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Vitamin C (ascorbic acid or ascorbate)


Altostrata

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Vitamin C = panic attacks??

This has been going on for awhile now. I still cannot quite figure out why this would be an issue in the first place. Since my unsuccessful withdrawal began I have been, like everyone else on here, hypersensitive to most foods and supplements. In recent years the intensity of the reactions has been dulled down slightly...yet they are ever present, persistent, and bothersome. One thing that I have noticed is that I consistently react to vitamin c supplementation. This is rather odd to me, as I have read that a stressed body requires more than the recommended daily dose. I have tried different forms of the stuff, slow release tablets to standard forms...never overdoing it. Yet each and every time I notice a huge difference in my ability to cope with stress (stress for me can be anything from a drive into town to interactions with other human beings...doesn't take much to trigger me, honestly :( ). I have meltdowns out of nowhere and they are much more intense than on the days where I simply refrain from taking the stuff. I know that the solution appears to be to simply STOP, but still I would like to know why this is occurring in the first place. Why is my body doing this??

 

Edited by ChessieCat
added topic title

1993: Diagnosed with "Depression" & "GAD, given Prozac
1994: Diagnosis changed to Bipolar II, Lithium added
1994-1997: Tried Wellbutrin and Zoloft
1997: Prescribed Effexor XR & Depakote ER
2012: Stopped Depakote, decreased dose of Effexor over the course of 2 or 3 months, used Prozac to help
2012: Stopped Prozac, began noticing disturbing symptoms after a few weeks of being antidepressant free.
late 2012: Prescribed Cymbalta
2013: Felt disconnected, disoriented, not "real".... Dr. recommended increasing the dose from 30mg to 60mg. Increased dosage was too much for my body/brain to handle....I had a very nasty reaction.

2014: Tried to go off Cymbalta. It did not work. I now take 15 beads.

2016: I take 3 beads daily...can't get off this crap. Obvious brain damage...most days I feel defeated and hopeless.

 

 

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Hi spidey. I am relatively knew to the site but read your post and can do nothing but agree.  I Am trying to stabilise at the moment and tried vitamin c as an aid to trying to dampen these horrible symptoms. It definitely didn't help me ramped up the anxiety to very severe plus diarrhoea so you are not alone in supplements not helping at the moment. Maybe they will help when we are stronger. 

2006 After sudden death of mother put on 20mg of citaloprom for depression. 

2014 Drug stopped working after two weeks of panic attacks felt fine. 

Aug 2014. Doctor put me on lyrica for rash on face, diarrhoea, sleeplessness,muscle cramp, bruising. Initial dose too strong, halved dose.  Stopped taking it 22/10/14

2014 severe anxiety after several ssri's attempted, seem to have developed severe  sensitivity to any drug, but giving severe  reactions put on cipralex drop form.started on 2 drops and had to increase by 1 drop every 3 days. Eventually got to 12 drops and had to stop as side effects every step of the way dreadful. Psychiatrist kept telling me to stick with it and my body would get used to it.  Eventually down to 8 drops. Bad reactions throughout the time I was on it

Have been on this until may 2017. Stopped over two weeks. Felt fine for 5 weeks after initial dizziness, nightmares, nausea, insomnia.  

Given diazepam by gp and told to take them when anxiety bad. Have only taken them very rarely as they frighten me. 

Last two weeks severe anxiety returned and feeling hopeless 

11July 2017. Cipralex 2mg. Anxiety, nausea still severe

13 July 2017 Cipralex 1mg due to advice of too high dosage  by kind person on thus site. so dropped from 2mg to 1mg and feelings of anxiety still at severe. As well as nausea, headaches, fatigue. 

15 July still feeling extremely anxious verging on panic. Nausea, feelings of fainting, fatigue. Lots of head pains 

3 August. Three weeks into trying to stabilise on one drop of cipralex. Still have waking from 4am. Sporadic upset stomach. Nausea.  High anxiety.  Throbbing/burning in nether regions seems to have eased for time being but stabbing/burning in calves of legs. Tinnitus. Occasional half to whole better days but mainly still struggling. Fatigue   

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Yah, I'm hoping one day my body will chill out a little. It's been doing this for years :(. I feel as though there are so many helpful things out there that would assist me in recovering faster if not for my mutant crazy nervous system stepping in to shout "THREAT!!!" every time something enters me. It is beyond frustrating.

1993: Diagnosed with "Depression" & "GAD, given Prozac
1994: Diagnosis changed to Bipolar II, Lithium added
1994-1997: Tried Wellbutrin and Zoloft
1997: Prescribed Effexor XR & Depakote ER
2012: Stopped Depakote, decreased dose of Effexor over the course of 2 or 3 months, used Prozac to help
2012: Stopped Prozac, began noticing disturbing symptoms after a few weeks of being antidepressant free.
late 2012: Prescribed Cymbalta
2013: Felt disconnected, disoriented, not "real".... Dr. recommended increasing the dose from 30mg to 60mg. Increased dosage was too much for my body/brain to handle....I had a very nasty reaction.

2014: Tried to go off Cymbalta. It did not work. I now take 15 beads.

2016: I take 3 beads daily...can't get off this crap. Obvious brain damage...most days I feel defeated and hopeless.

 

 

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Hi spidey

if it's a small consolation I'm in the same boat. Anything I try makes it worse so we both have to play the waiting game and hope in time our bodies and brains will balance and we can eat and drink anything we fancy. 

2006 After sudden death of mother put on 20mg of citaloprom for depression. 

2014 Drug stopped working after two weeks of panic attacks felt fine. 

Aug 2014. Doctor put me on lyrica for rash on face, diarrhoea, sleeplessness,muscle cramp, bruising. Initial dose too strong, halved dose.  Stopped taking it 22/10/14

2014 severe anxiety after several ssri's attempted, seem to have developed severe  sensitivity to any drug, but giving severe  reactions put on cipralex drop form.started on 2 drops and had to increase by 1 drop every 3 days. Eventually got to 12 drops and had to stop as side effects every step of the way dreadful. Psychiatrist kept telling me to stick with it and my body would get used to it.  Eventually down to 8 drops. Bad reactions throughout the time I was on it

Have been on this until may 2017. Stopped over two weeks. Felt fine for 5 weeks after initial dizziness, nightmares, nausea, insomnia.  

Given diazepam by gp and told to take them when anxiety bad. Have only taken them very rarely as they frighten me. 

Last two weeks severe anxiety returned and feeling hopeless 

11July 2017. Cipralex 2mg. Anxiety, nausea still severe

13 July 2017 Cipralex 1mg due to advice of too high dosage  by kind person on thus site. so dropped from 2mg to 1mg and feelings of anxiety still at severe. As well as nausea, headaches, fatigue. 

15 July still feeling extremely anxious verging on panic. Nausea, feelings of fainting, fatigue. Lots of head pains 

3 August. Three weeks into trying to stabilise on one drop of cipralex. Still have waking from 4am. Sporadic upset stomach. Nausea.  High anxiety.  Throbbing/burning in nether regions seems to have eased for time being but stabbing/burning in calves of legs. Tinnitus. Occasional half to whole better days but mainly still struggling. Fatigue   

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Hi Spidey and Scorpio (and anybody else reading this) -

 

From what I have read and experienced, Vitamin C can cause anxiety rebound, especially during the early days of withdrawal recovery. It is ironic, given that - as Spidey stated - Vitamin C is important to immune and stress response. But keep in mind that during recovery, our bodies often have paradoxical reactions to supplements.

 

I have found that being consistent is key to supplementation. Starting and stopping and restarting can be rather detrimental.

 

In general, the method I use for adding supplements is to add only one at a time at a small dose and give it 2 weeks to see if it stabilizes out and begins helping me. I do often get a "bad" reaction for the first few days (usually meaning increased anxiety). But unless the anxiety is debilitating or just intolerable, I ride it out - and I usually see a reduction in that new anxiety after a few days. HOWEVER - let your own body be your guide. If you feel that the reaction was severe, discontinue.

 

If after 2 weeks I feel stable and that the supplement is helping, then I up-dose a little bit every 2 weeks until I reach at least the RDA for that supplement. Then after a couple of weeks of stability, if I think adding a new supplement would help, I repeat the process for that new supplement.

 

For me, I also found that I can avoid Vitamin C anxiety by doing a morning and an afternoon dose, but not taking any dose after 6pm.

 

I hope this helps.

 

SJ

Main thread: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/14472-shakeyjerr-say-hello/

History: Prozac & Lithium from 1999 to 2003. Ended up back on after 4 months because taking a beta-blocker caused immediate depression (just 2 doses - turned out I didn't even need it; I had no other withdrawal symptoms - I might have ended up med and withdrawal-free otherwise :(). - Switched to Effexor (75mg 3/day) and Seroquel (50mg 3/day) in 2010. - Did a self-taper during 2016. - Developed Discontinuation Syndrome 02/17.

Supplements: Magnesium-Glycinate 400mg split into 4 100mg doses throughout the day. Vitamin C 500mg - once per day. Fish Oil 1360 mg (950 mg Active Omega-3) - twice per day.

I'm not a doctor. I use the internet, experience, and trial & error. Seek medical advice if necessary.

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I just want to comment. I began taking Vitimine C in acute WD after I crashed.  I began taking it because it is proven to decrease cortisol levels. It was tested in men who had exercised intensely. Like SJ, I started slowly and gradually increased the dose. I take a split dose twice daily. I take 3000 mg total. Again I did this in attempt to reduce cortisol spikes. Not sure if this helped or just time.   We are all different so start slow and see how you tolerate it.  

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  • 1 year later...

I am taking around 1000-2000mg high quality c-vitamin daily in the morning and before bed for around 12 months.

 

It helps me to calm.

 

However, is it consider safe to take these high amount everyday for a long time? Should I maby take 500mg morning and 500mg evening instead?

 

Thanks.

-2012  January started Olanzapine 5mg, 7mg, 10mg, 25mg (2 months), 10mg (long time),5mg.

-2016 June 15th quit Olanzapine from 5mg to 0mg CT.

Other drugs; Imovane,Theralene, Propavane, Stesodil, which I took when I needed to. Quit them w/o trouble late 2015.

 

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  • 3 months later...

The link in an earlier post had expired - regarding titrating Vitamin C to bowel tolerance. Here is an article I found:

The Method of Determining Proper Doses of Vitamin C for the Treatment of Disease by Titrating to Bowel Tolerance by Robert F. Cathcart, III, M.D.

 

Anyway, I had noticed when I had a bad cold last May and then another cold this past week or so, that I had a notable reduction in certain symptoms while sick: nightmares, waking anxiety, anxiety during the day. I finally figured out it might be because when I start to get a cold, I titrate vitamin c to bowel tolerance and continue the large doses until I'm better, when I drop precipitously to 1 gram in the morning. I noticed a dramatic resurgence of my symptoms this time, so I'm going back on the higher doses and see if that helps. I feel optimistic after finding this thread! I haven't really tracked the amount - For the cold, I would take .75 or 1 gram periodically during the day (and night)  in response to symptoms. I'm sure I was taking 6 or more grams a day during the cold. 

 

The article suggests also taking Vitamin A if you continue large doses of Vitamin C for a month or more. Of course, their idea of large doses might be a lot larger than ours. :) 

---

Lorazepam: (2014-15 1-1.5 mg lorazepam [aka Ativan] at night; 2016 to Nov 2018: 0.75 mg lorazepam at night; Dec 2018: divide dose into 3x a day. Jan 2019: taper 5% every 15 days; Held 9/2019 - 2/2020 at 0.35 mg). March 2020 started 2.5% taper every 15 days. Nov 2020 tapering 5% every 15 days. Dose divided into 2x a day. Now at 0.008 mg March 2023. Sertraline:  Jan 2017 25 mg: began 10% per month taper. Went on "exit strategy" at 0.084 mg Nov 2020 for 8 weeks, 0.042 for 4 weeks, 0.028 for 2 weeks starting 2/25/21, then 0.014 for 2 weeks, then .007 for a while, Done May 4, 2021. Unfortunately due to circumstances I restarted at 25 mg January 2022. New taper began January 2023. 

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I agree. I think I read somewhere here that vitamin c helps lower the morning cortisol surge.nit has helped for me.

Start citalopram late 2004 20 mg/d, tapered to 10 mg 1xd on for several years

Citalopram 5 mg 1xd, occasional attempt to taper; off citalopram 4 months Aug. 2016

Venlafaxine 37.5 mg 2 months Nov, Dec 2016 stopped ct and change to citalopram 10 mg/d severe withdrawal with daily nausea 

Citalopram 20mg/day April 2017 - Feb 21, 2018, Citalopram 15 mg/day Feb. 21 - 3/3/2018

Citalopram 20 mg/day 3/4/18, Citalopram 18 mg 1xd 3/5 - 4/1,

Citalopram 17 mg 4/2, 16.6 mg 4/16, 16.2 mg 4/23, 16 mg 5/14, 15.8 mg 5/18, 15.6 mg 5/22, 15.4 mg 5/29, 15.2 mg 6/5, 15 mg 6/12,

14.6 mg 7/21, 14.2 mg 7/28, 14 mg 8/4, 13.6mg 8/18, 13.2 mg 8/25, 13 mg 9/1, 12.6 mg 9/22, 9/25 13 mg, 11/9 12.8 mg, back to 13 mg after a few days. 1/9/19 12.8 mg, 1/14 12.6 mg, 1/20 12.4 mg, 1/27 12.2mg, 2/4 12 mg, 2/24 11.8 ,3/1 11.6, 3/6 11.4, 3/11 11.2, 3/14 11, by 4/28 10 mg.

Nov. 1 9.8 mg, Nov 8 9.6 mg, Nov 22 9.5 mg, slow taper down to 9 mg 1/27/2020. Slow taper down to 8 mg Sept 1 2020, decrease by approx. 10% a month to 5 mg/day Jan. 2021.

 

Supplements/other: multivitamin, vitamin d 2000 u 1xd,, melatonin 0.75 mg mg 1xd prn, magnesium, Propranolol Sr 60 mg/day Feb. 2016 (?), alprazolam 0.125 mg prn  (rarely taken) approx. <2 yrs 

Change to famotidine 20 mg prn, cetirizine 10 mg prn or loratadine 10 mg prn for allergy sx.

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  • 1 year later...

I always get a warm fuzzy feeling through my body ~20 min after taking vitamin c, in dose of 500mg extended. Anyone else feeling this? Ive read that it usually increase your body temperature (also wondering if this is helpful when you already have higher temp in wd due to low grader fewer..) but im curious to hear if someone else is feeling this.. :)

2008 - Setralin 150mg, CT after 1 year. 
2015 - Venlafaxin 150mg. CT after 1 month. 
2016 - Brintellix 100mg, CT after  2 years.
2018 

January - Mirtazapin 25 mg, CT after 1 month. 
Mars - Setralin 100 mg. CT after 1 month. 
August- Lexapro 5 mg. CT after 1 month, adverse reaction. Stopped all benzo, sleeping pills here too. 

2019 

January - Took fluconazol and itraconazol, strong reaction, like bein floxed. 

January - Used progesteronecream 200mg a day for 1 month. Severe reaction month 2 so i stopped (maybe built up cream in tissues?) 

April - Took plan-B, this messed me up the most. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

It helped me for a while, and then stopped.  Now if I take it before bed it keeps me awake, even in small amounts.  I've also experienced agitation when taking over 250mg during the day 

 

1997-2019 Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Celexa, Effexor, Serzone, Wellbutrin, Amitryptiline, Mirtazapine, Lexapro (mostly, 10-20mg)

Jan 16-Feb 2019 Fast tapered Lexapro after spontaneous kundalini syndrome 

Feb-Jul Used various herbs to deal with severe anxiety (bacopa, gotu kola)

Sept 2019 Developed histamine intolerance and daily panic

Currently taking high DHA fish oil, magnesium.  Occasionally l-ornithine, l-lysine, l-glycine, melatonin for sleep.  Dayvigo for sleep, and l-thp or seroquel (haven't settled on dose) for sleep when in sleep deprivation crisis

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Has anyone found that high doses of vitamin C helps with symptoms? Vitamin C has anti-inflammatory and anti-histamine actions which are useful in other conditions. It even has anticancer properties when given intravenously.

1980s: First diagnosed with depression. Treated with a tricyclic. 1988: Switched to Prozac 20 mg.  1990s to 2010: On and off Prozac. Increased dose led to side effects. 2011: Put on Zyprexa. 2011: Work burnout and breakdown. Hospitalized for suicidal depression. Switched to Seroquel. Switched to Celexa 40 mg and lithium 300 mg. 2019: Stopped Seroquel. 

2020 July: Decreased Celexa to 30 mg in attempt to alleviate sexual dysfunction. Worked somewhat.

2020 August: Decreased Celexa to 20 mg. Sexual function improved but w/d effects started. 

2020 September: Maintaining Celexa at 20 mg. Experiencing w/d effects - fatigue, dysphoria, mood instability

2020 September 13: Increased Celexa to 30 mg due to w/d effects. Still on lithium 300 mg/day.

2020 October 3: Reduced Celexa to 27 mg. Started taper. 10% per month as recommended.

2020 October 18: Reduced to 24 mg.

2020 December 4: Reduced to 21 mg.

2020 December 23: Reduced to 20 mg (spacing out taper intervals due to persistent w/d effects)

2021 September 23: Several reductions over the past 9 months to 7.0 mg. Stressful life circumstances led me to feeling very depressed with suicidal feelings, so upped to the dose to 10 mg until I feel better. 

 

 

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Hey Bruci-  I’ve been taking vitamin C for about two months now. Initially I was taking 1000 to 2000 mg per day. I recently started to raise my dosage. I’m now up to 5000 mg per day. I’ve noticed my general anxiety seems less. Symptoms wise I would say I’m improved but it’s really hard to say for sure. My biggest symptom is insomnia and so far it hasn’t changed that. It has seem to reduce my morning anxiety. The cortisol spike in the morning seems to be less but still there. It’s only been a few days since I started this so I’m still not sure. I am hopeful though that it is improving things. The last two days outside of my insomnia has been good overall. I’ve had more windows than waves. I hope this helps.

2003-2006-  Zoloft then Wellbutrin, Ritalin, concerta , Adderall.  Don’t remember dosage, tapers or timeframes. ADD treatment. I think I had some WD?  Definitely PSSD which resolved over time. 

Zoloft  100 MG April18-april 22, 2020

Buspirone 20 mg from April 18-May 18

10 mg from May 18 - May 27 2020

Lexapro 5 mg from April 22 through May 1st

10 mg from May 1 through June 1

5 mg from June 1 though june 18

2.5 mg from June 18 through June 25

1.25 mg from June 25 through July 4 2020

Ambien -  2.5 mg  April 21 and 26 2020

Trazodone 50 mg-  3 times late April and 4 days the first week in June 2020

Supplements:  Melatonin .23 mg

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1 hour ago, Fightinghard said:

Hey Bruci-  I’ve been taking vitamin C for about two months now. Initially I was taking 1000 to 2000 mg per day. I recently started to raise my dosage. I’m now up to 5000 mg per day. I’ve noticed my general anxiety seems less. Symptoms wise I would say I’m improved but it’s really hard to say for sure. My biggest symptom is insomnia and so far it hasn’t changed that. It has seem to reduce my morning anxiety. The cortisol spike in the morning seems to be less but still there. It’s only been a few days since I started this so I’m still not sure. I am hopeful though that it is improving things. The last two days outside of my insomnia has been good overall. I’ve had more windows than waves. I hope this helps.

 

Thanks Fightinghard. I'm currently taking 2000 to 3000 mg buffered C daily in divided doses. I'm just starting my taper but I anticipate inflammatory reactions and allergies down the road. I will increase the dosage until bowel tolerance if necessary. It helped me before with CFS and it might help me again. 

1980s: First diagnosed with depression. Treated with a tricyclic. 1988: Switched to Prozac 20 mg.  1990s to 2010: On and off Prozac. Increased dose led to side effects. 2011: Put on Zyprexa. 2011: Work burnout and breakdown. Hospitalized for suicidal depression. Switched to Seroquel. Switched to Celexa 40 mg and lithium 300 mg. 2019: Stopped Seroquel. 

2020 July: Decreased Celexa to 30 mg in attempt to alleviate sexual dysfunction. Worked somewhat.

2020 August: Decreased Celexa to 20 mg. Sexual function improved but w/d effects started. 

2020 September: Maintaining Celexa at 20 mg. Experiencing w/d effects - fatigue, dysphoria, mood instability

2020 September 13: Increased Celexa to 30 mg due to w/d effects. Still on lithium 300 mg/day.

2020 October 3: Reduced Celexa to 27 mg. Started taper. 10% per month as recommended.

2020 October 18: Reduced to 24 mg.

2020 December 4: Reduced to 21 mg.

2020 December 23: Reduced to 20 mg (spacing out taper intervals due to persistent w/d effects)

2021 September 23: Several reductions over the past 9 months to 7.0 mg. Stressful life circumstances led me to feeling very depressed with suicidal feelings, so upped to the dose to 10 mg until I feel better. 

 

 

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  • 1 month later...
On 4/3/2013 at 5:41 PM, GiaK said:

vitamin C as a supplement is generally a pretty safe vitamin to take and most people tolerate it okay even during withdrawal...


High-dose oral vitamin C and intravenous vitamin C are antihistamines, so I wonder if anyone has found relief from their allergies or histamine sensitivity symptoms with vit C.

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6136002/

1980s: First diagnosed with depression. Treated with a tricyclic. 1988: Switched to Prozac 20 mg.  1990s to 2010: On and off Prozac. Increased dose led to side effects. 2011: Put on Zyprexa. 2011: Work burnout and breakdown. Hospitalized for suicidal depression. Switched to Seroquel. Switched to Celexa 40 mg and lithium 300 mg. 2019: Stopped Seroquel. 

2020 July: Decreased Celexa to 30 mg in attempt to alleviate sexual dysfunction. Worked somewhat.

2020 August: Decreased Celexa to 20 mg. Sexual function improved but w/d effects started. 

2020 September: Maintaining Celexa at 20 mg. Experiencing w/d effects - fatigue, dysphoria, mood instability

2020 September 13: Increased Celexa to 30 mg due to w/d effects. Still on lithium 300 mg/day.

2020 October 3: Reduced Celexa to 27 mg. Started taper. 10% per month as recommended.

2020 October 18: Reduced to 24 mg.

2020 December 4: Reduced to 21 mg.

2020 December 23: Reduced to 20 mg (spacing out taper intervals due to persistent w/d effects)

2021 September 23: Several reductions over the past 9 months to 7.0 mg. Stressful life circumstances led me to feeling very depressed with suicidal feelings, so upped to the dose to 10 mg until I feel better. 

 

 

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On 4/5/2013 at 2:19 PM, Altostrata said:

I preferred extended-release vitamin C myself. When you take large amounts at once, it doesn't get absorbed and a lot of it just goes out in your urine.


Moore is absorbed during states of illness. The limit is when you reach bowel intolerance. See the work of Cathcart.

1980s: First diagnosed with depression. Treated with a tricyclic. 1988: Switched to Prozac 20 mg.  1990s to 2010: On and off Prozac. Increased dose led to side effects. 2011: Put on Zyprexa. 2011: Work burnout and breakdown. Hospitalized for suicidal depression. Switched to Seroquel. Switched to Celexa 40 mg and lithium 300 mg. 2019: Stopped Seroquel. 

2020 July: Decreased Celexa to 30 mg in attempt to alleviate sexual dysfunction. Worked somewhat.

2020 August: Decreased Celexa to 20 mg. Sexual function improved but w/d effects started. 

2020 September: Maintaining Celexa at 20 mg. Experiencing w/d effects - fatigue, dysphoria, mood instability

2020 September 13: Increased Celexa to 30 mg due to w/d effects. Still on lithium 300 mg/day.

2020 October 3: Reduced Celexa to 27 mg. Started taper. 10% per month as recommended.

2020 October 18: Reduced to 24 mg.

2020 December 4: Reduced to 21 mg.

2020 December 23: Reduced to 20 mg (spacing out taper intervals due to persistent w/d effects)

2021 September 23: Several reductions over the past 9 months to 7.0 mg. Stressful life circumstances led me to feeling very depressed with suicidal feelings, so upped to the dose to 10 mg until I feel better. 

 

 

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  • Moderator Emeritus
4 hours ago, Bruci said:

See the work of Cathcart.

 

Can you provide a link please.

* NO LONGER ACTIVE on SA *

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED:  (6 year taper)      0mg Pristiq  on 13th November 2021

ADs since ~1992:  25+ years - 1 unknown, Prozac (muscle weakness), Zoloft; citalopram (pooped out) CTed (very sick for 2.5 wks a few months after); Pristiq:  50mg 2012, 100mg beg 2013 (Serotonin Toxicity)  Tapering from Oct 2015 - 13 Nov 2021   LAST DOSE 0.0025mg

Post 0 updates start here    My tapering program     My Intro (goes to tapering graph)

 VIDEO:   Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome and its Management

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1980s: First diagnosed with depression. Treated with a tricyclic. 1988: Switched to Prozac 20 mg.  1990s to 2010: On and off Prozac. Increased dose led to side effects. 2011: Put on Zyprexa. 2011: Work burnout and breakdown. Hospitalized for suicidal depression. Switched to Seroquel. Switched to Celexa 40 mg and lithium 300 mg. 2019: Stopped Seroquel. 

2020 July: Decreased Celexa to 30 mg in attempt to alleviate sexual dysfunction. Worked somewhat.

2020 August: Decreased Celexa to 20 mg. Sexual function improved but w/d effects started. 

2020 September: Maintaining Celexa at 20 mg. Experiencing w/d effects - fatigue, dysphoria, mood instability

2020 September 13: Increased Celexa to 30 mg due to w/d effects. Still on lithium 300 mg/day.

2020 October 3: Reduced Celexa to 27 mg. Started taper. 10% per month as recommended.

2020 October 18: Reduced to 24 mg.

2020 December 4: Reduced to 21 mg.

2020 December 23: Reduced to 20 mg (spacing out taper intervals due to persistent w/d effects)

2021 September 23: Several reductions over the past 9 months to 7.0 mg. Stressful life circumstances led me to feeling very depressed with suicidal feelings, so upped to the dose to 10 mg until I feel better. 

 

 

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  • Administrator

We're not big on orthomolecular here. It's been demonstrated that excess vitamin C is excreted in urine. It is a biological fact.

 

If you want to contribute tips, please double-check the sources and see if there are competing opinions that might be clarifications.

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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The body utilizes more vitamin C in inflammatory states and IV vit. C is used for treating cancer and other ailments. This is not vitamin C as a nutrient. It is vit. C as a therapeutic. 

 

https://www.cancer.gov/research/key-initiatives/ras/ras-central/blog/2020/yun-cantley-vitamin-c

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5409678/

 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/could-deadly-infections-be-cured-vitamin-c-180963843/

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7172861/

1980s: First diagnosed with depression. Treated with a tricyclic. 1988: Switched to Prozac 20 mg.  1990s to 2010: On and off Prozac. Increased dose led to side effects. 2011: Put on Zyprexa. 2011: Work burnout and breakdown. Hospitalized for suicidal depression. Switched to Seroquel. Switched to Celexa 40 mg and lithium 300 mg. 2019: Stopped Seroquel. 

2020 July: Decreased Celexa to 30 mg in attempt to alleviate sexual dysfunction. Worked somewhat.

2020 August: Decreased Celexa to 20 mg. Sexual function improved but w/d effects started. 

2020 September: Maintaining Celexa at 20 mg. Experiencing w/d effects - fatigue, dysphoria, mood instability

2020 September 13: Increased Celexa to 30 mg due to w/d effects. Still on lithium 300 mg/day.

2020 October 3: Reduced Celexa to 27 mg. Started taper. 10% per month as recommended.

2020 October 18: Reduced to 24 mg.

2020 December 4: Reduced to 21 mg.

2020 December 23: Reduced to 20 mg (spacing out taper intervals due to persistent w/d effects)

2021 September 23: Several reductions over the past 9 months to 7.0 mg. Stressful life circumstances led me to feeling very depressed with suicidal feelings, so upped to the dose to 10 mg until I feel better. 

 

 

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  • 6 months later...

I have been fighting a UTI for 2 weeks. Having trouble now with an antibiotic. I read someone said that lyposomal vitamin C in excess (10 powder packs) cured their UTI. 
 

I already take 500mg vitamin C at night.

 

Is there truth to this? Dangers?
I struggle with bladder withdrawal symptoms and recurring UTI’s (even before withdrawal). 
 

Thanks so much!

Celexa 10mg - 2012-2014 - "pooped out" Crossover to Paxil 20mg 2014 Crossover from Paxil to Lexapro 20mg 2016

Zofran (as needed every day for pregnancy) - October ‘19-May ‘20 - CT after delivery

Crossover from Lexapro to Celexa May 2020 - gradually increased to 30mg. Once hit 30mg, over a couple weeks started to have adverse reaction. Impending doom, akathisia/anxiety BAD for 2 weeks - took me 2 weeks to figure out it was Celexa since it was a delayed reaction Cold Turkey July 2020 Withdrawal hit hard - hypersexual. Discovered PGAD through google - freaked out thinking the only "cure" was medicine because that's what PGAD facebook group said...bad idea Prescribed Lorazepam for symptoms - around .25-.5mg/day -- Got on Lorazepam schedule of .125mg 3 times a day. October 2020 - Stabilized on 1mg Celexa and .375mg Lorazepam

Finally off Lorazepam April 2022, thank God!

Celexa reinstatement stopped PGAD mostly (still have random flares).

Dexilant 30mg - 2009 - August ‘23 - OFF

CURRENT MEDS--

Celexa 1mg (9:30am)- October 2020-Present (Decrease to .9mg 3/9/23 - updose back to 1mg 3/10/23)

Quercetin 250mg - September 22-Current for Post-Covid (Calms fight or flight, helped - if I stop, insomnia horribly)

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  • 5 weeks later...
  • Administrator

You might use Google to find out about how vitamin C might be used to treat UTIs. We're not specifically about UTIs here.

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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  • 1 year later...

I have been upping my vitamin c as well. Starting with 2g of the extended mid day and 1 to 2 g at night to hopefully help sleep. I just tried 5g at night and well boy is my stomach upset. It looks like my system can not tolerate that much vitamin c all at once. Strangely it didn't really hit me until several hours after I took the vitamin  c powder.  I think I'll stick with the pills and maybe a max of 4g a day.

???? To  early April 2021: citalopram 20mg. This was a about 12+years

April 2021: stopped taking citalopram 

6/10/2021 to 6/11/2021: started taking buspirone for anxiety . Got ringing in the ears and insomnia so I stopped

6/16/2021 reinstatement of citalopram at 10mg

8/12/2021: 4.5ml/9mg citalopram 10/11/21 4ml 11/15/21 3.5ml 12/28/2021: 3ml/6mg 1/28/2022 2.5ml/5mg  2mL/4mg 3/6/2022 1.5ml/3mg 4/12/2022  5/31/2022 1ml/2mg  7/31/2022 .5ml/1mg

9/3/2022: .4ml/.8mg citalopram. after a few days got some severe withdrawal so  .45ml/.9mg 9/8/2022 10/6/2022 1mg again .45ml/.9mg 12/9/2022

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  • 3 months later...

Just thought I'd chime in and add my two cents.

 

I've taken Vitamin C on and off through my withdrawal, around 1-2g a day, really inconsistently and wasn't really sure if it was making a difference. Sometimes it seemed to help me feel calmer, and other times didn't seem to do anything.

 

Last week I rolled the dice on some bacon and ended up eating way too much of it. It precipitated histamine related symptoms, and I was feeling pretty rough. When I got home from work that evening, I started going hard on the Vitamin C and to my surprise it made a big difference in my symptoms. I took about 3 g over the course of the next day and found myself feeling a lot better.

 

This got me checking out this post again, and I see many people on here have tried higher daily doses of Vitamin C, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

 

I'm taking ascorbic acid in powder form. I don't mind the taste mixed in water. I've played around with dosing a bit and find 2-3 g to be the sweet spot each day. Any higher than 3 and my tummy really notices it. I split it into three doses, morning, lunch and after work. 

 

I've noticed a pretty significant improvement in my symptoms since starting this consistently. I've been doing better in general, even before this, and feel I'm on a upwards trajectory towards healing, so I can't say its all been the Vitamin C, but there definitely seems to be a strong correspondence between consistently taking higher doses of Vitamin C and feeling a lot better. I'll be keeping it up for the foreseeable future.

1998- Fluoxetine

2012- One dose of Escitalopram causes suicidal ideation. Started Venlafaxine. Successfully discontinued using a Fluoxetine bridge.

December 2021- 4 days of 5-HTP. Had some severe dysphoric symptoms trying to discontinue. Started Fluoxetine 10mg. Provided with five 1mg doses of Ativan as well.

January 6th- Continued to take Fluoxetine 10mg. Experienced deepened depression and suicidal ideation.

January 9th- 5mg dose. Experiencing deepened depression and suicidal ideation.

January 10th- Quit Fluoxerine CT

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  • 2 months later...

@Scrountz it's been 17 months since your last pill. Has your histamine food intolerance gone away? I suffer from this and I've been on a low histamine diet for 3 months. Every time I test a small amount of high histamine food. I get unpleasant symptoms within 30 minutes, if not immediately. Just curious if this symptom has gone away for you, or reduced in severity. Thanks.

Jan 29, 2023 - Took my one and only dose of Mirtazapine (15 mg). Developed an immediate adverse reaction with list of withdrawal-like symptoms.

 

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19 hours ago, Chompoo said:

@Scrountz it's been 17 months since your last pill. Has your histamine food intolerance gone away? I suffer from this and I've been on a low histamine diet for 3 months. Every time I test a small amount of high histamine food. I get unpleasant symptoms within 30 minutes, if not immediately. Just curious if this symptom has gone away for you, or reduced in severity. Thanks.

 

Yeah I don't seem to be experiencing histamine intolerance related symptoms so much now. It seemed to be between 5-12 months off for me or so when they were most prominent. Vitamin C and Quercetin seemed to make a difference. I'm still mostly avoiding preserved meats but haven't had issues with a bit of sauerkraut. Not really on a "low histamine" diet and don't seem to be having trouble.

1998- Fluoxetine

2012- One dose of Escitalopram causes suicidal ideation. Started Venlafaxine. Successfully discontinued using a Fluoxetine bridge.

December 2021- 4 days of 5-HTP. Had some severe dysphoric symptoms trying to discontinue. Started Fluoxetine 10mg. Provided with five 1mg doses of Ativan as well.

January 6th- Continued to take Fluoxetine 10mg. Experienced deepened depression and suicidal ideation.

January 9th- 5mg dose. Experiencing deepened depression and suicidal ideation.

January 10th- Quit Fluoxerine CT

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@Scrountz I am glad the histamine food tolerance has gone away for you. I was getting quite concerned when someone from another group is still suffering from this 3.5 years after his last pill, despite only being on an antidepressant for around 3 months. Another woman from the same group is still having significant problems with histamine food after 18 months. Your reply has given me hope.

Jan 29, 2023 - Took my one and only dose of Mirtazapine (15 mg). Developed an immediate adverse reaction with list of withdrawal-like symptoms.

 

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