894 replies to this topic

[fishinghat]

IUN

 

Regular isolation us the use of separation from the general population to avoid passing along something you have to the general population. Reverse isolation is assigned to people that are NOT sick but have little to no white blood cell production. Catching a cold or flu could be fatal. My lack of white blood cells is due to a Cat Scan and is not uncommon.

 

Not my choice. It would risk my life to go out in public. This is a common source of death in the elderly from colds, flu and pneumonia..

[invalidusername]

Goodness - that is an upsetting turn of events. And no idea this could have been due to such a simple cause. Bless you 'Hat.

 

Today, rather than waking to about 80% anxiety, I have around 25% of depression and 25% anxiety. Similar to days of last week. Depression is due, I am sure, to a combination of the exhaustion from the anxiety, and the anxiety is obviously not going to go overnight due to duloxetine withdrawal.

 

Side effects will also contribute. Today feels like the morning after a really bad drinking session (although it has been some years since I have done anything close to that). Very lethargic, sleepy, dizzy and nausea. Textbook for starting a new SSRI.

 

Hat - I was slowly moving my taking of the lexparo towards the night, and moved it part way and took it at around 8pm. By bedtime - around 3am - I felt very wired and head was overthinking - not bad. Just lots of thinking. I worry if I take it before sleep I will wake up too early. Still taking the Citalopram 30mg around 1pm.

 

Very reluctant to keep moving dose times, but should I stick with the dose move to the night? 

 

Should I reduce dose of Citalopram yet? 

[fishinghat]

Wait to reduce citalopram until you get to a set time for taking the Lexapro. It takes Lexapro 1 to 2 hours to reach peak levels in the blood. Taking it around 1 or 2 pm and going to sleep around 4 pm sounds like a plan.

[invalidusername]

"Taking it around 1 or 2 pm and going to sleep around 4 pm sounds like a plan."

 

You mean sleeping at 4am? Can't sleep at 4pm - not quite retired yet

[fishinghat]

No that is a screw up!!  I meant AM on both accounts. Sorry about that.

[invalidusername]

LOL - no worries! Thought I would check! Many thanks

 

Today has stayed the same with a balance of depression and anxiety, but has reduced a bit as the day has gone on. The side effects however are a REAL pain. Still so dizzy, ghastly headache, tinnitus going nuts. Strange that it wasn't this bad when I switched between Citalopram and Duloxetine... but I guess I am dealing with a 3-way situation here in withdrawing from Duloxetine AND Citaolpram and starting Lexapro.

 

Kudos to the Mental Health Team for putting me into one of the biggest messes!!

[KathyInFL]

You mean sleeping at 4am? Can't sleep at 4pm - not quite retired yet

 

     

[gail]

IUN,

How much Lexapro are you taking?

[invalidusername]

I am still on my 5mg Gailage, with my morning dose of 30mg Citalopram.

 

My 5mg Lexapro will be in place at night as of today. So doses will be 12 hours apart. At that point I can think about doses. I am glad I didn't go as far as 40mg Citalopram as recommended by the MH team. Whilst it may not be having much effect, there is still always going to be a withdrawal. My only withdrawal on Citalopram was cold turkey and we all know where that ended.... 

[gail]

Hi Scrat,

I said it once but I'll repeat. This means 40mg in all. I still don't understand the fact that you haven't lowered the citalopram. To create a balance between the two antidepressants.

Which would mean, 20 Citalopram and 5 Lexapro . The way you are doing puts more drugs into you system. Lovage!

[invalidusername]

A valid point my sweet....

 

But I was worried about jumping too quickly from 30 to 20, back to 30 and then back to 20 again - all in the space of one week. Blimey, what have I done?!

 

Furthermore, it is not quite 40mg as taking them at different intervals in the day, it will not quite reach the 40mg peak. But even so, your point remains.

 

However, that said, my lexapro will be taken at night today and this will be my fourth serving. Hopefully it will not disrupt my sleep as it has started to over the last couple of days. 

 

Today has started out similar to yesterday and has actually got better! Three better days in a row. I like this  I don't think dropping the Citalopram down to 20mg will do anything, but while I am on a roll, I want to tread carefully.

[Noush]

IUN - I can't really say that anything other than medication controls the Pure O. CBT helped a little, in the way that it teaches you that a thought is just a thought & to not try to ignore it or analyse it. To acknowledge it, then just let it go. However, when anxiety is high, this is easier said than done. Within 2 months of going on Duloxetine, my OCD was completely under control. I may have a random intrusive thought now & again once or twice a month, but it doesn't bother me. I'm able to just think 'mmm weird intrusion' then move on.

Hope you're seeing some improvement.

[invalidusername]

Thanks for the info Noush - but one thing i am sure to say, and that is that the wife will not be going near Duloxetine after seeing what it has done to me! But a change of meds might indeed be called for as this is an ongoing issue. She is on 10mg of Lexapro, so a 15mg dose might be tried before anything else.

 

I took my Lexapro dose at 1am last night, so it is now 12 hours apart from the Citalopram. I have a lot more nervous energy this morning, but once I drifted off, sleep came easier. 

 

There is still a balance of depression and anxiety as there has been for some time now - although the intensity appears to be getting less. My problem is that I suffer when I start to see even the slightest downturn in my mood. "I was better than this at this time yesterday" - and then that can be enough. Rather than accepting that it is a rollercoaster, I will let it engulf me and let it take me further down. This has ALWAYS been my issue - even before the withdrawal.

[Noush]

Mine too. I obsess about the way I am feeling. Although since I stabilised again on the Duloxetine, I've been good again. I can't say I wish I'd never gone on the Duloxetine, as it saved me when I was literally at rock bottom, after trying 5 other A.D's that didn't help or made matters worse. But I wish I had given Citalopram longer to settle to see if that helped. Although, it seemed too stimulating for me. Anything too stimulating can cause my OCD to flare up.

I've never tried Lexapro nor heard of it being used for OCD. Has she tried other meds for it? If you don't mind me asking, does she talk to you about her intrusive thoughts? What type of thoughts does she have?

Once I started to tell my husband about all if the thoughts I had, when I had them & how they made me feel, that rely helped them lose there power & in turn caused me less anxiety.

[invalidusername]

'HAT - A quick inquiry. The symptoms of today are still here - very restless, talking quickly, feeling wired, hands shaking, legs and arms tense, dull headache, keep touching my beard or just moving fingers.

 

My Citalopram dose has stayed 30mg at 1pm all week, the Lexapro (5mg) has been between 6-7pm for last 4 days until last night when I moved it to 1am. 

 

Is this adjustments to level, change of time - or do I have too much going on and require a lower dose of Citalopram? I'm going to say it feels like a very mild SS... but your word on this if you would be so kind?

[invalidusername]

Noush - The lexapro must have been flavour of the month for the GP. I was put on Duloxetine and Citalopram, my father was on Prozac, the wife on Lexapro. I really don't think they know which AD to dish out. But then again, it is trial and error to a certain extent.

 

She has not tried any other meds yet - she is very scared of cross-taper. She does indeed talk to me. Her three of choice are blinking a certain amount of times, staring at a specific area on the wall, or thinking of turning the thermostat on the radiator - she doesn't actually need to do this, just needs to think about it, although in the past she has done it - this was about 10 years ago. She and her mother also suffered abuse when she was a child - she's had a tough life thats for sure, bless her.

[fishinghat]

That could be a mild case of ss. You need to drop the Citalopram soon anyway. I would go down one notch. (Educated guess.)

[invalidusername]

Glad you agree.

 

So, I will drop to 20mg Citalopram in the morning and let things settle.

 

But keeping the dose and time of the Lexapro as is??

[invalidusername]

So I had four days of feeling better - it was good and encouraging - but it started to slip thru my fingers yesterday evening.

 

My depression suddenly became fed by my anxiety. The inner voice which said "OK, so you are not suicidal anymore, and you walked to the shop a few times, but what kind of life is that?". 

 

I remember saying to myself at this point last week that I should be happy to get to a point that I can eat, sleep and work without too much concern. I go there, and stayed there, and it felt good. But somehow I obviously got greedy with my progress and this has happened. I started thinking about all the things I still cannot do. Why do I push myself into this every time?

 

Sorry to start the week off on a downer people, but just need some support.

[PrincessNutella]

Are you able to relax? Like, can you kick it back for a few days if you're overworked?

Not I. I had that mindset that I failed if I did not meet my standards, works WONDERS (!!) on depression. What you're going through is not your life nor it will be, but a part of the progress, remember that.

[invalidusername]

I am not overworked - quite the opposite. I am just off to teach one lesson - the other 3 have been cancelled today (Christmas and all that). So I will be back at home again soon. 

 

A certain amount of work keeps my anxiety bearable. I am not good at getting myself out into other situations. 

 

Interested to know more on your mindset - can you elaborate?

[PrincessNutella]

Well, my immediate family wasn't pushing me for anything but they were expectant BECAUSE I set the bar too high with almost everything I did. As the years went on, this became a cycle. I thought I couldn't make any mistakes, be vulnerable, be unhealthy or unhappy etc.

That's why the last 2 years, especially 6 months happened, and that's why I'm now just lying in bed and looking at cute kittens and DIY projects on Pinterest.

[gail]

IUN,

A anxious perfectionist does that. everything needs to be perfect! I should know that, it ressembles OCD.

Once, in the cabinet of a psychologist, the Kleenex box was not straight on her bureau.
I get up and put it straight. She smiles, saying nothing. I gave a big laugh, recognizing what we just talked about before the Kleenex box. But it's a mild, I think, OCD.

[invalidusername]

Yes - you are both there with the perfectionist thing, but it feels greater now that I have had such a long time coming off the Duloxetine, and now finding new things having started the Lexapro. 

 

I am tired of not being able to let go.

 

Before all this started, I would go to my first lesson of the day, and within half hour, I would be fine and think to myself.. what was all that worry for? But now, it doesn't seem to matter what I do, no matter whether I put myself in situations that "are meant to be good for my anxiety", the symptoms just do not leave. So I have no feeling of success from it, thus I feel like a failure and just don't want to bother any more. But then when I am at home, the feeling is still there of course telling me how crap my life is and being controlled by my anxiety - or rather the anxiety that the withdrawal has caused. 

 

I'm trying and just not getting anywhere because of the pills. The old me is in there and wants out, but has been bruised and battered from months of failure.

 

Just want reward for my efforts somehow rather than just surviving.

[invalidusername]

Think I am hitting the height of the Lexapro side effects - even on 5mg.

 

Along with the depression and the anxiety, I have ridiculous restlessness. Just feel like I need to keep moving. Keep touching my legs, my face... this is just too much with everything else.

 

Please someone tell me this will pass....

[fishinghat]

This could be either a side effect of the Lexapro or restless leg (although it can develop in any of the limbs) syndrome. If it is rls then if you do about 10 minutes of leg stretches it will go away or get a lot better for a while. If it is from the withdrawal or Lexapro it ill make no difference. Also RLS typically occurs in the evening just before or after bedtime. If from the Lexapro it would normally occur 1 to 4 hours after taking the Lexapro.

[invalidusername]

The restlessness has passed but I did take a valium earlier. Oddly enough it was my arms rather than my legs, and it is noted as a common side effect of Lexapro, although my dose was 1am - so 12 hours before it started.

 

Currently in bed not knowing what to do as my nerves just don't seem to want to heal. I had a good 3 days last week, but Sunday evening it hit. Yesterday, anxiety back with a vengence and today it is just everything all at once and all I can do is stay in bed. Have not worked and surviving on cups of tea.

 

Is this the side effects of Lexapro mixing withe all the withdrawal?? I just can't see way out

[fishinghat]

I just can't see those symptoms being a side effect of Lexapro but I have been wrong before. I will check out the FDA info.

[fishinghat]

0.57% report restless leg syndrome when taking Lexapro and 2.07% report a general feeling of restlessness. Those are not particularly high numbers for an antidepressant.

[invalidusername]

Not really, but looking at my notes, I have not felt restless for about 3 months!

 

I did get it a lot when stressed, and today with my end of term meeting with my Uni, this was cause for stress. 

 

Just so tired of my nerves not sorting themselves out. They are relentless in their symptoms and just do not know what to do to let them cure. If I rest, I get anxious and depressed. If I go out and keep occupied, they come at me out of the blue, and I end up having to take a day off - like today. But my tolerance is so low, I am getting so concerned about my recovery.

 

I know this all happened as soon as I went cold turkey from the Duloxetine, but that was 5 weeks ago and although I have had the last 3 days, it all comes back to the same point.

 

Sorry to rant, but with the wife in the same state, I need to get my words out somehow...