julesb: I’m at a loss and I'm scared

[JesusSavemefromWD]

4 minutes ago, julesb said:

if this won’t work i’ll just do this taper tomorrow with a different syringe 

You dilute 10mg into 30ml water and take 3ml to drink , thst would still be 1mg of drug. 

[julesb]

Thank you very much for your help 

[JesusSavemefromWD]

16 minutes ago, julesb said:

Thank you very much for your help 

I hope Prozac works for you. Please keep us informed. I am considering Prozac myself ….

[julesb]

Thank you. unfortunately it made my genital numbness worse just 2 days. but i hope we can all we better one day i have a whole life ahead of me and i don’t wish this on anyone. 

[julesb]

when you said to take 1mg was that just for today or do i have to do that for multiple days @Altostrata

[ChessieCat]

  

On 11/25/2021 at 11:58 AM, Altostrata said:

 

a tiny reinstatement of the original drug may help. A very low dose probably will not trigger the adverse effects caused by a higher dose. We've often seen this work. You'd stabilize for a while, then taper by tiny amounts later.

 

 

You take the same dose every day at approximately the same time.

[JesusSavemefromWD]

26 minutes ago, julesb said:

Thank you. unfortunately it made my genital numbness worse just 2 days. but i hope we can all we better one day i have a whole life ahead of me and i don’t wish this on anyone. 

Yea I don’t wish this on my worst enemy but I sometimes am tempted to wish it for the doctors who put me into this torture so they get a taste of this suffering and stop prescribing these meds for no serious reasons. I asked them so many times how safe these drugs are, at the end they got frustrated with me and told me “ just take Zoloft if u want to get rid of ur chest tightness, I am surprised an established neuroscientist like you - (I was working as a neuroscientist before zoloft nightmare started) - doubts medicine and FDA approved drugs.” I was sold, I took it and it was the beginning of hell thst I am still going through ….., I hope u get some benefit from Prozac and be able to wean off slowly in the future. 

[julesb]

So i have to continue the 1mg even though i only started the drug for 2 days on 5mgs? @ChessieCat

[ChessieCat]

  

14 hours ago, Altostrata said:

Hello, @julesb

 

If I were you, I would get a prescription for the liquid form of fluoxetine and reduce immediately to 1mg. If you continue to take 5mg, the numb effects are likely to get more intense over the next week or so.

 

As we explained to you above, taking an antidepressant again may not be the answer to your problems, as they cause emotional numbness and sexual dysfunction. The disorientation, emotional anesthesia, and sexual dysfunction you have found to be so distressing are probably a result of having been on Zoloft for 8 years, and then withdrawal syndrome. Your nervous system needs to recover from the drug effects.

 

Your type of symptoms -- disorientation, emotional anesthesia, and sexual dysfunction -- are not the kind for which we usually suggest reinstatement. When we talked about reinstatement, it was in the range of 0.5mg-1mg, to test the effect. Please let us know how you're doing.

 

Please read the above post which was made 14 hours ago by Alto.

 

You reinstated/substituted 5mg Prozac / fluoxetine which ended up being too high a dose.  Alto suggested 0.5mg-1mg, not 5mg.

 

After this, Alto stated that you should reduce to 1mg.  She is assuming that you wish to continue with the reinstatement/substitution with the fluoxetine.  If you have decided to keep doing the reinstatement/substitution you stay on the 1mg.  It is okay to go from 5mg to 1mg in this instance.  

 

Sometimes taking a very low dose is enough to ease the withdrawal symptoms but not cause the adverse effects.

 

NOTE:  Fluoxetine / Prozac has a long half life of about 14 days.  As Alto stated above if you stay on the 5mg, the bad effects will probably get stronger and stronger as the drug level increases in your body over the next 1-2 weeks.

 

Please update your drug signature with the doses and the dates of the dose changes.  Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature

[julesb]

i reduced to 1mg yesterday, do i have to continue it , i don’t think reinstating was a good idea for me personally 

[Mystagogy]

On 11/23/2021 at 6:37 PM, ThatOneGirlStitch said:

It can be terrifying not knowing what move to make next. It’s paralyzing.

I thought I was the only one! I've been beating myself up for being such a chicken.

[julesb]

does anyone know ? is that okay to stop 

[ThatOneGirlStitch]

2 hours ago, Mystagogy said:

I thought I was the only one! I've been beating myself up for being such a chicken.

Haha, nope! When it comes to health, we are all in the same boat, fretting about if something is going to help or hurt. It definitely can cause you to freeze up.

[ChessieCat]

3 hours ago, julesb said:

i don’t think reinstating was a good idea for me personally 

 

You took too high a dose.  It will take some time for the 5mg dose to reduce.  You might see some lessening of the issues from the 5mg in the next week.

 

1 hour ago, julesb said:

is that okay to stop 

 

If you want to stop, it would be better to stop now.

 

However, please be aware that the brain likes consistency and if you decide to reinstate at a later time it could possibly make things worse.

 

Please note that this is NOT a suggestion about what to do.  It is just something to think about.

 

You might want to consider waiting another week before making the decision to stop (unless your symptoms get worse in the next few days).

 

Only you can make the decision about what you do.  We try to provide the options and possible consequences so that you can make an informed decision.

[julesb]

My numbness is so bad . emotionally and physically…i am very much loosing hope in my journey i don’t care about anything anymore it feels like my reward system has been damaged. I also lost the ability to visualize things and remember memories and connect with my surrounding and others a, i think i might be going through depersonalization 

[Altostrata]

More likely, you're feeling the effects of 5mg Prozac as it ramps up. What are you taking now? Please update your signature.

 

@julesb we're just a peer support Web site. We give people the guidance we can, but each individual has to provide their self-care. You need to continually reassure yourself that you are having a drug reaction and stop your spiral into helplessness. You can manage this. That is what you will need to do to get out of this drug snarl.

[julesb]

yesteday i took 1mg of prozac after 2 days i

of 5mg …if i want to stop the prozac do i need to taper down even more . I don’t think reinstatement was a good idea but i was hopeless and acted on impulse for an easy way out 

[Altostrata]

Nobody seems to like withdrawal syndrome. Whether you continue taking Prozac is up to you. You could stop It now if you want.

 

On 11/24/2021 at 4:58 PM, Altostrata said:

....

Withdrawal effects are not the same as a psychiatric disorder, or a neurological disorder that can be seen with an EEG or MRI. An emotional anesthesia that people often call "depression" is a consequence of taking the drugs and going off them. We have seen this very gradually goes away over many months, with other withdrawal symptoms.

 

As @Onmyway explained, a tiny reinstatement of the original drug may help. A very low dose probably will not trigger the adverse effects caused by a higher dose. We've often seen this work. You'd stabilize for a while, then taper by tiny amounts later.

....

 

[julesb]

Thank you i’m very sorry for being a pain. so think i’m just worried that i’ll never be me again. Is it possible to go through depersonalization and derealization from medication? 

[Altostrata]

We talked about this earlier. Please read this topic form the beginning.

[manymoretodays]

Hey julesb,

You may need to sit with the 1 mg dose for a little bit.

It's always good to stop jumping around with doses, or new trials of things.......to evaluate if what you are doing, or have recently changed helps at all.

So unless you get notably worse, I might stay put at that 1 mg.

Up to you though, after reading through your thread and considering all the input given.

 

Can you update your signature too please?

Go to AccountSettings/signature  note your recent changes with dates, drug name, doses

Thank you.

 

And yes, review your thread here.

You can also go to relevant topics in Symptoms and Self care, and see how others manage similar symptoms with non-drug coping too.  I see links to topics on your page one of this, your Introduction topic.

 

So yah, okay to stop Prozac, or stay put with just the 1 mg.  That is up to you.

 

Best,

L, P, H, and G,

mmt

 

And thank yous to Alto, Ccat, and members above who are sincerely trying to help.  🤗

 

 

 

Edited December 5, 2021 by manymoretodays
redid a line.

[ChessieCat]

@julesb I have moved your new topic about numbness to the existing topic.  Before creating a new topic please search to see if one already exists.  You can use the site search function or an internet search engine and add site:survivingantidepressants.org to the search term.

 

paresthesia-pins-needles-numbness-tingling-burning-sensations-aka-neuropathy

 

[ChessieCat]

This is an existing topic discussing Christmas.  I have moved your new topic there.

 

christmas-how-is-everyone-handling-it

 

[ChessieCat]

I moved your new topic to an existing topic and then did a search and found the following posts where members have mentioned not sweating:

 

body-temperature-dysregulation-heat-cold-temperature-change-intolerance/comment=496019

 

\body-temperature-dysregulation-heat-cold-temperature-change-intolerance/comment=476484

 

body-temperature-dysregulation-heat-cold-temperature-change-intolerance/comment=421086

 

body-temperature-dysregulation-heat-cold-temperature-change-intolerance/comment=66024

 

body-temperature-dysregulation-heat-cold-temperature-change-intolerance/comment=66011

 

 

 

[ThatOneGirlStitch]

I saw you had a post about heart rate. My resting heart rate jumped from 60 to 90s. I was originally worried about it too. But honestly its not the worst symptom and doesn't cause chest pains in itself. As long as it isn't too high it shouldn't hurt you. 

Here is a post I found on the web. Its just one person's experiance but I hope it helps you:

"I was only on klonopin for five weeks and it really did a number to my heart rate. I had tachycardia (horribly) the whole time I was on the drug and for six weeks non stop post CT. My normal resting rate is low 80's. On the drug, my resting was anywhere from 110-120. It was absolutely miserable.

A lot of people quote the normal rate being 60-100, but little good that does to comfort you when your normal rate is 30+ bpms lower than what you are experiencing now. So, yes! You are still within the normal range, but as someone who spend three months bedridden with tachycardia and palpitations, I completely understand the misery you are experiencing.

The good thing is, your heart is not being damaged because of the higher rate. I was told repeatedly that s healthy heart can sustain over 100 bpms for "years" (I was so sick of hearing that).

The reason for the change in rate is because of the affect that psychotropic drugs have on our autonomic nervous system. A lot of people are very fortunate to escape this debilitating symptom. I was not one of the lucky ones. It took over six weeks post CT for me to see any progress with this sx at all. My heart rate is still "too high" (compared to normal) when I stand or walk, but it is better now. Praying it continues to stabilize."

 

Edited January 4, 2022 by ChessieCat
reformatted to remove background grey

[ThatOneGirlStitch]

But how have you been doing overall?

[julesb]

hey @ThatOneGirlStitch I’m not what i would like to be. I have very numbed out emotions . I can’t tell if it’s dp/dr or anhedonia. I think it’s a little of both because i can’t connect with anyone not even my surroundings, as well as having a blank mind. I also have pssd do it both just really sucks. I’m trying so hard to get through everyday . My heart rate has been recent so that kind of scared me. How are you??

[ThatOneGirlStitch]

Trying to put on weight. hard to get food down. Yeah the emotional numbness is the worst. I'm sorry you have dpdr with it. It makes it so hard not to be able to connect with anything. I feel if we could just get through that, maybe we'd be ok.

[ChessieCat]

On 12/20/2021 at 8:52 AM, ChessieCat said:

@julesb I have moved your new topic about numbness to the existing topic.  Before creating a new topic please search to see if one already exists.  You can use the site search function or an internet search engine and add site:survivingantidepressants.org to the search term.

 

paresthesia-pins-needles-numbness-tingling-burning-sensations-aka-neuropathy

 

 

I've moved another new topic that you have created.  As requested above, please do a search before you create a new topic.

 

olfactory-disturbances-changes-in-the-sense-of-smell

 

[ThatOneGirlStitch]

Hey @julesb 

 

how has the gut been doing?

how have you been in general?

[julesb]

well i was given medication. I think something happened i took antimicrobials for 3 days and i started feeling like crap. The best day after i had really bad heart palpitations. i went to the hospital and ny potassium was severely low. I was on Iv bags for the whole night. then all this other stuff was happening where my heart rate was so elevated because of my low potassium and electrolytes. so now i have to be on a heat pill (beta blocker) that helps with my rate. Then i was having horrible stomach pains so i went for an endoscopy and had the worst panic attack in the world. I woke up feeling tired and crappy. when i woke up everything  was different i was so so foggy more depersonalized and i feel like all of my progress i had made completely went out the door. I’m waiting on results from my endoscopy so i’ll see what’s happening. If anyone has some encouraging words that would really help. Thank you 

[OptimisticRP]

One foot in front of the other. Keep pushing through. 

[Sofa]

@julesb @ThatOneGirlStitch

 

I am experiencing many of the same symptoms as you after going on and off mirtazapine/Remeron during christmas. I have no emotions, dp/dr, cant connect with anyone or anything, cant Feel when i am hungry or tired, blank mind, akathisia, head pressure, pssd and pgad, insomnia and increasing tinnitus. 
 

The loss of emotions did not come at once, first i experienced deep depression and crying spells. 
 

All of this scares me so much, and over the last two months since the last pill, the symptoms have only gotten worse. 
 

How are you doing know? Have you seen your symptoms alpelue getting better? Do you have any advice for me?

[ThatOneGirlStitch]

@Sofa

Some days are slightly better than others.

 

I've said this before, be careful where you look for hope. You may stick your hand in a bush looking for a rose and come out with thorns.

The bad stories will always stay longer on your mind than the good ones. The bad ones will be stronger too. Anhedonia makes it hard for good things to stick because we can not feel the good. The more places you find people trying to fix themselves with drugs and supplements the more you will find a lack of healing stories.

 

Eat good brain foods, get sleep, go for walks, sit in nature, and try to keep doing things. Be careful getting off the drugs and with drugs.

Get through moment by moment. Celebrated when you did something you couldn't do before, like draw a picture after being unable to for a long time. Pay attention to those little things. You showered. You took the trash out. You went shopping. You read a chapter of a book. You did not have a bad day.

 

It is ok to be neutral right now. By that I mean if you are not in despair and can do things then that is good. Try to have as many as those days as possible. 

 

Do this by avoiding despair (that is really important). Take note of the things you can do. And try to get out of bed everyday. Not everyday will be well, but keep doing it. Also you don't have to try to push yourself constantly. 

 

Quote

Routine helps. If your list says to shower after waking then you get out of bed because the next step is to shower. After the shower the next step is to eat. This can help because some people get stuck somewhere along the way. If you wake up and tell yourself you must always get dressed and ready in the morning, it gets you out of bed. Finding mindless things to do helped some people. Gardening helped one lady. Walking helps a lot of people. Because even if your brain says it is pointless, it is not. Walking is good for the brain and good for healing.

 

You can have a folder or collection of hopeful stories to read when you need to. Or other words of hope.

 

Anhedonia is a lot like withdrawal, keep going and caring for yourself (get good food and sleep) until something changes. They key is to make it through with the least amount of pain. Everyone does what works for them.

 

Pain can include things like: I am going to be stuck like this forever. I can't enjoy this like I used to. I can't live my life like this.

Push the thoughts out of your head. Stop them when they come up. Stop thinking if you need to. Yes, you cannot enjoy right now but you can avoid pain. You can not make predictions about the future. And you don't need to think about living like this forever, you just need to think about now.

It is not always possible to think like this, but keep trying. Try to master anhedonia, don't let it master you.