Momoffour: Struggling Post-Sertraline CT

[Momoffour]

@AltostrataI have heightened anxiety. And feel weird. Is that good or bad? 

[Momoffour]

@Altostrata the anxiety is calming down a bit. No new symptoms but the ones I've had are heightened a bit and going up and down.

[SonSetFree]

Hi Momoffour, here is the link to topic on reinstatement.  
 

 

[Altostrata]

How are you measuring your dose?

 

You may have some odd symptoms for some days. If they last only a short time, it's not worrisome.

[Momoffour]

@Altostrata A 1 mL syringe I took 0.05 for 1 mg  and okay, yeah. It was real bad at first but seems to be calming down.  Not 100% still a bit weird  I almost feel normal right now. 

[Altostrata]

1 minute ago, Momoffour said:

I almost feel normal right now. 

 

This is a good sign. It will take 4-7 days for your daily dose to reach steady-state. Please be sure to take the same amount at the same time each day.

[Momoffour]

@Altostrata will do. Thank you. 

[NeDaytoDayMJ]

On 2/12/2022 at 9:17 PM, Momoffour said:

@NeDaytoDayMJThank you for the encouragement, i appreciate that. I'm doing my best to cope and distract... Do you ever feel slightly better at night? That seems to be the only time I feel SOME relief from the awul terror, anxiety, or maybe its inner akathisia I'm unsure.

I do feel a tad slightly better at night.  It varies though.  I hope this reinstatement goes well for you.  

[Momoffour]

@NeDaytoDayMJ Thank you, I appreciate that I really hope so too. My kids need me. 

[Momoffour]

@Altostrataso I did feel immediately worse after taking it. Or well at least heightened symptoms that slowly calmed down, I don't need to stop?

[Momoffour]

@Altostratafor example literally right after taking it heightened brain fog, Anxiety kind of panicky, felt weird, shaky, etc. It did calm down though. Just felt like a really bad wave basically.

[Momoffour]

@Altostrata woke up feeling weird again, anxiety, heart racing, overwhelmed brain feeling. Slept for 3 hours woke up tossed and turned went back to sleep for a couple hours then woke up again went back to sleep slept for an hour... I always feel worse in the mornings anyway so I don't know if this is from reinstating or just withdrawal as usual. I'm on my menstrual cycle too which always seems to make things worse. 

[Altostrata]

What time o'clock do you take sertraline?

 

Was your sleep better or worse than before reinstatement?

 

You may indeed get worse symptoms relative to your menstrual cycle.

[Momoffour]

@Altostrata I take it at 11 am. My sleep was already broken and all over the place before RI When I took it today no immediate reaction thinking it's because I ate something first.. it's been almost an hour and I feel tired. 

Still brain fog I think it is... is pretty heavy, luckily no anxiety yet. And my forearms are weakish. It's all bearable. However the brain fog is a lot but again I can tolerate that. If I didn't have it I'd almost feel normal.

[Altostrata]

Hang in there, give this a chance. It's possible this dose of sertraline will make you tired and you may want to move it to the nighttime.

 

Do you feel better or worse after you smoke a cigarette?

[Momoffour]

@Altostrata No different, honestly. 

I am hanging in there. Thank you so much for the encouragement and your time ❤️

[Momoffour]

@Altostrata this morning was pretty rough. Brain fog is always my main symptom everyday  (or an overwhelming brain feeling anyway) where everything is kind of overwhelming around me, anxiety (the feeling in the pit of my stomach and crying wishing for death) is up and down my arms and legs got restless for a bit.  stomach hurts today changing intensity a lot , and now I'm freezing cold with random chills. After I take my dose I always feel somewhat better. (Not symptom free) but better in a sense. 

[Momoffour]

@Altostrata I almost always feel better except brain fog for 2-3 hours after taking it like calm and tired. And then by night I feel anxious and by morning I feel really bad almost til I take it and then hour later better. . I feel like. 

[Altostrata]

2 hours ago, Momoffour said:

After I take my dose I always feel somewhat better. (Not symptom free) but better in a sense. 

 

This is a good sign. After you get used to 1mg in a week or so, you might to increase a bit to find your reinstatement sweet spot. 1mg may not be enough to last for 24 hours.

[Momoffour]

@Altostrata my question is... Is reinstating just avoiding the inevitable? Have people reinstated... Stabilized... Tapered and then went on with life? Or does reinstating just take the edge off and make this take longer?

[Altostrata]

See What is withdrawal syndrome? 
 
About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms 
 
The Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

[Momoffour]

@AltostrataI've read those. I just know you have a lot of experience in this so was wondering if stabilizing eventually then tapering and being free was a possibility from your perspective and everything you've seen. 

[Altostrata]

We wouldn't suggest it if we didn't see it work. That's the objective of this site.

[Momoffour]

@Altostrata I see. In my defense my brain is a bit fried and I promise I was not so ignorant before all of this. 🤣

Again, thank you for all you and the other admins do. It's mighty amazing of you all to go through your own problems and still help others. 

[Momoffour]

@Altostrata Did you ever have an overwhelming brain feeling like your ears are gonna bleed and your head is gonna explode no physical pain just really really annoying? Not sure what symptom this is. I've had it before RI. Having a bad wave of it tonight 

[Momoffour]

@Altostrata it's like overstimulated but kind of calming down. It's mixed with brain fog and I've had weird vision, light sensitivity since the beginning of withdrawal and now sound. 🙄 It's so hard to tell what's what anymore. 

[Momoffour]

The overstimulation went away . But I feel like I am losing more and more of my brain and couldn't go to sleep at my usual time . 🥺 Not the first time this has happened either though. I hope RI wasn't a bad idea 

[Momoffour]

The feeling calmed down last night and I finally went to sleep and got 4-5 hours. 

I woke up feeling tired but the overwhelming brain feeling is back and kind of driving me nuts. Hoping it calms down soon. It's like sensory overload 

[Momoffour]

@Altostrata I went back to sleep for a bit. But the light and noise sensitivity is what I think this is connected to. Does this mean things are getting worse ? 

[Momoffour]

maybe I'm just overthinking. You did say new symptoms can come and go. But since last night I've felt really bad as far as the head/ears feeling light and noise sensitivity go. 

[Momoffour]

I took my dose today and once again an hour after taking it  feel this inner calm. Most of my symptoms have calmed down and are just in the background except for the light sensitivity and brain fog. The anxiety in my head hopefully will stay calm and hot come back. 🤞🏻🙏🏻 My middle daughters birthday is on the 22nd so I'm hoping to be able to get out to get her a cake and gifts. 

[Momoffour]

@ChessieCatdoes this mean im getting worse can you reassure me? I'm freaking out  it keeps calming down and then staying in the background then going back up. I hate this feeling 

[Momoffour]

Last night was pretty okay although I felt depressed and brain damaged... it evened out eventually though the later it got.

Felt anxiety in stomach this morning as well as light sensitivity and a bit of noise sensitivity.. Now feeling better but also like spacey and tired and brain damaged sort of. 

Once again I think in the bad waves I freak out about RI. But maybe it is working. I'll feel so close to myself only to be sucked back into withdrawal there's no consistent pattern to my symptoms changes a lot. My vision being weird and feeling unlike myself is constant but lessens at some points of the day. 

[Blossom71]

Hi @Momoffour

 

The symptoms coming and going throughout the day is pretty typical, certainly for me but it seems also for most people here.

 

Hang in there. It’s only 4 days since your updose. It will take some time to level off so be patient and kind with yourself x

[Momoffour]

@Blossom71 thank you for your encouragement. I'm praying for some normalcy for my daughters birthday in 3 days. I have so much to do and have to get up and force myself to. I'm sorry you're caught up in this mess too. I see that all the admins and members have been through hell and that breaks my heart too. I'm definitely pretty empathic in that way. I wish I could take away everyone's pain and fix it for us all. My hate for pharma grows more and more every day. Ruining so many peoples lives and getting away with it all for $$$. I've definitely accepted this is a long road. I'm very thankful for Alto's help to get me out of this mess somehow. And for the people that comment and help me get through this as it is very lonely too. 

[Blossom71]

@Momoffour

I agree that it’s a pretty lonely journey. I haven’t shared with anyone apart from my husband in real life, as to be honest I’m not sure anyone would believe me unless they’ve been through it themselves. And to be dismissed would be devastating. 

 

I am also pretty empathic and it really breaks my heart that everyone here is going through so so much and the people who have caused all this (pharmaceutical companies and doctors) couldn’t care a jot. I am so angry that it has been allowed to happen and it doesn’t seem that it will change is coming any time soon. Thankfully we’re all here to help each other.

 

I hope things go well with you’re daughters birthday. You’ll get through it and it might be a much welcome distraction. Take care and be gentle with yourself x