Slink19: untangling my health knot

[Slink19]

Hi, I am currently have what I think may be extended discontinuation syndrome. I also have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis autoimmune disease, and my hormones are out of whack, partly because of a doctor who put me on bio identical hormones and now my levels which were too low are now too high. 
 

I attached my long medication/health history. I had to edit out a lot to get it to join and to fit in my profile.

 

My question is how much of this is withdrawal from the Pristiq, Pamelor, and Elavil, and all the other meds I started and stopped I the past 2 years, how much is autoimmune, and how much is from the lorazepam? I am starting to work with a functional medicine doctor for the autoimmune issues, but he has no familiarity with antidepressant withdrawal. I know from reading this site to be careful with supplements and don’t do any detox. I have tolerable days and then days where I am in such a brain fog I can’t do much. I miss my old sharp mind. And my headache is maddening, and gastritis is awful.  I know I need to start tapering my Ativan, but I don’t know when to start that. Going to ask on benzobuddies as well.  I’ll also have to taper my progesterone. 
 

I wonder if I should see a neurologist, but my guess is that it would be another doctor not being able to tell me anything. 
 

My psychiatrist wanted me to try Lamictal 25, but I couldn’t bring myself to try another med. He also recommended TMS for me, but it is not available where I live.

 

If anyone has any feedback and hope for healing I would appreciate it. 

 

Here are my current symptoms:

 

• A constant throbbing lightheaded headache. It often feels like my brain is on fire. I close my eyes and I see shapes moving and rotating. Started after I stopped Pristiq. At first it woke me at 3am, now it is constant. Worse after stopping Elavil. 
• Brain fog, pretty severe cognitive and memory issues. Very hard to concentrate. Difficult to read, organize my thoughts.
• Hypersensitive to sound, light, smell, medications and food.
• Twitching/tremor at the base of my skull/neck.
• Fatigue.
• Gastritis. Pain in stomach making it difficult to eat. Weight loss since June 2021 and now have a BMI around 17. Started with loss of appetite with Pristiq withdrawal, got painful in August when I started Pamelor and worse with the Elavil
• Poor sleep. Choppy sleep and wake several times during the night. I Wake often at 3:30 am and can’t fall back asleep. Don’t feel refreshed when I wake up.
• Very thirsty and dehydrated. Pee often.
• Anxiety. Mainly health anxiety and what is going on with me and thinking I’ll never get better.
• Lack of interest in doing thing I used to like to do.
• Detachment from reality.
• Other health concerns:
• Hashimoto’s thyroiditis - autoimmune disease
• Bulging disc and arthritis in neck.
• Pinched nerve in low back that causes numbness in my feet.
• PGAD - not flaring right now
• Hormone imbalance. Was put on bio identical hormone replacement in April 2012. Now am on DHEA 10 mg and Progesterone 150. Recent saliva testing shows Progesterone way too high.
• High cortisol levels.

 

Psych Med List.pages

Edited January 3, 2022 by ChessieCat
Resized font added bullets

[Slink19]

Hi, wondering why my post has an exclamation point next to it. Thanks. 

[Frogie]

Hi @Slink19

 

Welcome to SA. We are a volunteer run site that helps members go off Antipsychotic, antidepressants and Benzodiazepine medications.

 

This is your page to receive information (that I'm going to give you), ask questions, make comments, and meet other members that are in the same situation/or have gone through what you are. Please keep all your information on this page so anyone helping you can find it easily. We only allow one page per member.

 

I'm trying to figure out your signature. Please tell me if this is correct:

 

5/2021: Trileptal 450 mg - 5/26/21 stopped

5/25/21: Pristiq 150 mg - 5/30/21 stopped

6/1/21 Pristiq 50 mg, 6/7/21 25 mg - 6/19/21 stopped

5/27/21 Percocet - 5/30/21 stopped

7/16/21 Fluoxetine 5 mg - 7/18/21 stopped

8/5/21 Pameloe 10 mg, 8/23 20 mg, 9/10 10 mg - 9/24 stopped

9/24/21 Elavil 25 mg, 10/6 18.75 mg, 10/13 12.5 mg, 10/21 6.25 mg 10/30 5 mg, 11/17 2.5 mg - 12/2 stopped

Lorazepam was 1.5 mg bedtime and 2.5 mg throughout the day. Then you say present you take it 5 daily doses of .5 mg and 1.5 at bedtime.

 

When was the 1 mg of Lorazepam taken away? 

 

Can you confirm that this is all correct? You also take thyroid medication? Can you please list that in your signature. The kind and strength?

 

It looks like you have been on a lot of medications in a short period of time and started and stopped quickly.  I'm going to give you some links to read on this.

 

Dr Joseph Glenmullen's WD Symptoms Checklist

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

What is Withdrawal Syndrome?

 

Brain Remodelling

 

Brain Zaps

 

Asthenia / Muscle Weakness

 

Fear, terror, panic, and anxiety

 

Sleep problems - that awful withdrawal insomnia

 

Urination and Bladder Issues (Male and Female)

 

Digestive problems:  Nausea, Diarrhoea, Bloating, GERD

 

Anhedonia, apathy, demotivation, emotional numbness

 

Like I said you have been on a lot of medications in a short amount of time. You might try taking Elavil at 2 mg. I know that is a small amount, but you can always increase it. It will take about 4 days to get into your system to see if it will help. 

 

In the meantime, SA doesn't suggest a lot of supplements, but we do suggest 2. You might try a small amount of one and see if it helps before trying the other.

 

Magnesium

 

Omega-3 Fish Oil

 

I know I've given you a lot of information to read. Read it at your leisure. Be sure to reach out to us with any questions you may have.

 

Good luck.

 

Take care,

Frogie xx

 

 

 

 

Edited January 3, 2022 by Frogie

[Frogie]

20 hours ago, Slink19 said:

Hi, wondering why my post has an exclamation point next to it. Thanks. 

Your first 2 posts have to be approved before they can be published. That's why you probably have seen the triangle with the exclamation point in it.

Edited January 3, 2022 by Frogie

[Slink19]

Thanks for answering me. Is there a way for me to edit original post? Forgot a symptom of tinnitus, and depression/hopelessness. 
My signature needs to be fixed. I will do that when I have the brain power. But the lorazepam is correct. Both add up to 4 mg a day. My signature is a truncated history and doesn’t show everything. I just took the last 12 lines of my condensed history I have written and it doesn’t show the whole story. My whole history is below. In timeline form, not by individual med, which would probably be better.

 

I’m wondering about reinstating. I never was stable on Elavil/amitriptyline and it gave me a ton of side effects. I haven’t been stable on anything in a couple of years. What I do know is that in the past week, after being off of it over 3 weeks, I started feeling worse - my headache and brain fog have been so bad I have limited my driving. And I am feeling more depressed. I’m not sure what adding some back in would do if I wasn’t ever feeling ok on it. I also have to talk to my psychiatrist. He wanted me to just stop it at 25 mg, but I insisted on a taper.  When I was at 5mg I called his office to ask for a compounded prescription, but he was on vacation and never returned my calls. Ugh. I don’t know what to do about reinstating and if it’s the right thing to do. So, I guess, can you give me your thoughts on why you recommended reinstating and what it would help? Is it too late a month out?

Full history:

2008 start lexapro. Stopped - made me more depressed, act strangely

2008-2014 Pristiq 100mg, Wellbutrin 75

2014 stop Wellbutrin, add Celexa 20 mg, Clorazapate 7.5 mg

8/2018 Start 50mcg levothyroxine. 

10/2019 Stop Celexa, Clorazapate, Start Valium 5mg, Abilify 2mg

5/2020 Stop Abilify, Drop Pristiq to 50mg, Add up to 5mg Valium in morning

6/2020 Add Trileptal 600, stop after 5 days,

6/2020 go inpatient Bakersfield Behavioral Health. Add Lithium, Trazodone 100. Stop Valium, Start Ativan. Stop Pristiq, Add Effexor 75mg

7/2020 Stop Lithium due to tremors , Stop Effexor. Try Seroquel 1 night, stop, Decrease Ativan. Decrease Trazadone to 50 Start Zyprexa. Stop Zyprexa due to tremors.

8/2020 Start Latuda. Taper up to 40 mg. Start Depakote. Taper up to 1000mg.

9-11/2020 Increase Depakote to 1250mg. Start and stop Amatadine, Propranolol HCL. Stop Ativan. Taper over more than a month

2/2021 Stop Latuda, Taper off Depakote, stop Trazadone. Start Pristiq 100, citalopram 20, Deplin. Start and stop Ropinerole, Pramipexole, Buspirone. Start Trileptal 600mg.

1-4/2021 Start and Stop Diazepam, Eszopiclone, Zapelon, Zolpidem, Mirtazapine, Clorazapate,

2/2021 Start lorazepam .5 mg, 3x day

3/2021 Increase lorazepam 1.0 2x day (I break and half and take 4x day)

4/2021 neck pain starts

4/8 Start progesterone, dhea, pregnenalone, testosterone

4/23 Decrease citalopram to 10, 5/2 Stop Citalopram

5/9 Low blood sodium. Decrease Trileptal to 450, 5/16 Trileptal 300, 5/23 Trileptal 150 5/26 stop Trileptal

5/25 Increase Pristiq to 150

5/27 Start Percocet 5/30 stop Percocet

5/28 PGAD symptoms start

5/29 Decrease Pristiq to 100,

5/29 Increase lorazepam take 1mg at bedtime, 3 mg (.5 every 3 hours) throughout day

5/30 CT stop Pristiq

6/1 numbness in feet start

6/1 Pristiq 50, 6/3 Reinstate Pristiq 50,

6/7 Decrease Pristiq to 25.

6/8 Cervical epidural

6/19 Stop Pristiq

7/16, 7/18 try 5 mg fluoxetine for discontinuation symptoms. Stop.

8/5 Start Pamelor 10

8/23 Increase Pamelor 20

9/10 Decrease Pamelor 10 (high pulse, feel activated); shift lorazepam take 1.5 mg at bedtime, 2.5 mg throughout day

9/24 Stop Pamelor 10, Start Elavil 25

10/6 Decrease Elavil 18.75

10/13 Decrease Elavil 12.5

10/21 Decrease Elavil 6.25

10/30 Decrease Elavil 5.0

11/15 Stop pregnenalone

11/17 Decrease Elavil 2.5

12/2 Stop Elavil

12/11 Stop testosterone