SSRI Discontinuation - struggling

orzabelle said:

You think that after having taken them for only 3 months, maybe 3 and a half, that it may not be possible to get back to normal?

...I don't have depression and my anxiety level (before all of this) did not really warrant medication.

You will be back to normal and you will be fine. The scariest things about anxiety and panic attacks is the feeling that you will always feel this way and that it won't go away.

It will. Especially since you did not have these symptoms before. Your body just needs time to re-adjust. But eventually it will pass and you will be you again.

It sounds like you are already doing yoga/meditating. Can you fit in some exercise each day? It has been known to help mild/moderate depression. I just pulled out my Jillian Michaels 30-day shred video to get back in shape. The work-outs are only 30 minutes. All you need are some hand weights and a yoga mat. It's a good distraction and gets your endorphins flowing.

That being said, I would seek professional help, but exercise might be useful inthe meantime.

Are you still taking the Ritalin? The symptoms you describe sound more like stimulant side effects than lexapro withdrawal. If not, and you don't have any current stressors, you will soon be back to your old self. Some studies suggest that it can take 3 months for your receptors to return to normal (after a period of extended use), and for you to make normal levels of serotonin without meds.

Yes I worked in the medical field. And I could write a book on malpractice. In my personal experience, the doctors have been wrong much more often than right. I almost ended up in a nursing home twice in my 30s for 2 different medical conditions that should have been easy to diagnose and treat....for one the doctors gave me strong drugs that only caused more harm...until I found an older milder medication that did the trick...the other is actually a common condition and easily treated..but I spent months each time barely able to get up to eat and use the bathroom because the doctors couldn't be bothered to think and do the right thing.

Many docs are paid to prescribe certain meds....and push them even when they are not appropriate...i had been going to an orthopedist who misdiagnosed me and pushed a RX anti inflammatory..that i found out he pushed on everyone...and only had bad side effects..because he got paid by the drug company to prescribe it.

I have a friend that has been working on getting the right med combination for a long time....and some of the things the alleged professionals suggested were blatant malpractice. One idiot actually mixed an MAOI and another med and caused a potentially fatal reaction. I have known since I was 12 and read the tylenol bottle that you can't mix MAOIs with most things...but the idiot, I mean highly educated professional psych didn't.

There have been studies on psych care. One found that 50% of people diagnosed with bipolar did not have it....another found that 69% of people medicated for depression did not have it.

I do feel SSRIs are much safer than Benzos for regular use...I have a horror story on the benzos that is too detailed to go into. Benzos are fine for occasional use..although a lot of docs seem think they are great for daily use.

for daily use I would be more comfortable with vistiril, buspar or a beta blocker...which work better for many people and have less side effects for them

Hi jmitw,

I'm not taking ritalin or any adhd meds. And I'm a runner. It seems that my runs, instead of helping me feel better, often leave me more agitated. I just don't think I can tolerate SSRIs.

Funny, my mother was on citalopram for a while (similar to escitalopram). She said it helped her for a few weeks but then she had to go off of it because it made very, very anxious. Maybe there's a genetic reason I/she can't tolerate. She was taking it for anxiety, not depression. I'm thinking that the SSRI might work great for depression, but solely anxiety, maybe not always helpful.

I think the advice jmitw gives is sound. If your primary issue was depression, it could make sense to try a different SSRI, but it's not. It seems your main issue is unwanted side effects. For that, I would think that short-term use of an anxiolytic, along with well-monitored tapering would be in order. It sounds like you will be a lot more comfortable with a new doctor.

10 Things I’d Tell My Former (Medicated) Self

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/27/10-things-id-tell-my-former-medicated-self/?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=Moth-Visible&module=inside-nyt-region®ion=inside-nyt-region&WT.nav=inside-nyt-region

Did not read all of the thread, but just wondering if seeing a psychopharmacologist instead of a regurgitate psychiatrist might help since the medication is their main focus?

Sending you good thoughts for a return to normal!

Be careful about things like the title psychopharmacologist. I had a client once who after being disappointed in two psychiatrists, tried a psychopharmacologist who came highly recommended to her. She was excited at first, but eventually stopped seeing him. Eventually she went back to the first person I had recommended to her. I really think you want to find someone who is not insulting, and you feel respects your opinion. The hard part is when someone has an adverse reaction to the medication. It is hard to try again. I'm not saying OP in this thread needs to. But for some people it is a necessity.

I know people who have had horrible side effects to certain medications. Worried, but trusting the psychiatrist who said it was reasonable to try drug in same family, the second drug was a sanity maker. We all must make difficult choices at times. I'm saying this in case anyone else looks at this thread, they realize that some psychiatrists are reasonable, and can give good advice.

mjh: thanks for posting that. Lots of good stuff there. I bookmarked the whole series to read later

Thanks, mjh. That was great.

mjh said:
10 Things I’d Tell My Former (Medicated) Self
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/27/10-things-id-tell-my-former-medicated-self/?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=Moth-Visible&module=inside-nyt-region®ion=inside-nyt-region&WT.nav=inside-nyt-region

This was beautiful. And good for those of us not trying to wean off medications but suffering a lot of the crap that goes with it all the same.

Orzabelle, I've been following the thread, and think it's time I expressed sympathy... I wish I had something useful to say. But I'm thinking of you...

Thanks, all of you. Update: I found a really wonderful and empathetic psychiatrist. She listened. She convinced me that I will be OK, and that I am not stuck like this - that the panic brought on by the ssri was real, but this anxiety is simply my body doing what it learned during that time. She also made the decision to not rx anything that will mess with serotonin. Told me to do some short sprint running instead of distance running. Told me to do yoga breathing every day. Told me to go ahead and take my benzo and that it is a low dose and not to worry about future withdrawal.

I feel some hope right now, which is not a small thing.

I'm so glad the doctor was able to give you some hope and coping techniques. I hope you feel much better very soon

Oh, very good! Yay!

Sounds like you got to a good psychiatrist who made some good suggestions that work for you! That's great!

Didn't read the entire thread, just want to add that you should probably have bloodwork~~ specifically TSH, T3, T4 (thyroid) panel. A wacky thyroid can cause your symptoms, as could an irregular heart rhythm.

Update: I did get a full blood panel. All was fine.

Happily, I've gone back to my usual self. Phew. Doc wanted me to try ADHD meds without antidepressant to help manage the symptoms. I tried Vyvanse, and it felt awful. Quit after one day. Then tried Focalin. I've been taking it for a month and I feel so much calmer. It is similar to Ritalin, but it has only the right handed isomer. It seems to not affect my body/anxiety levels.

Glad to hear you've found something that works for you. Thanks for letting us know.

nakaille said:
Glad to hear you've found something that works for you. Thanks for letting us know.

Ditto!

PeggyC said:

nakaille said:
Glad to hear you've found something that works for you. Thanks for letting us know.

Ditto!

Tritto!

Yay!

I'm on Vyvanse. At first, I took the 30mg pill, and I felt awful. My doctor prescribed the 20mg, and I feel great. 20mg is the smallest you can get. Which did you try? Also, I have to take it early in the morning, because it lasts a long time. If I take it later, I can't get to sleep. The nice thing is that it wears off before my bedtime, and by then, I WANT to sleep. So a pleasant side effect is that my sleeping and waking time are more regulated than before.

I tried the smallest - I think it was actually 10 - starting pediatric dose? It seems amphetamines just aren't for me. My adrenaline just goes nuts. Focalin is also all day, but I haven't had the adrenaline response on it

That sounds good.