☼ Wingbatty - Hi Y'all

[Wingbatty]

Generics

 

I'm currently living in Europe, and there are around 20 different generics available for Lexapro/escitalopram.

 

The pharmacy keeps giving me different ones, and every single time, it feels like I have gone cold turkey off my meds. In fact, last time I was having such a bad time that I just cut my dose in half and couldn't tell the difference, because I felt so crazy anyway.

 

When I was getting my most recent refill, I asked the pharmacist about this & he said it was absolutely not possible, and that I was imagining it. He gave me this long thing about how they all have exactly the same chemicals & the amounts are set by law & do not waver. I joked that "the last box I got must have slipped past quality control, then!" He very seriously told me, "that is not possible!"

 

Obviously I think he doesn't know the real situation - or else he is required to tote the party line.

 

Anyway, I'm wondering if anyone else has had this kind of problem with generics. I told the pharmacist that at the very least, I can't switch around anymore from one to the other, and he said it was okay for me to insist on the same generic in the future - even though he thinks it's all in my head.

 

In the meantime, I'm going to ask my friend who works for a drug manufacturer.

[Altostrata]

Yes, the generics may vary in strength from the name-brand and among themselves.

 

One way to gradually make the transition from one brand to another is to take half your daily dose in the first brand (the old generic) and half in the new generic.

 

When you run out of the older brand, you take all your daily dose in the new generic.

 

Be sure to take your daily dose at the same time each day.

[trouper]

as an afterthought, i noticed i got brain zaps more frequently when my pharmacy switched me to generic zoloft. i later asked my psychiatrist about this and he said legally generics are only required to have a certain percentage of the active med in the pills (like 75% or something) so i was probably getting brain zaps from unintentionally tapering to a lower dosage.

[Freeby60]

Hi Wingbatty! I thought I would stop by and see how you are doing! Thank you so much for your warm welcome on my intro topic. It pains me to think about how long and difficult this process is for everyone!

 

Sounds like you have to do a lot of tap dancing to get the right type of med for tapering. I am hoping my MD will prescribe liquid if i ask him. 

 

Stay well!

[Skyler]

Wingbatty... if you are still having difficulties with generic changes, you might want to "take half your daily dose in the old drug and half in the new drug for a while eases the transition".  It smooths over changes so you don't get such a hit.  That's what I did and it worked very well. I routinely do this for 10 days whenever there was a change.

[Meimeiquest]

WB, Just flying by to say how happy I am for the new hope you've seen. These things are so hard to unravel! Let us know when the new baby's coming . Just kidding, keep up the good work!

[Wingbatty]

Hi everyone. I wanted to do a quick update because I'm freaking out with how well things are going. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.

 

I went to see my new doctor (the old one was a nightmare) right after I posted last time, and talked about all this. She asked me to try going to 5 mg. (I mentioned previously I dropped very fast from 20 mg to 10 mg because my generic refills had thrown me into a painful period of withdrawal already, so I just started breaking my pill in half and rode it out.)

 

It has been almost a month now, and everything is going FINE at the 5 mg dose.

 

I am very much attributing this to the fact that my husband got a vasectomy and I was able to go off hormones (Mirena IUD). Within a couple of days my husband said I was acting like my old self. Since then, all of my problems with irrational anger and irritability, etc., have disappeared.

 

I haven't even had any "brain zaps" or other problems. The anxiety I used to have has returned, but I'm taking this in stride. I'm viewing it as my old emotions coming back out, and that I have to learn new ways to deal with it since it is no longer being managed with a pill. I'm working on my breathing, slowing down to remind myself it's not real, meditating a little, and I really want to make a better habit of yoga again (I've probably said this a million times in this thread!).

 

The reason I'm happy to see the anxiety again is that I never felt it really went away with the Lexapro. It was muffled, and I dealt with it by developing a compulsion to binge eat sweets. Since the anxiety has returned, I deal with each small episode and do not have any binge-eating compulsions at all. I am happy right now to feel it outright and dealing with it, instead of feeling numb and having compulsive behaviors I didn't understand.

 

Because of my childhood (extreme dysfunction in my home) I may never be able to shake the anxiety. But I don't have to be its prisoner, either.

 

At this point I do want to be very cautious and not make any more large drops. Everyone says the last bit is the hardest, and so far I have been extremely fortunate. I'm going to chat with my doctor about slowing it down now til the end.

 

I would not recommend this dosage schedule for anyone else, ever. In my own case I found that hormonal birth control caused the initial situation where I was so messed up emotionally that I ended up on the pills in the first place - and until I removed the hormonal birth control, it would NEVER have been possible for me to go off the Lexapro long-term. I was also thrown into a really bad withdrawal syndrome with generic refills, and took advantage of it.

 

In the past I spent an entire year tapering from 20 mg to 10 mg with an extremely cautious daily weighing of pills and shaving off micrograms... and it was still unsuccessful. I felt continuously like I was hanging onto sanity by my fingernails and daily struggling to keep it together.

 

I'm so grateful to find out that the birth control was the underlying cause, and to be in a situation now where I could stop taking it without risking unwanted pregnancy. I hope any woman who reads through this post will take stock of whether artificial hormones are making her feel crazy, too.

[LoveandLight]

That's fantastic to hear you've found the problem

[Orangecat]

I just had my Mitena IUD removed after six years.... I feel INCREDIBLE! It's only been around two weeks but this is a noticeable difference. Wow. I'd read your post on your experience months ago but never put two and two together. No more hormonal birth control for me if I can help it. There are other options that are not hormonal. Man, can't believe the Mirena caused me emotional trouble, but it surely did. I just tried a taper of 10% after a very long hold, and I have not felt any symptoms of the decrease yet, five days later... This is not typical for me. I'll keep everyone posted but this is quite hopeful.

[Freeby60]

Hello, Wingbatty.

 

Congratulations! I've never used artificial hormones because they used very high doses that made me sick, back when. Then, my mother had breast cancer, so it wasn't advisable. I have recently reinstated lexapro after a large cut that was too much to handle back to my "therapeutic" dose of 20mgs. 3 months of reinstatement gave me 2 single windows of relief from anxiety, then weekend before last I had a 2 lovely days of feeling myself ( with a little morning anxiety). Today is day three of no anxiety in a row. People here keep telling me it will get better. 3 months into reinstatement and I see that it is!

 

I also come by my tendency for anxiety honestly and trace the source to my childhood. I have come to accept that when I do get off the lex, and probably all during tapering, I will still have to deal with it. And I tell myself constantly that I must get back into a good routine of yoga and meditation!! We seem to have similar stories and challenges!

 

I plan on holding my dose until the long days of summer, then starting a very conservative tapering program! I hope you'll have continued success. Have you read the thread on Dr. Claire Weekes? I found her writing repetitive and archaic, but her recommendation to avoid compounding anxiety with fear, and actually embrace it sounds just like what you are doing! Good for you!

[Wingbatty]

Checking in today was a good day to see the most recent responses to my posts & the recommendations for anxiety help.

 

It's been around 3 months off the Lexapro, and I still have a lot of anxiety. My emotions go completely haywire right when my period is starting. I feel like a basket case for about 2 days. I keep doing things out of emotional response that later I feel so much anxiety and stupidity about.

 

I just replied on Freeby's page that I'm still struggling to recognize my own emotions (I felt nothing for so long!) and respond to them appropriately. After a decade of being numbed-out and letting people take advantage of me in a variety of ways, I am in take-no-prisoners mode. Overreacting, being too strong in my reactions. I'm a very mild and gentle person - or have been in the past - and lately I am being accused of being harsh and mean. People are so used to me being so mild in my responses that even when I respond appropriately, they are shocked. When over-react, they think I've lost my mind.

 

My whole life, though, I've been my own worst critic. When I make even the smallest mistake, I flog myself internally over it for ages. That internal critic is louder now, and really busy lately. On Altostrata's little wave chart, this is probably my first big dip downward & I just have to be patient & wait it out... but it's hard. It's hard to just forgive myself for not being perfect and not having perfect reactions to everything.

[Altostrata]

Hello again, Wingbatty. Please be kind to yourself. Perhaps some meditative breathing?

 

Have you looked into perhaps taking some minerals to even out your menstrual cycle? There are some suggestions in the last half of this article http://drhyman.com/blog/2010/09/17/how-to-eliminate-pms-in-5-simple-steps/

 

Many people do better with fish oil and magnesium supplements, see
http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/36-king-of-supplements-omega-3-fatty-acids-fish-oil/
http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1300-magnesium-natures-calcium-channel-blocker/
 

I added our cheerful "here comes the sun" symbol

☼

to the title of your Intro topic, to show you're recovering.

Please continue to let us know how you're doing. I hope you will add your story to our Recovery Success Stories eventually!

[Orangecat]

Hi Wingbatty,

 

Sorry you are having a wave. I recently had a quite emotional day right before my period. I hear ya. Magnesium (for me, 400 mg Natural Calm taken independently of any other supplements, fish oil (I love Barleans extra potency) and acupuncture have been amazing for my anxiety. If I don't keep them up I get run down after a while and become a worse version of myself. My acupuncturist recently said if these period crazy days are a pattern, there are herbs for that : ). This gave me some hope. I use light therapy and a B Complex and both help my energy levels and happiness. Maybe these might help you too. Your description of not wanting to take any cr*p from anyone anymore and coming across a bit strident sounds very familiar to me. I've experienced just that feeling throughout my taper process. Maybe it's more reactivity than is necessary to stick up for ourselves, but these things take time... I am unlearning years of poor boundaries and poor communication habits, which my family imparted on me. I agree, try to be gentle with yourself. Try to ask your loved ones to do the same. If you can be humorous about it, even gently poking fun at your recent sensitivity with the people you love, it can make it all seem more short term, less dramatic, and more bearable. You'll figure this out- you ARE figuring it out. I frequently turn to the self help section f my favorite bookstore with a cup of tea, or a Tara Brach podcast, when all feels really lost. You're my anti Mirena hero, and I'm rooting for you!!