UnusualRoom: Luvox withdrawal - writing with tears and desperation

[UnusualRoom]

I literally just had a panic attack *from* taking Xanax. I have no idea what to do now.

 

I feel like I'm in a bad spot and feeling backed into a corner. I have negative reactions to both drugs I'm taking, but can't stop taking them. I feel like I'm going to end up dying no matter what I do. I take a drug, I feel awful and have side effects; I go through w/d, I feel awful and have side effects.

 

 

[UnusualRoom]

Would switching to Valium if I'm not doing well with Xanax work? I did this the first time I got off benzos and I know it's used in the Ashton manual. 

[UnusualRoom]

December 30

10:00 A.M.- Woke up; took 6.25 mg of Luvox. 

10:20 A.M.- 0.0625 mg of Xanax

 11:30 A.M- Blood draw.

12:00 P.m.-Ate

12:30 P.M.- Shower

1:00 P.M.- Muscle pain, nerve irritation (akathisia?) starting. Took 250 mg of Tylenol.

1:45 P.M.-Feeling awful. Hard to breathe, muscle aches and feel jittery, feel tired and like brain is “shutting off”. Feeling very scared.

2:00 P.M.- 0.0625 mg of Xanax 

2:30 P.M.-Feeling weak, achy, mentally out of it. Dizzy and having balance issues. A lot of neck and head/face pain. 

2:45 P.M. -Ate 

3:00 P.M. l- Prior symptoms a bit better but neck still hurts horribly. Dizziness and rocking sensation. Nausea. 

5:00 P.M.- Body-aches, some neck pain and imbalance. Head pressure, facial pressure. 

6:00 P.M.- Ate. 

8:00 P.M. -Some body aches, head pressure and nerve discomfort but not as horrible as earlier. Took 0.0625 of Xanax.

8:30 P.M.- Muscle twitches. Neck tension/neck pain . Some anxiety. Dizziness/rocking.

9:00 P.M.- Not feeling well. Having some akathisia, cognitive impairment, and muscle weakness/aches. Muscle tension. 

9:40 P.M.-Nausea. Throat spasms and construction.  Feeling hot.

10:00 P.M. - Took 25 mg of Xanax. Freezing cold, feeling terrified, not liking feeling after taking Xanax. Feeling jittery and shaky.

10:30 P.M.- Absolutely terrified. Feeling disconnected and scared. 

11:00 P.M.- Cried for quite awhile, muscle tension and scared. Now everything feels oddly still.

11:30 P.M.- Headache. Fatigue. Chills.

12:00 P.M.- Muscle tightness. Left arm pain. Slight toe burning/itching.

12:45 P.M.-Ate

12:50 P.M.-Chest tightness/tightness in back. Heart palpitations . Body feels hyper-aroused and uncomfortable. Muscle and nerve irritation 

1:06 A.m.- tachycardia. Hard heart beats. Can feel nerves in/around eyes and pulsing  feels like I’m going to pass out, fatigued 

 4:00 A.M.-Woke up with fear and anxiety. Took 250 mg of Tylenol for neck pain and took maybe 1/4 of a Magnesium glycinate. 

 

Edited December 31, 2021 by ChessieCat
Resized font

[Frogie]

You can go back to twice a day if you feel you really need to, but then please no more changes as we need to get you stable. All these changes are wreaking havoc on your CNS. So please no more changes. Thanks.

[UnusualRoom]

 

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30 minutes ago, Frogie said:

You can go back to twice a day if you feel you really need to, but then please no more changes as we need to get you stable. All these changes are wreaking havoc on your CNS. So please no more changes. Thanks.

 

I don't really know what's safe for me right now, because I'm having severe reactions to the meds themselves, and then severe withdrawal when I'm trying to get off of them. 

 

I don't get relief from taking these medications like some do-I get more symptoms like I'm having a severe reaction to the drugs themselves.

 

This leaves me in between a rock and a hard place because I feel like I'm constantly in danger. 

 

What do you do in a situation where both "solutions" are dangerous to me and my body?

[Frogie]

You have made changes to your Luvox, even if it was accidental. Your body needs time to stabilize. It is fight mode and you've got to stop making changes so we can get you stable again.

 

I know you feel like you are in a danger zone, but you aren't. Your body is just fighting like I said trying to stabilize.

 

Please stop making any changes other than the Xanax. Once you make this change, don't change it or your Luvox again.

 

Thank you.

[UnusualRoom]

1 minute ago, Frogie said:

You have made changes to your Luvox, even if it was accidental. Your body needs time to stabilize. It is fight mode and you've got to stop making changes so we can get you stable again.

 

I know you feel like you are in a danger zone, but you aren't. Your body is just fighting like I said trying to stabilize.

 

Please stop making any changes other than the Xanax. Once you make this change, don't change it or your Luvox again.

 

Thank you.

 

I won't. 

 

I've been up since 4:00 A.M. just sobbing because I didn't realize what torture was until now. Looking back, I think what started my bizarre physical symptoms was having an adverse reaction to Luvox that finally caught up with me.

 

If I had to create an image of what hell is; it would be this.

 

I am terrified I am going to die from this because I have never felt this kind of pain in my existence-both mental and physical.

 

I don't think I'm going to make it through this.

[Frogie]

You will make it through this, you just need to stop making any changes and follow what everyone on here is trying to help you with. I was, as lots of member here, are/were in your situation and they have made it out of their situation.

 

I just can't reiterate enough, please no more changes. Your body need to stabilize and your CNS needs time to calm down.

[manymoretodays]

Morning UR,  I copied over the last 2 days of notes here.  Posting even 3 days at a time can be really helpful to us too.  You may have to condense the spacing between lines when doing so though for ease in readability. 

 

December 29th

 

4:00 A.M-Woke up in severe pain. Took 250 mg of Tylenol.

 

7:45 A.M.-Woke up in severe pain and tension. Took 250 mg of Tylenol.

 

8:50 A.M.- 0.0625 mg of Xanax (will start at 8 tomorrow.)

 

9:30 A.M.- Very tired. Some small leg twitches.

 

10:00 A.M.-6.25 mg Luvox. 

10:10 A.M.-Ate.

 

10:30 A.M.- Fatigue and muscle pain. 

 

10:45 A.M. -Dizzy. Tinnitus. Head fullness.

 

11:00 A.M.-Ear wetness. Sharps pain on right side of head and temple. Tight chest and muscles.

 

11:30 A.M.- Heart palpitations/heavy heartbeat even though normal pace. Sharp pains in right leg. 

 

12:00 P.M.- Nausea. 

12:05 P.M.-Ate

 

12:30 P.M.-Body feeling a bit revved up. Some pain and head pressure. A bit of muscle pain. Rocking. Dizzy.

 

1:00 P.M.- Snack.

 

1:30 P.M.- Some body tension and akathisia. Continuous pain on right side of head.

 

2:00 P.M.- 0.0625 mg of Xanax. Having body aches, stiffness and “head tension”. Starting to feel really bad.

 

2:30 P.M.- Feeling calmer

 

3:15 P.M.- Some body aches/tension/akathisia

 

5:00 P.M.- Moderate akathisia all afternoon. Took l-theanine and a b-complex vitamin. 

 

5:30 P.M.- Took 1/4 capsule of magnesium gylcinate 

 

5:45 P.M.- 250 mg of Tylenol 

 

6:30 P.M.- Ate

 

7:00 P.M.- Body a little hyperaroused from eating but not bad. Sharp pains on right side of head are back.

7:30 P.M.- Sharp paints still there on right side of head. Feeling hot and had nerve sensation/palpitation in chest. Wave of nausea when stretching neck. 

 

7:30 P.M. -Akathisia calming a bit

 

8:00 P.M. - 0.0625 mg Xanax. Ate.

 

8:30 P.M.- Some akathisia triggered by eating (it’s anything, even low histamine foods.)

 

10:00 P.M.- 25 mg of Luvox 

 

10:30 P.M. - Bath. Heat seems to irritate nerves (akathisia) 

 

10:50 P.M.-250 mg of Tylenol 

 

December 30

10:00 A.M.- Woke up; took 6.25 mg of Luvox. 

10:20 A.M.- 0.0625 mg of Xanax

 11:30 A.M- Blood draw.

12:00 P.m.-Ate

12:30 P.M.- Shower

1:00 P.M.- Muscle pain, nerve irritation (akathisia?) starting. Took 250 mg of Tylenol.

1:45 P.M.-Feeling awful. Hard to breathe, muscle aches and feel jittery, feel tired and like brain is “shutting off”. Feeling very scared.

2:00 P.M.- 0.0625 mg of Xanax 

2:30 P.M.-Feeling weak, achy, mentally out of it. Dizzy and having balance issues. A lot of neck and head/face pain. 

2:45 P.M. -Ate 

3:00 P.M. l- Prior symptoms a bit better but neck still hurts horribly. Dizziness and rocking sensation. Nausea. 

5:00 P.M.- Body-aches, some neck pain and imbalance. Head pressure, facial pressure. 

6:00 P.M.- Ate. 

8:00 P.M. -Some body aches, head pressure and nerve discomfort but not as horrible as earlier. Took 0.0625 of Xanax.

8:30 P.M.- Muscle twitches. Neck tension/neck pain . Some anxiety. Dizziness/rocking.

9:00 P.M.- Not feeling well. Having some akathisia, cognitive impairment, and muscle weakness/aches. Muscle tension. 

9:40 P.M.-Nausea. Throat spasms and construction.  Feeling hot.

10:00 P.M. - Took 25 mg of Xanax. Freezing cold, feeling terrified, not liking feeling after taking Xanax. Feeling jittery and shaky.

10:30 P.M.- Absolutely terrified. Feeling disconnected and scared. 

11:00 P.M.- Cried for quite awhile, muscle tension and scared. Now everything feels oddly still.

11:30 P.M.- Headache. Fatigue. Chills.

12:00 P.M.- Muscle tightness. Left arm pain. Slight toe burning/itching.

12:45 P.M.-Ate

12:50 P.M.-Chest tightness/tightness in back. Heart palpitations . Body feels hyper-aroused and uncomfortable. Muscle and nerve irritation 

1:06 A.m.- tachycardia. Hard heart beats. Can feel nerves in/around eyes and pulsing  feels like I’m going to pass out, fatigued 

 4:00 A.M.-Woke up with fear and anxiety. Took 250 mg of Tylenol for neck pain and took maybe 1/4 of a Magnesium glycinate.

 

Is today, the 31st. the first day of your 8 a.m. Xanax?  Or did you sleep through that yesterday?  I think it might be helpful to keep your morning 6.25 mg of Luvox separated from the Xanax by at least an hour.  If you do Xanax at 8 a.m., then you could do Luvox at 10 a.m.

 

Are you completely alone all the time UnusualRoom?  Have you been out of your room or house at all in the last several days?  Are you getting any usual things done?  Things like basic hygiene, dressing......I see some eating later in the day........what are your daily routines or activities like?

I know that sounds probing, but I just wonder if you are on site too, too much, or on other sites reading too, too much.......and that is the bulk of your activity each day......and you are reading about symptoms all the time or "worst cases", then that is not helpful.

 

Truly, focus on good stuff now, healing things......nice things.......even try something creative.  Express the negative symptoms and feelings somehow creatively perhaps.

 

Do you think this mornings freak out might relate to cortisol awakening?  Did you sleep a whole 6 hours last night too, in one stretch? 

Early morning waking-managing the morning cortisol spike

 

Did the magnesium glycinate help calm or settle at all?  That's where your notes leave off.  If you did get worse after it, then you would know that does not help now.  Just mentioning, as there have been some who do react negatively to Magnesium. 

 

In your notes, add in what non-drug coping you've tried, and then if it helps with symptoms, or what has helped.  Especially non-drug stuff.  Breathing, weighed blanket, or bundling up in a blanket, listening to music or meditation audios, etc.........things like that. 

 

When did your symptoms get like this?  I did see your full description of when it felt really bad, which was written for a doctor I think.....and so I'm wondering when you first noticed the difficult symptoms defined as akathisia. 

Was that happening earlier this year?  When you did some of those large drops down from Luvox in October or November?  Or has it just started in recent days or weeks?

 

And then scroll on back a few pages now I'm guessing, to see and try some of the non-drug coping that getofflex put together for you.  When obsessing, try and if online or here, go to Finding Meaning, or Off Topic and find subjects that interest you in perhaps a more creative or even funny way.  I don't know, but for me, often the shift into tears or laughter would signal that the worst Wave of symptoms was coming to an end, or had ended.

 

Type at you next year.  Happy New Year.......oh feeling so hopeful for 2022.

 

L, P, H, and G,

mmt

 

Edited December 31, 2021 by manymoretodays

[Ktven48]

Please hang in there. This will all ease up. I was in the same predicament a few months ago. You have to find strength and fight this. Many weeks I took the day minute by minute. Now Its much less intense and I take things day by day. Many people on this site have been where you are - there is an end to it. I thought I would die as well due to the mental torture- but I am still here and able to see the progress. 

[UnusualRoom]

I'm having horrible muscle rigidity, tightness, tension right after I take Luvox.

 

My fear is that have Serotonin Syndrome or Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome, because this doesn't seem normal.

 

If I was going through withdrawal, wouldn't taking Luvox help the situation, not make it worse? This seems paradoxical and I don't want to put myself in danger by taking a drug that's destroying my nervous system. 

[getofflex]

2 hours ago, UnusualRoom said:

If I was going through withdrawal, wouldn't taking Luvox help the situation, not make it worse?

No, it doesn't work like that.  

 

Taking Luvox or other psych meds is not like taking Tylenol or ibuprofen for pain.  Psych drugs work by making changes to our brains, which must then be slowly undone as we taper off the drugs.  Please go back to my original post and carefully read/watch the links where it talks about how these drugs affect our brains, and what withdrawal is.  

 

Your nervous system is in chaos from not just the adverse reaction to Luvox, but also to all the drugs changes and mistakes in dosing. If you would just adhere to a regular drug schedule for a while, it would help a lot.  You are between a rock and hard place because you are also dealing with adverse reaction.  The trick here is to walk a tightrope between tapering off slowly enough to avoid severe withdrawal, and getting off the drug due to the adverse reaction.  But for now  you just need to stick to a consistent dosing schedule. 

 

7 hours ago, Frogie said:

You will make it through this, you just need to stop making any changes and follow what everyone on here is trying to help you with. I was, as lots of member here, are/were in your situation and they have made it out of their situation.

 

I just can't reiterate enough, please no more changes. Your body need to stabilize and your CNS needs time to calm down.

Please, reread the above, and heed this. 

 

Manymoretodays is on point with her suggestions about getting your mind off your symptoms, and do to do non drug coping techniques.  

Edited December 31, 2021 by getofflex

[UnusualRoom]

14 minutes ago, getofflex said:

Manymoretodays is on point with her suggestions about getting your mind off your symptoms, and do to do non drug coping techniques.  

 

I would absolutely love if any of the coping techniques I've tried work, but right now I can barely get up without falling over. If other people's withdrawals were solid enough where they could exercise and do meditation, I am in extreme envy because I can barely move.  The fact that it gets worse when I take the medication makes me feel like I'm poisoning my body.

[UnusualRoom]

I'm trying to be logical but Serotonin syndrome and NMS can literally kill you. I really, really don't want to die from having continuous adverse reaction and Im not sure if that's being considered. 

[Altostrata]

Hello, it would be extremely unusual to get serotonin toxicity from 31.25mg Luvox. It takes an overdose of serotonergics. 

 

However, you may be feeling adverse effects from Luvox, or from too much Xanax. Do you feel better or worse now than when you were taking 25mg Luvox?

 

We have only the 2 days of daily notes, helpfully copied by manymoretodays above, and neither show what happens after you take the evening dose of Luvox. Your taking Xanax at about the same times you take Luvox also clouds the issue, as do your recent dosing errors.

 

We need to make changes in your drug schedule, but there have been so many recent changes, we can't figure out what's causing what.

 

Please hang in there. The daily notes are very helpful to trace potential adverse drug effects, but we need to see what happens before and after you take each dose before suggesting next steps.

 

 

[UnusualRoom]

33 minutes ago, Altostrata said:

 

 

We have only the 2 days of daily notes, helpfully copied by manymoretodays above, and neither show what happens after you take the evening dose of Luvox. Your taking Xanax at about the same times you take Luvox also clouds the issue, as do your recent dosing errors.

 

 

 

I'm unsure of where this is coming from, as I have almost a week's worth of notes posted. I can try and put them together collectively from my posts. 

[UnusualRoom]

I tried to make a collective post with all my logs I've posted, but the size is too large to be done with copy and paste. I've been having a lot of issues with the HTML/coding on here but here's a word document with my entire log.

 

 

SSRI Logs.docx

[manymoretodays]

Hi UnusualRoom,

What I was showing you, and then asking for is that you post, a couple of days of notes altogether.  You can post them daily if you want, but then every 3 days, post all 3 days together in one reply.

 

You might be able to see how hard it is to evaluate a couple of days of notes, the way it is now.  Your notes are good, but then in between each days notes there are so many posts, and even page changes occurring that make it really, really hard and time consuming to pull them together and get a decent picture of a couple of days at a time for you.  As far as really seeing, with stable dosing(same time, same dose, each drug taken), what is happening with symptoms before and after those doses.

 

You can see how that will really help.  And especially as you begin to get consistent with your dose strengths, and times.

 

Can you just type in your consecutive day notes in a reply box.  Open another screen for yourself, or get them on paper, or something......so that will not be so difficult to do.  It's not always any easier to go to Word Documents to see multiple days of posts.

 

And testing copying from your document above:

Sunday, December 26, 2021

 

10:00 A.M.- 6.25mg at 10 am

11:30 A.M.- 0.03mg Xanax

11:30 Am: half Tylenol 

12:40 P.M. -0.03mg Xanax

1:00 pm: Ate. Feeling dopey but wired. This combo scares me because it feels like my body is shutting down. 

3:00Pm: feeling logy. Having what feels like zoning out/fatigue/dissociation. 

3:15 PM: took bath. Seemed to Jack up my nervous system and exacerbated symptoms. Feel out of it and fatigued.

3:20 PM: Took 0.06 mg of Xanax 

3:30 pm: calmed down and went out. 

7:00 Pm: ate. Had some slight jitteriness/rls I get whenever I eat but not horrible. (Nervous system reacts to everything these days, plus reactive hypoglycemia from gastric bypass/dumping syndrome.)

9:16 PM: temple pressure, tinnitus, puffy feeling in head/fullness/pressure/roving sensation. Tension and pain in back of head/neck. Nose pressure.

9:51 pm: still feeling rocking/off balance (food sensitivity?)

10pm: took 25mg Luvox 

10:26 pm: tinnitus, a bit off balance/dizzy. Super tired. Head pressure, tightness around head. 

10:33 pm: some weird leg sensations/rls. 

10:40 pm: falling asleep, heart skipped beat, heart felt in head

2:50 am: woke up with a bit of. A headache and dry eyes 

3:09 am: horrible headache 

 

Monday, December 27, 2021

 

8:30 A.M.-Woke up. Headache, neck pain, face pain, some tinnitus after being up for a bit. Muscle fatigue/weakness (a constant).

 10:00 A.M.-6.35 mg Luvox

 10:45 A.M.- Dopey/spacey/out of it. Slow thinking. Headache still there. 

 11:00 A.M.- Anxious, muscle twitches/restlessness but still fatigued. 

 11:15 A.M. -Muscles tightening in back of head, chest neck and throat. Sneezing.

 12:00 P.M.- Muscle tension/pain so bad I took 0.0625 mg of Xanax. Helped a bit. 

 12:15 P.M.-Ate. 

 1:30 P.M.-Neck pain and rocking sensation while lying down.

 2:00 P.M.- Had a 1/2  piece of pie.250 mg Tylenol.

 2:30 P.M.- Some body aches & small amount of restless/akathisia feelings. Tinnitus. Rocking sensation. 

 3:00 P.M.-Wave of muscle tightness and tinnitus. Dizziness, feeling wired and  restless  and head “squeezing”. (I think reactive hypoglycemia).

 4:00 P.M.- Took 1 baby aspirin.

 5:00 P.M.- Neck pain but not feeling the worst.  More mental clarity and less anxiety. 

 6:30 P.M.- No change. Took bath and had some slight nervous system reaction but nothing horrible.

 7:00 P.M.-Ate.

 8:00 P.M.-0.0625 mg of Xanax. Still feeling about the same. A bit of ear/head fullness. (Possibly from eating & sugar.)

 8:15 P.M.-Wave up dopey/fatigue. Some anxiety from feeling that way.

 8:45 P.M.- Neck/head pain on left side. Feeling a bit jittery. As I type this, feeling a bit of panic. 

 9:00 P.M.-Huge wave of imbalance/dizzy for a a couple seconds. 

 9:15 P.M.-Rocking/dizzy

 9:30 P.M.- 25 mg of Luvox

 10:00 P.M.- High stress event. Feeling anxious, crying and angry.

 10:00 P.M.-Took 1/4 shot of rum.

 11:15 P.M.- Balance issues. Dizzy. Oddly feels like muscles are letting up and it’s causing dizziness. 

 11:30 P.M.- 0.03 mg Xanax

 **Things I always have , 24/7, that are hard to update because they're constant: lack of balance, vision/focusing eyes, muscle tension/weakness, brain fog.

 

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

 

8:00 A.M.- 0.03 mg Xanax. Anxious. 

8:30 A.M.- Spaced out/zoned out. Less anxious but feeling disconnected.

10:30 A.M.-Ate

10:45 A.M.-15.625 mg Luvox (messed up dosing due to anxiety)

1:00 P.M.- Having a lot of anxiety and muscle tension. 

4:30-P.M.- Muscle irritation/akathisia/twitchy. (Also had 4 pieces about chocolate though, unsure if blood sugar related.) 250mg of Tylenol.

4:45 P.M.- Ate (protein)

5:00 P.M.- Horrible akathisia/restless “body” syndrome. Head/ear pressure, tinnitus. Dizziness/rocking. Worse on left side, in part due to chronic pinched nerve in neck. 250 mg of Tylenol. 0.03 of Xanax.

5:30 P.M.-12.5 mg of  Benadryl to try and curb akathisia. 

7:10 P.M.-Akathisia and dizziness. Rocking while laying down. (Think this might be reactive hypoglycemia and not w/d).

8:20 P.M.- 15.625 mg Luvox and 1 baby aspirin 

9:00 P.M. -Akathisia 

10:00 P.M.- Horrible akathisia. Took 0.0625 mg of Xanax.

11:00 P.M. -Leg burning, feeling hot, severe panic, cognitive issues 

4:00 A.M.- Severe pain, nerve pain, internal tremors, tension, sort of a transformed akathisia

 

Wednesday December 29, 2021

 

4:00 A.M-Woke up in severe pain. Took 250 mg of Tylenol.

 7:45 A.M.-Woke up in severe pain and tension. Took 250 mg of Tylenol.

8:50 A.M.- 0.0625 mg of Xanax (will start at 8 tomorrow.)

9:30 A.M.- Very tired. Some small leg twitches.

10:00 A.M.-6.25 mg Luvox. 

10:10 A.M.-Ate. 

10:30 A.M.- Fatigue and muscle pain. 

 10:45 A.M. -Dizzy. Tinnitus. Head fullness.

 11:00 A.M.-Ear wetness. Sharps pain on right side of head and temple. Tight chest and muscles.

 11:30 A.M.- Heart palpitations/heavy heartbeat even though normal pace. Sharp pains in right leg. 

 12:00 P.M.- Nausea. 

12:05 P.M.-Ate

 12:30 P.M.-Body feeling a bit revved up. Some pain and head pressure. A bit of muscle pain. Rocking. Dizzy.

 1:00 P.M.- Snack.

 1:30 P.M.- Some body tension and akathisia. Continuous pain on right side of head.

 2:00 P.M.- 0.0625 mg of Xanax. Having body aches, stiffness and “head tension”. Starting to feel really bad.

 2:30 P.M.- Feeling calmer 

3:15 P.M.- Some body aches/tension/akathisia

 5:00 P.M.- Moderate akathisia all afternoon. Took l-theanine and a b-complex vitamin. 

 5:30 P.M.- Took 1/4 capsule of magnesium gylcinate 

 5:45 P.M.- 250 mg of Tylenol 

 6:30 P.M.- Ate

 7:00 P.M.- Body a little hyperaroused from eating but not bad. Sharp pains on right side of head are back.

7:30 P.M.- Sharp paints still there on right side of head. Feeling hot and had nerve sensation/palpitation in chest. Wave of nausea when stretching neck. 

 7:30 P.M. -Akathisia calming a bit

 8:00 P.M. - 0.0625 mg Xanax. Ate.

 8:30 P.M.- Some akathisia triggered by eating (it’s anything, even low histamine foods.)

 10:00 P.M.- 25 mg of Luvox 

 10:30 P.M. - Bath. Heat seems to irritate nerves (akathisia)  

10:50 P.M.-250 mg of Tylenol 

 

Thursday, December 30, 2021

 

10:00 A.M.- Woke up; took 6.25 mg of Luvox. 

10:20 A.M.- 0.0625 mg of Xanax

 11:30 A.M- Blood draw.

12:00 P.m.-Ate

12:30 P.M.- Shower

1:00 P.M.- Muscle pain, nerve irritation (akathisia?) starting. Took 250 mg of Tylenol.

1:45 P.M.-Feeling awful. Hard to breathe, muscle aches and feel jittery, feel tired and like brain is “shutting off”. Feeling very scared.

2:00 P.M.- 0.0625 mg of Xanax 

2:30 P.M.-Feeling weak, achy, mentally out of it. Dizzy and having balance issues. A lot of neck and head/face pain. 

2:45 P.M. -Ate 

3:00 P.M. l- Prior symptoms a bit better but neck still hurts horribly. Dizziness and rocking sensation. Nausea. 

5:00 P.M.- Body-aches, some neck pain and imbalance. Head pressure, facial pressure. 

6:00 P.M.- Ate. 

8:00 P.M. -Some body aches, head pressure and nerve discomfort but not as horrible as earlier. Took 0.0625 of Xanax.

8:30 P.M.- Muscle twitches. Neck tension/neck pain . Some anxiety. Dizziness/rocking.

9:00 P.M.- Not feeling well. Having some akathisia, cognitive impairment, and muscle weakness/aches. Muscle tension. 

9:40 P.M.-Nausea. Throat spasms and construction.  Feeling hot.

10:00 P.M. - Took 25 mg of Xanax. Freezing cold, feeling terrified, not liking feeling after taking Xanax. Feeling jittery and shaky.

10:30 P.M.- Absolutely terrified. Feeling disconnected and scared. 

11:00 P.M.- Cried for quite awhile, muscle tension and scared. Now everything feels oddly still.

11:30 P.M.- Headache. Fatigue. Chills.

12:00 P.M.- Muscle tightness. Left arm pain. Slight toe burning/itching.

12:45 P.M.-Ate

12:50 P.M.-Chest tightness/tightness in back. Heart palpitations . Body feels hyper-aroused and uncomfortable. Muscle and nerve irritation 

1:06 A.m.- tachycardia. Hard heart beats. Can feel nerves in/around eyes and pulsing  feels like I’m going to pass out, fatigued 

 4:00 A.M.-Woke up with fear and anxiety. Took 250 mg of Tylenol for neck pain and took maybe 1/4 of a Magnesium glycinate.

 

(and okay, that went smooth for me, but you'll need to do this too, I'm not here everyday and I am not a secretary)

 

 

Edited January 1, 2022 by manymoretodays

[manymoretodays]

Ta da.  Wondering if you could then do that yourself UnusualRoom?

Copy from your document to here, when you have 3 days going forward.

Or maybe each day, with the new notes, copy the new notes as well as the previous 2 days in one reply box.

 

Thank you.

 

I need to ask what is your schedule of medications and doses right now?

I am still not seeing consistent times and doses for them.  I thinking you overslept a 8 am Xanax yesterday, the 30th, took it at 10 am, and then followed it, shortly after with your Xanax?  What was your blood draw for?

You also noted 25 mg of Xanax yesterday at 10 pm.  I'm pretty sure that's an error, and I hope it is.

 

We've Suggested:

8 am .0625 Xanax

10 am 6.25 Luvox

2 pm .0625 Xanax

8 pm .0625 Xanax

10 pm 25 mg Luvox

 

We do not want you to take the Luvox and Xanax at almost the same time,  or within 20 minutes of each other.  Okay?  Remember that.  And the drug interaction.  Drugs.com

The hope is that if you keep those two spaced, by at least 2 hours apart we can minimize any interaction.

Again, space your Luvox and Xanax at least 2, two hours apart.

 

Thank you.

 

 

And okay, several questions that you need to respond to as well.  I'll quote them for you in the next reply box.

 

Edited January 1, 2022 by manymoretodays

[manymoretodays]

And I am so sorry it still seems so very tough for you.

Questions that you have not answered:

7 hours ago, Altostrata said:

However, you may be feeling adverse effects from Luvox, or from too much Xanax. Do you feel better or worse now than when you were taking 25mg Luvox?

 

13 hours ago, manymoretodays said:

Is today, the 31st. the first day of your 8 a.m. Xanax? 

 

13 hours ago, manymoretodays said:

Are you completely alone all the time UnusualRoom?  Have you been out of your room or house at all in the last several days?  Are you getting any usual things done?  Things like basic hygiene, dressing......I see some eating later in the day........what are your daily routines or activities like?

 

13 hours ago, manymoretodays said:

Did the magnesium glycinate help calm or settle at all?  That's where your notes leave off.  If you did get worse after it, then you would know that does not help now.  Just mentioning, as there have been some who do react negatively to Magnesium. 

 

13 hours ago, manymoretodays said:

Do you think this mornings freak out might relate to cortisol awakening?  Did you sleep a whole 6 hours last night too, in one stretch? 

 

13 hours ago, manymoretodays said:

When did your symptoms get like this?  I did see your full description of when it felt really bad, which was written for a doctor I think.....and so I'm wondering when you first noticed the difficult symptoms defined as akathisia. 

Was that happening earlier this year?  When you did some of those large drops down from Luvox in October or November?  Or has it just started in recent days or weeks?

 

[manymoretodays]

And okay, in summary:

Consistent dosing, times, doses, of each of your medications.

Separate the Luvox from the Xanax by 2 hours.

Post notes, with consecutive days.

 

Answer questions.

 

And sweetie, hang in there with all your might.  I noticed a good long stretch of sleep.  And quite notable improvement one morning.

[manymoretodays]

And I'm okay, or I think if it was me, I might go ahead and drop your morning Luvox, that 6.25 mg dose you added sometime back. 

 

And hoping you have a good night tonight princess!

[UnusualRoom]

10 hours ago, manymoretodays said:

And I'm okay, or I think if it was me, I might go ahead and drop your morning Luvox, that 6.25 mg dose you added sometime back. 

 

And hoping you have a good night tonight princess!

 

Drop it all together and just go with the 25 mg at night, or do 31.25 at night and let go of the morning? I agree, it seems to make things worse. 

[UnusualRoom]

17 hours ago, Altostrata said:

However, you may be feeling adverse effects from Luvox, or from too much Xanax. Do you feel better or worse now than when you were taking 25mg Luvox?

 

About the same if not a little worse. 

 

 

[UnusualRoom]

10 hours ago, manymoretodays said:

Is today, the 31st. the first day of your 8 a.m. Xanax? 

 

No, I've been taking it for almost a week like this. 

10 hours ago, manymoretodays said:

Are you completely alone all the time UnusualRoom?  Have you been out of your room or house at all in the last several days?  Are you getting any usual things done?  Things like basic hygiene, dressing......I see some eating later in the day........what are your daily routines or activities like?

 

Doing basic hygiene, but alone most of the time due to dizziness and pain. I have an underlying neck issue that this has flared but to the "nth" degree.

10 hours ago, manymoretodays said:

Did the magnesium glycinate help calm or settle at all?  That's where your notes leave off.  If you did get worse after it, then you would know that does not help now.  Just mentioning, as there have been some who do react negatively to Magnesium. 

 

Not sure yet, I had just started using it.  I'll keep an eye on it. 

10 hours ago, manymoretodays said:

Do you think this mornings freak out might relate to cortisol awakening?  Did you sleep a whole 6 hours last night too, in one stretch?

 

Depends on the night. Last night I slept all night but the night before was a nightmare.

10 hours ago, manymoretodays said:

When did your symptoms get like this?  I did see your full description of when it felt really bad, which was written for a doctor I think.....and so I'm wondering when you first noticed the difficult symptoms defined as akathisia. 

Was that happening earlier this year?  When you did some of those large drops down from Luvox in October or November?  Or has it just started in recent days or weeks?

 

I started having these kind of symptoms, initially, over four years ago when I first started having anxiety quite badly after a car accident. They put me on Xanax and I think that had something to do with it. It got really bad again in September, and I've noticed it gets way worse when I eat carbs, sugar, been exposed to heat, etc 

[UnusualRoom]

December 31

9:00 A.M.- Woke up. Took 0.03 mg of Xanax. 

10:30 A.M.- 6.25 mg of Luvox. 

11:00 A.M.- Dizzy. Muscle tightness. 

11:30 A.M.- Neck pain. 

11:45 A.M. - Ate. Severe balance issues/dizziness, head pressure,  muscle tension, pain and jitters. Trouble breathing.

12:30 P.M.- Akathisia

1:20 P.M.- Feel awful. Cognitively out of it, muscle tension and stiffness, fatigue, dizziness, head pressure, face pressure and horrible balance/swaying.

1:45 P.M.- Ate. 2 fish oil tablets.

2:10 P.M.- 0.03 mg of Xanax

3:30 P.M.-Took bath. Feeling achy and weak, head pressure, dizzy.

3:45 P.M.-Took 250 mg of Tylenol. Tinnitus.

4:50 P.M.- Ate. Bodyaches/pain, weakness. Still very dizzy and balance issues. 

5:00 P.M. - Tachycardia. Heart palpitations.

5:15 P.M.- Chills

6:05 P.M.- Headache, neck pain, occipital pain.

7:30 P.M.- Neck pain, dizziness, muscle pain in face  

8:00 P.M.- 0.03 mg of Xanax. Ate.

9:30 P.M.- Some tension/pain but not as severe. Feeling better than earlier.

10:00 P.M.- Dry eyes/eye pain, some skin burning and muscle tension but better.

10:15 P.M.- 25 mg Luvox 

11:00 P.M.- Muscle tightness. Head pressure. Sinus pressure. Ear fullness.

11:15 P.M.- Heart skipped a few beats.

[Altostrata]

I might better have said we had only 2 days of notes where you were on a relatively regular schedule, after the dosing errors.

 

If you are taking too much Xanax cumulatively, you can get paradoxical reactions, such as activation or akathisia, after a dose. This may occur up to peak plasma 1-2 hours after a dose, then tends to fade as the drug is metabolized between doses. 

 

Do you feel better or worse after taking the evening dose of Luvox?

 

If you would, please also add your sleep pattern to your daily notes.

 

Please do not drink any alcohol, none at all -- this can mess up your symptoms a lot.

[UnusualRoom]

2 minutes ago, Altostrata said:

If you are taking too much Xanax cumulatively, you can get paradoxical reactions, such as activation or akathisia, after a dose. This may occur up to peak plasma 1-2 hours after a dose, then tends to fade as the drug is metabolized between doses. 

 

This makes sense, and I noticed agitation is worse after taking Xanax. I assumed Xanax would help it, so before the schedule, would take more of it. It made it worse but I never attributed it to the Xanax, I guess, due to faulty information.

 

2 minutes ago, Altostrata said:

 

Do you feel better or worse after taking the evening dose of Luvox?

 

Some aspects are better, like the anxiety but I still get the immediate muscle tension, headache, increase in pain and mental/cognitive issues. The difference at night is that I can sleep through it (usually) and wake up in the morning with a headache. Taking it during the day is hard and messes with my life more.

 

2 minutes ago, Altostrata said:

 

If you would, please also add your sleep pattern to your daily notes.

 

Will do.

2 minutes ago, Altostrata said:

 

Please do not drink any alcohol, none at all -- this can mess up your symptoms a lot.

 

Also will do. The only alcohol I've had in 4 months was a couple of sips last week which I logged. Dry other than that, as alcohol gives me vertigo.

[Altostrata]

2 minutes ago, UnusualRoom said:

the immediate muscle tension, headache, increase in pain and mental/cognitive issues

 

It appears this also occurs with the morning 6.25mg Luvox dose. Like @manymoretodays, I question whether there is any benefit to this dose. It could be that you have mistaken adverse effects from Xanax for withdrawal, that addition of the early 6.25mg dose was unnecessary, and a smaller dose of Luvox in the evening might reduce anxiety without causing the unpleasant symptoms.

 

Are any symptoms reduced after the early 6.25mg dose? (May also be effects of the morning Xanax.)

[UnusualRoom]

1 minute ago, Altostrata said:

 

It appears this also occurs with the morning 6.25mg Luvox dose. Like @manymoretodays, I question whether there is any benefit to this dose. It could be that you have mistaken adverse effects from Xanax for withdrawal, that addition of the early 6.25mg dose was unnecessary, and a smaller dose of Luvox in the evening might reduce anxiety without causing the unpleasant symptoms.

 

I'd be open to all of this. I went down to 0.03mg of xanax three times a day, instead of 0.625, and I have to say it's helped. I didn't think Xanax would cause issues taking it-I thought it was always the w/d. So right now I take 0.09mg of Xanax a day and feel better than when I took 0.0625. I have more pain in my body, but not as many anxiet/mental/akathisia feelings, and frankly, I am can do pain a lot more than these other ones. 

 

1 minute ago, Altostrata said:

 

Are any symptoms reduced after the early 6.25mg dose? (May also be effects of the morning Xanax.)

Honestly, not really. My anxiety might go down just a tad but then it jacks up again from the physical symptoms. I reinstated the 6.25 because I was having withdrawal from the 25mg, but now I'm unsure if that was wise. My withdrawal symptoms are also made worse by times of the month (menstrual cycle) and such, so I'm wondering if I should have toughed it out.

[Altostrata]

It seems many of your symptoms were from inconsistent benzo dosing and too much benzo. Since you added the 6.25mg Luvox only a week ago, you can drop it if you wish. Please let us know how you're doing.

[UnusualRoom]

3 minutes ago, Altostrata said:

It seems many of your symptoms were from inconsistent benzo dosing and too much benzo. Since you added the 6.25mg Luvox only a week ago, you can drop it if you wish. Please let us know how you're doing.

 

Agreed. 

 

I added the 6.25 about 2-3 weeks ago, though, before I started posting on the forum. Can I still drop it?

 

Also. I've only taken 0.03mg of Xanax today (this morning) and I feel a lot better. Since anything I've taken in the last month or so was under 0.1, can I just drop this all together? I had bypass last summer, and frankly, I doubt it's even being absorbed at this low of dose anymore. 

[Altostrata]

Yes, you can go off 6.25mg Luvox, keep notes throughout this process in case this causes withdrawal. 

 

That will be a big enough change for the time being.

 

7 hours ago, UnusualRoom said:

I went down to 0.03mg of xanax three times a day

 

Is this your current Xanax schedule? Don't skip doses, you could get interdose withdrawal. Please stop playing around with your drugs. If you continue to do this, we can't help you.

[UnusualRoom]

4 minutes ago, Altostrata said:

Yes, you can go off 6.25mg Luvox, keep notes throughout this process in case this causes withdrawal. 

 

That will be a big enough change for the time being.

 

Got it.

4 minutes ago, Altostrata said:

 

 

Is this your current Xanax schedule? Don't skip doses, you could get interdose withdrawal. Please stop playing around with your drugs. If you continue to do this, we can't help you.

 

I totally understand what you're saying, and Frogie had said I could go down to twice a day instead of 3 times, so I just did a slightly lower dose 3 time a day instead so I had less chance of interdose withdrawal. Still doing the 8 am 2 pm and 8 pm.

 

Will not switch anymore.

[Frogie]

@UnusualRoom

 

Let's try .03 xanax three times a day. But then don't change it again please. I looked at your notes quickly and you are taking .03 than .06 at different times. 

 

Please do not take more or less and take it at least 1 hour before your Luvox. I thought we agreed to 8 am, 2 pm and 8 pm.

 

You are wreaking havoc on your CNS and I don't want to see you suffer anymore. Can you please try this for 3-4 days and not make one change and see how you do?

[UnusualRoom]

Just now, Frogie said:

@UnusualRoom

 

Let's try .03 xanax three times a day. But then don't change it again please. I looked at your notes quickly and you are taking .03 than .06 at different times. 

 

Please do not take more or less and take it at least 1 hour before your Luvox. I thought we agreed to 8 am, 2 pm and 8 pm.

 

You are wreaking havoc on your CNS and I don't want to see you suffer anymore. Can you please try this for 3-4 days and not make one change and see how you do?

 

Absolutely. SometimesI wake up later so I'm trying.