Birdsong76: Lexapro, you weren’t good to me

[Birdsong76]

Hi Everyone!

 

I’m so glad I found this forum. I hope it’s the right one for me. I came here because an antidepressant was the start of my problems. Also, I have been unable to find a forum just for people trying to get off mood stabilizers. 

 

I was put on 10 mg of Lexapro at age 36 during a moderate depression in 2004. Before long, I was told that I had a “mood disorder NOS” and 600mg lithium was added in. Eventually, I was told I had Bipolar 2 Disorder, dropped Lexapro, and 100mg Lamictal was added.

 

I think it’s very odd to be diagnosed with BD2 at age 41. 
 

I happened across videos by a lovely man, Dr Peter Breggin. Before long, I showed them to my husband. We both knew that we had to get his book and get me off these toxins! My psychiatrist reluctantly agreed to go along with us. He called Dr Breggin an “outlier”. 
 

My taper began March 11, 2020. I took my last pills on May 14, 2020. I had a very uncomfortable week in the middle of April, but otherwise was holding it together pretty well. About two weeks after I took my last pills, I began to have more symptoms. I haven’t had a normal day since. It’s been about three weeks of ups and downs. I’m waiting for “normal“ to come back.

 

I have had these symptoms:

 

-hypomania in the form of over-talkativeness, scattered energy, and insomnia

-anxiety, frequent but fleeting panic attacks

-depression symptoms that affect the body, such as tiredness, low motivation, sensitivity to lack of sun. I have not felt the hopelessness or  despair I had when I was diagnosed with depression in 2004. 
-I have light headaches when I feel depression symptoms.

-I have heard a “buzzing” in my head, only for one day though.

-I struggle to drive further than my local small grocery store. I fear highways. It’s almost as if I’m a student driver. I’ve gotten mixed up a few times. (I’ve driven for 32 years with a good record.)
 

I hope to gain some helpful information here and I hope I can help others. I feel rather alone, knowing nobody else in person who has gone through this. Sometimes my family doesn’t seem to really get what’s going on with me, though I try to explain again and again. My husband is a treasure! He was the one who adjusted my meds for me and filled the boxes every Tuesday night. May God bless him for it! He is the wind beneath my wings. ❤️

[Altostrata]

Welcome, Birdsong.

 

On 6/23/2020 at 2:57 PM, Birdsong76 said:

Eventually, I was told I had Bipolar 2 Disorder, dropped Lexapro, and 100mg Lamictal was added.

 

When did you go off Lexapro? How long have you been taking Lamictal?

 

How did you go off lithium and Lamictal?

[Birdsong76]

I went off Lexapro in 2008.
 

I weaned off of lithium and Lamictal by following the instructions in the book, Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal by Peter R Breggin MD. My husband did the calculations. I think it was 8% less each week. I believe he alternated dropping each one, so that both weren’t being dropped the same week. I decided to stop them three weeks ahead of schedule. At the time, I was on 150mg lithium and 25mg Lamictal.

 

I’m thankful that my husband did the figuring, and wore the pharmacist hat 😉 in the measurements as I would have struggled to figure it out on my own, especially after the withdrawal symptoms began one month into the taper.

I’m happy to report that I’ve had five days of “normal“ as of today. 🙂 I also had a lovely three weeks of “normal” between two unstable periods. That’s encouraging. 

[Altostrata]

On 6/23/2020 at 2:57 PM, Birdsong76 said:

My taper began March 11, 2020. I took my last pills on May 14, 2020.

 

So you went off 750mg lithium and 100mg Lamictal in 2 months? What's your sleep pattern? Please let us know how you're doing.

 

Many 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/

 

You might try a little bit of one at a time to see how it affects you.

 

Please update your signature with the dates you started and stopped drugs.