rilexapro: Problems with APRN, led to problems with Lexapro.

[ChessieCat]

32 minutes ago, rilexapro said:

Can Lexapro cause chronic CRP/ANA/ESR levels?

 

I did a search on the internet and found the following but I have not read it thoroughly:

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3117562/

 

 

Quote

Results:

On baseline comparison between cases and controls, there were significant increases in the levels of CRP (P = 0.014), ESR (P = 0.023) and WBC count (P = 0.020) in cases. In fluoxetine (20 mg/day) treatment group, there was a significant reduction in the levels of CRP (P = 0.046), ESR (P = 0.043) and WBC count (P = 0.021) after 2 months of treatment but no significant reduction in HRSD scale (P = 0.190). Similarly, in escitalopram treatment group, there was a significant reduction in CRP (P = 0.041), ESR (P = 0.030) and WBC count (P = 0.017) after 2 months of treatment but no significant reduction in HRSD scale (P = 0.169).

 

 

[rilexapro]

1 hour ago, ChessieCat said:

 

I did a search on the internet and found the following but I have not read it thoroughly:

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3117562/

 

 

 

 

 

Study you linked seems to say SSRIs can help with some inflammatory markers but not all of them. I think it's unlikely to be the cause of this. I read sometimes psych meds can cause a lupus-type reaction, but once the med is out of the person's system, it almost always resolves itself.

 

I also haven't been on Lexapro since October 2020, seems very unlikely to cause inflammatory problems and flare ups almost 2 years later.

[ChessieCat]

Experiencing withdrawal symptoms from a psychiatric drug can cause your nervous system to become destabilised or perhaps not totally but just more sensitised.  When this happens, even after a couple of years, any extra stress on your system might make you more susceptible to contracting anything which involves your immune system.

[rilexapro]

3 hours ago, ChessieCat said:

Experiencing withdrawal symptoms from a psychiatric drug can cause your nervous system to become destabilised or perhaps not totally but just more sensitised.  When this happens, even after a couple of years, any extra stress on your system might make you more susceptible to contracting anything which involves your immune system.

That makes sense, yeah. It's possible my immune system was bad due to things such as SSRI usage and I caught something.

[Matata44]

On 6/28/2022 at 10:53 PM, rilexapro said:

That makes sense, yeah. It's possible my immune system was bad due to things such as SSRI usage and I caught something.

How are u feeling now?

[rilexapro]

8 hours ago, Matata44 said:

How are u feeling now?

 

Actually quite better compared to around Christmas 2021. The intense periods of body weakness and fatigue don't happen anymore. Word/name recall isn't perfect but is better recently. Nerve problems persist but that's probably due to the antibodies.

 

The emotional/sexual blunting could be from the inflammation, and not the SSRIs, as Lexapro never caused me to lose sex drive.

[rilexapro]

How dangerous is 30mg Lexapro? I read most psych practitioners don't give that sort of dosage, is giving that to a patient illegal or puts the person at risk of losing their license? 

[ChessieCat]

14 minutes ago, rilexapro said:

How dangerous is 30mg Lexapro? I read most psych practitioners don't give that sort of dosage, is giving that to a patient illegal or puts the person at risk of losing their license? 

 

filing-a-complaint-about-your-doctor

 

 

I did a search for 30 on this webpage and found nothing.  I wanted to double check because sometimes they give different doses for different diagnoses.

 

From:  https://www.drugs.com/lexapro.html#dosage

 

Dosing information

Usual Adult Dose for Generalized Anxiety Disorder:

Initial dose: 10 mg orally once a day; increase if necessary after at least 1 week of treatment to 20 mg once a day
Maintenance dose: 10 to 20 mg orally once a day
Maximum dose: 20 mg orally once a day

 

 

 

[rilexapro]

17 minutes ago, ChessieCat said:

 

filing-a-complaint-about-your-doctor

 

 

I did a search for 30 on this webpage and found nothing.  I wanted to double check because sometimes they give different doses for different diagnoses.

 

From:  https://www.drugs.com/lexapro.html#dosage

 

Dosing information

Usual Adult Dose for Generalized Anxiety Disorder:

Initial dose: 10 mg orally once a day; increase if necessary after at least 1 week of treatment to 20 mg once a day
Maintenance dose: 10 to 20 mg orally once a day
Maximum dose: 20 mg orally once a day

 

 

 

 

I've read higher doses of an SSRI long-term can cause things like this (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torsades_de_pointes) but I don't know if QT interval problems resolve once the medication is no longer taken.

[rilexapro]

Still here, inflammation is down a lot, but my head still feels swimmy and my mood is blunted along with sex drive still. Memory is still bad. Had a bad inflammation flare up last week but now I'm better.

[rilexapro]

Wondering again if taking 5-HTP during withdrawal was a mistake. I've read people do it, but I've also heard it's wrong to do that. I don't know what to believe.

[rilexapro]

Well, it's been around 2 years almost since this began for me, and the nerve problems are still here. I'm guessing that's permanent. Wonderful.

 

Memory's a little better, I guess, but blunted emotions are still there. I still get slight body inflammation feeling every so often but not nearly as much as last year or even 4 months ago. The last awful flare up was a month ago. 

 

I still don't have a known cause for this. I know cold turkey'ing 30mg Lexapro like I did was reckless. I should have reconvened with the psych NP as soon as possible, and weaned myself off. I was in a bad state of mind at the time and didn't do that. I shouldn't have tried 5-HTP and melatonin either. I still would be surprised if serotonin syndrome is the cause, but I just don't know for sure what the cause is. I don't think it's fair at all to have permanent damage from a mistake that only harmed me and nobody else. What should I do if that's the case? What's the point? People do hard drugs, party, get drunk every week, etc, and are fine at the end of it. I have a mental disease that I didn't choose to have, and that took most of my youth, and I permanent health problems. That's nice.

 

As for the complaints I filed, the Texas BON did nothing (and the lady there actually got rude with me), and it seems RI DOH did nothing either. Adding insult to injury.

[rilexapro]

Still dealing with dizziness, neck stiffness, emotional blunting, and neuropathy on the left side. Gabapentin is helping.

 

Was I wrong to try and reinstate 10mg Lexapro? I thought it would stabilize my withdrawal, and I could taper down from there. Can anybody look at my initial post and tell me if I did the wrong thing? 

[rilexapro]

Shot in the dark, but does anybody here know anybody that works in medmal? 

[Happy2Heal]

On 8/9/2021 at 3:28 PM, rilexapro said:

30mg must be overload. I wonder if being on such a high dosage, and not being tapered off, and then my brain getting a high dosage all of a sudden again, caused real non-temporary damage. I hope not.

 

yes 30mgs IS a lot, however, roughly 8 yrs after the drug was released on the market in the US, researchers were doing trials with doses up to 60mgs per day. 

IIRC the trials lasted up to 36 mos.

Roughly half the patients couldn't tolerate the side effects, so dropped out of the trials. 

Wanna know why they were using such high doses? yep, because the lower ones weren't working. why is that? because these drugs are often no more "effective" than a placebo!! 

 

 

anyway,

Further studies showed that there was NO benefit to taking more than 20mgs. it was at this point that my insurance, also medicaid, refused to fill my prescriptions for more than 20mgs. the dr didn't want to do the paperwork to try to justify a higher dose.

 

You are not alone in taking high doses of this drug. For about 6 mos I was taking 40mgs. & I was on 30mgs for several years

 

this is my history with lexapro:

**started lexapro 2002, dose varied from 20mgs to 40mgs. I tried to get off it several times. WD symptoms were mistaken for "relapse". 

 

 **2013 too fast taper down to 5mg but WD forced me back to 20mgs

 

 **June of 2105, tapered again too rapidly to 2.5mgs by Dec 2015. Found SA, held at 2.5 mgs til May 2016 when I foolishly "jumped off". Crashed in Sept, reinstated at 0.3mgs in Oct. 2106

 

**Tapered off to zero by  Oct. 2017 Doing very well

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

yes I am another one of the many who did not taper properly I didn't know any better. And even when I did, I still screwed up LOL

but guess what?

 

I have fully recovered. You will too

 

There is a reason why going off 30 mgs did not affect you as much as going off a lower dose did. I don't have the time to look for it, but there is a chart on this forum somewhere that shows how these drugs occupy certain receptors in your brain Try searching for CERT receptors or something like that. I probably have it saved somewhere but not time to look for it now

ANYWAY

once these receptors are fully saturated/occupied, it is impossible for the drug to have any additional benefit

Those were most likely the studies that were used to put a cap on the max dose a dr could prescribe.

 

Lexapro is SO strong that when you stop taking it, it can take a full 3 mos before your brain even notices its not there any more

and even then, the symptoms of withdrawal are not that bad.

It is when you get to the LOWER doses, that is when the withdrawal symptoms hit you hard.

 

 

There are dozens and dozens of cases on this site that demonstrate this, Most folks going off lexapro will tell you to be careful when you get down around 2.5mg

 

but because you were forced off cold turkey, all bets are off as to how your recovery will go, as you have been told many times.  I have read that the average time to recovery for a cold turkey is 18 mos but I have read some that were much shorter. It seems that the worst parts of withdrawal are over in 2 yrs or less and what is left are much more manageable symptoms that can last another couple of years but that do not really interfere with your daily life.

 

 

 

 

I hope you are going out for a 30 min gentle walk each day

 

this will help you a lot, and probably raise your mood

 

Look UP at the sky even if the sun is not out

 

There is science that proves that doing this brings your mood up

 

don't believe me, google it! lol

 

 

 

 

Have you read about the stages of grief? you lost your mom very recently, I am so sorry for your loss!

 

while a lot of what you are going thru is withdrawal (and classic common symptoms at that) some of what you are dealing with is probably grief related

 

you can have physical symptoms from grief. even if you are not feeling sad.

 

I was in my 30s when I lost my dad and I was  a real basket case for 2 years!!  it was the first real loss in my life and it hit me hard. I did a lot of weird things. I was disoriented and had a hard time finding my way around

 

at one point I lost my memory for everything in the past, which you've mentioned, this is a common thing that happens after a loss

 

our brains and our body are connected and work together

~~~~~~~~~~~

so, abrupt change of subject:

what do you do these days for fun?

what things did you used to like to do?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 22, 2022 by Happy2Heal

[rilexapro]

You said I'll recover, but then said since I cold turkeyed, my recovery may not happen. Which one is it?

[Happy2Heal]

36 minutes ago, rilexapro said:

You said I'll recover, but then said since I cold turkeyed, my recovery may not happen. Which one is it?

 

No that is NOT what I said. this is what I wrote:

8 hours ago, Happy2Heal said:

but because you were forced off cold turkey, all bets are off as to how your recovery will go, as you have been told many times.  I have read that the average time to recovery for a cold turkey is 18 mos but I have read some that were much shorter. It seems that the worst parts of withdrawal are over in 2 yrs or less and what is left are much more manageable symptoms that can last another couple of years but that do not really interfere with your daily life.

 

 

the point I was trying to make is that there may not be the same pattern to recovery as there is for those who are tapering, that's all

 

It is interesting that you are so determined to believe that you will not recover.

 

I have a little fortune from a chinese fortune cookie that says "we are what we think"

 

if you think you will not recover, chances are you will not see that you are recovering and will go on believing that you are doomed

 

everyone has told you repeatedly that RECOVERY is the RULE and NOT the exception.

 

You can chose to think you are the exception but I don't see what good that is going to do you.

 

I just went thru something like this myself.

I was defending my being worried and upset that I can't get thru to people about dangerous these drugs are, and I was feeling overwhelmed that I couldn't convince a friend to be careful not to put her teenager daughter on more drugs, because she's not being told the truth about them. 

I was so upset. Someone told me that I shouldn't punish myself when/if my warnings are ignored.

I came back with, I'm not punishing myself, I am concerned, that is who I am! I care about other people!  I feel responsible for others and I always have been this way!

 

well guess what?
There is a lot of faulty thinking on my part when I say those things:

 

I have chosen to feel responsible for other people, this was not something I've been ordered to do, or whatever!! LOL
I do get upset when I seems that what I am doing is not helping but Guess  what? that is also a choice. I can choose to feel upset and worried

OR I can choose to say, well I did my best, I gave them the information, and what they do with it is up to them.

Because we can not control what others do!

so the person who mentioned punishing myself was right: I was making myself miserable and for what? it did no one any good, that's for sure

 

the only thing I can really control is what I do, say, think, or believe

 

It's like the serenity prayer, when  you wish to have the courage to change the things you CAN change, and the serenity to accept the things you cannot change but most of all the wisdom to know the difference.

it's not always easy to see the difference, even for old ladies like me who should probably know better! LOL
 

 

YOu can't change the past , no one can

 

you can fret over whether or not you will recover but odds are overwhelmingly in favor of you recovering

you can choose not to believe that and make yourself miserable thinking about a future that is highly unlikely

 

You may want to spend some time thinking about what you can control and what you can't.

 

You would likely benefit greatly from there therapy to help you change negative thought patterns.

just a suggestion. I wish I had that kind of therapy when I was younger, It could have saved me from a lot of misery I brought on myself 😕

 

 

you might want to find a grief support group. I found one when my dad died and it helped me a LOT!! probably the best group I ever attended. it was free too

 

You never said, what do you do for fun?

 

what did you like to do in the past?

 

let's try to get you out of the past and out of your negative mind set.

it's not helping you at all

and it can get very exhausting for the volunteers and other members here on this forum to give you support and have you kind of throw it away, almost, by refusing to see that things can be better than what you CHOOSE to believe

 

 

we can only do so much.

there are things you can't change

there are things we can't change

 

but there are a LOT of things you CAN do, if you choose to, with all the support you are getting

 

you can choose to stop looking for all the negatives and start looking for what is going right and what things you can to help yourself

 

up to you.

 

Maybe you woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, so hey, lets' start this day over, ok?

 

please I really want to know, what do you do for fun?

 

 

Edited December 22, 2022 by Happy2Heal

[Johni]

 

[Happy2Heal]

@Johni

 

that looks like a different version of the chart I was talking about, thanks for posting it

 

The one I saw was plotted on a graph which for me was a lot easier to understand (I'm not good with numbers but ok with pictures lol)

 

[rilexapro]

1 hour ago, Johni said:

 

 

What exactly am I supposed to do with this information?

 

Lexapro for years caused no issues, to the point that it was just ineffective. Cold turkey'ing like I did wasn't smart, so I thought going back on 10mg to stabilize, and tapering down from there was the safe decision. It has now been over two years of problems. I most likely have permanent neurological problems. No amount of forum posting will fix that. Recovery is impossible for some people if they are damaged badly enough. Some people get PSSD permanently. Recovery is not guaranteed.

 

Looking at the sun or fortune cookies or whatever whatever you suggested will not fix my daily headaches, dizziness, neck stiffness, neuropathy, and memory problems. The fact incompetent nurses are allowed to practice independently without oversight without even being in the state I live in is a disgrace, and my parents didn't care at all this person wasn't helping me. There's no point. Everybody failed me. I shouldn't have to "struggle" with this. I'm 27 years old. Two years of this. I didn't drink or smoke, and I still got this **** thrown at me. I should be able to sue the psych NP that did this into oblivion, but I can't. She berated me, abused me, and neglected me because I got sick. She gets away with that and continues to do whatever she's doing now. She still updates her psychology today page, so I'm guessing she still has her practice. She doesn't live in any of the states she has a license in. How is that allowed?

 

Lexapro is given as a first choice because of how well tolerated it is compared to other SSRIs. There's no guarantee Luvox would have been better even if it's for OCD.

[rilexapro]

Just wanted to leave an update; Most of my problems have healed save for the left-sided neuropathy, memory issues, and blunted emotions. I still get ear ringing every so often but not as much. I no longer get head pressure or dizziness. I thought that issue would never go away.

 

I think I may have mentioned I tested positive for ANAs and a high CRP level. It's possible my issues were from a virus, like COVID. I took Lexapro for many years and it never caused any of these problems, and for it to be this severe really just does not make sense to me. To withdraw at 30mg and have no physical symptoms, and then to reinstate at 10mg for a few weeks and have it cause these issues for almost 3 years now just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I had issues that seemed inflammatory in nature, and something like COVID is an inflammatory, vascular disease.

 

I had also CT'd Lexapro before in previous years and the most reinstatement would do is make me feel spaced-out. Not saying it couldn't be the cause, but it seems just very rare for it to basically make my entire health crap the bed.

 

That being said, I was able to get my records from the NP that I saw for Lexapro med management, so at least I have that. It's unfortunate they basically got away with treating me so badly, though. I don't think I have any legal recourse. She didn't have the record of my appointment in 2020 when I wasn't able to get a refill, even though I did show up for that appointment.

[rilexapro]

Sorry to double post, but is there any evidence of Lexapro causing keratoconus? The keratoconus in my left eye has gotten much worse, and I will now need a corneal transplant to fix the sight.

[andy96gr]

How are you doing now?

[rilexapro]

10 minutes ago, andy96gr said:

How are you doing now?

 

Quite better, actually. I've had some concerning brain MRI results (Mild volume loss caused by encephalomalacia), which isn't fun, but I would say save for left-sided neuropathy, neck stiffness, body pain when I first wake up in the morning, and some lapses in memory, I'm about 85% recovered. Even those issues are a lot better. I never thought it would get better but it has, even if it's not perfect.

 

For what it's worth, I had an EEG done after my recent brain MRI that was clean, most of my testing save for that MRI has been clean, and I've been told by a friend the reason the neurologists aren't that concerned about my MRI results is that is because it's so mild the brain can compensate for it, but I don't know. I'm trying to get a referral to a bigger more important hospital for neurological issues, we'll see how it goes.

 

I actually realized I should get my medical records this year, and I was able to get 10 years worth of medication records, starting in July 2013. I was actually on Risperdal along with Lexapro until 2014, and then I was on Lexapro, Abilify, and Adderall XR until spring 2017. I had completely forgotten about taking Abilify and Adderall, and I didn't remember taking Risperdal for that long.

 

The records don't cover June 2012 to July 2013, when I first was diagnosed with OCD inpatient at a mental hospital, but it covers everything going forward, and a little bit of time before I turned 18 years old. It actually showed I was on 30mg Lexapro before I went to the psych NP I mentioned previously, so she didn't even choose that. I had misremembered. I'm very angry with myself for not doing this sooner, as I know records don't last forever, and I would have had my entire history if I did it last year. I wasn't able to get the records of my original psych MD I saw from 2012 to early 2014, just the nurse I saw after that.

 

From what I remember, my medication regimen from July 2013 to April 2014 was 0.25mg Risperdal and 30mg Lexapro, then from April 2014 to March 2017, it was 30mg Lexapro, 5mg Abilify, and (I believe) 15mg Adderall XR. From what I know those are pretty low dosages for anti-psychotics, so I don't think they left any lasting effects.

I actually had my prolactin levels tested in 2014 and the records still exist, and it was in the normal range. I had it re-tested this year and it was bordering on being out of range but it was still in the normal range. However, my testosterone levels were quite low, with free testosterone being way out of the normal range, so I'm supposed to see an endocrinologist soon about that. Thyroid levels were fine though.

I'm angry with myself I didn't think to get the records earlier, but it covers everything but the first year I was on psych meds as a teenager/young adult. I only started having strange health problems in 2017/2018, so I have about 4 years worth of records before that, which is good enough.

I'm leaning towards COVID being a more likely cause of my issues, but I'm sure what I did didn't help my nervous system very much either. I don't recommend being foolish like me and quitting it cold turkey. I filed ethical complaints with the proper regulatory boards against the psychiatric nurse that dumped me as a patient right when this happened after years of her service, as I do believe she acted very unethical, but nothing came of it, and I was told her licensed expired in one state last year, so she may have retired as a nurse anyway.

[andy96gr]

I'm glad for you my friend,I also did CT because of wrong directionns of My Psycystrists. Im in my 10th month of coming of Lexapro pro CT and Im living in Hell.I really don't know if I'm going to make it ,I believe that gradually im going to die(unless god does any miracle)as I have some very starnge Joint pain that look like an autoimmune disease and I have no family history or had any problem like this in my life before but however if it happens my life is over 😞 Would not be able to manage .I had some blood work done and I'm expecting the results but , at least your message gives a glance of light in this endless dark ,Thank you and wish you improve even more and enjoy every moment.

[andy96gr]

How is your libido now @rilexapro?How much time did it took to be fixed?Are you now functioning normal I,mean can you hang out with people work or go to university etc?

[Farm24]

On 6/28/2022 at 6:33 PM, rilexapro said:

Can anybody tell me if they've seen these results in Lexapro kindling cases or adverse reactions? Can Lexapro cause chronic CRP/ANA/ESR levels?

Actually this is interesting. I had high CRP when I first started taking it. Withdrawl caused a low positive ANA and high CRP/ESR.  I am just starting to stabilize from withdrawl and all of those returned to normal