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Basildev - Tapering off SSRIs


basildev

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Also, if it makes you feel better, I am sleeping properly about 90% of the time now, just the odd night which I can handle. So that side of things can and does get better. You are feeling very very fragile and shaken up at the moment so don't even think about tapering for now, just concentrate on getting well again. Understand everything you're thinking and saying.

Interesting about the sleep mask as I've been thinking about getting one for the summer months, I'm a side sleeper so might be ok.

*** Please note this is not medical advice,discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner***





http://prozacwithdrawal.blogspot.com/
Original drug was sertraline/Zoloft, switched to Prozac in 2007.
Tapering from 5mls liquid prozac since Feb 2008, got down to 0.85ml 23/09/2012, reinstated back to 1ml(4mg) 07/11/2012, didn't appear to work, upped to 1.05ml 17/11/2012, back down to 1ml 12/12/2012 didn't work, up to 1.30ml 16/3/2013 didn't work, bumped up to 2ml (8mg) 4/4/2013 didn't work, in July 2013 I reinstated Sertraline (Zoloft) 50mg, feeling better now. 

A few months down the line I switched to 5ml liquid Prozac and tapered down to a compromise dose of 3ml liquid Prozac and have stayed there ever since, no withdrawals and no emotional blunting/loss of libido.

 

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Hi Dalsaan,

 

That's what I've been doing. It's only taking me about an hour to get back to sleep (at least in the last couple of days). Sleep has slightly improved.

 

Of course the thing I was terrified about was that by updose wouldn't work and that I'd be in sleepless limbo-land forever. It's such a horrible feeling as you well know. Yet my sleep has never been as bad as yours so I'm really just a whinger in comparison to you!

 

I've read your history, you have suffered far more than me. I've always needed a LOT of sleep (I mean 9-10 hours to feel refreshed - think I need that much because even though I'm asleep, the quality isn't that great). So when that's reduced I really feel it badly. I think I would seriously rather die than be condemned to 4-5 hours sleep per night for the rest of my life.

 

I become a person I don't want to know without adequate sleep.

 

Thanks for caring x

July 2001 prescribed 20mg citalopram for depression;
On and off meds from 2003-2006.
February 2006 back on 20mg citalopram and stayed on it until my last attempt at tapering in September 2011.
By far the worst withdrawal symptoms ever. Reinstated to 20mg citalopram
October 2012 - found this forum!
Nov 2012 to Feb 2013 did 10% taper, got doen to 11mg - was going great until stressful situation. Cortisol levels hit the roof, hideous insomnia forced me to updose to 20mg.
March 2016 - close to 100% back to normal!



****** I am not a medical practitioner, any advice I give comes from my own experience or reading and is only my perspective ******

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Tezza - you are SOOOO right!

 

I'm reading horror stories all over this site about people who get an average of 0-4 hours per night and have done for 6 years or more.

 

That is just not something I want to put up with, no matter how bad I want to get off the meds. I don't know how long I'll be alive and I want a quality of life while I'm here.

 

Plus I've read stories where people have been tapering for month then all of a sudden are with with WD and updosing doesn't work!

 

AAAAARRRRGH!!!!!

July 2001 prescribed 20mg citalopram for depression;
On and off meds from 2003-2006.
February 2006 back on 20mg citalopram and stayed on it until my last attempt at tapering in September 2011.
By far the worst withdrawal symptoms ever. Reinstated to 20mg citalopram
October 2012 - found this forum!
Nov 2012 to Feb 2013 did 10% taper, got doen to 11mg - was going great until stressful situation. Cortisol levels hit the roof, hideous insomnia forced me to updose to 20mg.
March 2016 - close to 100% back to normal!



****** I am not a medical practitioner, any advice I give comes from my own experience or reading and is only my perspective ******

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Hey Gardner,

 

Yes that's one of the first things I did when I realised that I don't feel refreshed unless I get 10 hours sleep per night. I know it's not normal. Even before I took meds I needed at least 9 hours.

 

Anyway, sleep test came back all clear.

 

Go figure!:)

July 2001 prescribed 20mg citalopram for depression;
On and off meds from 2003-2006.
February 2006 back on 20mg citalopram and stayed on it until my last attempt at tapering in September 2011.
By far the worst withdrawal symptoms ever. Reinstated to 20mg citalopram
October 2012 - found this forum!
Nov 2012 to Feb 2013 did 10% taper, got doen to 11mg - was going great until stressful situation. Cortisol levels hit the roof, hideous insomnia forced me to updose to 20mg.
March 2016 - close to 100% back to normal!



****** I am not a medical practitioner, any advice I give comes from my own experience or reading and is only my perspective ******

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Hey Strawb,

 

The sleep mask thing is hit or miss. I'm convinced that the problem with my sleeping wasn't due to light because my room is pretty dark and when I was waking it was pitch black outside.

 

The mask I bought is quite nice (soft) but it just slips off because I'm on my stomach - but you should do fine with it if you're a side sleeper.

 

I still woke twice a night with or without the mask.

 

Thanks for your support:)

July 2001 prescribed 20mg citalopram for depression;
On and off meds from 2003-2006.
February 2006 back on 20mg citalopram and stayed on it until my last attempt at tapering in September 2011.
By far the worst withdrawal symptoms ever. Reinstated to 20mg citalopram
October 2012 - found this forum!
Nov 2012 to Feb 2013 did 10% taper, got doen to 11mg - was going great until stressful situation. Cortisol levels hit the roof, hideous insomnia forced me to updose to 20mg.
March 2016 - close to 100% back to normal!



****** I am not a medical practitioner, any advice I give comes from my own experience or reading and is only my perspective ******

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You're not a whinger, we all have our own needs and we are entitled to them

 

If its any consolation my sleep has never been great (related to childhood trauma), so my sleep situation and yours are different. I would hold out hope that you will be able to return to your normal sleep pattern

 

Interestingly, I think the glycine has helped more with quality of sleep than quantity. I'd keep going with that for a whole to see of it adds anything to your feeling rested in the morning

Please note - I am not a medical practitioner and I do not give medical advice. I offer an opinion based on my own experiences, reading and discussion with others.On Effexor for 2 months at the start of 2005. Had extreme insomnia as an adverse reaction. Changed to mirtazapine. Have been trying to get off since mid 2008 with numerous failures including CTs and slow (but not slow enough tapers)Have slow tapered at 10 per cent or less for years. I have liquid mirtazapine made at a compounding chemist.

Was on 1.6 ml as at 19 March 2014.

Dropped to 1.5 ml 7 June 2014. Dropped to 1.4 in about September.

Dropped to 1.3 on 20 December 2014. Dropped to 1.2 in mid Jan 2015.

Dropped to 1 ml in late Feb 2015. I think my old medication had run out of puff so I tried 1ml when I got the new stuff and it seems to be going ok. Sleep has been good over the last week (as of 13/3/15).

Dropped to 1/2 ml 14/11/15 Fatigue still there as are memory and cognition problems. Sleep is patchy but liveable compared to what it has been in the past.

 

DRUG FREE - as at 1st May 2017

 

>My intro post is here - http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/2250-dalsaan

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Basildev,

 

I honestly believe your updose will work. When I left off Risperdal for two weeks and then started back taking it, I think if I had not tapered it again right away, my sleep would have been much better.

 

I started back at the dose I had left off and as soon as I slept well for two nights, I tapered. I don't know how much I tapered because I was using pills then and just trimmed off some. I wish I could go back and redo but it's a little late in the game for that now.

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Thanks Dalsaan and Tezza.

 

I'll keep taking the glycine Dalsaan. Was taking Dr. Mercola's sleep spray (melatonin) but then I realised it has some tryptophan and B6 added to it and got scared about the tryptophan.

 

Waiting for Seriphos and Lactium in the mail:)

July 2001 prescribed 20mg citalopram for depression;
On and off meds from 2003-2006.
February 2006 back on 20mg citalopram and stayed on it until my last attempt at tapering in September 2011.
By far the worst withdrawal symptoms ever. Reinstated to 20mg citalopram
October 2012 - found this forum!
Nov 2012 to Feb 2013 did 10% taper, got doen to 11mg - was going great until stressful situation. Cortisol levels hit the roof, hideous insomnia forced me to updose to 20mg.
March 2016 - close to 100% back to normal!



****** I am not a medical practitioner, any advice I give comes from my own experience or reading and is only my perspective ******

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Hello everyone,

 

Well it's been 11 days since I updosed to the full dosage (20 mg) and I'm feeling really crabby(:

 

Last week I thought I'd started to turn a corner. I was getting an average of 30 mins more sleep each night. When I woke in the morning it didn't take me long to fall back asleep.

 

Was still not getting enough sleep but certainly more than when I first started to get insomnia. In the beginning, I had no problem falling asleep but was waking early and not getting back to sleep.

 

Now it seems I have both problems - falling AND staying asleep.

 

I did something a little silly yesterday. I had acupuncture for my sleep. Well last night I had THE worst sleep I have ever had in my life. I feel so annoyed and disappointed. I had thought I was getting better. Made an appointment for next week but I'm going to cancel.

 

Here's what I've tried:

 

* sleep mask (no effect);

* 1g glycine before bed (kept me awake, I felt wired);

* 1 mg Dr Mercola melatonin spray before bed (seemed to have an effect early on but now not so much);

* Lactium upon waking (used to work, didn't work last night);

 

I'm at a total loss. I honestly think I'm never going to get better. I've stuffed up my nervous system and it seems like I''ll never get back to normal. I should have just left things alone and stayed on the meds.

 

Now I've just made things worse for myself(:

July 2001 prescribed 20mg citalopram for depression;
On and off meds from 2003-2006.
February 2006 back on 20mg citalopram and stayed on it until my last attempt at tapering in September 2011.
By far the worst withdrawal symptoms ever. Reinstated to 20mg citalopram
October 2012 - found this forum!
Nov 2012 to Feb 2013 did 10% taper, got doen to 11mg - was going great until stressful situation. Cortisol levels hit the roof, hideous insomnia forced me to updose to 20mg.
March 2016 - close to 100% back to normal!



****** I am not a medical practitioner, any advice I give comes from my own experience or reading and is only my perspective ******

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hi basil,

the acupuncture may have been a little too stimulating for you. Don't panic, you will resettle again soon. I have to keep remembering in my updoses that it always took 4 weeks to feel better. I did have moments in there that felt better, and maybe those moments just got longer and longer, i don't really remember, i just remember that one day i would wake up and the feeling would be normal - which is not the same as feeling better when i was still stabilising if that makes any sense. It's kind of like waking up and not thinking about how its been the last few weeks. At that point i know i am back!

 

I am still not quite back to normal either, so i can empathise with you.

Started in 2000 - On 150mg most of the time, (but up to 225mg at highest dose for 6 months in the beginning)
Reduced off easily first time - but got depressed (not too much anxiety) 6 months later
Back on effexor for another 9 months.
Reduced off again with no immediate w/d - suddenly got depressed and anxious ++ again 3 or 4 months later.
Back on effexor - this time for 3 years
Reduced off over a month - 6 weeks later terrible anxiety - back on.
Rinse and repeat 4 more times - each time the period before the anxiety comes back got shorter and shorter
Jan - July 2012 75mg down to 37.5mg;, 8/3/12 - 35mg. 8/25/12 - 32mg. 9/11- 28mg, 10/2 - 25mg, 10/29 - 22mg, 11/19 - 19.8mg; 12/11 - 17m,
1/1- 15.5mg; 1/22 -14mg, 2/7 14.9mg, 2/18 - 17.8mg - crashed big time: back to 75mg where i sat for 2 years....

4th  March 2015 - 67.5mg;   31st March - 60mg;  24th April - 53mg; 13th May - 48mg; 26th May - 45mg;  9th June - 41mg; 1 July- 37.5mg; 20 July - 34mg; 11 August - 31mg; 1st Sept - 28mg;  1st Dec - 25.8mg;  28th Dec - 23.2mg; 23rd Jan-21.9mg; Feb 7th- 21mg; March 1st - 20.1mg, March 30th - 18mg

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Hi basil,

 

It will get better, it just takes time for the sleep issues to resolve. We all try so hard to get sleep after withdrawal insomnia hits. It does become an obsession with most of us, I think. (I know it has for me!)

 

Even though its gotten better for me, it's still a fear, a big fear. FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real.

 

Not to worry, you will get better soon!

 

Hugs,

Tezza

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Peggy and Tezza, you're legends

 

thanks for cheering me up.

 

Peggy I know you're having a hard time too. I really hope you feel better soon as well :)

 

So are you saying that you just kind of woke up one day and felt a whole lot letter? Like it wasn't so much a gradual thing but a kind of 'aha' moment about 4 weeks down the track? I feel like I should be feeling much better than this after 11 days. And I totally agree the acupuncture was too stimulating. Just hope I haven't done any further damage.

 

And I haven't updosed just a bit - I've updosed a LOT - to the full dosage. Shouldn't the relief come sooner because of that?

 

Tezza - I know what you mean by the fear. It's debilitating.

 

Thanks to you both xx

July 2001 prescribed 20mg citalopram for depression;
On and off meds from 2003-2006.
February 2006 back on 20mg citalopram and stayed on it until my last attempt at tapering in September 2011.
By far the worst withdrawal symptoms ever. Reinstated to 20mg citalopram
October 2012 - found this forum!
Nov 2012 to Feb 2013 did 10% taper, got doen to 11mg - was going great until stressful situation. Cortisol levels hit the roof, hideous insomnia forced me to updose to 20mg.
March 2016 - close to 100% back to normal!



****** I am not a medical practitioner, any advice I give comes from my own experience or reading and is only my perspective ******

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I think up dosing is pretty unpredictable. From memory I've seen positive change both incrementally and fairly suddenly. I've updosed numerous times.

 

It's too early to draw any conclusions about the success or otherwise of your updose. I know that doesn't provide much comfort when you are in distress

 

When I'm in your position I try and be as gentle on myself as possible focussing on things that are soothing and avoiding anything that takes too much out of me. I'm fond of a very gentle massage at these times Time on the couch with a new engrossing DVD series etc.

 

This will turn around for you.

Please note - I am not a medical practitioner and I do not give medical advice. I offer an opinion based on my own experiences, reading and discussion with others.On Effexor for 2 months at the start of 2005. Had extreme insomnia as an adverse reaction. Changed to mirtazapine. Have been trying to get off since mid 2008 with numerous failures including CTs and slow (but not slow enough tapers)Have slow tapered at 10 per cent or less for years. I have liquid mirtazapine made at a compounding chemist.

Was on 1.6 ml as at 19 March 2014.

Dropped to 1.5 ml 7 June 2014. Dropped to 1.4 in about September.

Dropped to 1.3 on 20 December 2014. Dropped to 1.2 in mid Jan 2015.

Dropped to 1 ml in late Feb 2015. I think my old medication had run out of puff so I tried 1ml when I got the new stuff and it seems to be going ok. Sleep has been good over the last week (as of 13/3/15).

Dropped to 1/2 ml 14/11/15 Fatigue still there as are memory and cognition problems. Sleep is patchy but liveable compared to what it has been in the past.

 

DRUG FREE - as at 1st May 2017

 

>My intro post is here - http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/2250-dalsaan

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thanks Dalsaan x

July 2001 prescribed 20mg citalopram for depression;
On and off meds from 2003-2006.
February 2006 back on 20mg citalopram and stayed on it until my last attempt at tapering in September 2011.
By far the worst withdrawal symptoms ever. Reinstated to 20mg citalopram
October 2012 - found this forum!
Nov 2012 to Feb 2013 did 10% taper, got doen to 11mg - was going great until stressful situation. Cortisol levels hit the roof, hideous insomnia forced me to updose to 20mg.
March 2016 - close to 100% back to normal!



****** I am not a medical practitioner, any advice I give comes from my own experience or reading and is only my perspective ******

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So are you saying that you just kind of woke up one day and felt a whole lot letter? Like it wasn't so much a gradual thing but a kind of 'aha' moment about 4 weeks down the track? I feel like I should be feeling much better than this after 11 days. And I totally agree the acupuncture was too stimulating. Just hope I haven't done any further damage.

 

And I haven't updosed just a bit - I've updosed a LOT - to the full dosage. Shouldn't the relief come sooner because of that?

 

Hi Basil,

 

Firstly, i probably didn't just wake up and feel better, it was really more that i woke up and didn't think about it - usually its the first thing on my mind -my depressed/anxious feelings are there to be recognised when i first wake up - the degree of them is not that easy to discern. Little incremental amounts of reduced depression/anxiety for me are hard to qualify on a daily basis. That's another reason why journalling is such a good idea.

 

The first time I updosed i went all the way to my full dosage too - that was a few years ago before i found this site and i was working on my gut instinct, reducing slowly but not slowly enough, but i wasn't yet totally convinced my symptoms were withdrawal related. And no, it doesn't mean relief should come sooner - more is not always better - Everytime i have updosed i have always gone further than i needed to, but each time not as far - i am learning slowly. You probably would have been ok to have gone up to 15 or 16mg, but it doesn't matter in the whole scheme of things.

 

I look at the whole withdrawal process like giving up smoking (not that i have ever smoked) - they say it takes up to seven times to finally give up!!!!! I think i am almost up to seven times having to updose or reinstate.

Started in 2000 - On 150mg most of the time, (but up to 225mg at highest dose for 6 months in the beginning)
Reduced off easily first time - but got depressed (not too much anxiety) 6 months later
Back on effexor for another 9 months.
Reduced off again with no immediate w/d - suddenly got depressed and anxious ++ again 3 or 4 months later.
Back on effexor - this time for 3 years
Reduced off over a month - 6 weeks later terrible anxiety - back on.
Rinse and repeat 4 more times - each time the period before the anxiety comes back got shorter and shorter
Jan - July 2012 75mg down to 37.5mg;, 8/3/12 - 35mg. 8/25/12 - 32mg. 9/11- 28mg, 10/2 - 25mg, 10/29 - 22mg, 11/19 - 19.8mg; 12/11 - 17m,
1/1- 15.5mg; 1/22 -14mg, 2/7 14.9mg, 2/18 - 17.8mg - crashed big time: back to 75mg where i sat for 2 years....

4th  March 2015 - 67.5mg;   31st March - 60mg;  24th April - 53mg; 13th May - 48mg; 26th May - 45mg;  9th June - 41mg; 1 July- 37.5mg; 20 July - 34mg; 11 August - 31mg; 1st Sept - 28mg;  1st Dec - 25.8mg;  28th Dec - 23.2mg; 23rd Jan-21.9mg; Feb 7th- 21mg; March 1st - 20.1mg, March 30th - 18mg

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thanks peggy,

 

that makes a lot of sense.

July 2001 prescribed 20mg citalopram for depression;
On and off meds from 2003-2006.
February 2006 back on 20mg citalopram and stayed on it until my last attempt at tapering in September 2011.
By far the worst withdrawal symptoms ever. Reinstated to 20mg citalopram
October 2012 - found this forum!
Nov 2012 to Feb 2013 did 10% taper, got doen to 11mg - was going great until stressful situation. Cortisol levels hit the roof, hideous insomnia forced me to updose to 20mg.
March 2016 - close to 100% back to normal!



****** I am not a medical practitioner, any advice I give comes from my own experience or reading and is only my perspective ******

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Too much glycine can be stimulating.

 

You may have overshot the dosage correction; now 20mg is too much for you.

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.

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Oh that's interesting Alto - so are you saying if I slightly reduced my dosage, my sleep might improve?

 

I'm going to leave it at least 4 weeks before I make a decision either way.

July 2001 prescribed 20mg citalopram for depression;
On and off meds from 2003-2006.
February 2006 back on 20mg citalopram and stayed on it until my last attempt at tapering in September 2011.
By far the worst withdrawal symptoms ever. Reinstated to 20mg citalopram
October 2012 - found this forum!
Nov 2012 to Feb 2013 did 10% taper, got doen to 11mg - was going great until stressful situation. Cortisol levels hit the roof, hideous insomnia forced me to updose to 20mg.
March 2016 - close to 100% back to normal!



****** I am not a medical practitioner, any advice I give comes from my own experience or reading and is only my perspective ******

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Basildev, how has your sleep changed since you updosed?

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.

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Hey Alto,

 

well initially, I was falling asleep fine but waking at 4AM unable to get back to sleep for the rest of the morning.

 

After about 7 days of updose to 20mg, it morphed into not being able to FALL asleep but when I woke early in the morning I could fall back asleep after about 1 hour.

 

So was averaging about 30 minutes extra sleep after 7 days. (a slight improvement)

 

Then stupidly last Friday I had acupuncture and was given some 'sleep drops' by a Chinese herbalist. Had the worst sleep ever that night.

 

After that night I decided to ditch all the supplements - no melatonin or lactium, nothing.

 

Interestingly last night I fell asleep straight away AND was able to fall asleep after waking at 3.30 in the morning.

 

So we'll see if this continues. Fingers crossed!

July 2001 prescribed 20mg citalopram for depression;
On and off meds from 2003-2006.
February 2006 back on 20mg citalopram and stayed on it until my last attempt at tapering in September 2011.
By far the worst withdrawal symptoms ever. Reinstated to 20mg citalopram
October 2012 - found this forum!
Nov 2012 to Feb 2013 did 10% taper, got doen to 11mg - was going great until stressful situation. Cortisol levels hit the roof, hideous insomnia forced me to updose to 20mg.
March 2016 - close to 100% back to normal!



****** I am not a medical practitioner, any advice I give comes from my own experience or reading and is only my perspective ******

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Sounds like a bad reaction to the acupuncture rather than the updose.

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.

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last Friday I had acupuncture and was given some 'sleep drops' by a Chinese herbalist. Had the worst sleep ever that night.

 

 

 

I wonder what was in those 'sleep drops'. Sometimes these kinds of things can have an adverse affect.

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It seems that way Alto.

 

Tezza, I don't know what's in the drops but I'm steering clear of anything right now just to be sure.

 

Thanks for your input everyone:)

July 2001 prescribed 20mg citalopram for depression;
On and off meds from 2003-2006.
February 2006 back on 20mg citalopram and stayed on it until my last attempt at tapering in September 2011.
By far the worst withdrawal symptoms ever. Reinstated to 20mg citalopram
October 2012 - found this forum!
Nov 2012 to Feb 2013 did 10% taper, got doen to 11mg - was going great until stressful situation. Cortisol levels hit the roof, hideous insomnia forced me to updose to 20mg.
March 2016 - close to 100% back to normal!



****** I am not a medical practitioner, any advice I give comes from my own experience or reading and is only my perspective ******

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I refused all herbs, etc. from my acupuncturist.

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.

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Hey Alto,

 

I spoke too soon.

 

Had the worst sleep of my life last night. Couldn't fall asleep AND couldn't stay asleep.

 

Is it normal for withdrawal symptoms to get WORSE beforee they get better?

 

I've read that reinstatement can take weeks and sometimes months to work. Is it the same with updosing?

 

I thought I'd turned a corner but the very next day it goes pear shaped - -what's that all about?

 

Soooo tired and discouraged(:

July 2001 prescribed 20mg citalopram for depression;
On and off meds from 2003-2006.
February 2006 back on 20mg citalopram and stayed on it until my last attempt at tapering in September 2011.
By far the worst withdrawal symptoms ever. Reinstated to 20mg citalopram
October 2012 - found this forum!
Nov 2012 to Feb 2013 did 10% taper, got doen to 11mg - was going great until stressful situation. Cortisol levels hit the roof, hideous insomnia forced me to updose to 20mg.
March 2016 - close to 100% back to normal!



****** I am not a medical practitioner, any advice I give comes from my own experience or reading and is only my perspective ******

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hey basil,

 

try not to be too discouraged. I feel like i have been right where you are - my psych doc used to say, don't worry about how much sleep you get, you may feel yukky, but you will get through, you may not like it but it is what it is. Then she would say use this as an opportunity to practise letting go of your attachment to sleep - then i would say in my petulant voice - i have had enough practise for the moment, i want a break for a while...

 

There are ups and downs in reinstating/updosing - you probably just upset the cart by taking the drops/herbs. they were obviously overstimulating and just taking a while to get out of your system.

 

It could even be that the updose to 20mg was a little high - hopefully Alto will see this and chime in, but maybe you would benefit from dropping back to 16 or 18mg?

Started in 2000 - On 150mg most of the time, (but up to 225mg at highest dose for 6 months in the beginning)
Reduced off easily first time - but got depressed (not too much anxiety) 6 months later
Back on effexor for another 9 months.
Reduced off again with no immediate w/d - suddenly got depressed and anxious ++ again 3 or 4 months later.
Back on effexor - this time for 3 years
Reduced off over a month - 6 weeks later terrible anxiety - back on.
Rinse and repeat 4 more times - each time the period before the anxiety comes back got shorter and shorter
Jan - July 2012 75mg down to 37.5mg;, 8/3/12 - 35mg. 8/25/12 - 32mg. 9/11- 28mg, 10/2 - 25mg, 10/29 - 22mg, 11/19 - 19.8mg; 12/11 - 17m,
1/1- 15.5mg; 1/22 -14mg, 2/7 14.9mg, 2/18 - 17.8mg - crashed big time: back to 75mg where i sat for 2 years....

4th  March 2015 - 67.5mg;   31st March - 60mg;  24th April - 53mg; 13th May - 48mg; 26th May - 45mg;  9th June - 41mg; 1 July- 37.5mg; 20 July - 34mg; 11 August - 31mg; 1st Sept - 28mg;  1st Dec - 25.8mg;  28th Dec - 23.2mg; 23rd Jan-21.9mg; Feb 7th- 21mg; March 1st - 20.1mg, March 30th - 18mg

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Oh thanks Tezza,

 

it's just that I've never experienced it like this before.

 

The last time I reinstated in October 2011, the symptoms vanished almost overnight. I had brain zaps, awful anxiety, trouble sleeping and a kind of 'sick' feeling.

 

Within a couple of days all symptoms had vanished and my sleeping was back to 80%. Within 5 weeks sleeping was back to 100%.

 

So I didn't have any windows and waves or anything. It just got better and better.

 

So terrified I'm going to be like this forever.

July 2001 prescribed 20mg citalopram for depression;
On and off meds from 2003-2006.
February 2006 back on 20mg citalopram and stayed on it until my last attempt at tapering in September 2011.
By far the worst withdrawal symptoms ever. Reinstated to 20mg citalopram
October 2012 - found this forum!
Nov 2012 to Feb 2013 did 10% taper, got doen to 11mg - was going great until stressful situation. Cortisol levels hit the roof, hideous insomnia forced me to updose to 20mg.
March 2016 - close to 100% back to normal!



****** I am not a medical practitioner, any advice I give comes from my own experience or reading and is only my perspective ******

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Hey Peggy,

 

I know exactly what you mean. I've been reading everything I can on letting go, equanimity and the like. But it's soooo hard. I keep reading that it's really bad for you to get less than 8 hours sleep and I'm just afraid of getting old overnight from this and really damaging my health.

 

I had such a good sleep on Sunday night - I want to hang onto that for dear life!!!!

 

Alto did suggest maybe 20mg was too high. I feel I should leave it at least another 2 weeks before I mess with my dosage again though.

July 2001 prescribed 20mg citalopram for depression;
On and off meds from 2003-2006.
February 2006 back on 20mg citalopram and stayed on it until my last attempt at tapering in September 2011.
By far the worst withdrawal symptoms ever. Reinstated to 20mg citalopram
October 2012 - found this forum!
Nov 2012 to Feb 2013 did 10% taper, got doen to 11mg - was going great until stressful situation. Cortisol levels hit the roof, hideous insomnia forced me to updose to 20mg.
March 2016 - close to 100% back to normal!



****** I am not a medical practitioner, any advice I give comes from my own experience or reading and is only my perspective ******

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you won't damage your health. think of this as merely a bump in the road. I had to start believing that my body would take the sleep it really needed to function - and it does - it might not be the amount that i would like, and I always feel better after more sleep, but if i don't get it i am not going to explode, fall over, or whatever other catastrophic event i might fear might happen ( and I did fear that - what that might be i never could really verbablise, but i did fear something)

 

the first time my sleep phobia got really bad, i was only 27 and had 3 children under 4 - (no wonder i had a sleep phobia) - i didn't know much back then about sleep, depression, thoughts, emotions etc, but i decided that if i worked really hard during the day i would be tired at night and able to sleep better. So, I used to get up at 4:30 am and go for a run for 40mins - at first i couldn't run that long, but i walked, ran etc until i was running 40 mins. Then i would come home make a cup of tea and sit on the verandah and read and meditate on a selection of bible verses that someone gave me about sleep and anxiety. By then it was about 6am and the kids and husband were waking up. I started sleeping better within a couple of weeks - but kept my routine up all through the Sydney winter - even went out in the rain - i was a bit obsessive. When i talked about this with my psychiatrist many years later she told me that it was the depression/anxiety causing the sleep phobia and once it lifted the sleep issue resolved itself. Anxiety creates rumination. Easier said than done though!!!

Started in 2000 - On 150mg most of the time, (but up to 225mg at highest dose for 6 months in the beginning)
Reduced off easily first time - but got depressed (not too much anxiety) 6 months later
Back on effexor for another 9 months.
Reduced off again with no immediate w/d - suddenly got depressed and anxious ++ again 3 or 4 months later.
Back on effexor - this time for 3 years
Reduced off over a month - 6 weeks later terrible anxiety - back on.
Rinse and repeat 4 more times - each time the period before the anxiety comes back got shorter and shorter
Jan - July 2012 75mg down to 37.5mg;, 8/3/12 - 35mg. 8/25/12 - 32mg. 9/11- 28mg, 10/2 - 25mg, 10/29 - 22mg, 11/19 - 19.8mg; 12/11 - 17m,
1/1- 15.5mg; 1/22 -14mg, 2/7 14.9mg, 2/18 - 17.8mg - crashed big time: back to 75mg where i sat for 2 years....

4th  March 2015 - 67.5mg;   31st March - 60mg;  24th April - 53mg; 13th May - 48mg; 26th May - 45mg;  9th June - 41mg; 1 July- 37.5mg; 20 July - 34mg; 11 August - 31mg; 1st Sept - 28mg;  1st Dec - 25.8mg;  28th Dec - 23.2mg; 23rd Jan-21.9mg; Feb 7th- 21mg; March 1st - 20.1mg, March 30th - 18mg

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You might go down to 19mg to see if the decrease helps.

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.

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Hey Peggy,

 

thanks for your words of wisdom.

 

I'll try to remember this.

 

Alto that will be my next plan if things don't get better

 

thanks

July 2001 prescribed 20mg citalopram for depression;
On and off meds from 2003-2006.
February 2006 back on 20mg citalopram and stayed on it until my last attempt at tapering in September 2011.
By far the worst withdrawal symptoms ever. Reinstated to 20mg citalopram
October 2012 - found this forum!
Nov 2012 to Feb 2013 did 10% taper, got doen to 11mg - was going great until stressful situation. Cortisol levels hit the roof, hideous insomnia forced me to updose to 20mg.
March 2016 - close to 100% back to normal!



****** I am not a medical practitioner, any advice I give comes from my own experience or reading and is only my perspective ******

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Okay...

 

starting to freak out a bit now.

 

Apart from terrible sleeping, a new symptom has come up:

 

I feel like I'm burning from the inside. Does that make sense? I think it feels like a hot flush (even though I've never had one before) only it lasts a long time and it scares the hell out of me.

 

I had it last night and on waking at 3AM this morning.

 

I have it now and I feel clammy, like I need the air conditioner on (not normal for me).

 

Is this withdrawal? If so, how come my sleeping is worse (down to 5-6 hours) and how on top of that I have this, despite having upodosed for 2 weeks?

 

Dropped dose to 19mg today

 

Feeling very freaked out.(:

July 2001 prescribed 20mg citalopram for depression;
On and off meds from 2003-2006.
February 2006 back on 20mg citalopram and stayed on it until my last attempt at tapering in September 2011.
By far the worst withdrawal symptoms ever. Reinstated to 20mg citalopram
October 2012 - found this forum!
Nov 2012 to Feb 2013 did 10% taper, got doen to 11mg - was going great until stressful situation. Cortisol levels hit the roof, hideous insomnia forced me to updose to 20mg.
March 2016 - close to 100% back to normal!



****** I am not a medical practitioner, any advice I give comes from my own experience or reading and is only my perspective ******

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it is possible to get hot flushes in withdrawal. I experienced them from time to time but was never sure if it was withdrawal or perimenopause. It's also possible that anxiety can cause temperature issues.

 

Updosing is an up and down thing. It's hard not to get caught up in the microexamination minute by minute over the day isn't it? But it is very unhelpful!

Started in 2000 - On 150mg most of the time, (but up to 225mg at highest dose for 6 months in the beginning)
Reduced off easily first time - but got depressed (not too much anxiety) 6 months later
Back on effexor for another 9 months.
Reduced off again with no immediate w/d - suddenly got depressed and anxious ++ again 3 or 4 months later.
Back on effexor - this time for 3 years
Reduced off over a month - 6 weeks later terrible anxiety - back on.
Rinse and repeat 4 more times - each time the period before the anxiety comes back got shorter and shorter
Jan - July 2012 75mg down to 37.5mg;, 8/3/12 - 35mg. 8/25/12 - 32mg. 9/11- 28mg, 10/2 - 25mg, 10/29 - 22mg, 11/19 - 19.8mg; 12/11 - 17m,
1/1- 15.5mg; 1/22 -14mg, 2/7 14.9mg, 2/18 - 17.8mg - crashed big time: back to 75mg where i sat for 2 years....

4th  March 2015 - 67.5mg;   31st March - 60mg;  24th April - 53mg; 13th May - 48mg; 26th May - 45mg;  9th June - 41mg; 1 July- 37.5mg; 20 July - 34mg; 11 August - 31mg; 1st Sept - 28mg;  1st Dec - 25.8mg;  28th Dec - 23.2mg; 23rd Jan-21.9mg; Feb 7th- 21mg; March 1st - 20.1mg, March 30th - 18mg

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Is that what a hot flush feels like Peggy?

 

Just concerned that I might be having an adverse reaction to the drug. Wouldn't you think that once you updose the withdrawal symptoms should at worst, stay the same?

 

Mine just seem to be getting progressively worse. My sleep's the worst it's ever been, I'm getting hot flushes and clammy/nauseous and I'm weepy! I never had such bad symptoms 2 weeks ago.

 

I just DO not know what to do with this.

July 2001 prescribed 20mg citalopram for depression;
On and off meds from 2003-2006.
February 2006 back on 20mg citalopram and stayed on it until my last attempt at tapering in September 2011.
By far the worst withdrawal symptoms ever. Reinstated to 20mg citalopram
October 2012 - found this forum!
Nov 2012 to Feb 2013 did 10% taper, got doen to 11mg - was going great until stressful situation. Cortisol levels hit the roof, hideous insomnia forced me to updose to 20mg.
March 2016 - close to 100% back to normal!



****** I am not a medical practitioner, any advice I give comes from my own experience or reading and is only my perspective ******

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  • Moderator Emeritus

my hot flushes would come on and i felt them mainly in my core - i would then get really sweaty - even the backs of my hands. I didn't get a really red face like some people do. They would last about 4-5 mins all up - i would have to take all my layers off.

 

I am so sorry that you are feeling like this still - i remember Strawberry had to down dose after updosing a bit far - maybe go read her thread and see if any of what she says resonates with you. It could be that going back to 20 was too much or it could be that those drops set something off that is taking a little more time to settle down.

 

It's horrible not knowing what to do - I think going back to 19 was a good move, maybe if you don't feel much better in a few days you could go down again to 18mg.

Started in 2000 - On 150mg most of the time, (but up to 225mg at highest dose for 6 months in the beginning)
Reduced off easily first time - but got depressed (not too much anxiety) 6 months later
Back on effexor for another 9 months.
Reduced off again with no immediate w/d - suddenly got depressed and anxious ++ again 3 or 4 months later.
Back on effexor - this time for 3 years
Reduced off over a month - 6 weeks later terrible anxiety - back on.
Rinse and repeat 4 more times - each time the period before the anxiety comes back got shorter and shorter
Jan - July 2012 75mg down to 37.5mg;, 8/3/12 - 35mg. 8/25/12 - 32mg. 9/11- 28mg, 10/2 - 25mg, 10/29 - 22mg, 11/19 - 19.8mg; 12/11 - 17m,
1/1- 15.5mg; 1/22 -14mg, 2/7 14.9mg, 2/18 - 17.8mg - crashed big time: back to 75mg where i sat for 2 years....

4th  March 2015 - 67.5mg;   31st March - 60mg;  24th April - 53mg; 13th May - 48mg; 26th May - 45mg;  9th June - 41mg; 1 July- 37.5mg; 20 July - 34mg; 11 August - 31mg; 1st Sept - 28mg;  1st Dec - 25.8mg;  28th Dec - 23.2mg; 23rd Jan-21.9mg; Feb 7th- 21mg; March 1st - 20.1mg, March 30th - 18mg

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