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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by LisaDC on October 15, 2008, at 13:00:54
I weaned off over 2 mos. to retell my story. I was on it for a year for postpartum depression and it did the trick. Now I'm off and having terrible anxiety. Here is a list of symptoms:
1. All day anxiety, not panic attacks, although I've had a few here and there. Using Xanax like I never have before. I need 1mg every 4 hours or so just to take off the edge.
2. Terrible head pain. What is this. My head hurts so bad mostly in the front and on the sides. Not like a headache, just pain.. It doesn't pulsate and neither tylenol nor ibuprofen touches it.
3. I'm shaking all over out of bed in the morning. I find myself hyperventilating at times. Sometimes, I'm hyperventilating and don't feel anxious at all.
I tried reinstating the drug to 5mg/day and experienced flu like symptoms, but not reduction in the above symptoms. So now, I have diarrhea and the chills and body aches.
Please someone tell me this is normal and will go away. I'm scared to go to the hospital as they will think I'm crazy and admit me to the psych ward. None of this started until I came off of the Celexa. It has to be related, but I need some reassurance that I'm not losing my mind please !!!!!!!!!!
Lisa
Posted by LisaDC on October 15, 2008, at 13:03:58
In reply to Intense Anxiety 3 weeks off Celexa...Help Please !, posted by LisaDC on October 15, 2008, at 13:00:54
BTW, I spoke with my Dr. and she is the one who suggested that I go back to 5mg, which I have done x 5 days now. My Dr. says I'm having an exaggerated response to coming off of the Celexa and it will go away over the next few weeks. I find this hard to believe and pray she is right.
Posted by Racer on October 15, 2008, at 13:20:42
In reply to I did call my Dr. on this, posted by LisaDC on October 15, 2008, at 13:03:58
The good news is your doctor is probably right. The bad news is also your doctor is probably right...
A lot of these medications have what are known as "discontinuation symptoms" -- essentially, withdrawal symptoms. That means that you'll experience some difficulties during the couple of weeks after stopping them. Often, slowly tapering off can alleviate most of them -- but that last step off is often brutal. Higher doses and longer duration of treatment exacerbate these symptoms, as you can imagine. One year is not a long duration, relatively speaking, but mileage varies -- some people are a lot more sensitive to the withdrawal than others.
There are a few things that you can do to help minimize the discomfort. If you check out the Withdrawals board here, there are a lot of suggestions there, based on what has helped others. I know Benadryl is considered helpful by many, many people. Sometimes a few days of a low dose of Prozac helps -- Prozac has a long half-life, and is considered essentially "self-tapering." It might be a good answer for you, and it's worth discussing with your doctor.
The good news, though, is that this is something which really and truly will get better. My own experience is that, about the time you think it's going to go on forever, and are ready to sit down in the corner and cry -- you suddenly realize it's much better. So, hard as it is, look for things that help you -- whether it's Benadryl, warm showers, getting in a babysitter so you can go in for a massage, or a nice cup of chamomile tea -- and trust that you'll feel better soon.
Just, not quite soon enough.
Best luck to you. I hope this eases soon for you.
Posted by Phillipa on October 15, 2008, at 13:26:51
In reply to Good news/bad news » LisaDC, posted by Racer on October 15, 2008, at 13:20:42
Lisa what did she say about the head pain? Part of withdrawal? Keep us posted I'm so sorry you have to go through all that. Phillipa
Posted by LisaDC on October 15, 2008, at 14:16:29
In reply to Re: Good news/bad news, posted by Phillipa on October 15, 2008, at 13:26:51
You have made me feel better with just your words. I will try to take some benadryl and see what it does for me. My Dr. did mention taking 2 doses of Prozac, but from what I've read, now I'm scared to death to take any other "psychiatric" medicine. I read up on that particular one and it says it stays in your system for up to a week. With that said, I'm scared to death that I would have a bad reaction to add to my already symptoms and I would be freaking out more if that is possible as I feel that I can't be freaking out anymore than I am. I did see a neurologist today and she scheduled me for an EEG for tomorrow just to be sure everything is o.k. A negative finding on that test will even make me feel better. I wish I could give help to others here, but unfortunately I don't have much experience with medications and mental health disorders.
Lisa
Posted by cactus on October 15, 2008, at 16:56:38
In reply to Thank you so much Racer ((((((Hugs))))) to you, posted by LisaDC on October 15, 2008, at 14:16:29
hey lisa, the reason racer and your doc mentioned prozac is because it stays in your system for a long time, as you mentioned. This then slowly leaves your system over a longer period of time making things more comfortable for you and lowers the withdrawal process to a minimum, making it easier to stop because it has a long half life.
Do some research on half lives of meds, meds with long half lives are easier to come off and people are often switched to them to help them stop. I wish I had know about this every time I stopped SSRI's because I too have been right where you are now, many times over the last 15 or so years.
My next concern for you is xanax, it's a great drug BUT it has a short half life and could possible be making your anxiety levels similar to that of a roller coaster, because it wears off so quickly your anxiety sky rockets. See if you can switch to a low dose of valium or clonazepam, they have long half lives and you might find that you'll only need one dose a day, smoothing out your anxiety to a more stable level instead of munching on xanax all day. Xanax is a very addictive drug in the benzo family , all benzo's are addictive but xanax is one of the worst offenders. It is also terrible to come off if you are prone to withdrawal. Good luck, C
Posted by bleauberry on October 16, 2008, at 16:45:01
In reply to Intense Anxiety 3 weeks off Celexa...Help Please !, posted by LisaDC on October 15, 2008, at 13:00:54
Good ideas have already been mentioned. I would like to reiterate some of them and add to it.
Low dose intermittent prozac.
Low dose zyprexa intermittent as-needed.
Calming teas...chamomile, passionflower, skullcap, or the herbs themselves even better.
An as-needed trial of klonopin instead of xanax.Some of us are much more sensitive to the withdrawals than others, as our bodies have a harsher time readjusting. You did a great job of long slow weaning. But still, after that final dose things can still go bonkers.
Sometimes I wonder if psychiatric drug use leads to more psychiatric drug use, independent of the condition being treated. Do the drugs cause brain adaptations that make it hard or impossible to return to where we started?
In my roughest withdrawals, they were fierce like you are feeling for about 3 to 4 weeks, then milder for another month, then milder yet for another month, and actually not totally gone for a solid 3 months after that final dose. Not to discourage you, but just to show you are not alone in this, you are not the first to feel, and that yes, there is actually an end to it.
In the meantime, you really do need to take every calming anti-anxiety strategy you can to protect your nervous system, adrenals, and thyroid from the intense stress of it all. If there is a naturopath in your area I am sure they can help with some good herbs that smooth out the adrenal/cortisol/norepinephrine/friek-out stuff you are feeling. Siberian ginseng + astragulus for example. Ashwaghanda. Reishi mushroom extract. They all help to balance out and smooth the very stuff that is causing your symptoms.
This will sound weird. Before bed each night, eat a baked potato with its skin (not fried or mashed or french fries, has to be baked or microwaved). And a glass of milk with it. Long story short, it makes a ton of serotonin, improves sleep, and does some overall calming. Really.
This is the end of the thread.
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