It will soon be a year since I tapered off if klonopin. The last thing I had to taper off of. The Lexapro seems like it happened such along time ago.
You can read my update on "One year off Klonopin" here. I have so few posts there because I was so sick for so long. I did keep a private journal during that time. I am trying to decided if I will put it up. I don't know if reading my suffering would help anyone or not.
So I have been off Lexapro for about three years, but I had the klonopin hell I went through during that which caused brain damage. The damage is healing and I am coming along very well. Klonopin withdrawal and tapering was just so much worse than lexapro withdrawal that is hard for me to imagine 3 years off of lexapro when I had to go through a worse hell so to speak. So truly it has been a year since any tapering and I am reaping the awards slowly but surely.
One thing I noticed is that a lot of people I know are on these pills and it is a shame.
Monday, February 1, 2016
Monday, June 8, 2015
Four Years
May 22, 2012 was my last dose of Lexapro. Wow around four years. And it has been four months since my Klonopin taper(Feb 2015).
I am so grateful for being here today and feeling the way I do. I feel peace. I have to say that the Klonopin taper was hands down harder and more painful to me.
When I was tapering Lexapro I had a lot of depression and anxiety and some physical discomfort. With klonopin taper I had all of that but magnified by 100 it seemed like. Once I leanred about the daily taper and took control it was hard but very doable and I am so glad I did it the way I did.
I gained so much weight from taking lexapro for 6 years, I gained 100 pounds! Also my emotions were very blunted. Lexapro also did something to my hormones, I had very heavy and painful periods, it was agony. Within 30 days of my last dose all those problems went way. I also lost 100 pounds! And I am not moody, anxious or depressed.
I don't know if Lexapro is good for anyone, but if you have weight gain don't blame yourself like I did, look into why? It could be your medication, it was for me!
If your emotions are blunt, weight gain, mood swings depressed or anxious, it might be your pill.
I am not a Doctor so take that into consideration, but what I have learned from all this, is to look into any pill that is prescribed for anything. I no longer blindly listen to my Doctor and take pills no matter what it is for.
Even if you have to be on something, look into everything and do the best you can for your self.
Never EVER blame a symptom on yourself like I did, it took me 6 years of suffering.
Life for me is good, even tough I have had two family emergency, with really scary medical stuff. Not me but close family members and I was able to be there for them through everything. There is no way I could have done that before.
The Klonopin withdrawal put a pretty big kink in my plans but all is right with me tonight and my hope is that all of us can have some peace of mind.
I am so grateful for being here today and feeling the way I do. I feel peace. I have to say that the Klonopin taper was hands down harder and more painful to me.
When I was tapering Lexapro I had a lot of depression and anxiety and some physical discomfort. With klonopin taper I had all of that but magnified by 100 it seemed like. Once I leanred about the daily taper and took control it was hard but very doable and I am so glad I did it the way I did.
I gained so much weight from taking lexapro for 6 years, I gained 100 pounds! Also my emotions were very blunted. Lexapro also did something to my hormones, I had very heavy and painful periods, it was agony. Within 30 days of my last dose all those problems went way. I also lost 100 pounds! And I am not moody, anxious or depressed.
I don't know if Lexapro is good for anyone, but if you have weight gain don't blame yourself like I did, look into why? It could be your medication, it was for me!
If your emotions are blunt, weight gain, mood swings depressed or anxious, it might be your pill.
I am not a Doctor so take that into consideration, but what I have learned from all this, is to look into any pill that is prescribed for anything. I no longer blindly listen to my Doctor and take pills no matter what it is for.
Even if you have to be on something, look into everything and do the best you can for your self.
Never EVER blame a symptom on yourself like I did, it took me 6 years of suffering.
Life for me is good, even tough I have had two family emergency, with really scary medical stuff. Not me but close family members and I was able to be there for them through everything. There is no way I could have done that before.
The Klonopin withdrawal put a pretty big kink in my plans but all is right with me tonight and my hope is that all of us can have some peace of mind.
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
The End of Tapering Klonopin/Clonazepam
I came back here to share the good news.
It has been over 500 days of tapering! What a long time and I learned so much! I had my GP and my OBGyn behind me all the way!
My GP helped with BP medications when tapering shot up my blood pressure. I even had a really supportive Dentist! The one Doctor I lacked was supportive psychiatrist. All he wanted to do was cut my dose in half! That would be a 50 percent drop!
So I did what I did with Lexapro and I tapered on my own. When I was close to being off of Lexapro my I then told my doctor that I wanted to taper. He was dropping my doses by 5mgs! Way too fast.
But I was safe because I had already been tapering. Then when I was done he sort of apologized about the withdrawal and wanted me to go to a group for people traumatized after getting off of these medications. Weird!
I think about 30 days after I was off of Lexapro, I started to look into tapering klonopin. I found a plan that had me taper my dose 5 percent every two weeks and my dose was in milk. For 4 months it was going ok, I thought it was easy. Then as your read above my best friend died and I was very upset. I decided to hold my dose, I was exactly half way to zero mgs.
It ended up being eight months. Then one morning I woke up at 3:00am in a horrible fear state and that was the beginning of my severe acute benzo withdrawal. I had no idea at the time that it was withdrawal, I had no clue what was going on. After five days I could not take it and went to the ER, they gave me a dose of Klonopin, I took my orginal dose and my symptoms started to calm, that is when I knew it was klonopin withdrawal and I was very scared because I didn't know what to do.
Some people kept telling me it was a wave from my Lexapro withdrawal and I knew it was not that. I had to find real help and I knew I would not find it at benzobuddies, they were the ones that gave me the 5 percent schedule and I knew that when I hit acute everything changed and would be so much harder.
Luckily a person from a board told me about a woman that was perfecting a new type of taper. No percentages, using mgs instead. They were not accepting new people but I thought I would look over the forum (which is gone now) back then I noticed my screen name already in the login with an password, so I clicked and got in, I joined while tapering lexapro so I was a member and I was accepted.
And she showed me the taper and it was the best taper out there for symptoms control and the safest method there is.
I tapered my dose daily instead of every two weeks, I took off .001mg a day! Well I started out with .0005mg a day and then jumped up to .001mg a day. On days I felt anything bad I simply held for that day.
I stayed away from certain foods that either induced klonopin or inhibited it and I stayed away from certain supplements.I went through stages, there were three of them and this was mainly all physical symptoms and a lot of anxiety.
My GP didn't have any experience with this type of withdrawal but he made sure to monitor my vitals and gave me blood pressure medication when my BP went up to high. He really cared.
I tried to get away from my doctor that had me on the klonopin but it was hard to find a doctor willing to help me taper the slowest way possible. To be honest six months into my taper I gave up finding a doctor, they tapered people off way to fast and I wanted to avoid any possible damage. By then I had my taper down pat and my symptoms were clearly better.
I tapered for along time and over that time I could see I tapered all my symptoms away, slowly, evenly and safely.
So now I am off Lexapro and Klonopin/Clonazepam and I am enjoying once again my life. I lost 90 pounds that Lexapro was responsible for, in fact you can now see weight gain as a known side effect. My hormones have settled down and my thyroid is normal!
Truth about these drugs are slowly getting out there. Truth is being published and debates are happening. All I can say is at least there is a chance that a person can weigh the real risks before taking that pill.(hopefully)
Regular everyday people are coming forward, you can see some of them on you tube because they record their struggles and journey.
The truth might be hard and unpleasant but no one should hide from the truth, the truth is what sets you free. Don't be afraid to search for the truth, ask question and advocate for your health.
This is not about pill takers versus anti-psych. This is about the truth of the chemical that a doctor wants you to put in your body and is it worth the risks? Is there not another safe avenue for your situation?
I have much more to say. But this an impromptu post.
For more extensive Benzodiazepine (klonopin) posts I will be hosting my own blog. I will do general posts about benzo withdrawal here. I have also kept a personal journal of every single day of this last taper. I have kept track of symptoms and my taper and everything that happened and all that I have learned. I have learned so much.
It has been over 500 days of tapering! What a long time and I learned so much! I had my GP and my OBGyn behind me all the way!
My GP helped with BP medications when tapering shot up my blood pressure. I even had a really supportive Dentist! The one Doctor I lacked was supportive psychiatrist. All he wanted to do was cut my dose in half! That would be a 50 percent drop!
So I did what I did with Lexapro and I tapered on my own. When I was close to being off of Lexapro my I then told my doctor that I wanted to taper. He was dropping my doses by 5mgs! Way too fast.
But I was safe because I had already been tapering. Then when I was done he sort of apologized about the withdrawal and wanted me to go to a group for people traumatized after getting off of these medications. Weird!
I think about 30 days after I was off of Lexapro, I started to look into tapering klonopin. I found a plan that had me taper my dose 5 percent every two weeks and my dose was in milk. For 4 months it was going ok, I thought it was easy. Then as your read above my best friend died and I was very upset. I decided to hold my dose, I was exactly half way to zero mgs.
It ended up being eight months. Then one morning I woke up at 3:00am in a horrible fear state and that was the beginning of my severe acute benzo withdrawal. I had no idea at the time that it was withdrawal, I had no clue what was going on. After five days I could not take it and went to the ER, they gave me a dose of Klonopin, I took my orginal dose and my symptoms started to calm, that is when I knew it was klonopin withdrawal and I was very scared because I didn't know what to do.
Some people kept telling me it was a wave from my Lexapro withdrawal and I knew it was not that. I had to find real help and I knew I would not find it at benzobuddies, they were the ones that gave me the 5 percent schedule and I knew that when I hit acute everything changed and would be so much harder.
Luckily a person from a board told me about a woman that was perfecting a new type of taper. No percentages, using mgs instead. They were not accepting new people but I thought I would look over the forum (which is gone now) back then I noticed my screen name already in the login with an password, so I clicked and got in, I joined while tapering lexapro so I was a member and I was accepted.
And she showed me the taper and it was the best taper out there for symptoms control and the safest method there is.
I tapered my dose daily instead of every two weeks, I took off .001mg a day! Well I started out with .0005mg a day and then jumped up to .001mg a day. On days I felt anything bad I simply held for that day.
I stayed away from certain foods that either induced klonopin or inhibited it and I stayed away from certain supplements.I went through stages, there were three of them and this was mainly all physical symptoms and a lot of anxiety.
My GP didn't have any experience with this type of withdrawal but he made sure to monitor my vitals and gave me blood pressure medication when my BP went up to high. He really cared.
I tried to get away from my doctor that had me on the klonopin but it was hard to find a doctor willing to help me taper the slowest way possible. To be honest six months into my taper I gave up finding a doctor, they tapered people off way to fast and I wanted to avoid any possible damage. By then I had my taper down pat and my symptoms were clearly better.
I tapered for along time and over that time I could see I tapered all my symptoms away, slowly, evenly and safely.
So now I am off Lexapro and Klonopin/Clonazepam and I am enjoying once again my life. I lost 90 pounds that Lexapro was responsible for, in fact you can now see weight gain as a known side effect. My hormones have settled down and my thyroid is normal!
Truth about these drugs are slowly getting out there. Truth is being published and debates are happening. All I can say is at least there is a chance that a person can weigh the real risks before taking that pill.(hopefully)
Regular everyday people are coming forward, you can see some of them on you tube because they record their struggles and journey.
The truth might be hard and unpleasant but no one should hide from the truth, the truth is what sets you free. Don't be afraid to search for the truth, ask question and advocate for your health.
This is not about pill takers versus anti-psych. This is about the truth of the chemical that a doctor wants you to put in your body and is it worth the risks? Is there not another safe avenue for your situation?
I have much more to say. But this an impromptu post.
For more extensive Benzodiazepine (klonopin) posts I will be hosting my own blog. I will do general posts about benzo withdrawal here. I have also kept a personal journal of every single day of this last taper. I have kept track of symptoms and my taper and everything that happened and all that I have learned. I have learned so much.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Update: Always Learning
I am really amazed at all the problems or symptoms that the antidepressant Lexapro has caused for me. It is so clear now 8 months later. I hoped that this whole thing would all be over right after I took my last dose, but that was not to be.
Don't get me wrong, it is 100,000x better than a too fast taper and cold turkey. No long lasting terrible symptoms, no fear that it is permanent or anything like that.
I can tell the difference between just getting off of Lexapro and the present. I am so much better. For a few months after I had small ups and downs, I have been medication for 17 or 18 years. When feelings came back and the old me came back I felt a little lost. I felt sad that I lost all those years. I felt bitter towards drug companies and Doctors.
But I have to take an honest look at the whole story. I don't believe I needed antidepressants at all. I do believe all I needed was therapy with no drugs. I did not have faith in myself then and believed everything I was told, which was negative.
Even though it started out for grief, symptoms showed up after medication and instead of wondering if it was the medication, I just assumed it was me and I was broken, It was hard to hope that it was not me when I had a Doctor reinforcing that it was me, that it was genetic and for life and I needed to be medicated for life. Therapy was a huge con and a waste of money since there was no cure for me. This is what I was told and I was young and I never thought of the Doctor being so totally wrong.
Now I question everything! I will not just take a medication because the Doctor (any Doctor) says so.
But also, I have to realize that I did live my life during my medication. I did live and love and cry and that it was me and not some alter personality. I am so different today, I am protective of myself and also I do not put up with anything. I am easier on myself. I try and look for the positive in everyday. And I have to say my Marriage has improved. I am happy, I look forward to spending as much time with my spouse and he has told me that I have changed so much. I light up when I am with him. I have not felt that was for many years. I didn't not love him, I knew I loved him, but now feeling the depth of the emotion it is so vibrant. I am very grateful to feel this deeply again.
Migraines are not happening anymore. Skin has cleared up. I sleep very well now, insomnia is now over. No weird mood swings anymore and anxiety has improved a great deal. I feel peaceful and calm most days. I can't remember my last panic attack. In the months after I did have symptoms that I could have thought were me, but I was not going to fall into that again, so I adopted the says of "Whatever will be will be". It took quite a few months to wake up without that dread type feeling, but that has also stopped.
Lexapro caused me to gain weight and lots of it. I started to lose weight a month after my last dose. I have lost 50 pounds so far. I exercise (basically it helped my withdrawal symptoms so much I made it a habit). I do cardio and strength training with weights. I count calories. I had to start taking high blood pressure medication. But now 8 months later I am off that medication and my blood pressure is normal. I have changed a lot in my life and I plan to make it a permanent lifestyle change.
I cook all our meals and I shop for healthy ingredients. I refuse to eat processed foods or GMO foods (BTW My GP Doctor told me to avoid GMO) I also watch my sodium intake, with cooking everything myself I keep it at about 800 - 1000mg.GMO needs to be labeled we have a right to know what we are eating! I do research and try to keep up with it.
It was challenging at first to get used to all the changes but I am so used to it now, and my Husband lost 20 pounds even though he never looked like he needed to lose anything.
I went through a traumatic loss. My life long best friend died and I think I am still processing it. It was a shock and I was horrified, I cried every day many times per day for months, then I got really sick and ended up with a lung infection. I knew I wore myself to this. I was really ill and I knew I had to get a hold of myself so that I could heal. I am still processing this huge loss in my life but do not need or want a pill to help.
I think going through the Antidepressant nightmare has made me stronger than I ever knew but I will never forgot the physical pain (muscle pain, could not walk on uneven surfaces), bone pain, joint pain, head pain (electric zaps and aching skull, stomach pain and issues, restless legs at night, burning under the skin and face and more. Nor will I forget the mental anguish of withdrawal when I tapered too fast, extreme anxiety, panic, negative thoughts, intrusive thoughts, depression and mixtures of all or some of these.
I might be an extreme case, but I know there are those who are worse than me and some who were better. Who is to know which will be which, The FDA will not help and the Drug Companies are only concerned with profits. The system is so corrupt we do not have anyone that will stand up for us. We are expendable. More and more the truth will come out and all that had a hand in this will deny and avoid and will get away with destroying people for a profit.
All we can do is tell our stories and get the truth out there.
Don't get me wrong, it is 100,000x better than a too fast taper and cold turkey. No long lasting terrible symptoms, no fear that it is permanent or anything like that.
I can tell the difference between just getting off of Lexapro and the present. I am so much better. For a few months after I had small ups and downs, I have been medication for 17 or 18 years. When feelings came back and the old me came back I felt a little lost. I felt sad that I lost all those years. I felt bitter towards drug companies and Doctors.
But I have to take an honest look at the whole story. I don't believe I needed antidepressants at all. I do believe all I needed was therapy with no drugs. I did not have faith in myself then and believed everything I was told, which was negative.
Even though it started out for grief, symptoms showed up after medication and instead of wondering if it was the medication, I just assumed it was me and I was broken, It was hard to hope that it was not me when I had a Doctor reinforcing that it was me, that it was genetic and for life and I needed to be medicated for life. Therapy was a huge con and a waste of money since there was no cure for me. This is what I was told and I was young and I never thought of the Doctor being so totally wrong.
Now I question everything! I will not just take a medication because the Doctor (any Doctor) says so.
But also, I have to realize that I did live my life during my medication. I did live and love and cry and that it was me and not some alter personality. I am so different today, I am protective of myself and also I do not put up with anything. I am easier on myself. I try and look for the positive in everyday. And I have to say my Marriage has improved. I am happy, I look forward to spending as much time with my spouse and he has told me that I have changed so much. I light up when I am with him. I have not felt that was for many years. I didn't not love him, I knew I loved him, but now feeling the depth of the emotion it is so vibrant. I am very grateful to feel this deeply again.
Lexapro also affected my physical health.I knew something was wrong with me. I had many symptoms. My hormones were not right , my cycles were so crazy and painful. I was about to have a hysterectomy! Now one month from my last dose of Lexapro my cycles are absolutely normal. And just think I was going to have surgery!
Migraines are not happening anymore. Skin has cleared up. I sleep very well now, insomnia is now over. No weird mood swings anymore and anxiety has improved a great deal. I feel peaceful and calm most days. I can't remember my last panic attack. In the months after I did have symptoms that I could have thought were me, but I was not going to fall into that again, so I adopted the says of "Whatever will be will be". It took quite a few months to wake up without that dread type feeling, but that has also stopped.
Lexapro caused me to gain weight and lots of it. I started to lose weight a month after my last dose. I have lost 50 pounds so far. I exercise (basically it helped my withdrawal symptoms so much I made it a habit). I do cardio and strength training with weights. I count calories. I had to start taking high blood pressure medication. But now 8 months later I am off that medication and my blood pressure is normal. I have changed a lot in my life and I plan to make it a permanent lifestyle change.
I cook all our meals and I shop for healthy ingredients. I refuse to eat processed foods or GMO foods (BTW My GP Doctor told me to avoid GMO) I also watch my sodium intake, with cooking everything myself I keep it at about 800 - 1000mg.GMO needs to be labeled we have a right to know what we are eating! I do research and try to keep up with it.
It was challenging at first to get used to all the changes but I am so used to it now, and my Husband lost 20 pounds even though he never looked like he needed to lose anything.
I went through a traumatic loss. My life long best friend died and I think I am still processing it. It was a shock and I was horrified, I cried every day many times per day for months, then I got really sick and ended up with a lung infection. I knew I wore myself to this. I was really ill and I knew I had to get a hold of myself so that I could heal. I am still processing this huge loss in my life but do not need or want a pill to help.
I think going through the Antidepressant nightmare has made me stronger than I ever knew but I will never forgot the physical pain (muscle pain, could not walk on uneven surfaces), bone pain, joint pain, head pain (electric zaps and aching skull, stomach pain and issues, restless legs at night, burning under the skin and face and more. Nor will I forget the mental anguish of withdrawal when I tapered too fast, extreme anxiety, panic, negative thoughts, intrusive thoughts, depression and mixtures of all or some of these.
I might be an extreme case, but I know there are those who are worse than me and some who were better. Who is to know which will be which, The FDA will not help and the Drug Companies are only concerned with profits. The system is so corrupt we do not have anyone that will stand up for us. We are expendable. More and more the truth will come out and all that had a hand in this will deny and avoid and will get away with destroying people for a profit.
All we can do is tell our stories and get the truth out there.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Warning! FDA Approves a New Pill Belviq (lorcaserin) and soon Qnexa® (phentermine and topiramate) for Weightloss
As a person that suffered 3.5 years of Antidepressant Withdrawal I just found out that the FDA has approved a new weight-loss pill and will approve another one sometime this month or next. As some of you might know, Antidepressants make the person pack on the weight, leaving the person with a huge weight-loss problem that will not budge until you get off the Antidepressant. Which one must do slowly and steady with 10 percent tapers every 3 to 6 weeks. Please see Paxilprogress.org for help with tapering safety.
During withdrawal my weight gain would not budge. It was not till after I was off the drug that weight-loss has started.
Now think about all the people who were trapped on their antidepressant, those who painstakingly slowly tapered off the drug to be left with a wrecked figure. And then they get this pill probably encouraged by their doctor. It really makes my stomach turn.
Before getting into into these medications I want to express my thoughts on weightloss, and I want to say it is all about exercise and healthy nutrition NOT pills or starvation. Please do not fall for this. There is no pill that will help you. Only hurt you further. The change takes place in your mind and your spirit not your stomach or brain. More about that later.
So the first one to get FDA approval is Belviq (lorcaserin).
This drug has serotonergic properties. what does that mean? Serotonergic or serotoninergic means "related to the neurotransmitter serotonin". A synapse is serotonergic if it uses serotonin as its neurotransmitter. A substance is serotonergic if it produces its effects via interactions with the serotonin system.
A serotonergic, or serotonergic agent, is any chemical which functions to enhance the effects mediated by serotonin in the central nervous system.
Does that sound familiar? Think about Antidepressants and how they affect the serotonin? After a very painful withdrawal would you want to have anything to do with any drug that affects the serotonin? If you found this Blog via search for Lexapro withdrawal or Antidepressant withdrawal then you know all about the horrible aspects of withdrawal and the weight gain. You know about the pain of withdrawal and want it over. Those symptoms you are going through or went through is the result of your brain trying to get back to "base" the whole thing is your brain coming back from a drug altered state to your normal state.
Now after all that this pill comes along to solve the weight problem? Well no actually this pill does not help, the average weight lost was only 7 pounds. Risk your brain and central nervous system for 7 pounds. Sounds ridiculous to me.
Next pill that is up to be approved is Qnexa® (phentermine and topiramate)
Topiramate otherwise known as Topamax
http://www.drugs.com/topamax.html
You may have thoughts about suicide while taking Topamax. Tell your doctor if you have new or worsening symptoms of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts. Your family or other caregivers should also be alert to changes in your mood or symptoms. Your doctor will need to check you at regular visits.
FDA pregnancy category D. Taking Topamax during pregnancy may increase the risk of cleft lip and/or cleft palate in the newborn. Do not start taking Topamax without telling your doctor if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant. Use effective birth control while you are taking Topamax.
If you need to stop taking Topamax for any reason, your doctor slowly tapers off your dosage to prevent seizures
Phentermine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phentermine
Drug may increase blood pressure and heart rate. It may also cause palpitations, restlessness, and insomnia. Additionally, phentermine has the potential to cause psychological dependence. After short term use, tolerance begins and can be followed by rebound weight gain.
Cardiovascular Effects
Palpitation, tachycardia, elevation of blood pressure.
Central Nervous System Effects
Overstimulation, restlessness, dizziness, insomnia, euphoria, dysphoria, tremor, headache.
Gastrointestinal Effects
Dryness of the mouth, unpleasant taste, diarrhea, constipation, other gastrointestinal disturbances.
Read more: Topamax Withdrawal Side Effects | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/facts_5527603_topamax-withdrawal-side-effects.html#ixzz1zsh8nkbx
Well you can see why I wanted to post this warning especially for people that are withdrawing from thier Antidepressant or just finished and looking to lose the weight gained. This is no answer and to expose your already fragile Central Nervious System is just frightening,
As a fellow human being that went through this horrible withdrawal with no help from any Doctors I will never take any drug for any reason that affects any brain chemicals or receptors.
I am two months off and I can feel myself getting better and better everyday. I am already almost 20 pounds lighter. I went through all the emotions and worry about the weight and if it will ever budge. And I can tell you it does! I watch my calories according to my BMI and I exercise. Weight is one thing I do not do is worry about anymore and that is the key.
Food
Food is healing and when you care for yourself with good nutritious food and have your portions across the day (eat three times a day and have snacks) You will start to feel better and better. Good portions of fresh fruits and vegetables with lean protein and and low-fat dairy and you will be set.
One of my days of what I eat.
Breakfast - 1 serving of Kashi Cinnamon Harvest with a cup of skim milk and fresh blueberries.
coffee
Lunch - My favorite Omelette : 1/2 cup egg whites Chopped Tomatoes, Chopped Green Peppers, Swiss Cheese 1 Rye Toast with butter. 5 Fresh Strawberries.
Snack: Greek Yogurt with extra fresh fruit and a Tablespoon of granola.
Dinner: 4 oz of Trout, Sweet Peas, Raw Carrot Sticks and a Nectarine.
Snack: At least two hours before I go to bed. The Kashi cereal with fresh fruit or a Cliff bar and a cup of skim milk.
For some reason I prefer snacks after lunch and after dinner, this is just a normal day and because I am not taking Antidepressants I have zero abnormal cravings. I am not afraid of carbs, I like potatoes and pasta I just pay attention to portions and calories. I do have more of a challenge because I am tracking sodium also and that has to be kept under 1500mgs a day. So processed food even organic processed has salt.
So I mix my own spices to avoid salt and I cook everything from scratch. I do like cheese but limit it to Swiss and I pick out the less processed with the less salt.
I am still learning my way through this but have been doing this since my last Lexapro dose and I feel fantastic.
Exercise
I have found exercise to be a personal choice. Aerobic has always helped my withdrawal symptoms and eased my withdrawal pain, so I stick with it. I use a stationary bike. I also am targeting my upper muscles with dumbbell weights and I exercise with standard situps and side crunches. I add the weights with the bike and exercises 3 days a week and for 3 days I just do the bike and the sit ups and side crunches. My goal to have healthy larger muscles (I started out really slow).
Muscles protect the bones and the bones grow stronger. Added Muscles also burn more calories. I have read a few different books and what interested me was having muscles and when at rest, burns more calories at rest than only aerobic exercises. Meaning I burn more calories while resting for 30 mins than if I ride my bike for 30 mins if I had never exercise and built up my muscles.
Muscles are more dense than fat so the weight will not go down as fast, but you will see the difference and feel the difference. It wards off depression and give you lots of energy. Taking care of you muscles means you exercise them and you feed them good food. Getting a low calorie Whey protein drink really helps also. I drink 100 calorie powder after a weight session, all that protein goes right to the muscle.
Speaking of buring calories ... after working out your muscles you stay in the calorie buring mode well after 24 hours. So as you watch tv or on the computer or while you sleep you are still burning calories!
All I did was go to a used sports and exercise equipment store and buy the dumbbells 3 pounder to 10 pounder sets. I did pick up a weight bench and am planing on getting regular weights and a bar. But for right now I am happy with what I am doing. Hey, best thing about weights is that there are no parts you have to worry about breaking down! Unlike machines your body moves freely and it is harder for your muscles to become too used to the movement. You can change you movements and the weights will always be useful.
I started slow and worked my way up. Adding mins on the bike and adding weight to the dumbbells. I did start while I was in withdrawal and kept reminding myself that once I was off I will see results.
Now my normal routine is the bike 30 mins and the exercise and weights 30 mins, so that is 60 mins every other day, and 45 mins on the no weight days for a total of 6 days a week. I know sounds hard, but not really I gotten used to it, I started slow and eventually worked my way up, I am used to it and I find I can carve out an hour a day with no problems. Sometimes I do that hour at night and sometimes when I wake up but I have to tell you, this is so worth it. I think I would have lost weight without the changes but I know the changes will really boost me into what I want to be.
After the Antidepressant you will have the new found energy and positivity!
During withdrawal my weight gain would not budge. It was not till after I was off the drug that weight-loss has started.
Now think about all the people who were trapped on their antidepressant, those who painstakingly slowly tapered off the drug to be left with a wrecked figure. And then they get this pill probably encouraged by their doctor. It really makes my stomach turn.
Before getting into into these medications I want to express my thoughts on weightloss, and I want to say it is all about exercise and healthy nutrition NOT pills or starvation. Please do not fall for this. There is no pill that will help you. Only hurt you further. The change takes place in your mind and your spirit not your stomach or brain. More about that later.
So the first one to get FDA approval is Belviq (lorcaserin).
This drug has serotonergic properties. what does that mean? Serotonergic or serotoninergic means "related to the neurotransmitter serotonin". A synapse is serotonergic if it uses serotonin as its neurotransmitter. A substance is serotonergic if it produces its effects via interactions with the serotonin system.
A serotonergic, or serotonergic agent, is any chemical which functions to enhance the effects mediated by serotonin in the central nervous system.
Does that sound familiar? Think about Antidepressants and how they affect the serotonin? After a very painful withdrawal would you want to have anything to do with any drug that affects the serotonin? If you found this Blog via search for Lexapro withdrawal or Antidepressant withdrawal then you know all about the horrible aspects of withdrawal and the weight gain. You know about the pain of withdrawal and want it over. Those symptoms you are going through or went through is the result of your brain trying to get back to "base" the whole thing is your brain coming back from a drug altered state to your normal state.
Now after all that this pill comes along to solve the weight problem? Well no actually this pill does not help, the average weight lost was only 7 pounds. Risk your brain and central nervous system for 7 pounds. Sounds ridiculous to me.
Next pill that is up to be approved is Qnexa® (phentermine and topiramate)
Topiramate otherwise known as Topamax
http://www.drugs.com/topamax.html
You may have thoughts about suicide while taking Topamax. Tell your doctor if you have new or worsening symptoms of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts. Your family or other caregivers should also be alert to changes in your mood or symptoms. Your doctor will need to check you at regular visits.
FDA pregnancy category D. Taking Topamax during pregnancy may increase the risk of cleft lip and/or cleft palate in the newborn. Do not start taking Topamax without telling your doctor if you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant. Use effective birth control while you are taking Topamax.
If you need to stop taking Topamax for any reason, your doctor slowly tapers off your dosage to prevent seizures
Phentermine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phentermine
Drug may increase blood pressure and heart rate. It may also cause palpitations, restlessness, and insomnia. Additionally, phentermine has the potential to cause psychological dependence. After short term use, tolerance begins and can be followed by rebound weight gain.
Cardiovascular Effects
Palpitation, tachycardia, elevation of blood pressure.
Central Nervous System Effects
Overstimulation, restlessness, dizziness, insomnia, euphoria, dysphoria, tremor, headache.
Gastrointestinal Effects
Dryness of the mouth, unpleasant taste, diarrhea, constipation, other gastrointestinal disturbances.
Read more: Topamax Withdrawal Side Effects | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/facts_5527603_topamax-withdrawal-side-effects.html#ixzz1zsh8nkbx
Well you can see why I wanted to post this warning especially for people that are withdrawing from thier Antidepressant or just finished and looking to lose the weight gained. This is no answer and to expose your already fragile Central Nervious System is just frightening,
As a fellow human being that went through this horrible withdrawal with no help from any Doctors I will never take any drug for any reason that affects any brain chemicals or receptors.
I am two months off and I can feel myself getting better and better everyday. I am already almost 20 pounds lighter. I went through all the emotions and worry about the weight and if it will ever budge. And I can tell you it does! I watch my calories according to my BMI and I exercise. Weight is one thing I do not do is worry about anymore and that is the key.
Food
Food is healing and when you care for yourself with good nutritious food and have your portions across the day (eat three times a day and have snacks) You will start to feel better and better. Good portions of fresh fruits and vegetables with lean protein and and low-fat dairy and you will be set.
One of my days of what I eat.
Breakfast - 1 serving of Kashi Cinnamon Harvest with a cup of skim milk and fresh blueberries.
coffee
Lunch - My favorite Omelette : 1/2 cup egg whites Chopped Tomatoes, Chopped Green Peppers, Swiss Cheese 1 Rye Toast with butter. 5 Fresh Strawberries.
Snack: Greek Yogurt with extra fresh fruit and a Tablespoon of granola.
Dinner: 4 oz of Trout, Sweet Peas, Raw Carrot Sticks and a Nectarine.
Snack: At least two hours before I go to bed. The Kashi cereal with fresh fruit or a Cliff bar and a cup of skim milk.
For some reason I prefer snacks after lunch and after dinner, this is just a normal day and because I am not taking Antidepressants I have zero abnormal cravings. I am not afraid of carbs, I like potatoes and pasta I just pay attention to portions and calories. I do have more of a challenge because I am tracking sodium also and that has to be kept under 1500mgs a day. So processed food even organic processed has salt.
So I mix my own spices to avoid salt and I cook everything from scratch. I do like cheese but limit it to Swiss and I pick out the less processed with the less salt.
I am still learning my way through this but have been doing this since my last Lexapro dose and I feel fantastic.
Exercise
I have found exercise to be a personal choice. Aerobic has always helped my withdrawal symptoms and eased my withdrawal pain, so I stick with it. I use a stationary bike. I also am targeting my upper muscles with dumbbell weights and I exercise with standard situps and side crunches. I add the weights with the bike and exercises 3 days a week and for 3 days I just do the bike and the sit ups and side crunches. My goal to have healthy larger muscles (I started out really slow).
Muscles protect the bones and the bones grow stronger. Added Muscles also burn more calories. I have read a few different books and what interested me was having muscles and when at rest, burns more calories at rest than only aerobic exercises. Meaning I burn more calories while resting for 30 mins than if I ride my bike for 30 mins if I had never exercise and built up my muscles.
Muscles are more dense than fat so the weight will not go down as fast, but you will see the difference and feel the difference. It wards off depression and give you lots of energy. Taking care of you muscles means you exercise them and you feed them good food. Getting a low calorie Whey protein drink really helps also. I drink 100 calorie powder after a weight session, all that protein goes right to the muscle.
Speaking of buring calories ... after working out your muscles you stay in the calorie buring mode well after 24 hours. So as you watch tv or on the computer or while you sleep you are still burning calories!
All I did was go to a used sports and exercise equipment store and buy the dumbbells 3 pounder to 10 pounder sets. I did pick up a weight bench and am planing on getting regular weights and a bar. But for right now I am happy with what I am doing. Hey, best thing about weights is that there are no parts you have to worry about breaking down! Unlike machines your body moves freely and it is harder for your muscles to become too used to the movement. You can change you movements and the weights will always be useful.
I started slow and worked my way up. Adding mins on the bike and adding weight to the dumbbells. I did start while I was in withdrawal and kept reminding myself that once I was off I will see results.
Now my normal routine is the bike 30 mins and the exercise and weights 30 mins, so that is 60 mins every other day, and 45 mins on the no weight days for a total of 6 days a week. I know sounds hard, but not really I gotten used to it, I started slow and eventually worked my way up, I am used to it and I find I can carve out an hour a day with no problems. Sometimes I do that hour at night and sometimes when I wake up but I have to tell you, this is so worth it. I think I would have lost weight without the changes but I know the changes will really boost me into what I want to be.
After the Antidepressant you will have the new found energy and positivity!
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Klonopin
It has been about 40 days since my last Lexapro dose. I am happy to say that all is well with that.
However I have started my Klonopin tapering.
I feel very naive in that I did all this research in Antidepressant withdrawal and tapering and just thought the Klonopin taper and withdrawal would be simple and a minor inconvenience.
I started my first cut of 10percent. day 3 to 11 was not very pleasant. Lots of head pressure just like AD withdrawal. Restless Leg Syndrome and a bout of insomnia.
What is different? No muscle pain as of yet.
I was upset to have to go through this again. But I am getting over it and am not going into this with any gloom or doom. It will be over once and for all and that will be a great day.
However I have started my Klonopin tapering.
I feel very naive in that I did all this research in Antidepressant withdrawal and tapering and just thought the Klonopin taper and withdrawal would be simple and a minor inconvenience.
I started my first cut of 10percent. day 3 to 11 was not very pleasant. Lots of head pressure just like AD withdrawal. Restless Leg Syndrome and a bout of insomnia.
What is different? No muscle pain as of yet.
I was upset to have to go through this again. But I am getting over it and am not going into this with any gloom or doom. It will be over once and for all and that will be a great day.
Friday, June 15, 2012
26 days off
I still feel great! 26 lovely days. No it had not been perfect, but feel normal and I feel good mentally.
Weight
I have lost 8 pounds. I didn't think this was a significant amount to post, but for 14 months of the 6 days a week workouts including aerobic, exercises and strength training with weights and nothing budged during all of that. Then to finally get Lexapro out of my system and now an amount has shifted. So this is a good sign and is a good motivator.
Foods and Cravings
This one is so weird, not long after I stopped my last dose of Lexapro I found any cravings being less intense. Now I don't really get them. During my tapering Lexapro, I was also tapering coffee. However now I do not crave coffee at all. I noticed that I had a craving for it and now that I do not take Lexapro I do not crave coffee.
Anxiety and Panic
Since my last dose of Lexapro I have not had any anxiety or panic. I feel calm. During the last few weeks of my taper and up t o now I have had problems with my blood pressure. I started to take a medication and had an unpleasant reaction and then was left off and was waiting for the next step, my Blood pressure shot up and I felt sick and concerned.
I have to say normally I would have freaked out. But I didn't I calmly made appointments, talked to the Doctor, keep records of blood pressure reading. Now I am on a very very low dose of an Ace inhibitor and I am waiting to see if this works and yet I am not freaking out. So I wonder after I was given these drugs for grief, did the drugs cause the Anxiety and panic and then I was re-diagnosed with panic disorder?
Sure there were moments I was scared because of the strange pressure in the head and the head spins. But I had no negative thoughts or overblown reactions. I felt in control and concerned and I guess normal?
This is just a window of how I am feeling post Lexapro.
What is Next.
I am giving my brain a little rest, maybe a month before I venture back into withdrawal (not looking forward to this)
I am going to continuing with the exercising plan I started 14 months ago. Aerobics (spin bike daily) exercises (sit-ups and side crunches) and weights. Weights every other day, Aerobics and exercises 6 days a week. Is this too much or too little? I don't know it is what I have built myself up to. I am now using 8 pound dumbbells soon to move on to 10 pounds.
Sit-ups 60 six days a week with 120 side crunches 6 days a week,
The Spin bike is such a great bike! I ride six days a week for 30 mins. It really helped me with all my withdraw symptoms. I think the combo of what I am doing is a good one and am planning on adding new and mixing it up.
I am just so grateful to get to the end and see life without Antidepressants. The secret is in the slow taper.
Weight
I have lost 8 pounds. I didn't think this was a significant amount to post, but for 14 months of the 6 days a week workouts including aerobic, exercises and strength training with weights and nothing budged during all of that. Then to finally get Lexapro out of my system and now an amount has shifted. So this is a good sign and is a good motivator.
Foods and Cravings
This one is so weird, not long after I stopped my last dose of Lexapro I found any cravings being less intense. Now I don't really get them. During my tapering Lexapro, I was also tapering coffee. However now I do not crave coffee at all. I noticed that I had a craving for it and now that I do not take Lexapro I do not crave coffee.
Anxiety and Panic
Since my last dose of Lexapro I have not had any anxiety or panic. I feel calm. During the last few weeks of my taper and up t o now I have had problems with my blood pressure. I started to take a medication and had an unpleasant reaction and then was left off and was waiting for the next step, my Blood pressure shot up and I felt sick and concerned.
I have to say normally I would have freaked out. But I didn't I calmly made appointments, talked to the Doctor, keep records of blood pressure reading. Now I am on a very very low dose of an Ace inhibitor and I am waiting to see if this works and yet I am not freaking out. So I wonder after I was given these drugs for grief, did the drugs cause the Anxiety and panic and then I was re-diagnosed with panic disorder?
Sure there were moments I was scared because of the strange pressure in the head and the head spins. But I had no negative thoughts or overblown reactions. I felt in control and concerned and I guess normal?
This is just a window of how I am feeling post Lexapro.
What is Next.
I am giving my brain a little rest, maybe a month before I venture back into withdrawal (not looking forward to this)
I am going to continuing with the exercising plan I started 14 months ago. Aerobics (spin bike daily) exercises (sit-ups and side crunches) and weights. Weights every other day, Aerobics and exercises 6 days a week. Is this too much or too little? I don't know it is what I have built myself up to. I am now using 8 pound dumbbells soon to move on to 10 pounds.
Sit-ups 60 six days a week with 120 side crunches 6 days a week,
The Spin bike is such a great bike! I ride six days a week for 30 mins. It really helped me with all my withdraw symptoms. I think the combo of what I am doing is a good one and am planning on adding new and mixing it up.
I am just so grateful to get to the end and see life without Antidepressants. The secret is in the slow taper.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
My Last Dose of Lexapro!
I finally made it! I finally took my last dose May 22, 2012! I wanted to wait a bit to see what if anything was going to happen.
Some people report probelms after the last dose and even months later be hit with a "Phase II" type thing. I really do not fear that at all ebcause I tapered so slow, see that is the key, not to get off of it as fast as possible because all you will have is WD hell for a longer period of time. The key is slower is better and if that is too much then ubber slower! Micro tapering is actually being tested with people trying to do it a different way. With interesting results and quite possibly better than the 10 percent method especially for people who have trouble with 10 percent or even 5 percent drops in their tapering.
So the mg I jumped off of was .8mg the weight of the Lexapro powder was .010. Coming from 40mg, that is twice the recomeded dose for the last 7 years! This was a very difficult thing to do. I will recap what I did.
My History of Taper with Lexapro.
My first attempt was a 10mg drop every 3 months. Until I got to 5mg which I broke the half of the pill in half. I crashed with horrible results. Mind numbing dizziness, double vision, headaches from hell, nausea and was scared. I ended up having a brain seizure (I do have epilepsy).
I was so scared I went right back on Lexapro to 30mg and let myself stabilize. I decided to try again 6 months later and my family suggested 6 months between drops. They thought that maybe it would be easier on me.
So then I did 10mg drops every 6 months until I got to 10mg, this is when I came across a website about drugs and ran into someone who suggested paxilprogress,org. So I checked it out and spent hours there, reading threads about Antidepressants in general and also searching and finding Lexapro threads.
So I decided to do the 10 percent method with the last 10mg of Lexapro. I ordered a Jeweler's scale from amazon (about 25.00) and gelcaps (I used to put the right dosage weight in the gelcap instead of shaving pills).
I downloaded the Excel spreadsheet at paxilprogress.org. I weighted one pill and put the weight in the column. The sheet then does an auto 10percent reduction down the graph. You then know every 3 - 4 weeks to weight out the next weight listed. This is what I did for the last 10mg of Lexapro.
Withdrawal symptoms I found to be less painful then the big 10mg drops and I was able to function everyday. When I did the big drops, the physical pain was ongoing and made me miserable. I had a hard time walking, I could not walk or stand on any uneven surfaces and stairs were very challenging. Before my tapering attempts I never had any pain in my legs or muscles. It was truly horrible. I also had waves of depression with anxiety with the big drops.
The 10 percent drops I had symptoms, but nothing near the previous symptoms.
By the time I had gotten down to 3mgs most of my withdrawal symptoms are very minor. I would have one day of very bearable muscle pain which sometimes included a irritating headache.
So I decided to jump off at .8mg and I felt like it was a normal drop, some muscle pain and a slight headache and that was it as far as to this moment.
About a month and a half ago, while I was still tapering, my Doctor told me I had high blood pressure and prescribed a water pill-potassium pill. I had no side effects until after I took my last Lexapro. Then I felt horrible (some how I knew it was BP pill related because it in no way felt anything like withdrawal or similar to any thing I have felt in the last 3 years)
I called my doctor and he said to stop the BP pill. So I did and it has been about 3 days and I am feeling almost back to normal ... Gee what is normal? I have to monitor my BP for a few weeks and then we are going to revisit this topic, I go in if it jumps up however. So far it has been close to normal. If the Lexapro or the withdrawal caused theHigh BP I would be happy, because then I won't have to take medication. The doctor seems surprised. We will see.
Okay so I am very happy to finally being off this drug! To me it feels like Christmas Eve! The day after my last pill I had gotten a beautiful floral arrangement form my significant other! It has been 16 days since I took my last dose of Lexapro and I am just beaming. When I took my last dose I did have my normal withdrawal symptoms for day 3 which then vanished by Day for, since day 4 I have had zero feelings of anxiety and depression. I am not afraid of withdrawal anymore.
Today or actually yesterday now was a very liberating day for me. I got rid of all my Lexapro in my house. I have to have them safely disposed which will be sometimes today. So not a bit if it is in my house I do feel truly free and I do not know how to describe this with mere words. I feel like a huge weight is off my shoulders.
Now I have plans to address the damage Lexapro has left. The weight gain is the main one. I also am still taking online classes to get my brain back into shape. This coarse I am taking now is actually making sense to me know, I have taken 3 other classes that is supposed to lead me up to this one and I had a hard time keeping up having to read things over and over to comprehend them. This coarse now is harder yet I have not had to re-read materiel and am grasping it much better.
I am still exercising 6 days a week. With every other day added strength training (weights) I hope to finally see results. Although since my last dose I have lost 6 pounds.
I have purchased a new scale, food scale and a calorie book. and am looking at a few differing methods of slimming down. So far I am leaning towards calorie counting with nutrition quality of food being at the forefront. I took a close look at how I am eating now and I was happy to see that it was not really far off of what other professorial say it should be. Well more about that at a later date. I might just add a Weightloss Blog To blogger and have it linked here through my account.
I also have a Klonopin taper to do. That also might have it's own little blog so Benzo addicted people can run across it. So I will post here about Post-Lexapro things which will include some topics of Klonopin, blood pressure and weightless since it is kind of related.
Some people report probelms after the last dose and even months later be hit with a "Phase II" type thing. I really do not fear that at all ebcause I tapered so slow, see that is the key, not to get off of it as fast as possible because all you will have is WD hell for a longer period of time. The key is slower is better and if that is too much then ubber slower! Micro tapering is actually being tested with people trying to do it a different way. With interesting results and quite possibly better than the 10 percent method especially for people who have trouble with 10 percent or even 5 percent drops in their tapering.
So the mg I jumped off of was .8mg the weight of the Lexapro powder was .010. Coming from 40mg, that is twice the recomeded dose for the last 7 years! This was a very difficult thing to do. I will recap what I did.
My History of Taper with Lexapro.
My first attempt was a 10mg drop every 3 months. Until I got to 5mg which I broke the half of the pill in half. I crashed with horrible results. Mind numbing dizziness, double vision, headaches from hell, nausea and was scared. I ended up having a brain seizure (I do have epilepsy).
I was so scared I went right back on Lexapro to 30mg and let myself stabilize. I decided to try again 6 months later and my family suggested 6 months between drops. They thought that maybe it would be easier on me.
So then I did 10mg drops every 6 months until I got to 10mg, this is when I came across a website about drugs and ran into someone who suggested paxilprogress,org. So I checked it out and spent hours there, reading threads about Antidepressants in general and also searching and finding Lexapro threads.
So I decided to do the 10 percent method with the last 10mg of Lexapro. I ordered a Jeweler's scale from amazon (about 25.00) and gelcaps (I used to put the right dosage weight in the gelcap instead of shaving pills).
I downloaded the Excel spreadsheet at paxilprogress.org. I weighted one pill and put the weight in the column. The sheet then does an auto 10percent reduction down the graph. You then know every 3 - 4 weeks to weight out the next weight listed. This is what I did for the last 10mg of Lexapro.
Withdrawal symptoms I found to be less painful then the big 10mg drops and I was able to function everyday. When I did the big drops, the physical pain was ongoing and made me miserable. I had a hard time walking, I could not walk or stand on any uneven surfaces and stairs were very challenging. Before my tapering attempts I never had any pain in my legs or muscles. It was truly horrible. I also had waves of depression with anxiety with the big drops.
The 10 percent drops I had symptoms, but nothing near the previous symptoms.
By the time I had gotten down to 3mgs most of my withdrawal symptoms are very minor. I would have one day of very bearable muscle pain which sometimes included a irritating headache.
So I decided to jump off at .8mg and I felt like it was a normal drop, some muscle pain and a slight headache and that was it as far as to this moment.
About a month and a half ago, while I was still tapering, my Doctor told me I had high blood pressure and prescribed a water pill-potassium pill. I had no side effects until after I took my last Lexapro. Then I felt horrible (some how I knew it was BP pill related because it in no way felt anything like withdrawal or similar to any thing I have felt in the last 3 years)
I called my doctor and he said to stop the BP pill. So I did and it has been about 3 days and I am feeling almost back to normal ... Gee what is normal? I have to monitor my BP for a few weeks and then we are going to revisit this topic, I go in if it jumps up however. So far it has been close to normal. If the Lexapro or the withdrawal caused theHigh BP I would be happy, because then I won't have to take medication. The doctor seems surprised. We will see.
Okay so I am very happy to finally being off this drug! To me it feels like Christmas Eve! The day after my last pill I had gotten a beautiful floral arrangement form my significant other! It has been 16 days since I took my last dose of Lexapro and I am just beaming. When I took my last dose I did have my normal withdrawal symptoms for day 3 which then vanished by Day for, since day 4 I have had zero feelings of anxiety and depression. I am not afraid of withdrawal anymore.
Today or actually yesterday now was a very liberating day for me. I got rid of all my Lexapro in my house. I have to have them safely disposed which will be sometimes today. So not a bit if it is in my house I do feel truly free and I do not know how to describe this with mere words. I feel like a huge weight is off my shoulders.
Now I have plans to address the damage Lexapro has left. The weight gain is the main one. I also am still taking online classes to get my brain back into shape. This coarse I am taking now is actually making sense to me know, I have taken 3 other classes that is supposed to lead me up to this one and I had a hard time keeping up having to read things over and over to comprehend them. This coarse now is harder yet I have not had to re-read materiel and am grasping it much better.
I am still exercising 6 days a week. With every other day added strength training (weights) I hope to finally see results. Although since my last dose I have lost 6 pounds.
I have purchased a new scale, food scale and a calorie book. and am looking at a few differing methods of slimming down. So far I am leaning towards calorie counting with nutrition quality of food being at the forefront. I took a close look at how I am eating now and I was happy to see that it was not really far off of what other professorial say it should be. Well more about that at a later date. I might just add a Weightloss Blog To blogger and have it linked here through my account.
I also have a Klonopin taper to do. That also might have it's own little blog so Benzo addicted people can run across it. So I will post here about Post-Lexapro things which will include some topics of Klonopin, blood pressure and weightless since it is kind of related.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Lexapro 1mg and feeling good!
Well I am now down to 1mg, in fact I have been on 1mg for about 2 weeks. I have to say that the withdrawal is getting much better. I had maybe one day of feeling sore and maybe 1 hour of feeling "bad".
I think my next move is dropping to .70mg and then off of Lexapro entirely.
I still have so much more work to do. I have the weight issue, the health issue and the CBT to practice to face my past and future stresses and problems. Not to forget I have another taper to do from the benzo Klonopin.
At this point I still do my exercise plan 6 days a week unless really ill. I find this helps me so much I don't think I will ever not exercise.
I still take the fish oil and mag.
I have had my struggles and tragedies along this process and I think I still need to deal with some of them. Like my good friend who died last June. I still don't really feel the pain or loss fully. It is kinda blunt. there is a lot to get in order emotion wise. But I feel I am on the right track.
I can tell you one thing for sure, I am no longer scared of withdrawal (mainly because I am at such a low dose) and I am very very happy to be at this point.
I think my next move is dropping to .70mg and then off of Lexapro entirely.
I still have so much more work to do. I have the weight issue, the health issue and the CBT to practice to face my past and future stresses and problems. Not to forget I have another taper to do from the benzo Klonopin.
At this point I still do my exercise plan 6 days a week unless really ill. I find this helps me so much I don't think I will ever not exercise.
I still take the fish oil and mag.
I have had my struggles and tragedies along this process and I think I still need to deal with some of them. Like my good friend who died last June. I still don't really feel the pain or loss fully. It is kinda blunt. there is a lot to get in order emotion wise. But I feel I am on the right track.
I can tell you one thing for sure, I am no longer scared of withdrawal (mainly because I am at such a low dose) and I am very very happy to be at this point.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
1.5mg Lexapro
Well I am at 1.5mgs of Lexapro. Right now the withdrawal symptoms I have are : swollen ankle (by the way doctors try and avoid admitting Lexapro can cause or when you withdraw from it swollen ankles.) headaches, muscle aches, still not feeling all my emotions as I should.
I have no clue as in what to expect after I am finished other than I have yet another taper to do with Klonopin. I really hope it is easier then the antidepressant withdrawal.
I have no doubt that my central nervous system is a the last majorly disrupted to damaged. I pray that It will heal.
It has been 3 years if you include the two other attempts to get off this drug. It is unbelievable that so much time has been lost. The only upswing is that this last time (1 year 1 month) has been livable due to the slower taper of 10 percent every 3 - 4 weeks.
This last year and one month has been dedicated to get off of 10mgs! I suffered with doing large drops of 10mg ever 3 months until I found out about the 10 percent method. I have no doubt that I would have failed again if not for slowing down.
I really greatly regret taking an antidepressant. It has been the biggest mistake of my life.
BTW You would think that 1.5 mgs is small and such a nothing that just stopping at this point would be no biggie. But that is not true. My goal here is to not permanently damage my brain and I have been on this drug far to long to just jump off. It has to be well under 1mg.
And since doctors are still to this day deny withdrawal does not exist in Lexapro (even though the makers of it admit it) I would never trust their word about the safety of quitting at 1.5mg.
TooDazed
I have no clue as in what to expect after I am finished other than I have yet another taper to do with Klonopin. I really hope it is easier then the antidepressant withdrawal.
I have no doubt that my central nervous system is a the last majorly disrupted to damaged. I pray that It will heal.
It has been 3 years if you include the two other attempts to get off this drug. It is unbelievable that so much time has been lost. The only upswing is that this last time (1 year 1 month) has been livable due to the slower taper of 10 percent every 3 - 4 weeks.
This last year and one month has been dedicated to get off of 10mgs! I suffered with doing large drops of 10mg ever 3 months until I found out about the 10 percent method. I have no doubt that I would have failed again if not for slowing down.
I really greatly regret taking an antidepressant. It has been the biggest mistake of my life.
BTW You would think that 1.5 mgs is small and such a nothing that just stopping at this point would be no biggie. But that is not true. My goal here is to not permanently damage my brain and I have been on this drug far to long to just jump off. It has to be well under 1mg.
And since doctors are still to this day deny withdrawal does not exist in Lexapro (even though the makers of it admit it) I would never trust their word about the safety of quitting at 1.5mg.
TooDazed
Monday, February 20, 2012
Taper to 1.9mgs
Today is the third day of my taper. And I do feel some symptoms, so far a headache and some muscle stiffness, but again I work out all week and lift weights 3x a week now. Monday I usually have some sort of muscle soreness from having the weekend off of lifting.
Tomorrow is some spinning (bike) and that always helps.
I do think I am pretty used to the routine of tapering. Still though it will be nice to actually not have to go through this anymore. I do have to taper from Klonopin and I hope it is not as bad as tapering off of antidepressants.
Too Dazed
Tomorrow is some spinning (bike) and that always helps.
I do think I am pretty used to the routine of tapering. Still though it will be nice to actually not have to go through this anymore. I do have to taper from Klonopin and I hope it is not as bad as tapering off of antidepressants.
Too Dazed
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Some Answers and an Update
Do you feel better than you did on the higher dose of lexapro now that you have dropped so far?
Yes I do. I feel so much better that I cannot believe I will feel even better after I am done with lexapro at this moment I am at 2.3mg.
Can you pinpoint how you feel emotionally and physically once the withdrawals have balanced out?
If you are talking about a drop or taper? I feel more in control, I feel more at peace and less anxiety with difficult life situations. I have almost normal emotions, I will get upset or angry and even sad but it feels more like me and real and better.
Like are you feeling calm and able to process your emotions now or are you irritable if you get that way during withdrawal.
I have ups and down but feel very comfortable processing my emotions. I am way less panicky and way less irritable. I can feel a negative emotion and think about it like a 3rd party to evaluate it and see if it is a normal emotion at a normal level. I am not upset when I feel I have over reacted. I actually forgive myself and try better next time. I also lately have been more honest to my friends and family on how I feel if something they say or do upsets me. For so many years I have just held stuff in for the sake of the other person, I have now switched into being honest with them and have had mostly good results.
Like when you say others can't step on you and anymore? Do you feel upbeat or rather gloomy (as I get -which may be the SAD)?
At higher Lexapro levels I would get angry and then gloomy then depressed. At this level that is changing. I am respectful of the person and let them know that I will not accept the treatment anymore and I do not give in. I am presently in a situation of where I am being pressured into something I no longer wish to do (has to do with my work) I should have never had these extra duties and it was being thrown on me while they claimed credit.
They are trying and I am not giving in. I do feel anger when they try and talk me into or try and represent it as something different, but I have been able to process the event and my anger and have handled it well. before I would have worried all night or all week and felt depressed as if I was a horrible person for letting them down. I do not feel this way anymore.
I cannot say I am upbeat about it because I do not leave it in my thoughts too long, I handle it and then move on to something else that is beneficial to me rather than dwell. I guess I used to dwell a lot. I will not say that is all gone, I know I will have to work on that.
Are you sleeping good, waking without trouble?
Last week was fantastic, this week is not so good. tossing and turning with some bad dreams that I don't remember. This week waking up to bad feelings as if something is wrong. It's that "Morning Dread" in withdrawal the cortisol levels are at the highest (well for everyone) in the morning and slowly go down, but in withdrawal the dopamine levels are low.
High cortisol causes anxiety in withdrawal and dopamine in withdrawal causes depression feelings. So Anxiety + Depression Feelings = DREAD!
At this point the morning dread is so much better. It is not terrifying as it once was. I am able to think clearly and know what it is. I am able to shrug off the feeling.
Do you have anxiety or nervousness at all-all these are usually symptoms when we get to this point so I was just wondering.
I wondered this myself and I think because I tapered so slowly I am not having this issue at all. I was really fearing that it would happen and it just didn't happen. I don't think it will even when I take my last dose. I think that I will have my normal withdrawal feelings which at this point are not like back at 10mg.
I personally think the people who have this problem have a complex antidepressant history or they tapered to quickly. In almost every post complain of this I read their history and notice large drops and fast tapers. Although I know there are a few really sensitive to drops. I took it very slow and steady that my brain got used to the drops and I think that is why I don't have the fear.
I have to say that I have not felt any bad withdrawal since 3.0mg. I have had a headache for a day or some sore muscles another but thing to what I went through with larger drops or the beginning of my taper.
I did have issues before the pill (anxiety and panic attacks) and I know that I still might have. I guess I feel stronger to confront them and am ready to tackle it head on. I already had a few panic attacks happen and I just let them happen. it was very uncomfortable and somewhat painful, so I know I will have to work on that.
I hope this helps!
Yes I do. I feel so much better that I cannot believe I will feel even better after I am done with lexapro at this moment I am at 2.3mg.
Can you pinpoint how you feel emotionally and physically once the withdrawals have balanced out?
If you are talking about a drop or taper? I feel more in control, I feel more at peace and less anxiety with difficult life situations. I have almost normal emotions, I will get upset or angry and even sad but it feels more like me and real and better.
Like are you feeling calm and able to process your emotions now or are you irritable if you get that way during withdrawal.
I have ups and down but feel very comfortable processing my emotions. I am way less panicky and way less irritable. I can feel a negative emotion and think about it like a 3rd party to evaluate it and see if it is a normal emotion at a normal level. I am not upset when I feel I have over reacted. I actually forgive myself and try better next time. I also lately have been more honest to my friends and family on how I feel if something they say or do upsets me. For so many years I have just held stuff in for the sake of the other person, I have now switched into being honest with them and have had mostly good results.
Like when you say others can't step on you and anymore? Do you feel upbeat or rather gloomy (as I get -which may be the SAD)?
At higher Lexapro levels I would get angry and then gloomy then depressed. At this level that is changing. I am respectful of the person and let them know that I will not accept the treatment anymore and I do not give in. I am presently in a situation of where I am being pressured into something I no longer wish to do (has to do with my work) I should have never had these extra duties and it was being thrown on me while they claimed credit.
They are trying and I am not giving in. I do feel anger when they try and talk me into or try and represent it as something different, but I have been able to process the event and my anger and have handled it well. before I would have worried all night or all week and felt depressed as if I was a horrible person for letting them down. I do not feel this way anymore.
I cannot say I am upbeat about it because I do not leave it in my thoughts too long, I handle it and then move on to something else that is beneficial to me rather than dwell. I guess I used to dwell a lot. I will not say that is all gone, I know I will have to work on that.
Are you sleeping good, waking without trouble?
Last week was fantastic, this week is not so good. tossing and turning with some bad dreams that I don't remember. This week waking up to bad feelings as if something is wrong. It's that "Morning Dread" in withdrawal the cortisol levels are at the highest (well for everyone) in the morning and slowly go down, but in withdrawal the dopamine levels are low.
High cortisol causes anxiety in withdrawal and dopamine in withdrawal causes depression feelings. So Anxiety + Depression Feelings = DREAD!
At this point the morning dread is so much better. It is not terrifying as it once was. I am able to think clearly and know what it is. I am able to shrug off the feeling.
Do you have anxiety or nervousness at all-all these are usually symptoms when we get to this point so I was just wondering.
I wondered this myself and I think because I tapered so slowly I am not having this issue at all. I was really fearing that it would happen and it just didn't happen. I don't think it will even when I take my last dose. I think that I will have my normal withdrawal feelings which at this point are not like back at 10mg.
I personally think the people who have this problem have a complex antidepressant history or they tapered to quickly. In almost every post complain of this I read their history and notice large drops and fast tapers. Although I know there are a few really sensitive to drops. I took it very slow and steady that my brain got used to the drops and I think that is why I don't have the fear.
I have to say that I have not felt any bad withdrawal since 3.0mg. I have had a headache for a day or some sore muscles another but thing to what I went through with larger drops or the beginning of my taper.
I did have issues before the pill (anxiety and panic attacks) and I know that I still might have. I guess I feel stronger to confront them and am ready to tackle it head on. I already had a few panic attacks happen and I just let them happen. it was very uncomfortable and somewhat painful, so I know I will have to work on that.
I hope this helps!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Started 2.7mg
I have started a new taper 2.7mg. The last taper barely bothered me with really bad symptoms. So far not much. A friend from PaxilProgress reported in her tapering history that she had no major withdraw after the 3.0mg mark. I find this so far to be true! It would be great if this is the case. I will let you know. believe me I am paying close attention to this one.
TooDazed
TooDazed
Monday, December 19, 2011
On to 3.0mg
I did the drop to the weight that matches to 3.0mg.
I do have muscle pain, headache and feeling of yucky - ness. However I did do strength training yesterday and upped my reps. So I am not sure.
For me strength training does not help any withdrawal pain, the only exercise that helps is aerobics. I need the strength training and know it will pay off at some point.
Sometimes I think of what a slug Lexapro turned me into. It made me blind to so many things.
I am now feeling as of the "medicated me" is a stranger.
Too Dazed
I do have muscle pain, headache and feeling of yucky - ness. However I did do strength training yesterday and upped my reps. So I am not sure.
For me strength training does not help any withdrawal pain, the only exercise that helps is aerobics. I need the strength training and know it will pay off at some point.
Sometimes I think of what a slug Lexapro turned me into. It made me blind to so many things.
I am now feeling as of the "medicated me" is a stranger.
Too Dazed
Friday, November 25, 2011
Antidepressant Drug Side Effects
Antidepressant Drug Side Effects
The National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine lists out information on pharmaceuticals including dosage, interactions and dangers. The following are some of the side effects listed for antidepressants:
More common antidepressant side effects - Acid or sour stomach; belching; decreased appetite; decreased sexual ability or desire; excess air or gas in stomach or intestines; heartburn; nervousness; pain or tenderness around eyes and cheekbones ; passing gas; problems in urinating; runny or stuffy nose; sexual problems, especially ejaculatory disturbances; sleepiness or unusual drowsiness; stomach discomfort, upset, or pain; sweating; trauma; trembling or shaking; trouble in sleeping.
Less common antidepressant side effects - Abnormal dreams; anxiety; bladder pain; body aches or pain; change in sense of taste; changes in vision; cloudy urine; confusion ; congestion; difficulty in focusing eyes; difficulty in moving; discouragement, feeling sad or empty; drugged feeling; dryness of throat; excessive muscle tone; fainting or loss of consciousness; fast or irregular breathing; feeling of unreality; feeling of warmth or heat; flushing or redness of skin, especially on face and neck; frequent urge to urinate; headache, severe and throbbing; heavy bleeding; increase in body movements; increased appetite; irritability; itching, pain, redness, or swelling of eye or eyelid; itching of the vagina or genital area; lack of emotion; loss of interest or pleasure; loss of memory; lump in throat; menstrual changes; menstrual pain or cramps; muscle twitching or jerking; pain during sexual intercourse; problems with memory; problems with tooth; rhythmic movement of muscles; sense of detachment from self or body; severe sunburn; slow heartbeat; sneezing; thick, white vaginal discharge with no odor or with a mild odor; tightness in throat; tingling, burning, or prickling sensations; trouble concentrating; voice changes; watering of eyes; weight loss; yawn.
http://www.drug-freealliance.org/antidepressant_fraud.html
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xehHwkPpevk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
http://www.xenia.k12.oh.us/special_education/Medications.htm
The National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine lists out information on pharmaceuticals including dosage, interactions and dangers. The following are some of the side effects listed for antidepressants:
More common antidepressant side effects - Acid or sour stomach; belching; decreased appetite; decreased sexual ability or desire; excess air or gas in stomach or intestines; heartburn; nervousness; pain or tenderness around eyes and cheekbones ; passing gas; problems in urinating; runny or stuffy nose; sexual problems, especially ejaculatory disturbances; sleepiness or unusual drowsiness; stomach discomfort, upset, or pain; sweating; trauma; trembling or shaking; trouble in sleeping.
Less common antidepressant side effects - Abnormal dreams; anxiety; bladder pain; body aches or pain; change in sense of taste; changes in vision; cloudy urine; confusion ; congestion; difficulty in focusing eyes; difficulty in moving; discouragement, feeling sad or empty; drugged feeling; dryness of throat; excessive muscle tone; fainting or loss of consciousness; fast or irregular breathing; feeling of unreality; feeling of warmth or heat; flushing or redness of skin, especially on face and neck; frequent urge to urinate; headache, severe and throbbing; heavy bleeding; increase in body movements; increased appetite; irritability; itching, pain, redness, or swelling of eye or eyelid; itching of the vagina or genital area; lack of emotion; loss of interest or pleasure; loss of memory; lump in throat; menstrual changes; menstrual pain or cramps; muscle twitching or jerking; pain during sexual intercourse; problems with memory; problems with tooth; rhythmic movement of muscles; sense of detachment from self or body; severe sunburn; slow heartbeat; sneezing; thick, white vaginal discharge with no odor or with a mild odor; tightness in throat; tingling, burning, or prickling sensations; trouble concentrating; voice changes; watering of eyes; weight loss; yawn.
http://www.drug-freealliance.org/antidepressant_fraud.html
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xehHwkPpevk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
http://www.xenia.k12.oh.us/special_education/Medications.htm
Thursday, November 24, 2011
2 more doses till 3.5
I have been having insomnia issues the last week. You would think I would be on here babbling about it all week. But have a low energy right now and I am putting all that I have in the exercise and daily life right now.
All I can do with the non sleep is try and just go with it.
I want to say Happy Thanksgiving, I am very grateful that I have come this far. And know that I can finish and put 15 years of anti-depressants behind me and out of my life.
Anyhow two more doses to another drop to 3.5mg
I am pretty much sick of the drops and this topic. It is a slow process and it has it's many ups and downs but again I am grateful for this 10 percent process to make this as painless as possible. My hope is that people come across the 10 percent method ASAP, it would be wonderful that people know about it and do it without the harsh fast doctor's recommended taper. But unfortunately new people trust their doctors and have to learn the hard and painful way.
Maybe one day the Doctors will get on board and save people from suffering horrible withdrawals.
But the ultimate would be people knowing that antidepressants are no good and will bring about havoc on your health! Cognitive Therapy instead of drugs!
Too Dazed
All I can do with the non sleep is try and just go with it.
I want to say Happy Thanksgiving, I am very grateful that I have come this far. And know that I can finish and put 15 years of anti-depressants behind me and out of my life.
Anyhow two more doses to another drop to 3.5mg
I am pretty much sick of the drops and this topic. It is a slow process and it has it's many ups and downs but again I am grateful for this 10 percent process to make this as painless as possible. My hope is that people come across the 10 percent method ASAP, it would be wonderful that people know about it and do it without the harsh fast doctor's recommended taper. But unfortunately new people trust their doctors and have to learn the hard and painful way.
Maybe one day the Doctors will get on board and save people from suffering horrible withdrawals.
But the ultimate would be people knowing that antidepressants are no good and will bring about havoc on your health! Cognitive Therapy instead of drugs!
Too Dazed
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Tomorrow starts another drop to 3.9mg
Well tomorrow is the day where I drop down to 3.9mg. This drop was no picnic. I was tired a lot, even sort of depressed. I had the morning dread quite a few mornings. Like the other times it ended in a few hours but the hours felt like days in a way.
Being on this type of drug for 15 years has really taken its toll. I do catch myself being angry that I just floated by on this stuff and ignored anything that was said about medication if it was negative.
It’s like I can’t wait to be free of this stuff, but I also know if I do it too fast I will suffer more and have many problems.
I have updated my Taper sheet; I noticed I forgot to update it, so I am now current.
Exercising has been coming along, however I keep dealing with problems with my cross trainer. So I did a lot of research and got a spinning bike. It is so different from the cross trainer. But I really want a steady form of cardio.
The strength training is coming along, I no longer have a lot of muscle pain from the dumbbells and have actually have inspired a friend and a family member to start.
Weight and strength training is very important. After the age of 40 you start to lose muscle anyhow. Working on your muscles and keeping them in shape and healthy helps you to burn more calories, promote bone growth and bone health and it protects your bones. I like the idea of strengthening my back to protect my back from injuries.
When you work on strength training especially weights you open up receptors in the muscle and your calories get “diverted” to your muscle and not you gut in the form of fat. Doing one good workout will keep that going for up to 48 hours. That is a lot longer than cardio.
I like cardio because of the heart benefits and it also, at least for me, wipes out my withdrawal symptoms for at least 8 hours. So 3 times a week I do strength training and 5 – 6 days a week I do the cardio. This week was spotty because of vacation.
Too Dazed
Being on this type of drug for 15 years has really taken its toll. I do catch myself being angry that I just floated by on this stuff and ignored anything that was said about medication if it was negative.
It’s like I can’t wait to be free of this stuff, but I also know if I do it too fast I will suffer more and have many problems.
I have updated my Taper sheet; I noticed I forgot to update it, so I am now current.
Exercising has been coming along, however I keep dealing with problems with my cross trainer. So I did a lot of research and got a spinning bike. It is so different from the cross trainer. But I really want a steady form of cardio.
The strength training is coming along, I no longer have a lot of muscle pain from the dumbbells and have actually have inspired a friend and a family member to start.
Weight and strength training is very important. After the age of 40 you start to lose muscle anyhow. Working on your muscles and keeping them in shape and healthy helps you to burn more calories, promote bone growth and bone health and it protects your bones. I like the idea of strengthening my back to protect my back from injuries.
When you work on strength training especially weights you open up receptors in the muscle and your calories get “diverted” to your muscle and not you gut in the form of fat. Doing one good workout will keep that going for up to 48 hours. That is a lot longer than cardio.
I like cardio because of the heart benefits and it also, at least for me, wipes out my withdrawal symptoms for at least 8 hours. So 3 times a week I do strength training and 5 – 6 days a week I do the cardio. This week was spotty because of vacation.
Too Dazed
Friday, October 21, 2011
4.3 mg and my Dread Returns
Well now I know it is true at least to me that not all tapers are not equal, this drop has had some symptoms including that morning dread.
What is hard about the morning dread is that it is very upsetting, even if you know what it is. it does not last for a long time but none the less is very unpleasant. I go back to sleep before I figure out what it is and wake up later. The good thign is that I do go back to sleep, it has never worn off while I was awake. I always go back to sleep and wake up free of it.
In withdrawal it is common in the morning to have very high cortisol levels along with very low dopamine levels.
high cortisol = anxiety
low dopamine = depression
anxiety + depression = morning dread type feelings
I tried to help myself with supplements but got a paradoxical reaction which scared me!
All I can do now is try and make it through this type of feeling and note that at least it does not last all day.
With all the things I have felt especially the suffering I know 100 percent that I will never ever take any type of pill in this area ever again and I will not shut up about the horrible effects and suffering antidepressants cause. All the years I falsely felt "safe" and "secure" just gets ripped right out from under you and then you will be exactly in my shoes. I hope you really thunk about this and read other people's horror stories before you decide to pop that pill. You might think that it cannot happen to you. Funny thing is I thought the same thing and here I am trying to get through this and hopefully encourage at least one person out there to NOT take an antidepressant, get real help with therapy and dodge this painful pitfalls.
Too Dazed
What is hard about the morning dread is that it is very upsetting, even if you know what it is. it does not last for a long time but none the less is very unpleasant. I go back to sleep before I figure out what it is and wake up later. The good thign is that I do go back to sleep, it has never worn off while I was awake. I always go back to sleep and wake up free of it.
In withdrawal it is common in the morning to have very high cortisol levels along with very low dopamine levels.
high cortisol = anxiety
low dopamine = depression
anxiety + depression = morning dread type feelings
I tried to help myself with supplements but got a paradoxical reaction which scared me!
All I can do now is try and make it through this type of feeling and note that at least it does not last all day.
With all the things I have felt especially the suffering I know 100 percent that I will never ever take any type of pill in this area ever again and I will not shut up about the horrible effects and suffering antidepressants cause. All the years I falsely felt "safe" and "secure" just gets ripped right out from under you and then you will be exactly in my shoes. I hope you really thunk about this and read other people's horror stories before you decide to pop that pill. You might think that it cannot happen to you. Funny thing is I thought the same thing and here I am trying to get through this and hopefully encourage at least one person out there to NOT take an antidepressant, get real help with therapy and dodge this painful pitfalls.
Too Dazed
Monday, October 10, 2011
Doing great at 4.8!
Just stopping by to say I am doing great at 4.8 mg and in about a week will be doing another drop! I has been a long way since 40mg of Lexapro.
I noticed that people are trying out the different supplements and such. I know I tired and had bad results. And just taking basically 4000mg of fish oil, so,me mag and a daily vitamin has helped out so much, I don't need anything thing else.
I noticed that people are trying out the different supplements and such. I know I tired and had bad results. And just taking basically 4000mg of fish oil, so,me mag and a daily vitamin has helped out so much, I don't need anything thing else.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Day 5 @ 4.8mg
Today is day 5 and I have had no real bad withdrawal symptoms. Just a head on the third day. So these last two times have been a dream compared to other times! I can't believe the doctors do not realize that slow tapering of 10 percent every 3 - 4 weeks is such a great way to withdraw from antidepressants.
I am very happy today :) I already decided to take each day as it comes and to practice patience for the bad days and enjoy the good days. One thing, I don't feel so scared anymore.
I am very happy today :) I already decided to take each day as it comes and to practice patience for the bad days and enjoy the good days. One thing, I don't feel so scared anymore.
