day?

 

My suggestion, before reinstating, would be to wait until one of the more experienced mods assesses you drugs.

 

It may be that adjusting your current drugs, eg taking them at different times, might help.

 

Please list your current drugs, doses and times in a post so that they are able to see what you take and when.

 

Please post what your current symptoms are.  Also do they happen at a particular time of day?

 

The mods need this information to try to work out what might be happening.

[Gigi66]

As my signature mentions this started 7 months ago when I decided to switch psychiatrists due to my other one being very inattentive.  I had depression being on Zoloft 100mg. Lorazepam as needed and Lamictal.  I had been on this combo for a while and my depression was getting worst. My brain tumor had been removed a year before and I waited that year before starting to screw with med changes.  I found a new Psychiatrists which happens to be a tele-med doctor.  I will explain my reasoning for this some other time.  

 

Currently I take 

Lorazepam at night 9pm .5 mg. , Lamictal 200 mg at night 9pm, Rexulti 1mg dropped to .5 mg. as of last night at 9pm , Estradiol patch .1mg 1x week, Progesterone 100 mg at night 9pm,  Gabapentin is being taken during the day early to late mornings 1-2 100 mg tablets.  Lorazepam 1/2 if needed during the day early afternoons, not everyday because I work hard to restrict myself even though I could probably use it .  I do take it every night 05 mg. 

 

I take .5 mg of Lorazepam during the day as needed , the Gabapentin usually I take 1-2 in morning at least that is how its been.  I have had just horrible internal agitation, fear of unknown things  feeling like I cant go on any longer , but not suicidal and my depression has sank even lower.  I went over the symptom checklist here .  Terrible feeling of anxiousness all day long, some lightheartedness a lot of the day, no motivation , problems going out in public, functionality at a very low level and multiple feelings of despair culminating with crying jags.  I am able to sleep o.k not great but o.k.  The drugs seem to do it for me but I wake up everyday at the same time approx. with a panic attack , sweating, racing thoughts.  Happens as soon as I start to become cognitive of the day.  Usually around 7 am as early as 5 am.  I was taking the Gabapentin to ward this off as soon as it started happening 100 mg.(kept water and pills by bed) then the Gabapentin  stopped working and I didnt increase the dosage more than 200 mg. a day. for fear of getting to relied on that.

[Shep]

15 minutes ago, Gigi66 said:

Currently I take 

Lorazepam at night 9pm .5 mg. , Lamictal 200 mg at night 9pm, Rexulti 1mg dropped to .5 mg. as of last night at 9pm , Estradiol patch .1mg 1x week, Progesterone 100 mg at night 9pm, 

 

Giggi, you state you reduced the Rexulti from 1 mg to .5 mg last night. From your signature, you have been taking Rexulti since June, which is long enough to develop a dependency. Going from 1 mg to .5 mg is a 50% reduction, which is likely too fast. 

 

You also may be dealing with inter-dose withdrawal (withdrawal in between doses) from the Lorazepam due to its short half life. 

 

And taking gabapentin as needed may also be causing problems. 

 

I would recommend taking the lorazepam and the gabapentin at the same times of the day and at the same doses. It's very hard to reinstate a drug or make any other changes when you're taking as-needed medication for symptoms. Your nervous system is wanting stability, so the more consistent you can be, the better.

 

Also, you're taking several sedating drugs at one time at night, which can cause paradoxical reactions. The more you dampen down the nervous system, the more the nervous system fights to stay alert. This creates a paradoxical reaction. 

 

The first thing you'll need to do is pick the time(s) of day to take each of your drugs and the dose and then stick to those exact times. Pick the dose that relieves your symptoms without making you overly drowsy. 

 

Please post your thoughts on this. Please also tell us more about why you made a 50% reduction in the Rexulti, as I'm concerned that may cause problems for you. 

 

[Gigi66]

Thank you for your reply and your input it is very helpful.  I will have to absorb it since my confusion and thinking is not clear.  I never thought about the inter-dose withdraw.  I realize the reduction in the Rexaulti was too much but I thought maybe that is what is causing the panic in the morning because this did not start until after I started taking the Rexulti.  Almost within a week or so but I didnt really pick that up till later.    The 50 percent reduction was because I had only 2 mg. pills which I never started that dose as my doctor prescribed at one point and Rexulti is very expensive. So I could only cut in 1/2 then cut again. If I did the 10 percent rule.  Then what is 10% of 1 mg.? .1 right?   How do I do that ?   I was going to request from my doctor to put me on Prozac , what I was on from earlier this year.  I have been off and on so many different meds.  Of course my doctor would think June would not be enough time to become dependent.  However, I know that to be untrue .   I thought starting from scratch with something similar to zoloft would help.  However there is a reaction with the Rexulti so that is why I wanted to try reducing too. I am anxious to get some baseline functionality even if I am functionally depressed because I have gone from doing something to almost nothing.  I have a 16 year old autistic son .  He is high functioning and means very much to me .  this whole summer has been wasted . The school year is starting and there are certain things i am scared I cant do.  Get up early prepare breakfast, lunch I am scheduled to volunteer at the end of the week for event of his , I cant back out of.  I cant even be around people right now.  I have a little co op shop where I am suppose to work( 4 )1/2 days a month .  I couldnt even do that this past month because I got so bad.  All these things I have tried to do.  I was a stay at home mom because of my sons Autism.  i was lucky to have that comfort. However, now that I want to go back to working even part time I would not be able too.  I am afraid on taking to much pills and getting dependent on all of them that is why I tried to control the as needed stuff as much as I could and probably why I feel so bad.  I dont talk to the doctor till Thursday.  Thanks again for coming on and replying.

[Shep]

11 hours ago, Gigi66 said:

  The 50 percent reduction was because I had only 2 mg. pills which I never started that dose as my doctor prescribed at one point and Rexulti is very expensive. So I could only cut in 1/2 then cut again. If I did the 10 percent rule.  Then what is 10% of 1 mg.? .1 right?   How do I do that ? 

 

Please don't make any changes right now. At some point, you'll need to learn to work with either liquid titration or using a scale.

 

For your information to read over as you're able: 

 

• Using a digital scale to measure doses
• Making a liquid from a tablet or capsules

But again, please don't make any changes. I would stick with the 1 mg dose. 

 

For now, please post a daily drug and symptoms journal in the below format. Since you may be getting interdose withdrawal and possibly paradoxical reactions, having this journal will help us figure out if there may be some ways to tweak the timing of your drugs to keep these types of reactions from happening. 

 

Please also include:

 

• Any supplements  you are taking (the name and dose)
• The amount of sleep you get each night

On 9/27/2016 at 2:49 PM, Altostrata said:

In the course of discussion in your Introductions forum topic, you may be asked to keep notes on paper of your daily symptom pattern, including when you take your drugs, their dosages, and any symptoms. We ask this because there may be something we can do to reduce the symptoms.

 

What we need to see for every single day over several days is what symptoms you get before and after you take your drugs. If you're not taking any drugs and have withdrawal symptoms, we still need to see your symptom pattern throughout the day:

 

The time of day, dosage, and severity of symptoms are essential information. Include

 

- Time and dosage for all drugs taken throughout the day, psychiatric and non-psychiatric.

- Following each dose, note any symptoms. If you are having a reaction to the drug, it may take hours for a symptom to show up -- that's why we ask you to keep notes all day long.

- If you're not taking any drugs, your symptoms throughout the day.

- Your sleep pattern. Since so many drugs disturb sleep, if you find you're waking in the middle of the night, it could be from a drug you took earlier in the evening. If you're not taking any drugs, there may be ways you can improve your sleep.

And so forth. A diary, in chronological order, looking something like this:
 
6 a.m. Woke with anxiety
8 a.m. Took 2.5mg Lexapro
10 a.m. Stomach is upset
10:30 a.m. Ate breakfast
11:35 a.m. Got a headache, lasted one hour
12:35 p.m. Ate lunch
4 p.m. Feel a bit better
5 p.m. Took 2.5mg Lexapro
6 p.m. Ate dinner
9:20 p.m. Headache
10:00 p.m. Took 50mg Seroquel
10:20 p.m. Feeling dizzy
10:30 p.m. Fell asleep
2:30 a.m. Woke, took 3mg Ambien (NOT "took 1/2 tablet Ambien")
2:45 a.m. Fell asleep
4:30 a.m. Woke but got back to sleep

 

 

[Shep]

One follow up question. This is in your signature:

 

Quote

Discontinued Prozac --January 14 (approximate) started on Cymbalta 30mg increase to 60 mg in a approx. 4 days continued on Prozac. Decreased Zoloft to 25 mg. then stopped Zoloft after 1 week.  

 

What date did you stop the Zoloft? Was that the last time you took an antidepressant? 

[Gigi66]

January 28th last time on zoloft , then February 12 discontinued Prozac.  That was last time on SSRI.  Then I went on a SRni.  I will put together the list of symptoms etc starting tomorrow hopefully as today is a wash for me.  I got up earlier then usual for my son , full blown crying jags and panic.  Thought about what you said tried to manage pills of gabapentin and lorazepam.  We will see how the rest of the day goes.  Took 2 Gabapentin and .5 lorazepam and it and it made me very sleepy but the panic was gone at least for me to semi function the morning.  I stuck on the 1 mg last night of the Rexulti.  

[Shep]

18 hours ago, Gigi66 said:

January 28th last time on zoloft , then February 12 discontinued Prozac.  That was last time on SSRI.  Then I went on a SRni. 

 

How long were you on the SNRI? What date did you stop? 

 

Since you're asking about information regarding reinstating Prozac, I'm trying to gage when you last took an antidepressant to see how likely a reinstatement is to work. Reinstatements become more risky the farther you are from having been on it. Also, the farther out you are from having been on it, the lower the dose you'll want to reinstate, as your nervous system has likely become sensitized and may hyper-react to larger doses. 

 

Please don't reinstate anything just yet. We really need to see your drug and symptoms journal for a few days, but I'm placing this here so you can understand the process in case you do decide to reinstate.

 

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms 

 

[Gigi66]

6 hours ago, Shep said:

Reinstatements become more risky the farther you are from having been on it.

I am curious what you mean by this.  Secondly, I am talking with the doctor tomorrow night and I am not sure what the plan will be and what I should be aiming for . I dont want to go forward with any more new medicines thus my plan to go back on Prozac , from what I understand similar to zoloft but shorter 1/2 life.  However worried about the Rexulti drug interaction.    I know I am below my baseline functionality and I have become worst since I started this path.  My plan was to say put me on a small dose of antidepressant ssri , because I think I react to srni badly.  I even had a genesight testing done , that didnt help direct the drugs in anyway.  My plan is to stay with this doctor till I can bridge to another .  I feel like I totally have lost my mind at this point and I will never rebuild to even a semblance of what I had or was.  

[Gigi66]

I am also not sure where to place this topic in the topics available.  However, this forum is targeted to people who want to taper or get off drugs.  I know these drugs really have no medical validity in many cases that they work.  However, does anyone here suffer from mental illness. I have had trauma in my l know outside the withdraw symptoms I have suffered from severe depression, anxiety disorders , OCD , and eating disorders all before going on meds.  Is this similar for anyone else?

[Gigi66]

I seem not to be getting integrated into the community.  I only have contact recently with Chessie Cat and Shep .  Cat said not to start a new topic, but did she just mean in the introductions forum . Can I start a new topic in other forums?   

[ChessieCat]

This is a peer support site.  We encourage members to visit other members' introduction topics and support and encourage each other.  Please be aware that a member's introduction topic is about them and their situation, so please don't make your post all about you.  It is okay to give an overview of your own situation.  If a member wants to know more they can visit your introduction topic.

 

There are many existing topics on this site.  Before creating a new topic please do a search.  You can either use the site search function or use a search engine.  I like to use google and add survivingantidepressants.org to my search term.  For example survivingantidepressants.org OCD

 

You are welcome to post in other topics, but questions about your own situation should be posted here in your own introduction topic so that your history is all in one place.

[Gigi66]

thank you

 

 

[ShiningLight]

Welcome! My observation is that in general people here are trying to un-patient themselves so are not as focused or identified around mental health diagnoses. I highly recommend the book Anatomy of an Epidemic for further info.

 

You have been given excellent advice re gabapentin. I really messed myself up by skipping doses of gabapentin that was rx'd for anxiety. Do not recommend taking this on an as needed basis. In fact there have been lawsuits about pfizer promoting the off label use of this drug for mood problems at all, yet doctors continue to prescribe it in this manner.  

 

People in my gabapentin FB group have had problems with regular but unequal dose amounts. 

 

Even before I was in wd from fast taper, I was in interdose wd from skipping doses here and there. I just didn't know it. 

 

I hope you can have some improvents soon!

 

 

 

 

 

[Gigi66]

Thank you for answering me I appreciate it .  I am not sure what to do at this point.  I am confused and having trouble managing any portion of my day.  I am trying to regulate things but it is hard.  I dont know where to turn to for help.  Called for emergency psychiatric services and you have to go to emergency room where you wait hours as low priority.  I talk to my doPctor tonight but not sure what route to take there.  I tdont know how to adjust things and take them if I dont feel like I need them at this moment.  So for instances if I dont feel agitated enough to take a Gabapentin should I be taking anyways.  Am I better on the lorazapam?  Just so confused.  Also about reinstatement .  It would seem that while I have been off SSRI since January .  I have also taken SRNI too isnt this similar in many ways and does leave a better window of opportunity for reinstatement?

 

 

[Gigi66]

Here so far is the past two days , best I could do  .  I attached it here . Med Tracker.pdf

[ChessieCat]

On 9/4/2019 at 8:21 PM, Shep said:

 

Please don't reinstate anything just yet. We really need to see your drug and symptoms journal for a few days

 

 

 

On 9/3/2019 at 10:02 PM, Shep said:

 

For now, please post a daily drug and symptoms journal in the below format. Since you may be getting interdose withdrawal and possibly paradoxical reactions, having this journal will help us figure out if there may be some ways to tweak the timing of your drugs to keep these types of reactions from happening. 

 

 

Please post the daily symptoms notes in a post here in your introduction topic, not as a download.  Thank you.

 

Edited September 5, 2019 by ChessieCat

[ShiningLight]

Polypharmacy is super confusing and very difficult to figure out. It helps to stick to a plan for awhile and track the symptoms. If you change things and take things as needed it's really hard to know what's what, and then you won't know which way is up. 

[Gigi66]

09/04/19	05:30:00 AM	WOKE UP		Some Panic
	05:45:00 AM	prepared son for school		feeling uneasy
	05:50:00 AM	drank milk and granola bar
	06:00:00 AM	took Gabapentin	1	100mg	100 mg	panic feeling starting	preventive step feeling panic
	07:00:00 AM	went back to bed		feeling tired
	09:00:00 AM	TOOK LAMICTAL	1	100mg	100 mg	trying to balance meds at night only took one last night
		went back to bed		feeling lightheaded tired
	10:00:00 PM	got up took shower
	11:00:00 AM	took drive with spouse to do errand and get food		feeling groggy no hunger , headache
	11:30:00 AM	home
	12:00:00 PM	watched tv					crying jags in and out through morning , headache , groggy, severely down
	12:00-3:00	trying to do some basis things on computer, banking, ebay etc.					confused, overwhelmed, difficulty keeping track
	03:00:00 AM	Son problems					anxious but remained pretty ok , afterword crying episode
	05:00:00 PM	ate a granola bar and some water					feeling of depersonalization groggy tired depressed,
	09:00:00 PM	Meds
		Lorazpam		½	.5 mg
		LAMICTAL		1	100mg	cut LAMICTAL from 200-100 to split during day	agitated didnt sleep well without extra pill
		Progesterone		1	100 mg
		Rexulti		1	1 mg
09/05/19	05:30:00 AM	WOKE UP				Didnt sleep well
		Took Lorazapam		¼	0.25	agitated, crying jags , didnt sleep well
	06:00:00 AM	at granola bar and milk
	7-830 am	slept
	08:30:00 AM	got dressed
	09:00:00 AM	pushed self to drive , meet someone out for coffee and walk.					Uncontrollable crying episodes tried to eat couldnt
	11:00:00	home
	12:00:00 PM	took lorazapam		½	.5 mg		uncontrollable crying
	01:15:00 PM	slept					agitated slept a little
	02:12:00 PM	took shower					feeling agitation , dread
	02:30:00 PM	Talk to Therapist to update her
	02:35:00 PM	Talk to possible new med provider
	03:00:00 PM	tried to eat something					internal agitation
09/06/19	05:30:00	WOKE UP
		made breakfast and lunch son
	06:00:00	went back to bed
		took gapapentin		1	100 mg		agitation
	08:30:00 AM	got up and dressed
				½	.5 mg
	9-10:30	went to coffee shoppe and walked

[Gigi66]

Well I made a error up above and tried to copy and paste the information in , then it didnt let me edited it because i took to long.  I am really trying here with some very limited skills due to my mental situation.  I will post in the format requested when I am more up to it.  

[Gigi66]

Here is two days

 

 

 

9/4     5 am woke up  panic feeling

            545 am  prepared son for school and ate granola bar

           6 am     took Gabapentin 100 mg

           7 am    went back to bed

          9 am   took Lamictal , didnt take two night before trying to balance waking up panic , went back to bed , lightheaded and tired

          10 am took shower

           11 am made errands with husband , didnt feel up to driving, tried to eat

           1130 am home

            12 noon   watched TV,   headache , groggy , severely depressed

             12-3 pm worked on computer     difficulty keeping track of things

              3 pm problem with son           crying episode

              5 pm ate something small    groggy , depressed

              5-9 pm watched tv                        severely depressed

               9 pm    Took Meds:  Lamictal 100 mg, Lorazapam 1/2 mg, Progesterone 100 mg, Rexulti 1 mg

               10 30 pm Bed

 

9/5          530 am woke up                   Didnt sleep well without extra Lamictal

                                                                 Took Lorazpam  1/4 pill .25                      Woke with crying episode, agitated from not sleeping well

                                                                 Prepared Son's breakfast

                600 am                                  ate something small

                7-830 am                                slept

               8 30  am                                  got dressed

                9:00 am                                   pushed self to drive , go to coffee shop for tea and walk  , Crying episodes , couldnt eat

              11 am                                        home            , severe depression

               12 noon                                    Took Lorazapam      1/2 .5 mg    feeling panic

               1 pm                                          slept

               2 pm                                          took shower

              2:30 pm                                      talked to therapist on phone

                                                                 talked to possible new med provider  

             3 pm                                           tried to eat something                          

            3pm -6                                         Watched Tv

             6 00 pm                                      family dinner , didnt feel like eating              depressed

           7 pm                                             psychiatrist appt. online                                    upset , crying episode 

          730 pm - 9                                    Watch tV

          9 00 pm                                         Took meds :  Progesterone 100mg , Lamictal 200mg , Rexulti 1mg, Lorazapam .5 mg

              

[Gigi66]

Status: Although it was recommended from this site I not reinstate anything , my doctor felt I was decompensating to severely with my depression.  I agreed.  I cannot right not afford to leave my son and go into a hospital.  The doctor put me on Lexapro, which I have not been on.  I said I wanted only the smallest dosage so agreed on 5 mg. and then 10 mg in a week.  I will stay at 5 mg. to see if the depression goes back to baseline.  I need to explain that I started all of this 7 months ago , not because I was withdrawing although I had tried that before.  It was because of my severe depression and anhedonia which was making it very hard to function.  I had already in the last two since brain tumor became worst again with the depression.  These pass months have seen me decompensate further then that baseline depression .

[ChessieCat]

Have you done a drug interaction check for Lexapro with all the drugs you are currently taking?  If not, I suggest that you do.

 

Drug Interactions Checker

[ChessieCat]

By adding in another drug, the mods are not going to be able to work out if you are getting interdose withdrawal and possible paradoxical reactions as mentioned by Shep below:

 

On 9/3/2019 at 10:02 PM, Shep said:

 

For now, please post a daily drug and symptoms journal in the below format. Since you may be getting interdose withdrawal and possibly paradoxical reactions, having this journal will help us figure out if there may be some ways to tweak the timing of your drugs to keep these types of reactions from happening. 

 

 

[Gigi66]

I understand that they will not be able to do that.  However, I felt my choices were limited on my end because I needed to try to alleviate the situation because I have been suffering.  I sure you can understand when you are having severe functionality problems then you cannot make decisions and you just want it to go away.    Possibly, this is not my goal right now to get off the drugs , that I might be not fitting the profile of someone that should be on such a forum.  I think my aim is different now from when I tried to withdraw and if I cant get my severe depression under control to the baseline I was before , before changing meds, I wont be able to come off some of the drugs as a current goal.  I  know those here have tried to help and that is appreciated and although I feel vulnerable at this junction and need support maybe I should withdraw my profile.  It was really hard for me to do the signature initially, then to keep the journal so I did try in that sense.  Again, I am in a vulnerable situation.  Thank you , I did do the drug interaction checker.

[ChessieCat]

We do understand what you are going through.  We also understand that you feel that you need to do something. 

 

Shep:  Drug free as of 2015 (history of:  antipsychotics, benzos, z-drugs, antidepressants, and stimulants used for 30 years).

 

GiaK managed to withdraw from a cocktail of 6 psychiatric drugs that included every class of psych drug.

 

However, you have not given Shep a chance to assess your daily symptom logs.  It takes time for the mods to get the necessary information from the members.  Your first post was made back in mid June.  However you didn't post again until Monday this last week so we have only been working directly with you for about 6 days although it probably feels longer to you.  And it may just be a simple case changing your drug timing that might help to feel a bit better.  My personal opinion (ie not speaking as a moderator) is that by adding in Lexapro you might make things much worse.

 

I've done a new interaction check to include Lexapro and this is the result:

 

Duplication

Central Nervous System (CNS) Drugs

Therapeutic duplication

The recommended maximum number of medicines in the 'Central Nervous System (CNS) Drugs' category to be taken concurrently is usually three. Your list includes five medicines belonging to the 'Central Nervous System (CNS) Drugs' category:

• gabapentin
• Lamictal (lamotrigine)
• Rexulti (brexpiprazole)
• lorazepam
• Lexapro (escitalopram)

 

And the same drugs entered into this https://reference.medscape.com/drug-interactionchecker

Monitor Closely

• lamotrigine + escitalopram

  lamotrigine increases toxicity of escitalopram by unspecified interaction mechanism. Modify Therapy/Monitor Closely. CNS depressants may increase the toxic effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors; psychomotor impairment may be enhanced.