Arthur: looking for insight

[Arthur]

I take my trilpetal at 10 am and 10 pm

[Arthur]

I’ve been diagnosed with post traumatic trigeminal neuropathy.. my face burns 24/7.. my drug history is below..  the nerve damage was there before I started on antidepressants and have weaned off of lexipro as it is not the drug of choice to treat my condition.. the drs want to use a Trycyclic antidepressant for the constant burning.. 10 mg.. I’m inclined to start at 5 because of my lexipro withdrawal.. I’ve been off lexipro for 4 months.. My question is this.. could the 24/7 facial burning be a side effect of coming off of the lexipro.. I don’t know what to think and want to proceed cautiously but the burning has been there for the for awhile and when I go off the meds it always comes back hard..

[ShiningLight]

Yes it can.

[Arthur]

Pray for me then as I give this medication a try..

[Shep]

On 11/9/2019 at 9:55 AM, Arthur said:

I’ve been diagnosed with post traumatic trigeminal neuropathy.. my face burns 24/7.. my drug history is below..  the nerve damage was there before I started on antidepressants and have weaned off of lexipro as it is not the drug of choice to treat my condition.. the drs want to use a Trycyclic antidepressant for the constant burning.. 10 mg.. I’m inclined to start at 5 because of my lexipro withdrawal.. I’ve been off lexipro for 4 months.. My question is this.. could the 24/7 facial burning be a side effect of coming off of the lexipro.. I don’t know what to think and want to proceed cautiously but the burning has been there for the for awhile and when I go off the meds it always comes back hard..

 

Arthur, I merged this post in with your Introductions thread. Please keep posting in this thread so all of your information is in one place.

 

As ShiningLight posted,  burning sensations can be a withdrawal symptom from coming off Lexapro. Please see:

 

Burning skin, burning feet

 

On 11/9/2019 at 9:55 AM, Arthur said:

the drs want to use a Trycyclic antidepressant for the constant burning.. 10 mg..

 

Burning sensations are also a withdrawal symptom from tricyclic antidepressants, as well. 

 

Many of your posts are about starting new drugs or treatments - amitriptyline, cymbalta, testosterone, ECT, etc. And you didn't want to reinstate Lexapro, which is the best way to handle withdrawal symptoms.

 

Please note we are a web forum dedicated to helping people come off these drugs, not set up new drug cocktails. If you wish to discuss going on different drugs, there are more suitable web forums, such as depressionforums.org  or patientslikeme.com. 

 

There are ways of calming the nervous system down without adding in more drugs. We don't recommend a lot of supplements, as many members report their nervous systems are simply too fragile to handle them. However, magnesium and fish oil tend to be calming to the nervous system and many people report they do help. Please only add in one supplement at a time and at a small dose. For more, please see:

 

 King of supplements: Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil)

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker

 

On 9/27/2019 at 5:22 PM, Arthur said:

I have health anxiety and it is killing me.

 

Did you have this prior to withdrawal? 

 

For ways of coping, please see:

 

Health anxiety, hypochondria, and obsession with symptoms

[Arthur]

Yes.. I’ve had this before withdrawal.. cannabis really helped my depression.. now it gives me anxiety ..I’m just really frustrated with the care I’ve been given with my pain.. all of this was before I went thru withdrawal trying to get back to baseline to try new treatments.. I’m sorry to waste everyone’s time.. i will probably take your advice and reintroduce a small amount of lexipro..I’m taking magnesium and fish oil and they help with sleep but the burning is in my specific points of my face and the pain has turned my mind into a psychotic mess of ptsd fear and paranoia.. I’m in a catch 22 of chronic pain caused by nerve damage and psychiatric drug withdrawal.. I’ve looked into stem cell.. done acupuncture.. I have a constant ringing in my head that drives me crazy.. tuff spot to be in.. I wish I had found this place 3 yrs ago when my dr took me off lexipro in 3 days..

[Arthur]

Ok.. so i am going to take everyone’s advice and reinstate at .5 mg for a week.. my symptoms are not getting better and I think they may have to do with the withdrawal from the lexapro.. any advice from here on out would be greatly appreciated.. should I reinstate in the am or pm?? I’m going to hold on the trilpetal and try and stabilize or see if it is the lexipro that is causing the problem.. thank you everyone.. I will practice patience as much as my rattled brain will allow me..🙏

[Gridley]

18 minutes ago, Arthur said:

should I reinstate in the am or pm??

When did you take it before?  Lexapro is an activating drug and, for sleep purposes, it's generally better to take it in the a.m.

[Arthur]

At night but I was also smoking a lot of cannabis at the time..

[Gridley]

1 hour ago, Arthur said:

At night

 

I'd suggest you reinstate your dose in the morning.

[Arthur]

Ok

[Arthur]

At what rate should I go up if I suffer no adverse affects..I need to try to stabilize alittle I order to have some semblance of life..

[Gridley]

2 hours ago, Arthur said:

At what rate should I go up

 

The purpose of reinstatement is not to eliminate symptoms but make them more tolerable.  It takes about a week to see how 0.5mg works for you.

If 0.5 mitigates your symptoms, you should hold there.  These drugs are powerful (and Lexapro is the strongest) and if you take too much you can end up destabilizing your system further.  If after a week or so you notice no lessening of symptoms, you could increase by another 0.5.

 

It's a good idea to keep daily notes on paper of your symptoms to see how your reinstatement is going. 

[Arthur]

Does anyone else have constant 24/7 jaw pain from this.. my anxiety is just non stop 24/7.. and the face tension is making my tinnitus 20 times worse..

[Altostrata]

Are you taking 0.5mg Lexapro? How long have you been taking it, at what time of day? What has been the effect?

 

When did the jaw pain start? Are you clenching your teeth? See

 

 

[Arthur]

I’ve been having them for 3 years.. they all started after I was taken off

lexapro in 3 days then put back on after a month.. it may have nothing to do with withdrawal.. I’m taking nothing but the trilpetal at 47 mg

[Arthur]

I’m also having tingling and numbness over the whole from of my nose and face..??

My symptoms are there constantly but my anxiety seems to go down alittle at night 

[Arthur]

I spend pretty much all of my days either going to work or laying on the couch trying to deal with the way I feel and the pain..constantly shaking my foot.. constant facial tension..

[Arthur]

Sorry to bombard people but I wake up between 3 and 4 pretty much nightly.. and have a very hard time going back to sleep.. I wake up and immediately start to ruminate over the torture I’m gonna have to be in.. I know I have to accept these things but it is harder than anything I’ve had to deal with.. I take the trileptal at 10 am and 10 pm daily..  I am scared to reinstate the lexapro.. I’ve lost all my morals and have nerve pain from the extractions as well.. in a tough spot..

[Altostrata]

You need to get a bite guard. It sounds like your jaw symptoms are iatrogenic.

 

What happened when you took 0.5mg Lexapro?

 

Does Trileptal help? How do you feel before and after you take it?

 

Waking up between 3 and 4 a.m. is common when your nervous system is sensitized by withdrawal. See 

 

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

 

Path to Better Sleep FREE online for everyone from the US Veterans Administration

 

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

 

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

Waking with panic or anxiety -- managing cortisol spikes

 

 

Darkening your bedroom with blackout curtains and shades so the morning light doesn't come through can reduce the stimulation that causes early-morning waking.

[Arthur]

Yes... I understand this.. I’m in a Dilemma that I also have an injury because of botched dental work that damaged my trigeminal nerve because I have nerve pain before I ever went on antidepressants..over filling of root canals and damaged lingual nerve... I was too scared to take the .5 of lexapro..after I take the trilpetal I feel stupid and alittle tired..it helps get me to sleep alittle.. even tho last night I passed out at around 930 before I’m supposed to take it and slept till 1145 and then took it as soon as is realized.. before I take it my body shakes alittle internally..

[Arthur]

I shake my leg constantly out of distress

[Arthur]

I can’t remember anything but trauma.. I’ve dealt with so much physical trauma and emotional trauma before the meds.. I’m going to see a natural facial pain dr who is gonna make me a mouth guard to relax my facial muscles and a new denture that will let me chew properly.. when I came off lexapro this last time I completely underestimated the power of these drugs and didn’t find you guys till I’d been off.. I think the cannabis withdrawal as well is really compounding things as that is what I used to combat anxiety then when I stopped the lexapro it started giving me anxiety 

[Altostrata]

Please answer my questions.

[Arthur]

Sorry.. trileptal helps get me to sleep..I took .5 lexapro and it made me feel alittle manic.. took it in the am.. made my tinnitus worse.. but I think I’ve been psycing my self out with worse case Scenarios.. I’ve  been too scared to reinstate the lexapro  further and have things be worse as I cannot handle much worse..sleep is the number one priority for me at the moment.. honestly tho i don’t know how I feel if that makes any sense.. I know I feel like poop my jaw hurts 24:7 and my cheeks and the sink on my sinus and upper lips burn.. in November of last year I came off Ativan.. in December of last year I came off gabapentin and in August of this year I quit cannabis and lexapro.. came off too many drugs too fast.. my body is constantly vibrating internally.. I’m going to start keeping an accurate journal on my symptoms.. thank you for your time..

[Altostrata]

Please keep daily notes of times of day you take your drugs, their dosages, and your symptoms throughout the day. You can post 24 hours of notes at a time in this topic, with a simple list format with time of day on the left and notation (symptom or drug and dosage) on the right, like this:

 

Quote

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

 

Please include your sleep pattern in your daily drug and symptom notes.

[Arthur]

3 pm drama in family 

anxiety all day nerve pain left jaw from nerve injury

7pm anxiety starting to settle less nerve pain in jaw but always there

9pm getting alittle more ramped up

10 pm melatonin and 47 mg trilpetal 

1 am wake up .. pee take coffea crudda

3 am wake up..pee

455 wake up.. pee

stay up and just lay in bed and try and stay calm. Trouble with anything loud .call out from work.. muscles too tired. Exhausted.. pain in jaw.. cry depression not wanting to live like this anymore m..

10 eat oatmeal and take 47 mg trilpetal..

Anxiety all day work.. sadness can’t stop moving..

7 pm start to settle alittle

less anxiety

10 pm ready for bed 47 mg trilpetal and 3 mg melatonin 

 

 

 

[Arthur]

I’ve been in a constant aggravated depression for 3 months now.. Im losing my mind.. the mornings are terrible..

1 amTake 3 drops cbd

4 am wake up take coffea crudda 

wake  up 6 am jaw aching 

pacing all morning

10 am eat take 47 mg trilpetal 

Work... anxiety all day 

pain headache.. lingual nerve pain teeth pain

 restlessness.. eating tho.. pain in sinus and neck.. the trileptal and lack of sleep and facial pain make me crave carbs

ate chicken sandwich headache.. lay down and just be with the pain.. bad mental imaging 

5 pm Tylenol 500 heat pack for neck..

im pain but settling down..

630 headache fading feeling as good as I do generally anxiety easing

I think the trilpetal is hurting more than helping in noticing a pattern that as the trilpetal wears off my pain in my face is the same but my anxiety goes down maybe just lowering of cortisol??

945 fall asleep 

12 take  47mg trilpetal 

330 wake up take coffea cruda 

6am wake up

[Arthur]

Should I try a .5 reinstallment and see if it can reduce withdrawal symptoms? I’ve really been educating myself thru this site and have learned a ton.. I scare my self being in the mental state I am in.. I have two children and a wife.. and before I was on the medication I was a loose cannon to say the least.. 

[Altostrata]

What do you mean by a loose cannon?

 

You've never tried a very small amount of SSRI, correct? What dosages of Remeron and Paxil were you on?

 

Do you have any Lexapro left?

[Arthur]

I’ve always had Debilitating anxiety attacks and anger management problems from a bad upbringing.. parents fought constantly.. I Need to update my signature.. I was was on Amytypiline 10mg for 2 days at 10 mg and 20 mg Prozac for 2 days.. the Prozac made me feel like I was on speed.. the amytypline did help sleep.. at this time I had also quite cannabis after years of use as it was giving me panic.. can you be stuck in a wave at the beginning for 3 months??

[Arthur]

1030 pm take 47 mg trilpetal 

wake up 530 am can’t believe I slept 6.5 straight hours!!!

morning still hard.. lay in bed in and out till 945..ruminating over what I’m going to do over face and back pain..

1030 am 47 mg trilpetal and 600 mg fish oil

1130 trilpetal makes me get eye floaters alittle 

1230 work . I put horse shoes on horses... till 4. Thank god im self employed or I’d be screwed

not bad day.. (( I think fish oil helps as this is my second day))

4 pm talk to friend have good conversation 

930 pm sleep

1130 wake up take 3 mg melatonin and 47 mg trilpetal 

130 wake up

430 wake up song looping

my life is really becoming unmanageable 

my Psychiatrist prescribed me lamictal.. 

would a small dose help with the insomnia and constant stress.. I need alittle help with this.. it’s torture

[Arthur]

I’m having terrible memory problems..

[Shep]

 

On 11/24/2019 at 9:53 AM, Arthur said:

945 fall asleep 

12 take  47mg trilpetal 

 

23 hours ago, Arthur said:

930 pm sleep

1130 wake up take 3 mg melatonin and 47 mg trilpetal 

130 wake up

 

 

Arthur, you may want to move your trileptal dose to 9:30 instead of midnight, since you may have a regular sleep pattern that allows you to fall asleep earlier. 

 

Your melatonin dose is high, which could be causing a paradoxical reaction, leading you to wake up a couple hours after taking it. Also, you mention depression being a problem. Too much melatonin can cause this or make it worse. For more on melatonin (including the dose), please see:

 

Melatonin for sleep

 

On 4/6/2011 at 9:26 PM, Altostrata said:

Here's how to re-establish your sleep cycle with melatonin:

- Start with .25mg-.50mg melatonin for 3-4 days.

- Take at the same time, nightfall (but, given that it's summer, not later than 8 p.m.), every night.

- If needed, gradually increase by .25mg for 3-4 days at a time.

- Use the lowest effective dose.

- Try to turn lights off or keep lights low after sundown. Your bedroom should be quiet and dark. Darkness triggers natural melatonin production. Artificial lighting, including staring into the computer, can give the wrong signal to your pineal gland. STAY OFF THE COMPUTER AT NIGHT.

- Keep to a very regular schedule -- this is what your circadian rhythm needs.

- Do NOT take melatonin regularly at any time but nightfall or you might scramble your sleep-wake cycle.

 

 

[Altostrata]

On 11/27/2019 at 6:36 AM, Arthur said:

my life is really becoming unmanageable 

 

Why do you say your life is becoming unmanageable when you've just reported pretty good sleep and a fairly good day?

 

On 11/27/2019 at 6:36 AM, Arthur said:

my Psychiatrist prescribed me lamictal.. 

would a small dose help with the insomnia and constant stress.. I need alittle help with this.. it’s torture

 

You've got to let your sleep improve. You've seen it improve. We keep telling you to be patient. What we mean is it will take weeks, not days, or months, not weeks, to see improvement.

 

Did you ever see a benefit from Trileptal? Like Lamictal, it is an anti-seizure drug.

 

On 11/27/2019 at 7:31 AM, Arthur said:

I’m having terrible memory problems..

 

This may be a side effect of Trileptal.

 

On 11/27/2019 at 6:36 AM, Arthur said:

1130 wake up take 3 mg melatonin and 47 mg trilpetal 

 

As @Shep said, you may wish to take melatonin and Trileptal earlier. You must take your drugs on a regular schedule, or we can't interpret your symptom pattern notes.

 

If you're taking your drugs irregularly, you may be causing some of the symptoms you're reporting. You need to pick a schedule and stick to it.

[Arthur]

I’m just in constant pain.. I know you are right.. need to do something about the pain..