12 replies to this topic

[thismoment]

https://www.rxisk.org/Default.aspx

This site is a great resource; it's a website designed to collect and disseminate uncommon side-effects of drugs.

"RxISK is the first free, independent website where patients, doctors, and pharmacists can research prescription drugs and easily report a drug side-effect-- identifying problems and possible solutions earlier than is currently happening." rxisk.org

The list of professionals contributing to the site is impressive, and it includes Dr. David Healy (DavidHealy.org)-- the author of Let Them Eat Prozac, Pharmageddon, plus 18 other books!  Robert Whitaker is also a contributor; he wrote Anatomy of An Epidemic and Mad in America (see madinamerica.com).

It's worth spending a few minutes just visiting the site.

 

Should you choose to make a report, RxISK will give you comprehensive feedback on your report that you can take to your doctor who may (or may not) choose to interact with RxISK to enhance his or her own professional knowledge on your medication and the unique challenges you face.

 

Here is a cut-and-paste from that section:

 

"Report a drug side effect and get your free RxISK Report™

To create a RxISK Report we need you to tell us about the drugs you are taking, their effects, their impact on your health and life, and a little bit about you. This will take up to 10 minutes to complete.

The end result is a structured one-page RxISK Report™ to share with your doctor that can:

• highlight possible issues or concerns with your treatment; and
• show what's happening with other people taking the same prescription drugs"    rxisk.org

[ShadyLady]

Thank you for the link, tm. I am currently trying to get off Zoloft and Gabapentin with slow tapering as the side effects are far outweighing the benefits, in my personal experience only. After reading on the rxisk site, no wonder I'm upside down! Does the misery of getting off these toxic drugs ever end? As usual, your post was very helpful.

[brzghoff]

i have now quit my job of six months. my anxiety has never been worse. i can no longer focus on the problem and must focus on solutions. the web site that is helping me is http://www.anxietyguru.com

[thismoment]

Hi ShadyLady!

Yes the misery ends, but not with a bang-- a better way to express it might be, 'the misery evolves'. It really is more of an evolution than a singularity: it slowly becomes something else as you become someone else. It's slow, and its nature needs to be embraced in its glacial transformation: wean off very slowly, foster your personal dignity, strive to do those things you know are healthy for your body, include CBT and Mindfulness therapy, and seek entertaining and joyful distractions.

You are not so much recovering, rather, in every sense you are rebuilding!

What is the status of your weaning off Zoloft and Gabapentin?

Take care.

[ShadyLady]

Hi Brz, so sorry your anxiety is so bad and you had to quit your job. I jumped back on the forum after a 5 month absence and am so glad to see a post from you! Are you taking any meds for the anxiety? I remember many of your posts about CBT and how much it helped you. Do you feel that the anxiety is related to the discontinuation syndrome of Cymbalta? I have been off the shit for 13 months and there are still many challenges, emotionally & physically, that I did not anticipate remaining, yuck!

Thoughts are with you, Rebecca

[thismoment]

brz

I'm sorry to hear your anxiety is so strong. I know how horrific and debilitating it is.

I spent some time on the Anxiety Guru website and read some material and listened to a couple of podcasts. Paul Dooley appears to be a compassionate and caring individual.

 

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is an interesting new therapy not yet understood-- but there have been positive results.

Do you have meds that help you manage your anxiety while you search for its origin?

[ShadyLady]

TM, I am down to 25mg of Zoloft from 100mg. I started it the end of January and took 100mg for a couple of weeks and went down to 50mg per psych instructions. The worst side effects of chronic diarrhea (lost 30lbs , nausea and sleep issues never abated so I've been shaving the 50mg pill since March. Been on 25mg about 1 month and doc said stop. Wrong, the light show of withdrawal started within three days! So, I am hanging at 25mg and plan to start shaving the pill again. The Gabapentin is 300mg. Went down to 100mg and it was more withdrawal! I didn't know Gabapentin had any withdrawal effects. Doc said it's all in my head...he's right it is all in my head with mood swings, no sleep, nightmares.

So, any thoughts wise sage?

[thismoment]

Reba

 

Drugs.com rates the interaction between Zoloft and Gabapentin as Moderate. Symptoms include dizziness, drowsiness, difficulty concentrating, and some impaired judgement is possible. Absolutely NO alcohol. Avoid driving if possible.

 

Regarding withdrawal from Gabapentin, this is from Medscape:

 

"The symptoms that have been associated with gabapentin withdrawal tend to mimic some of the same withdrawal symptoms associated with ethanol and benzodiazepine withdrawal, possibly because gabapentin augments GABA levels, as does ethanol and benzodiazepines."

 

All these psychiatric drugs that physically alter the body have withdrawal symptoms associated; some bad, some not so bad. I think one should withdraw slowly from any of these meds: don't skip days and don't drop down in big steps. If you are having  symptoms, you are weaning off too fast.

 

While the doctor's advice should always be considered, the real authority is your body.

 

Take care.

[ShadyLady]

Hmmm, difficulty concentrating is my constant (ADD diagnosis), impaired judgement is also a problem as I do some really stupid shit regularly. Then you say "absolutely NO alcohol" which has been my bad the last couple days at the old house while dog sitting Tootsie while Bildo is out of town! It appears I don't listen to my body only my critical analysis of myself. I am so tired of this tapering and withdrawal process...this is 13 months removed from the hell of down dosing from 120mg to 60mg over one month to jumping off the cliff at 60mg.

[brzghoff]

Hi Brz, so sorry your anxiety is so bad and you had to quit your job. I jumped back on the forum after a 5 month absence and am so glad to see a post from you! Are you taking any meds for the anxiety? I remember many of your posts about CBT and how much it helped you. Do you feel that the anxiety is related to the discontinuation syndrome of Cymbalta? I have been off the shit for 13 months and there are still many challenges, emotionally & physically, that I did not anticipate remaining, yuck!

Thoughts are with you, Rebecca

hi shady! 

 

i have not been on the site much at all. i had to step away for awhile. today is the most i've been on it for months. i am not taking anything for the anxiety except for the night time clonidine for sleep - just .1 mg and an ocassional kava kava capsule. is it from withdrawal? dunno. at this point it doesn't matter. i need to continue to fight the good fight in dealing with it.  anxiety is manageable until i am under stress. that's the "test" of how well i can handle it. the job took its toll but i am not the only one where i worked who left or is leaving. but i put myself through hell because of it. yes cbt has helped, i need to get back to my therapist. i've been up north. i have been able to work remotely which helped me avoid a lot of the office drama - but it was still too much. we leave to go back to our southern home soon

 

congrats on leaving good ol' whats his name? !

[brzghoff]

brz

I'm sorry to hear your anxiety is so strong. I know how horrific and debilitating it is.

I spent some time on the Anxiety Guru website and read some material and listened to a couple of podcasts. Paul Dooley appears to be a compassionate and caring individual.

 

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is an interesting new therapy not yet understood-- but there have been positive results.

Do you have meds that help you manage your anxiety while you search for its origin?

 

actually i had emdr therapy circa 1996 when i first was diagnosed with depression. however, it is more for ptsd and anxiety and at the time i was simply depressed. severely so, but no real anxiety - at least not in the classic sense. my therapist was trained in it but i think it was kind of a new toy for her. i liked hearing paul dooley explain his theory on why he thinks it works - its not the finger movement or the tapping - that's just a distraction - its  the desensitization to the triggering anxiety event through exposure  - and association of a positive event. i'd like to try it again. 

 

as i mentioned to shady, i just take .1 mg clonidine at bedtime and occasionally i'll take a 200 mg kava kava capsule, it works very well. i know all about the liver concerns and the background on that controversy and am very comfortable with taking it on occasion. its not addictive. but for the most part, i just deal with it. i am not so much concerned with understanding its origin as i am moving forward with healing. 

[thismoment]

brz

I don't think I worded the question about the origin of the anxiety very well, sorry. When I was in therapy for anxiety trauma, there was an emphasis on the origins of the anxiety, related stress, and the range of possible causes-- where it came from-- prior events, triggers, and default mind-states. That's what I meant by origins-- primary causes may be a better term.

Of course there are six major types of anxiety disorder; mine was panic. And prior causes may include DNA. But with the absense of knowing the prior causes, everything else is a symptom.

[FiveNotions]

Brz, welcome back !

 

I'm so sorry about the anxiety hitting you ... was that job you had the culprit, eh? Bravo for making the decision to quit and to focus on your health !!

 

I've just recently returned as well ... that temporary librarian job I had with PBS ended in late June, thank goodness ... I was totally exhausted ...

 

Thanks for that website link, TM ... good info, will spend some time there this evening....