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Anyone add an SSRI early in taper to ease symptoms


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On Lorazepam for 3 weeks, then K for 4 months. Reached 1.75mg. Tapered down to just under 1 mg now. Cut out all my day doses due to cloudy mind intrusive thoughts. Problem is day anxiety very high (derealization, serious anxiety stare, etc.). I have history of GAD which barely managed without meds. I just finished school and need to move on with life. Most people on this site say minimum 2 years hell. Why suffer so much psychic pain to come out on the other end worse than before? People having cognitive issues 5 years out. Will I ever get my life back? Or will my life focus be on trying to heal? Being on benzos and getting off of them is all I think about. Wouldn’t it be better to go on antidepressant and use that to come off this horrible drug? Sorry for the rant folks . Anybody here use antidepressant to get off benzo?
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There is no way i would get on an SSRI. That would be another drug that you have to taper off of in the future. Remember that these cause long term problem ie auto immune problems, dimentia, etc

 

My doctor tried to get me to take a SSRI a few months back and there was no way i was getting on another drug that would mess up my health.

 

If you watch your health you will not go thru 5 years of hell. I was on a drug for 30 years that was prescribed for epilepsy. I decided to get off the medication because of the long term side effects. Its true that you can have a hard time. My first 6 -8 months have been hell. But over the last month or two not every day has been bad and I have been getting a little better.

 

It sounds as if you were not on these meds very long so I would just ride it out and stay off this stuff. You sound like you are young (right out of school) and if someone would have warned me about the health issues.

 

Just remember that not only are you in this for your short term but also your long term

 

 

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I’m not young, im 49 with family. Went back to school for change of career. Thanks for your reply. I just need some opinions.  :)
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Everything I have read indicates that there is no medication that ameliorates benzo withdrawal symptoms. Antidepressants, or otherwise.

 

The leading authority on Benzo withdrawal Dr. Ashton said that “ a slow and steady taper, with the patient in control, is nearly always successful.” 

 

Thus, for me, slow  and steady it is. I am not going to add another mind altering med to the mix.

 

And Dr. Ashton’s research involving 50 patients in the 1980’s found major success beginning at just 10 months post taper. I don’t believe our situation is as bleak as you say. Her research results can be found in the Ashton Manual.

 

Keep the faith!

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Greek, you have not been on that long and you are tapering.  Are you sure your symptoms are WD versus anxiety?  Do a slow taper back down and God willing, you will be fine.  An SSRI could ramp you up, it's hard to say - it may be something that could help you in the future but if you are already ramped up, it could make it worse - not sure how your CNS reacts to stuff at this point.  AD changes is part of why I'm in the mess I'm in so personally, I would not go there.  I'm sorry you are going through this as I am for all of us, myself included.
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Sorry, Greek, I shouldn't have questioned you on that....of course you are having WD symptoms.  I apologize - since you've had anxiety your whole life, you know the difference, just as I do.  And I know what I'm experiencing is quite different,it's just horrendous, as I'm sure you are based on your posts.  BUT, you have not been on long, so hopefully, for you, a sensible taper will see you through it.  Just go slow so you don't screw up like I have. 
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I feel your pain Greek...everybody reacts differently with meds so as you know there is no clear answer other than what your body tells you.  I know of people that have had luck with the antidepressants and I take a very small dose of Remeron at night (3.5mg) to help with sleep, however, that's all my system can handle based on experience.  I tried Lexapro (20mg) and Remeron (15 to 30mg) and had pretty bad results with both at those dosages. I personally felt way worse while taking them and was hoping like hell something would take this anxiety feeling out of me.. but that was not the case.  Like you I have fought back the anxiety demon for most of my adult life...fully crashed about 1.5 years ago after the perfect life storm hit and fighting to get myself back ever since.  I was terrified of the Benzos in the beginning and still am! but I have accepted that it may take a while to micro taper off....I tried time and time again over the past year to go fast and got sucker punched every time. I now accept that it might take me 18 months or longer to taper off of about .5 mg of Klonopin.  Might go faster might go slower but I am accepting that this is the long game for me.  Check out the water titration posts and you will find some great advise there...pay close attention to the posts where Builder weighs in on the discussions.

 

And lastly try not to let the horror stories of Benzo withdrawal get to you like I did...I have spent hundreds of hours researching benzos and have read all the horror stories which unfortunately do happen to some and my heart goes out to each and every person who struggles like that...but that does not necessarily mean its your story! Somewhere on this forum there is a well written post that says at some point just drop the reading after you have had your fill and accept that your taper is going to be what it is.  Most likely we are somewhere in the middle and each of us will take different paths to healing so set your mind to it and micro taper day by day week by week.  I am far from symptom free as I taper and struggle daily as life continues to roll at me...just know there is a great life out there for us brother and come hell or high water I am going to get off these drugs and you can too!

 

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Thank you very much! I am also really sensitive to SSRI’s. that’s what got me on the benzos. I took cipralex for 5 weeks and the pressure in my brain increased so much I was walking around like zombie, then the severe depression kicked in that was reversed with 1 mg of Lorazepam. I just don’t know anymore what to do! I can feel the withdrawal symptoms but there is also this incredible head anxiety I have which I’ve tried Chinese medicine/ Homeopathy over the years and now I’m still suffering on top of the suffering. I can’t even recall a past trauma that could give this type of anxiety. I had hints of it as a teenager. I had my really bad attack in the winter or from jet lag. I think my circadian rhythms are off. Winter comes and my anxiety skyrockets. I think my brain got stuck in fight or flight mode years ago like a switch. There’s a million therapies out there. How to find the right one? It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack
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There’s no telling how long this will take. I took two years but I also held for a full year. 1 week off and I’m feeling pretty good. You don’t hear about the rest of people who don’t have much issue tapering because they’re living their lives. There is much more than what  you see here. I didn’t log on to BB much when my taper was going well to be honest. Once I started struggling towards the end I did. My point is that had I continued to taper with little issues I wouldn’t have been here. I’m sure there are tons of people like that out there.

 

I wouldn’t add another drug to the mix. Just focus on taking care of yourself be healthy and get off the K. From what I’ve seen the more drugs people take the harder things are and the more confused the CNS gets.

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Mountaintop, you did it correctly - way to go.  You were in a good mental place when you started your taper, right?  No anxiety disorders, depression or anything?  I also do think that makes a difference, plus as you said, other medications, hypersensitive CNS, etc.......
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Anyone add an SSRI early in taper to ease symptoms

I did....10 mgs of lexapro (to start). Now, I am taking 7.5 mgs of lexapro.

I think it is helping me a little, but not much.

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PS - I hate all psych meds btw like most here....just trying to still figure out a way to get off all this junk and not go crazy in the process!
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Mountaintop, you did it correctly - way to go.  You were in a good mental place when you started your taper, right?  No anxiety disorders, depression or anything?  I also do think that makes a difference, plus as you said, other medications, hypersensitive CNS, etc.......

 

Thank you momof7! No I didn’t really have any issues I just didn’t want to be dependent on a drug. I had a pretty hard time in the very beginning though I think because a well meaning but unknowing doctor told me to cut my dose by 1/3, ha. And I didn’t know so I did it. Struggled then reinstated.  And I think I shocked my cns so every cut was terrible could barely do 5%. Then after a long hold I kind of trained for my taper to start again with running diet etc. I was lucky that while I held I had very low symptoms. When I started back tapering it was pretty easy to .111 then I hit a wall and had to start the micro taper. Hardest several months of my life.

 

I’ll add that everyone knows their own condition and what they need and if another drug is helpful then so be it. Just I would think about if you truly need it to function or are just putting a bandaid on symptoms. I was lucky I didn’t need another drug to function. It was still so difficult just didn’t want to risk messing with my brain more.

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Another thing that I think helped - you only were dosing 1X per day, and at night, and you stuck with that through your whole taper.  I truly believe that people who only take their benzo 1X per day are MUCH less likely to build up tolerance and I think that contributes to it being a little easier to get off of.  I've heard of people only taking the same dose of XBenzo (usually K) just one time a day for years at the same dose.  That's how I ALWAYS took mine and I really do believe all those months that I took, that kept me from building up a huge tolerance and why I didn't feel the cuts in the beginning - just the same anxiety and some I/D withdrawal that I did have regardless of the dose.  When I went to 3X per day a couple of months ago after coming off the PPI, it did seem to stabilize me in the beginning but I truly believe that it's caused me to have acute tolerance symptoms now, even though I am still at the same overall dose.  And now that I've split up the dose, I am having a SUPER hard time going back......having to take a small dose earlier again as I'm having severe tremors and brain squeezing/brain tremors....almost like I'm about to have a seizure.

 

So word of advice to any folks who see this - if you only dose 1X per day at the start of this and that's what your brain/body is used to and you can handle some daytime anxiety, I personally would STAY at 1X per day.  I truly think it's easier to get off then.  Others may have a different experience but that's just mine.  After my 1st stint of PPD, I also only would take Ativan 1X at night.....would suck through the anxiety during the day and I was able to come off after 4 months of usage in only about 1 month.  I truly think that's why.......my brain/body was not constantly used to having it. 

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I only take it at night as well. It eases my symptoms but I feel so medicated that i just lie down in a medicated state. The day is a roller coaster. Confusion, brain fog, trembling brain pressure, I can’t stop thinking how deep in the hole I put myself. I don’t talk much etc. when this breakdown first happened the Lorazepam I took at night made me feel a little happy and hopeful. This Kolonopin just numbs you
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Another thing that I think helped - you only were dosing 1X per day, and at night, and you stuck with that through your whole taper.  I truly believe that people who only take their benzo 1X per day are MUCH less likely to build up tolerance and I think that contributes to it being a little easier to get off of.  I've heard of people only taking the same dose of XBenzo (usually K) just one time a day for years at the same dose.  That's how I ALWAYS took mine and I really do believe all those months that I took, that kept me from building up a huge tolerance and why I didn't feel the cuts in the beginning - just the same anxiety and some I/D withdrawal that I did have regardless of the dose.  When I went to 3X per day a couple of months ago after coming off the PPI, it did seem to stabilize me in the beginning but I truly believe that it's caused me to have acute tolerance symptoms now, even though I am still at the same overall dose.  And now that I've split up the dose, I am having a SUPER hard time going back......having to take a small dose earlier again as I'm having severe tremors and brain squeezing/brain tremors....almost like I'm about to have a seizure.

 

So word of advice to any folks who see this - if you only dose 1X per day at the start of this and that's what your brain/body is used to and you can handle some daytime anxiety, I personally would STAY at 1X per day.  I truly think it's easier to get off then.  Others may have a different experience but that's just mine.  After my 1st stint of PPD, I also only would take Ativan 1X at night.....would suck through the anxiety during the day and I was able to come off after 4 months of usage in only about 1 month.  I truly think that's why.......my brain/body was not constantly used to having it.

 

That makes a lot of sense mamma. I hope you’re able to get back to 1x dosing. What if you gradually move all of your doses to later in the evening? Like 30 mins or an hour later everyday or something like that?

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I only take it at night as well. It eases my symptoms but I feel so medicated that i just lie down in a medicated state. The day is a roller coaster. Confusion, brain fog, trembling brain pressure, I can’t stop thinking how deep in the hole I put myself. I don’t talk much etc. when this breakdown first happened the Lorazepam I took at night made me feel a little happy and hopeful. This Kolonopin just numbs you

 

Klonopin is a serious tranquilizer. I am so angry that I feel like I’ve been in a cave for the years I took it. I feel it suppressed so much but I had no clue. I hope we all get to experience life without symptoms and without the affects of a benzo. Curse these doctors with their prescriptions.

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Is the reason I’m feeling so messed up because I went down from 1.75 mg at the end of March to .8125 a few days ago?  I could be mistaken but I see a lot of people functioned at one point taking these meds. I took it in the day and made me feel horrible, I take it at night and feel drunk.
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Is the reason I’m feeling so messed up because I went down from 1.75 mg at the end of March to .8125 a few days ago?  I could be mistaken but I see a lot of people functioned at one point taking these meds. I took it in the day and made me feel horrible, I take it at night and feel drunk.

 

That does seem pretty fast Greek. You may just need to hold for a while and let your brain catch up to how fast you are healing. And yes I functioned fairly well on the drug and many others functioned for years and years. Until they didn’t. That’s why I think we see so many people in their 60’s on up on this site now cannot tolerate the drug. It should not be prescribed for more than a few weeks. So unfortunate.

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Mountaintop, I am having acute w/d symptoms, even in the morning after waking up, after taking my larger dose.  My hair is now all falling out, my brain is squeezed, major tremors, burning skin, even in the morning, dizziness, exhaustion, of course sleeping issues.  I'm feeling worse and worse every day.......I'm not going to be able to taper like this - I haven't even dropped any overall.  I'm only 105 pounds.

 

Greek, you weren't taking long but I think b/c you were dosing more frequently before and now just 1x per day, that's why you are having trouble, IMO.  I would go back up to where you were a few days ago and settle there for a while and leave it alone for a bit......I don't know. 

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I’m sorry to hear mom7. Are you able to walk or exercise at all? Sorry if I may have already asked you that before. Drinking lots of water? Eating clean? I was thinking not drop any dose but try to slowly move your doses later in the day to gradually get back to dosing one time per day as you were before, then maybe you’d feel some relief? As you may know, feeling bad in the morning is very common I actually feel worst in the morning with cortisol surges. I had a good week overall aside from yesterday morning after eating a bunch of greasy food the night before. I guess I can’t do that for a while. Hair fall is also normal I lost a ton. Funny I posted the other day a few days after I walked off I ran fingers through my hair and not a single hair came out. Pretty interesting. You’ll get there too we just have to get you stable. I like that you’re busy with kids I know they’ll keep you going and active as mine did me during my taper and as I’m healing. Our babies are a good distraction and touchpoint.  :smitten:
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Mountain,  yes, the cortisol surges were horrible, especially for me because I am one that cannot sleep, unfortunately.  I did go back to the 1x night dose b/c of that but the severe tremors/brain squeezing/feeling like I was going to have a seizure became an issue,so I had to move 1/4 of the dose back up to earlier in the day.  I have not changed my overall dose at all, except for the 3 days where I was feeling somewhat stable and reduced by a measly 1.75% (?), then I realized I wasn't ready and immediately went back up.  I'm either brain dead feeling like I am going to seizure/pass out or I'm manic/feeling crazy akathesia. There are no wins with this poison and I don't know how I'm going to get off.  My kids are not keeping me busy.  I can't drive, I can't concentrate on what they are saying - either I can't comprehend them b/c my brain is so locked/frozen.  On other days, I'm so agitated I can't stand their noises.  I'm shaking constantly, feeling like I am going to throw up now.  I haven't been able to quit my job yet and when my husband goes to work, I don't know how I am going to be able to take care of this household.  I'm VERY unstable and it's getting worse every day, not better......I walk and I do eat clean, very clean.  Only water and lots.

 

I'm glad you are doing well, Mountain.  Congrats again on a good taper and that you are doing good.  Thanks for trying to help me.

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No, Greek, I don't believe it does.  I think it ramps me up more, which is why I wouldn't suggest you taking an SSRI but that's just me. 
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