cristal27: Success from almost 10 years of psych drugs

[cristal27]

Hello everyone! I'm writing this because I told myself I also wanted to be of help for those struggling one I made out of the mess psych drigs withdrawal is. While I still struggle with anxiety and some ocd, therapy is currently my only prescription haha along with a few other natural supplements like cbd, magnesium chloride spray,  pregnenolone, and a few others.  My main objective with this is not to say mental illness is not real and that the meds don't work, because they do sometimes and when we decide to come off them is not like our traumas and mental struggles will disappear. But I hope to say with this that it is possible to overcome ssri withdrawal and start a drug free life along with different coping strategies and a good support system. 

 

I was put on sertraline 25 mg along with buspar 10 mgwhen I was 15. I was never very consistent with it, but would experience the effects every time I'd try to come off it. I kept going on and off until 21 when I went cold turkey and my life was almost paralzyed from the withdrawals, I was then put on sertraline 50 mg and aripiprazole. The sertraline game me horrible side effects at first and most of the time i was on it. I believe it was giving me mild serotonin syndrome. I then tried to come off and again withdrawals so I was put on prozac and buspar. Stayed on it until 25. I decided to come off, but did a very small tapper compared to what is needed. The withdrawals were manageable at first, but then they came full force. I was throwing up, head spinning, brain zaps, you name it. I thought it'd never end. that's when I found this group and a few other people hwo have through the same on intagram. The success stories in here gave me so much hope, and that's why I wanted to create mine. 

Yes, it was horrible. The worse was aroound 6 months, then took 18 months to feel almost close to normal, and now its almost two years, and my nervous system is no where near where it was when I came off the drugs. I'm able to drive, exercise, run, wake up with energy in the morning, go to the store without feeling like my world is spinning, and so much more. For me prayer, supporting my body, and believing I was going to be ok, were huge in my recovery. DUring my worst times where I'd feel hopeless prayer became my strenght and usually something would come that reminded i'd be ok. 

 

 i also found the work of Dr. Ray peat on serotonin. OS when we come off these drugs our serotonin receptors are all over the place and we actually need to lower them most time. This why I decided to go bakc to the doctors and asked ot be presribed Vistaril, hydroxizine, which is a non addictive, take as needed anciety med. Its simply a potent antihistamine, so there is no withdrawals from it. It realy was of huge help at my very worst to bring some stabiity from the nausea, dizinness and racing heart. I really recommend anyone going through withdrawal to try this if they feel like they can;t simply handle it before going back on the ssri's. I no longer really take it as I now take cbd, but it is usually considered a safe drug free of withdrawals if given at small doses as is simply once again, a potent antihistamine. 

 

Apart from that, I worked on bettering my thyroid, nutritional level, and make sure to stay hydrated with mineral water and coconut water to help my nervous system. I also impletened a lot of grounding which is supper healing for the nervous system. AT my worst, I'd simply wake up early in the morning to sit on the grass and take in some sun while sipping on coconut water and listening to worship music. That was very healing for me. But I really encourage anyone here to check out the Walsh protocol and perhaps work with Walsh practiciner as they're expect in treating mental illness naturlaly and healing the many hormonal imbalances and nutritional deficiencies behind long lasting withdrawal symptoms. Please also research mind syndrome and german new medicine so you can learn more how your brain has the ability to keep creating symptoms even after the withdrawl is over and also to learn how the body has immense healing abilities and if taken care of and supported it is very well capable of healing from psych drugs withdrawals.

 

To anyone reading this going through the worse right now, please hang in there, it gets better, it truly does! But makes ure you're getting enough rest, being gentel with yourself, and supporting your body with sunshine, minerals, and plenty of grounding if you also wish. I truly think constant grounding was huge in shortening the duration of my nervous system breakdown. Also find your grounding stone, by that I mean that something that gives you a little hope when it all seems lost. I remember when I was barely even levaing my room, I had a lttile picture with a Bible verse letting me know God was in control. I'd look at it everytime i;d feel panic and repeat myself the words in it. I also hope with this post inspires some to find their support in The Faithful father we have in heaven. As you go through this, I promise you, that you're not alone. I remember reading another srri success story on instagram and how at her worst moment she pleaded with God and a humming bird suddenly appeared on her window. She also beautifully stated how most times when she'd feel low the humming bird would suddenly appear. For me it was an orange butterfly and owl. Many times when life just felt hopeless i'd go to my backyard and boom an orange butterfly would come to my greeting. other times, an owl would literally appear out of nowhere, and my mom also oftentimes saw it, so I wasn;t hallucinating form the withdrawls haha! But I hope this encourgaes you and reminds you that this universe is huge and there is a purpose and a reaosn why you're here. You're loved and cared for, trust that. With a little faith and time you'll be an even stronger and better version than you were before all of this. 

 

Oh! I also found @cherellethinks page on instagram very helpful. HSe had her own journeyw ith anxiety, a truly life changing one and also took psych drugs. SHe does one on one coaching and can be of huge help for many in here! @brookesiem is also extremely knowledgeable and has her own encouragng story! SHe also answers dm's and helps answers questions you might have, Last one is @livingrootswellness. Theresa is awsome and also usually answers questions about her withdrawal story. SHe also has an eft tapping group and offers incredible information on improbving withdrawals symptoms! 

 

Hang in there my friends! This is truly horrible what you;re experiencing. But with some faith and dedication from our part it gets better! 

 

Also, I;m sorry for the many errors. I'll come back soon to fix it. I'm very sleepy but felt liek it was alreay time I wrote my story to hopefully help someone out there. I;m not anit psych drugs by any means, I knwo there were likely of help for me at a time, but I do find there are many alternatives to try before putting somoen on a drug cocktail. ALso, i feel like there is no medical training or experience when it comes to tappering patienst of these drugs. Hopefully, with time this chnages. 

Edited March 10, 2023 by manymoretodays
just name to title

[manymoretodays]

Very good cristal27 @cristal27

2 years off is admirable, and we need more stories of success for those who began the drugs prior to the age of consent........the youth!

Helpful for us would be if you could put together a signature too.

See: how to summarize your drug history in your signature  It's just something we ask of all members, just scroll to the first post there which will tell you all you need to know about doing one, and how to

 

***also I am just going to put a brief disclaimer on your use of Vistaril.  And just that would not be something we'd recommend across the board to anyone.  Sometimes drugs of this nature do require a bit of a taper.  Always best to use "I" statements as much as possible when it comes to ones own story.  However, I'm glad it worked out well for you.  And it's hard NOT to share what worked for a time, to help you get through.  (you did good though, sincerely)

 

 

Loving your non-drug coping and many of the other things you pointed out so well.  The God shots!!  You're awesome.

 

Welcome and continued success to you.

Love, peace, healing, and growth,

manymoretodays(mmt)

 

 

Edited March 10, 2023 by manymoretodays

[Kuda1988]

What other symptoms did you have at your worst other than brain zaps/ nasuea / vertigo ? Did you have chemical sensitivity/ auditory sensitivity ?  You seemed to be sleeping ok during ? ( because you said you get up early to ground )

[Walleebug]

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your success story.  I'm almost 5 months off and I wake up every morning and read successful stories.  Always hoping to see new ones.  I'm so happy for you.  

[angela9985]

Thank you so much! Could I ask did you have insomnia?

[peaceandlove]

Thank you for posting & sharing your story. Did you ever deal with intrusive thoughts from withdrawal ?? 
 

I would love to try grounding but I really don’t want to get bit by bugs especially since there are scorpions where I live 

[Edub26]

Thank you so much for sharing your story. Your faith is admirable. I wouldn’t have made it through this if it weren’t for God, prayer, and truth. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cried to God and somehow was comforted. I was ripped off 60mg of prozac within 2 months and my brain flipped upside down. A psych provider reinstated 30mg to help level my brain out and I’ve been on it for 14 weeks now. I am still having waves of extreme anxiety (from the withdrawals). My doctor suggested bumping it up to 40mg to level out. I feel like I could level out on 30mg but it’s just taking a lot of time. Did you reinstate Prozac to come off slowly? Any advice or insight of waves you possibly went through? 

I have seen a huge improvement since being reinstated, but the waves are still scary and hard when they do come. I really just don’t want to go up to 40mg because my plan is to come off these meds!   
Thank you so much! 

[cristal27]

On 3/10/2023 at 2:38 PM, manymoretodays said:

Very good cristal27 @cristal27

2 years off is admirable, and we need more stories of success for those who began the drugs prior to the age of consent........the youth!

Helpful for us would be if you could put together a signature too.

See: how to summarize your drug history in your signature  It's just something we ask of all members, just scroll to the first post there which will tell you all you need to know about doing one, and how to

 

***also I am just going to put a brief disclaimer on your use of Vistaril.  And just that would not be something we'd recommend across the board to anyone.  Sometimes drugs of this nature do require a bit of a taper.  Always best to use "I" statements as much as possible when it comes to ones own story.  However, I'm glad it worked out well for you.  And it's hard NOT to share what worked for a time, to help you get through.  (you did good though, sincerely)

 

 

Loving your non-drug coping and many of the other things you pointed out so well.  The God shots!!  You're awesome.

 

Welcome and continued success to you.

Love, peace, healing, and growth,

manymoretodays(mmt)

 

 

Thank you! and for the vistaril, i'll be editing for sure. But I do think I mentioned I only to use a low dose short period or as needed. I had no problems at all this way with it when I decided to stop using it. I just wanted to mention it because it was truly one of the things that made the withdrawal manageable when I could literally not cope with the symptoms. I feel not many know about it and can be super helpful for those whose withdrawals get so bad they start considering starting the meds again to do a a slower tapper. With Vistaril, my withdrawal symptoms would get a ton better, without any side effects when I just didn't feel like taking it or decided to just stop using it. Moreover, my does were very low. I'm sure as you've mentioned, higher doses likely have more risks to them. Just mentioning all of this in case it can be of help for someone. Thank you so much for your encouraging words. 

 

 

[cristal27]

On 3/23/2023 at 7:51 PM, Edub26 said:

 

Thank you so much for sharing your story. Your faith is admirable. I wouldn’t have made it through this if it weren’t for God, prayer, and truth. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve cried to God and somehow was comforted. I was ripped off 60mg of prozac within 2 months and my brain flipped upside down. A psych provider reinstated 30mg to help level my brain out and I’ve been on it for 14 weeks now. I am still having waves of extreme anxiety (from the withdrawals). My doctor suggested bumping it up to 40mg to level out. I feel like I could level out on 30mg but it’s just taking a lot of time. Did you reinstate Prozac to come off slowly? Any advice or insight of waves you possibly went through? 

I have seen a huge improvement since being reinstated, but the waves are still scary and hard when they do come. I really just don’t want to go up to 40mg because my plan is to come off these meds!   
Thank you so much! 

I'm sorry to hear you had to reinstate the drugs. Many times I consider going back on them, in fact I did try to go back on them but I felt completely a lot worse and only took them for like 3 days. This si when my doctor recommended I tried Vistaril which made my withdrawals very manageable. I'd suggest you ask your doctor if you can try vistaril along with the prozac instead of upping the dose for it, and slowly lower your dose on the prozac with the help of vistaril. I feel this could be very helpful, moreover, only your doctor can determine if this is a good drug combination for you as there are many of these drugs that can't be mixed together due to serotonin syndrome and other stuff. But hang in there. I had horrible brain zaps, would literally wake up in the middle of the night feeling dizzy and with a fast heart rate, tehre were days where I couldn't stop throwing up, and so much more. It gets better. stay strong in your faith. Also, aprt from the vistaril, magnesium glycinate and adrenal cocktails were super helpful in helping me mange my symptoms. You can look adrenal cocktails on google. I used to take about three a day everyday to support my adrenals and help with dizziness, fast heart rate, and migranes. All of your symptoms are a nervous system in override and also a huge surge of stress hormones induced by the drugs and the withdrawal. The goal is to help your nervous system by letting it know it is safe, use grounding on the earth which is very healing for our vagus nerve, and give it the nutrients and minerals needed for it to relax. This is why magnesium, salt, and potassium are huge, as they aid the adrenals and lower parasympathetic activity. Moreover, it takes time for the body to increase magnesium levels. WIll need to give it time. But I can almost guarantee you that you'll feel your symptoms get a bit better with magnesium glycinate. 

[cristal27]

On 3/17/2023 at 7:41 PM, peaceandlove said:

Thank you for posting & sharing your story. Did you ever deal with intrusive thoughts from withdrawal ?? 
 

I would love to try grounding but I really don’t want to get bit by bugs especially since there are scorpions where I live 

I still deal with intrusive thoughts until today when I'm very stressed. They can sometimes get very bad if I try to solve them or pay attention to them even now that I'm out of the withdrawal period. Intrusive thoughts are all part of a stressed brain. It's all paranoia from your brain being on override finding threads everywhere. I know it sounds easier said than done, but you can't get stuck on trying to solve them, jus gotta wait until your brain is more relaxed and then it'll start making sense to you how silly they usually are and how unlikely to happen they are. The key for these is, never try to solve them while until you're sober. By sober I mean, sober from anxiety and stress hormones. When on override your brain will create the worse case scenarios for anything and throw a ton of paranoid thoughts your way. You can try telling yourself yeap this thought is scary but i'll only try to solve it when I feel relaxed, there is no urgency in solving right now. Truth is that most times, later it won't really make sense and your brain will likely not even want to solve it anymore.  There is something really helpful I learned in therapy, and that is that a thought left alone passes on its own. Thoughts are transient, if left alone and not try to be solves, your brain is guaranteed to give you a whole new thought and experience a few minutes after. And about grounding, I'd really encourage you to find a safe spot as it truly is key for vags nerve and nervous system regulation. There are also grounding mats for sale but I'm not sure how reliable these are. Hope this helps. 

[cristal27]

On 3/12/2023 at 5:52 AM, angela9985 said:

Thank you so much! Could I ask did you have insomnia?

If I'm honest not too much as sleep was my way to cope. But there were times my heart rate was very high and that would keep me up all night. I deal with some lack of sleep here and there but usually try to put on a movie, pray, or take something like melatonin or an antihistamine to induced sleep if it gets too bad. Hope this helps. Moreover, I'd say to not stress about lack of sleep. The more we worry about it the harder it gets to fall asleep. If you find yourself too stimulated i'd say try to actually get the energy out by drawing, doing a puzzle, reading a book or something instead of forcing yourself to sleep. 

[manymoretodays]

cristal27,

Good to see you back here.

As soon as possible, would you attend to doing a signature please?

I gave you a link in my post to you above that explains more about what that is and how to do one.

Much appreciated.

L, P, H, and G,

mmt

[Nypeaches89]

Thanks for your story, encouraging !!

What do you take pregenolone for?

I googled it but I’m confused !

 

And yes about the hormonal mess post withdrawals, it’s horrible. 

[EasyGoing]

Hi @cristal27

 

For magnesium, have you noticed any dependence? I did find that magnesium ease my symptoms quite a bit. It did take a week or so for things to calm down. But I’m concerned that as you take it on regular basis, your body becomes dependent on it… having experienced dependence on AD, there isn’t anything else I want to be dependent on…

[getofflex]

@EasyGoingmagnesium will not create any dependency.  You can take it every day with no problem. 

[cristal27]

On 6/22/2023 at 10:02 PM, EasyGoing said:

so magnesium is a super crucial mineral for over 300 bodily processes. You need magnesium for almost everything your body does. Our bodies burn through magnesium rather quick. It's something you kind pf always want to incorporate in your diet. From what I undertsand you can't become depedent on it as it is a mineral you need. It's like iron, b12, etc, your body needs it. I've been taking magnesium for like two years already I vary from spray to the capsules. I haven't felt any dependency. It helps my palpitations, keeps my heart rate under control and keeps my nervous system more stable during stress. I also make sure to take other electrolytes sodium and potassium for better results as these need each other. I take coconut water for potassium and calcium, is rich in electrolytes. These comobo of magnesium and electrolytes made a huge difference in helping me heal my nervous sytem. Hope this helps. 

 

For magnesium, have you noticed any dependence? I did find that magnesium ease my symptoms quite a bit. It did take a week or so for things to calm down. But I’m concerned that as you take it on regular basis, your body becomes dependent on it… having experienced dependence on AD, there isn’t anything else I want to be dependent on…

[cristal27]

On 6/11/2023 at 12:34 PM, Nypeaches89 said:

Thanks for your story, encouraging !!

What do you take pregenolone for?

I googled it but I’m confused !

 

And yes about the hormonal mess post withdrawals, it’s horrible. 

It's good to balance your hormones and its supposed to help improve mental focus and overall help your mental helth. Moreover, I only take 10 mg here and there as I'm not a doctor to experiment with high doses, and not everybody reacts the same. You can research Dr. ray Peat's work on pregnenolone. I buy mine from pure supplements. 

[cristal27]

On 3/11/2023 at 6:14 AM, Walleebug said:

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your success story.  I'm almost 5 months off and I wake up every morning and read successful stories.  Always hoping to see new ones.  I'm so happy for you.  

How are you doing now?

[Walleebug]

@cristal27I'm doing pretty well.  I still have waves but my windows are getting really good.  I'm 8 months off this week. 

[cristal27]

Awsome! Don't be scare if you start getting protracted withdrawal and feel like you'll never heal. May happen in some after the 6 -8 months mark. Morever, I can promise your body will be fully heal after the 15-18 months mark. I'm amazed at how resilient and strong my body is now. Make sure to give it enough nutrients, hydration, sunshine, time with God and rest. It's designed to heal, trust that. If you ever start getting too many symptoms THC free cbd can be very helpful too. You can start with a low dose until you find a dosage that is best for you. Moreover, by this I mean heal from withdrawal symptoms and a desensitize nervous system. It takes hard work though to heal from the mental struggles that lead us to the medication in the first place. Stay strong!

[Walleebug]

@cristal27 Thank you for the encouragement.  I really have been taking very good care of myself.  Being sure to include all the things you listed.  Unfortunately, I'm too afraid to try any supplements.  I'm too nervous to even try tylenol or advil at this point.  I'm very sensitive to chemicals.  If I'm completely healed at 15-18 months I will be very happy.   Thanks again for coming back to encourage those of us still in the thick of it.  I hope to repay the favor someday!

[cristal27]

2 hours ago, Walleebug said:

@cristal27 Thank you for the encouragement.  I really have been taking very good care of myself.  Being sure to include all the things you listed.  Unfortunately, I'm too afraid to try any supplements.  I'm too nervous to even try tylenol or advil at this point.  I'm very sensitive to chemicals.  If I'm completely healed at 15-18 months I will be very happy.   Thanks again for coming back to encourage those of us still in the thick of it.  I hope to repay the favor someday!

I completely understand. I was very scare to try anything too after the traumatic experience of withdrawing from psych meds. Moreover, if you ever need a little something to manage the symptoms a bit, I can promise from someone who is very scare to take anything too that thc free cbd can be very helpful for calming your nervous system and you won't have any weird side effects. Nevertheless, you don't need it if you want to, is just one of the things I feel speed up my recovery process as our bodies have tons of cannabinoid receptors that cbd helps to balance.

 

But  You're designed to heal and whatever you do, healing will still happen. If you have instagram, you can check out @tommyjohniii and @dr. cassiehuckaby. They have lots of posts on how are bodies are designed to heal on their own.  There are universal principles happening all around us, that are meant to happen whether we are aware of them or not, whether we believe them or not.  Our bodies have been encoded to go back to homeostasis, Is just a matter of time. You can also research neuroplasticty and how the brain is always creatting new neuropathways to heal. This is how we heal concussions and many other brain injuries. I'm glad I've been of help even if a bit, I know exactly how horrible and scary it is, but I'm glad to be proof that with a little faith and patience you can make it to the other side. 

[Phoenixmama]

thank you for your story ❤️ 

[getofflex]

Cristal, thank you for your success story.  I find it very inspiring and hope giving.  You are proof that even when one is put on the drugs at a young age, recovery is possible!