Seb1992: Dizzy all the time from Sertraline withdrawal?

[Seb1992]

i have lost all hope now. there's no point. all my dreams have been shattered and with the taper i did i can see no way of coming out the other side unscathed. no way of reinstating, no way of healing. i have nothing left. 

[Seb1992]

@Altostrata is it really, definitely hopeless to reinstate 5mg? or would it be risky? my dizzyness came back last week and i feel i cant manage this anymore.

[Altostrata]

6 hours ago, Seb1992 said:

@Altostrata is it really, definitely hopeless to reinstate 5mg? or would it be risky? my dizzyness came back last week and i feel i cant manage this anymore.

 

Low-dose reinstatement is possible, but if you're seeing improvement, it may not be necessary. 

 

Are you constantly dizzy now? What are your most troublesome symptoms now? How's your sleep?

 

How have your symptoms changed in the last 2 months? How do you feel, compared to how you felt in August?

 

[Seb1992]

Thank you for your reply @Altostrata.I seem to be dizzy when I get up and walk around - when walking to work I also have some trouble breathing which I've had before. It's also making me quite tired but I am also not sleeping well.

 

After almost 7 weeks with no dizzyness, the dizzyness/woozyness has reappeared for a few days on and off since September, almost swapping places with my severe anxiety of akathisia. I was on vacation with my family in mid-october and dizzyness appeared a few times but I was still able to go snorkling, windsurfing, bike riding. Even had some good days. I came back to London to restart my life after having to move home and dizzyness returned last monday. It feels as if the on and off again dizzyness was it ramping up to become permanent. Having health anxiety about things like POTS, CFS/ME and blood pressure issues. I  am trying to address the health anxiety with metacognitive behavioural therapy and aware that this is a separate issue for me. 

 

To explain I had a bad nervous breakdown after seeing videos and reading stories of akathisia and had to move home in September because of my fear. Sleep has been consistently bad since end of August when this started  - although i had a few good days last week of basically normal sleep (not sure if this was related to jet lag after vacation). It's back to 3/4am wakeups now. 

Most troubling symptoms now 

Sleep - but hoping it will start to level out. 

Dizzyness/woozyness when walking around. at this stage i am thinking i might need a wheelchair in the future. it's quite bad but my fear and hyper-vigilance doesn't help 

Weird energy in body that i am afraid is akathisia. usually hits in evening and when i wake up and it is uncomfortable and makes me scared to move even the tiniest part of my body so i feel so tense and frozen.

Pains that feel like growing pains but these are liveable and feel very plastic as they move around between legs, feet, arms and fingers.

Jerking and twitching in various parts of body but liveable if i don't react to it.

 

I guess I'm seeing that the dizzyness comes and goes compared to the early summer but it seems it is staying longer now. fear of akathisia is still severe and am worried that it's starting to develop.

 

Worst of all however i feel too involved in the WD process and too informed of the terrible things that can happen. I have almost intrusive thoughts about my taper and dropping off at 25mg. Ruminating a lot about my messed up taper. I have a horrible worry that i am doomed and permanently damaged due to alternating doses for so long. The damage I have done to myself. Extreme guilt, extreme sorrow and so lots of suicidal thinking. 

Can i still heal despite the nature of my taper?

 

[Altostrata]

You will need to manage your health anxiety. See Health anxiety, hypochondria, and obsession with symptoms

 

This is very important, because it affects how you report your symptoms. If you make them sound too alarming, we may give you the wrong suggestions.

 

Your health anxiety can also make your symptoms much worse. You might seek coaching from a psychotherapist or other counselor to learn ways to manage it.

 

It sounds like you have had recent days when you felt very good. This is a sign you are recovering, yet you ignore it. You also have intermittent dizziness instead of intermittent activation, another improvement, but poor sleep.

 

What is your sleep pattern?

 

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 let us know how you’re doing.

 

Also see 

 

The Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

 

"Is it always going to be like this?"

 

The importance of recognizing you're feeling good

 

Creating a new self after withdrawal

[Seb1992]

Hi @Altostrata

 

You are so right, the obsession with how long it will take and permanent damage is holding me back. My goal is to get it under control. I am seeing a psychotherapist and a metacognitive behavioural therapist for this.

 

Dizziness - Could you clarify what you mean by intermittent activation? My dizziness would appear a bit during September but started fluctuating a lot around 25 September I think - I tried some CBD oil for sleep for a few days. Had a single moment of wooziness one day that I admit i clung onto immediately and catastrophised to death. No point in trying to figure out if the CBD caused it but my health anxiety around akathisia and the stress certainly didn't help me the past few months. Dizziness then ebbed and flow: some days it would be there most of the day, some days it would come and go throughout the day, some days it wasn't present where I was probably worried about something else.

 

It has been ongoing since returning to work and my regular life on 25 October. It's quite bad and i am affected when i move my head and move through space but not quite vertigo - I am still able to walk around and stand on one leg etc without falling. Rather than dizziness, I would call it unsteadiness that is uncomfortable which then sparks fear in me.

 

I have two questions: Would you say that these are good signs that I will recover from the dizziness and that it's unnecessary to reinstate? And another thing do you think it's a good sign that i had an almost 2 month long window 3 months into WD after dropping to 0? That's something I'm holding onto for dear life. 

 

Sleep - I take Magnesium around 10pm, go to bed at 11pm, wake up in the middle of the night (3/4 am but have stopped looking) and toss and turn with lots of anxiety in my body for a while but the last week or two I will admit i probably drift off at some point even if it's just an hour. I'm not wide awake for most of the night. My mum who has sleep issues always says you sleep longer than you think you do so holding onto that as truth. During September i would be awake at 3/4 and have to watch TV or scroll through my phone so it's a little different now. Mostly my worry is the body discomfort i have before going to bed and when i wake up, attaching it to akathisia. 

Thank you for sending those links - I am really trying to stay away from reading too much as it triggers me quite a bit. But i want to express my gratitude to you and the rest of the mods and admins for your help, advice and knowledge.

 

 

[Altostrata]

11 hours ago, Seb1992 said:

It's quite bad and i am affected when i move my head and move through space but not quite vertigo - I am still able to walk around and stand on one leg etc without falling. Rather than dizziness, I would call it unsteadiness that is uncomfortable which then sparks fear in me.

 

This sounds like a junior relative to brain zaps. Did you used to get this sensation more frequently?

 

On 11/2/2021 at 2:46 AM, Seb1992 said:

Weird energy in body that i am afraid is akathisia. usually hits in evening and when i wake up and it is uncomfortable

 

Does this happen every evening? At what time o'clock? Where do you sense this in your body?

 

Having windows is a good sign, some symptoms having faded is a good sign, and your sleep is pretty good for withdrawal. These are all good signs. Please put effort into finding a counselor who can help you with the health anxiety.

[Seb1992]

@Altostrata

 

No I don't think I ever had brain zaps just wooziness. It's feeling unsteady when i move through space and more recently when i move my head or shift positions. 

 

You mentioned that my dizziness was intermittent and not intermittent activation. what do you mean by this? Do you think one day it will go away entirely?

 

Re the weird energy - usually happens around 9pm but can happen during the day briefly. i feel it in my legs and sometimes my arms. almost like a buzzing or tingling and it can leave behind like a growing pain type feeling. i get very scared of it and i can start to feel it in other parts of my body. it's not neccessarily a need to move, in fact i get so afraid of it that i freeze and am scared to move even the slightest bit but it does feel uncomfortable.

 

i am terrified of developing akathisia as you might have gathered. 

[Altostrata]

Surges of anxiety or akathisia are activation symptoms.

 

It sounds like you have surges of paresthesia, a common withdrawal symptom. Do you do anything regularly in the evening? Have some caffeine?

 

How have your symptoms changed in the last 3 months?

[Seb1992]

Hi @Altostrata

 

I don't drink caffeine no - it just appears in evening and sometimes during the day. It does seem to come out of nowhere. So this is not akathisia? I don't have anxiety surges out of nowhere, it's usually associated with the fear that dizzyness wont ever go away, that WD will last for years or that i will get akathisia.

 

Symptoms from the last 3 months below. Would love to get your objective opinion on this and particularly if you believe that the dizzyness will resolve completely over time? This is the one question I am turning over and over in my head.

 

August (after 4 months of being at 0)

-Dizzyness disappeared starting 23 July after being fairly constant since Feb. One or two days where I thought it might have re-appeared but went away. 

-Weakness in right arm, numbness and weakness in right leg, some walking difficulties

-Some breathing issues when out of the house (resolved now but sometimes appears)

-Sleep issues begin in late August with increasing anxiety around akathisia and WD

 

September: 

- Dizzyness appears for a few days around beginning of September corresponding to nervous breakdown but resolves.

- Intermittent dizzyness from 24 September

- Weakness in arm resolved, numbness and weakness in leg and difficulty walking persists

- Intense anxiety and unrest related to fear of akathisia, feel very tense, like a knot inside

- Sleep issues all month were consistent

- Twitching and jerking, improves throughout the month

- Heart races easily with movement

 

October:

- Dizzyness intermittent for first half of October, but constant since 25 October. 

- Some numbness and weakness in leg, walking improved

- Intense anxiety and unrest related to fear of akathisia, feel very tense, like a knot inside 

- Sleep issues constant through October but seemingly improving slowly since 25 October 

- Anxiety, rumination, depression 

- Some days of twitching and jerking but improving. 

- Heart racing easily 

- Late october: Weird buzzing energy in legs and arms at night (similar to growing pains) 

 

November: 

- Dizzyness ongoing

- Some numbness and weakness in leg, walking improved (hardly notice this)

- Some days of bad twitching and jerking but doesn't persist.

- Anxiety around akathisia somewhat improving (trying not to think about it much)

- Knot inside body improving 

- Somewhat jumpy in response to touch 

- Heart racing easily somewhat improving (noticing or caring less) 

- Sleep issues somewhat improving 

- Weird buzzing energy in legs and arms at night (similar to growing pains) 

- Anxiety, rumination, depression 

[Seb1992]

@Altostrata I should say, my dizziness was never disabling but uncomfortable. I was still able to exercise with the dizzyness. This wave of dizziness is similar but theres also dizziness when moving head and it feels more visual. 

 

 

[Floss]

I also have the same fear as you and too had a nervous breakdown from it , i was gien 1.5 ativan because of it and now im

worried that may cause it , ive also lost my sleep I believe through such worry over this 

[Altostrata]

It's normal for withdrawal symptoms to appear intermittently and change their pattern.

 

Overall, it appears yours are fading. Dizziness, wooziness, and paresthesias are common withdrawal symptoms.

 

Many people find these to be helpful:

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker 

 

Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) 

 

You might try a low dose of one at a time to see what it does for you.

 

Please learn techniques to manage your health anxiety.

[ChessieCat]

58 minutes ago, Altostrata said:

Please learn techniques to manage your health anxiety.

 

You might find this helpful:

 

https://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/healthanxiety.htm

[Seb1992]

@Altostrata

Thank you. So would you say its unnecessary to reinstate a low dose at this stage? I take magnesium and fish oil already and I am in therapy for health anxiety. 

Dizzyness still ongoing but yesterday had an hour where it wasnt as prominent. 

 

 

[Altostrata]

12 hours ago, Seb1992 said:

So would you say its unnecessary to reinstate a low dose at this stage?

 

We follow the principle of leaving well enough alone. Adding in the drug again may cause other problems.