BBS01: tired of feeling anxious

[BBS01]

I have been on antidepressants for 15 years. I done ok for years. February of 2017 I had a major breakdown. Anxiety through the roof. Pacing in yard, couldn’t lie down.  I was started on Effexor xl  and Klonopin. This was a slow go of going up on the Effexor. I got up to 150 mg on the Effexor and I didn’t take Klonopin unless I had to. In March  I had to have a sleep study and Dr wanted me off the Effexor. Well I got down to 37.5 but couldn’t stop due to anxiety being so bad. I went back up to 75 mg and had sleep study,. I was doing good on the 75 mg and did not want to go back up. In May I had a break through panic attack. My panic attacks don’t last hours they last days. I went back to my Dr. she wanted me to wean back down to Effexor 37.5 mg for 2 months. Then the second month start Zoloft 50mg. So I have been off Effexor for 3 weeks and on Zoloft 50mg and Klonopin. 5mg twice a day.  At the start of this week 6-15-19. I woke up anxious, mind racing. Agitated,  irritable   and feel like I have electricity going through my body, shaking. I call Dr she increase my Zoloft to 75mg. I ask if it could be Effexor she said no. By the weekend I was over the edge. Crying and beyond miserable. So I took a 37.5 Effexor I had left over and it helped. Today all I had was a 150 mg Effexor. I poured out half the beads an took it. I still feel like I have a electric charge and anxious but not as bad as it has been. I’m so tired of Effexor and what it has done to me. I don’t want to go back on it but I cannot work or function daily when I feel anxious, irritated, agitated, sensitive to light and sounds. Please help. Why does my Dr not think this is from the Effexor? 

[Dejavu]

Hi BBS01, and welcome to SA. You will find a great deal of information and support here. This is your intro topic. You will post all information and questions about your personal journey here.

 

First things first: can you please complete and post your drug signature? Please include all drugs you have taken in the past two years, as well as dates and dosages. Do not include symptoms or diagnoses. This signature will appear at the bottom of each future post you make, so that the mods, mentors and members can see your entire history at a glance, and will be better able to help you. Below is a link to adding your signature:

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/settings/signature/

 

I am glad you found us before going any further down the polydrugging path. Most doctors know little about psychiatric drug withdrawal syndrome. The information they do have was given them by the drug companies themselves, which is why adverse reactions and withdrawal symptoms are not widely recognized. Because of this, many doctors try to "cover" withdrawal from one drug by prescribing another, which often does not work. Withdrawal symptoms are often misdiagnosed as a recurrence of your original condition, which results in - of course - still more meds. 

 

Your breakdown in 2017 may well have been tachyphalaxis, or what we call "poop out" of your antidepressant. Here is a link on that:

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/17909-are-we-there-yet-how-long-is-withdrawal-going-to-take/?do=findComment&comment=354114

 

As far as your current situation is concerned, it sounds like you are in withdrawal from effexor that the zoloft isn't covering. This is evident by the fact that you felt a bit better after a reinstatement of effexor. However, I'm not clear about how much you took. 75 mg, perhaps? We need to see your drug signature before we can make any suggestions for you going forward. It may be that 75 mg is too high a reinstatement dose. People often find that a tiny dose is all they need to mitigate their symptoms. 

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/7562-about-reinstating-and-stabilizing-to-reduce-withdrawal-symptoms/

 

After you have the the links above and created your signature, we will be able to fully assess your situation and make suggestions.

 

You will heal, but it will take some time, patience and self-care. More on that later. For now, welcome again to SA. You are among friends here who understand what you're going through.