☼ theelt712: tapering off Zoloft

[theelt712]

No problem, Alto. I am thinking about checking in more often. I am trying to busy myself this summer to take my mind off of stuff. Continued healing and happiness to you too.

[theelt712]

Hello everyone, back again with a 2 monthish update. I am having problems with the following still: anhedonia, PSSD [which I do not talk about a lot], shortness of breath, DP, anxiety, and some short term memory problems. Me, stupidly thinking I can tolerate caffeine, had some tonight and I also had a panic attack. I did, however, go to the Holocaust museum to volunteer today and walked around town for 2 hours despite all of my symptoms. I just wish I was back to normal. I conducted some research on PSSD and one blog said that you just have to accept that it doesn't go away- which is BS- I think it will go away. I think it will all go away....the question is when, how, and how long.

[alex]

.About PSSD,

 

It will go away; it is part of w/d

[theelt712]

Thank you! Hey there alex! How are you?

[alex]

Well, here I am, on my first year off mark.

Still having hard issues, but SLOWLY getting better...

Read my post in Introductions and updates.

[theelt712]

I will when I get a chance. I am wishing you the best.

[theelt712]

Fearing heart problems, I have left arm pains and have had squeezing sensation in the left side of my back. Last month, I did have an EKG [at rest] come back normal. The doc told me that unless I am on hardcore drugs, I am not having heart problems.

[mandance]

I suffered the same heart and arm thing you describe the last 2 weeks. They are gone now but it was the first phase of withdrawals I experienced. TO make sure..I went to a heart doc and did a stress test. Everything was perfect even blood pressure. So dont worry about it....if you feel harsh symptoms, just remember its the pills and not anythign wrong with you. Anxiety will be worse if you start to fear you have health issues, you dont. So take that with you

[theelt712]

I suffered the same heart and arm thing you describe the last 2 weeks. They are gone now but it was the first phase of withdrawals I experienced. TO make sure..I went to a heart doc and did a stress test. Everything was perfect even blood pressure. So dont worry about it....if you feel harsh symptoms, just remember its the pills and not anythign wrong with you. Anxiety will be worse if you start to fear you have health issues, you dont. So take that with you

Thank you! My blood pressure is usually perfect [110/70]. I've been off for 2 months, and the pain gets a little milder as time goes on.

[theelt712]

Count me in on this whole Omega-3 thing. My mom's friend said that it would be very useful for my anxiety and depression as well as my anhedonia and PSSD. If it does help, I will let everyone know. You will know when I start Omega-3 and my progress with it.

[alex]

Theelt, you don't have heart problems.

Health anxiety is part of distorted "neuro-emotions"

Try not to pay attention to them;you will be fine before you know, I am sure.I can easy be your father, and I'm getting better;slowly but better.

[theelt712]

I will try not to pay attention to them. It's hard when you've always been tuned in [but I'm sure you guys already knew that]. Anyways, been thinking a lot about anhedonia, my life, my life compared to my friends', and how tough it is. I mean, I see everyone I know happy with a boyfriend and a life and in love and here I am battling SSRI withdrawal at age 15. Why?! What will become of this in the long run? Maybe a job as a counselor...

[theelt712]

Anyone else have breathing issues in WD? I have them a lot, it's pretty bad, but I do not have asthma or wheezing, my O2 levels are usually perfect at the dr's. It's troubling.

[theelt712]

My breathing feels really slow today..really scary. Almost like I am not breathing. :/

[Petunia]

Anyone else have breathing issues in WD? I have them a lot, it's pretty bad, but I do not have asthma or wheezing, my O2 levels are usually perfect at the dr's. It's troubling.

 

Breathing issues haven't been part of my withdrawal, but I had a look on another site for some info. I can't link to the site, but I will post some relevant bits.  The site is an anxiety support/cure site and is based on the theory that abnormal anxiety symptoms are caused by an over stressed or hyper-sensitive body or nervous system, which partially fits with what we are going through in medication withdrawal.

 

" The symptom:

You feel that you are short of breath or that your breathing is forced or labored. You become conscious of how you are breathing and have a hard time catching your breath. It seems like you have to force yourself to breathe in fear that if you don't, you'll stop breathing or pass out. Or for no apparent reason, you feel out of breath and find yourself doing an unusual amount of yawning in an attempt to catch your breath. It also may feel that you are so out of breath that you have to gasp for air.

This symptom can occur rarely and last only for a few moments, occur frequently and last for an extended period of time (minutes to an hour), or occur persistently.

This symptom can be mildly noticeable, moderately bothersome, or greatly problematic.

All variations and combinations are common."

 

".....stress hormones are stimulants. When released into the bloodstream, they can cause the heart to beat harder and faster than normal, as well. All of these changes can make it seem harder to breathe or that your breathing is more labored and forced…and especially when trying to rest or sleep."

 

"....as stress hormone overstimulation increases, so does muscle tension and related problems, including making it seem more difficult to breathe."

 

"An overly stressed nervous system can cause involuntary sensations and symptoms, including shortness of breath. Breathing is an involuntary action caused by the nervous system. When the nervous system is healthy, it functions normally causing normal results. When the nervous system is overly stressed, it can act erratically and cause involuntary sensations and symptoms of any type, at any time, to any degree, and for any duration. Again, shortness of breath is a common consequence of a stressed and therefore hyperactive nervous system."

 

"While these types of breathing symptoms can be uncomfortable, they aren’t harmful. Since breathing is an automatic bodily function, you don’t have to worry about not breathing. Yes, your breathing may seem shallow and labored, but you’ll always get enough oxygen to breathe."

 

"Additional comments:

Feeling like you can’t breathe or catch your breath is a common consequence of hyper arousal. When experiencing episodes of this symptom, it’s best to remain calm, do your best to regulate your breathing without over breathing (you can do that by using a controlled relaxed breathing pattern), and passively accepting this symptom for now.

As we mentioned earlier, there is no risk of suffocating or not breathing. So this symptom is just an annoyance, isn’t harmful or dangerous, and is NOT life threatening. Doing the above mentioned strategies and giving your body ample time to eliminate its hyper stressed state will eliminate this symptom for good.

So again, this symptom isn’t worth being concerned about or fretting over. It’s temporary and will disappear when your body recovers."

 

I hope this helps to put your mind at rest, you will get through this and be so much stronger, emotionally, because of it.

[theelt712]

Wow Petu, what a great resource! Thank you for the post.

[theelt712]

I hate not having emotion...although at moments today, I felt blunted sadness. Grr! Whenever I feel something, it's BLUNTED! It's really frustrating. Trying to keep faith in my emotions returning.

[theelt712]

Feeling moments of extremely blunted sadness, not deep enough to call it full blow depression, but deep enough to call it a sadness. I'd say it's about 30-40% around. :| Why is it sadness that's around?

[theelt712]

Having slowness of breath is scary....especially when you feel you have to force yourself to breathe. It reminds me of that Maroon 5 song: "Is there anyone out there, cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe?"

[theelt712]

Feeling light today. My body feels lighter than usual, almost like I lost a whole ton of weight [which I have], but it's an odd 'light'. Almost like lightheadness through your body...a weightlessness.

[theelt712]

Completely panicking right now....it feels like someone snapped a rubber band in the right side of my head, it was extremely painful, and now I'm seeing some floaters and it's really making me shake. The sensation was triggered by blowing my nose. I've had a clear MRI....and I can still type. Things I tell myself when panicky. I'm really nervous right now...but I can type.....that's a good thing. *inhales* Can you say neuro-anxiety driving me insane?

[Rhiannon]

Everything you describe sounds pretty normal for withdrawal syndrome.

[theelt712]

It's gone now.....alright, I think it was like a brain zap. Ouch. A lot can trigger these sensations. Especially sense I just had a brain spasm. Ugggh! I hate it. I hate it a lot. I had tonight the first sense of panic that I've had in months...flat out FEAR. 50% there. Does this mean the anhedonic log jam is breaking?

[Petunia]

I used to get brain zaps in the night while I was sleeping.  They would wake me up and I would be an agony for a few minutes, not able to move my head.  I didn't know anything about withdrawal or brain zaps, so the first time it happened I was terrified, thought I had a blood clot or stroke or something.  I was getting them regularly for a while, but its been over a year, maybe more since I've had one.  So don't worry, they will pass.

[theelt712]

They have passed before, it has been more intense as of lately. Grr. I just can't wait for the end of this WD, specifically anhedonia. If I had my pleasures, this would be 110% more bearable. I've heard licorice root helps a lot.

[theelt712]

Disregard that last post. Now I'm feeling blunted sadness, most likely situational. My mom is not feeling too good, most likely because she is withdrawing from 2 meds. I'm by myself right now and feeling really lonely. If I WAS NOT anhedonic, I'd be feeling 10x the sadness I do right now. The fact that I 'feel' blunted sadness and felt fear last night means that somehow, emotions are around.

[theelt712]

Very neuro upset and 'blunted' sad right now, in which I noticed that during this episode my DP got really bad. It's situational anger/sadness. I hate the position I'm in at home right now as well, stuff in my life is not the greatest and it's NOT WD related.

[theelt712]

DP= terrible right now, breathing is slower and my anxiety is really high....not having a panic attack, just sweating a lot and I have the odd sensation that my brain wants to shut off. :/

[Altostrata]

It might be better for you if you stopped focusing on your breathing, it seems to cause you a lot of worry and anxiety. Can you change the channel to something pleasant? Think of kittens or puppies playing.

[theelt712]

Awww, kittens. I am trying to change the channel right now. Distraction works but not for long. But that thought is very cute.

[Altostrata]

Try it every time you get worried about your breathing! Kittens never get boring.

[theelt712]

I actually have one, her name is Luna...she's adorable.  Plus I am panicky about head sensations, although my MRI [doctor ordered] was clear....I feel a pressing on my head that is pretty scary, like someone put a mini weight on my head, accompanied by memory problems and anxiety. It's freaking me out right now.

[Altostrata]

Quick! Think about Luna!

[theelt712]

I'm looking for her...she's gone at the moment. But she enjoys sleeping next to me. I posted a pic of her in off-topic.

[theelt712]

Thinking of all of the progress I've made in 2 months, and it's actually quite significant in the scheme of things. At the beginning of my taper and at the beginning of getting off Zoloft, I could not even sit AT A COMPUTER without having a panic attack. I had to be on my iPod. I only stayed up until 8/9 at night because of fear, apathy, constant fatigue and no drive to do something. All posts on this site and other sites were made with my cell or my iPod. 2 months later, I'm back on a computer, back outside my bedroom, and I can actually write poetry again. I'm actually taking part in a poetry camp beginning tomorrow, AND I'm on a computer all day, just like I used to be. All of this in TWO MONTHS. It's actually great progress. If only the anxiety/anhedonia/other stuff will go. But with little 'emotional' blunting moments, I have a feeling it's beginning to.

[cymbaltawithdrawal5600]

Wow! I am just amazed (and I bet you were too, when you got all those electrons on the screen) at the progress! The other stuff will sort itself out in time too. It really will.