[COHiker]

Originally Posted by jca1928

hi i'm just psoting to vent i geuse it's been a few weeks since i last posted and at the time i had sweetiched to from lexapro to efexor xr under my docs advice wich was a big mistake. I think it was jjulia 77 that told not to switch back to lexpro but to just ween off of the efexor. bad thing is the efexor was raising my blood pressure and making me realy spazz out and suicidal and i ended up in the phyic ward of my local hospital for a few days wich realy sucked. so as soon i got out i found my self a new doc wich saide i needed to get off the efexor ASAP. she thought that it would not be good idea to stay on it and ween down becauise of the way it was making me act. but didn't want me to go cold turkey either. since i had only been on the effor for a little over two weeks at the low dose of 37mg unless you count the 2 days i was at 75 wich is what put me in the hospital. she wanted me to go back on lexapro but it's to exspencive so she wrote me out a scriped for celxa, the switch hasn't been total hell. ive been on the celxa for tree weeks my only complaint are that i'm tired and feel sad alot. not sure if it's from the efexor or the celexa but all and all i am going to ween my self off of this and my doc agrees she just wants me to wait a wile because of every thing iv'e been though. when i do start the weeing i was thinking of trying the road back program has any one on here ever tryed it or no any one has tryed it. looks like it's going to be pricy but if it works i'd be willing to try it. all of the things i have felt and gone through since the middle of january when i went off of lexapro ive never and i meen never been like that in my life. I SO wish i could go back in time and not let my former doc talk me into taking lexapro. I am wondering though how long i'm going to feel tierd and sad. can't help but think after all of this that it's never going to end. i wish at least for a wile some mite think i'm nuts for saying this that the celexa would work by wich i mean at least make me feel happy in some way heck iv'e had thoughts of just going back on lexapro wich isn't likely to happen but my mind and body and brain have been trhough so much i feel desprite to do something. i'm almost in teers as i'm writing this i'm 27 yr old male who will be 28 in april and for the first time in my life i feel lost and like my life is over and i have nothing to look forward to. thanks to any one who took the timeto reads this AJ

AJ,
OUCH! Sorry dude that you have struggled like this!
At 28, you have alot to live for! Have you struggled in the past with severe depression?
I cannot offer you any advise about the drugs because I have only taken Lexepro. Read back through some of these past threads and see if the information is helpful. Alot of these good people have been around the block with a some of the other drugs you mentioned.
I think "the road back" would be something that you should try. I just started this past week because of the fatigue factor. It has helped (I don't have the backlash of emotional stuff, but I'm hoping to prevent that lovely side effect). Yep, it's pricey, but start off with the DNA Global solutions and then compare those products with comperable products you can buy in your local vitamin stores. Follow the instructions according to the book on the site.
Please hang in there and try to keep in mind that you are not losing yours, you just have to let it heal!!!
If you can keep in mind that this is not forever, the anxiety factor will decrease. And if you know that this is not going to last a lifetime, you will feel hopeful.
Make your daily mantra "this will pass, this will pass, this will pass....
It will, you just gotta have faith, hope, and trust.
If you have any type of a support system (family, friends, church), you may want to let them know exactly what you are doing with your meds and ask them to be on "stand by" for you to lean on when things are tough.
If yo have insurance, check to see if it covers any cognative behavioral therapy and find a good one. Let them know what has been going on with your meds and make sure they understand withdrawl.
Good luck and stay plugged in here... these folks get it and will give good advise and support.
Gpod luck and God bless and stay focused young man, you will get through this!
COHiker

[COHiker]

Just a thought..you may want to read page 188 of this site
A post from "Auntiebiotic"
It has alot of useful info. Julia77 also has great advise on supliments that help. See her post on pg. 256
Happy reading
COHiker

[ivysphotomom]

Thanks for your replies.

Yes, I'm quite aware of PTSD. And I agree - you don't have to have been in a war zone to suffer from it.

If I think about things logically, my first 'episode' of dread/anxiety happened after the sudden, unexpected death of my grandfather, who lived like 2 blocks away. I walked into my house after school/girl scouts one day, oblivious to the fact he died the night before, to a house full of people and food, and my grandmother running over to me with her arms out, crying. I was shocked, needless to say. There was no one on one gentle discussion with me beforehand about what happened. Then snap, 2 weeks later I fall down this abyss...

So it had to be a chemical thing. I've been reading about the different parts of the brain. There is the emotional brain, which is a different place than the cognitive brain. And yes, the endocrine system is key.

I was diagnosed with Hashimotos Hypothyroidism 9 years ago, and adrenal insufficiency about 5 years ago. So I know those systems are struggling, which absolutely doesn't help with the stress response.

It's just been a pile on. I never had a nurturing environment growing up in a house with 4 younger brothers. My mom had 5 kids in 8 years. Typical for the 60's. No one in my family had ever, or has ever, gone to college. I put myself through Carnegie-Mellon U. and Yale U. To say I was the odd ball in the family is an understatement.

And I'm an artist. So the sensitivity I've been given, is both a blessing and a curse. And I've got like 8 planets in the sign of Aqaurius! So I'm all air, in terms of Western Astrology! It's been quite the challenge to stay grounded, so to speak.

I've found fish oils to be critical to feeling well. Physically, and emotionally. And try to remind myself to take a good multi vitamin when I remember.

But these medications have wreaked havoc with my sleep, and emotional stability, as many of you can relate to.

Anyhow, thanks for the feedback and support! We've all got each other's backs!

~Mary

[ivysphotomom]

I just read your post above....

I am so sorry you're going through such a horrible time. My first psychiatrist also wanted to switch me from lexapro to effexor, but before I did, I read about it online, and how hard it was to go off of it, and decided not to.

Yikes. The psych ward. I'm sure that was NOT fun.

I know what you mean about expensive. Even with insurance, a bottle of lexapro is like $30. How much Celexa are you on? How much Lexapro were you on? There are lots of folks here who are experienced with dosages, and how to taper off.

Try buying a bottle of Omega 3 fish oils. I buy mine at Whole Foods. I get the kind with the lemon oil, so it's not particularly fishy. I take probably 2-3 tablespoons/day. Also, have you considered asking one of your doctors to prescribe a low dose of xanax, to get you through the rough times? I have a prescription for .25 tablets. The lowest dose out there. I used to only take them once in a while, or a half. But since going through lexapro hell, I take either a half, or up to one and a half a day. Just be careful. Xanax can be really addicting, especially in larger doses. It's best to not need it every day, but I believe there are times in our lives when it can be a life saver, if not abused.

Anyhow, I hope you're finding some comfort here, and know you're not alone!

Let us know how you're doing!

~Mary

[offlex]

7 mons off and still having hot flashes baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaadddddddd, and mild anxiety does anyone know if this is still withdraw are am I going to have anxiety, thats what I was put on lexapro for in the first place.
I hope everyone is doing better. God be with all of us.

[hykingswife]

I am new to this web site too and I too am just realizing the bad affects of anti depressants. I know it seems all over whelming right now but just in the few days that I have expirienced the support on this site has lifted me up. Stay close here and see that you are not not not alone. There are sooooo many people who do relate and they are further along than you or I in getting to the other end of this mess but that is the beuaty!!!! There is an other end and we are on our way there!!!! Someday we will be offering the support and feeling empowered and that day is not long off my friend. Not long off. I am so proud of you for looking for a support network and it really tells me that you must have needed it and are intelligent enough to seek it. You are going to make it. Be strong.
Praying for you, Thykingswife

[Julia77]

Originally Posted by offlex

7 mons off and still having hot flashes baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaadddddddd, and mild anxiety does anyone know if this is still withdraw are am I going to have anxiety, thats what I was put on lexapro for in the first place.
I hope everyone is doing better. God be with all of us.

Withdrawals, withdrawals, withdrawals...don't let them trick you. They will attack you in the first place, mimicking the original condition that you were put on antidepressants, convincing yourself you need them. That's why we have so many people not able to stop.
I read somewhere that you can not be in w/d and depressed/anxious at the same time. And you are in w/d for up to 18 months, sometimes people talk about 2 years. So, you must wait out for 18 months to weigh the situation.

I can tell you that I was tapering down extremely slowly ( for 7 months from 2.5 mg) and being off for 5 weeks, I still feel the w/d and today was especially bad - anxiety waves, feeling of dread and head full of helium. The only tendency I am feeling is that those days are becoming less intense, shorter and less frequent. If you stopped your medication abruptly, EXPECT to feel w/d for up to 18 months. If in-between you feel 'normal', that means you are feeling w/d rather than original condition. Normally, original condition does not give you a break.

Peace and lots of healing.

[offlex]

Originally Posted by Julia77

Withdrawals, withdrawals, withdrawals...don't let them trick you. They will attack you in the first place, mimicking the original condition that you were put on antidepressants, convincing yourself you need them. That's why we have so many people not able to stop.
I read somewhere that you can not be in w/d and depressed/anxious at the same time. And you are in w/d for up to 18 months, sometimes people talk about 2 years. So, you must wait out for 18 months to weigh the situation.

I can tell you that I was tapering down extremely slowly ( for 7 months from 2.5 mg) and being off for 5 weeks, I still feel the w/d and today was especially bad - anxiety waves, feeling of dread and head full of helium. The only tendency I am feeling is that those days are becoming less intense, shorter and less frequent. If you stopped your medication abruptly, EXPECT to feel w/d for up to 18 months. If in-between you feel 'normal', that means you are feeling w/d rather than original condition. Normally, original condition does not give you a break.

Peace and lots of healing.

Thanks, today I feel great right now. Hopefully I will have a good day. All the people here are angels. God bless all of you.

[8monthslater]

It was so much fun! We took our children to the new aquarium. It was incredible. My 5 year old LOVED it. We also went to Fernbank Museum of Natural History which was also really nice.

The doctor's appt was pretty much a bust. He was called out on an emergency so I did not get to see him. I did see another man that looked into my ears, said they looked fine and that I would just have to learn to live with the tinnitus. He said he would not "incriminate" the Lexapro (I guess he gets too many kickbacks from the drug companies). I ended up writing a detailed letter with all of my symptoms for the other doctor. I also left a copy of my MRI, CT scan and sinus xrays. Maybe I'll hear back from him. He focuses a lot of research on ototoxicty of drugs and I really wanted to see him. Oh well. The nurse asked me if I could schedule a followup appt with him. I explained that I had driven 5 hours with 2 children and a husband who took off two days from work. It is just not that easy. She really felt sorry for me (I was trying not to cry) and promised me that she would make sure the original doctor would get my info.

Now here is a question for you. Do you think that after 11 months (cold turkey) off of Lex that my symptoms could still be withdrawals?? I have high pitched tinnitus in both ears, low pitched humming and pain in my left ear, shimmery vision, burning tongue, and shortness of breath. Thank you for an honest response!

Erin, I hope you are catching some rays for me!

AJ, Hugs to you. I am sorry you are having such a hard time. I hope things turn around for you very soon!

[No More Meds]

It has been 3 weeks since taking my last half of my 10mg Lexapro, and I feel groggy. I don't have any pain, but I guess there is pressure somewhere in my head and I feel like the world is spinning really really slowly and this is happening always. At times I feel really nauseous and the point in between my collar bone feels funny. I get cramps on my left side when I need to go to the restroom and I sometimes have diarreah. I also feel discomfort in my stomach area. I'm debating if I should go see the doctor again, since these symptoms don't seem to change at all. I do hear roaring noises a lot in my ears also so I'm thinking of getting my ears checked. Should I? I wonder when this will ever leave.

[8monthslater]

Originally Posted by No More Meds

It has been 3 weeks since taking my last half of my 10mg Lexapro, and I feel groggy. I don't have any pain, but I guess there is pressure somewhere in my head and I feel like the world is spinning really really slowly and this is happening always. At times I feel really nauseous and the point in between my collar bone feels funny. I get cramps on my left side when I need to go to the restroom and I sometimes have diarreah. I also feel discomfort in my stomach area. I'm debating if I should go see the doctor again, since these symptoms don't seem to change at all. I do hear roaring noises a lot in my ears also so I'm thinking of getting my ears checked. Should I? I wonder when this will ever leave.

If you read my posts you will see that I have been dealing with ear noises since I was taking Lex. I hope it will go away for you and me both.

[futurama91]

Hi, I'm new here. I recently decided, perhaps naively, to wean myself off of Lexapro after 16 months. I take it for anxiety and depression. I have PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, and temporal lobe epilepsy.

When I got on it, it really helped. I was just too out of it to even drag myself out of bed. I have seizures a lot and I'm a single mom. So, just doing everything that I need to do while taking care of my kids and having seizures is quite overwhelming. So, anyway, the lexapro helped me get out of bed and do stuff. Unfortunatelly, it also seems to have helped me gain around 30+ pounds, which isn't great. I walk everywhere (because I can't drive, because of my epilpesy), so I don't know how I put on the weight. I don't binge.

So, my mom's freaked out about my weight and she's pressuring me to get off of lexapro. (She thinks I'd be less depressed if I used an illicit plant. I don't want to.) I started to wean myself off of the lexapro and it has been a ride! I feel awful. I tried cutting down by 5 mg/week. From 20 to 15 to 10. What a mistake. I have been sick and exhausted and nauseous. I thought that the brain zaps were simple partial seizures, but I guess not, if all of you normal people are having them. ;-)

During this time I do feel that my seizure threshhold has been lowered, though. Not good.

Maybe I should just stay fat and sane.

I specifically asked my neurologist if it was addictive when he prescribed it. Liar.

That's my story. Reading this forum has given me a lot of answers.

Good luck everyone.

[COHiker]

Originally Posted by futurama91

Hi, I'm new here. I recently decided, perhaps naively, to wean myself off of Lexapro after 16 months. I take it for anxiety and depression. I have PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, and temporal lobe epilepsy.

When I got on it, it really helped. I was just too out of it to even drag myself out of bed. I have seizures a lot and I'm a single mom. So, just doing everything that I need to do while taking care of my kids and having seizures is quite overwhelming. So, anyway, the lexapro helped me get out of bed and do stuff. Unfortunatelly, it also seems to have helped me gain around 30+ pounds, which isn't great. I walk everywhere (because I can't drive, because of my epilpesy), so I don't know how I put on the weight. I don't binge.

So, my mom's freaked out about my weight and she's pressuring me to get off of lexapro. (She thinks I'd be less depressed if I used an illicit plant. I don't want to.) I started to wean myself off of the lexapro and it has been a ride! I feel awful. I tried cutting down by 5 mg/week. From 20 to 15 to 10. What a mistake. I have been sick and exhausted and nauseous. I thought that the brain zaps were simple partial seizures, but I guess not, if all of you normal people are having them. ;-)

During this time I do feel that my seizure threshhold has been lowered, though. Not good.

Maybe I should just stay fat and sane.

I specifically asked my neurologist if it was addictive when he prescribed it. Liar.

That's my story. Reading this forum has given me a lot of answers.

Good luck everyone.

Hey Futurama,

From the advise I have taken from this site is that you should reinstate the Lexapro from whatever dose gives you relief---Are you still on 10 mg and having symptoms? If so, try going back to the 15 mg dose. If you get the relief then stary there for at least two to three weeks. If not you will have to go back up to the 20 mg and start from the begining. Once you start to taper, do so at 10% each time for about two weeks (or longer if you have withdrawl symptoms). Just make sure that each time you start a new dosage to stay there until the symptoms are at a minimum for you.

The taper process can be slow for some. I went form 10 mg and was able to get to 5mg within about six weeks without any problems. I plan to stay here for at least a month because I got hit with headaches and fatigue at 5 mg. They are starting to subside, so when the symptoms are eased, I will do the liquid lexapro to be able to get precise dosage at 10% decreases every few weeks. My goal is to be off completelyby the end of September- if my body cooperates.

Like you, the weight gain has been a blow (almost 20lbs for me). The sexual side effects stink, too. I have some other bothersome things going on, but at 43, I cannot tell if they are side effects from the Lex or the begining of menopause

I had to giggle at your mom's suggestion of smoking pot (I assume that was your reference?). If the weight gain has her bugged, getting the munchies and chowing on twinkies and 7-11 burritos is NOT going to help your waistline

I've started 'the road back' program and so far it is helping. You may want to take a llook at it; it could help manage the depression long term. It is pricey, but you could start their program and then compare products at your local vitamin store or vitacost.com.

Regarding the ear stuff, have you ever taken any of the big gun antibiotics (genomyocin -sp?, keflex, vancomyocin)? These are KNOWN to cause ototoxicity (where it can paralyze the microscopic hairs in the inner ear that are responsible for balance)? I know that many of those patients have suffered severe virtigo from those drugs, but I'm not sure about the ringing symptom. Maybe something for you to consider....

Good luck in the decision making! With the seizure stuff going on, it must be very tough to be a single mom; it certainly is tempting to chose the the route that would cause you less discomfort. Don' be too hard on yourself and if you do chose to get off Lex, take it slow and be very patient with the whole process. If you do it slow, you may get out off it without too much difficulty. I feel really lucky that I looked here first and got alot of great information and I think I will get off without too much grief. I wish you the same. Look back through some of the threads on this site for some very helpful info and the folks here seem very supportive.

God bless, stay strong, and good luck!
COHiker
PS I'm no doctor- only my opinion (I've seen anytime that people have offered advise on this site that they add that to keep the site from causing trouble with the medical community).

[Aeroman]

Hello everyone,

I recently joined and it was specifically to be involved in this thread. I am probably in many of your shoes. I figured since we tend to be more of the "anxiety" type, we use forums like this to help us ease some of our worries knowing we're not alone.

My specs:

- 32yr old male

- Depression and Anxiety

- 300 mg XL of Wellbutrin since June 2005

- 5mg of Lexapro since September 2005

- 10mg of Lexapro on January 2006 - 5mg didn't cut it

- Lost initially 40 lbs with Wellbutrin

- Gained it all back with Lexapro but felt GREAT

- Began weening off 1 month ago. Last Wednesday (Feb 27) was my last dose.

- Ween = 10mg to 5mg immediately. 5mg for 2 weeks, then ever other day for two weeks.

- Sunday, March 2, I felt "moody, hard to concentrate, irritable, this shocking sensation through my whole body which made me light headed a bit.

- and today, noticed I was a bit groggy in the morning, hard to get out of bed.

I see my psych on the 26th of this month. he told me lexapro has a short half life and gets out of the body quicker than Prozac. He said if the symptoms are tough, he'll give me prozac to ease it and then get me off.

Still on Wellbutrin. Losing weight since feb 18 (I'm doing a fitness challenge at work), getting horny more (sex drive was 0), but eventually he will take me off that too.

Does this sound anything familiar????????

[futurama91]

Originally Posted by COHiker

Hey Futurama,
I had to giggle at your mom's suggestion of smoking pot (I assume that was your reference?). If the weight gain has her bugged, getting the munchies and chowing on twinkies and 7-11 burritos is NOT going to help your waistline

Oh, no sir, not twinkies or 7-11 anything. My mom's an uber-hippie. Carrot juice. You crave something sweet? Have some organic carrot juice! With algae! Mmmmmmmm Algae-y

She thinks the same thing could cure my seizures and I'm just relying on 'Babylon' too much. And that does work for some people's seizures, really. But it doesn't help me.


As far as your advice goes, to go up to my previous dose, I did. After reading about all of the side effects and difficulties, I realized that the reason I was sick was from withdrawal. So last night I took 20 mg. It was irresponsible of me to try to get off of it without a dr's help. Also, why am I taking medical advice from my uber-hippy mom?

So I took 20 mg last night, my prescribed dose, and for the first time in about a month, I feel okay today. I thought that I was having terrible allergies, but today I didn't even have to take allergy meds. It's gone! The ache in my foot is gone. The brain zaps are gone. I'm not exhausted, I have not gone back to bed. I don't feel as though I have the flu. I was very sick and I didn't realize how much of it was withdrawal. Oh, and the hot flashes and cold sweats. Ugh! So far, so good.

So, I am not going to try to do this on my own. And truthfully, people with my kind of epilepsy are wired differently. We have a much higher rate of depression than the general population. It's possible that I should just continue to take anti-depressants, if it helps me function. I don't know why I let my mom get to me so much.

[futurama91]

Oh, and COHiker, with the 'ear stuff', do you mean the zaps? I have had serious vertigo problems long before I ever took these meds, so who knows what's going on in there. And then I think my epilepsy meds make me less coordinated. So, who knows. But these zaps, the only thing I can think of is they remind me of maybe something that would happen when I was tripping on acid LONG, LONG ago. I'm just glad it stopped.

[futurama91]

I also wanted to add that my daughter was taking zoloft for just 2 weeks when she had a seizure (first one in 3 years) and ended up in the hospital. I kept asking the doctors, 4 in total, if I should keep giving it to her. No, they all said. Well, she was nauseous and had a fever the whole time and hurt all over. They didn't know why. They did a spinal tap to check for meningitis and so on.

When they sent her home, after 4 days I think, I took her back after 1 1/2 hours because she rapidly became worse. They had no idea why. She was vomiting, her temp rose to 102. I went home and hoped for the best. Then I read online that zoloft withdrawal can cause those flu-like symptoms. I called the doc and he said I could try giving her some. I did and in the morning she was OK and ate for the first time in 10 days.

That happened in January. So, I don't know why it didn't occur to me that I had the 'flu' from SSRI withdrawal. Sheesh.


*to clarify, I am not blaming the seizure on the zoloft. She's epileptic.

[jca1928]

first off thanks to all who posted a reply to my last post. today i'm feeling a little better. still feeling tired but not as sad so geuse my brain is getting use to the celexa. someone asked how much celexa i was taking.( sorry not sure sure at the moment who asked or saide what my mind is still kinda foggy) when i was on lexapro i took 5mg and now take 10 MG of celexa. this realy is a good place to come it helps just to have someone listen. i live alone so there isn't always someone to talk to. i'm wondering how long it's going to take for me to level off on the celexa. i remember reading somthing somare that it takes 4 to 6 weeks for it to work. if so i'm working on week 4 now. thanks again AJ

[ezrider]

hello to all!! i just recently started having severe panic attacks out of know where.. never had this problem before.. i'm not depressed no mood swings or anything like that.. just feel like i'm on the edge of snapping a twig. now i dont like takin modern medicine anyways but i went to the doc and he put me on 50 mg of zoloft, well, lets just say after 3 days i went off of it. i then went to a shrink and he put me on xanax 1mg 3 times a day,cus the small dosages werent working. now he wants me to start lexapro and it isnt going to happen!! and after reading all the bad here about these ssri's its really not happening..

so i've read alot here about bachs flowers and 5htp, but, has anyone heard about GABA? i went to a local house of herbs and they suggested GABA or the bachs flowers.. which is the best for acute anxiety? and until i get something natural in my system can i stay on the xanax for my nerves?

NEED HELP ASAP DONT WANT TO GET STRUNG OUT ON XANAX!!
thanks for any help that can be givin

[Julia77]

Originally Posted by No More Meds

It has been 3 weeks since taking my last half of my 10mg Lexapro, and I feel groggy. I don't have any pain, but I guess there is pressure somewhere in my head and I feel like the world is spinning really really slowly and this is happening always. At times I feel really nauseous and the point in between my collar bone feels funny. I get cramps on my left side when I need to go to the restroom and I sometimes have diarreah. I also feel discomfort in my stomach area. I'm debating if I should go see the doctor again, since these symptoms don't seem to change at all. I do hear roaring noises a lot in my ears also so I'm thinking of getting my ears checked. Should I? I wonder when this will ever leave.

I wouldn't bother going to the doctors now. I bet they're w/d. 100% they are. Being 3 weeks off, you still have so much ahead of you, so be strong and patient.

you still have an option to reinstate and go down slowly, 10%t at a time. This way you will feel less w/d.

Yes, they all go away in time.

[Julia77]

Originally Posted by 8monthslater

It was so much fun! We took our children to the new aquarium. It was incredible. My 5 year old LOVED it. We also went to Fernbank Museum of Natural History which was also really nice.

The doctor's appt was pretty much a bust. He was called out on an emergency so I did not get to see him. I did see another man that looked into my ears, said they looked fine and that I would just have to learn to live with the tinnitus. He said he would not "incriminate" the Lexapro (I guess he gets too many kickbacks from the drug companies). I ended up writing a detailed letter with all of my symptoms for the other doctor. I also left a copy of my MRI, CT scan and sinus xrays. Maybe I'll hear back from him. He focuses a lot of research on ototoxicty of drugs and I really wanted to see him. Oh well. The nurse asked me if I could schedule a followup appt with him. I explained that I had driven 5 hours with 2 children and a husband who took off two days from work. It is just not that easy. She really felt sorry for me (I was trying not to cry) and promised me that she would make sure the original doctor would get my info.

Now here is a question for you. Do you think that after 11 months (cold turkey) off of Lex that my symptoms could still be withdrawals?? I have high pitched tinnitus in both ears, low pitched humming and pain in my left ear, shimmery vision, burning tongue, and shortness of breath. Thank you for an honest response!

Erin, I hope you are catching some rays for me!

AJ, Hugs to you. I am sorry you are having such a hard time. I hope things turn around for you very soon!

I am also on another board and I've learned there that the longer you're on psychiatric meds, the more time it takes to heal. So, if you've been on Lex and some other med, it will take you longer to heal than say someone who tapered off one drug only.
I honestly believe your condition is w/d. You must be patient and wait if it starts to dissipate at 18 months off the drug, or even 2 years. I've heard stories of people who cold turkied their medications and were awfully sick for up to 2 years! I guess we're so lucky that we have each others' stories to learn from them.

[auntybiotic]

Originally Posted by ezrider

hello to all!! i just recently started having severe panic attacks out of know where.. never had this problem before.. i'm not depressed no mood swings or anything like that.. just feel like i'm on the edge of snapping a twig. now i dont like takin modern medicine anyways but i went to the doc and he put me on 50 mg of zoloft, well, lets just say after 3 days i went off of it. i then went to a shrink and he put me on xanax 1mg 3 times a day,cus the small dosages werent working. now he wants me to start lexapro and it isnt going to happen!! and after reading all the bad here about these ssri's its really not happening..

so i've read alot here about bachs flowers and 5htp, but, has anyone heard about GABA? i went to a local house of herbs and they suggested GABA or the bachs flowers.. which is the best for acute anxiety? and until i get something natural in my system can i stay on the xanax for my nerves?

NEED HELP ASAP DONT WANT TO GET STRUNG OUT ON XANAX!!
thanks for any help that can be givin

I would think the Bach Flower essences are the safest bet. If you can describe the type of anxiety you have in detail .............. I will suggest a flower essence that may work. there are so many to chose from so try to give me as much detail as possible.
The 5htp and gaba work on serotonin and they do have withdrawls but not nearly as bad a SSRI's.......I think the best bet would be not mess with the serotonin AT ALL!!!!
aunty

[COHiker]

Originally Posted by ezrider

hello to all!! i just recently started having severe panic attacks out of know where.. never had this problem before.. i'm not depressed no mood swings or anything like that.. just feel like i'm on the edge of snapping a twig. now i dont like takin modern medicine anyways but i went to the doc and he put me on 50 mg of zoloft, well, lets just say after 3 days i went off of it. i then went to a shrink and he put me on xanax 1mg 3 times a day,cus the small dosages werent working. now he wants me to start lexapro and it isnt going to happen!! and after reading all the bad here about these ssri's its really not happening..

so i've read alot here about bachs flowers and 5htp, but, has anyone heard about GABA? i went to a local house of herbs and they suggested GABA or the bachs flowers.. which is the best for acute anxiety? and until i get something natural in my system can i stay on the xanax for my nerves?

NEED HELP ASAP DONT WANT TO GET STRUNG OUT ON XANAX!!
thanks for any help that can be givin

Your post made me smile (local house of herbs? sounds like someplace that Furturama's mother would shop)
Good for you that you did your homework on medication. Not all meds are bad (although ssri's cna be reallly stinky to get off of) and it sounds like you need something to get you over the hump until you can get it taken care of with something your body is in need of (suppliments). I think the xanax short term is not a bad thing...
Take a look at two programs
1. The Road Back (theroadback.com) (the body calm suppliments I believe are tart cherry)
2. The Linden Method (just google it) for long tern solutions to panic, phobias, or OCD
Good Luck!
COHiker
PS I'd do some investigating into the genesis of the panic attacks, it may help you to eliminating them in the future

[No More Meds]

Thanks for the replies. I ended up going to my doctor anyway to check up on my dizziness. I wanted to make sure they were the symptoms of the withdrawals but he ended up prescribing me to vertigo drugs. I told him I don't want to take them, but I will hold on to them just in case. Anyways, I had a panic attack today since I was out in public, a bit far from home, while I was uncomfortable about these dizzinesses. I found a site that I registered that may help people with anxiety.
www.paniccenter.net
I will update about how well this site is.
I wish all of us luck here and thank you all for sharing all of your experiences.

[ezrider]

Originally Posted by auntybiotic

I would think the Bach Flower essences are the safest bet. If you can describe the type of anxiety you have in detail .............. I will suggest a flower essence that may work. there are so many to chose from so try to give me as much detail as possible.
The 5htp and gaba work on serotonin and they do have withdrawls but not nearly as bad a SSRI's.......I think the best bet would be not mess with the serotonin AT ALL!!!!
aunty

hello, the type of anxiety i have is like sweat hands and feet, a feeling of nervousness, followed by hyper ventalation,feel like i'm going to vomit and i need to use the restroom, racing thoughts and trembling inside all at on time!! i've always been a hyper kind of person,but, i have never had this problem in life. on jan 1/08 i woke at 5:00 and thinkin and feeling as if i was having a heart attack went to the hospital for a couple days and many test later found nothing wrong..
i was fine for a couple weeks then these panic attacks just started coming out of no where. i think i'm just mind f@$#4 myself into these attacks but i cant get them to stop.
i'm 34 yrs old and probally about 7 yrs ago the doc said that i had S.A.D. so through the winter i go tanning so maybe thats part of the problem (cabin fever)
thanks for you help!!

[ezrider]

Originally Posted by COHiker

Your post made me smile (local house of herbs? sounds like someplace that Furturama's mother would shop)
Good for you that you did your homework on medication. Not all meds are bad (although ssri's cna be reallly stinky to get off of) and it sounds like you need something to get you over the hump until you can get it taken care of with something your body is in need of (suppliments). I think the xanax short term is not a bad thing...
Take a look at two programs
1. The Road Back (theroadback.com) (the body calm suppliments I believe are tart cherry)
2. The Linden Method (just google it) for long tern solutions to panic, phobias, or OCD
Good Luck!
COHiker
PS I'd do some investigating into the genesis of the panic attacks, it may help you to eliminating them in the future

thanks for the kind words at 34 yrs old i've been around the old hippies myself and mainly hang out with people from that era. strange huh!! just cant meet anyone my age that doesnt act like their 18.lol!! anyways i will look into the info you gave me and thanks again!! take is easy.

[COHiker]

My apologies...
The website for the suppliments and tapering program is theroadback.org

[Abstractioness]

So I was on 15mg per day and about a week ago, I dropped to 10mg. Off and on all week I've been having periods where I feel crazy, like my skin is crawling and my heart is racing... not like a panic-attack but just really agitated. I've also been feeling nauseous although I'm not sure if that's related or not, because I have acid reflux as well and I haven't been watching what I've been eating the last few weeks. Anyway, the skin crawling is just the most awful thing, it's like my whole body feels chaotic... ugh. But I'm determined to stick it out; I have to be off this thing because after my study permit expires (I'm American but studying in Canada), I don't know if the health insurance for the one-year work permit I want to get will cover something like this, and it's so damn expensive...

[COHiker]

Originally Posted by Abstractioness

So I was on 15mg per day and about a week ago, I dropped to 10mg. Off and on all week I've been having periods where I feel crazy, like my skin is crawling and my heart is racing... not like a panic-attack but just really agitated. I've also been feeling nauseous although I'm not sure if that's related or not, because I have acid reflux as well and I haven't been watching what I've been eating the last few weeks. Anyway, the skin crawling is just the most awful thing, it's like my whole body feels chaotic... ugh. But I'm determined to stick it out; I have to be off this thing because after my study permit expires (I'm American but studying in Canada), I don't know if the health insurance for the one-year work permit I want to get will cover something like this, and it's so damn expensive...

Abstract
Got a case of the creepy crawlies? Yuk, I'm sure that sucks!
Since it has only been a week you might try going back up to the 15g dose to stabiliize and then go a bit slower. My bet is that the minute you go back up to 15 mg you will feel much better.
I think I read somewhere in these threads that Canada does not have the liquid form, but you can do a smaller dose with pills(look through these past threads and there are explanations of how to decrease at smaller doses with mixing pills into liquid form). Take the tapering a bit slower this time and you will probably do better. Depending on how much of the med you have left, you may have to suck up the cost and do another script until you can make the dose very small. I'd rather be in the hole a hundred bucks than to feel like ********************
Good luck and take some time to go back and read the through this site to learn how others have tapered slowly with pills. There is some great advise about the suppliments that will ease the pain. Try the Omega 3 and start right away and see if that can give you some relief.
Be patient; just knowing that most likely everything you are experiencing is the withdrawal and that in and of itself will make you feel so much better and help you not give in to the symptoms (for me, just knowing it keeps from getting down about the fatigue- I know it is not forever).
COHiker

[Julia77]

Originally Posted by Abstractioness

So I was on 15mg per day and about a week ago, I dropped to 10mg. Off and on all week I've been having periods where I feel crazy, like my skin is crawling and my heart is racing... not like a panic-attack but just really agitated. I've also been feeling nauseous although I'm not sure if that's related or not, because I have acid reflux as well and I haven't been watching what I've been eating the last few weeks. Anyway, the skin crawling is just the most awful thing, it's like my whole body feels chaotic... ugh. But I'm determined to stick it out; I have to be off this thing because after my study permit expires (I'm American but studying in Canada), I don't know if the health insurance for the one-year work permit I want to get will cover something like this, and it's so damn expensive...

Reinstate to 15 mg and go down slower (make your liquids and go down 10% every 3-4 weeks). If you're very young, say, around 20 years old, your body takes withdrawals very tough. See it as if your brain was developing with SSRI, and the latter almost became a part of it. What do I say. No, there are no liquid forms of Lex here in Canada.

You'd better reinstate and go slowly.
I am also in Canada. ANY kind of help is welcome - just e-mail me...