lexicon: off ADs for 2 months and in horrible distress

[flower]

Oh Lexi, I feel your suffering. I have been there so many times. I pray for peace for you.

[lexicon]

Aww, thank you flower ..Thank you for your support ..

Can you please tell me a little more flower? Why did you to this do many times? And what were the experiences you had?

And did you conquer it?

I am asking too many questions, because I feel a little scared ..

Wishing you to be well always ..xx

[Hudgens]

Lex, how are you today?

My blood pressure goes sky high when I'm feeling alot of anxiety or physical pain from withdrawal. Benz

[lexicon]

Hi Benz, I was just coming to write you, to see how you are doing, when I saw the notice that you had written ..

Thank you Benz .. I am sorry about your blood pressure ..Mine is erratic since this ordeal began ..

Do you need to take medication to bring it down?

And how have you been feeling? Did you see that I am thinking to reinstate a small rose of Sertraline? What to you think?

Today, right off the gate, I have head issues .. Numbness at the crown, a slight headache, numbness on my face, anxiety, and am totally uncoordinated .. .dizzy ..

I wonder why I have not seen other people complaining of head issues ..Have you seen?

I wish that yours is a better day than mine .

Thank you for your communication and support Benz ..xx

[lexicon]

I would appreciate your response to the issue below please ..

I try to understand but I cannot wrap my ill head around it ..

When I saw my doctor the other night, he said that if my blood tests come back fine, than my problem is not a medical problem ..

Therefore, he said, he will treat my issue as a Psychiatric problem, and he will treat it without medication ..

The more I think about it, the more my brain cannot make sense of it ..Could it be that he does not acknowledge my withdrawal problems?

Can you please tell me what you think? I will be grateful ..

[Hudgens]

Lex, Yes, I take BP medicine.

 

I don't think your doctor is dimissing your withdrawal systoms at all. He's just in the process of telling you that your problems aren't organic (aren't because of some underlying disease). That's good, you're ruling other possibilities (other than withdrawal, out). That he's not going to try and fix things for you with more medications sounds good, too.

 

So it's all probably coming down to the simplist answer (the one that's most often the right one)-your problems are being caused by withdrawal from antidepressants.

 

What you're going through is awful enough, but at least you won't have to wonder if some other bad thing is going on underneath it all. It's just withdrawal syndrome. And withdrawal syndrome, as bad as it can be-does get better and better over time (although in waves and windows) until it goes away completely.

 

From what I've read on this post, you are lucky your Dr isn't going to try throwing more of the same kinds of drugs at you-the ones that got you in to this fix in the first place. I think this is all very positive news.

 

By the way, I myself am feeling lightheaded and a dizzy today, alot of it in the front of my head-something to do with the switch to DIY liquid. Benz

[lexicon]

Today, I have s terrible dizzy covering the top of my head, extending to the bridge of my nose .

It has knocked me down the better part of the day ..I am not able to walk at all ..

Some of my words come out backwards ..Such as ..What are you doing yesterday ..?!!

Also anxiety today, plus heart and stomach being anxious ..

Please someone who has gone through this, especially the head situation, what is it ..?

I seem to suffer a lot of head issues that I do not see other people complaining about ..

I would appreciate some peace of mind ...

[basildev]

Lex,

 

I don't suffer from the head issues you have described - but my mum sure did when the doctor changed her medication from Effexor to something else.

 

She thought there was something seriously wrong with her and had all kinds of tests.

 

Then I showed her this site and she said: aha! THAT's what it is!

 

As for me, my words don't come out backwards but I often find myself mid sentence, unable to remember simple words such as 'frypan' or 'washing machine'. In stead all I can do is say 'can you please wash the...the...'thing'.

 

It feels like I'm starting the get Alzheimers disease.

 

But I know it's just withdrawal.

[lexicon]

Thank you basildev so much, you are certainly making me feel better ..

I too do the absent minded words, and wonder if Alzheimer's is in the cards ..

But I do wonder why it is that most of my distress is concentrated in my head ..I am sorry that your Mum went through it ..

I do have the rest, physical, neurological, breathing issues, anxiety, but the head is most worrying ..This was the problem when I was taking AD 'S.. head distress ..

I will be starting to reinstate a low dose soon ..Praying that it will help me ..

I am grateful for you responding ..Thank you ..xx

[basildev]

Lexi,

 

It's hard to say why most of your issues are concentrated around the head area - I guess we're all different. Mine is mostly insomnia. It hits us all in different ways I think.

 

I think reinstating a small dose is an excellent idea - it may help relive some of your symptoms

 

Keep us posted on how you do:)

[flower]

Lex most of my symptoms have been in the head too. Pressure.ringing ears.dizzy. It's been a long time since I've had a clear head. It has to get better.

[tezza]

I have trouble thinking of the right words to use very often. I've always had good vocabulary skills, that is, before withdrawals. It seems to be a complaint among some others during WD also. I can only hope this improves.

[lexicon]

I am grateful to you, basildev, tezza and flower, for your responses and support ..Thank you ..

I would like to talk about an issue that is of major concern ....It has to do with my. phobia reinstating with Sertraline ..

Since this ordeal started, I always had a problem with AD 'S, no matter which one I took ..All caused issues when I was on them, especially with my head .. I had depression, dizziness , ataxia ..I really felt like I was being poisoned, or that they were causing some sort of toxicity to my system ..

When Sertraline was added to cross taper Paxil, things went from bad to worse ..No matter the dosage, I was consistently ill ..

Various doctors I went to, including 3 psychotrists, could not make a diagnosis, as to what was happening to me ..I was hopeless, especially when a psychiatrist I was seen at the time., told me that " if he knew what the problem was, he would retire "..!!

I was debilitated, suffering what appears now to have been prolonged, daily withdrawals of some sort ..

It was at this time, for over a year, that the Ativan use went up, from an occasional as needed "to 4 a day ..

I suffered for over a year this way, not able to care for myself, wheelchaired to appointments, etc.

And so I entered rehab ..Only to come home with pretty much the same head woes, and then some ..

And so, I am frightened of Sertraline ..I worry that it I use it to reinstate with, that my system will recognize it, and I will be incompensated again ..

And so I stall, because of this fear ..A dear friend is coming to help me with the pills I have, and to show me Mg and ml ..I am having anxiety thinking about this dreaded. Sertraline. I wish I had Lexapro, but I do not ..

I would appreciate any one reading this, to please tell me what you think ..

I feel grateful for this site, the wonderful staff, and the lovely, caring people here, who always offer support ..

Please forgive me for this huge text ..

God bless everyone ..

[Hudgens]

Yeah, I feel pretty good today. Moring and afternoon I felt very close to healthy and normal. But soon after the second dose, I got that feeling again that I'd taken too much.

Doesn't seem right, but the liquid may hit me faster than the powder did. Don't know why that would be the case, since neither form is time release and I took always took the powder with a glass of water.

 

Anyway it's just a dizzy feeling, and will probably go away as I get further from the time of the 2nd dose.

 

Hope you're doing better today, Benz

[Altostrata]

lexicon, the idea is to reinstate with a very low dose, to limit the possibility of adverse reactions. Before, you were given much higher dosages of drugs.

 

Adverse reactions are dosage-related. The higher the dosage, the worse the reaction.

 

If it causes you such fear to reinstate even a very small amount, don't do it. Your fear alone will cause you to feel worse.

 

I have urged you many, many times to see Dr. Shipko. He is one of the few doctors in the world who deal with withdrawal syndrome, and he's not too far from you. We're just an online forum, we can't support you the way a concerned doctor can.

[lexicon]

It is with immense gratitude that I welcome your caring and support Alto ..

A friend is coming today, to help with the pills ..

Thank you always for suggesting that Dr. Shipko can help me ..I would like nothing than to be able to see him too ..It is just that at this time, I have not been able to pull it together ..But the word is out. ..

I appreciate you and your vast knowledge, I appreciate this site, and all the caring and supportive staff and people ..May God bless each of you, for this wonderful work that you do ..

I pray that until am able to see the doctor, that someone from here will come to my rescue, when the going. gets tough, just as they have been ..

Thank you, and may God heal each of us who are hurting ..

[Athena]

Lexicon, what I meant earlier is what Alto is saying here: reinstating SMALL AMOUNTS of 1 med until you feel better. Only when you are stabilised and feel the least side effects as possible, you begin tapering again but MUCH SLOWER. Always SMALL AMOUNTS.

 

I hope this clears it up! Alto says it a lot clearer than me!

 

And what I am sure of is you need to give your body what it needs through veggies ++, greens ++, water ++++!!! Fish and garlic!!

 

Take care!

 

Athena

[lexicon]

Athena thank you so much for your support and encouragement ..

I smiled when I read your suggestion to eat garlic among other yummy things ..

I am Greek, and garlic is always included in meals ..

Wishing you to feel better soon ..and for God to look after you and heal you ..xx

[lexicon]

Hi Benz, thinking of you and wishing that you are feeling great ..

Wishing you a quite, good day ..Lexicon

[lexicon]

Alto, thank you for looking after my well being ..I am grateful, to you and this site ..

A friend may be able to drive me to see Dr. Shipko. I will call him today again ..for the first week of May ..

May I ask you Alto? I was reading some threads of yours from 2011, where you talk about taking Lamictol ..

Are you still?

Maybe I can be helped with that too ..

Wishing you a happy day ..

[Altostrata]

No, I finished tapering Lamictal in December.

 

Lamictal may or may not be the right thing for you.

[Hudgens]

Lex, I had a peaceful night's sleep and only feel some mild anxiety today so far. Hope you're doing well, too.

[lexicon]

Alto, why do you think it may or may not help me?

Do you think reinstating 2 Mg may be better?

I had a hard talk with me, and am trying very hard to put the medications phobia aside ..

Also, yesterday I found the liquid Ativan,at the University Pharmacy ..I will start tapering it, very very slowly ..I inquired from a couple of people from the site who had successfully tapered off benzos to give me some help, but sadly there were no responses.. God bless them ..

Thank you Alto ..

[lexicon]

I am delighted Benz ..Good for you ..

I am 3 months removed from the day the AD 'S were dropped ..

I think symptoms have eased up a tiny bit, but my head issues are still here ..but I would say not as intense ..

Please keep up the good work ..Praying for you ..xx

[lexicon]

Alto,ever since I was put on antidepressants, I had problems ..Some of those problems linger around today ..

I have always thought that they did not agree with me. ..Do you think that the problem was that my system is allergic to serotonergics?

This concern is on my mind, this is why I have the phobia of touching antidepressants again .. Thank you for your expertise Alto.

[Altostrata]

lexicon, any medication for withdrawal syndrome is unpredictable, but reinstatement of the drug you've withdrawn from is less unpredictable than others.

 

Reinstatement sooner is better than reinstatement later.

 

Your situation and questions are too complex for me to resolve for you. It's very important that you see Dr. Shipko as soon as possible so he can give you the attention you need.

[Narcissus]

I can relate to the 'medication phobia', Lexicon. Sometimes I feel a kind of physical revulsion when I'm taking my Effexor, as if I were poisoning myself. Sadly, I really do need it at this point.

 

While we didn't have time to really cover any logistics (I moved to New Orleans) I found Dr Shipko very helpful when I met with him. Try to see him and tell us how it goes.

[lexicon]

Thank you dear Nar, I appreciate your encouragement in regard to Dr. Shipko, and am trying

to go see him ..

I wonder ...Was it your idea to go see him? Or were you prompted?

If you were prompted, was it like a do or die situation?

This is how I feel ..That it is imperative to go see him or something terribly bad will happen ..And it causes me anxiety ..

I also would like to thank you, for acknowledging my phobia in taking the antidepressants ..

I suffered while on them, and now again ..

And I have always wondered if there was some toxicity caused to my system ..

Today, my neurological issues are acting up ..tiredness, tingling beneath the skin, dizziness ..weakness ..

Have you experienced these symptoms?

I would again like to send you my appreciation for your care .. and my gratitude ..

Wishing wellness for you ..and may God bless you always ..

[Altostrata]

It's not that something bad will happen if you don't see Dr. Shipko, it's that it seems you are suffering terribly and as an online community, we can't do anything to help you.

[lexicon]

Thank you for clarifing that Alto ..What anxiety the implication caused ..!!

Dr. will be out of town., till mid May ..We will connect after he returns ..

As far as you saying that you cannot help me, you have and are ..

It is heartwarming to see how staff and people who are going through WD 'S rush to help a newcomer, or an old timer with their comfort and encouragement and advice. .

Any time I have written about a concerning issue, someone runs to the rescue ..This helps so much.!!

May all be blessed, and may all heal ..

Thank you for writing, I am grateful ..

[Altostrata]

How did your experiment with making liquid Zoloft go?

[lexicon]

It was like the blind leading the blind ..!!

My friend is elderly, and I am not far behind ..We were both nervous ..!! It is a good thing that we saved a few pills ..

Soon I will need to learn how to taper Ativan.

It is a good thing it is available in liquid. .

Thank you Alto ..You are God 's right hand for us broken people ..

[Meimeiquest]

Hi Lexicon,

 

Thanks for your note! Your posts seem to sound a bit better? Are you feeling any better? How is the head thing? I had some head problems soon after I went off an antipsychotic--not fun at all!

 

I have had 2 days without any nausea at all, but now I am getting cranky and startling easily, second night of trouble getting to sleep. Those are my signs of mania-type issues, so I will probably have to cut the Wellbutrin again. I am going off faster than I'd like, but the world is rather intolerant of mania (I wonder why, lol). But those problems are minor, both compared to other people's problems and symptoms in the past.

 

I hope you are able to get some good rest tonight. Thanks so much for keeping in touch.

[lexicon]

Aww, meimei So good to find you here ..

I had missed your sweet personality, and presence ..

I am saddened that you are having troubles and sleepless nights. .. I hope that gets resolved soon ..

I admire your strength through your ordeal, and I try to remember this strength when my issues act up ..But I must say I fail ..

My situation started the 4 th month .. Some days are tolerable, with the same issues but on a smaller scale, while other days like today, are a beast to bear and get through

Today I am having the head issues, dizziness, the kind of dizzy I do not like because it prevents me from walking.:

Also the heart acts up, along with my stomach which today feels like it is vibrating inside ..Have you heard of this ..??

I know the heart is anxiety ..Or at least I hope that is what it is ..

And the breathing issues ..For some reason, my breathing only acts up during the day now, not at night ..I am grateful for this. ..

So maybe days like today are waves? What do you think.?

I cannot say how delighted I am to see you .. Please feel better ..Would cutting the Welbutrin help you? I will pray it does ..So that you can get some relief ..

Take good care meimei ..Sending you loads of hugs .. Lexicon

-

[Meimeiquest]

Hi Lexicon,

 

I was just reading today of people writing that they were "vibrating inside", so I guess it happens. I'm sorry today has been so hard. I am so very glad you have an appointment with the "big doctor." If your serotonin levels got so high, it has to be very, very hard to get your brain reset.

 

I realized something about me: Lithium acts in a similar way to Lamictal. So I am probably having a much easier time than most people. And I still think it's hard.

 

I changed to immediate-release Wellbutrin, divided into fourths, in preparation for cutting the dose if I have to. I went to a new primary care dr. today (I just didn't go for years). There's a whole new level of condensation for people with psychiatric diagnoses who are cutting back on their meds....and I really don't care. I told the dr., "have you ever known of someone to come off a cocktail of psychiatric drugs who didn't find it difficult? Nausea and dizziness aren't going to hurt me." Of course it's worse than that, but he doesn't need to know that.

 

Hope you get some rest tonight!

[abir]

Lexicon, thinking of you, I hope you are feeling better and hopeful