xamendrummerx Zoloft cold turkey in '07, now relapsed from hyper sensitivity

[xamendrummerx]

Hey guys I'm sorry I didn't even see the last two messages. I was trying to relax after the bad Xmas day I had. Right now my situation has changed. I was taking Melatonin and during that time my long days of staying awake went away and now it's replaced by being able to get to sleep on time consistently but I'm sleeping less and less! Inducing sleep is easy at the correct time, but I can't get enough sleep anymore and am exhausted. I feel like it's related to melatonin changing my sleep architecture but am not sure. I used to be an 8-9 hour sleeper, but since melatonin 5-7 hours. It really feels like melatonin changed the pattern from long days awake occasionally, to being able to sleep on time but not getting enough sleep at all. I am going a bit crazy and depressed. I need 8 hours. Anyone think my sleeping pattern changing and my lack of sleep is related to the use of melatonin over a few weeks?

 

Right now am taking 250mg keppra to help induce sleep and 25mg atenolol once a day.

 

I don't think I had two cold turkeys, it was just my original AD I cold turkeyed. I never cold turkeyed klonopin but it was a mistake to use it on and off again after the hydrocortisone cream screwed me over.

[Skyler]

I'm sleeping less and less! Inducing sleep is easy at the correct time, but I can't get enough sleep anymore and am exhausted. I feel like it's related to melatonin changing my sleep architecture but am not sure. I used to be an 8-9 hour sleeper, but since melatonin 5-7 hours. It really feels like melatonin changed the pattern from long days awake occasionally, to being able to sleep on time but not getting enough sleep at all. I need 8 hours. Anyone think my sleeping pattern changing and my lack of sleep is related to the use of melatonin over a few weeks?

I stopped taking melatonin because of a reaction similar to yours. It was better prn, a couple of times a week, but my overall response was negative so I stopped all together.

 

Skyler

[Altostrata]

The melatonin may be helping you to sleep more deeply, causing a paradoxical reaction from an alerting system hypersensitized by withdrawal.

 

If I were you, I'd reduce the melatonin dosage. How much are you taking?

[xamendrummerx]

Thanks sky and alto.

 

I quit melatonin altogether for a whole month in January. But I caved in on a stressful day last week and took one. It's been bad since. So I'm not taking any melatonin right now. I think it makes sense it's giving me deeper but less sleep. Thanks for the input. I take it it's a combination of all the things I've gone through. How long is it going to take to change the pattern again? I've been in this slump since late June.

[Altostrata]

How much melatonin were you taking?

[xamendrummerx]

I was on 0.5 mg a few weeks in November and then 1 mg through December. I took only one dose in January and another a week ago. It was 1 mg. I feel like I'm still having huge problems from those two doses. Other than that it might be something I'm not aware of.

[Altostrata]

.25mg melatonin is the normal starting dose.

[xamendrummerx]

My sleep doctor said .5mg was ok to start on. Am I addicted in some way and need to start on .25mg again to get stabilized? Or should I stay away from it forever? I have a deep fear of using it.

[Altostrata]

No, studies have shown a small amount, less than .5mg, to be effective for many people.

 

See http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/189-melatonin-for-sleep/

 

Do you really expect your psychiatrist to pay attention to your sensitivity to melatonin?

[xamendrummerx]

He deals with SSRI withdrawal often so that's why I went to him. I'm pretty sure he said it's ok to start on .5mg. Maybe I was so tired that day he might've said to start lower. Thanks for the link. To be honest I never used it at the correct time I should have even when my doctor told me to use it only at night. I used it even during the day because I couldn't sleep at night half the time.

[Altostrata]

You should use it after nightfall, to augment your normal melatonin release.

 

If you can recommend your doctor for tapering, please add his contact info to http://tinyurl.com/7cp8l8v or send it to me in a p.m. This could help a lot of people.

[xamendrummerx]

I already asked him if I could mention his name here and he said I shouldn't because of his busy schedule.

[Meimeiquest]

Have you been reading any of the threads on a low-histamine diet? Best, Meimeiquest

[xamendrummerx]

No Mein I didn't, it's so hard for me to start new diets that I never tried one. But this week I was finally able to eat sugar again since I got sick in June. So my diet is improving even if my sleep isn't good.

 

Would anyone be able to tell me their thoughts on me starting a low dose of Trazodone? I have extreme dizziness and faintness since I was young and that's why I was on SSRIs. My dizziness was tested for months until they put me on an SSRI and that stopped my dizziness. I will be bed-ridden if my dizziness gets as as bad as it used to be when I was young and it's happening again. How would I do on Trazodone if an SSRI destroys my life for a year if I touch it? My psych. doctor who helped me with my withdrawal symptoms thinks it's ok to try it. This is a big decision for me and I've been sitting on it for over a year. I don't want to be bed-ridden feeling faint for the rest of my life. I'm already feeling suicidal from dizziness and my sleep problems.

[tezza]

Hello xamen,

 

I know you've been suffering for a long time so hearing , "I'm sorry" probably sounds very hollow. I do believe you are stronger than you realize, though.

 

I don't know much about Trazodone except that it is an antidepressant and it does have to be tapered. I don't know if anyone could predict how it would affect you. People have taken it to help with sleep, I've heard, but as I was saying, it's hard to say what the effect would be.

 

I can hear how desperate you are feeling. May you wake one day soon feeling well and new!

 

Hugs,

 

Tezza

[dunerbug]

Is there anything I can do to speed up digesting and getting rid of the last traces of what I ate yesterday, or is it my nerves feeling the after effects for awhile and there's nothing I can do right now? Like ginger tea, is it any good for speeding up clearing your stomach? It's all I have right now.

 

I really try to eat the simplest foods already but thanks for the suggestions. It's when I change my routine things seem to go badly. But it seems impossible to eat the same meals everyday.

 

I drink dandelion tea sometimes. It's very gentle. It helps promote liver function and aids in digestion.

It's worked for me in the past.

[tezza]

xamen,

 

Probiotics help to keep things moving along. They seem to help in the gut issues for me.

[xamendrummerx]

Hey guys, so after 9 months of torture I got 18 good days of sleep in March! So the sleep brain damage seems to be going away. One dose of hydrocortisone cream was enough to destroy my sleep for almost a year thanks to the Zoloft cold turkey! Maybe just a few more months to go for real stability in sleep. I want to say thanks to everyone on this board for replying to me to all my questions! And I want to say screw all the doctors for being corrupt robots who don't learn anything even after 20 years of practice!

 

I wish I could help other people on this forum but I'm no good at looking at other people's suffering. It's not that I'm lazy or don't care about you guys! Love you all.

[Altostrata]

Thanks for checking in, xamen. Good to hear of the positive developments.

[xamendrummerx]

Hey guys, is there any reason the antibiotic cream called clindamycin would interact with Keppra, an anti seizure drug I'm on for helping me sleep? I've used it in the past and my RLS returned, and it's happened again when I used it for acne. I didn't even know this acne cream was an antibiotic, and I chose to stay away from antibiotics. I realized what if antibiotics interact with Keppra and make it stop working until the antibiotic effect goes away. It's happened in the past, I just didn't really believe they were connected until my RLS returned a second time. It's not full on insomnia hyperactivity I used to have from being hyper sensitive to drugs, it feels more like how feel when Keppra isn't working. Is it possible using an antibiotic neutralized Keppra for awhile? Can antibiotics do that to other meds you're on?

[Altostrata]

You might be hypersensitive to the antibiotic and reacting to it.

 

Many people here have reported reactions to oral antibiotics. I've had reactions to topical steroids. So it's possible you're reacting to clindamycin cream.

[xamendrummerx]

Does anyone know why I have permanent heart problems after an accidental OD on amitriptyline? My heart has been skipping (PACs) and going at a high rate since the overdose. It's been over 6 years since the OD. I never once had any of these problems before the OD. It all started right after the OD. I have to use beta blockers to control it. The cardiologists say there's nothing wrong with my heart even though I have all these crazy issues with it since then. It skips and races like crazy even on beta blockers if I don't exercise everyday. It goes up to 180bpm on its own since the OD without beta blockers. How can the doctors say there's nothing wrong with it if it races so much since the OD?

 

One thing I was doing after my overdose was checking my pulse in my throat constantly, since it was a good place to check if it was skipping, since at the time I was extremely paranoid about everything it did. The thing I noticed was I had a solid thump in my throat with every heart beat, but a few months after my amitriptyline OD, my heart's thump in my throat went a lot softer and stayed that way. Ever since then, I've had the heart skipping and racing problems. It's definitely related to the softer thump I'm getting in my throat of my heart, like my heart needs exercise because it's too soft or something.

 

What happened during the OD was maybe atrial fibrilation but I'm not sure. The OD made my heart go 160bpm, but it was at a soft rhythm, like when you're at rest. That's the problem, there was no adrenaline feeling fueling my heart. It didn't have any adrenaline feeling in it like you get during real exercise at that rate. From that I feel like the OD overworked my heart for the few minutes it was forcing it to do this. It was enough to do all this damage for a lifetime so far.

 

Any of this sound familiar? No doctors are able to tell me what's going on. Anyone know any genius cardiologists that don't follow the book and might be able to tell me?

[Altostrata]

The drug affected your autonomic nervous system, which controls heart rate. You might want to talk to a neurologist.

[xamendrummerx]

Thanks Alto. So it might not be a heart problem directly? Is there even a 1% chance autonomic stuff can repair itself someday? I've had zero progress so far other than when I exercise. Do you have an idea what neuros would tell me? Hopefully not to use psych. drugs because I can't take them.

[Altostrata]

Sorry for the long delay in my response.

 

It seems your heart is healthy, that's why the cardiologist said there's nothing wrong with your heart.

 

Yes, the OD might have disturbed your heart rate. It's possible this will go away. How are you now?

[xamendrummerx]

Anyone know the safety of taking Tylenol for a fever/virus if I'm highly sensitive due to antidepressants? I'm doing badly and need something to lower my temperature. Is Tylenol affecting sleep badly? Anyone have experience?

[xamendrummerx]

So does anyone know if Tylenol is safe if you have severe sleep sensitivity from various drugs and chemicals?

[ladybug]

You could do a search here for Tylenol and see what people's experiences have been. I've personally never heard of anyone in WD having a bad reaction from it.

[xamendrummerx]

Thank you for the info, Ladybug.

[xamendrummerx]

Hello, can Altrostrata or someone else knowledgeable tell me if Tylenol is safe to take if I have adverse sleep problems from psych. drugs?

[bubble]

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1039-painkillers-in-withdrawal-aspirin-ibuprofen-paracetamol-acetaminophen-naproxen-codeine/

 

As Ladybug advised you, you can do a google search by typing surviving antidepressants and anything that interests you. And you will get our experienced on the topic. I did it now for you with tylenol.

[xamendrummerx]

How do I deal with heart skips (PACs) that happen while lying down? I have them during the day and they're even worse when trying to stay still. It's really absurd and unfair.

[xamendrummerx]

Guys, can someone help me? I can't eat or sleep because my heart is skipping too much whenever I try to.

[Surviving82]

1 hour ago, xamendrummerx said:

Guys, can someone help me? I can't eat or sleep because my heart is skipping too much whenever I try to.

@xamendrummerx, hi I'm not an expert by any stretch, but I do experience quite a bit of heart related stuff in wd. I know that getting my heart thoroughly checked and cleared helped me at least not worry that these skips and palps are going to kill me. Once you have this out of the way, maybe this will make you feel better? 

 

Other thing to do in this kind of scenario is taking a beta blocker such as propranolol. It normalizes heart rhytm. Idk how you feel about it. I did take it when my heart palps were unbearable but lately I can tolerate them so I don't take it. 

 

I hope that you feel better soon!

[xamendrummerx]

My beta blocker only slows down my high heart rate, it doesn't help my skips at all when lying down. They're even worse. This all started from an overdose on amitriptyline, not from withdrawal. I've already seen 5 cardios about this. They're all quite useless buffoons. I hate to resort to begging for sleeping pills again just to have something of normalcy.

[xamendrummerx]

Does anyone know what kind of doctors are likely to still prescribe a benzo like Klonopin? I heard doctors prescribe them less often.