True1: burning sensations

[True1]

Hi. This is my first post. I was on cipralex 10 mg for about 20 years. About 2 years ago I started rapidly changing the dose up and down and felt what I think was akathisia. I went to the hospital and was switched to fluvoxamine which I took for about a week. I then wanted to try to switch back to cipralex because of the way I felt. I got the wrong advice from a pharmacist. She told me to wait a day or so to avoid serotonin syndrome. I waited a day or so not realizing that fluvoxamine has a very short half-life. So I mistakenly stopped the medication cold turkey after about 20 years. I took the cipralex for a few days but did not feel well and switched back to fluvoxamine for a week and then I was switched to trintellix 5 mg. About a month or so later I moved to 10 mg and a month or so after that I switched to 20 mg. I don't remember the exact dates. Around the time I started taking Trintellix I started feeling my body vibrating and burning sensations in my arms and chest. My body felt like it was buzzing. I think this was caused by the cold turkey. As I increased the trintellix the sensations lessened. I think this is because the trintellix masked these distressing sensations but not completely. Even on 20 mg I continued to feel the vibrating and burning sensations. I was also feeling intense anxiety. It's been about 2 years and I still feel these sensations. They are very disturbing. After about 2 years on the Trintellix I lowered the dose from 20 mg to 17.5 mg on Thursday March 10. The burning and vibrating sensations have been getting worse since a few days after I lowered the dose. Maybe the sensations caused by the cold turkey about two years ago are being unmasked by the lowering of the dose. Could this be? What should I do? Should I stick to this dose or go back to 20 mg? Are these vibrating and burning sensations caused by stopping fluvoxamine, waiting, and in effect stopping antidepressants cold turkey after about 20 years? I'm so troubled by these sensations.

[True1]

 I would also like to ask what I should do about these distressing burning and vibrating sensations?

[Altostrata]

Welcome, @True1

 

Your doctor is prescribing the Trintellix? Have you told your doctor about these symptoms?

 

They sound like withdrawal symptoms. If I were you, I'd go back to 20mg Trintellix. It's very possible that your long history of going on and off psychiatric drugs and having adverse reactions to them has made your system hypersensitive to drug changes, and if you want to taper, you'll have to do it very, very gradually.

 

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