Coming off my SNRI - feeling at sixes and sevens

[BeeGee]

Here I am nine months into treatment, after trying two SSRIs and an SNRI.  None of them have done a damn thing - not anything helpful anyway.

I've hated my SNRI.  I committed to going three full months, but I've felt like a robot - all emotions completely gone.  Not happy, not sad, not angry, not hopeful - nothing.  Just empty.  So I've been looking forward to this week when I'm winding down, so that I can actually experience something again.

Now that it's here, I feel like I'm starting to come alive again, but that's a mixed bag.  Feelings are coming back, but that includes feeling glum which I had forgotten for a while.  Still - they say you've got to take the good with the bad, so hopefully some of those positive feelings will also come back soon too.

I can't help feeling really discouraged about AD therapy though.  I've read a bunch of medical research studies and it seems the evidence in favour of pharmacological treatment for my condition is ambiguous at best, in terms of choosing a suitable AD but also whether they really conclusively make a meaningful difference.  Sigh.  I'm going to take a break from meds for a little while and rediscover my baseline before my next foray into drugs.  Maybe TCAs next... zzzz....zzzz...zzzz...

[Doolhof]

Hi Bee Gee,

To be medicated or not can be a fine line at times. Are you withdrawing from your meds under the supervision of a Dr or Mental Health Professional?

My Dr recently helped me to withdraw from a Medication that was no longer assisting me. Even under supervision and a slow withdrawal I ended up in hospital for a few days as I became quite ill.

I am now on a second medication since that time and I am starting to feel a little better about life in general. I did try a time without medication but became really angry and suicidal, so that was not a good thing at all.

My suggestion to you is to try with out the medication, keep referring to your Dr or mental health professional and certainly see you Dr if you notice you are not coping.

Hopefully you will be able to cope without the medications. For me that is not possible. Wishing you all the best with your journey!

From Mrs. Dools

[geoff]

dear BeeGee, well your had a great deal of posts, replies and correspondence under your name, so I thank you for all of these.

I have to agree with Mrs. Dools because I couldn't cope without my AD and it has been proven many times, especially when I don't take my AD for a day for certain reasons, however we can read so much on the net and read statements from people and those with qualifications next to their name saying all the good but mainly all the bad with what AD's can do to us, they maybe correct, but it might only refer to a low proportion of the public, and please I'm not criticising them just pointing out the 'mights or maybes'.

I can understand that you want to stop taking these AD's, and that's good, but please just be careful if your mood suddenly drops and if you feel as though you are becoming depressed and to stay in contact with your doctor.  Geoff.

[BeeGee]

So, a progress report for anyone who's interested...

This is day 10 I think after complete cessation of my SNRI.  It's rotten.  For the last week and a half I have been dizzy and nauseated, and have a range of bizarre neurological effects (e.g. I hear a "static" type noise every time I move my eyes left or right) that are making life a misery.

After stopping the SNRI and starting to get the withdrawal effects (took a couple of days for them to kick in in earnest) I trawled around other online forums and found tons of posts from others who have experienced identical withdrawal symptoms, even after very gradual tapers.  There's even a site offering legal help for those suffering from SNRI withdrawal.

Now obviously only people suffering these effects are going to be making those posts - you aren't going to get a bunch of people posting that they've ceased without problem.  So, it's a bit hard to know what proportion of the total number of users suffers bad withdrawal - still, it seems like enough that this is something doctors should be alerting patients to when considering starting this med.  I would have thought twice had I known.  You can be sure I'll be doing my own research in future before I start anything else!

For what it's worth, if you are considering starting an SNRI is to do your research on commonly experienced side effects and withdrawal effects.  Obviously the usual caveats apply - not everyone will necessarily have the same experience, blah blah blah.  But - if there seem to be a LOT of people experiencing symptoms you think you would find distressing - think twice, talk with your doctor about the alternatives.

I guess what I have learnt out of this is the need to take responsibility for my own treatment and not just accept everything my doctor says as necessarily being a good idea.  I need to drive this partnership more.

[Doolhof]

Hi BeeGee,

Thanks for your post. It can be  a hard choice sometimes for me, try a new medication or have suicidal thoughts from the moment I awake in the morning after a very restless sleep.

I would love to be able to live a life without medication! If I was able to take a 6 month holiday to paradise then I think that might be achievable. If I didn't have the stress of running a house, working to support my husband, maybe not living with my husband and  the pressure from the people I work for and everything else life can throw at you, then I might do okay without medication.

All the best with your research. The problem as you well know is that medication of any sort can have such a different effect on different people. Even at the dentist he had to use three lots of anaesthetic and I was still in a lot of pain as there was hardly any numbing effect happening at all.

I hope you side effects are disappearing. It can be a horrible journey. I totally agree with you there!

Keep in touch and let us know how you are progressing.

Cheers, from Mrs. Dools

[Surrender]

Hi BeeGee

Not sure if you will get to read this.  I have been on AD for over 10 years.  I was on medication for the last five or so years and for whatever the reason a few months ago i felt very suicidal for the first time in my life and as i have heard by people and doctors talk about the poop out effect of some ADs and the consequences i decided to stop.  I stopped cold turkey cuz every doctor and psych had always told me that i can stop medication with no withdrawals.

So i had never researched this or bothered to do so - well day 3 hit and all hell broke loose.  The Anger, crying and insomnia were all rolled into one.  Still i had no idea that this was due to stopping the medication. My anger turned into rage and lost a lot.  I have since learnt that the medication should have been cut down slowly - one pharmacist told me that patience are even told by their doctors to shave the tablets and take shavings of them in other words cutting down very slowly.  I am now seeing windows of relief but the insomnia is cripplying and i have resorted to all types of OTC meds to get me through.  All the best to you mate.

[Surrender]

I apologize for mentioning particular medication in my previous post, sorry i should have read the rules.