Staying the Course? Need Advice

I’m in a bizzare quandary right now. I think I’m reinstating ok on a slightly smaller Ativan dose (.5/.5, was taking just 1 in the morning). The problem is the other medication that I’m on, 10 mg of Trintellix. Will have been on it 3 weeks come tomorrow and it’s been causing me some real trouble (I think). Problem is I accidentally went CT on Ativan the week I started to take it. Withdrawal was so bad I had to reinstate....or was it withdrawal?!?!?! It could’ve been the SSRI start up symptoms I’ve read about. Now I don’t know if the Trintellix is still finding its footing or if I’m drawing out a miserable tolerance withdrawal. I’ve got headaches, occasional numbness, intrusive thoughts, and even nausea. Part of me wants to either taper or jump off the Trintellix and see if I get better, but another part of me thinks this is all part of my system getting used to the medicine. I’m not debilitated, just miserable, angry, sad, confused and anxious.

 

What do I do? Stay the course and hope the AD gets better, before finally tapering the Ativan for good? Or taper/jump off the Trintellix and deal with another possibly messy withdrawal but maybe feel bette overall?

I've tried Trintellix myself for a very short time, but it was making me super agitated. I ended up stopping very quickly.  I suspect that having benzo tolerance made it harder for me to keep taking it. But since you have been on it for 3 weeks, it's a tough call whether to stop it or keep taking it. I am kind of doubting that Trintellix would cause intrusive thoughts, because these thoughts are a hallmark of a benzo tolerance/withdrawal. However, Trintellix may make you more agitated and edgy. But, then again, so can ativan. If taking Trintellix makes you think about reaching for more ativan, that would be a sign that it may be too activating for you. I suppose you could always talk to your doctor to get you down to 5mg of Trintellix. I haven't seen the 10mg Trintellix tablets and don't know if they can be divided/scored into 2 pieces.

 

Yes, if you are suddenly remembering your friends from grade school or a house you grew up in or all kinds of situations in your life you completely forgot, those are classic benzo withdrawal symptoms. Mental symptoms are not talked much about on the forum because they are usually highly unpleasant, and probably not something people like sharing on a public forum.

 

I recall tolerating an SSRI very well for years when I wasn't taking benzos. There were problems and side effects, but nothing remotely close until I started having problems with Ativan and no longer knowing if what I was dealing with came from an SSRI or Ativan. Ativan has a tendency to mess around with the efficacy of an antidepressant, but then again, stoping Trintellix right now may throw you into a mini SSRI withdrawal and even deepen the depression, since Ativan is a pretty depressing benzo (they all really are). Ativan is a CNS depressant, and you would think that taking less of it would just magically lift the depression, but that doesn't always seem to be the case.

 

Turns out this is only week two of Trintellix. Honestly, so long as I can get through the hell of mornings I feel like there’s minute improvement. If I hadn’t gone CT without warning from doctors this would be much easier! Hopefully seeing a new doctor today. At this point I’m both resigned and morbidly curious about where this all goes. Will it kick in and get better? Or will it tank and get worse? Either way, thanks so much for the support. This place has me believing I can get through this.

Yes, the mornings. It's a cruel joke, considering that I started taking ativan in the mornings, as that's when I was getting most of my panic attacks/severe anxiety episodes. Very rarely took it at night or in the afternoons. The first sign of something being wrong was a significant increase in anxiety in the evening/before going to bed. The morning dose wearing off. 

 

But yes, those mornings. I found this a while back. Really good site.

 

http://www.benzosupport.org/my_mornings.htm

I've tried Trintellix myself for a very short time, but it was making me super agitated. I ended up stopping very quickly.  I suspect that having benzo tolerance made it harder for me to keep taking it. But since you have been on it for 3 weeks, it's a tough call whether to stop it or keep taking it. I am kind of doubting that Trintellix would cause intrusive thoughts, because these thoughts are a hallmark of a benzo tolerance/withdrawal. However, Trintellix may make you more agitated and edgy. But, then again, so can ativan. If taking Trintellix makes you think about reaching for more ativan, that would be a sign that it may be too activating for you. I suppose you could always talk to your doctor to get you down to 5mg of Trintellix. I haven't seen the 10mg Trintellix tablets and don't know if they can be divided/scored into 2 pieces.

 

Yes, if you are suddenly remembering your friends from grade school or a house you grew up in or all kinds of situations in your life you completely forgot, those are classic benzo withdrawal symptoms. Mental symptoms are not talked much about on the forum because they are usually highly unpleasant, and probably not something people like sharing on a public forum.

 

I recall tolerating an SSRI very well for years when I wasn't taking benzos. There were problems and side effects, but nothing remotely close until I started having problems with Ativan and no longer knowing if what I was dealing with came from an SSRI or Ativan. Ativan has a tendency to mess around with the efficacy of an antidepressant, but then again, stoping Trintellix right now may throw you into a mini SSRI withdrawal and even deepen the depression, since Ativan is a pretty depressing benzo (they all really are). Ativan is a CNS depressant, and you would think that taking less of it would just magically lift the depression, but that doesn't always seem to be the case.

 

 

Moze, I know this was quite a long time ago, but what ended up happening with the trintellix?  I am considering an SSRI for underlying depression/anxiety issues previous to ever taking a benzo.