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When does it end?


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At almost 4 months off I'm having so much pain, anxiety and restlessness I am losing hope I will ever heal from this.

 

I'm thinking about additional meds to help me but am afraid of trying anything. So in need of some relief!

 

I regret taking the detox-way. Every day I think about what if I had done it differently.

 

Getting desperate and in need of help. Sorry for the rant...

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Hi Pecoro....I understand you....but do not forget that you have not been out of Benzo for that long...needs more time, That Ativan is a very Evil Medicine and you have had it for high doze, So that is natural that Healing takes longer... just reassure that this is W/D and is normal...give it more time, You will back to good days again :)
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Hi Reza and Sleepyjoe, thanks for reaching out! I know I'm only 4 months out but my symptoms are so severe that sometimes I don't know how to go on.

 

I have talked to my pdoc and we concluded that maybe my SSRI is to agitating for me and we are going to try a drop of 10%.

 

I try to hold on as you say.

 

Thanks again, Pecoro.

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Hi Pamster and SouthernBelle, thanks for reaching out! I'm currently only on 75mg Luvox, from 50mg for 20 years.

 

I ran into a crisis at the end of 2019 and had to increase my dose. Luvox (Fluvoxamine) 50mg had stopped working and maybe I hit tolerance on it.

 

Increasing my dose was nearly impossible for me, so much sx (very high anxiety, tensions, blurry vision, trouble urinating etc).

 

I cannot tolerate the 'normal' dose of Luvox of 100mg.

 

I don't know if its wise to start tapering Luvox now as I am in such bad shape after my detox 4 months ago.

 

I very much need something to support me with the withdrawals. My pdoc thinks my old anxiety is creeping in but I did not have all the nerve-pains, restlessness and other sx then.

 

Tried Olanzapine,  Seroquel and Mirtazepine already. Mirtazepine 2mg knocked me out and gave me a huge hangover. Seroquel I was feeling very detached from my surroundings,  like a robot. Olanzapine is a while ago I don't really know but I could try it again. All of those in very small doses.

 

Maybe is Pregabalin, Gabapentin or Baclofen a better choice?

 

I really need relief. My mind is calm but my body and nervous system are in great pain. Symptoms change but I feel no real improvement after 4 months, still very much in acute.

 

I'm unable to work and can hardly do some things in our house, like cooking or cleaning. I have to lay down a lot feeling exhausted.

 

I cannot take much more. I feel so sorry for my wife and daughter who are also suffering because of this. They see me in agony every day and do not understand.

 

Thanks again, Pecoro.

 

 

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hi Pecoro,

 

Sorry to hear you're not seeing improvement. I remember you asking about you AD in another post a little while back. Your doctor saying it's a return of your anxiety sounds all too familiar, and he sounds like the usual uninformed "medical professional" that many of us unfortunately have to deal with.

 

If I remember correctly, you were put on the benzo because of the adverse effects of increasing your AD dose from 50mg to 100mg? Here's a quote from survivingantidepressants which Pamster provided the link to

 

"Antidepressants are activating while benzos are sedating. The action of the benzo can soften the suffering from antidepressant withdrawal symptoms.

 

Conversely, a concurrent antidepressant will not reduce withdrawal symptoms during a benzo taper. With all due respect, Prof. Heather Ashton's suggestion antidepressants might help is misguided. She later changed it, see http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1510-ashton-manual-recommendation-of-antidepressants/page__view__findpost__p__14205

 

In Dr. Stuart Shipko's e-book Xanax Withdrawal (2012), he addresses the Ashton Manual's apparent recommendation of antidepressants to counter benzo-withdrawal depression, see http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1510-ashton-manual-recommendation-of-antidepressants/page__view__findpost__p__28759

 

Often, benzos are prescribed to mask adverse effects from an antidepressant, such as anxiety, insomnia, and akathisia. When you remove the benzo, the antidepressant's adverse effects come to the forefront. You may then be in such distress, you'll want to go off the antidepressant too fast, risking severe withdrawal symptoms.

 

Benzo withdrawal before antidepressant withdrawal increases the risk of a difficult antidepressant withdrawal.

Going into an antidepressant taper with GABA downregulated by prior benzo withdrawal is a very perilous strategy. Your nervous system will need GABA to deal with antidepressant withdrawal symptoms."

 

 

I think that may describe your situation here. I think I mentioned to you before, that your body/genes possibly can't tolerate the increased dose of the AD. Your doctor saying that it's not possible after x amount of time simply isn't true. It can and does happen to people, if your body can't take it, your body can't take it period. Obviously theres no way to know for sure, and I'm not a doctor. But have you considered tapering back down to the 50mg which you were comfortable at, and you know your body supports?

 

This unfortunately can lead to an increase in symptoms, but from where I'm standing your choices are to try reduce the AD, try to reinstate the benzo (doesn't always work), wait it out in the hope things improve, or try even more meds (which knowing doctors yours will be pushing) But I would caution against trying too many things, I tried a lot and each time I stopped them due to adverse reactions things got worse and my CNS got more and more sensitive until I ended up in complete hell. Here's another quote from the SA post which is worth a read, I'm not sure if you are a member there, but it could be worth having a look around the site, there is some great information there

 

"IF YOU ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF TAPERING do NOT count on adding a drug to make withdrawal symptoms more tolerable. If you are already having withdrawal symptoms, the addition of any other neuroactive drugs could make it worse."

 

Only you can make these decisions, and as I said I'm not a doctor but hopefully we can give you any information we have to help you make informed decisions

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Hi Having a Mare, thanks for your elaborate reply!

 

I have looked at Survivingantidepressants.org as well and there I found out that my SSRI might be working against me.

 

I do not tolerate Luvox dose increases, I get very strong adverse effects if I try. And then I am under the advised maintainance-dose of 100mg. I could not reach 100mg even in small increments from 75mg to 87.5mg for instance.

 

So I remained on 75mg (from 50mg) and it was covered by benzo's until 4 months ago when I went to Detox.

 

Now we are trying to indeed go to 50mg using "tapering-strips", dropping 10% per month if possible.

 

What scares me enormously is this:

 

 

Benzo withdrawal before antidepressant withdrawal increases the risk of a difficult antidepressant withdrawal.

Going into an antidepressant taper with GABA downregulated by prior benzo withdrawal is a very perilous strategy. Your nervous system will need GABA to deal with antidepressant withdrawal symptoms."

 

 

I'm in a very bad state now and cannot afford to make mistakes. I'm constanty overthinking my choice of decreasing the Luvox. It drives me mad and revves up my symptoms.

 

I don't know if I can take the additional withdrawals from the AD after my benzo-detox.

 

Thanks again for your reply, Pecoro.  :thumbsup:

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Hi Having a Mare, thanks for your elaborate reply!

 

I have looked at Survivingantidepressants.org as well and there I found out that my SSRI might be working against me.

 

I do not tolerate Luvox dose increases, I get very strong adverse effects if I try. And then I am under the advised maintainance-dose of 100mg. I could not reach 100mg even in small increments from 75mg to 87.5mg for instance.

 

So I remained on 75mg (from 50mg) and it was covered by benzo's until 4 months ago when I went to Detox.

 

Now we are trying to indeed go to 50mg using "tapering-strips", dropping 10% per month if possible.

 

What scares me enormously is this:

 

 

Benzo withdrawal before antidepressant withdrawal increases the risk of a difficult antidepressant withdrawal.

Going into an antidepressant taper with GABA downregulated by prior benzo withdrawal is a very perilous strategy. Your nervous system will need GABA to deal with antidepressant withdrawal symptoms."

 

 

I'm in a very bad state now and cannot afford to make mistakes. I'm constanty overthinking my choice of decreasing the Luvox. It drives me mad and revves up my symptoms.

 

I don't know if I can take the additional withdrawals from the AD after my benzo-detox.

 

Thanks again for your reply, Pecoro.  :thumbsup:

 

It's not a nice place to be mate, I completely understand. "Your dammed if you do and your dammed if you don't" sort of situation. The rapid detox you did, is pretty much a CT I believe, so I know how you are feeling. There is the option of trying to reinstate, and tapering properly. It works for some and not others, and from my understanding it's more difficult after 30 days. I ended up in ER around 3 months off because I wasn't improving, they tried to reinstate me but it didn't work. I was just too sensitive by that point after multiple CT's.

 

Hope you see some improvement soon

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Hey there, I agree with having a mare.

Most of us that tried other drugs and tried to reinstate....it just made us worse. That being said, I did have one med help my nerve pain, but I was absolutely no functional and it was a gamble...and I got lucky.

I turned down pregabalin, gabapentin, and baclofen because I wasn't willing to risk the side effects and or withdrawal of those too

If it were me, I would probably just try and find a stable place on your current AD. Then I would just stay there a d function and live, till benzo recovery was done. Only then would I attempt the AD taper and I would do it very slowly. I like those taper strips, they seem pretty cool.

I'm so sorry! I've been were you have.....the damned if you do damned if you don't. It is awful

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