Skin Prickling with withdrawal

[AliSa05]

I ceased taking my anti depressant medication approx. 9 weeks now and I’ve had this persistent skin crawling/prickling sensation. I get it over my head and through my body. The dr had me stop basically cold turkey and started me on another at the same time.

Has anybody experienced this and if so how long did it last? Feeling this way feels pretty bleak and it honestly does not feel like it’s getting any better if not possibly worse!

I have seen 3 professionals who all believe withdrawal would have passed.

I think I could have withdrawal discontinuation possibly or perhaps I am just now hypersensitive??? It is the most uncomfortable feeling. Even during meditation I just cannot get my body to relax with these sensations!

I guess I’m looking for a positive story where this has happened to somebody and it has passed (dear god I hope it does).

thanks for your time.

[Nurse_Jenn]

Hi AliSA05,

I am sorry to hear you are struggling with skin prickling and the stress that must be going along with it. This must be really tough and I can imagine create a whole new sense of worry within your self. I wonder if you have the sensation all the time or if there are specific triggers to when the sensations occur. It might be an idea to start a side effects journal for a two week period to see if there are any trends to when these sensations are at their worst.

I also wonder if the three professionals you have seen have done a physical health check and some investigations to rule out anything else? I know that many people write here on the forum about experiencing a prolonged withdrawal reaction to ceasing antidepressants. Though this experience is not widely accepted in the medical community it can be searched as 'Antidepressant Discontinuation Syndrome'.

I recall responding to you a few weeks back when you were experiencing the brain shivering and I wonder if this has subsided for you now? I also wonder if you have experienced more or less symptoms since you last posted? I could be a good way to track how you are going as even if the improvement is slow - it would be good to know if you are improving or not.

I also wonder if you have sought any support for the anxiety you are experiencing? There are a few free programs you could try to help relieve this for now. One is an online program called Mindspot where you do a free online and telephone based program to help with anxiety and/or low mood. You can read about this program by going to www.mindspot.org.au

The other program is only available in some parts of Australia but supports people with worry and low mood and is free. It is called NewAccess and was developed by Beyond Blue. You can read about this program here by going to https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/newaccess

Sometimes treating your worry can help reduce the impact of the symptoms you are experiencing. Medication changes can be really tough and it's important to be kind to yourself during this time. Sometimes these changes can take more time than what is expected. You are reaching out for support on the forum which is a great step. I encourage you to explore other avenues to help manage your worry and to also keep track of your symptoms. We are here and we are listening.

Keep us posted,

Nurse Jenn