Antidepressant withdrawal

[nomad463]

I have a massive history with drug and alcohol abuse just to complicate things abit. But basically I have been on some form of antidepressant for the last 10 years. Mainly ssri's and snri's.

I am 6 months clean again off drugs and alcohol and stopped an antipsychotic like a month ago. But more recently I stopped an ssri  about 5 days ago. What I'm mainly concerned with is the fact my head hurts. I'm feeling stressed out and almost violent at times. Of course I'm getting other withdrawal affects. But being agitated and aggressive and my head hurting when trying to function and think. Well these things are worrying me the most.

Has anyone else had this after stopping antidepressants?? How long did it last? Did it get better or was it permanent???

Also were there any good supplements that helped??

sorry for the messy post but head is hurting trying to put these words together properly.

[Doolhof]

Hi Nomad,

Just before Christmas I came off my anti depressants as per my Drs. orders as they were not working anymore.

Even by using a slow withdrawal method, I became quite ill and spent three days in hospital hooked up to a drip due to dehydration caused by migraines and nausea.

I experienced heaps of different symptoms as well and became very agro and angry.

I am now on a different medication which has settled me down again.

Are you intending to stay off medication altogether? Are you doing this under a Drs. advice? The medication was obviously given to you for a reason in the first place, maybe you still need it, just a different type or dosage.

I would be concerned about the feelings of being agitated and aggressive! I would like to suggest you return to your Dr. for an assessment.

I had to realise that I just do not function at all well without medication. Maybe you are the same.

Look after yourself and make wise decisions for your health. From Mrs. Dools

[Neil_1]

Hi there Nomad

Welcome to Beyond Blue and thank you for coming here and sharing your post.

First up, mega congrats to you for being 6 months clean off drugs and alcohol – that is a super massive achievement and I hope that you feel very proud, because you should.

The concerns you have with how you’re feeling now I feel are strongly related with the stopping of your anti-depressant medication – and I’m saying this due to reading your post it sounded like you just ‘stopped’ taking them.   Is that correct?      Because with any anti-depressant medication going off them has to be a slow and staged process;  which is usually guided by your prescribing professional;  either your doctor or your psychiatrist.

If you did go off them in a staged and monitored fashion, then I’d be getting back to your doctor about what you’re now experiencing.

If you just stopped taking them, I would possibly suggest that you commence taking them again – but at the same time, I would be going to see your doctor to get their opinion on this (possibly before you recommence taking them) and to see what they can suggest for you.

Kind regards

Neil

[Beltane]

Hiya nomad. i really hope you're withdrawing off your ssri and any other psych drugs as your doctor has told you too. I hope you havent just stopped them overnight cos yes, you will get very sick if you do that.

If you are withdrawing slowly as your doctor said, return to your doctor. It may be that you have to go back on a super low dose of the ssri you were on and withdraw even slower.

having said that, i am just one of thse people whoa re realy sensitive to medication changes. I have to wean on slower than most people do, and i have to wean off at last half the speed that most people do. the last time i came off an antidepressant to go on to my current antipsychotic, it took me over 2 months. seriously! most people do it over 4 weeks or so, but it took me 8-10 weeks because if i went too fast i''d end up with excruciating migraines, absolutely horrific nausea, i'd stop sleeping completely.

When i weaned off super super slowly over the 8-10 weeks i still got some of those symptoms only milder. i remember the first week or two i had completely antidepressant free i just felt like a zombie- i was sooooo sick. nausea, insomnia, migraines, boy i had a rough week. i remember going to the docs and crying cos i just didnt know when it was going to end, i thought "gee i weaned off over 8+ weeks and its been one week completely off them and i STILL feel this terrible, maybe i'll never be free of it and will have to go back on to it".
But one day in the second week off the med i just woke up and i was better. seriously. the day before i felt really really terrible, stuck in bed with an awful migraine. the next day, woke up and i was fine. all the symptoms had just vamoosed overnight. i couldnt believe it. i went around for the next week really paranoid that i'd wake up with the symptoms again- i couldnt believe that they'd gone and was paranoid they'd come back.

I admit ever since then i take changing meds very very very seriously, its certainly a very serious decision that must be thought through long and hard by the psychs and doctors, cos hell, i never want to go through that kind of withdrawal again.

but the bipolar med i'm on now is absolutely wonderful, its a godsend in that it makes me feel wonderful, so hopefully i wont ever have to change drugs again.

[geoff]

dear Nomad, welcome to the BB site.

It is a massive effort to stop the drugs and alcohol which you have done for 6 months, and there is pain in doing so, because these two toxins are so addictive, and the temptation to begin again is such a powerful force that your mind is telling you 'just have one it won't hurt you', but once you start again by having one drink or taking one drug will only put you back to where you were, consumed by their power.

Now you are fighting the withdrawal from stopping an AD and the feeling from this is no different than having the DT's that you battled when stopping those two toxins, but there is a catch here which I really hope you can resist and that's to take up one of the toxins again, so you have to go and see your doctor, who should be able to prescribe some medication which will lessen these side-effects until the previous AD has left your body and then start another one.

I am quite surprised that you weren't given something to take knowing your history.

Depending on what AD you were taking you should be close to starting a new AD, so please go and visit your doctor or psychiatrist where they should be able to prescribe a small dose for this next AD.

Hang in there because it's awful having to switch AD, and with me I was too depressed when drying out from a AD, but my doctor did give me something that would lessen the effects before I started a new one.

Please get back to us. Geoff.