Please need answers. Help

[[st...]]

Has anyone had success starting a antidepressants after withdrawals from benzos.

[Guest [...]]

How long have you been off the benzodiazepines, @[st...]?

Some find an antidepressant helpful with the depression and anxiety during withdrawal and recovery, whereas others prefer to avoid additional medications. We obviously can’t advise one way or the other, so I think it’s sensible to seek feedback from other members about their own experiences… whether it helped or hindered. 

Personally, I’m taking 10mg escitalopram, but I can’t tell you whether it’s helping because I started it around the same time as the benzo, just under 2 yrs ago. 

It would be good to get feedback from those members who started on an AD when in the depths of withdrawal as to whether it alleviated some of the symptoms during withdrawal or recovery. 

If you did choose to start on an AD, you would have to taper off the AD once you were feeling somewhat recovered from the benzodiazepines. 
 

It may also pay to look into Zoloft and check that it’s not one of the AD’s that initially increase anxiety over the first several weeks before potentially playing a role in calming the anxiety. Some AD’s do increase anxiety over those first 3 or 4 weeks, so just check that out. 

[[Si...]]

I'm doing it now in a clinic.  It's helping but it's only been a few days so have no idea if I will become even worse once I come home.  The doctor here says all anti-depressants can cause an increase in anxiety at the beginning for some people because they all increase serotonin.