Benzo withdrawal or AD withdrawal ?

I came off both at the same time. I was on escitalopram/lexapro for about 10 mos at 5mg and I jumped off that CT the same day I had my last dose of diazepam (which I tapered a long time). I thought at the time it was such a low dose, surely it would be fine. And maybe it was fine. But maybe it wasn't.

 

How can I know what's what. Maybe my withdrawals are lexapro. Maybe it's benzos. Maybe it's neither. Maybe it's both.

 

I'm not coping and I want to die most days. I would give anything to go back to how I felt last year in August before I came off the drugs. I was sooo happy. I thought I didn't need the drugs anymore. Now I feel trapped in an awful nightmare.

 

I tried reinstating escitalopram but it gave me the most horrendous vertigo I've ever known. I never had that when I started. I thought maybe I was reacting to it this time around so I stopped after 5 days.

 

I don't know what to do anymore I feel like I'll never recover.

For what it's worth, withdrawal from lexapro gave me the following: headache, brain zaps, eye zaps, nausea, and occasional crying.  Lasted for 2 weeks and dissipated.  Walk in the park in comparison to benzo withdrawal.

Yes I must admit I sway more towards this being benzo withdrawal. Over at surviving antidepressants I'm almost certain they would say the opposite though.  I miss the stability of my AD a lot.

Hi there, Hangz!

 

Benzo or AD withdrawal? Or both? It seems we are in the same boat. I too came off ADs while tapering benzos, not sure I should've done that... but here we are. Yes, on SA people say AD withdrawal is worse (they sometimes use benzos to help taper off the AD), here on BBs, it is quite the opposite. I think they are both evil types of drugs, both mess with brain chemistry. Some people are more sensitive to one than the other, but I suppose some people can also be as sensitive to one than the other.

 

Anyway, here we are... and healing from both benzos and ADs  Waiting it out is tough... but I guess it is a valid choice. It is mine anyway... On SA, they often advise reinstating at a very low dose, much lower than your 5mg Lexapro because of our sensitised CNSs. But I really don't know... especially for those of us who aren't quite sure what the cause of the problem is...!

 

I hope you start to feel better soon.

 

Hugs!

Julz xx

 

Hi there,

 

I am about five months off both AD and Benzos. Very difficult time to say the least  I have had some windows but not many. I was in ER on Friday for extreme dizziness and electric like shocks and headaches in neck and head. At any rate they put me on Lexapro 5 mg for intense anxiety but now I am seriously wondering if I should have gone back on. I am shaking horribly. Nobody seems to know what to do. Will this delay my Benzo withdrawal? I honestly just don’t done what to do anymore. I

I thought about going off the Lexapro since I’ve only been taking it a few days and most people I know say to stay on it. Medical community does not seem to know what to do. My mornings were always bad.

 

Help???

Hi there,

 

I am about five months off both AD and Benzos. Very difficult time to say the least  I have had some windows but not many. I was in ER on Friday for extreme dizziness and electric like shocks and headaches in neck and head. At any rate they put me on Lexapro 5 mg for intense anxiety but now I am seriously wondering if I should have gone back on. I am shaking horribly. Nobody seems to know what to do. Will this delay my Benzo withdrawal? I honestly just don’t done what to do anymore. I

I thought about going off the Lexapro since I’ve only been taking it a few days and most people I know say to stay on it. Medical community does not seem to know what to do. My mornings were always bad.

 

Help???

 

Dear NyAtivan,

 

I'm sorry you are struggling. I have read your post and wanted to say that you are not alone. Are you off Ativan and Lexapro? And didn't want to reinstate Lexapro? Or are you saying you are back on it?

I honestly don't know what to tell you, I don't have any advice to give, and if anyone does give you advice anyway... don't follow it without making sure it is your decision.

Perhaps you should start your own thread - that is the only piece of advice I will give 

 

I hope you start to feel better soon...

For what it's worth, withdrawal from lexapro gave me the following: headache, brain zaps, eye zaps, nausea, and occasional crying.  Lasted for 2 weeks and dissipated.  Walk in the park in comparison to benzo withdrawal.

 

I agree. AD withdrawal is childs play compared to benzo withdrawal.

I personally wouldn't downplay AD withdrawal. In the same way that some people have very, very easy withdrawal from benzo's, the same can be said about AD's. AD withdrawal is what started me on this journey and inevitably on benzo's, because I couldn't handle the severe anxiety that startup and withdrawal caused from the AD's. AD suppress and damage the brain much in the same way that benzo's do and it takes time for these neurotransmitters to heal. It can be so bad that people think they are yet again just experiencing an emergence of old or worsening symptoms.

I personally wouldn't downplay AD withdrawal. In the same way that some people have very, very easy withdrawal from benzo's, the same can be said about AD's. AD withdrawal is what started me on this journey and inevitably on benzo's, because I couldn't handle the severe anxiety that startup and withdrawal caused from the AD's. AD suppress and damage the brain much in the same way that benzo's do and it takes time for these neurotransmitters to heal. It can be so bad that people think they are yet again just experiencing an emergence of old or worsening symptoms.

 

That's so true.

Ssri's are the reason I was put on benzos in the first place.

I started ssri's for anxiety much more than depression. Ironically, I ended up searching for something to calm my anxiety and insomnia...

I have a friend who needs to be educated on this drug....sadly doctors leave it to the patient/client to do the research(many times by the time a patient is having ADVERSE SYMPTOMS research comes into the picture).

 

I am interested in hearing how this drug...lexapro...effects people, mainly after long-term use. Does it sedate or stimulate....from what I have read, it is more apt to stimulate, thus causing insomnia? This friend does in fact struggle with chronic insomnia.

 

So I'm very interested in hearing what others, who have been on it for any length of time, have to say about escitalopram/Lexapro. I suspect it is antagonizing the issue(?) it's been prescribed for, for my friend....just my own observation when talking to them. It's so frustrating!

I was on lexapro for a decade (2005-2015). Can't really tell if it was stimulating or caused me insomnia cuz I was on benzos the whole time. But what I can tell is that prozac is stimulating and doesn't cause the sedation and drowsiness that other ssri's cause.

I have a friend who needs to be educated on this drug....sadly doctors leave it to the patient/client to do the research(many times by the time a patient is having ADVERSE SYMPTOMS research comes into the picture).

 

I am interested in hearing how this drug...lexapro...effects people, mainly after long-term use. Does it sedate or stimulate....from what I have read, it is more apt to stimulate, thus causing insomnia? This friend does in fact struggle with chronic insomnia.

 

So I'm very interested in hearing what others, who have been on it for any length of time, have to say about escitalopram/Lexapro. I suspect it is antagonizing the issue(?) it's been prescribed for, for my friend....just my own observation when talking to them. It's so frustrating!

 

Another drugs which can potentially do anything to someone, IMO 

 

I was on the "crazy" dose of 60 mg, yes, 60. For the best part of 10 years. 13 years of this drug in total. 

 

I was actually on 4 drugs at the same time but Lexapro being the first one I discontinued, I think it may have been the culprit in my early morning wake-ups. At 5 or 6 am, I'd wake up unable to stay in bed. I'd have to get up. Why? I didn't know, like I wanted to do something. Like fake enthusiasm for something... so I'd get up, make coffee, go on my laptop... there was nothing to do, but I was feeling stimulated.

Then, at 3pm, I'd quite simply crash. No energy, physically or mentally/emotionally. Like the rug was pulled from under my feet. Not so stimulating at 3pm... 

Also, when I discontinued that drug completely, my dreams and memories returned. I can't say that was totally linked to Lexapro because I was also tapering K and V at the same time (which I don't advised doing, obviously). IMO, ADs can be just as bad as benzos. They disrupt the "normal" functioning of the brain and downregulate serotonin receptors, among many other things. They can blunt emotions... and yes, they are dependency-forming, i.e. you have to taper off...

 

It's great that you are trying to find information for your Friend  Lots more on the survivingantidepressant.org website and forum  :thumbsup:

 

Good luck! 

Julz xx

Thank you everyone for your replies regarding Lexapro….unfortunately, for now my friend is choosing to stay on the med. I figured they would, even though they partly believe the drug has antagonized the very issue that it’s being prescribed for.

 

I remember several years ago a Psychiatrist saying my serotonin “levels”, or some other brain chemical, was “normal”. Are there ANY tests that can determine whether or not one’s brain chemistry is off? Can doctors really say that a person has a chemical imbalance? 

 

I wish I had asked him what he meant, but at the time I had not yet had a bad experience with the psychiatric drugs that I was on for insomnia….Ambien and Elavil. I’m sure I was having symptoms….but they were not yet on the radar screen.

 

I have always been concerned with the danger that psych drugs can pose….just wish I had never dabbled with the meds that I did. Recovery can take foever…I will never take another drug that has been specifically designed to work on my brain. My sanity is precious and I will forever guard it….hopefully, I will succeed. At 60 years old….hard lessons learned.

I've read and believe that the whole "chemical imbalance" explanation is a whole lot of bunk. When I was early in my withdrawal/recovery I had a lengthy conversation with an intern or resident at a large university neuro-psychiatric department. He explained to me that there is no way to test your serotonin levels or to know exactly what an individual's brain may "need" medically. I was flabbergasted. So what about chemical imbalances? He said doctors are guessing about that based on a patient's behavior and symptoms. They use that phrase to make it easier for laypeople to understand. WTF, right? He flat-out told me that doctors GUESS which drug may help with specific symptoms. Then they wait for a few weeks to see if it actually is having the desired effect.

 

Maybe you all knew that ... but I'm guessing that most people don't. We have all been trained to believe and trust in doctors. With many things in general medicine there are definitive tests. But not with psychiatry. I know I'm not alone in wishing I had never been given a psyhotropic drug. If wishes were fishes ...

I came off both at the same time. I was on escitalopram/lexapro for about 10 mos at 5mg and I jumped off that CT the same day I had my last dose of diazepam (which I tapered a long time). I thought at the time it was such a low dose, surely it would be fine. And maybe it was fine. But maybe it wasn't.

 

How can I know what's what. Maybe my withdrawals are lexapro. Maybe it's benzos. Maybe it's neither. Maybe it's both.

 

I'm not coping and I want to die most days. I would give anything to go back to how I felt last year in August before I came off the drugs. I was sooo happy. I thought I didn't need the drugs anymore. Now I feel trapped in an awful nightmare.

 

I tried reinstating escitalopram but it gave me the most horrendous vertigo I've ever known. I never had that when I started. I thought maybe I was reacting to it this time around so I stopped after 5 days.

 

I don't know what to do anymore I feel like I'll never recover.

 

Hanzgs, I am sorry you are having to go through this. It is sad that we the patient have to fin for ourselves, once we try getting off these meds. It seems the doctors are on board until the ship starts to sink. As lalasingme stated in so many words, "chemical imbalance" of the brain is not a proven science.....there is no way of determining what's happening chemically in the brain through some test. So getting ON and OFF these meds is guess work. That's a scary thought.....I have to believe it's true, too much suffering with those taking these meds and then trying to get off of them....WHY???

 

I hope you are able to hang in there....this journey can be lonely and frightening. It is so invisible to the masses. Thanks to it not being acknowledged by society in general, we just have each other for the time being. There can be some comfort in knowing that. Keep us posted as to how you are doing...you matter to us very much.