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Getting on an antidepressant during Benzo withdraw


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I am having a tough time right now and really need some advice. Has anyone started an antidepressant after quitting a benzodiazepine? Did it help or cause the withdrawal to be worse? I am having some medical issues which has made my depression worse.  I have been off Xanax for about 10 months and Celexa for 2 years. If it wasn’t for everything going on in my life I wouldn’t think about it. I’ve also been advised by a doctor that I should be on one.
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I am wondering this same thing, but also if an anti-psychotic medication might work.  I know I am having delusional thoughts, but I have not really determined if what I am also experiencing is halluncinatory, as I don´t understand exactly what a hallucination is -- I guess I always picture a 3D  figure or something, but that is not what I experience.
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I think I know what your talking about. When I stopped taking Xanax besides the withdrawals. I experienced more of things not feeling real. More like a dream or movie.
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I think I know what your talking about. When I stopped taking Xanax besides the withdrawals. I experienced more of things not feeling real. More like a dream or movie.

 

I am not expert, but what you described sounds like derealization. I experience that, too, as well as what may be depersonalization, but I am unclear as to whether it has crossed over to hallucinatory.

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[d4...]

I think I know what your talking about. When I stopped taking Xanax besides the withdrawals. I experienced more of things not feeling real. More like a dream or movie.

 

I am not expert, but what you described sounds like derealization. I experience that, too, as well as what may be depersonalization, but I am unclear as to whether it has crossed over to hallucinatory.

 

Agree sounds like DR or DP. I have them both. I got Seroquel an antipsychotic as an mood stabilzer because SSRI cause more anxiety for me. Paxil was the reason that I started to take benzos. If I only had knew. I had no experience from anxiety before paxil. My depression is much better but I dont know if it is time or Seroquel that helped me with the depression. In my early w/d I got ECT but it only gave me more memory problems.

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After my xanax taper, my doctor prescribed me paxil. The new me (now that I know what xanax can do to the brain) did a ton of research before making my decision. I discovered that once I decide to stop taking paxil, I will be in the exact situation as I was with the xanax. I was honestly quite discouraged by finding this out as my doctor had witnessed a year long taper nightmare for me and was quick to put me in another one. I had to remind myself that most doctors are not educated on the long term effects of these drugs. It is up to us to take care of ourselves and educate ourselves. I think the use of an antidepressant is a personal choice, as long as you know the consequences.
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I think I’ll have to. Honestly, I don’t think my marriage will survive if I don’t. To much has happened since I stopped the Xanax. I’ve been on Celexa a few times and It was hell starting it and worse getting off of it. I don’t think my body can take anymore of this. If I get on again I’ll never come off.
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My dose of SSRI was increased in month 18. Now, I sleep 10-12 hours a night.

But.... the first 4-5 weeks were terrible. The body felt like a pressure cooker with meltdown. I couldn't eat, sleep or do anything. I felt horrified.

 

So I don't recommend this, if not absolutely necessary.

 

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[d4...]
To stop paxil was awful. I had to taper them off with liquid and the w/d symotom was horrible. Not as benzo w/d but really hard to deal with.  The brain zaps in w/d was more intense than in benzo w/d
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My dose of SSRI was increased in month 18. Now, I sleep 10-12 hours a night.

But.... the first 4-5 weeks were terrible. The body felt like a pressure cooker with meltdown. I couldn't eat, sleep or do anything. I felt horrified.

 

So I don't recommend this, if not absolutely necessary.

 

If you don’t mind me asking, which SSRI were you prescribed?

 

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I started low dose Mirtazipine at 5 months off, has helped with sleep and anxiety. Is the only thing that has allowed me to continue working, I have a family and not working isn’t an option.
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I think I know what your talking about. When I stopped taking Xanax besides the withdrawals. I experienced more of things not feeling real. More like a dream or movie.

 

I am not expert, but what you described sounds like derealization. I experience that, too, as well as what may be depersonalization, but I am unclear as to whether it has crossed over to hallucinatory.

 

 

So what was the ect like?i was getting much pressurecabout doing this? Everything I read about this says it s bad? You don’t seem to think it was any good.

Agree sounds like DR or DP. I have them both. I got Seroquel an antipsychotic as an mood stabilzer because SSRI cause more anxiety for me. Paxil was the reason that I started to take benzos. If I only had knew. I had no experience from anxiety before paxil. My depression is much better but I dont know if it is time or Seroquel that helped me with the depression. In my early w/d I got ECT but it only gave me more memory problems.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am having a tough time right now and really need some advice. Has anyone started an antidepressant after quitting a benzodiazepine? Did it help or cause the withdrawal to be worse? I am having some medical issues which has made my depression worse.  I have been off Xanax for about 10 months and Celexa for 2 years. If it wasn’t for everything going on in my life I wouldn’t think about it. I’ve also been advised by a doctor that I should be on one.

I wish I knew the answer to that myself.

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After my xanax taper, my doctor prescribed me paxil. The new me (now that I know what xanax can do to the brain) did a ton of research before making my decision. I discovered that once I decide to stop taking paxil, I will be in the exact situation as I was with the xanax. I was honestly quite discouraged by finding this out as my doctor had witnessed a year long taper nightmare for me and was quick to put me in another one. I had to remind myself that most doctors are not educated on the long term effects of these drugs. It is up to us to take care of ourselves and educate ourselves. I think the use of an antidepressant is a personal choice, as long as you know the consequences.

 

Just wanted to respond to you on this. I know everyone is different but I can tell you with 23 years experience on Paxil that the w/d from it is NOT like Benzo w/d. Not even close in my book. I can taper and get off Paxil 20 times over in comparison to Benzos. Yes there are w/d symptoms and its not easy per say, but in my experience getting off Paxil was a breeze compared to Benzos. I just feel like the w/d of the two aren't comparable for me atleast.

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Just wanted to respond to you on this. I know everyone is different but I can tell you with 23 years experience on Paxil that the w/d from it is NOT like Benzo w/d. Not even close in my book. I can taper and get off Paxil 20 times over in comparison to Benzos. Yes there are w/d symptoms and its not easy per say, but in my experience getting off Paxil was a breeze compared to Benzos. I just feel like the w/d of the two aren't comparable for me atleast.

 

This has been my experience as well (approx. 30 years on Prozac/Paxil for depression). The one exception for me was the one time when I was forced to taper off Paxil (pre-benzo) more quickly than I should have, resulting in anger and anxiety for a period of 6-8 hours. Aside from this, when I tapered for a period of 4 to 6 weeks, I experienced only some brain zaps which dissipated after a month or two (post taper). Yes, definitely a better experience for me coming off of Paxil (SSRI) as opposed to Ativan (benzo).

 

Chinadoll90-

 

Also, the Ashton Manual covers the use of anti-depressants:

 

https://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzcha03.htm

 

and here:

 

https://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzcha02.htm

 

In addition, it might be wise to consult with a psychiatrist prior to attempting this.

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Chinadoll90-

 

Also, the Ashton Manual covers the use of anti-depressants:

 

https://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzcha03.htm

 

and here:

 

https://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzcha02.htm

 

In addition, it might be wise to consult with a psychiatrist prior to attempting this.

 

 

Note, Ashton later revised her view on the use of antidepressants.  Scroll down to read the article and her complete speech:

 

An Update on Dr. Heather Ashton’s View on Antidepressants:

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=142057.0

 

An excerpt:

 

 

Dr. Aston spoke about this in her lecture at the Bridge Project: 

 

After a while it became apparent that SSRIs, like benzodiazepines, produced a similar withdrawal syndrome, when they were stopped.   The doctors were surprised by this discovery and this was another example of their ignorance and lack of thought. It was already known that the older antidepressants produced a withdrawal reaction. Of course, the drug companies did not test SSRIs for withdrawal  reactions.

 

 

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Chinadoll90-

 

Also, the Ashton Manual covers the use of anti-depressants:

 

https://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzcha03.htm

 

and here:

 

https://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzcha02.htm

 

In addition, it might be wise to consult with a psychiatrist prior to attempting this.

 

 

Note, Ashton later revised her view on the use of antidepressants.  Scroll down to read the article and her complete speech:

 

An Update on Dr. Heather Ashton’s View on Antidepressants:

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=142057.0

 

An excerpt:

 

 

Dr. Aston spoke about this in her lecture at the Bridge Project: 

 

After a while it became apparent that SSRIs, like benzodiazepines, produced a similar withdrawal syndrome, when they were stopped.   The doctors were surprised by this discovery and this was another example of their ignorance and lack of thought. It was already known that the older antidepressants produced a withdrawal reaction. Of course, the drug companies did not test SSRIs for withdrawal  reactions.

 

 

Thanks so much for the link to the update, abcd!

 

 

 

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