Anyone have an adverse reaction to an SSRI?

[[Pe...]]

I had an adverse reaction to Lexapro 6 months ago which started my nightmare. I’ve seen no improvement since then and I don’t think I can keep going. But I have a young child so I have to. I took Xanax for two weeks after to help control my symptoms but I think what I’m mainly suffering from is the reaction to Lexapro. My symptoms are mostly head symptoms including head pressure, and constant 24/7 dizziness. I also get muscle twitches especially at night. I’m on Surviving Antidepressants but I’m curious if anyone here has a similar experience. Are the mechanisms of an adverse reaction and healing timelines  similar to that of benzo withdrawal? 

[[...]]

Hi, @[Pe...], welcome to BenzoBuddies! 

I'm so sorry you"re going through this hard time. There are buddies here who suffer from antidepressant experience as well and i'm sure they'll share their thoughts with you soon..

I personally came off an antidepressant, which i'd taken to cope with benzo use consequences, 3 months ago. It wasn't a ssri and for me, its withdrawal seems easier, although i do still feel it. I also took a ssri a couple of times for a few months and always had terrible headaches when starting them. That sensation was quite similar to what i had due to benzo.

Good luck to you and hope with all my heart you'll soon get better!  

[[Pe...]]

@[...] thank you so much for your support

[[fa...]]

Yup.  I did. Have you checked out Www.survivingantidepressants.org they have the same side effects.  

[[jo...]]

I have but from mirtazapine which isn't an ssri. They can all have adverse effects though. Especially to those already in withdrawl. 

[[Es...]]

@[Pe...]

This is such a beautiful login. Not only the name of the Greek goddess of the underworld. But also reminds me of this great novel "What Lies in the Woods" by Kate Alice Marshall, which I recently read.

One usually needs at least three weeks to get used to Lexapro. I was several years on it. It is perfect for social anxiety, but not for functioning.

I much prefer Prozac, although it does little for my social anxiety. I've just put up with the fact that I'm an anxious type, with added chemical anxiety from Prozac.

Xanax can work short-time, but it causes tolerance and bigger quantities are needed. Never took it. Surviving Antidepressants are quite orthodox when it comes to ADs. I'd proceed with caution. I personally escaped from that site after several months and never looked back. 

Yes, as @[...] says, there are sxs, but there are also benefits. ADs are double edged sword. You get nothing for granted. I'm still in favor of them when it comes to BZD WD. At least Prozac helps me. The mere fact of taking it discourages me from taking much else. Diazepam in my case. Those sxs are a nightmare, but such is our fate if we decide to use SSRIs as our weapon against the benzos🤍

[[Pe...]]

Thanks everyone. 
 

Just to clarify, I only took one 10mg pill of Lexapro and had an immediate bad reaction including akathisia, intense anxiety, brain zaps and muscle jerking. I haven’t had any Lexapro since April. 

[[...]]

@[Pe...], just to clarify. I'm sure you've had med tests done to rule out other probable reasons for the symptoms, right? 

And I've just realised i had an extremely bad reaction to zoloft, which is a ssri too. I took it for abot a month and never reached even half a prescribed dose. The consequences were just horrible and started to subside only 6 months+ later.

[[Es...]]

@[Pe...]

@[...]

Zoloft helped me taper clorazepate, which is a benzo, during my first BZD taper in 2000-2001. My initial dose was 25 mg the first month, which is half of the smallest dose I think. And then 12.5 mg, which was half of the previous dose, during the next month. The standard dose of Zoloft is at least 50 mg per day, which may be increased to 200 mg per day.

Previously, I tried to taper the clorazepate the whole year without any success, using all kinds of meds, but an SSRI. With Zoloft, I was done with clorazepate in two months. And then tapering Zoloft itself was a walk in the park.

I was very young and my organism relatively strong. My point here is that we don't have to take the "prescribed" dose. We take the smallest dose our body tolerates. It's not our doctor who takes the AD. It's us. I started Lexapro from 2.5 or 5 mg and stayed on that dose for a month. There were benefits, of course. Otherwise, I would quit. IMO, we tailor these meds exactly to our system. We want a transition, not a tsunami. These meds are extremely powerful when compared to the BZD🤍

[[...]]

5 hours ago, [[E...] said:

@[Pe...]

@[...]

Zoloft helped me taper clorazepate, which is a benzo, during my first BZD taper in 2000-2001. My initial dose was 25 mg the first month, which is half of the smallest dose I think. And then 12.5 mg, which was half of the previous dose, during the next month. The standard dose of Zoloft is at least 50 mg per day, which may be increased to 200 mg per day.

Previously, I tried to taper the clorazepate the whole year without any success, using all kinds of meds, but an SSRI. With Zoloft, I was done with clorazepate in two months. And then tapering Zoloft itself was a walk in the park.

I was very young and my organism relatively strong. My point here is that we don't have to take the "prescribed" dose. We take the smallest dose our body tolerates. It's not our doctor who takes the AD. It's us. I started Lexapro from 2.5 or 5 mg and stayed on that dose for a month. There were benefits, of course. Otherwise, I would quit. IMO, we tailor these meds exactly to our system. We want a transition, not a tsunami. These meds are extremely powerful when compared to the BZD🤍

@[Es...], yes, i absolutely agree and I'm glad zoloft was helpful for you. For me, another antidepressant was also of great help during this withdrawal and i'm still grateful to it. It's just zoloft in particular turned out to be completely wrong for me personally. I started it very slowly but it was no use just harm at any point and the recovery was long and painful afterwards. Luckily it came in the end  

[[De...]]

@[...] at What point you decided its ok to taper down ad And how long your taper was? Did you had some simptoms ramping up during taper? 

[[...]]

1 hour ago, [[D...] said:

@[...] at What point you decided its ok to taper down ad And how long your taper was? Did you had some simptoms ramping up during taper? 

At the mark of 9 months off when i felt stabilised+- in my benzo wd. I didn't feel perfect but well enough and my condition stayed about the same. 

Tapered for 6 months and didn't notice too much of difference in my state. Just the same benzo wd issues of mine except for some fits of dizziness and "creeps" in the head for a few days after a cut. The worst something happened when i was 1 month off. Not sure what it was but it seems to have been improving ever since.

[[jo...]]

[[...]]

No, @[jo...], to my surprise, i haven't had insomnia and even started sleeping better when came off the ad. It was my emotions, simply overwhelming and feeling of exhaustion for a couple of weeks+ some other mild issues.

[[jo...]]

I'm getting some sleep trouble sometimes since cutting that's why I ask. The emotional overwhelm sounds familiar. I get overwhelmed with negative emotion and thoughts too. I think it's part of the Akathisia for me. Sometimes with pacing sometimes without. I get fatigue sometimes but not serious. I hear a lot get hit with that once their off. Hope your well!

Edited Monday at 22:32 by [jo...]

[[De...]]

[[...]]

@[De...], it was 9 months of benzo wd and 15 months on the ad all in all.

[[De...]]

Thank you so much for your reply. I am thinking of tapering down my ad. This is my 6 month of ad. And 8 month of benzo wd. I am scared to be on ad And i am scared of ramping up symptoms while tapering And ad wd. Today i have two apointments with doctors to discuss this problem And i am really nervouse about all this. I am very much stabile in benzo wd. Things are going better every day. I see changes on regular base. Minor simptoms coming back for couple of hours before they dissapear for good. So i am afraid What if i ruin everything with tapering ad. Hope you understand. 
My doctor don’t think i am in benzo wd after 8 month, she thinks its my anxiety from this moment.  And that is main problem i guess. Was your doctor aware of benzo wd @[...]

[[...]]

@[De...], my neurologist was aware of me being off benzo. She is a good neurologist but knows little about benzo and told me it was stress i was suffering from. Actually, i did all my tapering by myself consulting her sometimes to rule out possible underline issues concerning my most unpleasant symptoms. 

I do understand what you mean. I have had all the doubts and fears too. I think if you feel stabilised, it's a good idea to try tapering off of the ad. I'd start pretty slow just to understand what it feels like and causes. Hope everything will be smooth for you. Please, keep us updated and good luck with your today's appointments!

May be you'll start a thread of your own about it? I think it'd be helpful.