LD35: sertraline / Zoloft withdrawal and bladder issues

[LD35]

Hi,

I did a post in the Urination and bladder issues thread. I was informed that I should post it here instead. (I hope I didn't misunderstood this)

 

so I repost it here.

 

English is not my native language, but I hope it's possible to understand me anyway.

 

I've had bladder issues for years.(One of my issues) Probably damage to nerves because of untreated lyme disease, since it's stopped getting worse after a treatment with ab.

 

A while ago I tried Sertraline for depression and sleeping disorder, I ate this a couple of weeks, but stopped after my bladder issues got worse. But a while after I stopped taking the medication it got A LOT worse. I would be lying if I said I'm not scared because this is so painful I can't see how I would be able to live with this. It's three weeks since I stopped taking sertraline. For some reason it's usually a little calmer at night time.  My bladder symtoms is sometimes like an overactive bladder where I have to go to the toilet like 3-4 times/hour and sometimes it's just and extreme feeling of urgency but I can hold my pee.

 

Maybe someone here have been in the same situation, where you ate ssri for a short while with bladder issues, if so did it go away, and after how long? 

 

 

[Carmie]

Hi LD, 

 

Welcome to SA. Thanks for reposting here in your thread. This thread is your own personal thread where you can ask questions, and you can use it as a journal to write what you are going through. 

 

I’m really sorry you’re having such problems with your bladder. You said it started with your Lyme disease, were you on any medications back then? How long ago did you get Lyme disease? 

 

These medications can affect anything in our body too, because everything is pretty much connected to our central nervous system. 

 

Could you please put in your drug signature. Just go to the Read This First section, and to the thread entitled: “ Please Put Your Withdrawal History In Your Signature.” Thank you. That time every time you write on your thread here we can see your history straight away under what you have written. 

 

How long ago were you on the sertraline? What date did you start it, and what date did you stop it?

 

How many milligrams were you on?

 

Have you got any other symptoms besides the bladder problems? Please keep us updated as to how you’re doing.

 

Sending hugs🤗

[LD35]

9 hours ago, Carmie said:

Hi LD, 

 

Welcome to SA. Thanks for reposting here in your thread. This thread is your own personal thread where you can ask questions, and you can use it as a journal to write what you are going through. 

 

I’m really sorry you’re having such problems with your bladder. You said it started with your Lyme disease, were you on any medications back then? How long ago did you get Lyme disease? 

 

These medications can affect anything in our body too, because everything is pretty much connected to our central nervous system. 

 

Could you please put in your drug signature. Just go to the Read This First section, and to the thread entitled: “ Please Put Your Withdrawal History In Your Signature.” Thank you. That time every time you write on your thread here we can see your history straight away under what you have written. 

 

How long ago were you on the sertraline? What date did you start it, and what date did you stop it?

 

How many milligrams were you on?

 

Have you got any other symptoms besides the bladder problems? Please keep us updated as to how you’re doing.

 

Sending hugs🤗

 

Hi Carmie, and thank you for your answer.

 

The Lyme disease was around 8 years ago, and I wasn't using any medication. It resulted in a lot of symptoms which got worse and worse, but stopped getting worse after antibiotics, and som symptoms disappeared. In this period of my life I lost everything. My work which I loved, a long relationship with a women, friends. My life has been painful since then, which have resulted in depression and sleeping disorder. And now even worse bladder issues.

 

Yes I have tried to study how this works. But in my state it's very hard to concentrate, but from what I've found there are no real explanation to how the bladder issue correlates to ssri intake. More than that adrenergic receptors (Alpha) gets affected by sertraline,

and limits the release of acetylcholine from the nerves going from detrusor muscle? And since I'm not doctor it's impossible to understand how this blockade works, if it's permanent or if my body adjust it self back to normal, and if so if it takes months or years 😕

 

I ate it a couple weeks I think (my memory is very bad) I don't remember exactly but I think it was when I started to take 100mg when I started to get worse bladder issues, in panic I probably stopped taking the medicine to quickly over a couple of days with lower mg. A couple of days later the bladder issues become extreme. Now three weeks later, I have some hours (usually at night after going to toilet a lot of times and not drinking more water) when it's a little better, still a really strong urge (much more then before ssri) but It's possible not to use the bathroom more than maybe one time/hour. When I sleep it varies sometimes I wake up all the time to go to toilet, other times I can sleep 2-3 hours (I usually can't sleep more continuously, but I had this problem before too, and this is probably a product of my depression and I can't relax.

 

Symtoms after SSRI was bladder issues and dry mouth, and a flu like feeling, but it was probably also because of anxiety. 

 

As I said earlier I live a rather lonely life since I become sick the first time (LD) But I stall have parents and siblings, but still this makes me feel soo lonely. I prefer not to talk to them too much about this because of course it makes them very worried and "powerless" since they can't do anything to make my situation better. 

 

I read your signature. It's very commons in our society that people only care about themselves. But when I see someone who cares like you, it's often people who struggle themselves. And I should be honest, when I was healthy with a high salary I rarely reflected over thinks like bad health care, health insurance systems, poor elderly people who can't afford to go to the dentist or buy their heart medicine. It wasn't that I was a cold person who didn't care, I didn't know how bad things where. 

 

 

Thank you, and I hope your day is going to be a day when it feels a little better.

 

 

[badtummy]

I also have this bladder problem after Paxil use. Have to go to the bathroom 3-4 times/h. And also bladder pain and pain in the lower back. I have had this for about 1 1/2 years now, very disturbing. 

[Carmie]

Hi LD, 

 

Just popping in to see how you’re doing. I’m really sorry you have  bladder problems. I don’t know anything much about Lyme disease, but I have CFS and a lot of the symptoms are the same. You said you think the problems with your bladder is due to nerve damage from your illness. Do you know if the nerve damage is repairable?

 

I had severe bladder problems years ago because of a rollerblading accident. I damaged my coccyx and somehow the nerves from that affected my bladder. It’s healed now though. I had the constant feeling of having to go to the toilet too. 

 

Take care, sending hugs🤗

[LD35]

Topic title:  Waves during the day (Hope to hear something calming)

 

See my signature for full story.

 

My bladder issues have gotten A LOT worse since i withdrawed from Sertraline. A constant feeling of a full bladder, it doesn't matter if I got to the bathroom or not, the feeling doesn't go away, and my bladder is empty. 

 

The "urgency feeling" is worse than before sertraline, but during the day "attacks" comes in waves,

how long varies from day to day. sometimes 3-4 hours, other times 6-8 hours. During those attacks it's a torture I can't describe.  

 

I'm sooo scared I have to live with this, and it won't go away. i.e permanent damage. 

 

It's around two months since I took my last sertraline. 

 

I understand most people who are active here are people with withdrawal symptoms. And those that don't have any symptoms anymore probably don't write here. 

I just wish it could become just a little bit better, it's easier to cope with when you see the "light" at the end of the tunnel. If there are any

 

Best regards LD35

 

 

Edited July 14, 2019 by ChessieCat
added topic title

[LD35]

On 6/27/2019 at 12:07 PM, Carmie said:

Hi LD, 

 

Just popping in to see how you’re doing. I’m really sorry you have  bladder problems. I don’t know anything much about Lyme disease, but I have CFS and a lot of the symptoms are the same. You said you think the problems with your bladder is due to nerve damage from your illness. Do you know if the nerve damage is repairable?

 

I had severe bladder problems years ago because of a rollerblading accident. I damaged my coccyx and somehow the nerves from that affected my bladder. It’s healed now though. I had the constant feeling of having to go to the toilet too. 

 

Take care, sending hugs🤗

 

Unfortunately not better  

I'm not sure if it's nerve damage. I had the characteristic rash from lyme disease, and tests (Elisa IgG IgM) pointed in that direction. And some of my symptoms almost vanished after ab, and some got better with time.

 

But now I'm most worried about the withdrawal symptoms from Sertraline, which made my bladder issues A LOT worse. When it's worst during the day, It's so painful, I can't find a good way to cope with it, and of course it makes me worried, sad, scared

 

Thank you for your answer, and the hugs.

 

 

 

[Carmie]

Hi LD35, 

 

I’m really sorry to hear that your bladder problems have gotten worse, that must be so frustrating for you. If it was originally caused from Lyme disease I wonder if you totally heal from it if the bladder problem will go away? I guess only time will tell. 

 

If you think having cold turkeyed your meds has ramped up the symptoms, sometimes a tiny reinstating of the medication might help, especially if it’s done within three months of going off the meds. By tiny, I mean something like 0.25mg to start off with. It might not help, occasionally it can make matters worse, but reinstatements have helped a lot of people. If you decide to do it the sooner the better. Only you can make the decision. 

 

Could you please put the date of when you cold turkeyed the Sertraline in your signature, Thank you💚

 

[ChessieCat]

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

[LD35]

Topic yitle:  Symptoms varies in intensity during the day?

 

For around two months since I stopped using Sertraline/Zoloft I've had bladder issues (A frequent urgency feeling)

But it varies during the days, for the last couple of weeks it's extreme from when I wake up and 3-7 hours, after that it calms down considerably.

 

Is it the same for you? of course your symptom doesn't have to be bladder related.

 

Edited July 20, 2019 by ChessieCat
added topic title

[ChessieCat]

Here's some 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.  That's why it's possible to experience such a vast array of withdrawal symptoms, and they can change, and be of different intensity.

 

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

 

These explain it really well:

 

Video:  Healing From Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery

 

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.