Toridanny505 Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 I started anxiety medication for the first time in March of 2021 because I had worsened anxiety during the 2 days before my period. I went to a BHNP and she convinced me that I should try Viibryd daily to manage it. Viibryd actually seemed to help my all around anxiety but it gave me diarrhea daily for 6 months. So my BHNP switched me to Prozac. I tried it for a month and it made me so tired I couldn’t function without two naps a day. So she switched me to Buspar which made me very dizzy and actually gave me brain zaps. Then she switched me to Wellbutrin which made me feel like I was buzzing. So I quickly weaned Wellbutrin and took a break from meds. Luckily I had no symptoms except anxiety a little higher than normal. I had no idea that withdrawal could do that and just assumed that my regular anxiety had gotten worse and I needed a new medication. So I started Trintellix the last week of January 2022. My anxiety was getting worse which I thought was situational from life. So mid-March my BHNP upped the dose from 5mg to 10mg. I experienced panic attacks that came in waves for hours. I had never had a panic attack before. My BHNP had a baby a few days after she upped my dose so I took myself back to 5mg after 5 days on 10mg. I was still having panic attacks so after three days of 5mg I began cutting the pills and did 5 days of 2.5mg. Then I stopped taking it. So only 8 days of tapering from 10mg to 0mg. That was 4 weeks ago and I have experienced panic attacks, and very severe anxiety ever since then. I have NEVER experienced anxiety this high in my life. I have had diarrhea every day since the 10mg which are tied to the cramps I get from panic attacks. I have no appetite whatsoever and I’ve lost a lot of weight. I have been exercising every day and getting outside and melatonin has helped me to be able to sleep. I got so desperate last week that I went to a new BHNP at the office I was going to and she prescribed Trileptal twice daily and hydroxyzine and propranalol for panic attacks. Even after finding this site and reading stories I was still so desperate so two days ago I started taking Trileptal 150mg twice a day. Should I have reinstated the Trintellix or Viibryd since they might help with the seratonin withdrawals my brain seems to be experiencing? I’m so scared and desperate, help! Mar 2021 Viibryd Aug 2021 Prozac Sep 2021 Buspar Oct 2021 Wellbutrin no meds Nov 2021-Jan 2022 Jan 2022 Trintellix 5mg Mar 10 2022 Trintellix 10mg Mar 15 2022 Trintellix back to 5mg Mar 18 2022 Trintellix cut to 2.5mg Mar 25 2022 0mg Apr 19 2022 Trileptal 150mg x2 daily Link to comment
Moderator Onmyway Posted April 24, 2022 Moderator Share Posted April 24, 2022 Hi @Toridanny505 welcome to SA. So sorry to hear you have been suffering with anxiety and withdrawal on top of it. Glad you found your way to us. We will help you get through this! Thank you for completing the signature, it is very helpful for us to get a summary to advise you better. How are you feeling on Trileptal now? You had two separate things happen for you - 1) you had an adverse reaction to a dosage increase that destabilized your nervous system and then you had 2) withdrawal symptoms. Your heightened anxiety end of last year was likely post acute withdrawal. When our system is in withdrawal, it is sensitive to new psychoactive substances so does not like new additions. In general we recommend reinstatement of the last drug that one was on at a very low dose. It doesn't always work especially if our system is very sensitized but it is worth a try - it is a risk mitigation approach - the dose is low enough not to be too harmful if there is an adverse reaction and you evaluate your symptoms and can stop quickly if it makes you worse. So we would have recommended a reinstatement of trintellix. What I am not sure of, however, is whether you had an adverse reaction to it from the very beginning or whether it was the dose increase that started the adverse reaction? We would avoid recommending a drug to which you had a severe adverse reaction. About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms - Symptoms and self-care - Surviving Antidepressants How are you feeling now on Trileptal? It is a very different drug from antidepressants and my brief research does not allow me to make recommendations on what to do with it - seems like a 'downer' similar to benzos but not a benzo (I am not a pharmacologist though). The mechanism of action is not clear. I will consult with other mods to see if they are more familiar with it. In general, we avoid recommending adding new psychoactive substances to a destabilized CNS (incl. alcohol, pot, activating vitamins like D and B, some antibiotics). We do recommend magnesium and Omega-3 however. https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/15483-magnesium-natures-calcium-channel-blocker/ King of supplements: Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) - Symptoms and self-care - Surviving Antidepressants If you can report back on your symptoms, we may be able to figure out what to do next. If you can give us daily notes of your symptoms for a few days, it may help us even more on how to advise you. Pls see format below. https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/1008-before-you-begin-tapering-what-you-need-to-know/#comment-249388 Hope you start feeling better soon, OMW PS. Check out Claire Weekes method for dealing with anxiety, lots of members find it very helpful in managing symptoms. "Nothing so small as a moment is insurmountable, and moments are all that we have. You have survived every trial and tribulation that life has thrown at you up until this very instant. When future troubles come—and they will come—a version of you will be born into that moment that can conquer them, too." - Kevin Koenig I am not a doctor and this should not be considered medical advice. You can use the information and recommendations provided in whatever way you want and all decisions on your treatment are yours. In the next few weeks I do not have a lot of capacity to respond to questions. If you need a quick answer pls tag or ask other moderators who may want to be tagged. Aug 2000 - July 2003 (ct, 4-6 wk wd) , citalopram 20 mg, xanax prn, wellbutrin for a few months, trazodone prn Dec 2004 - July 2018 citalopram 20 mg, xanax prn (rarely used) Aug 2018 - citalopram 40 mg (self titrated up) September 2018 - January 2019 tapered citalopram - 40/30/20/10/5 no issues until a week after reaching 0 Feb 2019 0.25 xanax - 0.5/day (3 weeks) over to klonopin 0.25 once a day to manage severe wd March 6, reinstated citalopram 2.5 mg (liquid), klonopin 0.25 mg for sleep 2-3 times a week Apr 1st citalopram 2.0 mg (liquid), klonopin 0.25 once a week (off by 4/14/19- no tapering) citalopram (liquid) 4/14/19 -1.8 mg, 5/8/19 - 1.6 mg, 7/27/19 -1.5 mg, 8/15/19 - 1.35, 2/21/21 - 1.1 (smaller drops in between), 6/20/21 - 1.03 mg, 8/7/21- 1.025, 8/11/21 - 1.02, 8/15/21 - 1.015, 9/3/21 - 0.925 (fingers crossed!), 10/8/21 - 0.9, 10/18/21 - 0.875, 12/31/21 - 0.85, 1/7/22 - 0.825, 1/14/22 - 0.8, 1/22/22 - 0.785, 8/18/22 - 0.59, 12/15/2022 - 0.48, 2/15/22 - 0.43, 25/07/23 - 0.25 (mistake), 6/08/23 - 0.33mg Supplements: magnesium citrate and bi-glycinate Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted April 30, 2022 Administrator Share Posted April 30, 2022 Hello, @Toridanny505 How do you feel on the Trileptal? This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment
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